Though it doesn’t quite reach the heights it aspires to, Jusant is a lovely mountaineering adventure that makes for a refreshing change from the norm in both axis and pace.

Lil’ Guardsman is a silly, high-fantasy take on Papers, Please that mixes deductive gameplay with goblins and wizards – what more could you want? Well, a tighter story with more consistent quality would have been great, but the end result is still very much worth playing for comedy fans.

Even with a bit of open exploration, Saltsea Chronicles is essentially a visual novel – a character-driven, story you read on screens of charmingly beautiful backgrounds. It’s a stress-free piece of interactive media that invites players to help write the unfolding tale, but those looking for deeper gameplay won’t find any swashbuckling, seafaring action in these calm seas.

As the final installment of the Immortal John Triptych, Death of the Reprobate provides more of the same fun Monty Python-esque humor, signature Renaissance-era aesthetic, and enjoyable puzzles that Joe Richardson fans have come to expect, even if some aspects are starting to wear thin the third time around.

In celebrating a love of music, Blue Wednesday is less a full-fledged adventure than a casual version of “Piano Hero” with some dialogue, exploration and other mini-games mixed in, all wrapped in a cutesy-looking but uncomfortable story about whether it’s worthwhile chasing your dreams.

Despite a puzzling choice to include some timed dexterity-based sequences, if you enjoy moderate lateral thinking challenges and dying often in creative and gruesome ways, Is This Game Trying to Kill Me? surely fits the bill.

The Bookwalker isn’t about inventing new wheels but combining familiar concepts in intriguing ways, ably marrying point-and-click adventuring and turn-based combat to provide a dark world to explore, filled with surprises that are ultimately more intriguing than its grand finale.

CARIMARA: Beneath the forlorn limbs is an attention-grabbing introduction to a strange and original fantasy world that features an engaging spin on the detective genre, but our time there is so brief that it’s hard to come away fully satisfied.

Gloomy Eyes is a dark but lovely fairy tale, revived from its previous VR-exclusive short film form and given new life with a welcome if fairly shallow layer of gameplay.

A bewildering story is content to leave players floundering in the dark, but KARMA’s commitment to nonstop weirdness provides some gloriously unhinged nightmare fuel.

Like a bingeable TV show, American Arcadia is slickly presented and tightly paced, resulting in a charismatic and entertaining theme park ride of an adventure, even if the simple characters and somewhat unfocused approach to gameplay doesn’t foster much lasting impact.

Hello Stranger has solid FMV production values and fun performances, but it feels like a short and forgettable Creepshow episode with a thin story that just doesn’t merit the tedium of more than a single replay.

Beautiful, unexpectedly emotional, but frequently frustrating, Simon the Sorcerer is back in an intriguing if uneven series prequel reboot.

Centum is full of memorably horrific imagery and atmosphere, but enjoying them means putting up with uneven writing, poor design choices, and a truckload of obscurity for obscurity’s sake.

Like an interactive multi-episode spinoff of the TV show, The Expanse leaves room for improvement but offers a solid sci-fi experience in which time seems to fly by.

Immortality is within reach for this stylishly produced noir detective thriller about the misery of eternal life, but limited world-building and player agency prevent Nobody Wants to Die from becoming a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Urban Myth Dissolution Center’s bold art and an even bolder concept isn’t quite enough to spice up this slow-burning mystery visual novel with limited detective elements.

Don’t Nod’s visual novel Harmony is an awkwardly balanced mix of gorgeous but limited production values, clumsy choice mechanic, and an intriguing story whose best parts you never get to experience yourself.

Caravan SandWitch is a calm, atmospheric journey that’s pleasant to play, but held back by repetitive tasks and a lack of momentum.

Its short length prevents Neon Hearts City from shining as brightly as it could, but slick production values, solid writing and simple but entertaining gameplay make for an intriguing enough tour while it lasts.

Valiant Heart: Coming Home’s limited release strategy is a self-inflicted wound, but this beautiful WWI side-scrolling sequel is a fairly fun, lightly educational little three-hour engagement free to those equipped to play it.

