Courtney Ehrenhofler
Pictopix is a quiet and relaxing nonogram puzzler with plenty of challenging puzzles and the right amount of helpful hints for beginners. The major drawbacks are a lack of a save feature and the inability to choose your own music.
Thimbleweed Park provides a very intriguing, out of the box story and well thought out characters, but the determination to adhere to retro adventure game mechanics can be a bit of a hindrance.
This flashback collection hits right in the nostalgia, with good reason. The games have stood the test of time and come out victorious, with a few minor hiccups along the way. Capcom includes a great set of extras including Time Attack and Boss mode and music and art galleries for the enthusiast.
While Little Nightmares has an interesting premise and plenty of promise, the lack of a story, any definable characters and the frustrating save point system are just too much for the interesting aesthetic and standard gameplay to overcome.
A good port of a fun game, AuroraBound Deluxe is light on challenge but makes up for it with a fun and colorful design and an open-ended amount of puzzles, with the only major drawback being a lack of replaying or seeing previous puzzles.
Black Mirror starts with an interesting premise and decent voice acting, but the combination of poor controls and atrocious camera angles paired with a garbled story and uninteresting characters drag this experience to the bottom of the abyss.
While neither Jeopardy! nor Wheel of Fortune are groundbreaking or innovative, they're both solid, fun choices for those who enjoy these classic TV game shows. They translate well into a play at home format with enough variety to keep things interesting.
Fe is an enjoyable puzzle platformer with an adorable protagonist. The camerawork and murky narratives could both be improved, but neither prevents this from being a fun, forest adventure.
A great detective game, it's not for the faint-hearted. Well-written and with multiple character paths to choose from, Lamplight City isn't for puzzle seekers but will satisfy those looking for a great mystery.
Unforeseen Incidents is a smart, well-written adventure game that keeps you hooked from start to finish.
Sunless Skies is a fun romp with enough plot variety to keep you entertained. While the writing lacks the sharpness of previous installments, this is a good series introduction for beginners.
Phoenix Wright's story and humor stand the test of time, but the graphical upgrades do it no favors. While voiceovers would be appreciated, the sound effects and dialogue are creative enough to make up for it.
With a promising premise and great voice acting, Whispers of a Machine starts out on the right foot but is brought down by poor puzzle design and shallow writing.
London Detective Mysteria is a fun little diversion for those who enjoy Victorian-era literature and the heroes and heroines that come from it, but it fails to establish itself as anything new in the genre and loses focus on the bigger mystery.
Spirit of the North has much to offer, even though some of the finer points get lost in between the cracks, it's a journey well worth taking.
LUNA The Shadow Dust is a beautiful game in a mysterious world. While not for those seeking a strong story or intimately clever puzzles, it provides a fun, whimsical experience.
Super Crush KO is good clean, robot-bashing fun. With easy controls and gradually increased difficulty, it's a great way to get into the genre.
Death and Taxes is a short, fun game with plenty of replay value and enough challenge to keep you reincarnating a few times over.
Murder By Numbers is a fun and funny 90s romp for nonogram enthusiasts, but perhaps not the casuals.
Half Past Fate is a sweet, complicated tale, perfect for those who want a few hours of heart and soul and not many puzzles.