5 viral indie games you didn’t know are from Australia

Melbourne International Games Week is returning on October 4, gathering developers from far and wide for Australia’s biggest week in gaming. Australia consistently punches above its weight when it comes to game development, with its hardworking indie studios having put out multiple global hits.

Yet while millions of players have enjoyed Australia’s contributions to video games, many may not know where they originated.

Here are five viral video games that you might not have known come from the land down under.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Saying that Hollow Knight: Silksong was highly anticipated would be an understatement. The long-awaited sequel to the critically and commercially acclaimed Hollow Knight, Silksong crashed multiple digital storefronts upon its September 4 release, prompting fans to joke that its first boss battle was the fight to simply purchase the game. The hype around Silksong was so large that multiple other games even postponed their releases to avoid the competition.

Developed by three-person Adelaide studio Team Cherry, Hollow Knight: Silksong follows Hornet, an insect-like warrior and supporting character from 2017’s Hollow Knight. Like Team Cherry’s lauded debut game, Hollow Knight: Silksong also has players fight their way through a bug kingdom full of hidden secrets, deep lore, and punishingly challenging combat.

Hollow Knight sold an impressive 15 million copies in the eight years since its release, an unthinkable number to most indie developers, and developed a fervent cult following. Even so, Silksong already seems poised to surpass this achievement, attracting over 5 million players within its first five days of release.

Hollow Knight is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Hollow Knight: Silksong is available now on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4/5, Nintendo Switch 1/2, and PC.

Schedule I

Australia has notoriously strict regulations regarding the depiction of drugs in video games. It thus seems almost ironic that the incredibly popular drug dealing simulator Schedule I came from Sydney. Reportedly selling 8 million copies within two months of its March early access launch, Schedule I gained significant momentum from popular streamers picking up the irreverent multiplayer game, with cartoonishly goofy and chaotic gameplay clips going viral.

Even more unlikely is the fact that Schedule I was developed and published by a one-person studio: TVGS, or Tyler’s Video Game Studio. Judging from Schedule I‘s patch notes, the eponymous Tyler hasn’t even graduated university yet.

Set in a nondescript city inspired by Oregon (as conceived by an Australian who has never been to the U.S.), Schedule I has players work together to build a drug empire from the ground up. This involves manufacturing narcotics, dealing to customers, setting up distribution systems, and, of course, running from the cops. Its satisfyingly addictive gameplay loop is great fun to dive into with friends, providing fertile ground for shenanigans, and despite the subject matter it never feels too dark.

Schedule I is now available in early access on PC.

Cult of the Lamb

Developed by Melbourne-based Massive Monster, Cult of the Lamb thoroughly indoctrinated players upon its August 2022 release. The roguelike action game/cult builder/single parent simulator reportedly sold around 4.5 million copies within two years of launch, and has become publisher Devolver Digital’s most profitable intellectual property.

In Cult of the Lamb, players control a lamb who has been tasked with establishing a cult to free an imprisoned eldritch god. Doing so requires venturing fourth and fighting your way through dungeons, defeating the gods’ jailors as well as collecting resources to help build your cult a strong base. Then once you return home, there’s food to grow, housing and facilities to build, and rituals to perform. There might also be poop to clean up, because apparently your cultists have no qualms about leaving their messes for you to deal with.

Despite the sinister subject matter, Cult of the Lamb approaches everything with a lighthearted attitude and humour, featuring cute artwork and incredibly inept, poop-eating cultists. 

Cult of the Lamb is available now on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4/5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Unpacking

Though Unpacking may have seemed unassuming upon its 2021 release, it soon gained widespread recognition for its excellent environmental storytelling. The game sold over one million copies within a year of its launch, 100,000 of those within the first 10 days, and many of those by streamers.

Developed by Brisbane studio Witch Beam, Unpacking is a puzzle game in which players unpack moving boxes, arranging items in a person’s new home. An arduous chore such as this might not be the most obvious inspiration for enjoyable gameplay. Yet while its concept seems simple, Unpacking cleverly uses its mechanics to tell a story that’s moving in more ways than one.

Following one person as they undertake multiple moves over more than a decade, players learn about their lives and relationships through what is packed, what is left behind, and where items are ultimately placed. You don’t see any of the characters in person throughout the game, and there’s scant dialogue. Yet ask anyone who has played Unpacking about the protagonist’s boyfriend in the infamous 2010 level, and it’s likely that they’ll have very strong feelings on the matter.

Unpacking is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4/5, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS, and Android.

Untitled Goose Game

Untitled Goose Game turned the internet denizens into horrible geese in 2019, with gamers eager to terrorise a small English village and cause problems on purpose. Developed by four-person Melbourne studio House House, the lighthearted puzzle stealth game casts players as the world’s most disagreeable avian, armed with an insolent beak, resolute waddle, and almighty honk.

Immaculately scored with an adaptive soundtrack of Debussy’s Préludes, Untitled Goose Game invites players to stick their terrible snake necks everywhere they are unwelcome, stealing items, making messes, and bullying both children and adults alike. It’s pure, unadulterated mischief, fueled by the type of hubris and devilry that can only be found within a contemptuous goose.

Garnering viral attention from its first trailer in October 2017, Untitled Goose Game still retained gamers’ interest by its September 2019 release, selling over one million copies within its first three months. It continued to go further viral as well, with numerous streamers jumping in to wreck goose-orchestrated havoc.

Untitled Goose Game is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC.