11 Indie Games That Stood Out at DreamHack Birmingham

2 hours ago 2

Published Apr 5, 2026, 12:30 PM EDT

Linda Güster is a natively German, UK-based gaming journalist specialising in video games and esports. Previously, she focused on news, features, reviews and interviews, reporting on gaming culture and industry developments, including on-site coverage from major international events.

DreamHack Birmingham has wrapped up, and the experience of visiting included a little bit of everything, all at once. Esports, vendors, creators, over 54,000 people running around everywhere, and then, tucked away neatly in between all of this, a bunch of indie games just waiting to be explored.

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I kept getting stuck in booths for longer than I meant to, talking to developers, replaying demos, and with the games I am mentioning below, I ended up still thinking about them when I was already on my way back home.

11 Ink Strings

Connecting Dots Shouldn’t Feel This Good

Developer

Publisher

Release Date

Tombobulus Games

TBA

Ink Strings clicked near instantly for me. It’s pretty simple on the surface: You connect lines and solve the puzzles that the game throws at you. Within minutes, it becomes very clear how deliberate the design choices are, making the game feel almost zen-like.

The demo is available online, and it might make you stick around longer than anticipated. The mechanics that are added as gameplay progresses feel elegant, and the pacing never rushes you towards anything. I like it when games trust that you stay because you want to, not because they overwhelm you with tasks.

10 Beast Breaker

Peggle, But Make It Fun

Developer

Publisher

Release Date

Vodeo Games, Huey Games

Kando Factory, Vodeo Games

26 Mar, 2026

Beast Breaker was actually released back in 2021, both on Switch and PC. Back then, it was released under an exclusivity agreement with Epic. It flew completely under my radar, but I am so pleased to have become acquainted with its Steam release at DreamHack. The best way to describe it is probably as Peggle crossed with Monster Hunter.

At its core, it’s somewhat like pinball. You launch yourself at enemies, bounce off of them, break pieces of them off, and try to maximize every last move. On top of that, there is a whole level of tactical decisions needing to be made. Every shot needs to be made deliberately, because you don’t just want to score points, but also plan how to dismantle something much bigger than you, piece by piece, turn by turn.

I was almost expecting to see NUTMEG! mentioned at DreamHack. I had already played the demo a few months ago, and even though I do not care about football in any meaningful way, I absolutely adored the management gameplay. The card game is pretty fun as well, and it really made me rediscover my competitive streak.

For me, the game is more about momentum, reading situations, committing to a strategy and pivoting when it inevitably falls apart, rather than the football flavor, but I will say that they did an amazing job of capturing that 80s and 90s retro vibe. After speaking to a few English football fans and showing them the game, I can also confidently say that they got the details down pretty well.

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8 LUUP

Everything You Do Comes Back To Bite You

Developer

Publisher

Release Date

Encircle Games

TBA

Encircle Games were at DreamHack Birmingham to show off Wigged Out, which is chaotic, loud, colorful, and extremely easy to understand. When I dug deeper into what else they’re working on, I came across LUUP, a turn-based strategy game where every move you make repeats in a loop.

It’s a very unique concept that sounds manageable at first, until you realize that each turn stacks on top of the last. Suddenly you’re dealing with a timeline full of your own past decisions that you now have to play around. You’re not just thinking about your next move, but how it’s going to look several turns down the line, whilst your opponent is doing the exact same thing.

7 Glitch Hunt

Everything Is Trying to Work at Once

Developer

Publisher

Release Date

Early Sun Games

Kando Factory, Early Sun Games

TBA

In Glitch Hunt, there’s a lot happening very quickly, but somehow, it manages to stay readable. You’re running through cyberpunk environments, shooting, jumping, hacking things mid-fight, and constantly picking up something new that changes how the run plays out.

The hacking is what really sets it apart. You’re not just fighting enemies, you can take control of them, turn turrets to your side, or mess with the environment in ways that shift the entire flow of a fight. It adds an extra layer where you’re not just reacting, you’re looking for opportunities to flip things in your favor.

