2025 will be remembered as the year indies stopped asking for a seat at the table and built their own. While AAA studios double down on live-service fatigue, games like Expedition 33 have shown players will rally behind bold ideas – and this year’s IndieQuest lineup delivered them in force.
Indie Quest 2025 is a digital showcase event dedicated to independently developed Japanese Role-Playing Games (JRPGs). Curated by Taylor Hoyt of the YouTube channel The Gaming Shelf, the event premiered on May 29, 2025.
This wasn’t just another showcase – it was a manifesto. From Forge of the Fae’s spellbinding pixel artistry to Infinite Alliance’s love-letter crossover chaos, these titles weaponized nostalgia while pushing boundaries. No battle passes. No algorithm-chasing. Just pure, unfiltered creativity proving “indie” no longer means “small” – it means “essential.”
Tactical masterclasses (Tactics Returners) stood shoulder-to-shoulder with genre-defying experiments (Luminous Nights), all sharing one truth: RPGs’ future isn’t being written by corporate committees, but by passionate creators. The revolution isn’t coming – it’s here.
Here are the 10 IndieQuest standouts that didn’t just impress – they demanded we pay attention.
Forge of the Fae
A tactical RPG where every spell feels like a brushstroke come to life. Forge of the Fae elevates pixel art to high art, with animations so fluid they blur the line between combat and canvas. But it’s the morally gray fae politics—where alliances shift like the wind—that’ll keep you hooked long after the last boss falls.
Alterium Shift
Chrono Trigger’s spirit meets modern precision in this time-bending RPG. The twist? Positioning is everything. Flank an enemy to trigger team combos, or manipulate turn order to rewrite battles on the fly. A masterclass in making turn-based combat feel dynamic, not dated.
Tactics Returners
The Final Fantasy Tactics successor we’ve begged for, polished to a mirror sheen. Maps react to your choices (burn forests, flood valleys), while its class system offers staggering depth without overwhelming. Proof that “accessible” and “hardcore” aren’t mutually exclusive.
Colossus – Eternal Blight
A pixel-art action RPG where you play as Lucian, fighting through a blight-corrupted world to save your brother. Its tight, skill-based combat rewards parries and dodges like a 2D Dark Souls, while Blight Arts let you trade health for devastating mutations. Every choice—from alliances to exploration—echoes in a story where corruption seeps into both the land and the soul.
Project BS
A 3D action RPG where you play as Sienna, a fierce dragonewt girl carving her legend through a vibrant fantasy world. Master fluid, combo-driven combat against rivals and colossal beasts, then lose yourself in landscapes that shift between lush valleys and storm-wracked ruins. More than a quest—it’s a coming-of-age firestorm, where every battle etches your name deeper into the world’s lore.
Luminous Nights
Platforming as poetic motion. Leap through bioluminescent ruins where light is your weapon, painting the darkness with every dash and strike. The closest gaming’s come to playing a Studio Ghibli dream sequence.
Last Moon
A melancholic ode to 16-bit classics, where every step through its fading world feels like a eulogy in motion
Seed of Nostalgia
Farm by day, dungeon-crawl by night in this EarthBound-tinged hybrid. The turn-based battles crackle with SNES-era charm, but it’s the cozy-farm-meets-lovecraftian-horror twist that surprises.
Infinite Alliance
The ultimate indie RPG crossover event. Build a dream team from familiar faces (and deep-cut surprises), then unleash combo attacks that rewrite the rules of reality. Pure, unfiltered joy for genre devotees.
Legends of Starkadia
Open-world RPG meets Saturday morning cartoon. Whether you’re taming neon griffins or trading barbs with a pirate crew, its writing walks the tightrope between witty and heartfelt—and never falls off.
IndieQuest 2025 didn’t just highlight promising games—it drew a line in the sand. These creators aren’t waiting for permission, algorithms, or legacy clout. They’re redefining what it means to play, to feel, and to dream through games. In an industry bloated with sameness, these titles remind us that rebellion starts small—and that’s exactly where greatness is born. The next era of RPGs won’t be handed down from the top. It’ll rise from the underground, glowing with conviction.
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