Near-Perfect New Games No One Talks About

There are a lot of games these days, seemingly releasing in greater quantities every year. It’s no longer just triple-A titles that get the attention; indie and double-A studios have brought us some of the best games of the current generation, winning Game of the Year in two of the last three years.

With that oversaturation, there are bound to be great games that simply don’t get the attention they deserve, be it an unfortunate release window, poor word-of-mouth, or simply failing to capture the gaming community’s attention. To help remedy that, we’ve compiled a list of brilliant new games that no one is talking about. If you’re looking for your next gaming obsession but aren’t seeing it in the mainstream conversation, maybe you’ll find it here instead?

“New” in this case covers anything published between 2024 and today.

Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop

The Most Likable Mechanic In The Galaxy

If you’re a fan of games like Hardspace Shipbreaker but are craving something with more whimsy, then you need to check out Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop. This charming little indie is a blend of shopkeeper and management sims that sees you running a rocket ship repair shop on a lonely asteroid in deep space.

Each ship is randomly generated, and between the variety of repairs, ship types, and tools you have on hand, there’s a lot to keep track of. Thankfully, your handy repair manual can help you through each job, but the longer you take, the less your daily income will be. In between jobs, you can get to know your weird alien clients and learn about how their ship fell into such disrepair. Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop is not an easy game, but your shop upgrades persist between runs, giving it a certain roguelike quality that will keep you from growing too frustrated when things go awry.

Echo Point Nova

What If The Doomslayer Had A Hoverboard?

I’ve been singing the praises of Echo Point Nova for over a year now, but it still doesn’t get the love it deserves. This open-world FPS is one of the most unique shooters we’ve seen in years, from its movement to its gunplay to its open-ended co-op options. Towering bosses, fascinating secrets, and some extremely satisfying exploration await those who dive in.

In Echo Point Nova, movement and momentum are king. You’ve got a hoverboard and a grapple that can help you get around the world, and before long, you’ll be completing entire combat encounters without ever touching the ground. The game is filled with especially satisfying moments where a location that’s just out of reach becomes accessible just by considering your tools from a new perspective, and these persist right through to the game’s conclusion. For such a modest price point, this is a first-person shooter you’ll be thinking about for a long time.

1000xRESIST

Just You And Your Clones In A Lonely Future

If you’re a fan of narrative adventure games and sci-fi — especially games like Citizen Sleeper — then 1000xRESIST is a must-play indie that absolutely shouldn’t be slept on. It reviewed very well and is only the fourth video game ever to win a Peabody Award. Still, it is criminally slept on. As far as story-focused games go, this is easily one of the all-time greats.

You play Watcher, a clone of the one girl on Earth who’s immune to an alien virus that wiped out the rest of humanity. You, along with your many, many fellow clones, survive in a domed city where you hide from the aliens on the surface. Each clone does their duty, awaiting a call from the Allmother (aka the original clone) to join her in paradise. That is, until Watcher receives a message accusing the Allmother of lying to her clones, and worse. 1000xRESIST is an emotionally devastating game. Each chapter tugs at your heartstrings in all kinds of different ways. And the ending? What an ending it is. This is a can’t-miss game that is sorely overlooked, even with the critical praise backing it up.

Axyz

Puzzles To Warp Your Mind

If you’re a fan of Cocoon, the mind-bending puzzle game where you leap between realities housed inside of giant orbs, then you’d do well to check out Axyz. It’s not exactly a “similar” game, but it’s also a puzzle game that will make you feel like you’re twisting your brain into new shapes as you try to solve its ridiculously satisfying puzzles.

Remember those Marble Blast games from the early 2000s where you control a marble along a tricky course? Axyz is like that, but your marble can control gravity. On top of that, while the game’s early levels are relatively easy to decipher, you’ll eventually progress to stages that are unlike anything you’ve ever seen in your life. It’s surreal, but in a very intentional way that implies there’s a logic present; you just need to figure it out. Puzzle fans owe it to themselves to check out Axyz; you’ll be glad you did.

Death Howl

A Tactical Open-World Deckbuilding Soulslike; The Ultimate Collection Of Genre Buzzwords

Genre buzzwords are everywhere in today’s gaming landscape, so when a game like Death Howl tells you that it’s a tactical open-world deckbuilding soulslike, you’d be forgiven for not being sold right away. Well, I’m here to tell you that Death Howl is absolutely all of those things, and it’s an absolute masterpiece as well. I mean, just look at that art style and tell me you’re not intrigued.

Thankfully, the game goes much deeper than its art style. You play a hunter on a quest to bring her son back from the dead, and her journey takes her across four realms that border the base of a mountain. Each realm has its own card types to gather, but you can tackle them in any order, since those card types don’t carry over between realms. Combat then plays out on a tactical grid, and you use your cards for everything from movement to attacking to special abilities. RNG isn’t anything to worry about, since your decks will never exceed 20 cards. Instead, you simply need to plan carefully and strike with precision, and boy is it satisfying when you do so. Death Howl flew completely under the radar last year, releasing just days before The Game Awards in December. Even so, it’s a hell of a game that more people should be talking about.