Monolith earns science fiction cred with a witty sidekick robot, a beautifully drawn alien world and many clever puzzles relevant to the genre, though an uneven story, shaky dialogue, and poor characterizations may turn off players less willing to endure them to get to the good parts.

Bigger and better than its predecessor in some ways, more bloated and less focused in others, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is an intriguing sequel for those on the right wavelength for this kind of gameplay-lite narrative experience.

Combining several gameplay styles with a protagonist-switching, fourth-wall-breaking story makes RE:CALL feel almost experimental at times. But since its disparate elements ultimately work reasonably well together, it’s an experiment in storytelling that could be worth checking out.

While it doesn’t quite reach the allegorical heights it aspires to, if you like text adventures or simply enjoy games that subvert the role of the player, then [I] doesn’t exist should keep you solidly entertained for a few hours.

Don’t Nod spins a thoughtful yarn about friendship and trauma, but Lost Records can’t find the right tonal balance to guarantee a hit.

It would be nice to focus solely on how the bleak setting is intriguing, the stealth missions often feel cool, and the characters are at least entertaining, if not quite appealing—but it’s tough to do that when Sunday Gold is simply overrun with punishing turn-based combat and related RPG-style skill mechanics, and the adventure side of this genre hybrid is consistently minimized.

At first the unusual art style and uncanny hand-animated world of The Many Pieces of Mr. Coo feels uniquely captivating, but delve a little deeper and its raw mechanics and unclear puzzle design make for a gameplay experience as fragmented as its protagonist.

Cute characters, great story, beautiful soundtrack, STAT! Fall of Porcupine may lack in the gameplay department, but it’s impossible to not fall in love with this charming character-driven tribute to our underappreciated health care workers.

The Extrication is still far from a masterclass in horror, but this better sophomore effort in the Bridge Curse franchise has shown it’s learned a few lessons along the way.

An artfully made take on the familiar story of an alien invasion, Somerville’s visual design and interesting scenarios form an engaging experience, though some confusing puzzle design and a plot that holds the player at arm’s length keep it from truly being out of this world.

Fun enough while it lasts, Confidential Killings gets in and out a bit too quickly with its tightly paced plot and lack of much challenge, all wrapped up in the glitz and glam of 1970s Hollywood.

It may have a bare-bones story and some wonky gameplay mechanics, but Life of Delta is a visually beautiful journey packed full of enjoyable puzzles with a sublime soundtrack to go with it. Although it didn’t completely live up to my expectations, its charming robot protagonist did his best to keep me entertained for the short time we shared together.

Lara’s last three adventures from Core Design play differently enough from the first trilogy that serious fans will want to check them out. However, with inconsistent visual and mechanical upgrades, and a higher overall difficulty, Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered is not a good jumping-in point for newcomers.

It’s not as open-ended as other narrative RPGs and lacks a believable ending, but Rue Valley has an appealing graphic novel aesthetic and engagingly human time-looping story that avoids becoming too repetitive or frustrating each time it resets.

While Supermassive’s formula is starting to need a bit of a punch-up, and the H. H. Holmes Murder Castle is surprisingly less compelling than the earlier anthology settings, The Devil in Me is still a solid slasher story for horror fans to enjoy.

Harold Halibut is a curious fish, using its retro-futuristic, painstakingly handcrafted world and cast of weird but relatable characters to tell a heartfelt but ambling, puzzle-free story that’s (in the best way) more soap opera than space opera.

The Centennial Case is one of the more ambitious FMV games in years, telling a century-spanning mystery while putting the player in charge of investigating several whodunits. Unfortunately, despite a solid production, there is very little to engage the player and the uneven acting performances fail to make up for it.

Officially localized three decades after the original release, Clock Tower: Rewind is a perfectly passable way to experience what was once officially a Japan-exclusive piece of horror history. This is the real, first Clock Tower experience warts and all, along with a smattering of goodies that will delight longtime fans – even if it feels like an inconsistent package throughout.

