The Excavation of Hob's Barrow is an adventure of a rare "harvest", which, if it had been released in the golden age of adventures, would now be remembered as a top example of the genre. With its brilliantly written plot and a thrilling finale, Cloak & Dagger's creation has already carved out a lofty place among the best indie games of the year.
Soulstice is a decent hack 'n' slash game that is not ashamed of its influences, but at the same time it attempts to deviate from them by implementing its own version of the familiar battle system. It does not have the same finesse as DMC, for example, but fans of the genre will appreciate it a little more.
Stylized, with several doses of tactics and familiar battle system, Sunday Gold is an interesting experiment that could achieve more.
Appropriately mysterious, clever, and humorous, Nine Noir Lives is another excellent adventure that deserves attention.
Justin Wack and the Big Time Hack is another great adventure for this year, which is recommended to all fans of the genre. It features good humor, a relatively long length, dozens of puzzles to solve and a clever and entertaining story that, without being overwhelming, makes it a highly enjoyable adventure experience.
TMNT: Shredder's Revenge is a beat 'em up that delivers exactly what it promises. Although its content is a bit poor, it offers great doses of pure fun, especially in multiplayer mode, and is a first-rate title for those who want to throw a few quick punches. Cowabanga dudes!
Card Shark is an original game that is worth your time, even if you are not a gambling fan. The individual pieces of gameplay may be essentially quite simple (visual novel and mini-games), but they are so aptly married and combined with the witty and phlegmatic writing, they make for a very addictive game that will keep your interest until the credits roll.
Kao The Kangaroo is an enjoyable and fun platformer, whose low difficulty level combined with its short duration is a hindrance to its potential to be placed alongside top titles like Crash Bandicoot and Ratchet & Clank. However, its overall quality is high enough to make it undoubtedly a worthy recommendation for platformer fans.
Voodoo Detective is a remarkable adventure with a unique aesthetic, which could have scored even higher if it had a little more difficult puzzles and a longer duration. However, it does succeed in introducing a likeable new hero to the adventure genre, who may star in even more adventures in the future. After all, he has a debt to Baron.
Crowns and Pawns: Kingdom of Deceit is an adventure that pushes all the right buttons for fans of the genre. It features a beautiful story, well-written dialogues, enough interesting Lithuanian history and the necessary mystery to keep the player's curiosity high until the credits roll. Even with its slightly disappointing ending, this is a game you ought to add to your collection.
Trek to Yomi is a game you should try at some point, no matter what kind of game you prefer. It may not impress with its combat system and linear gameplay structure, but both its flawless cinematics and unparalleled atmosphere are enough to make it memorable.
Blast Brigade is obviously a game full of quality and passion. The lovable graphical aspect is accompanied by tons of humour and satire, and a quality voice-over, while the gameplay has an impressive depth and is enriched each time so aptly that it sharply renews interest until the end of the adventure.
Ghostwire: Tokyo doesn't have any major flaws that would make it a huge disappointment. It may not fascinate with its gameplay and repetitive action, but thanks to its excellent atmosphere, impressive realization of Japanese lore, and sometimes entertaining combat, it manages to outperform the average with ease.
A nice action/RPG in a cyberpunk background, with a beautiful and unique personality, but with a plot that falls short.
Shadow Warrior 3 isn't the next "big" FPS we might have been expecting, but it's a quality work from a team that knows how to deliver a good shooter to its audience. Fans of the genre shouldn't miss it, and for those looking for a strong action-packed "dose", the game is a worthwhile proposition.
Dexter Stardust: Adventures in Outer Space is a game worth trying at some point for adventure fans, especially at the price offered. It's not going to leave an indelible mark on the adventure game world, but it's an honest effort from a man who loves the genre and wants to contribute his bit to it.
Sifu will show no mercy. It's a well thought out game, superbly combining an addictive gameplay and a unique combat system, that high challenge and martial arts enthusiasts will enjoy to the fullest.
Dying Light 2: Stay Human is a game that successfully manages to marry all the cliches of open world/zombie games in a highly attractive and complete title. The open-world market may have been saturated for years now, but it's hard to see a similar title being released this year that's more fun than Dying Light 2. And I think that's what counts in the end.