5 indie games offering more innovation than most AAA titles this year

2025 has already had some massive hits in the AAA games space, with titles like Doom: The Dark Ages, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Avowed making up some of the biggest releases so far. The indie space hasn't been quite either. In fact, it's been where some of the best games so far this year have come from. Indie games have the ability to be more innovative than AAA games, which need to have broad appeal to succeed. The indie games on the list feel like new evolutions in specific genres, like turn-based RPGs and puzzle games, while others feel so unique in what they are doing that it becomes innovation by default.

5 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

A tight runtime and active combat elements make this a special RPG

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 comes from a new studio, Sandfall Interactive, and it takes the turn-based RPG genre and makes some smart changes. It comes in at a much shorter run-time, sitting between 30 and 60 hours, depending on how thorough you are. Compare that to Persona 5 Royal, which takes a minimum of 100 hours (via How Long To Beat), and it's clear why this appeals to a wider audience. However, the innovation that makes Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 one of the best games of the year is the combat system.

Expanding on active turn-based games like Super Mario RPG, but adding in complex enemy melee combos that need to be countered. These parry combos feel reminiscent of Sekiro, giving combat an extra level of engagement. Combine that with a gorgeous world and strong writing; it's no shock that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 feels like a breath of fresh air.

4 Blue Prince

A puzzle game for real puzzle freaks

Blue Prince combines two incredibly popular indie genres into something truly special. It takes mechanics from roguelike deck builders, like drafting cards and having to do multiple runs, with super-deep puzzle games, like Lorelei and The Laser Eyes and The Witness. You have to navigate through rooms in an attempt to reach a mythical Room 46. You do this by drafting rooms and placing them in an order that allows you to progress, while contending with a limited number of steps. Each room contains obtuse puzzles, sometimes limited to that room, sometimes requiring several other rooms. These puzzles are intense, often requiring extensive note-taking to uncover the secrets of the mansion. With that knowledge, you learn and improve across several runs. Blue Prince also contains tons of deep endgame puzzles to solve after the credits, truly feeding anyone who loves complex puzzle games.

3 Promise Mascot Agency

A strange business management visual novel

Promise Mascot Agency is unlike anything else I've ever played, which makes it innovative by definition. It's a weird and bizarre business management sim that follows a former yakuza, Michi, who has been banished to a dying small town, where he must work with Pinky to revive a dead mascot agency. In this world, Mascots aren't people in suits; they are weird beings that just look like that. It's part visual novel, part 3D collectathon, and part business management sim.

This strange collection of ideas makes it a must-play game, especially with how well every aspect is done. The visual novel tells a complex story about the former yakuza and the dying small town. The open world has you driving around in a small Japanese truck, collecting items all around town. Lastly, the business management sim has you recruiting various mascots and sending them to events, where you have to play a short card game to assist the mascots. While the game is too wholly unique to change any of the genres it plays in, there is no arguing against the innovation shown by developer Kaizen Game Works.

2 The Roottrees Are Dead

Remember when Google didn't suck to use?

The Roottrees Are Dead is another innovative puzzle game, although it's more of a reporting simulator than anything else. The premise is simple: a private jet containing the three Roottree sisters and their parents crashed, killing the billionaire family. The will says the family fortune needs to be split up among blood relatives, but thanks to the eccentric great-great-grandfather Elias, there isn't a complete family tree to use. So, you are tasked with using an early version of the internet to research the family and figure out a full family tree.

This is a puzzle game, and there are tons of connections and deductions you will have to make. Still, it's also a research simulator, as you must go through old articles and wikis to parse information, in addition to finding multiple sources to confirm your findings. There was also a free update released for the game, adding a bit more story about the family post-plane crash and another family tree to build out.

1 Look Outside

Earthbound, but horror

Look Outside combines two genres into a single experience that is rarely combined. Those genres are turn-based RPGs and survival horror games. This pixel-art horror RPG takes place in a single apartment building, when all of a sudden, anyone who looks outside is turned into a monster. You need to scavenge the building for supplies, find new weapons, and take down any horrors that get in your way. One of the biggest issues with combining horror with a turn-based RPG is that it's hard to be scary when enemies can only attack on their turn. Look Outside side steps that with tough combat, and some truly freaky monsters, giving it a real Earthbound vibe. The other problem with combining these genres is that it's hard to keep the tension of a horror game for a long run time, but Look Outside comes in at just around a dozen hours, making it a perfect blending of the two genres, and hopefully, inspiration for more horror RPGs.

Look Outside:

• Steam

Indie games provide a place for innovation

Indie games are thriving when it comes to innovation, in large part thanks to smaller teams and scope. While some games, like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, feel like it can go toe-to-toe with AAA games, the best indie games offer something wholly unique in favor of a large-scale. Many of these games not only combine genres that haven't been successfully blended, but also add new elements that elevate them to true classic status.