Rachel Watts
"It all evokes the same galaxy-brain mind-bending puzzles of Portal, Superliminal, Marquette, and Viewfinder"
It's an overwhelming experience with a captivating story submerged in beautiful visuals and music. It has some magical sequences and is an all-around unforgettable game. It holds moments of relaxation but also action and tension. It explores ones of the few places left on earth we still have yet to fully understand and embraces that mystery and wonder. ABZU is a reflection of what makes video games so amazing because they create places and feelings that we will never be able to experience, like the feeling of being one with the ocean.
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is an intricate puzzle box of interconnected parts. At times it can feel overwhelming, but ultimately this stylish noir's captivating puzzle design anthology and spellbinding story feels like an entirely new and contemporary kind of puzzle game.
Samorost 3 shares some of the same ideas with its two previous games of the same name but is also completely its own game. The game is around 5 – 6 hours long, and some say that the asking price of £14.99 is a bit steep. But what you get in exchange is a unique and charming pocket sized adventure with exceptional visuals and music, a game from an award winning independent studio whose previous games have also won a variety of awards and a game that can be played by anyone of any age.
Visually gorgeous and emotionally raw, True Colors is an incredible continuation of the Life is Strange series.
A serene gravity flipping puzzler with impossible structures to wrap your head around.
A thought-provoking and bittersweet adventure that understands that death is part of living.
A gentle and engrossing underwater sci-fi game that will have you thinking about more than what lies beneath the waves.
Omori's ending is brutal, but its characters and humour put some heart behind the horror.
An excellent co-op adventure that doesn't take itself too seriously, and that's the only place it falls short.
A fun and frenetic reality TV sim, The Crush House delivers thoughtful commentary on virtual voyeurism.
Goodbye Volcano High is a heartfelt coming-of-age drama about a group of teen dinosaurs confronted with an uncertain future. Dreamy pop ballads and an absorbing dialogue system offer a gateway into an introspective story about being young, queer, and chasing your dreams in the face of impending disaster.
The world of Moon Hunters keeps you playing. The story seems short and straightforward at first, but actually conceals a variety of branching narratives. You can set out to find all these hidden secrets in multiple playthroughs or just grab a couple of friends and enjoy the combat and decision making as a team.
An energy infused concoction of style, action, and music that will give you one heck of a musical hangover.
Fuser feels like a natural evolution for Harmonix and, scoring system aside, lets players take control of the music more than ever before.
Wattam is a fun colourful playground for players to goof around in, even though it's controls have a few screws loose.
A little abstract in nature, but Genesis Noir is an all-around stunning audio-visual adventure.
Minecraft Dungeons is a breezy dungeon crawler that reproduces Minecraft's playful attitude.
An eye-popping musical adventure that will leave you with a serious case of galaxy brain.
OPUS: The Day We Found Earth, is a chilled star searching game with a light-hearted narrative. It’s a touching game about a robot continuing one person’s life long ambition to find the beginning of human history. Even though the gameplay is simplistic, it adds to the overall feeling of relaxation. It’s a short game that can be finished in 2 hours or a bit more if you’re a completionist.