Control Resonant, Stick It to the Stickman and More Indie Games to Watch This Week

The independent game space has another unusually crowded week, with releases spanning big-budget supernatural action, compact roguelite brawlers, mischievous animal adventures and a game that turns the humble settings menu into an escalating joke. There are also several events offering a useful reminder of just how much work is being made outside the biggest publishing pipelines.

The Game Devs of Color expo has recently featured a showcase containing more than 60 games from creators around the world. Meanwhile, Steam is hosting both the Mexican Entertainment System event, which includes more than 300 games from over 200 Mexican studios, and Serbian Games Week, which features more than 200 games. Both Steam events are scheduled to continue through September 28.

Another collection, Out Of The Box Games, is centered on 130 projects chosen for their unusual mechanics, distinctive art, unexpected ideas and unconventional approaches to storytelling. One of the week's newest releases is included there, and it makes an especially strong case for treating interface design as a playground rather than an obstacle between players and a game.

For developers planning ahead, submissions are also open for the next Day of the Devs showcase. The presentation will air on December 9, one day before The Game Awards, and the deadline to apply is September 28. The event has long been a valuable stage for smaller projects, particularly games that might otherwise struggle to reach a wide audience amid the noise of major seasonal launches.

For useful background on this topic, read John Goodman, Laura Bailey and Ian Alexander Join The Last of Us Season 3.

Control Resonant takes Remedy beyond The Oldest House

Control Resonant is the highest-profile release in this week's selection. Developed and published by Remedy Entertainment, it is available now on Steam for Windows, the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox for PC. Mac versions are planned for later this year through Steam and the App Store. The game is priced at $60.

Its position in an indie roundup may initially seem surprising given its budget, marketing profile and presence on major console storefronts. Remedy remains an independent studio, however, and Control Resonant is a particularly notable example of an independent developer operating at a scale generally associated with much larger publishers.

The game takes a deliberately unexpected path after the original Control. Rather than placing Jesse Faden back at the center of a new story inside the shifting corridors of the Oldest House, Control Resonant makes her brother Dylan the protagonist. It also expands outward into an open-world structure and moves away from the first game's morphing Service Weapon in favor of melee-focused combat.

Early critical reception has generally been positive, though some responses have raised concerns that the combat can grow repetitive over extended sessions. For many fans of the original, though, the larger attraction is likely to be Remedy's peculiar worldbuilding: secretive agencies, impossible spaces, altered objects and a storyline designed to remain intriguing even when it is not immediately straightforward. Accessibility options including invincibility and one-hit kills should also give players a way to prioritize exploration and narrative if the fighting proves frustrating.

Stick It to the Stickman turns corporate climbing into a brawl

Free Lives' Stick It to the Stickman, published by Devolver Digital, has now left early access on Steam. It supports Windows, Mac and SteamOS/Linux, is Steam Deck Verified, and normally costs $12. A 50 percent discount is available until October 1.

This is a satirical roguelite brawler in which climbing the corporate ladder is taken almost painfully literally. Each run sends a worker upward through an office building with the eventual aim of defeating the company CEO and taking the job. The reward is hardly stable employment: the new executive can soon be replaced by another incoming employee, reinforcing the game's view of a workplace defined by disposable people and relentless turnover.

Its stick-figure presentation does not prevent it from being energetic. Players can build a toolkit of attacks that includes flying kicks, staple guns, projectile coffee mugs and even a hadouken. Runs are designed to be short, often only a few minutes, with a starting trait and a handful of moves that can be expanded and upgraded on the way through the building.

There is more than office combat happening around those runs. The overworld includes activities such as dealing with protestors, while a wanted-level concept evokes the escalating chaos of Grand Theft Auto. The basic physical comedy looks to be a key part of the appeal, especially when enemies are kicked through windows or launched into electrical equipment. Yet its anti-capitalist framing is not merely decorative. Spending accumulated money to expand the very company being fought against is an intentionally uncomfortable part of the loop.

With quick attempts, smooth animation and verified Steam Deck support, Stick It to the Stickman looks well suited to short portable sessions as much as longer desktop play.

A dog, a heist and a wardrobe of pawjamas

Doggy Don't Care comes from developer Rohan Nowell and publisher Rotub Games. It is out now on Steam for Windows, carries Steam Deck Verified status and costs $15 normally. A 10 percent launch discount runs until October 8.

