While Research and Destroy has a few flaws and comes across as way better when playing in co-op, it can't be denied that it's still a great blend of action and strategy, one that embraces classic science fiction and crafts spectacular moments of action out of it, eight seconds at a time.
Weird West offers up a world of intrigue with a terrific blend of classic Western fiction and supernatural elements, with a lot of enjoyable story bits and and a world that can change on a whim, but it's one whose awkward combat and bugs make for a bit of an uphill battle when it comes to truly enjoying this world. WolfEye should definitely be commended for their ambition and unique ideas, and the end result is still an enjoyable game, just one that could have used some extra spit and polish.
General Interactive deserve applause for their unique approach to detective work in adventure games, but the central mechanic in Chinatown Detective Agency feels like it deserves to be in a more substantial game.
If nothing else, NORCO will go down as the game this year that had the most unique world, but it also stands a huge chance of going down as the game with the best writing, story (or stories) and atmosphere. Who could have thought that Louisiana would be a perfect backdrop for a bizarre sci-fi mystery? Geography of Robots did, and it's thanks to them that we got this memorable journey that folks should check out, even if it may be hard to describe what happened.
Don't be fooled by the somewhat goofy exterior of Tentacular, as what lies beneath its surface is a crafty and unique physics puzzler with a wicked sense of humor and a well-done story that cleverly has you work with the limitations of your massive kaiju body.
1P2P have delivered a stylish and superb adventure with Young Souls, a dazzling hybrid of brawlers and crawlers (dungeon, that is) that's perfectly suited for all players while delivering an amazing and challenging experience, one that will have you searching every path and going over every weapon, with every trip into a level leading to some form of satisfaction in one one way or another.
Given our memories of the first game, it would have been a miracle if Submerged: Hidden Depths had just been a merely fine distraction.
Lost Recipes is a great cooking simulator, a nifty VR title and a highly-creative and fun educational game all wrapped up in a one-of-a-kind package.
Even if it still doesn't lead to some sort of resurgence in extreme sports games, OlliOlli World can still stand as one of the most unique and fun skateboarding games of all time, one that's perfectly suited for both novices and masters alike thanks to its intense and immaculate level design, massive variety of tricks to pull off and tons of challenges to keep players coming back for more.
Rarely do you find games these days that could be described as a combination of "ambitious," "thought-provoking," "hard-hitting," "hilarious" and "extremely fun," but somehow Not For Broadcast delivers on that front.
Puzzle design that truly excels in creating simple yet challenging orders.
Windjammers 2 is far from a revolutionary new take on the original game, but it's a great sequel and terrific arcade sports game in its own right, continuing to establish Dotemu as masters of the retro throwback scene.
Firegirl: Hack 'n Splash Rescue isn't necessarily a hot mess or a dumpster fire, but it is a rather unstable experiment made of promising elements that went up in smoke. The basic platforming and firefighting action is enjoyable enough, but the rest of the possible enjoyment is buried under a mound of RNG, bad procedurally-generated levels and a lack of good progression. Unless you're up for a big challenge, this is one title likely to leave you cold instead.
Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon may seem like a minor yet unexpected twist for the franchise, but it's a twist that pays off big time.
Wolfstride has its flaws, but if you're willing to get past them, it ends up having a unique charm in its story, characters and combat that's worth checking out. Sure, the giant anime mech battles may be a main draw, but you'll stay for the clever bits of character development and glimpses into the history and personalities of these rascals as you get to know them. Wolfstride doesn't always land with a huge mechanical blow, but it can still deliver a decent hit overall.
Solar Ash is another triumph from Heart Machine, a fast-paced burst of vibrant, surreal science fiction where players get to glide and jump around fascinating worlds with terrific bits of platforming and action spread out across a series of unique worlds with jaw-dropping visuals.
Unpacking is a delightful and charming puzzle game, one that perfectly takes a chore such as moving and perfectly shows how it can highlight the most important parts of out lives, allowing us to reflect upon them and the transitions we go through along the way.
The Dark Pictures Anthology still needs to iron out a few things before it can produce a truly classic entry, but thanks to a strong and fun story with a lot of twists, welcome difficulty options and stronger choice-based gameplay, House of Ashes shows the series is still striving to make notable improvements when it comes to crafting scary and entertaining tales.
Echo Generation is visually striking, with a lot of intriguing concepts and solid combat and gameplay at its core. Unfortunately, a lack of focus with the narrative holds it back from being a truly impressive RPG. The boss battles alone might be worth the price of admission, and there's still other bits to enjoy, but those looking for more meat would best be off searching for another tale of adventurous kids from decades past.
Inscryption manages to combine an expertly-crafted card game, a nail-biting tale of horror and enjoyable escape room adventures into another genre-defying gem and easily one of the year's best games.