A smart take on surveillance and a focus on player choice makes Orwell exciting, engaging, and discomforting.
Beholder is based on a strong concept, and it has moments that land well, but it’s also held back by repetition and an unexciting script. The unpleasantness doesn’t always feel worth the hassle, and few players will realise the ultimate goal of saving their family and escaping the mundanity of their tenement basement life without kowtowing to the state.
Loot Rascals is a gorgeous, tactical turn-based roguelike that doesn’t always give back as much as it takes.
Short horror anthology Stories Untold preys on technological nostalgia, which works three times out of four.
This roguelike’s cool combat system is held back by a terrible structure.
A scrappy underdog of a game that will send you on a short but glorious power trip.
Rime's gentle puzzles and gorgeous vistas ease you in before it opens its heart.
A meditative game about exploring and gathering that offers great beauty but not much else.
Take to the skies as a dragon in Oure, but don't expect to find much to do up there.
A much-improved sequel that blends disparate gameplay styles to create a compelling roguelike experience.
Tokyo RPG Factory's follow-up to I Am Setsuna improves on the first game's combat, but feels like a by-the-numbers RPG in other areas.
A unique game about collecting and trading stories across the American Dust Bowl doesn't give much room to craft your own story in the process.
The Behemoth's turn-based strategy game carries the studio's usual sense of humor and a fun Pokémon-style "catch 'em all" twist.
The follow-up to Orwell, which asks you to take down an anti-government blogger, is a slighter take on the original game's mechanics and themes.
Penny-Punching Princess is a solid, often fun brawler, but its emphasis on grinding and repetition make it too easy to step away from.
A meditative, breezy puzzle adventure game that's light on challenge, but likely to stick with you after you finish it.
Unique smartphone games Framed and Framed 2 are now together in one place and offer some fun, clever puzzles.
A complete, free prelude to Life is Strange 2 that has us ready for more.
A stuffy follow-up to Rainbow Moon that doesn't improve on its predecessor.
A level-morphing puzzle game with enough charm and ingenuity to overcome its control issues and short length.