non-commercial games
Celebrating Five Years of Indie Games on Itch.io
A few of my favorite games from Itch.io, the five-year-old indie platform.
'Doki Doki Literature Club' Fits in a Tradition of Subversive Visual Novels
How 'Doki Doki Literature Club' fits into—and complicates—the visual novel genre.
In This Cold, Your Only Hope Is Staying Close to the Fire
'A Very Warm Fire' speaks directly to the real-life survival instincts during the bomb cyclone.
This Planet Wants You To Improve It, but It Won't Like Anything You Do
Will 'This Little Planet' ever be perfect? It's a hard ask.
‘The Zium Museum’ is an Art Gallery You Can Download
Take that lunch hour museum visit you keep pretending you’re going to do.
This Psychedelic Game Might Hurt Your Eyes, But it’s Worth it
'Healthy Breakfast is a little bit 'Jazzpunk' but a whole lot weirder.
Take Pictures of Adorable Bunnies in this XKCD-Inspired Game
'Bun Snap' requires you to have razor sharp powers of observation... for cute bunnies.
A Game About Rice Crispy Treats and the Terror of Being Food
‘Crisp Ricies’ invites you to play a fun game, and also contemplate the horrors of the food chain.
A Tiny Game About Lost Memories
'Shrine for the gods of lost things' is a potent, pint-sized meditation on memory.
A Game That's Brutally Honest About Sexism in Tech
Elizabeth Sampat's '8 Vignettes from the Tech Industry' is a very real meditation from a woman working in games and tech.
The 'Super Hexagon' Creator Invites You to Play With Infinite Skeletons
I'd like some more skulls, please!