Rob Gordon
'Shovel Knight', from Yacht Club Games, is a well-crafted love letter to the 8-bit era of gaming, as well as being a fantastic and addictive 2D platformer.
Obsidian returns to its Black Isle roots with the Infinity Engine-inspired 'Pillars of Eternity'. Does the old-school RPG live up to its predecessors?
'Convoy' may stick a little too closely to the roguelikes it aims to emulate, but it is nonetheless an enthralling and addictive indie title with plenty of challenge.
'Crypt of the NecroDancer' more than lives up to its early access promise, providing players with an excellent hybrid of dungeon crawling and rhythm-based gameplay.
'Underground' manages to overcome its niche edutainment roots with a taxing and unique puzzler, in spite of fairly clunky controls and a difficult camera.
Indie speed-runner 'Lost Orbit' provides players with a fast-paced space adventure that manages to toe the marginal line between challenge and frustration.
Roll7's 2D shooter 'Not A Hero' may occasionally frustrate, but nonetheless offers a fantastic, fluid and vibrant indie challenge full of bizarre humor.
'Swords and Soldiers 2' impresses with its lovingly-crafted character models and light-hearted humor, but its limited 2D plane gameplay may not be for everyone.
'0rbitalis' provides a calm and collected space-based puzzle experience, a little thin on content but chock full of quality, challenge, and atmosphere.
With boring gameplay and twitchy controls, an impressive art style and much-publicized controversy cannot hide the tedious shooter underneath 'Hatred's veneer.
STASIS punches well above its weight, delivering a chilling, intense experience. With an atmospheric and unnerving style, the title is a must for fans of sci-fi horror.
Extreme Exorcism is a basic but fun sugar rush of manic arcade-style platforming and intense local multiplayer, all built around an interesting and unique game mechanic.
Poncho is a fun but sometimes ponderous platform puzzler, with an impressive core mechanic and fun visuals that are slightly let down by moments of frustrating gameplay.
Hard West delivers a new setting for turn-based strategy fans, bringing X-COM style combat to the Wild West with fun (and difficult) firefights but little replayability.
Divinity: Original Sin makes its way to consoles with an impressive level of quality, a decent graphical overhaul, and a fantastic co-op gameplay experience.
Immortal Empire lacks polish and suffers from simplistic gameplay, but in spite of its shortcomings there is something addictive about this free-to-play strategy game.
Marred by awkward camera controls and sluggish gameplay, Yasai Ninja's content doesn't deliver on the zany premise of a feudal Japan inhabited by ninja vegetables.
iOS Kickstarter hit Republique comes to PC and Mac, delivering a terrific graphical upgrade alongside an enthralling plot and claustrophobic stealth gameplay.
Stoic's tactical RPG The Banner Saga makes its way to consoles, and still manages to deliver a fantastic, captivating story alongside a fun and challenging battle system.
Developer Butterscotch Shenanigans delivers a rip-roaring success with crafting action RPG Crashlands, bringing outlandish humor and addictive gameplay to the indie scene.