Few corners of the indie scene feel quite as creatively unpredictable as the current wave of mid-budget experimental projects, where smaller studios are increasingly blending genres, tones and gameplay systems in ways larger publishers rarely attempt. That ambition is on full display across Survivor Mercs, RoadOut and No Stone Unturned – three wildly different games that all embrace mechanical experimentation over safe familiarity. Whether it’s Wolpertinger Games transforming the survivors-like formula into a tactical extraction shooter, Rastrolabs Game Studio mashing together arcade racing and Zelda-inspired dungeon crawling, or Wise Monkey Entertainment delivering an absurdist detective adventure filled with mini-games and fourth-wall-breaking humour, each project feels driven more by enthusiasm and personality than strict convention. Not every idea lands perfectly, and all three games carry their share of rough edges, but together they highlight exactly why the indie space remains such a fascinating place to explore.
Survivor Mercs review (PS5)
Wandering Wizard and Wolpertinger Games take the ever-expanding survivors-like genre and inject it with a stronger tactical identity in Survivor Mercs, a squad-based roguelite shooter that feels closer to a hybrid of Vampire Survivors and an extraction shooter than a straightforward bullet heaven clone. The setup is knowingly ridiculous, casting players as disposable cloned commanders sent to fight an oppressive robot corporation with a roster of mercenaries that are barely more stable than the battlefield itself. While the narrative framework never develops beyond light sci-fi satire, the game benefits from a strong sense of identity and a gameplay structure that consistently pushes players to weigh risk against reward. The extraction-focused design gives runs a welcome sense of urgency, especially when deciding whether to safely leave with valuable resources or push deeper into increasingly dangerous encounters.
The biggest strength of Survivor Mercs lies in how much more active it feels than many of its genre contemporaries. Rather than simply dodging while attacks fire automatically, combat relies heavily on twin-stick shooting, dashing, positioning, and squad coordination. Mercenaries effectively become extensions of your build, each bringing distinct weapons, behaviors, and upgrade paths that can dramatically alter the flow of a run. Unlocking bunker upgrades and slowly expanding your headquarters adds a satisfying long-term progression loop as well, giving even failed runs a sense of forward momentum. At the same time, the progression can occasionally feel grind-heavy, particularly during the early hours when unlocking stronger builds takes time and weaker loadouts make survival feel more like attrition than empowerment. The difficulty curve can also spike harshly, especially once extraction timers expire and enemy density ramps up dramatically.
On PS5, the controls feature responsive aiming and movement, helping the combat remain engaging even during chaotic encounters. The option to automate firing is a welcome accessibility touch, allowing players to focus more on tactical movement and squad management if they prefer. Mission variety also helps prevent repetition from settling in too quickly, with escort objectives, survival challenges, and boss encounters adding variety to the standard enemy-clearing formula. Still, Survivor Mercs occasionally struggles with pacing and balance. Certain mercs and weapon combinations feel far more effective than others, and AI squadmates can sometimes behave unpredictably when battles become crowded. Technical roughness also remains noticeable in places, with bugs and progression hiccups occasionally undermining the otherwise addictive gameplay loop.
Visually, Survivor Mercs embraces a gritty low-fi style that prioritizes readability over spectacle, though the battlefield still becomes satisfyingly chaotic once squads, explosions, and swarms of robotic enemies fill the screen. Character art and bunker management screens inject more personality into the experience than the environments themselves, while the soundtrack and sound effects do a solid job of maintaining momentum during longer runs. Despite its rough edges, there’s an impressive amount of ambition packed into the package, particularly considering its modest price point. Survivor Mercs may not fully escape the balancing issues and technical blemishes it has, but its blend of squad-building, extraction mechanics, and active twin-stick combat gives it enough originality to stand out in an overcrowded genre. For players looking for a survivors-like that demands more involvement than simply circling enemies endlessly, this is one worth checking out.
RoadOut review (PS5)
Rastrolabs Game Studio’s debut title RoadOut feels like the result of someone throwing classic Zelda-style dungeon crawling, old-school arcade racers and top-down open world chaos into the same blender and somehow getting a mostly coherent action RPG out of it. Set in the wasteland of The Dead Zone, the game follows mercenary Claire as she drives between rival factions, uncovers conspiracies involving rogue A.I., and takes on contracts that range from straightforward delivery jobs to chaotic firefights and demolition races. The narrative leans heavily on familiar post-apocalyptic and cyberpunk tropes, and Claire’s abrasive personality can make it difficult to become emotionally invested in the story, but there’s still an entertaining B-movie energy to the whole thing that keeps the campaign moving at a decent pace.
