The author apologizes for the delay of the second part of the material “Made in Ukraine: Ukrainian Games 2024-2025” due to force majeure. The first 25 games, from Anomaly Hunter to Miramixi Storyteller, can be found here, and a complete list of series materials can be found at the end of this article. We will continue the study of Ukrainian video games (PC and consoles), which should be released in 2024-2025. Now from Off The Grid to Zero Losses.


Off The Grid

Developer Gunzilla Games
Genre battle royale
Release date ТВА

Off The Grid is an incredibly ambitious project of the German-Ukrainian studio (2/3 of the team is located in Kyiv) Gunzilla Games, which involves the legendary director Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium, Chappie).

Gunzilla Games, which received a $46 million investment from New York VC Republic Capital in 2022, plans to reinvent the Battle Royale genre, calling its project cyberpunk Battle Royale 2.0.

In fact, not much is known yet. Off The Grid takes place on a tropical island in a dystopian society. The game will feature PvP missions for 150 players, as well as story PvE missions on the same map, even with other players in the background. They promise a strong narrative component, as well as NFT, which is a little scary.

The game is developed on the Unreal Engine 5 engine, and among the employees of Gunzilla Games, there are many ex-employees of Crytech, 4A Games, Frogwares, and other well-known Ukrainian studios. Off The Grid is due out on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows PC. Maybe even in 2023, but considering that we haven’t seen any gameplay yet, we don’t really believe in that.

The trailer at the beginning has nothing to do with the plot of the game, it is Neill Blomkamp’s vision of the world of Off The Grid. The authors promise more such videos in the future.


PAIN-TO-WIN

Developer PTW
Genre 2D-action
Release date TBA

Brutal, dynamic, and bloody 2D top-down shooter in the spirit of Hotline Miami. The author promises a non-linear plot, 13 very strange gloomy characters, 99 game levels, a lot of weapons, and a cooperative mode with friendly fire.

The game has been in development for a long time, since 2017, but the author recently updated the Steam page, so it’s time to release. The game has a demo version, but there is no Ukrainian localization yet.


Project Science: Optic

Developer Ivan Buderkevich
Genre puzzle
Release date TBA

To be honest, the editorial team of Mezha cannot imagine a publisher who would dare to publish Project Science: Optic. This beautiful and original puzzle, educational program, and virtual museum dedicated to optics only works on the latest generation of consoles and PCs with modern graphics cards.

The fact is that to implement physically correct refraction, dispersion, and diffraction of light in Unreal Engine 5.0, the game requires a video card with RTX support, that is, real-time ray tracing.

The plot of Project Science: Optic is the story of the understanding of optics as a science. The first levels explain the basic mechanics of the game, and the following ones are devoted to the process of humanity’s awareness of the nature of light.

The author involved well-known Ukrainian YouTube bloggers who “play” themselves and constantly break the fourth wall to voice the game.

Project Science: Optic looks interesting, but we’re not sure if this game will make it to release despite receiving Epic MegaGrants. But we will keep our fingers crossed.


Redemption of the Damned

Developer MIROWIN
Genre shooter, survival
Release date TBA

A first-person gothic survival shooter set in 17th-century European settings from the MIROWIN studio, which specializes primarily in VR projects.

According to the plot, you are a village doctor who goes to a remote village to see a patient. But someone or something has attacked your stagecoach and you wake up in a mass grave. Now your task is to survive and understand what is happening around you.

In fact, in the video and in the playable version we saw during one of the gaming festivals, Redemption of the Damned looks more like an action/RPG than a complex survival game. But it looks not bad at all.

The hero uses silicone pistols and rifles, melee weapons, and crosses; explores the area, studies monsters, looks for artifacts, and so on. The only thing that seems to us, before the game was more dynamic, but in recent versions, it has slowed down.

The game does not yet have a release date or confirmation of Ukrainian localization.


Rise of Gun

Developer by PimpGameStudio
Genre simulators, role-playing game
Release date TBA

Made in Ukraine: Ukrainian games 2024-2025. Part II (+ 25 games)

Another game from PimpGameStudio, which also works on the horror Silent Harbor.

Rise of Gun is a gun shop owner simulator in a zombie apocalypse world. One of the main features of the game is the designer of firearms with a large number of spare parts. Otherwise, it is almost an ordinary store simulator. We improve the shop, communicate with customers, and sell weapons. An important question remains, will it be possible to test the assembled weapon?

The game doesn’t even have a trailer yet, but the author is delaying the Silent Harbor project until the fall and is now shifting all their efforts to Rise of Gun.


