There are just never enough hours in the day to play all the games you want to. And, it’s a heart-breaking fact of life that for most of us there are not enough hours in the day to review all of the amazing titles we get to play. It’s a crying shame. But, we believe that indie titles should not be passed up regardless of our limited time, so what we have come up with is the idea of a monthly feature that will round-up the games we have played.
And, instead of a full fat review, like our standard coverage, we’ll bunch a some together. Then, we can give this indie experiences short, sharp and bite sized reviews.
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Very similar to the end of year round up we did last year before our Game of the Year, only this section will focus more on indie titles and the like, but that’s not to say the AAA guys will not pop up from time to time.
Blazing Trail
Gamenergy Studio
Price: £10.74
An indie vehicle-based shooter that pulls inspiration from classic 80s titles like Jackal. The goal in Blazing Trail is to blast your way through a jungle warzone, blasting everything that moves. All while saving POWs and grabbing upgrades to become even more deadly.
Things fall part quite quickly though as your jeep is extremely slow and sluggish, as well as having a weird movement, as the whole thing is built around a grid – due to the game having an isometric view. Making driving around very clunky and leaves you more often than not, as a big sitting duck.
Aiming is really hit and miss too; as you use machine guns, missiles and lasers to take down enemy soldiers, demolish buildings and shoot down aircrafts. Plus, there are a few interesting bosses to battle across the 7 levels. Although clunky and overly stiff on the movement and gunning front, there is moments of fun to be had here, though it’s a shadow of the 80s classics that inspired it.
SCORE: 2/5
KIBORG
Sobaka Studio
Price: £24.99
KIBORG is a rogue-lite crossed with a beat’em up, where you can enhance your body with new cybernetic implants making yourself stronger run after run. The game sees you having to unlock your tale, by pushing deeper and deeper into its world. Where your only goal is to escape a futuristic prison, while an (extremely badly voiced) alien thing barks at you all the way.
Though, spoilers, you’re serving a 1300-year sentence. The only way to shorten this sentence is to win on “The Last Ticket” a twisted gauntlet, where you’ll fight bigger and stronger enemies trying to reach the shuttle on the roof of the prison. Gameplay is a indie hybrid of beat’em ups action, shooting and a healthy dash of rogue-like genre. The fighting is fast, brutal and deadly, as you sever limbs and crush skulls; all while your body grows with new cybernetics you add to it floor after floor.
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The most interesting idea as the cybernetic, doesn’t only give you buffs and perks, but also change how you look in the game, so no two runs will be the same. Despite a mixed presentation and a few rough edges KIBORG is entertaining for a while, but odds are you’ll just end up bored, as it falls into a mindless button masher.
SCORE: 2.5/5
Pocket Bravery
Statera Studio
Price: £16.99
A tribute to fighting titles of the past, especially those on the Neo Geo; like The King of Fighters, but with all the features and polishes of a game crafted for 2025. Packed full of modes you would expect from a brawler, there is also an in-depth tutorial and training mode, though ultimately truly challenging selection of online modes too.
You get 10 fighters to pick from at launch – each with their own look, fighting style and feel. Meaning you have to spend time with each of them to really understand their move sets.
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Gameplay is razor sharp, which nails that easy to pick up and play, but very hard to master vibe. Where you’ll easily get by, button mashing, but if you dig into the move sets, you’ll be pulling off special moves in no time in your combo chain. Online is smooth and fairly lag free, especially considering this is an indie title, making it ever more impressive.
Pocket Bravery is an outstanding fighting game, that embraces a period of the genre often forgotten about. Nailing it perfectly, while also delivering an outstanding fighter that could easily stand toe to toe with the Street Fighters, Mortal Kombats and Tekkens of the world.
SCORE: 5/5
Promise Mascot Agency
Kaizen Game Works
Price: £20.99
Promise Mascot Agency is one of those games that comes along every so often and just has you say “WTF” over and over, as you play through a fever dream. A game that blends open-world exploration, a card battler, business management sim, racing and a visual novel together. Promise Mascot Agency feels and plays like nothing before.
