Control Resonant, rapidfire CEO turnovers and other new indie games worth checking out

Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. As always, we've got a bunch of games that you can dive into this weekend. We'll take a look at some upcoming titles and expansions that are firmly on my wishlist.

Let's get things started with a look at some of this week's events. This year's Game Devs of Color expo took place, and it included a showcase that featured more than 60 games from around the world. Over on Steam, the delightfully named Mexican Entertainment System event (which features more than 300 games from 200-plus Mexican studios) and Serbian Games Week (including more than 200 games) both run until September 28.

I also like the concept of Out Of The Box Games, which features "130 games that surprise, challenge, and delight through bold ideas, unexpected mechanics, distinctive art and unconventional storytelling." We'll get to one of the titles featured in that event in a bit.

A quick heads up for any indie developers who are reading (hi, hello, tell me about your games!): Day of the Devs has opened up submissions for its next showcase, which will air on December 9, a day before The Game Awards. This is a can't-miss event for indie game fans. It always features a bunch of cool titles, so shoot your shot and maybe Day of the Devs will include your project. You've got until September 28 — which is this Monday — to put your name in the hat. As it turns out, you don't necessarily need to pay curators through the nose to get eyeballs on your games.

Also, be sure to check out our chat with the developers of Dressmaker, which came out this week. It's a neat-looking game that boatloads of people have been excited for, and I wasn't surprised to see it soar up the Steam Top Sellers chart. The backstory of how Dressmaker came to be is one worth reading.

Control Resonant

Developer/publisher: Remedy Entertainment
Platforms: Steam (Windows), Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox for PC. Coming to Mac via Steam and the App Store later this year
Price: $60

Yes, Control Resonant is an indie game, even if it has a far bigger budget than most games we feature in this weekly roundup. I even saw a full-screen homepage ad for it when I opened my browser on Thursday, the day it was released. Still, Remedy is an independent studio, so it falls within our remit.

I've been looking forward to this ever since we learned five years ago that a sequel to Control was likely on the way. I figured we'd see more of Jesse Faden's misadventures through The Oldest House. But that's not the case here. 

Remedy isn't a studio known for sticking to convention. It defied expectations by making Jesse's brother Dylan the protagonist, expanding the scope from the confines of a shape-shifting building to an open world and ditching the morphable service weapon in favor of melee combat.

I haven't had time to jump in yet and I'm very much looking forward to doing that over the weekend. The reviews I've read have generally been positive, though some noted that the combat becomes repetitive. I don't mind that much, though. The combat wasn't what I cared about in Control. The world and story Remedy built in that game were confounding and captivating, and that's what I'm ready to see more of in Control Resonant. If combat gets too tedious, there's always the option to turn on invincibility and one-hit kills.

Stick It to the Stickman

Developer: Free Lives
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Platform: Steam (Windows, Mac, SteamOS/Linux; Steam Deck Verified)
Price: Usually $12, with a 50 percent discount until October 1

I appreciate art that has a clear point of view, and Stick It to the Stickman doesn't shy away from getting its point across. This is a satirical, anti-capitalist roguelite brawler. The main loop sees you rise up the corporate ladder (well, the floors of a building) to defeat your company's CEO and take their job. Then you do it all over again as a new employee. The rate of turnover at this company is incredibly high, so I think it says something that the characters are effectively stick figures with few defining features.

Along the way, you'll battle your coworkers using a wide range of attacks, from a staple gun and flying kick to a hadouken and a projectile coffee mug. You'll start each run (which takes just a few minutes) with a certain character trait and a few moves, and unlock and upgrade abilities as you move through the building. There's lots going on in the overworld too, where you might be tasked with tackling protestors or earn a Grand Theft Auto-style police wanted level.

I've played an hour or so of Stick It to the Stickman, which left early access this week and I've enjoyed my time with it so far. The animations are smooth and kicking enemies through windows or into electrical panels does not get old. I'm tickled by the frequent appearances of the former colleague who recommends your first character for a job and is immediately replaced by them. The short runs help make it a good Steam Deck game too.

It's probably not best to think about what's going on too closely, though. Spending your avatars' hard-earned cash on expanding the company feels ghoulish, even if you do get some perks out of it.

