Loretta is a pleasingly chaotic and entertaining romp through the best tropes of film noir – but it’s the player who decides just how dark things get.

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.

Emio – The Smiling Man is a haunting tale that marks a welcome return of the Famicom Detective Club series. It’s the best of the three so far and steers significantly darker than previous entries, though as a visual novel with limited gameplay, it won’t change any minds if you weren’t already on board with what’s on offer.

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.

It certainly doesn’t take a great detective to solve this rather easy adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express, but there’s just something about stepping into the shoes of Hercule Poirot to snoop around the most beautiful and famous train in history in an intricately plotted whodunit that makes it immensely satisfying. If you like playing detective, this interactive version of the most famous case in literary fiction will certainly tickle your own little grey cells.

Not for those who seek challenge above all, but anyone who enjoys relaxing, contemplative experiences should feel over the moon about Europa.

Earth Must Die revels in its comedic, over-the-top adult sci-fi insanity while delivering a genuinely great adventure game experience starring a power-hungry megalomaniac. Never before has it been so much fun to be the arbiter of your own species’ destruction!

A dreamy Italian getaway packed with charm, mystery, and minigames, On Your Tail is the cozy escape you didn’t know you needed.

The Chinese Room’s Still Wakes the Deep sees man’s greed and hubris bring an unknowable disaster down upon an offshore oil rig in a tense, highly effective horror outing.

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.

A wonderfully surreal and heartfelt narrative adventure, to a T delightfully reinforces the important message that regardless of our perceived personal limitations, we are all “the perfect shape.”

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.

The steampunk-styled world of Verne: The Shape of Fantasy provides a fun way to ease lovers of written fiction into interactive storytelling. It could have been written by Jules Verne himself, and although never very challenging, it is intriguing enough to keep more experienced gamers glued to the screen as well.

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.

If you enjoy side-scrolling puzzle-platformers, Unleaving is a fun afternoon snack. The esoteric narrative is too clumsy for its own good, but the team at orangutan matter is incredibly talented, and they’ve earned their stripes when it comes to gameplay and design.

Life Is Strange: Reunion is a fitting capstone to the story of Max and Chloe started years ago, providing a welcome feeling of closure and satisfaction that this tale was worth the wait.

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.

Phoenix Springs will land well with anyone looking for a complex, experimental mystery with striking art and a surreal atmosphere, so long as they don’t mind wrestling with a strange, disjointed narrative and a few obtuse puzzles in an increasingly bizarre second half.

It’s a shame there isn’t more opportunity to explore the world at large, but Gamedec is a rewarding and immersive role-playing adventure that offers a satisfying amount of player agency in the direction of this cyberpunk detective mystery.

Full of gorgeous art, delightful jazz, and a very light amount of challenge, The Forest Quartet turns a story about death and grief into a fun, lively, cathartic memorial romp.

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.

Near-Mage will cast a powerful spell on fans of narrative-driven adventures. While it may not challenge puzzle wizards, it will enchant players with its beautifully vibrant locales and heartfelt tale of finding one’s place in the world.

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.

With a sharp narrative focus, engaging gameplay, and a fresh take on its characters as younger men, Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened functions as both a stellar remake and a compelling sequel to Chapter One.