The ten best indie games released on Steam in 2026 so far, ranked on the Hype Meter. Every release date, price and review score was checked on Steam in October 2026.
#10 Creature Kitchen · #9 Mina the Hollower · #8 The Mermaid Mask · #7 MOLE · #6 How to Fish · #5 Cairn · #4 Esoteric Ebb · #3 Mewgenics · #2 Slay the Spire 2 · #1 Big Walk. Honourable mentions: MOUSE: P.I. For Hire, Far Far West, Fields of Mistria 1.0, Servant of the Lake, Demon Tides, Super Battle Golf.
This is a commentary and review video. Footage: official Steam trailers and screenshots. Big Walk © House House / Panic. Slay the Spire 2 © Mega Crit. Mewgenics © Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel. Esoteric Ebb © Christoffer Bodegård / Raw Fury. Cairn © The Game Bakers. How to Fish © Dazed Games. MOLE © Off Black Creations / Oro Interactive. The Mermaid Mask © SFB Games. Mina the Hollower © Yacht Club Games. Creature Kitchen © The Rat Zone.
Chapters
0:00 Cold Open
0:26 #10 Creature Kitchen
1:09 #9 Mina the Hollower
1:44 #8 The Mermaid Mask
2:28 #7 MOLE
3:03 #6 How to Fish
3:45 #5 Cairn
4:24 #4 Esoteric Ebb
5:10 #3 Mewgenics
5:55 #2 Slay the Spire 2
6:40 #1 Big Walk
7:33 The Hype Meter
HYPE METER: 90/100 — DAY ONE. Big Walk: Overwhelmingly Positive, a 91 on Metacritic, and the best co-op idea of the year.
Sources
• Big Walk on Steam, Steam / House House, Panic, 2026 — https://store.steampowered.com/app/1478500/
• Slay the Spire 2 on Steam, Steam / Mega Crit, 2026 — https://store.steampowered.com/app/2868840/
• Mewgenics on Steam, Steam / Edmund McMillen, Tyler Glaiel, 2026 — https://store.steampowered.com/app/686060/
• Esoteric Ebb on Steam, Steam / Raw Fury, 2026 — https://store.steampowered.com/app/2057760/
• Cairn on Steam, Steam / The Game Bakers, 2026 — https://store.steampowered.com/app/1588550/
• How to Fish on Steam, Steam / Dazed Games, 2026 — https://store.steampowered.com/app/4001890/
• MOLE on Steam, Steam / Oro Interactive, 2026 — https://store.steampowered.com/app/4064510/
• The Mermaid Mask on Steam, Steam / SFB Games, 2026 — https://store.steampowered.com/app/1696770/
• Mina the Hollower on Steam, Steam / Yacht Club Games, 2026 — https://store.steampowered.com/app/1875580/
• Creature Kitchen on Steam, Steam / The Rat Zone, 2026 — https://store.steampowered.com/app/3097300/
• Big Walk review: A walk to remember, Game Informer, 2026 — https://gameinformer.com/review/big-walk/a-walk-to-remember
• Big Walk Review: The Best Co-op Game in Years According to GameSpot, PlayNews, 2026 — https://www.playnews.gg/en/reviews/big-walk-review-the-best-co-op-game-in-years-according-to-gamespot
• Slay the Spire II sells 3.3 million copies as players attempt 25 million runs in first week, GosuGamers, 2026 — https://www.gosugamers.net/entertainment/news/78130-slay-the-spire-ii-sells-3-3-million-copies-as-players-attempt-25-million-runs-in-first-week
• Slay the Spire II hits 574,000 concurrent players, GosuGamers, 2026 — https://www.gosugamers.net/entertainment/news/78102-slay-the-spire-ii-hits-574-000-concurrent-players-12-000-short-of-hollow-knight-silksong-s-record
• How to Fish attracts one million players in two days, Niche Gamer, 2026 — https://nichegamer.com/how-to-fish-attracts-one-million-players-in-two-days/
• Steam’s Best Indie Games of 2026 Have One Thing AAA Keeps Getting Wrong, Game Rant, 2026 — https://gamerant.com/steam-best-indie-games-2026-aaa-games/
• 10 Best Indie Games Of 2026 (So Far), Screen Rant, 2026 — https://screenrant.com/best-indie-games-june-2026/
• Best Indie Games of 2026 So Far, Ranked, Gamer Empire, 2026 — https://gamerempire.com/blog/best-new-indie-games-steam
• It’s time for a Big Walk, out now on PC, Mac, PS5, and Nintendo Switch 2 (press release), Game Developer / Panic, 2026 — https://www.gamedeveloper.com/press-release/it-s-time-for-a-big-walk-out-now-on-pc-mac-ps5-and-nintendo-switch-2
Image & footage credits
• Big Walk — official Steam store media, © Panic
• Creature Kitchen — official Steam store media, © The Rat Zone
• Mina the Hollower — official Steam store media, © Yacht Club Games
• The Mermaid Mask — official Steam store media, © SFB Games
• MOLE — official Steam store media, © Oro Interactive
• How to Fish — official Steam store media, © Dazed Games
• Cairn — official Steam store media, © The Game Bakers
• Esoteric Ebb — official Steam store media, © Raw Fury
• Mewgenics — official Steam store media, © Edmund McMillen, Tyler Glaiel
• Slay the Spire 2 — official Steam store media, © Mega Crit
Narrated with a synthetic voice.
Kiro Games — The games worth your time, ranked.
#indiegames #steam #gaming #bestof2026 #topgames
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