The visuals of Mokoko X are only slightly lurid, and the cuckoo-for-Cocoa-Puffs flavor text doesn't distract from a solid Qix clone with ingenious level design and challenging bosses.
Arcade Paradise-a mashup business sim / retro arcade throwback-is one of those indie gems you look forward to telling other people about. If you're a fan of the '80s laser and chrome aesthetic, put on your puffy jacket and download it today.
Moncage is a puzzle game that should be treated like a collection of short stories rather than a novel. Enjoy it over several sessions, pausing when it's difficult to think about the different parts, rather than consume it as one experience. It's quite literally to be puzzled over.
Challenging without being stressful, She Remembered Caterpillars is an ideal game for shutting out the world and mapping out all the paths to victory.
Pikuniku is an entertaining distraction, a wonderful game world to romp around in. And when you've finished the entire story in a day or three of casual play, you can look forward to restarting it with your inventory intact and exploring all the nooks and crannies to find what you missed before, and going back to finding Ernie, and kick, kick, kicking him back up through the tunnels and back to safety. Tell him I said, “Hi.”
Almost There: The Platformer takes a stripped-down approach to enemies and level design and adds a twist: while gravity can kill you, it only has limited power over your movement. It subverts the jumping puzzle game and manages to meld it with a fun brainteaser because the designers realize that a real-world motion (the joystick) doesn't have to play by real world rules.
Paperbound Brawlers was so frantic the first time I played it that I couldn't keep track of the action and quickly switched the game off. I'm glad I came back, though, because things start to click once you get the hang of how to use gravity as a weapon, and you start to see each level in a brand new light. Planning becomes virtually impossible, and you exist simply in the moment. Until a goo bomb kills you, that is.
MacGuffin's Curse is a solid entry into the maze/puzzle genre. It's low-pressure, you can correct your mistakes quickly, and the writing has a cheesy comedic tone that's very chill. And as an entry into the werewolf/jewel thief genre, it's the frontrunner of the year.
If you're looking for an endless outer space toy box to play in (and there are options to play without a scenario goal or with unlimited funds), then orbit.industries is a fun diversion. Learn, and fail, and start again on your way to the stars. Just don't forget about the interest rates.
Like the potions you'll mix, The Serpent Rogue is an odd concoction-a mixture of casual open-world play and twitch combat. I definitely prefer the former, but like the joy I felt when finding a successful formula, figuring out a way to crush an enemy after several defeats feels like an accomplishment. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go find some blueberries.
I found Autonauts to be tedious at first, then really fun, then exhausting. It's a fun challenge, but in the end, I just wanted to build a robot to tell all the others what to do so I could sit down and read a book.
GameDec is a point-and-click cyberpunk adventure set in a dystopian world, You make a living by discreetly investigating crimes, mysteries, and transgressions in the vast sea of alternate realities to which most humans retreat. It provides a fun mechanic for dialogue junkies who find joy in solving the big puzzle.
Is this 22-year-old game worth your time? Absolutely.
And at its price point and addictive nature, it's an entirely enjoyable addition to your Switch as a time waster, or if you simply feel the need to yell profanity at your console when you mess up one. Lousy. Flap.
Gal*Gun Double Peace is an on-rails shooter with light elements of a dating sim. The lightly smutty aspect of the game is unashamedly its big selling point, but if you get into the mechanics of playing it successfully, you can get some solid gaming entertainment out of it.
Deadcraft has a goofy tone that's reminiscent of the Borderlands series; hyperviolent with a light comedic touch. It's one of those games that finds the fun in treading the line between complete immorality and also trying to do the right thing.
The Dark Prophecy is a fun little point-and-click adventure. All the puzzles make enough sense, and you can finish the whole thing in under an hour. It teases further parts of the story, and this certainly feels like the first chapter of what will hopefully be a longer tale.
Process of Elimination is a fun visual novel in which you must solve a murder mystery on an island of super-detectives. Actual gameplay is light, but the bonkers story, mini-games, and detective puzzles make this a mystery worth solving.
If you're looking for something that's creepy without being violent are gory, the puzzle game Smile for Me is for you. It effectively uses its low-fi graphics and video to create a point-and-click adventure that unnerves you without resorting to jump scares and violence.
One Night Burlesque isn't one of those indies where the fantastic gameplay spawns a cult of followers who keep it alive in tournaments. There's very little actual "game" here. But if you're a fan of visually innovative storytelling and want a movie-length experience, I recommend it wholeheartedly.