Disco Elysium doesn't shy away from its problems, but each one just cements how interesting those flaws are. Minor technical issues can be fixed, but what the game does, how it does it, and how the player responds is something that no other medium, no other game has achieved.
Bravely Default 2 is a comfortable game in an uncomfortable season. It offers a well-refined experience with a few exciting elements but doesn't quite grasp the experimental or groundbreaking design it was shooting for.
Super Mario 3D World shows why Mario is an ageless franchise, with the seven-year-old game providing fresh fun and a delightful experience. Bowser's Fury is the exact opposite, showing just how exciting and experimental the series can be.
Despite its appeal to nostalgia and the phenomenal success of the first game, Super Meat Boy Forever fails to deliver its promises and ends up undermining the IP and design of the game it's based upon.
Call of the Sea is a gripping, interesting, and creative take on the Lovecraftian formula. It moves away from the oft-trodden horror roots and creates an imaginative and immersive puzzle adventure with none of the lingering racism you might expect.
Twin Mirror is a fun, pulp detective story filled with interesting plot beats and characters, hampered only by the inclusion of strange mini-games and a really boring central character.
Pacer is a fun, difficult, and fast racing game that marries some sensible simplicities to an often overwhelming genre. That said, some little oversights can still hamper new players' experience.
Watch Dogs Legion is a great step forward for the series, with enough experimental new gameplay features to complement the familiar mechanics. London is incredible, and exploring it is an almost visceral experience. It's just a shame that the story doesn't hold the same familiarity that the map does.
Partisans 1941 blends differing aspects of the tactical squad genre with mixed results. While the staging of ambushes and scouting of strongholds is as satisfying as any other game, the actual combat and fireworks leave a little bit to be desired.
Hades is near perfect, offering exactly what you expect and yet somehow exceeding your wildest expectations. From the art design to the gameplay to the narrative, Hades is proof of the incredible creative power that SuperGiant Games have been honing for the last nine years.
In Spelunky 2 you never get the same game twice, not just because the layout changes but because all the systems interact with each other to kill you in new, imaginative, and hilarious ways. It's almost impossible to put down.
Spellbreak deserves a place among the other Battle Royale greats. It breaks away from the others in the genre and does so with amazing polish, thoughtful design, and is most importantly just so much fun to play.
While The Last Campfire might not be bristling with new ideas for the genre, it packs more or less every kind of puzzle you could expect and embellishes the package with immerse charm and creative ingenuity.
Griefhelm isn't a bad game, but the parts that make it good only work in isolation, not with each other. That drags the whole experience down, however excited you might be for the battles.
Tell Me Why uses everything it can to get you invested. The puzzles are creative and often use the game's systems in a way you might not expect, while the characters are incredibly interesting and the story is powerful.
Hellraid looks good but offers none of the originality that Techland brought to the zombie genre, focusing on all the wrong parts of Dying Light and all the most predictable parts of the fantasy universe instead.
Rock of Ages 3 could be incredibly popular with the right audience with its impressive inclusion of map-making on top of its wacky, over the top design. But there are so many caveats to what you need to enjoy the game, its hard to see it reaching widespread appeal.
Orcs Must Die 3 is a captivating, funny, and varied tower defense/action game hybrid best suited to those that don't want to just be armchair generals. But with a massive difficulty spike halfway through the campaign, it doesn't quite find the perfect balance.
Crayta is yet another game that serves as a platform for user-created content. Despite the competition, it still manages to stand out and not just because the game is on Google Stadia. With its focus on multiplayer experiences and experimental design, this could become a fantastic library of titles once the community starts generating its own products.
Beyond Blue does exactly what it set out to do. It isn't trying to compete with action oriented games but instead focuses on a part of our world so often overlooked to create an incredible sense of place, beauty, and conservation out of the people playing it.