Hidden Gems 2025: Best Lesser-Known Games to Try Now
• A wide slate of indie and mid-tier releases in 2025 delivered standout experiences across roguelikes, platformers, puzzles, and party games. • Notable picks: Monster Train 2 (deckbuilder roguelike), Shotgun Cop Man (physics platformer), Abandoned Archive (spell‑based roguelike), Promise Mascot Agency (open‑world collectathon). • Many titles are available across PC and consoles; several small studios (Vedal, Kaizen Game Works, Team Ladybug, Velan) produced the most surprising hits. • Short narrative experiences and inventive hybrids — from skateboarding demons to mascot management sims — make this year’s hidden list especially varied.
Hidden Gems to Try in 2025
Roguelikes and Deckbuilders
Monster Train 2 — Deckbuilding Depth
Monster Train 2 refines the deck‑building train defense formula with more cards, clans, and customization options. It’s built for players who enjoy long combo chains and strategic min/maxing across repeated runs. Available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch.
Abandoned Archive — Spell‑Based Gungeon
Solo developer Vedal’s Abandoned Archive blends fast rooms, boss fights, and spell upgrades in a roguelike tower. Relic synergies and varied spell schools (lightning, gravity, time) create replayable, build‑driven runs on PC.
Platformers, Action, and Metroidvania
Shotgun Cop Man — Movement Meets Combat
This indie platformer turns shooting into a mobility mechanic: firing backwards boosts your momentum while also dealing with foes. Tight, bite‑sized levels and movement puzzles make it a standout on PC and Switch.
Blade Chimera — Smooth Metroidvania Combat
Team Ladybug’s Blade Chimera merges melee and ranged combat in a yokai‑tinged dystopia. Generous traversal options and secrets reward exploration on PC and Switch.
Narrative, Puzzle, and Short Experiences
And Roger / The Seance of Blake Manor — Compact, Potent Stories
Short narrative experiments like And Roger (interactive visual novel) and The Seance of Blake Manor (detective puzzler) deliver emotional, tightly focused stories that stick with players long after their one‑hour run times.
Is This Seat Taken? & Spooky Express — Clever Puzzles
Mobile‑friendly puzzle games deliver bite‑sized design: Is This Seat Taken? tests logic with social seating, while Spooky Express mixes route planning and light strategy for quick, satisfying sessions.
Multiplayer, Party, and Experimental
Jackbox Party Pack 11 & Midnight Murder Club
Jackbox Party Pack 11 brings a trivia‑RPG twist to party play, while Velan’s Midnight Murder Club reimagines hide‑and‑seek with flashlights and firearms. Both packs are crafted for social sessions across consoles and PC.
Why these matter
2025’s indie output shows experimentation across genres: hybrids that mix management sims with collectathons, roguelikes with narrative beats, and skateboarding with surreal art direction. If you missed the year’s big releases, these lesser‑known titles are where fresh ideas often live.
