There are some great video games rolling out in 2020, including major releases like Doom Eternal, Cyberpunk 2077 and The Last of Us Part II. As eagerly as we’re anticipating those, there are also several smaller titles of top quality on the horizon.

With their innovative designs and storylines, they’re the indie films to the blockbusters we just mentioned. The 5 listed below were all premiered at E3 2019, and are the ones we feel are most worth checking out.

Way to the Woods

Developed and designed by an Australian teenager named Anthony Tan, Way to the Woods follows a fawn and a deer that are making their way to, believe it or not, the woods. Think Spirited Away, but with deer, and you’ve got a good idea of what you’ll be seeing here.

You’ll embody the deer and as you move through the game (and yes, towards the woods) you’ll encounter wild hounds, talking cats, floating sewer fish and other friends and foes. If Studio Ghibli made a video game, it would probably look like this.

Empire of Sin

Doom’s John and Brenda Romero are behind this XCOM-style strategy game that is due out in the second quarter of 2020. Set in prohibition-era Chicago, it thrusts players into the heart of a ruthless criminal underworld. You’ll need to use all your wits and skill to charm, hustle and intimidate by turns as you claw your way to the top of the empire, and then do whatever is needed to stay there.

Carrion

Carrion’s creators, Phobia Game Studio, describe it as a reverse-horror experience; instead of the hunted human you are the amorphous, tentacled creature who stalks and then consumes the people who imprisoned you. As you gobble up more people, you’ll gain different skills, which allow you to explore the labyrinthine map that is as well-designed as the sites reviewed online.

Twelve Minutes

Inspired by the films of Stanley Kubrick, Twelve Minutes is an interactive murder-mystery with serious thriller overtones. The award-winning click-and-drag game starts out as a romantic evening, but the protagonist is soon stuck in a time loop that is 12 minutes long. As the main character, you’re doomed to keep reliving the terror of watching a rogue police detective break into your home and beat your wife to death. You need to use your knowledge of what is going to happen to change the outcome.

The Pathless

The Pathless is the latest release from Giant Squid, the dynamic creators who brought us ABZÛ. Players are taken on a mythic, epic adventure in a cursed forest, as they assume the role of the Hunter. A master of archery, she must dispel the curse that has shrouded her world.

To do this, you’ll need to forge a relationship with an eagle companion, who will travel with you as you explore a forested island. Fight in battles, solve the puzzles that you find in the island’s ancient ruins and hunt the corrupted – while making sure that you don’t become corrupted yourself.