My Time at Sandrock brings something new to the crafting/farming genre with its desert setting and genuine resource scarcity paired with a compelling story about restoring a struggling ghost town filled with memorable characters to its former glory.
Mineko's Night Market features an adorable art style and precious, pettable cats but is held back by overly slow pacing, a reliance on grinding, and extremely bland or outright unlikeable characters.
My Little Universe is an adorable cozy sandbox adventure with a simple yet addictive gameplay loop that can keep you playing for hours and hours. Harvest resources, fight monsters, and build planets from the ground up!
Anonymous;Code is an excellent entry in the Science Adventure visual novel series. It has a deep story filled with surprising twists and an intriguing central concept - what if you could "save' and "reload" your life like a video game?
Videoverse is a nostalgia-fueled visual novel about classic gaming communities. Its central story is both heart-breaking and heart-warming, but at its center is a powerful message about friendship and community.
Flutter Away is a beautiful cozy game that makes amazing use of its colorful tropical setting. It's laid-back, yet surprisingly educational, and filled with tons of adorable animals to meet - especially a certain capybara!
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code offers truly compelling mysteries in a unique cyberpunk-noir setting. The open world concept falls somewhat flat, but the crimes and puzzles themselves definitely deliver!
A Little to the Left's DLC continues to turn organizing and cleaning into satisfying puzzles. Find hidden cubbies, hang tools on hooks, and put everything in its place with the Cupboards & Drawers expansion!
Dave the Diver is a gorgeous underwater experience that centers around the beauty and mystery found in the depths of the sea. It's packed full of mechanics, some better than others, but its central dives truly shine.
Mask of the Rose is a wickedly clever romance/mystery hybrid with an intriguing setting, a twisty story, unique mechanics, and an open approach that is accepting of all genders and identities.
Varney Lake is a wonderful experience that combines visual novels with puzzles, heartwarming nostalgia with chilling terror, all in a classic pixel style.
Gnosia is a mind-bending time-loop adventure which blends social deduction and visual novel elements to create a truly tricky, engaging mystery.
Atelier Ryza 2 is an excellent entry in an item-crafting focused JRPG series. It improves on its predecessor via quality-of-life improvements, more in-depth character interactions and a sprawling story. Plus, it's absolutely adorable!
Crossword City Chronicles is a fairy lazy mobile port which pairs repetitive puzzles with lackluster dialogue, "mysteries" which are solved for you, and grind-based mechanics
Call of the Sea is a visually stunning game offering a compelling story hidden behind a mixed bag of puzzles and a few frustrating pacing decisions.
Sunlight is an aesthetically beautiful game which does not take full advantage of its beautiful environment. The stunning visuals and audio make the short playtime and lack of true exploration elements somewhat disappointing.
Per Aspera is a stunningly realistic "planet builder" in which you play as an AI tasked with terraforming Mars. Although its pace is sometimes slow, it is an extremely educational game with a surprisingly deep and touching story.
Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is a pleasant, nostalgia-packed experience providing a plot recap which fans of the series probably need right about now
Strobophagia starts strong by establishing a cool, neon-lit atmosphere, but does not reach its full potential due to pacing issues and a lack of memorable music
Monster Camp is a delightful game which breathes life into the dating sim genre witha mix of over-the-top humor and poignant character development