Indie Monthly: September 2025

Fun fact: Games other than Silksong came out this month. For me, there was another that captured all of my attention.

The PSP was a great device, but actually owning one felt like you'd paid to be in a Sony test market. Your task, as it were, was to sift through the catalog of paint-by-numbers action games and innovative yet unwieldy titles to find something genuinely interesting. Naturally, those interesting games would end up with a console release, thus defeating the purpose of owning a PSP in the first place.

But 2000s-era handhelds were still a fascinating landscape, a bastion against the Hollywoodification of console games. The DS, PSP, and, to a lesser extent, the GBA served much the same purpose as the indie market does today: preserving genres discarded by the core of the industry and giving rise to experimental, hard-to-categorize games. Those innovative yet unwieldy titles were all part of the fun, even if they never had the impact they should have.

Patapon was one of those titles. It is, perhaps, the most charming video game ever made - or it was. Ratatan, its spiritual successor, is making a serious play for the title.

Ratatan

Ratatan is the long-awaited spiritual successor to the cult PSP classic Patapon. Like its predecessor, it seamlessly combines music and strategy into something truly mesmerizing.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Patapon series, they are 2D RTS games in which the player controls their army using rhythmic commands tapped out on the face buttons. Ratatan is very similar, but with a few key distinctions. The player has direct control of a character - the Ratatan - whose safety must be secured at all times. The minions will revive after being defeated, but if the Ratatan falls, it's Game Over.

Because the player now controls the leader unit, one of the command buttons is assigned to jump, so there are only three commands instead of the four that Patapon used. The command sequences are simpler, with the basic commands - move, attack, and special - requiring three taps of one button on the first three beats of the measure. There are bonuses for perfect timing, but the game is pretty generous with the timing overall, and even someone unfamiliar with rhythm games will quickly get the hang of it.

Unlike its predecessors, Ratatan has minor roguelike elements. Rather than a fixed campaign, the player passes through a sequence of levels with randomized rewards for clearing each screen. Generally, the player selects the power-ups, which can be short-term upgrades divided into different elements or sweets used to obtain long-term upgrades. Between runs, the player can take on special objectives, adjust the state of their army, buy and upgrade weapons, and purchase passive bonuses.

The overall feel of Ratatan is reminiscent of Patapon, but the addition of direct control gives it a more dynamic edge. Gameplay is a bit quicker, though the slower, puzzle-like nature of the boss fights remains intact. It's also more accessible owing to the simpler control scheme. Put plainly, if you enjoyed the overall concept behind Patapon but were put off by the unorthodox gameplay, this might be the game to win you over. At the same time, more skilled players can take advantage of an advanced control mode that offers finer control over the rhythm and the army than the older games offered.

And as long as we're talking about how the game feels, we really need to touch upon how it sounds. Patapon is an almost impossibly charming game owing to its minimalist aesthetics and hypnotic sound design, and while Ratatan goes for more complex visuals, the sound is as captivating as ever. The player's minions sing and chant along with the BGM and the player's inputs, giving Ratatan an incredibly dynamic soundtrack that must be heard to be truly appreciated.

Overall, Ratatan is genuine art and I'm not sure why you're not buying it right now.

Ratatan is available for PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation consoles, and Xbox consoles.

Wander Stars

Wander Stars is a roguelike RPG with aesthetics reminiscent of 90s anime. It's based on turn-to-turn tactics and demands a lot of understanding of its system to play it to the fullest.

Ringo is a young martial artist in training with dreams of becoming a superstar fighter. While out on an errand for her grandmother, she crosses paths with the fortune seeker Wolfe, a shady figure looking for any way to get out from under his debts. Wolfe reveals that Ringo's normal-looking phone charm contains a piece of the Wanderstar Map, a mysterious item leading to an unknown treasure somewhere in deep space. Thus begins a journey that will see Ringo seeking out her lost brother, growing in strength as a fighter, and hopefully not getting two-timed by her traveling companion.

Wander Stars is structured like a roguelike deckbuilder, but rather than collecting cards or dice, the player accumulates words used to assemble custom attacks. Using a limited number of possible words per turn, the player combines action, element, and modifier cards to create combos that resemble the attack calls from some shounen anime and manga.

