Every Wednesday, dive into the Indie Select Hub—your gateway to a fresh, curated indie collection plus four themed spotlights that rotate weekly! You can always find this collection hub in the Xbox Store and on Xbox.com/IndieSelects.
Each month, the ID@Xbox team has the privilege of exploring dozens of titles from our indie publishing and development partners to handpick standout experiences we think you’ll love. These games range from highly polished gems to laugh-out-loud absurd adventures and deeply moving stories.
This month, we’ve chosen six Indie Selects that push genre boundaries in exciting ways. Whether it’s a first-person shooter infused with deckbuilding mechanics, a combo-driven tactics game, or a survival horror title where enemies merge with the dead. These picks reimagine familiar genres and take them to bold, unexpected places.
Here’s more on what we’ve got for you this month (in no particular order):
Cronos: The New Dawn
When I first stepped into Cronos: The New Dawn, I thought I was ready for another survival horror adventure. I wasn’t. This game doesn’t just throw monsters at you—it puts you in a world where every decision, every resource, and every mistake feels like it could be your last.
You play as the Traveler, an agent of the Collective, sent to fight back against the “Change”—a catastrophe that’s turned humanity into terrifying creatures known as Orphans. What makes Cronos stand out is its dual setting: one moment you’re navigating a ruined, post-apocalyptic future, the next you’re pulled into 1980s Poland, reliving moments from a world that no longer exists. The constant back-and-forth keeps you unsettled and invested in equal measure.
But it’s not just the story that got under my skin—it’s the gameplay. Resources are scarce, your inventory is tight, and every encounter feels like it could spiral out of control. I quickly learned that defeating an Orphan isn’t the end of the fight. If you don’t burn their remains or dispose of them properly, other enemies can merge with their bodies, evolving into even deadlier threats. That mechanic alone had me second-guessing every move, weighing whether I could spare the matches or fuel.
Cronos: The New Dawn isn’t here to comfort you. It’s here to challenge you, scare you, and make you think twice about every step forward. And honestly? That’s what makes it unforgettable – Steven Allen
Cronos: The New Dawn
Bloober Team S.A
Dorfromantik
Dorfromantik is a calming tile-building game that blends strategy and relaxation. You begin with a stack of hexagonal tiles, each one representing features like forests, houses, fields, rivers, train tracks, or farm fields. Placing them is simple, but there’s a strategy to how you place them – combining adjacent tiles unlocks higher-scoring tile types, and can unlock quests for additional special tiles.
On the surface, Dorfromantik is a Zen-like experience with a beautiful art style and music, but underneath it has a highly strategic element, where every tile matters. To help you get the experience you want, it also offers multiple game modes: Classic is the core, board game-like experience; Creative offers you total freedom; Quick mode gives you a smaller set of tiles; Hard mode offers more complex tiles and challenges; and a Monthly mode sees all players get the same set of tiles and competing for the highest leaderboard score.
What stands out the most about Dorfromantik is how easy it is to pick up for a quick session of casual gaming, come back later, and pick up right where you left it. What stays with you isn’t just the score you hit, but the landscapes you created. Each board becomes a story shaped by your choices, whether is a sprawling train track network or a cozy riverside town, a gentle and thoughtful escape that rewards your patience and imagination. Dorfromantik is strategy – but it’s also art – Oscar Polanco
Dorfromantik
Headup
Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel
There’s no shortage of roguelike horde-survivor games and honestly, I couldn’t be happier about it. It’s such a satisfying genre for me, but I’m always looking for something that stands apart from the others. Enter Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel. This game seamlessly weaves Norse mythology into its gameplay, delivering stunning visuals while cleverly shaking up the traditional formula.
As with games in this genre, it challenges players to survive increasingly intense waves of enemies across an open map, with XP earned allowing you to add upgrades – in this case, the favor of randomly chosen Norse gods. Unlike most horde-survivor games, however, Jotunnslayer offers seamless control flexibility: you can switch between auto-aim and twin-stick aiming simply by engaging or disengaging the right analog stick, with no menu toggling required.
