indie games – New indie titles span chainsaw action, music-driven sims, rhythm brawlers, and roguelite deckbuilders, plus a rover photography game in early access.
A chainsaw-powered sandbox can look fantastic on paper, but Motorslice shows how easily that promise can stumble once the controls and pacing don’t quite land.
In Motorslice. players take on the role of P. aiming to destroy every machine across an oversized construction site using a chainsaw-style weapon.. The game leans into style and structure rather than strict realism. with a third-person camera that effectively acts like its own character. plus a companion drone that travels alongside P.. The movement system is also a highlight on concept alone. using parkour-like traversals and chainsaw-assisted climbing along walls. a design choice that nods to Mirror’s Edge-style flow while trying to keep the action dynamic.
The visuals and boss designs also carry weight.. The low-poly look helps the world read clearly. and the bosses draw comparisons to Shadow of the Colossus in how they’re presented.. In trailers. those big set-piece ideas seem to promise memorable fights. and the game’s foundations are clearly trying to build something distinctive.
But the experience can fall apart quickly for some players.. The controls are described as too imprecise for the parkour demands, making platforming more frustrating than empowering.. The result is a lot of deaths. noted as surprisingly graphic. even if respawns are quick enough to keep players from being stuck for long.. The review also flags stretches of running with little to focus on. leaving long passages that mainly funnel toward the next ominous section of the world.
There are also concerns about how P is portrayed. The character is described as being objectified in a way that feels uncomfortable. Combined with the travel-heavy pacing and the control frustrations, Motorslice lands less convincingly than its concept suggests.
Even so, Motorslice is available now on Steam, GOG, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox for PC. It typically costs $20, with a 10 percent launch discount running until May 19. It’s also included for subscribers via Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
Another wave of releases this week leans into music in a more conversational way.. Wax Heads is a record store simulation where you talk with customers and recommend albums and songs based on what they want to hear.. The premise is built around community energy, framing music discovery as something social rather than purely transactional.
All of the songs and albums featured in Wax Heads were created specifically for the game, spanning pop, punk, metal, rap, folk, and other styles. That variety is part of the pitch: the soundtrack isn’t just background filler, it’s the core content the simulation is built around.
Wax Heads is developed by the two-person studio Patattie Games and published by Curve Games. It’s out now on Steam, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox for PC, and Nintendo Switch. Pricing is typically $15, and a 15 percent discount is available until May 19.
For players looking for music mechanics tied more directly to combat, Dead as Disco arrives as a rhythm brawler.. The game has reportedly generated strong early momentum. with more than 1.2 million players trying the demo and early Steam reviews landing positively.. It’s currently available in early access on both Steam and the Epic Games Store. usually priced at $25 with a 20 percent discount until May 19.
At launch, players can jump into the first arc of what will become a larger narrative campaign.. The soundtrack for that initial arc includes more than 30 songs, pulling together licensed tracks, covers, and original music.. The rhythm focus also extends into creativity: players can play to the beat of their own music by adding tracks to the game.
Developer Brain Jar Games has outlined additional plans that go beyond the opening arc. including more bosses. more moves. and a co-op mode.. More accessibility features, additional songs, collectibles, and support for more languages are also listed as upcoming work.. If the full early access price isn’t the right fit yet. a Steam demo is available to sample the game first.
The week’s roguelite deckbuilder entry leans into absurdity with Sticker/Ball. part of the growing incremental deckbuilder wave shaped by games like Balatro. CloverPit. and Raccoin.. The core loop is straightforward: each round requires you to reach a target points threshold to keep your run alive. and the strategy revolves around breaking the game’s rules in increasingly profitable ways.
Sticker/Ball centers on firing balls at dice.. Players earn points by hitting dice, with bonuses building when balls bounce between them.. Stickers then become the engine for chaos, augmenting the dice in ways that can chain together.. The results can stack into runaway scores, and the game leans into strange, image-heavy interactions.
A few example sticker effects capture that tone.. One describes how “poop attracts flies. ” while “spiders make webs. ” “spider webs catch flies. ” and “more points for you.” The premise also includes the kind of creative nonsense that appears across roguelites. including frogs that can hijack spaceships. alongside many other combinations.. The game features more than 100 stickers.
Sticker/Ball is built by solo developer Bilge and published by Future Friends Games. It’s available now on Steam and usually costs $8, with a 30 percent discount until May 18.
Not every release in this roundup uses music as the main hook.. Rova offers a quieter premise with a space rover photography focus, built by FreeRangeDevs.. Its cel-shaded art direction draws a comparison to Rollerdrome. but the intent appears to be more laidback: capturing the environment becomes a core activity rather than chasing high-speed thrills.
The game’s charm extends to its design. The rover is shaped like a dog, a detail described as “Rover as a rover,” and the world is treated like a place to document. Every object players snap into images becomes part of a research database, building a record of what’s on the planet.
Rova’s current early access version includes the first fully explorable planet.. At least one additional planet is planned, with dynamic weather systems on the roadmap.. The developers also outline the ability to let crew members ride along on the rover. expanding how players can experience the missions and exploration.
Rova is available on Steam. It typically costs $8 and is currently discounted by 20 percent until May 22.
Across these releases. a broader pattern emerges: indie games are increasingly using niche themes—chainsaw traversal. record-store chatter. rhythm combat. and sticker-driven dice chaos—to differentiate themselves fast.. The catch is that innovation doesn’t always translate into an easy-to-control experience. as Motorslice illustrates. while other titles aim to make the unusual premise feel like it was always the point.
indie games Motorslice Wax Heads rhythm brawler roguelite deckbuilder Rova rover photography game releases