When you think of Indie Games, what comes to mind? Since the pandemic, gamers’ thoughts around Indie games have drastically changed for the better. Before the pandemic, Indie Games were often considered lesser titles that weren’t as good as their AAA counterparts.

Now, this isn’t because the games were worse, but rather there was less marketing and word of mouth regarding these games. This mentality changed during the pandemic when gamers looked for new stories to experience on a budget or games that they could play with their friends.

VR and Discord went from a phase to an alternate source for individuals to interact with their friends or strangers. Among Us made Indie Games popular and ignited a spark in gamers to seek out other interesting titles such as Expedition 33.

At PAX East, we got to check out a ton of interesting Indie games; if you missed any, click here. Rather than focusing on those titles in this article, we are going to focus on three Indie Games you might have missed at PAX East 2025, that you should definitely check out.

Below, we will be covering Tunnels, Sol Mates, and On Any Journey:

When you think of horror games, what comes to mind? Most likely, you would have said Phasmaphobia, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Alan Wake, Aliens, Dead Space, or maybe even The Mortuary Assistant.

Well, at PAX East, we met with Mastiff to preview their new game, Tunnels. Now, I must be fully transparent, I am awful at VR Games. I easily sway and move in real life, and there has been more than one occasion where I have fallen over because of trying to make my character more in the game by using my own body. So, for the Tunnels‘ demo, since I knew I would be playing a horror game that takes place in a dark, closed environment, I asked the staff if I could play it while sitting down.

In a way, this might have saved me, but in other aspects, it might have caused some of my struggles and tribulations. The game was definitely not made for someone to play it while sitting down.  While Tunnels is meant to give a realistic feeling of moving through a closed environment, sitting down definitely altered the gameplay experience. When we had to reach down to lower ourselves or grab something close to the ground, it made us reach far enough that we almost toppled out of the chair. Thankfully, our friend at the booth, Zac, was close enough to brace us so that we didn’t face plant onto the carpeted concrete floor.

Now, the demo itself was fairly short and went over just the basics of what you should expect while playing the game. For the demo, it showed us how to crawl quickly, pull out a flashlight, grab items, lower ourselves in order to descend down a rock wall, and how to turn quickly when something scary was coming.

During our playthrough, we had trouble hearing the audio queue that warned us a monster was nearby due to loud music from a neighboring booth. Instead, we had to figure out what the visual queue was to warn us of the monster and react based on that. Despite this challenge, when the monster would attack and kill us, it would make me jump each time.  The game’s environment and atmosphere did make it feel like you were having to crawl through a tight space, and that anything could jump out at any moment and get you. 

Tunnels has the potential to be a fun horror game, but with it being on the Meta Quest, it is kind of locked in exclusivity limbo; hopefully, the developers will port the game to other platforms so that others can experience the game. At this time, we are waiting for one of our writers to be free so he can review Tunnels. So if you are interested in Tunnels, make sure to follow Nichegamer on all of our social media platforms and keep an eye out for our review. 

The next game on our list is a fun party game that combines space with Overcooked. In Daruma Games’ Sol Mates, you will need to work together in order to deliver packages, fight off pirates, and survive against alien threats. Each run can be different based on how each player votes, making each delivery different.

While in the spaceship, players will need to maneuver the ship to make sure that shields and turrets are facing the right direction in order to defend against and destroy incoming obstacles and adversaries.

While moving the shield is one thing, you will need to make sure that the battery that powers it is charged; if it runs out of juice, you will need to recharge it at a power station. 

While defense is a great strategy, you won’t get very far without killing enemies or dangerous terrain. In order to take down enemies, you will need to maneuver the ship in order to have the cannons face towards enemies in order to destroy them.

You are able to see how soon each one will attack, so you can prioritize targets. Like the shields, you will need to manage the batteries that power the cannons; on top of managing the batteries, you will also need to refill the cannons’ ammo.

As you progress on the run, you will reach certain markers. These markers will lead to your team needing to make a decision on how to progress. Sometimes, you will have the option to go to a stop in order to upgrade the ship.

Depending on how much money you have made, you will be able to buy certain upgrades. You can also go on a run without getting an upgrade station, so you will need to choose your path carefully. 

The characters within the game are cute and comical; if you look at them, they look like a mixture of Among Us characters with Lockdown Protocol characters. They waddle around the ship in a goofy manner that can be comical, and when they throw ammo, it looks like someone struggling to throw a ball.

The boss himself looks threatening but still friendly, like he is misunderstood. If you are looking for a fun party game to play with friends, then it might be worth checking out Sol Mates. 

Last but certainly not least is a cute little Indie title called On Any Journey from FUNBREW GAMES. On Any Journey is another game that looks to bring couch co-op back into the house.

Now this game has the possibility to rival It Takes Two or Split Fiction. When we went to meet with Funbrew Games at the PAX Rising booth, their booth was small, but the interest in the game was still there.

While waiting to try out the demo, we saw multiple people walk by, look at the game in an interested manner, and then walk away because they got tired of waiting. The game looks interesting from an outsider’s perspective, but sadly, we did not have enough time to sit down with it. 

Do any of these three games seem appealing to you? Which of the three would you be willing to try? Make sure to keep an eye out for other PAX East content.