I’m not sure if I should admit how dedicated of a The Game Awards viewer I am. Even before getting into the industry myself, the feeling of watching something like The Oscars for my favorite type of media was always a blast. Nine times out of ten, I’m totally fine with the majority of the nominees. But 2025, at least in the indie space, feels different to me.
The Game Awards 2025: Biggest Sports/Racing Game Nomination Snubs
TGAs dropped the ball a bit on this category.
Now as a reviewer and writer, my actual favorite thing to do on a professional level is highlight incredible indie titles that you might not have heard of otherwise. At the time of writing this article, I’ve personally reviewed 33 games this year, many of which have been charming indies that stole my heart by the end. That’s why I’m a little bummed that so many of my favorites missed the cut at The Game Awards.
Don’t get me wrong, though. The nominees for Best Indie Game, as well as Best Debut Indie Game, are wonderful. I’m of the mind that Clair Obscur is probably stretching this category a bit far, but it’s also probably my personal Game Of The Decade, so I’m also not going to throw a fit about it. That said, I think the indie categories really should belong to… well, something that doesn’t look and feel like an AAA title by every other metric.
With all of that said, I think there are ten particular indies from 2025 that deserved a nod for something at The Game Awards. It’s time to give them their flowers.
For extra clarity, I’m not including titles that got any sort of nomination at The Game Awards. This includes games I still absolutely adored, like LEGO Voyagers (nominated for Best Family Game), The Midnight Walk (nominated for Best VR/AR Game), and PEAK (nominated for Best Multiplayer).
10 Lost In Random: The Eternal Die
Not Hades, But That’s Okay
I understand that including Lost In Random: The Eternal Die at TGA is a bit of a tough sell in a year that also saw Hades II release into its 1.0 version. But I’ll try to pitch it to you anyway.
Another isometric Roguelite where you’re tasked with completing one perfect run in a single attempt, The Eternal Die is actually quite easily the best non-Hades attempt I’ve ever played in the genre. Assuredly, it’s not as deep, layered, and challenging as Hades, but I also think that’s where a lot of the game’s value lies, too.
I gave this one a strong 8.5 upon release, and that’s because The Eternal Die is dripping with amazing art, charm, style, interesting genre mix-ups, and rewarding meta-progression, all while packaged as a bit more of an approachable experience overall. That is, until you unlock the difficulty modifiers after one run, and then can attempt to complete the whole thing again. Don’t sleep on this if you’re into the genre.
9 Ender Magnolia: Bloom In The Mist
Save The Homunculi, Save The World
Ender Magnolia: Bloom In The Mist is the amazing sequel to the also incredible Ender Lillies: Quietus Of The Knights. While this was a game that originally came into Early Access back in 2024, it finally saw its full 1.0 release in January of this year. I can’t help but think the EA period combined with a super early 2025 1.0 release just kept Ender Magnolia too far from the panel’s minds, because I’m not sure why else it would’ve missed the cut.
This is a side-scrolling, Souls-ish, Metroidvania/RPG with beautiful art and music that hide some pretty crushingly challenging bosses for anyone diving into it without taking it seriously enough at first. The combat gimmick here is awesome, as main character Lilac uses summons to launch every single attack instead of ever actually going on the direct offensive herself.
Ender Lillies was already a bit of a hidden gem, and Ender Magnolia genuinely improved upon it in every possible way. It’s been locked into an “Overwhelmingly Positive” Steam rating since release, and I don’t see that ever changing.
8 Look Outside
On Second Thought…
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Release |
3/21/25 |
|---|---|
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Developer |
Francis Coulombe |
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Publisher |
Devolver Digital |
I love a good solo-developer success story, and Look Outside is yet another that joins that ranks of games like Undertale, Axiom Verge, Stardew Valley, and Balatro in this regard. Look Outside is the brainchild of Francis Coulombe, which seems like a pretty unsettling yet incredible place to visit if the results of the game are any indicator.
Look Outside isn’t gaining the same traction as those aforementioned solo games above though, and that’s a darn shame. Midway through 2025, we’d dubbed it one of the Top 4 Best Indies Of The Year So Far, and I’d still like to contend that it deserved some type of shoutout at The Game Awards.
This is one you don’t want to know a ton about going into it, but if you’re someone that’s down for a chillingly creepy and unnerving horror-RPG, then you really don’t need to search any further than Look Outside this year. But maybe check under the bed and in the closet before you jump in.
7 The Séance Of Blake Manor
Irish Goodbyes
The Séance Of Blake Manor is the most under-the-radar game on this entire list. Allow me to remedy that. Released in October, this game has garnered absolutely ravenous reviews from players and critics alike. It’s “Overwhelmingly Positive” on Steam, and sits at a jaw-dropping 92 aggregate score on OpenCritic – second only to Hades II, and tied with Clair Obscur. So… yeah. That’s a huge deal.
This game draws a lot of Blue Prince comparisons thanks to the vibe and artstyle, but it also feels like it’s pulling from previously nominated games like Return Of The Obra Dinn while also carving out its own identity entirely.
It’s a detective/adventure/puzzle title that fans of the genre really need to stop sleeping on if they haven’t checked it out already.
6 Fretless: The Wrath Of Riffson
The World’s First GuitaRPG
I gave Fretless: The Wrath Of Riffson a 9 when it came out. I stand by the review 100% – with the only caveat that sometimes I lie awake at night wondering if I could’ve gone ever higher. I truly love this game. On the surface (and no offense), I didn’t have insane expectations for a game commissioned by YouTube musician Rob Scallon. Well Rob, you and Ritual Studios really did the dang thing with this one.
Fretless is the self-proclaimed world’s first guitaRPG, which is a cute way to drive home the rhythm-based, turn-based, deckbuilding combat style you’ll be using from start to finish. It’s a bit hard to explain in such a short amount of time, but suffice to say it’s definitely one of the coolest, most satisfying combat styles I’ve ever seen in a turn-based video game.
My actual only complaint about Fretless is that it’s just too short. Still, that doesn’t take away from how top-tier and unique an RPG journey it is while you’re in it. At the very least, this game deserved a nod for Best Music, because the soundtrack absolutely rips.
5 Bionic Bay
Platforming Perfection
What can I say about Bionic Bay that hasn’t already been said (by me, when I gave it my first and only perfect 10/10)? If you’re a fan of challenging side-scrolling platformers and you haven’t played this game, you’re doing something wrong. Bionic Bay gets a lot of comparisons to games like Limbo, but it’s more like 2D Portal than anything else.
I’ve never played a platformer that makes me feel quite as smart as Bionic Bay as I figure out a new way to leverage the game’s abilities, and then quite as stupid when I can’t string together the necessary platforming to make it through a particularly tricky sequence. The game’s creator, Juhana Myllys, told me earlier in the year that it’s a bit of a ragebait title, and while I get the sentiment, I still tend to disagree.
Really, Bionic Bay is one of the tightest, most precise platformers ever created, and once it all clicks, hold onto your hats, gamers. In addition to all of this, the game’s artstyle is very possibly the most-detailed, most-beautiful, hand-drawn pixelwork that I’ve ever seen in my life. And I would know – I started gaming on the NES!
4 Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
In Space, No One Can Hear You Read
The original Citizen Sleeper is awesome. The sequel, Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, is equally as awesome. Any questions?
Described as a “dice-driven RPG,” it’s also got a supremely unique gimmick that allows it to stand apart from the crowd of similar games in the extremely narrative-heavy variant of role-playing games. If you’re a fan of science-fiction, love a deep game, and are down to read… a lot, then Citizen Sleeper 2 could very likely become one of your favorite indie experiences of the year as well.
Citizen Sleeper 2 is a title where every single choice will have a consequence, and it’ll be up to you as the android protagonist to figure out just how to navigate each and every new scenario that manifests due to your own decisions.
3 Pipistrello And The Cursed Yoyo
World On A String
I mean this as no slight towards any of the following games, but here are some titles that Pipistrello And The Cursed Yoyo scored higher than on OpenCritic this year: Ghost Of Yotei, ARC Raiders, Mario Kart World, Absolum, and Silent Hill f. All of these are lovely games that got recognized at The Game Awards in one way or another. That’s why I’m banging the drum calling for #JusticeForPipistrello.
In fact, Pipistrello’s 88 aggregate score on OpenCritic has it tied for #18 out of anything else released this year. It also currently has 98% positive reviews on Steam in addition to the sky-high scores from the critics. If you aren’t drawn in automatically by the GBA-era artstyle, let me tell you more about why Pipistrello rules.
It’s a self-described “Yoyovania,” where you’ll navigate 1,000 screens across the entire game full of interesting yoyo combat, traversal with unique movement mechanics, and a fun and vibrant cast of characters and bosses alike. It’s kind of old school Zelda, kind of Metroid, and kind of Paper Mario, but brought to the modern-era with every quality of life improvement you wish the old games had.
2 Sword Of The Sea
Hold Your Seahorses
Despite being second on this list, Sword Of The Sea is the snub from the 2025 Game Awards that actually surprised me the most. With Journey DNA and coming from the same team as Abzû and The Pathless, I thought Sword Of The Sea was a shoo-in for several categories – Best Indie, Best Art Design, Best Music; take your pick.
We gave the game a 10, and I agree with everything our reviewer said back when it launched. The game is stunning, Austin Wintory’s score is breathtaking, and the surfing/skateboarding/sandboarding mechanics take the foundation laid by Journey and deliver a gameplay style that’s simply fun from start to finish.
Honestly, I can’t figure out what happened with this one. Again, I’d be the first to tell you that the TGA nominees deserve their place at the show, but there needed to be a seat at the table for Sword Of The Sea somewhere.
1 Monster Train 2
How To Train Your Demons
If you’re into the deckbuilding genre, then you already know about Monster Train and its 2025 sequel. Slay The Spire is one of my favorite games ever released, and I had many moments during my time with Monster Train 2 that I had to splash cold water on my face when I’d start to think that this game was possibly even better.
Honestly, depending on what you’re looking for from the genre, it might be. Monster Train 2 is a deckbuilder with a ton of depth and seemingly infinite numbers of ways to customize and tweak an attempt at taking over Heaven. There’s not a better feeling in gaming than seeing one of your perfectly setup train cars absolutely decimate any enemies that dare step aboard your locomotive.
This is a game with tons of unlocks, awesome bosses, insane card synergies, fun random events, and sincerely anything and everything a deckbuilding expert could ever dream of. If it were up to me, Monster Train 2 would’ve been right up there with the rest of the titles nominated for Best Indie Game.
The Game Awards 2025: Biggest Game Of The Year Snubs
Give these games their flowers.
- Security Camera Installation – indoor/outdoor IP CCTV systems & video analytics
- Access Control Installation – key card, fob, biometric & cloud‑based door entry
- Business Security Systems – integrated alarms, surveillance & access control
- Structured Cabling Services – voice, data & fiber infrastructure for new or existing builds
- Video Monitoring Services – 24/7 remote surveillance and analytics monitoring
Author: 360 Technology Group