Doggy Don't Care

Developer: Rohan Nowell
Publisher: Rotub Games
Platform: Steam (Windows; Steam Deck Verified)
Price: Usually $15, with a 10 percent discount until October 8

In Doggy Don't Care, the outfits that you unlock for the trouble-making pup are called "pawjamas." That's all I really needed to know to realize this adventure game is for me. It helps that reviews have suggested fans of Untitled Goose Game and Little Kitty Big City (I like both of those!) will enjoy it.

You play as Charlie, a pup that's left home alone by its owner, and your mission is to cause carnage and impress his friends. You'll earn badges for your mischievous deeds, which may just involve a diamond heist. It looks chaotic and pretty cute. Sometimes, you just need something that's chaotic and pretty cute.

Video Game Menu: The Game

Developer/publisher: Sebastian Gioseffi
Platforms: Steam (Windows), Itch
Price: Usually $4, with a 10 percent discount on Steam until September 30

Video Game Menu: The Game is one of the titles included in the Out of the Box showcase. It's a short game that slots into the burgeoning Fake OS genre while simultaneously parodying that category. As you might imagine, it's all about navigating a video game menu system. Things very quickly get utterly ridiculous.

I've played a bit of Video Game Menu and developer Sebastian Gioseffi sets the right tone immediately. As I do with pretty much every game, I opened the settings before doing anything else. I was tickled to see a drop-down menu that allowed me to choose from a range of emotional depth options for the challenges, ranging from "I Just Wanna Kill Some Zombies" to Sophie's Choice. Turn on the gore option and every time you toggle a setting, there's a splash of blood. If you like to see numbers arbitrarily go up, why not switch on the random score? You'll never guess what happens when you enable airplane mode either.

I hadn't even started the game yet and I was enjoying how the settings warped what I was seeing and hearing. I won't give anything else away, but if you're looking for something silly to play this weekend, Video Game Menu is right there.

Ball x Pit: Risen Ballbylon

Developer: Kenny Sun and Friends
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Platforms: Steam (Windows, Mac; Steam Deck Verified), Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox for PC, iOS, Android
Release date: November 12
Price: $7

I adore Ball x Pit, which was my second-favorite game of 2025 after Öoo. While I've enjoyed the free updates that introduced more balls and characters throughout the year, I've been waiting for something more. In a few weeks, we'll get just that.

The Risen Ballbylon expansion will add eight new characters, more than 45 passive abilities, 24 fresh balls (including a Kaiju one!), another type of resource and extra structures for the city-builder side. Most importantly, I'm glad to hear that the DLC includes four levels with new bosses and enemies. These are said to be more challenging, which is definitely welcome.

An unfortunate element of Ball x Pit is that the game gets easier as you progress and improve your stats. Levels that once might have taken you 30 minutes to beat at the beginning can be cleared in mere moments once you find the right synergies.

I cannot wait to dive back in and discover new game-breaking combos. I've played many, many hours of Ball x Pit, and I'm ready to sink a lot more time into it. I'm sure there's nothing else going on in the gaming world in November that'll tug at my attention.

Virtue and a Sledgehammer

Developer: Deconstructeam, Selkie Harbour
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Platforms: Steam
Release date: October 27
Price: $15

The demo for Virtue and a Sledgehammer is one of the best things I've played this year, so I am jazzed to check out the full game next month. It's a narrative-driven walking simulator in which you bash through androids and buildings with a sledgehammer.

These machines are essentially the digitized ghosts of your hometown neighbors. They provide some flavor as you dive into your character's past and relationship with their family. I'm glad this is not the game Devolver opted to directly put up against Grand Theft Auto 6 in November, because I want to give this one my full attention for a while.

Laser Guy

Developer/publisher: Point N' Sheep
Platform: Steam (demo available)
Release window: March 2027

We're wrapping things up with a twin-stick game in which the object is not to shoot anyone. Your character suddenly can't stop shooting a stress-induced laser beam, a bit like Cyclops from the X-Men if he didn't have his visor on. That's a bit of a problem when you work with other folks, so you'll have to make your way through the office without incinerating any of them in this puzzle game.

Laser Guy stems from a game jam that took place six years ago. There are some fun ideas in the demo, in which you can use objects around the office to shield (presumably innocent) coworkers from your laser eye. You can destroy the furniture, but catching a colleague in your gaze even for a moment means you'll need to restart the room. Explosive objects tripped me up a few times here, and I was into every second of it.