Steam is home to seemingly endless amounts of video games, and the enormous library of content makes it easy for great games to get lost in the shuffle. 2024 has already played host to some excellent titles that haven’t hit the mainstream, even if some have still managed to pick up a reasonable amount of traction.

There aren’t many common elements to be found among the best recent hidden gems on Steam, which range from cryptically great puzzle games to fast-paced shooters. Every game manages to bring something to the market that nothing else does, however, and they serve as reminders that exploring more niche titles can often be more rewarding than picking up the biggest releases.

10

Children Of The Sun Changes How Shooters Work

Children of the Sun is a particularly fresh take on shooters, taking an even more hands-on approach than simply controlling the person firing the gun. After lining up a shot, Children of the Sun has the player guide the bullet’s path, which is shown from a bird’s eye view after the successful completion of an objective.

This approach makes planning and puzzling out clean approaches a big part of Children of the Sun, but it never feels like it drags. Stylish presentation and dynamic kills still give it a sense of action-packed intensity, even if it doesn’t put the player character in harm’s way in the typical manner of shooters. Children of the Sun is the kind of game that’s worth trying out just to see how it works, and it’s easy to walk away from it impressed on multiple counts.

9

Arctic Eggs Is More Than Just Cooking Eggs

Arctic Eggs is a game about cooking eggs, which sounds a lot more one-note than it actually is. Cooking the eggs is simple enough, although some fun physics can keep it entertaining, but it’s everything else that makes the game stand out. The world that surrounds the eggs is richly atmospheric and full of memorable characters, and the conversations and encounters found throughout never fail to entertain.

The mood of Arctic Eggs is heavily assisted by crunchy retro graphics that embrace a feeling of perpetual haze and a smooth, synthy soundtrack that sets a relaxed tone. It’s a short game, and the whole thing can be completed in a couple of hours or less, but that time is spent so well that it definitely feels worth it. It’s easy to see the appeal of returning to Arctic Eggs after finishing it as well, as the space that it creates is as weirdly inviting as it is just weird.

8

20 Small Mazes Is Consistently Creative

20 Small Mazes has one immediate, powerful hook — it’s a completely free game to play, so there’s no reason not to check it out. Taking it for a spin reveals how much of a steal the zero-dollar price tag is, as the experience that 20 Small Mazes offers is a lot more unique than many paid games.

The 20 mazes in 20 Small Mazes are as small as promised, but they’re not slight. Each one works off of a different twist on the formula, from a maze that can fold and unfold to shift its layout to a scavenger hunt that can’t be solved until the images needed to complete it are found. 20 Small Mazes is even shorter than Arctic Eggs, offering about an hour of puzzling, and that focused approach feels like the key to its consistent creativity.

7

Snufkin: Melody Of Moominvalley Has Charming Fun

Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley might be most appealing to those familiar with the world of the Moomins, but even newcomers can find a pleasant, welcoming experience in Moominvalley. The gameplay of Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley is generally simple, with a lot of trotting around and solving basic environmental progression puzzles complemented by occasional switch-ups like stealth sections. It’s a perfect game for younger players, but there’s still significant value for adults.

Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley ‘s story sees the wanderer Snufkin return to the typically tranquil Moominvalley in spring to find that it’s been newly regulated by the Park Keeper, who’s put up fences and attempting to enforce order on nature. Snufkin’s journey to fix this issue and reunite with his friend Moomin is full of memorable characters and simple charms, reflecting the quiet philosophy that’s helped stories about the Moomins resonate for decades.

6

Felvidek Is A JRPG Like No Other

Felvidek bills itself as “a JRPG set in 15th century Slovakia,” which should be enough to indicate how much it’s unlike anything else out there. The Slavic element is a lot more than window-dressing, baking itself deeply into the nature of the storytelling, themes, and characters. Felvidek’s art style reinforces this unique identity, with a limited color palette and mottled textures, giving it a strong sense of grit.