Most deckbuilders are designed around creating overpowered combos and decks, but Wander Stars is more about tactics and precision. For example, weaknesses and resistances are more complex than in many games. Enemies can be strong or weak to anything, including individual attacks, and the lists of traits can be very long. Hitting a weakness not only deals more damage, but also allows the player to use more words. Ringo also has weaknesses and resistances, and keeping track of them becomes critical as the enemies grow in strength.

Fights in Wander Stars are matches of honor, and this again brings up the importance of precision. Each enemy has a "break point," a specific HP range in which they will stop fighting. Push every enemy into this range, and Ringo can end the fight peacefully, gaining additional bonuses based on the enemies. Bosses, meanwhile, have multiple HP ranges, which can result in them healing, using power attacks, or doing nothing. An ideal strategy requires dealing enough damage to keep the boss outside of those more dangerous ranges, which requires a lot of knowledge of enemy weaknesses and the combat system.

The game's aesthetics don't really require a lot of explanation, but it is impressive how far the developers went to recreate the look and feel of low-budget 90s anime. Everything from the washed-out grain of the graphics, the tinny triumphant music, the rapid animation loops, the design and expression of the characters - it's all on point. As they promise, this really is a playable anime.

Overall, Wander Stars is a great variation on the well-worn deckbuilder mechanics and is worth a look if you're interested in something with a different feel.

Wander Stars is available for PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox consoles. A copy was provided for this review.

Rogue Labyrinth

Rogue Labyrinth is a top-down, Zelda-style roguelike action RPG. It offers a mix of old-school action-adventure gameplay with minigames and modern roguelike design.

Lantanas is a small, bucolic kingdom that has become the prize in the world's largest game show. The billionaire media tycoon Echelon seized control of Lantanas to serve as the site for the Rogue Labyrinth, his competition grounds, with the kingdom's throne serving as the reward for completion. Iris is an aspiring Leaf Guardian whose journey to the sacred trees of Lantanas has been obstructed by Echelon's Labyrinth. Achieving their goal will require entering the Labyrinth, defeating competitors from other kingdoms, and claiming the grand prize.

The basic gameplay loop involves entering an arena, fighting off waves of enemies, claiming a reward, and then moving on until reaching a boss. Iris has several available offensive options; besides the obligatory melee weapon, the player will also gain a customizable magic attack, a super attack that operates off a separate gauge, and secondary weapons from other competitors. With a variety of potential upgrades, it's possible to design a build around any of these.

The most distinctive mode of attack in Rogue Labyrinth is deflection and bouncing. The player's melee attack can send an enemy projectile back at them, or send inanimate objects and downed enemies flying around the screen. Iris's magic attack also bounces off of walls, and after just a minute of combat, an arena can turn into a wild flurry of bouncing objects. In some games, this is just a side effect, but it's quite central to Rogue Labyrinth, especially with a build designed to increase the power of bouncing objects.

A welcome addition to the roguelike formula is the presence of minigames. Question mark squares often contain minigames; these are a mix of common bonus games, arcade throwbacks, and references to real-world game shows. Memory, Plinko, Whack-a-Mole, and Breakout are among the games available.

While the core mechanics are modern, Rogue Labyrinth has a distinctly retro feel, one that extends beyond its Game Boy Advance aesthetic. The controls and movement have a similar early 2000s feel, and while anyone can get into the swing of things, the game is bound to feel familiar to anyone who remembers this era.

Overall, Rogue Labyrinth is a solid throwback action game that offers more flexibility in its gameplay than you might expect.

Rogue Labyrinth is available for PC via Steam. A copy was provided for this review.

Katanaut

Katanaut is a roguelike action platformer with a focus on fast, visceral combat. It's a game for those who are comfortable with making quick, moment-to-moment decisions.

