Like any Thursday, last evening the App Store was refreshed with a myriad of new game releases. Rather than highlight juicy games like Real Steel Champions, Warhammer: Snotling Fling and other new arrivals from big name publishers, this time around I’ve decided to do something entirely different.

Therefore: introducing a list of new game releases by independent publishers that I think deserve additional exposure and your attention.

Without further ado, here are five indie games that I think you should definitely check out and hopefully put on your Home screen.

Blockwick 2

From Kieffer Bros, the creators of Aqueduct, Orba and Monster Soup, comes the next installment in the Blockwick universe. Blockwick 2 is a world of jumbled blocks and colorful shapes that challenge you to unscramble the blocks and connect the colors.

Unlike other color-matching games, Blockwick 2 makes things more interesting by employing weirdly shaped blocks like entangled blocks, sticky blocks, caterpillar blocks, and more.

The game includes 160 levels of increasing difficulty. Tip: illuminate the glyphs for an extra challenge. The universal app is 87 megabytes and requires an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad with iOS 6.0 or later.

Blockwick 2 is $3 in the App Store.

Gold Rush! Anniversary HD

Created by German developer Sunlight Games GmbH, this remake of the popular and comprehensive 1988 adventure game that lets you experience the famous California Gold Rush includes updated visuals, touch-optimized controls, all-new soundtrack and speech synthesis.

Set in 1849 when gold was discovered in California, you play as Jerrod Wilson, a hero tasked with traveling the routes from New York to California in search of gold. The iPad-only app weighs 923 megabytes and requires iOS 6.0 or later.

Download old Rush! Anniversary HD for $5 in the App Store.

Hovercraft – Build Fly Retry

Created by High Score Hero, this game is basically a Wipeout-inspired futuristic racer similar to AG Drive, but with blocky graphics. You’ll be dodging and weaving through down an urban highway in the sky. Physics-based engine takes care of realistic hovering, collision and destruction, with rewards for chain reaction crashes.

What’s interesting is that the game includes an editor in which you create your own hovercraft to use in test flights and in-game challenges. As you create your own fleet from scratch, you’ll be also collect over 50 unique hovercrafts by winning races. The universal 81.8-megabyte app requires an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad with iOS 6.0 or later.

Hovercraft – Build Fly Retry is available free in the App Store.

Lastronaut

Indie developer Darrin Henein has been working on Lastronaut for two years and is now putting it out there at no cost as a love letter to the gaming industry. You are a humanoid robot and the year is 2015, but that’s just an excuse for a smoothly executed, pixel-packed action as you run, jump, dodge and blast your way through the machine army.

Your character is equipped with an arsenal of human and robotic weapons to cause mayhem with. The game looks great and I couldn’t stop playing it earlier today

Best of all, Lastronaut has no In-App Purchases or advertising. The app is 17.3 megabytes and requires an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad with iOS 6.0 or later (no native iPad experience, sorry). You can read more about the journey the team went on and why they’re giving it away for free in this Medium post.

Download Lastronaut for free in the App Store.

RAD Boarding

Created by Noodlecake Studios, RAD Boarding is an apocalyptic snowboarding game “jam-packed with 90’s flair”. It certainly looks very polished and appears to be addictive. You’re basically performing all sorts of gnarly tricks while collecting tons of items along the way and fighting crazy boss battles.

The 91.3-megabyte universal app requires an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad with iOS 6.1 or later and is available on a freemium basis with optional In-App Purchases.

Download RAD Boarding at no cost from the App Store.

See anything you like on this list?

Think of another indie game that deserves a mention?

Just make your own recommendations in comments and don’t forget to let others know what you’ll be playing this weekend.