A sequel that’s put in the work to expand its predecessor’s horizons is commendable, but for Deliver Us Mars this doesn’t always work out perfectly. Still, it offers another thrilling adventure for deep-space explorers, with welcome character moments that make it a little less solitary this time around.

While sporting an intriguing alternate timeline, a decent cast, and a variety of gameplay features, most players will find something to dislike in Dustborn, an epic action-adventure that fails to evoke excitement and sentiment over an excessively long playtime.

Open Roads is a short but emotionally stirring character drama that is, fittingly, more about the journey than the destination, without so much as a speed bump challenge to slow you down in the latest narrative adventure from the creators of Gone Home.

The Last Case of John Morley transitions from a film-noir mystery into a psychological horror that reveals just how fragile the human psyche is, prioritizing atmosphere over detective work in its short run time.

Designed for ease of play, what the culturally distinctive EQQO lacks in depth, it makes up for with its charming, multilayered allegorical story.

Hercule Poirot: The London Case is a mixed bag for fans of Agatha Christie and adventure games. They will be thrilled to put the little Belgian detective through his paces once again, but the mystery itself doesn’t fully satisfy.

It’s an okay survival horror game that doesn’t do enough to capitalize on the franchise’s appeal, so if you haven’t seen A Quiet Place and only played The Road Ahead, you’ll probably wonder what all the hoopla’s about.

Copycat’s linear cozy feline simulator is a far too tame to measure up to its own in-game wildlife ambitions, though its playful yet emotional story might purr its way into an animal lover’s.

With its limited interaction, Know by heart… may have worked better as a book or film, but it’s a beautiful game with a touching personal story that never loses its focus on the people of a quiet town in crisis.

It’s nice to finally have ASYLUM in our hands after so long, but while it has the makings of an interesting story at its center, the vast size and emptiness of its namesake hospital overwhelm everything else about it, and it never gets a handle on how to balance narrative and gameplay or to deliver the horror it promises.

Toning down the puzzles this time around wasn’t the best idea, but otherwise Lifeless Moon delivers more of what made its predecessor enjoyable for the most part, gorgeously presenting its well-told story of a scientific experiment gone wrong, and the peril and promise of the unknown.

Questioning and confronting suspects in Chronique des Silencieux can be very fun if you’re a patient reader willing to ignore the often faulty English translations and some technical issues to really appreciate this intricate detective story set in 1970s France.

Autopsy Simulator’s puzzle elements may be dead on arrival, but the well-researched autopsy cases presented in the unsettling atmosphere of an isolated coroner’s office injects enough thrills to give the game some measurable signs of life.

As a bite-sized new dive into the world of Still Wakes the Deep, Siren’s Rest doesn’t quite measure up and will likely leave you hungering for the meatier, more fulfilling experience of the base game.

WILL: Follow the Light’s ambitious mix of sailing, character drama and puzzle-based adventuring shows plenty of promise but often results in choppy pacing and rough implementation.

Fans of Firewatch are likely to enjoy this similarly designed walking simulator set in the northern wilderness, though Arctic Awakening’s story fails to bring enough tension or wonderment to match its acclaimed predecessor.

Some very pretty and impressive visual production values can’t disguise the fact that Neon Blood’s narrative and gameplay feel far too anemic.

Tape: Unveil the Memories is a creative indie adventure that does its best to appeal to suspense lovers whether they prefer stealth or story, but a middling narrative and inconsistent puzzles make it feel like more of a chore than a thrill.

Rendezvous offers cyberpunk with a distinctive Indonesian flavour. Its awkward combat and simple puzzles may soon be forgotten, but its gritty story and pungent atmosphere will stay with you.

With only two of five planned Backrooms-inspired liminal spaces to explore, Dreamcore tries so hard to avoid stimulating the player that playing it feels less like an experience and more like a chore to navigate its endlessly maze-like environments.

The Last Worker offers an intriguing blend of gameplay elements, but it labours under some dodgy mechanics and questionable design decisions.

