2015 was a fantastic year for independent games, as evidenced by the release of hugely inventive and genre-bending titles such as Her Story, Kerbal Space Program and SOMA – but 2016 just might top it.

With Jonathan Blow’s The Witness and Hyper Light Drifter, we’ve already seen the releases of two of the year’s most anticipated indie games, but don’t worry: there are plenty more to come. We’ve picked out ten of the titles that have most piqued our interest, ranging from mind-bending puzzle-solving to blood-drenched brawling.

By the way, if you’ve noted one or two glaring omissions from our selection below (*cough* No Man’s Sky *cough*), it’s probably because they’re so darn exciting that they’ve transcended the indie tag and made it onto our overall most anticipated games list. By all means check it out, but not before you’ve perused this round-up of the gaming underdogs most likely to win your heart in 2016.

N.B. at this point, just about every game here is listed only as due for release this year. As more accurate dates are announced, we'll update accordingly.