The adventure game stars Charlie, a dog left alone at home whose objective is not to wait patiently for an owner to return. Instead, Charlie is encouraged to cause trouble, impress canine friends and collect badges for increasingly unruly behavior. A diamond heist may be part of the mischief, which suggests this is a game that has little interest in modest escalation.

Its unlockable costumes are called "pawjamas," a detail that neatly establishes the intended tone. Players who enjoyed the playful disruption of Untitled Goose Game or the smaller-scale city exploration of Little Kitty, Big City may find a familiar kind of appeal here. Sometimes a game does not need to be more complicated than a compact, cute sandbox for cheerful mayhem, and Doggy Don't Care appears happy to lean into that idea.

Video Game Menu: The Game makes options screens the punchline

Developer Sebastian Gioseffi's Video Game Menu: The Game is available for Windows through Steam and Itch. It normally costs $4, with a 10 percent Steam discount available until September 30. It is also among the games featured in Out Of The Box Games.

The premise is exactly what its name promises: navigating a game menu system. It belongs to the growing "Fake OS" category, where fictional operating systems and interfaces become the setting for play, while also poking fun at that format's familiar conventions.

The humor starts before the game properly begins. Its settings include a selection for the emotional depth of challenges, with choices ranging from "I Just Wanna Kill Some Zombies" to Sophie's Choice. Enabling gore adds splashes of blood whenever a setting is toggled. Players who want meaningless numerical affirmation can turn on a random score, and even airplane mode becomes an opportunity for a joke.

That approach makes the interface itself feel unstable, reactive and worth investigating. Rather than treating menus as dead space before the real experience, Gioseffi turns every ordinary option into a possible trigger for another gag or strange transformation. For players seeking a short, silly game with a low price and an experimental edge, it is an easy recommendation for a weekend download.

Ball x Pit is getting the larger addition its fans have wanted

Looking beyond this week's launches, Ball x Pit: Risen Ballbylon will arrive on November 12. The expansion is developed by Kenny Sun and Friends and published by Devolver Digital. It will be available on Steam for Windows and Mac, where it is Steam Deck Verified, as well as Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox for PC, iOS and Android. It will cost $7.

The base game has already received free updates that added characters and balls, but Risen Ballbylon is a more substantial addition. It includes eight new characters, more than 45 passive abilities, 24 additional balls--including a Kaiju ball--a new resource type and extra structures for the city-building portion of the game.

Most significantly, it will add four fresh levels with new enemies and bosses. The new content is intended to be more difficult, which addresses an interesting tension in the main game's progression. As players accumulate stronger stats and discover effective synergies, stages that initially required lengthy attempts can eventually be cleared extremely quickly. New challenges may give experienced players more room to experiment with the absurdly powerful combinations that make Ball x Pit so replayable.

Two more games to keep on the calendar

Virtue and a Sledgehammer is due on Steam on October 27 for $15. It is being developed by Deconstructeam and Selkie Harbour, with Devolver Digital publishing. The narrative-driven walking simulator gives players a sledgehammer and asks them to smash through androids and buildings while uncovering a protagonist's past and family relationships.

The androids are framed as digitized ghosts of neighbors from the character's hometown, giving the destruction a melancholy and personal layer. Its demo has already made a strong impression, and the full game looks positioned to combine a tactile act of demolition with introspective storytelling rather than treating those concepts as opposites.

Finally, Point N' Sheep's Laser Guy is targeting March 2027 on Steam, where a demo is already available. This twin-stick puzzle game has an unusual rule: shooting anyone is the one thing players must avoid. The protagonist has developed a stress-induced laser beam that cannot be stopped, creating an office navigation problem with potentially lethal consequences.

Players must use furniture and other objects as shields to protect coworkers. Destroying office property is permitted, but touching a colleague with the laser, even briefly, means restarting the room. Explosive objects add another complication. Originating from a game jam held six years ago, Laser Guy has a simple hook with room for clever spatial puzzles, and its demo offers an early chance to see whether that chaotic office premise can sustain a full game.

From supernatural open-world action to dogs planning crimes and interfaces that refuse to behave, this week's slate demonstrates why paying attention to independent games remains so rewarding. There is no single indie style, budget or genre. What connects these projects is a willingness to make a distinct choice--whether that means changing a beloved sequel's protagonist, turning labor politics into slapstick combat or making the settings screen the main event.