At the same time, it leans quite heavily into that roguelite structure. New weapons, new crew members, different builds every run. It’s very much about experimenting and seeing what sticks, especially when things start interacting in ways you didn’t fully plan for.

6 The Drifting Crown

Roguelites and Pubs? Count Me In

Developer

Publisher

Release Date

Sponge Hammer Games

TBA

Games with roguelike elements are everywhere right now, so it takes quite a bit for one to stand out. The Drifting Crown has a beautifully unique structure, which manages to do just that.

Before each run, you actively shape the world by placing tiles, essentially making a decision on what route you will try to defeat. Indirectly being responsible for the type of problems you’re setting yourself up for is rather fun, and once you’re in, you get to deal with them. You fight, you push forwards, and at some point things probably go wrong, forcing you to do it all again.

Reopening the last pub on Earth probably shouldn’t feel like a strong motivator, but I am British at heart, so it works for me.

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5 A Storied Life: Tabitha

Deciding What Someone’s Life Was Worth

What first appeared to be a simple, cozy packing game, ended up as a concept that is a lot more captivating. You’re clearing out a house after someone has passed away. Room by room, you go through everything they’ve left behind, deciding what to keep, what to sell, and what to throw away. Every item feeds into rebuilding a damaged memoir, and suddenly your decisions aren’t just about space or efficiency anymore.

Instead of a simple, cozy packing game, you’re deciding what parts of someone’s life get remembered. The way you piece things together, what you sell and what you keep, shifts the general tone of the memoir you are rebuilding. Whilst still being a cozy game, there's something more deliberate beneath it. A super unique concept that I can’t wait to explore more.

4 Chronicles Reborn

Another Survival Game, But There’s More

Developer

Publisher

Release Date

Brightwyn Games

TBA

I love survival games, and I’ve played a lot of them. Because of that, I didn’t expect Chronicles Reborn to stand out very much. It does a lot of things that feel quite familiar: you gather resources, craft gear, explore different biomes, build a base, and slowly get stronger over time.

The game leans quite heavily into progression, especially with the whole “recovering knowledge” angle. Instead of just unlocking things because you’ve grinded enough materials, it feels a bit more tied to exploration and actually engaging with the world.

I wouldn’t say it completely reinvents the genre, but it doesn’t really need to. It just feels like a solid take on something that already works, with a few small ideas that might carry it a bit further if they’re done right in the full release.

3 The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker 2

Every Answer Raises Another Question

The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker 2 Gameplay

Developer

Publisher

Release Date

D'Avekki Studios Ltd

TBA

FMV games always have a very specific kind of appeal, and Doctor Dekker 2 leans fully into that instead of trying to modernize or smooth out the format. You play as a psychiatrist, questioning patients, trying to piece together what happened, and slowly realizing that none of the people you’re talking to are particularly reliable. The whole thing plays out through asking questions and linking answers, which sounds simple, but very quickly turns into you second-guessing everything you’re being told.

The game requires you to pay attention. You have to listen, remember details, connect things yourself, and decide who you trust. Because of that, it feels a lot more personal when you get something wrong. I don’t think FMV games are for everyone, but this feels like a strong contender for a game that knows exactly what it wants to be.

Everything Is Falling Apart, Including You

Developer

Publisher

Release Date

SOUTH WESTERLY GAMES

Q2 2027

This was one of the more chaotic games I came across, but in a way that felt very deliberate. You’re thrown into a space station that’s breaking apart. Enemies, environments, even the pacing feels a tad unstable.

At its core, it’s a roguelite, but there are a few things that make it stand out. The biggest one is how it handles time: being able to slow things down, rewind, or just buy yourself a second to react changes how you approach fights quite a bit. There’s also a lot going on in terms of builds. Weapons, upgrades, abilities, all stacking on top of each other and giving you freedom in how you want to approach a run. It doesn’t feel too restrictive, but it also doesn’t feel like it’s handing you anything for free, either.

The hand-drawn style, the slightly rough edges, the way everything seems to be just a bit off is enjoyable. It all comes together in a way that feels quite distinct, even if the structure itself is something you’ve seen before.

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