Indie games worth looking at, and what they are doing differently

One game at a time, with the mechanic that makes it interesting and the design writing it connects to. Most of these are not out yet.

Malice in Wonderland turns running out of time into a move
Most games treat a timer as a threat: reach zero and you lose your progress. Malice in Wonderland hands the reset to a character, and in doing so turns the worst moment in the run into part of the run.
3 min read
Speak makes the phone call the game
Plenty of multiplayer games have voice chat. Speak is built the other way round: the private call between two players is the move, and everything else exists to give you something to lie about.
3 min read
In Echo Zero, dying moves the enemy forward instead of moving you back
Most games answer death by rewinding you. Echo Zero rewinds nothing and advances the threat instead, which quietly fixes the oldest problem with lives: that losing one usually costs you nothing but time.
3 min read
CHEW YOUR FOOD takes an eye and never gives the camera back
Horror games usually threaten what is in front of the camera. This one attacks the camera itself, then makes you live with the result for the rest of the game.
3 min read
A werewolf game with no name, betting everything on how it moves
There is no title, no store page and no release window. What there is is a movement system, and a solo developer betting that movement alone is enough to make people watch.
3 min read