The Magnificent Trufflepigs is a small-scale affair, both in terms of technical scope and dramatic themes, when compared to its award-winning inspirations. It's not especially memorable but it has just enough warmth and wit to get you through a spare Sunday afternoon.
A beautiful love letter to Japanese games and culture with a simple but heartfelt narrative from start to finish that's both comforting and life-affirming.
As old-school as it can get in every frame and fibre of its being, Battle Axe faithfully transports you back to the classic Capcom and Neo Geo arcade era with its exquisite pixel art animation and punchy, challenging gameplay.
An engrossing and compelling piece of interactive fiction whether you just follow one character's thread or read every available node, Closed Hands handles its difficult subject with real nuance and maturity thanks to excellent writing that gets you inside the head of each character.
Glyph is a soothing puzzle platformer, which, despite its sparse appearance has plenty of bounce, challenging you with its literal sandbox gameplay.
Olija subverts the expectations of an unforgiving old-school adventure for something more fun and breezing, verging on slapstick combat, yet still dripping with atmosphere thanks to its impressionistic pixel art and excellent audio. Being a castaway makes for a good escape.
Not needing to reinvent the wheel, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 delivers the same fun and brilliant mash-up of two of the best drop-puzzle games ever with a healthy dollop of content, both classic and new. The jury's still out on whether the new Skill Battles will change things up, but regardless, this is a great puzzle package for parties or pros, and hopefully a great jumping off point for newcomers to discover the marvel and skill of competitive puzzle battles.
A larger more ambitious game from Giant Squid that shares influences with Breath of the Wild only to subvert it in clever ways: retooling a bow as an ingenious mode of traversal and puzzle solving, an open world with no map, and a shooter where you don't have to aim. It's an accessible and streamlined approach making for an unmissable adventure to lose yourself in.
An over-the-top arcade football title that's more frustrating and complicated than it ought to be. While it's clearly faithful to its source material, that's unlikely to convert newcomers to Captain Tsubasa.
Moon may look dated and its mechanics and puzzles can be obtuse as hell compared to what you might expect in 2020. Stick with it however and it's one of the most charming and unusual RPGs you can play that's just as influential and relevant as ever.