Two things that really stood out to me while playing were the level of polish, and replayability. The visuals are stunning, with the war-torn battlefields and the action effects never feeling obnoxious or distracting. The UI and static art are also sharp and stylized and the music always feels appropriately epic. The gameplay has a ton of depth that I haven’t even touched yet. Subclasses, skill trees for classes and gods, unlockable weapons, character skins and more. If you enjoy Horde-survivor games like Vampire Survivors or roguelikes like Hades, this can easily go into your game queue – Raymond Estrada
Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel
Grindstone
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown
Most turn-based tactics games I’ve played lean heavily into either fantasy or hyper-militaristic themes (or both). So, when I heard there’s one set in the world of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, my 8-year-old inner child couldn’t help but hum the theme song. But then my skeptical adult brain chimed in, “could this actually work?” I am happy to report that not only does it work, it works really well.
The game opens with the Turtles at a crossroads. Without the guidance of their master, or the chaos stirred by their longtime nemesis, they find themselves adrift. But with a new threat emerging, the game’s story and setting strike a balance between the playful charm of the original Turtles animated series and the darker, more serious tone of the ongoing IDW comic series. As a longtime TMNT fan, the tone felt familiar in spirit, yet a compelling shift from the usual team-centric adventures we’ve come to expect.
This bite-sized experience puts TMNT fans into a cleverly accessible strategy game packed with slick move-sets and a solid story true to the turtles’ legacy. Each of the levels are solo missions carried out by a predetermined turtle showcasing their unique abilities. The game’s pacing is surprisingly quick, thanks to a generous six action points per turn and a battlefield swarming with squishy henchmen. It often feels like you’re slicing through the board with relentless momentum. But don’t get too reckless, as those mindless minions can quickly overwhelm you, and with only six health and three continues (a nod to classic arcade games), every move counts. Tactical Takedown ups the stakes by grading your performance with an arcade-style scoring system.
Over the past 35 years, TMNT has carved out an impressive legacy in video games across nearly every console generation, but with games like Tactical Takedown, we’re seeing the franchise stretch into new genres without losing its core identity. This one may be short, but it’s a fun and satisfying experience that easily earns its place alongside the classic Turtle games – Raymond Estrada
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown
Strange Scaffold
Ra Ra Boom
If you love side-scrolling beat ’em ups with a modern twist, Ra Ra Boom is a game you’ll want on your radar. It blends classic arcade beat ‘em up action with vibrant visuals and a team of fierce, witty heroines who bring personality to every punch.
I approached Ra Ra Boom expecting a fun throwback but discovered a game that feels both nostalgic and fresh. The tight controls make every combo rewarding, and the diverse characters encouraged me to experiment with different playstyles. Personally, I gravitated toward Saida, whose speed and special moves made each fight feel electric.
What truly impressed me was the rhythm in the gameplay. It’s more than just button-mashing; it’s about timing, flow, and finding your groove. There’s definitely a learning curve, but once you hit that sweet spot, it’s incredibly satisfying. Fans of games like Streets of Rage 4 or River City Girls will find this a natural and exciting progression.
Whether you’re drawn by the stylish combat, the quirky characters, or the sheer thrill of smashing through waves of enemies, Ra Ra Boom delivers. This game rewards persistence and creativity—and, quite frankly, it’s an absolute blast to play – Jessica Ronnell
Ra Ra BOOM
Gylee Games
Friends vs Friends
Friends vs. Friends is an interesting take on the FPS genre as it pairs the beloved arena shooter formula with deckbuilding games – and the results are weirdly compelling Players choose from a set of anthropomorphic characters and head into round-based arena combat. Just like traditional arena shooters, map knowledge, loadout, and good aim are important here, but understanding how cards work is the most vital component.
While you’re hopping around the map and shooting each other, you have several game-altering cards at your disposal. Some cards turn your opponent’s gun to ice, another will give you samurai sword or a sniper rifle, and one might nuke the entire map, leaving you and your opponent in a desolate wasteland until your next round. It’s a fantastic way to help a familiar genre feel fresh, round after round.
I’ll be honest and say that I’m not the best at this game – I mean, my aim is there but I’m not great with building decks and studying meta, but that doesn’t stop me from having fun. I think what really keeps me coming back to it is what surrounds that core gameplay – the presentation is fire from the top down! The music slaps, the character models are clean and the cards? Well, if the developer decides to sell physical cards at any point, I’m first in line! – Deron Mann
Friends vs Friends
Raw Fury