Return the Backrooms

Developer Skmaestro
Genre adventure, horror
Release date TBA

A horror game with a great atmosphere for 1-4 players where you have to explore an architecturally complex level, looking for key items to escape from this evil place. Of course, some monsters are hiding in the dark.

Return the Backrooms was released on Steam Early Access on November 11, 2022. Despite the problem with the electricity, the author is persistently updating the project and even managed to hold a Christmas event in the game. Perhaps the final version will be released before the end of 2023. Ukrainian localization is available.


Sayri: The Beginning

Developer Vidloonnya Reborn
Genre action/adventure
Release date TBA

Sayri: The Beginning is a very colorful and kind project about alien explorers and cute animals that got into trouble. The authors were inspired by such well-known meditative games about exploring the surrounding world as Journey, ABZU, Ico, and Fe.

The development of the game has been going on since 2017, at least the author saw this project at Indie Cup W’17 and Indie Cup W’18. The game was supposed to be released in 2021, then 2022, and now Sayri: The Beginning has no release date, as well as a publisher appears to have pulled out of the project in April 2022. The latest trailer you see above is dated May 2020.


Shapik: The Quest

Developer Rapid Snail
Genre adventure
Release date TBA

A very cute adventure in the spirit of the Samorost series by Amanita Design. You have to help the funny Shapik find a lost friend in a strange forest.

Shapik: The Quest is kind of a continuation of the previous game of the studio Shapik: The Moon Quest, but the characters and environment in the second part have a different look.

The version of the game presented at Indie Cup Ukraine ’22 looked almost finished, so Shapik: The Quest will most likely be released in 2023, especially since the studio already has the next project under development.


Schemer

Developer Vaalbara Games
Genre action/adventure, slasher
Release date TBA

The events of Schemer take place on the Earth of the future, which after a devastating war has turned into a ghetto and entertainment arena, where human consciousness is transferred into the body of robots that fight with others armed with huge laser blades.

You play as a person whose consciousness is stuck in the body of one of these robots and he needs to figure out what is wrong with this entertainment on Earth and what is the real purpose of his stay here.

The authors of Schemer promise an unprecedented level of quality for indie games. High-detail custom 3D models, an intriguing plot, a soundtrack of more than 20 tracks, parkour and combat system with mockup animations, and unique location design.

It seems Schemer has some echoes of Collapse (2008) from the Kyiv studio Creoteam?

Nothing has been heard about Schemer for a long time, the trailer you see is from July 2020. But as far as the editors know, Vaalbara Games is currently working on a demo version of the game.


SILENT DOOM

Developer Bloody Pixel
Genre survival, horror
Release date TBA

SILENT DOOM is another interesting survival horror from the studio Bloody Pixel, which this year already released a cooperative survival in Early Access PARANOIA PLACE.

The authors throw the player into a hostile surreal world, which they must study to survive, or die and start all over again in slightly different conditions.

The SILENT DOOM page was created 4 years ago, and the trailer you see was created 3 years ago. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the author has revised some of the development plans, but for now, SILENT DOOM is not considered abandoned.


Space Box Battle Arena

Developer FingerTipsAndCompany
Genre MMO, arcade
Release date TBA

Space Box Battle Arena is an arcade MMO with hand-drawn graphics, in which you can design your spaceships of any bizarre shape and fight with other players.

A variety of decorations and weapons, superpowers, 8 unique characters, 14 arenas, and 4 game modes.

Space Box Battle Arena was supposed to be released in July 2021, but since then the release date has already been moved 10 times. The project is not abandoned, the last updates of the Steam page took place in November-December 2022.


Space Me Out

Developer Catfishbox
Genre platformer, roguelike
Release date TBA

Space Me Out is the winning game of Indie Cup Ukraine’22, which received the Community Award from ordinary gamers. And it is quite clear why – there is a funny space cat with a katana and a laser gun that destroys robots.

By genre, Space Me Out is a 2D platformer with roguelike elements. The authors say that they were inspired by the animated series Rick and Morty and Final Space.

Catfishbox already has one game published on Steam, it’s a very nice The Big Journey which also has cute and chubby cats!


Sparkhunt

Developer Oleksandr Zapisochnyi
Genre Beat ’em up
Release date TBA

Stylish 2.5D Beat ’em up, the developer of which was looking for inspiration in classic games of the genre like Streets Of Rage and Final Fight.

Sparkhunt is a personal project of 3D artist Oleksandr Zapisochnyi, who has been creating characters for video games for 8 years. The project reached the current stage, for example, demo version, in 10 months of development in free time from the main work (it is also included in this material, by the way).

The author is actively working on the game. For example, another playable character, Rosa, has recently appeared, and in addition, the cooperative mode is being tested.