Felvidek is also anything but a straight historical tale, with a fantasy focus on the weird and uncanny. Although combat can be waged against characters like Hussites, other encounters bring the protagonist Pavol and his comrades face-to-face with significantly more eldritch foes. Anyone who enjoys JRPG-style mechanics but wants a different flavor from the usual adventure can definitely get a lot out of Felvidek, and it might be interesting enough to entice even the hesitant.

5

Indika Embraces Bold Storytelling

Indika doesn’t look like a game that a small studio could make at a glance, with impressively realistic graphics that make its characters leap off the screen. Playing it, however, reveals that it’s simply too weird for a major company to make. Loaded themes, humor that mixes with dark material, and even occasional hostility toward the player set Indika apart as a particularly distinct creation.

The story of Indika focuses on a nun in an alternate Russian history setting, who deals with a voice in her head as she starts off on a journey to deliver a letter on behalf of her convent. This expedition isn’t always fun, but it’s consistently interesting in other ways, and there’s always a new idea waiting around the corner. Indika won’t be for everyone, but its distinct sensibility elevates its walking sim core to something more closely resembling an interactive arthouse film.

4

Mullet Madjack Is As Fast As It Gets

Steam has seen a resurgence in shooters that are all about speed in recent years, and Mullet Madjack is just about as fast as an FPS could possibly get. Staying alive in Mullet Madjack is all about time, with kills racking up extra seconds on the clock to keep things moving. A traditional health bar doesn’t even come into play when death simply waits around the corner for those who don’t move fast enough, rethinking the nature of FPS intensity entirely.

Everything about Mullet Madjack is over the top, from its hypersaturated visuals to its satirical take on a classically stupid story. It doesn’t take long for the draw of beating past times and further honing skills to sink its teeth in while playing Mullet Madjack, making its roguelite nature feel exhilarating rather than tiresome.

3

Balatro Is The Perfect Poker Roguelite

Balatro isn’t obscure by any means, but it’s still more of a major cult hit than a mainstream smash. From the outside looking in, it can be hard to actually tell what playing Balatro is like. It’s an unusual marriage of poker and roguelite game design, and it doesn’t take long to get into a groove of arranging hands and tossing aside unwanted cards at high speeds.

Like all the best roguelites, Balatro is terrifyingly addictive, and snappy animations and responsive UI help make it even more satisfying to play. Some intense challenges give even the best players discrete objectives to master. A variety of Joker cards shake up the gameplay in exciting and unique ways, ensuring that it’s something that easily transcends its fundamentally mathy nature. Throw in some leveling elements and a number of modifiers, and no two Balatro runs will ever be the same.

2

Crow Country Has Classic Survival Horror Charms

A lot of great Steam hidden gems of 2024 have graphics that hearken back to the era of the original PlayStation in one way or another, but nothing does it with quite the dedication of Crow Country. This survival horror title is a thorough love letter to games like Resident Evil, and its style effectively evokes the charm of pre-rendered backgrounds and the depth of fully 3D games from the era.

Crow Country might not be the first choice for those looking to get genuinely scared, but it’s an endlessly charming take on the genre with some smart puzzle design and an especially engaging environment. Some hidden secrets and the potential to get a high-ranking score at the end offer an extra layer of challenge, but it can also just be a comfortable way to spend a couple of afternoons.

1

Lorelei And The Laser Eyes Is Fascinatingly Inventive

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes isn’t just one of the best 2024 games that’s flown under the radar so far, but one of the best games of the year altogether. Taking place in a mysterious, mostly empty hotel, the game unfolds a cryptic story that’s driven through solving a variety of puzzles to progress through the premises. Information can be found in every corner of the game, but figuring out what goes where can be the most complicated part of finding solutions.

There’s a ton of ground covered in Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, from games to play (and break) inside of it to trivia challenges where a wrong answer means death. A striking black-and-white style and excellent writing help it feel like a class above most competitors on Steam, and unraveling all of its mysteries is a process that proves twice as rewarding as it is potentially stymieing.