If you’ve never played a solitaire video game, The Solitaire Conspiracy is the perfect gateway into them. Bithell Games have created an accessible yet deeply strategic twist on the classic card game that includes an espionage narrative delivered via FMV’s featuring famous faces. There’s some ludonarrative dissonance between the drama of story told and the relative calmness of the game play but it does little to spoil one of the best this genre has to offer.
A unique narrative framing and art style give Stilstand the tools to tell the story of one woman’s summer long existential crisis in a compelling and original way. It’s a short experience but one that’ll be deeply relatable and darkly funny to those who know the sting of anxiety and depression. This is one of 2020’s hidden gems.
Whether you know the stories of Arthur & the fall of Camelot or not, this game allows you to build your own Arthurian legends step by step. Pendragon is a near-seamless blend of procedurally generated narrative and a strategy game that could have carried itself alone. Combined, they make one of the most unique games of 2020 and while it’s not without its flaws, it’s a game I highly recommend you try.
While not without its flaws, Raji: An Ancient Epic is a competent and enjoyable debut from Nodding Head Games that leans on some video game classics for its mechanics and combat but blends them with Hindu iconography and Balinese mythology to give it oodles of character.
Bounty Battle might be the most ambitious cross-over event in indie gaming history. It unites 22 indie games under one banner and has their heroes duke it out in Smash Bros-esque fashion. This project might have been too ambitious though as the touted story mode is missing, the existing single player content is mundane, the AI needs work and the fight stages lack variety. Still, the game looks first-rate and with friends, all the mechanics are there for a good night of scrappy indie combat.
A cohesive and complementary blend of point-and-click adventure and 2D platformer, Lair of the Clockwork God is a real rib tickler that’s capable of delivering real emotion when it aims to. This is Ben & Dan’s magnum opus and one of the most essential games of 2020.
WRC 9 is a challenging rally game that celebrates the FIA World Rally Championship’s past and present. The driving mechanics themselves are very well implemented and there’s plenty of modes that’ll keep you busy – but there’s more than a few rough edges that prevent it from being a real champion.
Manifold Garden is the best first person puzzle game since Portal 2. Unique spatial mechanics, a world that brings to life M.C. Escher’s work, a winsome art style and masterfully designed puzzles make this one of the easiest recommendations of 2020 so far.
A few issues aside, Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is a celebration of the TV sensation that translates much of what is loved about the show into tangible game play systems. The last third of this game is a brilliant showcase of the time manipulation mechanics and puzzle depth that can really push the player and offers oodles of tension. It’s simply a shame that it takes two thirds the game for that to be realised and for it to end so soon after it begins.
A lot of Kafka’s spirit shines through in this game with the illogical mixed with the depressingly truthful and real. It’s such a shame then that the Xbox One version is beset with so many technical hiccups that threaten to spoil the narrative. Like so much of Kafka’s work, Metamorphosis feels like it has been left unfinished and in need of a few more weeks of polishing.
Simplistic but fun mini-games can’t quite match the quality of the music they’re accompanying in Teenage Blob, a unique split EP music/game that’s over before it really hits its stride.
As an experience, Milky Way Prince is experimental, entirely unique and one that I’m glad exists. I imagine it’ll hang in the subconscious of most people who give it the time of day, but the subject matter will be too much for some to bear.
While Relicta treads a lot of the same ground as its contemporaries, its high production values and enticing narrative make it a worthwhile, quality entry into the genre. With puzzles that will have you scratching your head for hours and a narrative that encourages you to do so, it’s a smart game that has just a few niggles that do very little to sour the experience.
This remake of Destroy All Humans! is really quite incredible and the developers at Black Forest Games should be applauded for what they’ve achieved. The original has been torn apart and rebuilt with the benefit of modern day visuals and game play design while retaining the game’s original character.
If you like those slide puzzle mini-games you find in many other games, Cubicity is a cutesy, leisurely game built around that core concept. There’s 6 to 8 hours of content in this original package with the hint of more to come later but in less than half of that time, you’ll have seen everything this game has to offer. It’s easy – far too easy for my taste as it becomes boring quickly – but this is a comfortable way to kill an hour or 2 before the monotony sets in.
This game is obviously a labour of love for Spicy Gyro Games. That said, compared to it’s peers in an era when we have retro inspired titles that are actually pushing the genre forward, it doesn’t do enough to look anything other than a pale imitation of the original’s its trying to emulate.
Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break is more of what worked in the previous games with a handful of new modes and a creation suite. A tactical tower defence game that’ll have you scratching your head combined with an arcade physics derby that’ll have you grinning over the destruction left in your wake, it’s a lot of fun to play. It’s still not perfect but for those who’ve had fun with the previous 2 games, this instalment builds on that formula in the right places.
Snakes and Ladders on PS4 is a functional, child friendly recreation of the timeless board game. It has a few convenient features which make it easy to play and the board you play on has some 3D snakes which give the game personality. For the asking price though, the real world alternative is much cheaper and just as enjoyable. There’s no innovation here and the game doesn’t take the opportunity to explore what a digital Snakes and Ladders could evolve the game into.
The narrative, while eventually realised, takes some odd turns and because the overarching plot spans 40+ hours and is drip fed to you at regular intervals, the pacing can feel slow and disjointed. The transition from PC to PS4 has not been kind on the menu systems either. It’s during combat – a blend of RTS with time stopping/slowing mechanics – that Tower of Time is most unique, really pushing the player to understand the beasts they’re fighting and how best to strategize against them. If you liked the Baldur’s Gate or Neverwinter Nights games from the 90’s and have been hankering for something similar and traditional yet modernised, Tower of Time delivers just that.
A colourful third person party shooter with adorable aquatic characters, Otterman Empire is rough around the edges with a tutorial that does more harm than good. The single player and co-op game play flits between fun and pedestrian while the Versus mode might as well be the games saving grace.