Sektori

For Those Who Miss Geometry Wars

Not so long ago, twin-stick shooters were an extremely popular gaming niche, and Housemarque was the king of the genre. Since then, Housemarque has moved on to making triple-A roguelike third-person shooters (and some really good ones at that), and is no longer making little gems like Nex Machina. Thankfully, we have developers like Kimmo Lahtinen making games like Sektori to fill the void.

It’s easy to describe Sektori, but not as easy to explain why it’s so damn wonderful. It’s a twin-stick shooter in the classic Geometry Wars style, with brain-melting visuals and dozens of enemies on screen at once, and just you and your tiny ship fighting them off. The success of games like this really comes down to gameplay feel, and Sektori is that feeling perfected. Everything from movement to shooting to visual clarity feels just right, and the more you play, the better it feels. It’s a game of skill above all else, with each run varying just enough to make you think and play slightly differently. Sektori is ridiculously addictive, deeply rewarding, and above all, a ton of fun.

Promise Mascot Agency

The Weirdest Game You’ll Ever Cry Over

It’s hard to compare Promise Mascot Agency to any other game on the market. You could call it an open-world management sim, but that really doesn’t cover it. Sure, you’re managing a mascot agency, but these mascots are more than just costumes; they each have their own dreams, desires, and the potential to have a complete mental breakdown. Regardless, you still need to send them out on assignments. Luckily, if they get into trouble, you can call in a local superhero to help them out.

Does it sound weird yet? This is just the beginning. On top of designating assignments to your mascots, you also need to explore the open-world town of Kaso-Machi in your company truck, which can be upgraded with glider wings and even a mascot launcher. The local area is absolutely loaded with mysteries both mundane and supernatural, and the more you explore, the more you’ll uncover. As strange as Promise Mascot Agency is, it’s deeply heartfelt, and all its disparate absurdities tie together into something that’s not only coherent, but incredibly moving.

The Alters

You Can Only Rely On Yourself, And Even That’s Dicey

This is a weird one, because The Alters got a ton of love last year, even to the point of earning a nomination at The Game Awards for Best Sim/Strategy Game. Yet even so, it feels like no one discusses this game as much as it deserves. It’s genuinely one of the best and most addictive survival crafting games of the decade, but it offers so much more than that from a narrative perspective.

You play Jan Dolski, an engineer and the sole survivor of a crash landing on an alien planet. After stumbling upon a mysterious element called Rapidium, Jan discovers a way to create alternate versions of himself — literally called “Alters” — who followed different paths in life and, as such, can handle challenges that he’s not equipped for. There’s a scientist Jan, a botanist Jan, a miner, and more. Each version of Jan has a distinct personality, and managing their stress and needs is just as important as gathering resources to aid your escape from the planet. The Alters gives you a lot to think about gameplay-wise, and prompts an addictive “one more day” loop that will keep you playing just a little longer than you planned to. It also just recently launched a standalone DLC (albeit it’s recommended to play the campaign first) called Last Variable that is almost as long as the base game and can give you even more value out of its runtime.

Replaced

A High-Concept Cyberpunk Story With Stunning Visuals

Replaced got a ton of hype leading up to its launch, mostly thanks to its jaw-dropping pixel art visuals and intriguing cyberpunk setting. However, since its launch earlier this year, and despite some excellent critical reception, it has almost completely vanished from the gaming conversation. That’s a shame, because not only does Replaced look great, but it plays great, too.

This is a 2.5D side-scroller that controls like a dream, with some excellent platforming and tons of fascinating narrative beats. You play an AI called R.E.A.C.H. trapped in a human body, using your vast intelligence to take down the corporation that created you. The real surprise in Replaced is the combat, which is heavily inspired by the Batman: Arkham games, and as such, makes you feel like a total badass. Imagine if the movie Upgrade had a video game equivalent, and that’s effectively what you’ll get with Replaced.

Screamer

Awesome Arcade Racing In A Gorgeous Sci-Fi World

Speaking of cyberpunk settings, if you’re looking for an arcade racer that offers both style and substance, 2026’s Screamer has got you covered. Right from moment one, the 90s anime vibes are immaculate, from your choice of five racers to the narrative that’s woven throughout. At the end of the day, though, this genre is all about gameplay, and Screamer offers a unique twist that makes it a must-play for racing game fans.

Running through the entire experience is the ECHO, granting your vehicle not just a boost, but a shield and the ability to strike other cars; whatever it takes to stay in the lead. Boosting and striking enemies builds entropy, and once your meter fills up, you unlock Overdrive, a high risk, high reward super-boost that launches you forward at absurd speeds, but hitting anything — be it another car or the sides of the track — will instantly destroy your car. Screamer is a fast-paced sci-fi racer that’s easy to learn but offers plenty of nuance for those who want to master it. It’s not going to compete with Forza Horizon 6, but it does offer a unique aesthetic and some unreal spectacle that more grounded racing games can’t match.