While player choice is largely illusory and the gameplay elements feel a bit underused, The Operator is a short but great cyberthriller that makes it fun to be the “person in the chair.”

Playing with anthropomorphic stickers on a sticker book using stickers to solve sticky situations is a can’t-miss premise. While A Tiny Sticker Tale will surely be too simple to appeal to everyone, and the story could have been more robust, younger kids should love it and it has enough charm and satisfying puzzles to ensure a joyful few hours for just about anyone.

Wavetale’s forgiving platforming and trivial combat arguably make the game a bit too easy, but its thoughtful narrative and gorgeous world will keep you happily glued to the screen throughout the entirety of its brief duration.

Loco Motive is the full package. Grab a ticket, put on your thinking cap, and hop on the Reuss Express, as this is one of the finest cartoon point-and-click adventures ever created.

With The Bunker, Frictional has boiled the series’ gameplay formula down to its most salient and effective horror elements while trimming any excessive fat. For fans of horror, only three words are necessary: go play it!

Like a Sherlock Holmes investigation at the bottom of the sea, there are many compelling secrets to be unveiled in the gorgeous underwater scenery of Thalassa’s titular sunken ship.

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.

It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for those looking something unlike anything else out there, Promise Mascot Agency offers a bizarre flavor of storytelling that feels inventive and fresh. It doesn’t have the staying power to keep its repetitive gameplay interesting throughout, but the richness of the world and unapologetic insanity more than make up for its excesses.

No frustrating time-loop antics in the wonderfully designed The Posthumous Investigation, just a deep but fast-paced unraveling of who might have killed Rio de Janeiro’s most influential resident.

Bramble's action elements might prove challenging for those used to relaxed adventuring gameplay, but with its main focus on platforming, stealth and boss battles, this stunning and terrifying survival horror game artfully weaves Scandinavian folklore into its dark but gripping narrative.

You’ll certainly speed through the experience with no real gameplay slowing you down, but it's more than just a compelling survival tale. The live-action presentation is highly immersive and the game’s killers provide a tense creep factor without going full-on slasher flick frightening. While the instant do-or-die decisions could provide more clues as to what the right option is, it’s in the choices about who Zanna is as a person that the game finds its most meaningful moments, culminating in a heartfelt outcome that is both surprising and satisfying. It’s not much of a gaming workout, but The Run is at times poignant, at times metaphorical, and at times an experience sure to get the blood pumping.

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.

The Berlin Apartment feels less like a traditional game and more like an interactive story, but it’s the everyday personal moments that make experiencing its shared place and the lives shaped by history more powerful.

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.

With an engaging array of suspects, fun trial mechanics, and some surprisingly emotional moments, The Real Face of a VTuber is worthy of that other famous visual novel courtroom series that inspired it.

It’s fun to exercise one’s brain cells in Scene Investigators’ assorted collection of engaging mysteries that pull no punches when it comes to challenge and are immensely rewarding as a result.

Dordogne takes you on a stunning watercolor journey through the past and present of rural southern France. There isn’t anything much in the way of challenge, but it’s a charming interactive storybook that will remind you of the really important things in life.

Combining a slick presentation, unsettling vibes, and an impressive list of talented actors, Dead Take is a solid FMV thriller with a unique Hollywood spin that would benefit most from an alternate ending.

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

Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical is a dazzlingly executed take on familiar stories that breathes new life into old legends. There’s very little gameplay to speak of, but it’s an emotional story and a must-play for musical theater fans and those who are invested in Greek mythology.

No, I’m not a Human is a masterclass in suspense that revels in the paranoia it creates. Some of the magic is lost when trying to unearth specific outcomes for this tale of cosmic horror, but for a single playthrough it’s a deeply disturbing experience where everyday traits of average people are twisted into a mine field.

Aspyr has done an excellent job preserving three of the most important, and timeless, examples of early 3D gaming. Tomb Raider I-III Remastered may largely be a greatest hits set for existing fans, but it’s a comprehensive bundle whose new visuals and updated control schemes are nice options to introduce the original series to the uninitiated.

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.

Ghost on the Shore guides you on a beautiful island hike with a spectral companion while hunting for long-forgotten family secrets that continue to live on.

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.