The games tale is wild but in short you play as a disgraced Yakuza who must redeem himself, by not only rebuilding a business and repaying his old boss. So far so normal. You do all of this with a mascot, who is a thumb called Pinky – who is a psychopath.
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There is a lot of visual novel set up at the start of the game to get you on board, which will be fine with most. Some may feel it take too long to get into the gameplay. This mostly sees you driving around the fairly big world, finding and recruiting new mascots to send on jobs, meeting the locals to get jobs from, all while clearing up shrines, upgrading your Kei-inspired micro van, and cleaning the place up.
The exploration side is played fully from your Kei truck. You drive while Pinky holds on for dear life in the back. The card game element comes into play when you have to help a mascot on a job. Here, you have a limited number of cards to play that have different points to defeat some strange enemies; like a normal sized door, playful dog and a broken can machine.
Promise Mascot Agency made me say WTF a lot during play, but always with a smile. This is a game that knows it’s weird and fully embraces it. A unique and enduring adventure, that’s worth your time.
SCORE: 5/5
Crime Scene Cleaner
Price: £20.99
If you’re a fan of PowerWash Simulator or House Flipper series, odds are high that you’ll like what Crime Scene Cleaner brings to the table. As it takes a more blood-soaked look at the oddly compelling cleaning genre. This indie title tells a tale of a single father who is a junior, but his daughter is also not well. So, to make ends meet you start moonlighting doing jobs for the criminal underworld, where you get a call to a job (often in the dead of night) and have to get your hands dirty in more ways than one.
The game is played over ten or so chapters that act as different jobs. Each location offers a new challenge and mess to tackle. Each chapter also drops nudges of the tale pre- and post-job, which helps to flesh out things beyond just cleaning. The writing is questionable at best, and the writing is worse.
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When on the job, you’ll have to use your arsenal of grime-fighting gear, from mops and buckets, to jet washers. As you play, you’ll bank cash you can then spend to upgrade your gear so you can do, reach or carry more. You can also steal any valuables you find along the way like jewellery, statues or just loose cash. There are also a number of secrets to find with extra goodies, so exploring each job location will reward you in the long run too.
Crime Scene Cleaner is a game that does nothing new for the indie-darling cleaning sim genre, but will appeal to some who will have a blast as they lose hours just cleaning from its agreeably mundane tasks. Ohers will find the game as a bit of a curio worth a go, but your miles will vary.
SCORE: 3.5/5
Mandragora Whispers of the Witch Tree
Price: £33.49
A 2.5D indie take on the Soulslike action RPG, Mandragora Whispers of the Witch Tree takes place in a very dark high fantasy world. One full of monsters, cults and things that call the shadows home.
You play as a dark inquisitor whose sole task has been rooting out heretics and enforcing the King Priest’s will. A duty you have performed without question, until now. A decent start but the tale takes a backseat really unless you go out your way to find out more.
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You start by building your inquisitor from one of six unique classes. Each has pros and cons, but will likely see you wielding blades and magic. There is a real Metroidvania feel to exploring, as you will often find areas you just can’t get to at that moment and will need to come back to later, with an upgrade; like a grappling hook or stomp attack.
Combat is deep but manageable. At no point do you feel cheated, with your demise mostly coming through your own action or inaction. Boss fights are a mixed bag. Some throw up a compelling challenge, while others feel a bit repetitive as you slay one too many giant rats in the early game.
Mandragora Whispers of the Witch Tree is visually dark and foreboding, and it nails the vibe. A gothic soundtrack and surprisingly good voice acting only enrich the whole thing. Mandragora Whispers of the Witch Tree is a solid title that has some interesting features and elements that can get its hooks into you, though it lacks that level of polish to make it a must play.
SCORE: 3/5