Steam and Iron. Battle of Port-Arthur

Developer Silver Games
Genre simulator
Release date TBA

An early 20th-century battleship simulator that should be a little simpler than Silent Hunter, but much more complex than arcade games like World of Warships and Battlestations: Midway.

The game is dedicated to the events of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, which the Russians, as you know, lost miserably. But, unfortunately, the main campaign in the game is Russian, not Japanese.

Steam and Iron. Battle of Port-Arthur can be downloaded for free from the game site, but the authors, it’s just two people, a programmer from Kyiv and a 3D artist from Zaporizhzhia, will gladly accept any donations to improve the project.

For the authors of Steam and Iron. Battle of Port-Arthur is just a test of the pen before the development of the game, dedicated to the alternative history of the Ukrainian fleet in 1918-20, in which the fleet of the Ukrainian People’s Republic defeats the Bolsheviks in the Black Sea and helps liberate the Crimea.


Super Zoo Story

Developer Super Zoo Story Team
Genre simulator, strategy
Release date TBA

A very cute zoo simulator with the farming simulator and RPG elements and great pixel graphics.

A bunch of animals, including prehistoric ones (70 species in total), with their own needs, a small island to explore, find new creatures, and build relationships with the locals. Feeding animals, decorating enclosures, combining DNA, and so on.

Super Zoo Story was supposed to be released in 2023, but now the game page only says “Coming Soon”, and it is known that the project is going on Kickstarter. By the way, attracting attention with Kickstarter seems to be a standard practice of Crytivo publisher.

It is still unknown whether Super Zoo Story will have a Ukrainian localization on release.


Syncope

Developer Syncope
Genre metroidvania, arcade
Release date TBA

A cute metroidvania in a magical world, the authors of which were inspired by Ukrainian landscapes. The authors have been working on the game for a year and a half in their spare time.

Syncope promises players a magical world with dangerous monsters (why should you beware of snails?), a combat system with melee weapons and magic, a combination of magical stones and artifacts, and much more. In fact, we haven’t really seen the gameplay yet, but the developers regularly update the game’s Twitter where they show how it’s going creative process.

Syncope will receive full Ukrainian and English dubbing.


Swords And Their Boy

Developer Stas Shostak
Genre action/adventure
Release date TBA

Swords and Their Boy is a 2.5D soulslike in which two swords with artificial intelligence use a boy to complete their task of clearing an alien planet of dangers before colonization.

Swords And Their Boy is a project of Stas Shostak, the author of the melancholic surreal adventure Titan Chaser. The game was supposed to be released in March 2022, but after the start of a full-scale invasion, the author was in no mood to make games.

Currently, Stas is serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, so the release of Swords And Their Boy is postponed indefinitely. But recently, in his spare time, Stas started working on a new game, the events of which take place in a pub in a surrounded and later occupied town.


Taimumari 2

Developer by Ternox Games
Genre platformer
Release date ТВА

Made in Ukraine: Ukrainian games 2024-2025. Part II (+ 25 games)

Another project of multi-player Ruslan Salikov from Ternox Games, an interview with whom we did at the beginning of the year.

Taimumari 2 is a 2D platformer in the spirit of the best representatives of the genre at the end of the last century with a cat girl in the main role. a continuation of Taimumari (2015), the developer’s most successful project.

The author promises a variety of gameplay mechanics, many secrets, and the ability to stop time. The development of the game started back in 2020, so let’s hope that it will be released soon. Ukrainian, English, and Japanese localization is planned for the game.


Trident: Naval Doctrine

Developer itold & co
Genre tactical simulator
Release date ТВА

Made in Ukraine: Ukrainian games 2024-2025. Part II (+ 25 games)

A very ambitious naval tactical simulator in which the player will be able to lead a strike group of aircraft carriers, a squadron of destroyers, or a submarine and show their tactical skills in sea battles in the period from the 1980s of the last century to the present.

The authors promise anti-ship and anti-radar missiles, early warning aircraft, sonar and radar reconnaissance, radio jamming and an echeloned air defense system, electronic warfare, massive missile strikes, and so on. Whether it will be possible to sink Moskva cruiser again is currently unknown.

Trident: Naval Doctrine will feature the fleets of 4 major naval powers, dynamic campaigns, fleet and single-ship battles, co-op mode, and much more. As for indie, there is even too much here.

According to the authors, the development of Trident: Naval Doctrine went through some difficult stages and losses. In addition, it was affected by a full-scale war (the game’s Steam page was created on February 23, 2022). However, the project is being actively developed, and public tests and early access are planned for this year.