The biggest surprise is how much variety RoadOut manages to squeeze into its relatively modest scope. Driving through the wasteland in a weaponized car gives the game a distinct rhythm, especially once races, combat encounters and environmental hazards start piling on. The dungeon sections are arguably the stronger half of the experience, however, thanks to their rotating camera mechanic that reveals hidden pathways, switches and puzzle solutions in clever ways. Combat combines melee attacks, ranged weapons, dodges and shielding into something that’s fast and satisfying when everything clicks, and the crafting and progression systems add just enough RPG depth to encourage experimentation with upgrades, tattoos and faction-aligned skills.
That ambition does come at a cost. The on-foot combat sometimes struggles to balance defensive stamina management with the speed and aggression of its enemies, leading to encounters that can feel frustratingly messy instead of challenging. Difficulty spikes appear regularly, some dungeons overstay their welcome, and the camera occasionally works against the player during larger battles. And while some players will enjoy the loose arcade-style drifting and vehicle combat, others may find the handling awkward and imprecise, particularly during tighter navigation or combat-heavy sequences. The open world itself also lacks visual variety at times, with repeated environmental assets making certain stretches of exploration feel more repetitive than atmospheric.
Still, even with its rough edges, RoadOut has personality to spare. Its mix of crunchy pixel art, pseudo-3D dungeon design and synth-heavy soundtrack gives the game a strong identity, and there’s an infectious enthusiasm behind how many ideas it tries to juggle at once. Not every mechanic lands cleanly, and the game could have benefited from tighter pacing and more polished controls, but there’s enough charm, creativity and mechanical experimentation here to make the journey worthwhile for players willing to tolerate some inconsistency along the way. Fans of retro-inspired action RPGs and arcade racers will probably find quite a bit to enjoy in Claire’s dusty little apocalypse.
No Stone Unturned review (PC)
Wise Monkey Entertainment’s No Stone Unturned has arrived in Early Access with the kind of confidence most comedy-focused adventure games spend years trying to build. Playing as Detective Cox – an amnesiac squirrel attempting to solve the suspicious death of a chicken in the oddly named Orchard-Under-Hill – players are immediately thrown into a world that mixes murder mystery conventions with relentless absurdist humour, fourth-wall-breaking jokes and a cast of eccentric anthropomorphic townsfolk. The tone swings wildly between cozy detective adventure and outright parody, but it usually manages to hold itself together thanks to strong comedic timing and a world that feels genuinely lived-in. Not every joke lands, and the script occasionally pushes its humour so aggressively that conversations can feel overwritten or overly tutorialised, but even when the writing stumbles there’s an undeniable enthusiasm and passion behind it all.
Structurally, No Stone Unturned blends traditional point-and-click investigation with a constant stream of mini-games, environmental puzzles and exploration segments that rarely let the experience become repetitive. One moment players are interrogating suspects and tracing evidence through Detective Cox’s doodle-filled notebook, while the next they’re navigating stealth sequences, rhythm-inspired encounters or arcade-style diversions that feel pulled from a WarioWare compilation. That unpredictability gives the game a chaotic energy that works heavily in its favour, especially because the mini-games are generally brief and intuitive enough to avoid becoming frustrating. Some mechanics are stronger than others, though. Certain stealth and chase sections rely a little too heavily on trial-and-error design, and the actual deduction mechanics can feel lighter than expected, often presenting conclusions rather than allowing players to truly piece together the mystery themselves. Even so, the variety keeps the pacing lively throughout the current two-to-three-hour case (eventually, there should be six of them).
The presentation is where No Stone Unturned truly separates itself from countless other indie detective games. Its detailed pixel-art environments are packed with personality, while conversations transition into expressive hand-drawn portraits that exaggerate every reaction for comedic effect. The contrast between the cozy village aesthetic and the game’s bizarre humor gives Orchard-Under-Hill a memorable identity, helped further by fully voiced dialogue that commits wholeheartedly to the absurdity. Detective Cox himself carries much of the game through sheer charisma, balancing overconfidence, stupidity and earnest charm in a way that somehow remains endearing instead of irritating. The soundtrack and occasional musical sequences add even more theatrical flair to the package, reinforcing the sense that Wise Monkey Entertainment is throwing every creative idea it came up with into the project. At times the sheer volume of dialogue and constant attempts at humor can become exhausting, particularly during longer exposition-heavy scenes, but the commitment to style is difficult not to admire.
Even in its unfinished state, No Stone Unturned already feels unusually distinctive. The first case is relatively short and still rough around the edges, with a few awkward progression issues and gameplay systems that could use more depth before full release, but the foundation is undeniably strong. More importantly, it succeeds at carving out its own identity in a crowded indie space by refusing to play anything entirely straight. Between the excellent presentation, genuinely inventive mini-games and an ongoing mystery that leaves plenty of unanswered questions, Detective Cox’s strange little adventure shows enormous potential. Whether the full release can maintain that momentum across its remaining episodes remains to be seen, but based on this Early Access debut, Wise Monkey Entertainment has already delivered one of the more memorable and ambitious comedy-driven detective games in recent memory.