Devil Daggers' stripped-down and distilled essence of first-person shooter intensity will take up a lot of my time in the weeks to come. Every second longer that I survive in its hellish arena is a new record for myself to break, over and over again. It's a brutal, but brilliant shooter that finds strength in its minimalism, stretching a few seconds of action here and there into endless hours of dreadful fun.
Layers of Fear lacks the surprises and subtlety needed to keep things interesting all the way through. It makes a strong first impression, but quickly exhausts its best ideas, making it hard for them to really shine as scary or meaningful moments. It's hard to be terrified when you can see what's coming at the end of every long dark hallway.
The Witness has a power and pull that carried me throughout the more than 40 hours it took to complete it for the first time, and that, even now, beckons me back to confront the mysteries I left unsolved. Its graceful combination of tangible goals, obscurity, and freedom creates ample opportunity for small victories and grand revelations alike. For the most part, its themes weave themselves beautifully throughout the gorgeous world and wide variety of puzzles, but even when it breaks subtlety in favor of a more heavy-handed approach to exposition, it never detracts from the truly fulfilling moments The Witness offers in terms of solving its physical puzzles and unlocking its deepest mysteries.
Nuclear Throne is an enjoyably tough run-and-gun with tons of energy and variety to justify hours and hours of replays.
Mushroom 11 is a strange and unique game that reshapes the way you think about its puzzles.
Guild of Dungeoneering is a fun and interesting approach to turn-based dungeon crawlers.
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is a relentless, rhythmic, and brutal game of killing fast, and often dying even faster.