Finally localized in English after being released in Dutch and French over a decade ago, Mozart Requiem is so unpolished it’s still not ready for prime time release, seriously undermining its fine protagonist and a story full of intrigue and adventure.

There’s nothing about Edengate: The Edge of Life that’s inherently broken or neglected: the voiced dialogue is serviceable, the music fades into its atmospheric background, and navigating the town of Edengate works well enough despite having so little to do. It’s more a case of a game that desperately needed one of its core elements – be it story, puzzles, or creepy mood – to take charge and step into the foreground, putting a definitive stamp onto the overall experience. Instead, everything is accounted for but nothing makes any waves, so the game ultimately just fizzles out and fades away in a forgettable thud rather than a memorable bang.

The stylish Jennifer Wilde: Unlikely Revolutionaries will grab you at first but the pace quickly slows, as will your interest, feeling like a missed opportunity.

While Unwording succeeds in creatively introducing the mental health concepts of cognitive distortions using wordplay, the surrounding game is simply too short and too shallow to make a lasting impact.

Path of Ra is a fun little ancient Egypt-themed tile-swapper that provides a decent challenge for puzzle fans looking for an atmospheric diversion, though a lackluster story that provides little more than a basic framework seems like a lost opportunity.

Summer Daze: Tilly’s Tale is a pleasant but undemanding little visual novel. Fans of Quest for Glory and Hero-U will enjoy spending time in the Coles’ universe again, but those who want the same kind of intricate gameplay might be disappointed.

A little too unrefined with a bare-bones narrative, After You is nevertheless packed with engaging and demanding puzzles, some of which inspire creative thinking.

There’s no real challenge and very little gameplay in this craftily created 3D visual novel, but The Wreck’s main character’s personal story will pull you in and leave you feeling fully invested in seeing her through the worst – and perhaps last – day of her life.

It may not be the most polished or user-friendly game, but Delirium’s zany night at home with two teens and a talking stuffed bunny proves to be a fair bit of fun.

Intruder in Antiquonia‘s pleasing aesthetic and rural charm with flashes of something deeper aren’t quite enough to compensate for the hurried storytelling and pedestrian puzzles.

The gritty, realistic urban setting is stunning, but the story of The Safe Place is so drearily centered on poverty, crime and abuse that succeeding in cracking the more difficult inventory puzzles becomes more of a struggle than a pleasure just to progress and see more misery unfold.

DE-EXIT is an ambitious and mostly well-crafted adventure, with great puzzle design, charming visuals, and an immersive cinematic flair. Not all of its ideas play out equally well, and a slow first half combined with minor technical issues make it a bit hard to break into, but those who stick with it until the end won’t regret the effort.

Paws of Coal is a cute and fun little animal detective mystery, featuring some intriguing deduction puzzles and a whole lot of brilliant writing to read, though it is difficult to overlook the fact that it is just a prelude to a larger adventure and not a complete game on its own.

Though let down somewhat by its graphical limitations, its well-written pirate story and a variety of nicely balanced puzzles make Cleo: A Pirate’s Tale an enjoyable experience overall.

Ashina: The Red Witch isn’t an ambitious game, but as a short and simple retro-styled narrative adventure, it is fun and functional enough for a mild recommendation to those who enjoy this style of anime fantasy.

The idea behind this quirky anthology of four very distinct anecdotes is commendable, but its blink-and-you-missed-it brevity does not pair well with its already limited chill factor, leaving The Creepy Syndrome feeling not particularly worthwhile.

While there are certainly aspects that work in Hauma’s graphic novel-styled exploration through Munich to unearth a mystery about an ancient relic spanning the ages, the game’s pacing and finicky inventory puzzles demand some patience to get to its best stuff.

Midnight Girl looks and sounds like a slice of ’60s cool, drawing you into its atmospheric world and keeping you moving. Your life as a burglar doesn’t always match the glamour of the movies, but it’s still a lively if all too brief escape.

If an hour-plus playing politics with The Expanse’s Chrisjen Avasarala sounds like your idea of a good time, “Archangel” is a match made in heaven. For all others, it’s merely an undercooked diversion that adds nothing new to the main storyline.

