At the outset, Future Unfolding is magical experience; an elegant world waiting to be explored, with wonder at every step. But with each discovery, the wonder disappears – and isn't replaced with anything new.
It may not be wholly original, but Hollow Knight is without a doubt one of the best metroidvania games out there.
Stories Untold places a hidden story within a hidden story; a puzzle that only reveals itself once you piece together its outer layers – and it's one of the most fascinating and unique tales you can play this year.
Shadows of Adam takes the very best aspects of the genre, cuts out most of the tedium and delivers an exciting, stirring and compelling trip through memory lane.
All The Delicate Duplicates' moments of greatness – often coming from its experimental nature – are too few and far between stages of gratuitous reading and derivative searching. The final experience, marred by playing it just too safe, comes off feeling needlessly short and forgetful.
For all its linearity, Mainlining does a fantastic job of making you feel like a detective. It’s as much a puzzle game as it is a point-and-click, and the continous light-hearted humour keeps the experience from feeling too drab.
Beastiarium sets out to combine horror and story, yet feels completely disconnected from both. In the end, so little story is actually delivered cohesively and it so rarely feels even tense.
I have the feeling that Lamina Studios were going for a ‘Best of Roguelikes’ with Dungeon Souls, but it ends up as more of a showcase of the best and worst the genre has to offer.
Even with certain problems, some that stand out more than others, there is some semblance of greatness in Maize – particularly in the writing and humour that shines through the absurdity.
Tyranny may have its issues and it may be shorter than other RPGs but it often means that, in the end, it comes together as a greater and more concise experience.
Slayaway Camp is a simple puzzle game that through evolving mechanics becomes a difficult and satisfying experience. It revels in both the ludicrous and outlandishly fun things that come from its original genre while making fun of its stupidities.
Barring the occasional frustration, D-Pad Studio have created a wonderful and satisfying tale filled with superb characters and marvellous presentation.
You would think a pirate game would have a brimming personality. Yet, sailing around, doing mission after mission, I never feel like a pirate. I never dig up treasure, get in trouble with the law or even meet any famous pirates.
There are great concepts at play here in terms of the weapons and gameplay, but Ironguard is unfortunately let down by pretty much everything else.
While Ride 2 has some problems, such as questionable balancing of difficulty and credit-earning, the wealth of customisation options available and the pure gratification and thrill of competing makes it rather unlike any other experience currently available.
Put simply, Farabel is tough. To some, it may seem unfairly so, although the strategy and tactics required to actually make your way through the game are enticing.
By end-game each one of your characters will have around 20 abilities, all with their own uses, and you will have developed a playstyle that fits the classes in your party
There isn’t any wall-jumping, double jumps or any other fancy manoeuvres, just pure precision platforming
With how rare supplies are and how easy it is to die… even the simple act of opening a door becomes a terrifying experience
It is a shame that every level is so well done and all required so much work, in terms of visual and audio presentation, that it means there are so few levels overall