A quest to find phone signal leads to a glorious game of exploration and reconnection.
Mesmerising and thrilling, this is a puzzle game for the ages.
Eric Chahi's back with a game defined by passion, surprise, heart and beauty.
A legendary game gets a legendary sequel.
Greek gods bring family charm to this glittering headlong pelt through the underworld
Years pass as tales are written in this dazzling game of tactics and narrative, choices and memories.
The Apple Arcade classic comes to PC and is as glorious as ever.
Playful challenges and a warm sense of place and character converge in this cheerful modern classic.
A thrilling leap forward for a magical skating series.
Tunic turns its many influences into something that feels both familiar and gloriously new.
Brisk, stylish and compulsive, this is everything an arcade game should be.
Chaos is actually choreography, as an unreleased Atari arcade game gets the full Minter treatment.
A brilliant musical puzzler that sends you out into the world enriched and filled with curiosity.
The star of the show isn't your foes, though, and it certainly isn't the fascist 'goodies' you're cast as in this knockabout imperialist satire. The star of the show is the panic that's generated as you head into adventure, knowing that you're this close to screwing everything up for your team in a darkly hilarious manner.
And then there's that one special audio cue: pok! You know that sound. You know it! It's the rounded, punchy, friendly smack of a bat connecting with a ball that was already doing around 90. Close your eyes and you can see the aftermath: the heads tilted skyward, the arms dropping to the side. No need to chase after that one. Home run.
There's XP beyond that, and the promise of a scramble up the leaderboards, but I don't think Rocket League genuinely needs these things to hook you and hold you. Aside from the compact drama of the five minute matches, this is one of those rare games where the simple act of throwing a car around an arena is enough to keep you at it. Newton would approve and so would Batman. What more would you want?
Speaking of replays, occasionally, on a very long pass, the ball will just freeze in the air, immobile as one turn ends and another begins. It's beautiful: so much attention focused on something so seemingly trivial. The ball hangs in space, while everyone on the ground rushes to switch up their plans to take into account where it's going to land. Adaptation, anticipation, creativity: this is what strategy is all about - and this is a game that really gets it.
And once the final mission's done there's a scamper up the difficulty levels, alongside endless, custom and time attack modes, the latter of which works a bit like speed chess, but with people getting whacked over the head. In truth, while pleasant, this is a covering of the bases that Invisible, Inc doesn't really need. Much like the lives of one of its secret agents, this is a game defined by short, sharp thrills. It's so filled with purpose that is has no need to outstay its welcome.
Still, small beans in a game that is otherwise so elegantly put together. Starships isn't Civ, but it is Sid, and that's fine by me.
Like most roguelikes, though, the true game is about fighting back against the randomness, and you do this with each lesson you learn about the sorts of augmentations to prioritise, and each trick you uncover for minimising battle scars and maximising scrap. If you've got the stomach for the learning curve, you can probably cut it in this army. And if you can, you'll discover a game that's tense and personable and clever.