If you like management and/or simulation games and are fond of fishies, Megaquarium is the game for you! Go wild as you progress from a small-time aquarium builder to Aquaman himself, creating a multitude of massive glass prisons for all your water-based tourist attractions and money-makers. The progression is done really well, unlocking new items and fish to research and obtain as you move through the lengthy campaign – you’ll never feel like you have nothing new to show off or interesting for your paying customers to take advantage of. The stability towards the end of the game is pretty bad, but it never affected my enjoyment as it only became an ‘issue’ in the very final mission of the final level.
Anthill is a unique take on the ‘defense’ genre, having you draw and assign trails to units instead of placing towers. From such a simple concept comes an addictive and challenging game, one which will entertain you for many hours as you try and work out the most efficient and cost-effective way to proceed. I personally felt like the later levels spiked in difficulty, without any warning, but after going back and earning more stars to upgrade my ant colony, I began to progress again. It’s a brilliANT ANTdictive game which you’ll find hard to put down.
For a movie tie-in, Monkey King: Hero is Back does a great job of both replicating the experience and enhancing the story with new scenes and narrative. Sure, the combat and movements are slower than we are used to these days, and there is a lot of loading (despite it being very short), but after a while, I found myself used to it and not bothered by the slower gameplay and more relaxed experience. As you grow, both emotionally and physically, throughout the story, you’ll bond with the characters right until the final conclusion. It has its flaws, but I personally really enjoyed this Journey to the West adaptation.
Return of the Obra Dinn is the most complex and imaginative whodunnit-style murder mystery puzzle game, ever! Despite the aesthetically pleasing 1-bit design, underneath lies a perfectly crafted 3D world full of emotion, tragedy, murder, and deception. With two possible endings to uncover based upon how many people you correctly name, along with their cause of death, you could be trying to solve the mystery for many hours based upon your skills as a sleuth. If you have any interest at all in puzzle, mystery, narrative, unique, or cryptic games, you need to buy this today on whatever platform you own.
I honestly doubted that Trails of Cold Steel III could topple the incredible experience I had with the previous two games, oh how I was wrong. Taking everything which made the last two games great, Nihon Falcom has created a more advanced and enhanced version of the game we all know and love. There’s little to fault when a game manages to keep me invested and hooked for over 120 hours on my first playthrough, sat on the edge of my seat with each and every revelation and event, both cheering and getting emotional along with the characters. JRPG fans have to buy this game, it’s mandatory if you’ve played the previous two and enjoyed them as you’re guaranteed to simply love this game without any doubt.
Personally, I feel that The Outer Worlds is much more than ‘Fallout in Space’, it’s a brilliant masterpiece which strives on player-choice and morality. Whether you’re exploring the numerous planets, working your way through the many quests, trying to get on the good side of a faction, or simply having a ‘blast’ killing everyone, there’s always something to do. Visually the game is simply gorgeous, Mechanically it’s deep and highly customisable for your playstyle, and in terms of the story and lore, there’s so much to read, discover and become a part of. The Outer Worlds isn’t a simply a game, it’s another universe awaiting your direction.
Into the Dead 2 on the Nintendo Switch is just as addictive as the Mobile version, only with no sign of energy or in-App purchases! Despite the very simplistic controls and grindy purchase and upgrade mechanics, I found it incredibly hard to stop playing this game due to the constant progression and multitude of missions to complete. 60 levels of zombie slaughter, 300 missions to complete, 36 additional missions via three Side Stories (60 with the DLC/physical edition), and a whole host of companions, weapons, boosts, and Arcade events – this is simply the definitive edition of the game without any doubt. If you, like me, find yourself easily addicted to simple mobile games, this game will hook you and keep you playing for hours upon hours.
Raging Loop isn’t just one of my GOTY titles, it’s one of my favourite Visual Novels of all time. The brilliant combination of horror, thriller, comedy, excitement and mystery all combines into a perfect package which I never wanted to end. KEMCO has done an outstanding job of turning a party game into a branching Visual Novel experience which fully immerses you within its world of beasts, Gods and fantasy. For the squeamish out there, the game relies heavily on verbally describing the horrific deaths rather than visually showing them, so don’t worry about it getting too traumatic! All I can say is, Visual Novel fans need to buy this game – it’s bloody brilliant!
For an apparent reboot of a very successful series within a major franchise, Grid far exceeded my expectations and brought me many hours of joy. Despite not being a massive racing fan, I love the format of this game with it’s quick and easy access to the events and simple no-fluff menu system. The fact you can progress without having to complete every single event (unless looking for trophies) means it’s more accessible to everyone, especially if you include all the difficulty and customisations options. I wasn’t too impressed with the simplistic public multiplayer, but at least the private matches are far more configurable for friends to play with each other.
If you’ve yet to experience Candleman on any platform so far, the Switch version is just as good as any other out there. The game is a brilliant indie puzzle platformer which utilises its ‘ten seconds of burn time’ mechanic perfectly, forcing you to be more reserved and cautious than you would be in a standard 3D platformer. As you progress closer to the goal, the mighty Lighthouse, the world becomes much more colourful, spooky, hostile, and daunting. The adventure our little protagonist embarks on is one which everyone should tag along on.
Tropico 6 has stepped in and raised the bar for all games within the genre to try and reach. The developers have taken the core gameplay mechanics from previous games in the series, which we all know and love, added a few new unique and exciting ones into the mix, and then presented us with the best Tropico game so far. In terms of size, playing through all fifteen campaigns will take you a lifetime, not to mention the unlimited fun to be had within the random map generator and online portions of the game. If you’re looking for an engaging, exciting, entertaining, and enjoyable new resource management game, look no further!
Edna & Harvey: Harvey’s New Eyes is yet another great point-and-click game from Daedalic Entertainment. Despite its bright and humourous exterior, underneath is a dark and twisted tale of depression, anxiety, pain and acceptance. The numerous ‘restrictions’ you have to remove in order to proceed with various puzzles and interactions really adds a new level to the game, making you think about the solution in multiple ways. The music and overall narrative were spot-on for the experience they were trying to deliver, the narrator stands out as one of the best in recent years and I simply adore the opening song to the game. The port onto modern consoles is also great, with no issues or bugs that I could see.
Despite what you may think of ‘simulation games’, Bus Simulator is incredibly addictive and frustratingly fun. Whether you’re playing the game solo or with a friend via online co-op, there’s so much more to the game than simply driving a bus – you must also deal with annoying passengers and keep an eye out for the pesky potholes of doom! Visually, it’s not the best game out there but the unique nature of the landmarks and buildings helps immerse you within this wonderful world of the bus driver.
With a gradual difficulty curve and beautiful visuals, The Sojourn is an impressive puzzle game which will challenge everyone. Despite it only utilising a few objects in order to create and solve the numerous puzzles placed before you, every level felt different and no two solutions were the same. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t hard, but as long as you have patience and a logical-thinking mind, you can work your way through all of the puzzles at your own pace and take on the optional challenges should you wish to push yourself.
Rebel Cops is a very brutal and challenging TRPG which may feel intimidating to those new to the genre. Creating a stand-alone game based upon the Tactical aspect of This is the Police 2 was a great idea, the backbone and structure were there to build upon in order to create a new game in very little time. However, for me personally, the difficulty spiked too early into the game, resulting in more frustration than fun at times. Avid players of the developers previous two games will most likely get the most out of this title, as will those who love the Tactical RPG genre, but those who rarely play this type of game may not enjoy it’s unforgiving and realistic combat.
Agatha Knife is like the South Park of Point-and-Click games, a cartoon aesthetic with very dark and adult themes. Mechanics-wise, the game is rather simplistic and very easy to pick up, but the solutions to the problems will certainly make you think. I love the fact that there are multiple ways to solve most of the obstacles in your way as well as tonnes of interaction points which expand on the brilliantly written narrative. There's never a dull moment, even when you're walking around due to a lack of fast travel.
If I was able to award a game more than a perfect score, AI: The Somnium Files would be one of the few which would easily break the barrier. Everything from the brilliantly scripted narrative adventure, to the frustratingly fun time-management Somnium segments, are beyond what I was expecting. I couldn’t stop playing until I had the platinum trophy on my account, which I achieved at around fifty hours, very few games grasp me like that yet the humour and narrative direction drew me in and had me hooked instantly. I don’t think I’ve played a game this generation (bar the Zero Escape remasters) which changes the storyline, interactions and outcomes quite as much as I experienced within AI: The Somnium Files – this game is a masterpiece and needs to be played by all fans of Spike Chunsoft and Kotaro Uchikoshi.
Whether you’re a fan of the game and have followed Clementine from the very beginning, or if you’ve never actually played any of the games before, The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series is by far the best version of the game to pick up today. Sure, you can purchase previous versions, but this one stands out above the rest with all of the fan content and beautifully horrific visuals.
Gun Gun Pixies is a very energetic third-person shooter which is unlike anything you’ve ever played before. When you’re not shooting Squids which look like they have condoms on their heads, you’ll be delivering pleasure to giant girls as you shoot your load all over their face and boobs, watching the in-game physics cause various body parts to wobble upon impact. Then, after a hard day of pleasuring the girls in the dorm whilst avoiding eye-contact, it’s time to jump into the bath and fondle their giant fancies until your out of bullets and end up firing blanks! This is a very strange game, yet it’s oddly satisfying and the twelve-hour story captivated me and kept me hooked – that and the giant panties!
If you’re looking for a casual game to wind down with that’ll take you around five hours (maybe more if using a controller or trying to get all the trophies on other platforms), Agent A: A Puzzle in Disguise will easily fill that void for you. Everyone of all ages will enjoy it, nobody will find it too hard, and even those who are avid puzzle fans will find a few of the solutions thought-provoking.