If you're eager to check out smaller creative games between the huge, tentpole releases, we've got you covered with some of the best of what February had to offer.
February is somehow the shortest month, and yet it still feels like it’s dragged on far too long with an avalanche of excellent indie game releases to try and squeeze in. The end of the month has also played host to Steam Next Fest, of course, which has steadily grown to become incredibly important in terms of helping small teams and one-person developers achieve good discoverability. It would have been easy to talk about the best demos, but equally as deserving of your attention are the excellent indie titles that may have slipped under your radar in February.
From pixelated superhero action-platformers to incredibly moreish top-down roguelikes we simply couldn’t put down, this is our list of the seven best indie games releases we played in February 2025 – based on an incomplete sampling.
Omega 6: The Triangle Stars
Based on the original manga from legendary Nintendo artist Takaya Imamura of the same name, Omega 6: The Triangle Stars is an incredibly stylish graphic adventure that marks the creator’s first game since leaving Nintendo in 2021. Having been best known for designing iconic characters in Star Fox, F-Zero, and other classics, the same expressive designs shine through in Omega 6: The Triangle Stars. The story focusses on a duo of androids, Thunder and Kyla, in search of a new home. This provides the basis for relatively simple adventure game style of meeting characters, exploration, and the rare instance of turn-based combat. None of which is particularly innovative, but that’s totally fine given how well realised the Omega 6 universe comes across.
Metal Suits: Counter Attack
Fans of Metal Slug and Contra will absolutely adore the run-and-gun gameplay of the appropriately titled Metal Suits: Counter Attack. Seeing you hop from planet-to-planet to take on legions of underlings, it has an edge over other titles of its ilk thanks to its core metal suit mechanic, which lets you hop in and out of different suits complete with unique abilities. From those that let you deal out death with a huge minigun, to those that let you shock enemies at a great range, Metal Suits: Counter Attack is a fun time in bite-sized chunks reminiscent of the genre’s early days.
Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered
Though not explicitly an ‘indie’ release, Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered is the type of remake collection one can help but leap around in, as opposed to playing through each game straight through one after the other. After already establishing new modern controls and a 21st century makeover with last year’s Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered, Aspyr’s follow-up applies the same polish and attention-to-detail to Lara Croft’s less beloved titles – with similarly mixed results. The first two games, The Last Revelation and Chronicles, are a perfectly decent send off to the series’ PS1 era, but Angel of Darkness has truly aged like milk. Still, as an act of pure preservation, this collection is worthwhile.
Slender Threads
Point-and-click adventure meets paranormal investigation in Slender Threads, a clear homage to the days when Lucasarts adventure games ruled the industry roost. Don’t be fooled by the cutesy art style, though, as developer Blyts has kept to its promise of making this an unabashedly creepy adventure, with humour that is more fiendish than belly laugh worthy. It results in an oddly unnerving indie interpretation of a classic genre that feels like it has suddenly grown up somewhat. Exploring this seaside town is a thrill, making Slender Threads easily the most intriguing point-and-click game I’ve played since 2022’s similarly chilling The Excavation of Hob's Barrow.
Sworn
Is Sworn incredibly derivative of Hades and other isometric action roguelikes that have come before it? Yes. Does that make it a bad game? Absolutely not. Providing you can get past just how much Sworn copies from the cheat sheet of Supergiant Games’ modern indie classic, however, there’s plenty to love about this medieval take where you fight your way to a corrupted King Arthur through a comic book vision of Camelot. Sworn’s main difference are the multiple classes and online multiplayer. These two twists alone work alongside snappy combat and procedural encounters to make jumping back in always a thrill. It’s only in early access, so expect it to get better.
Afterlove EP
Seamlessly blending visual novel aspects with music rhythm elements, Afterlove EP is an incredibly sentimental and emotional exploration of loss, grief, and loneliness. It’s the last ever game from Coffee Talk and What Comes After creator Mohammad Fahmi, mirroring the emotions the development team delt when continuing development after his passing in 2022. This autobiographical backbone often makes Afterlove EP a heavy game to play, but it’s always worth doing thanks to this incredibly artistic version of Jakarta you get to explore, alongside rhythm-based music sections where you jam out with your band.
TMNT: Splintered Fate – Casey Jones & the Junkyard Jam DLC
I've already waxed lyrical about how much I adored the oddly addictive TMNT: Splintered Fate when it originally launched on console last year. It was a pretty great Hades-like that made excellent use of the license by having each brother handle slightly differently – and the case is very much the same now with the new DLC, Casey Jones & the Junkyard Jam. Complete with a new alluring biome in the junkyard, taking on new bosses and enemies as the one and only Casey Jones is a true treat for TMNT fans, particularly seeing as he offers decent ranged play.
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