Twin Soul

Developer White Noise Team
Genre horror, puzzle
Release date TBA

Twin Soul is a horror puzzle, the events of which take place in a closed house in one of the industrial cities of Eastern Europe (it looks like a typical Donbas of the 1990s). The Unreal Engine 5 game is developed by the same team that worked on Silent Hill:Alchemilla for Half-Life 2, which received very favorable reviews.

The authors say that they were inspired by the games of Team Silent, that is, Silent Hill, the works of Hans Rudolf Giger, and the films of David Lynch, and they want to create a real psychological horror game.

The teaser of the horror game Twin Soul, which you can see above, was released 6 years ago, but this project is not abandoned, in 2022. The game’s Twitter was actively updated, including new screenshots. In October 2022, Twin Soul had a Steam page. In addition, the game participated in Indie Cup Ukraine’22, where it had a demo version.


Univers 11: Under the Sky

Developer by PimpGameStudio
Genre strategy
Release date TBA

Made in Ukraine: Ukrainian games 2024-2025. Part II (+ 25 games)

A third-person economic strategy from PimpGameStudio, which has already been highlighted in our selection of projects with Silent Harbor and Rise of Gun.

Zombies on the streets, settlements on the roofs of houses, somehow it reminds me of the recent Dying Light 2 from Techland. But in Univers 11: Under the Sky, the main thing is not to destroy zombies, but to build a stable settlement, trade with neighbors, learn new technologies, and create alliances.

Something tells us that the author will not be able to create three projects at the same time, and the rather complex Univers 11: Under the Sky will receive the lowest development priority.


VALHALL: Harbinger

Developer Blackrose Arts
Genre MMO survival
Release date TBA

MMO-survival in the open world of Varangian mythology. It’s like Conan Exiles meets MORDHAU, but Ukrainian, with Vikings and powered by Unreal Engine 5.

Players in VALHALL: Harbinger must build and defend their own settlement; collect resources, forage for food, protect themselves from bad weather and wild beasts, craft weapons and tools, build ships and explore new lands, raid and rob caravans. The ordinary life of a Viking.

The special feature of the game is the direct control of the direction of the cold weapon and, of course, the berserker mode. Plus, the developers promise the opportunity to master the legendary Mjolnir.

In addition to survival in the open world, VALHALL: Harbinger will also have the usual multiplayer massacre in special arenas.

The game is already on sale on Steam in Early Access and is currently in Pre-Beta status. The new version 0.9.6 was released on February 28, 2023. There is no Ukrainian localization of the game yet.


Walk Hero

Developer TERNOX
Genre rougelike
Release date TBA

Another game by Ruslan Salikov from Ternox Games.

Walk Hero is a kind of mix of Loop Hero and Vampire Survivors. The hero drives along the path, monsters come from all sides, the attack is automatic, and the player chooses equipment and bonuses when receiving a new level. As is typical of Ternox, the game is made in a retro style.


X-POINT

Developer Andrii Skanarri
Genre strategy, action
Release date TBA

It seems that Andrii Skanarri, and the development of this game is led by only one person, set himself the goal of creating an arcade simulator of all types of weapons that exist today. From small arms to tanks, MLRS, planes, warships and even space shuttles. Think of any weapon and there is a high probability that it has already been reproduced in X-POINT. Against the background of this game, even Trident: Naval Doctrine, which was discussed earlier, is just a ship simulator.

One of the features of X-POINT is the ability to take any unit on the map under direct control at any time. It does not matter whether it is an infantryman or an aircraft carrier. The game world here is really big – the area of locations is 7000 square km, ocean depth up to 10 km, hundreds of kilometers of atmosphere, and all this without downloads.

The game has been in development for 4 years, and the author adds new weapons every month, but X-POINT still looks like a sandbox where the player has to entertain themselves. There is a network mode, but there are not many people in the network, sales of the game are almost zero. There is no Ukrainian in the game.


Zero Losses

Developer Marevo Collective
Genre adventure
Release date TBA

Zero Losses is a horror parable in which you play as an occupying soldier, a mobile crematorium operator who must “minimize losses”, that is, find and burn the corpses of Russian soldiers.

This is a kind of sublimation of the experienced fear, panic, tears, and trauma, a creepy reminiscence of the authors on the topic of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The development of Zero Losses began back in March 2022.

Last summer we did a big interview with game developers.


Of course, during the preparation of this article, the author found a few (already 14!) additional Ukrainian games. So, patch 1.2 is coming!

In previous episodes:
Made in Ukraine: Ukrainian games 2023 (33 games)
Made in Ukraine: Ukrainian games 2023. Patch 1.1 (+10 games)
Made in Ukraine: Ukrainian Games 2024-2025. Part I (25 games)