Somewhere on the edge of the known universe, a lone research station is in the middle of a terrifying crisis. A mysterious alien force is transforming the crew into deformed, violent horrors. Naut, a specialist in handling dangerous scenarios, has been tasked with infiltrating the station, clearing out the threat, and determining the source. Assisting in this task is bizarre time-bending technology that can wrench him back from the brink of oblivion - and he'll need it, because death is the only certain thing.

Katanaut sends the player through a series of regular levels and boss fights with upgrade rooms in between. The levels always come in the same order, though the standard areas are procedurally generated. Roguelike elements can be an uneasy fit with platformers, but aside from the occasional oddball layout, the approach works quite well here.

The focus is more on combat than exploration, and the watchword is speed. Naut always has a main weapon and an off-hand weapon - usually a gun, though secondary blades and defensive devices are also options. Naut can also gain up to two special abilities on cooldown timers. The off-hand weapon runs off an ammo meter that is replenished by landing hits in melee, lending a shoot-and-strike rhythm to the gameplay.

There are a few approaches to combat, depending in part on the player's choice of main weapon. Initially, Naut can choose from a long blade that works well for a more focused, parry-based combat style or a lighter blade that's built more for dodging and quick attacks. Regardless of the player's armament or build, combat in Katanaut is lightning-fast, tapping into instinct over careful strategy. It begins as a simple button masher, but enemy patterns soon grow more complex, and Naut's limited life demands good judgment from the player.

Overall, Katanaut is a deceptively challenging game that might appeal more to hardcore action fans than the usual platformer audience.

Katanaut is available for PC via Steam. A copy was provided for this review.

V's Rage

V's Rage is an action game built around classic arcade mechanics. It's very much a game of the old school, for better or worse.

V is an everyday, overstressed, quietly enraged housewife with a husband who does nothing but play video games all day. After a particularly harried morning, she awakens in a twisted mythological world full of phone-obsessed satyrs, heavily armed fishermen, and biker club boars. It's a world created from the husband's favorite games, and the only way for V to escape is to grab a mythic frying pan and bash her way through every stage.

V's Rage has several gameplay styles, but it is mainly a sidescrolling, arcade-style beat-em-up in the vein of Final Fight or Turtles in Time. The mechanics are about what you'd expect, though enemies have a few new tricks, such as the ability to launch ranged attacks vertically. Other levels explore a greater range of gameplay types, all reminiscent of vintage arcade games, including rail shooting, horizontal shoot-em-ups, and vehicle combat. There's a quick tutorial at the start of a new level type, but there aren't any surprises for arcade veterans.

Each level ends with a boss fight, which can vary greatly in difficulty. Fortunately, there's a checkpoint before each boss, so a player who limps up to the finish line with one hit left can always try again. A player can also choose to start the game from any completed level, so there's no need to finish the whole thing in one sitting.

Overall, V's Rage is nothing more or less than what you'd expect from the description. It might be worth a look if you have nostalgia for old-school arcade games, but otherwise, you can safely pass it by.

V's Rage is available for PC via Steam. A copy was provided for this review.

Polar Star

Polar Star is a strategy game built around a deadly match of rock-paper-scissors. It's a simple title that gets progressively more complex as new elements are mixed in.

The goal of each match is to kill the opponent with a single clean shot, while your opponent tries to do the same. The player has a defensive measure that can deflect an incoming bullet, as well as the risky option to down a drink, which locks the opponent out of shooting in the following round. These options can't be used on consecutive rounds, so blocking or shooting at the wrong time can put the player in a tight spot.

There are additional mechanics that get stirred into the mix to make things more complex. Both the player and opponent can get cards that alter the rules in different ways. In other circumstances, both sides get access to a slot machine that can randomly refresh or disable their options, or a watch that periodically swaps the moves available between the players.

Polar Star features a short 30-60 minute campaign that gradually adds in these mechanics, along with other gimmicks. It also features an endless arcade mode, allowing the player to activate any combination of mechanics to create custom games.

Overall, Polar Star is a simple yet emergent game that is surprisingly engaging, but it might not hold your interest for a long period of time.

Polar Star is available for PC via Steam. A copy was provided for this review.

That wraps up our look at the indie games that caught our attention in September! Be sure to come back each month for more of those sweet, sweet indie games you need to know about!