Desolatium is an unapologetically old-school node-based adventure in the vein of turn-of-the-millennium cult classics like Dracula. Its mix of wildly different art styles doesn’t work as well as it could, but those who don’t mind a bit of pixel hunting will likely enjoy its budget presentation, generally solid puzzle design and atmospheric story.

Don’t let the cute cartoon style and adventure game humour fool you: in its brief play time, Last Christmas deals with some of the darker elements of the season in a horrifying yet compelling way.

Superfluous Returnz isn’t superfluous at all, as its not-so-super hero’s bumbling (and occasionally credibility-defying) antics offer an all-too-brief breath of fresh country air.

Experienced adventurers can probably cruise through Enypnion ReDreamed in their sleep, though some of the logic puzzles might be responsible for a few nightmares. Overall, though, it’s a short but charming little journey through the subconscious that may just remind you of your own childhood nighttime fantasies.

Delivering everything series fans should expect by this point, Dead Drop is another soothing romp with Carol Reed through Swedish countrysides and dilapidated buildings, elevated by a fun hook and some decades-old KGB intrigue that helps to make up for the more humdrum moments.

Twilight Oracle is a nostalgic ride through a zany fantasy world, though even its witty banter can’t hide the fact it’s a short story with a simple plot only good for a single afternoon’s fun.

With its lack of relevant story progression until a rushed finale, MADievals won’t make a lasting impression, but its eccentric characters, plethora of anachronisms, and straight-up weirdness keep this fantasy medieval romp entertaining in the moment.

Flake: The Legend of Snowblind is a captivating cartoon adventure in a fun, intricately crafted setting, though its considerable charms are complicated by the fact that it feels more like a substantial first chapter than a full game in its own right.

The Adventures of the Black Hawk succeeds at copying—and I mean copying—the aesthetic that made the early LucasArts games so successful. While the copy doesn’t shine quite as brightly due to some inconsistent localization and general lack of polish, it is a consistently amusing and challenging adventure worthy of being in the conversation.

Champy the Useless Vampire is a very short and easy adventure game that won’t pose any challenge to the experienced gamer, but its charming cartoon presentation and cozy gameplay might mesmerize their kids enough to try out the point-and-click adventure genre.

Conrad Stevenson’s Paranormal P.I. forces you to be patient and follow procedures to the letter, but once you get the hang of exploring haunted environs in search of ghosts, figuring out whose spirit is still lingering and finding the right way to get them to move on can be highly rewarding.

The SCUMM-style interface and some poorly clued objectives might not appeal to modern players used to easier games, but for old-school genre fans, The Legend of Skye provides a wonderful dose of nostalgia, transporting you back to the golden days of point-and-click classics.

Cluttered level design and a lack of polish somewhat mar this episodic series debut, but they don’t stop Twogether: Project Indigos from being a fun and clever prison escape with its endearing telekinetic and telepathic leads.

Sanya’s very simple gameplay won’t challenge anyone over the age of its young protagonist, but even for adults, this quaint, lovely side-scrolling adventure is like a nostalgic trip back to childhood.

Skaramazuzu’s strange, gray world and creepily adorable characters look and sound fantastic, but it’s hard to stay interested when it gives players so little of interest to think about or actually do.

With no story or any real puzzles to speak of, Path of Kami’s prologue will hold little interest for more hardcore traditional adventure game players, but the beautiful graphics and music do create an interesting world to explore at your leisure, if you think that alone will be enough to keep you interested for a couple hours.

Bloated dialog bogs down what’s otherwise a fun search for a missing cat in the lightly humorous Scott Whiskers in: The Search for Mr. Fumbleclaw.

The Mildew Children tells a great witch story with impressive lore and tricky dialogue challenges wrapped up in a beautiful side-scrolling presentation, though the endless roaming and long conversations are likely to take their toll on your attention span.

The Curse of Grimsey Island brings some interesting ideas to the table but struggles to make the most of them, with a sci-fi murder mystery still sorely in need of refinement and better connection to the gameplay.