Emotionally resonant and carefully crafted, A Golden Wake mostly succeeds in living up to its ambitious premise and ultimately leaves a memorable impression.

A Twisted Tale is an imaginative and enjoyable homage to classic adventure games, offering clever puzzles and a charming aesthetic.

Dustborn is a captivating narrative adventure that combines a rich, alternate history setting with diverse gameplay mechanics, delivering a memorable experience despite minor technical quirks.

All together, it's safe to say that Secret Files 2: Puritas Cordis is a definite improvement on the original, addressing some of its faults and enhancing the best parts, and although there's no teaser of a further sequel down the line, I know I won't be alone in hoping there will be.

Lair of Clockwork God blends adventure and platforming to mixed effect, but it’s a very accomplished game overall, bursting with enough variety, style and humour to keep you surprised and entertained throughout its surprisingly generous play time.

Like a trip through a prop-filled haunted attraction, The Witch’s House MV captivates with preset scares and gory imagery, an onslaught of retro-imbued horror, inventive puzzles and a surprisingly whimsical attitude toward the protagonist’s frequent death.

Puzzle lovers will delight; TLJ fans will be bored silly; still, this may well be the future of adventure games.

Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express is a shockingly superb reimagining of a beloved book, with a few twists that even veteran Poirot fans will want to stick to by the end of the 15 hours of play. The experience gets somewhat bogged down by challenging puzzles at the end, and the mind map and profiling would have benefited from a few additions and clarifications. Still, this is an easy recommendation if you are a mystery enthusiast or an Agatha Christie fan.

When it isn’t bogged down by overly long conversations and cutscenes, Neofeud presents a compelling vision of the future clearly influenced by science fiction tropes of the past.

The first episode of The Raven offers up a captivating story, intriguing characters and brilliant audio production to get the three-part series on track right away.

Wet Dreams Don’t Dry is an excellent addition to the Larry brand. Fans of the original games will not be disappointed, and newcomers will find a solid series introduction playing the lovable loser updated to present day.

An excellent step forward from Telltale, and a game that everyone should be playing.

If you are a fan of story-driven games, dark mysteries and psychological tales (and don’t mind a more casual style of gameplay), you won’t need a Tarot card to know that 3 Cards to Midnight is the right game for you.

If ultra-challenging puzzles are your thing, you might be disappointed, but if you’re all about the story and characters, you should book a trip on the next available cyclone to beautiful (and dangerous) Emerald City.

Detective Pikachu is a bolt of brilliance. It’s funny, charming, and the titular star is a wonder. If you can overlook its simplicity, you’ll have a great time solving its many mysteries.

Murder Mystery Machine provides a compellingly intricate web of crime and treachery to investigate for those not afraid to miss a few of its less obvious strands.

Culture Shock in every way looks, sounds, and feels like a true Sam & Max sequel. If you can forgive the ease of the puzzles and embrace the episodic concept, it is nothing less than a complete blast of fun.

A philosophically ambitious game that distinguishes itself from the crowd. A rewarding experience, but expect plenty of confusion along the way.

It leaves you with more questions than answers, but keep an open mind and Kairo will prove be one of the more enticing and captivating worlds you'll ever explore.

An unusually thought-provoking mystery adventure, Amos Green’s Final Repose is a knockout entry in the long-running Carol Reed series that will appeal to both series fans and newcomers alike.

Papers, Please is anything but a standard adventure, but beneath the seemingly unappealing premise of bureaucratic drudgery and human misery lies a fascinating game of choices, surprises, and intrigue.

Lilly Looking Through is an easy-to-love game with a top-notch presentation that unfortunately comes to an end all too soon.

J.U.L.I.A. is a unique and thoroughly enjoyable mission of remote planetary exploration and puzzle-solving.

For the most part, Senseless Acts of Justice is more of the same great material we saw in the first episode.

A worthy ending for a long-standing series that doesn't quite reach greatness, but will likely please more than disappoint.

The thought-provoking Ossuary is a game that exercises your brain in more ways than one, with a multitude of diversions to find.

My only real complaint with Fright of the Bumblebees is how slight it all feels. There’s maybe three hours of playtime here at best, and even for a single episode, it doesn’t feel like enough.

So while Overture was a promising first endeavour, Black Plague is a Penumbra brought sharply into focus.

The Deponia trilogy turns out to be very good at goodbyes. If you enjoy LucasArts-style comedic games, this series – and especially the final game – will provide hours of tongue-in-cheek unconventionality.

Though the inclusion of repetitive mini-games is anything but evolutionary, this game is well worth a look for those who can handle some reflex action in their adventures.

An unparalleled sucess at storytelling, and even the most stupefying crate puzzle can't overcome the ability to tell a great story.

Blackwood Crossing demonstrates a trend that’s taking a subset of adventure games in a new direction: edgy, succinct writing, excellent production values, puzzles that further the story without slowing the pace, and tight, detailed locales. Adventure gamers who favor an emphasis on robust story and inventive character development will be delighted. Those who like to wander for hours through extensive terrain or unravel mind-boggling puzzles should stay away. This game wrapped me up in its piquant enigmas, made me care deeply about the characters, and kept me on the edge of my seat right up until the end. Crossing over from light to dark, from strife to acceptance seldom happens without a misstep, but this game handles it all with aplomb. Reaching the destination left me longing for more, yet the path is so creative and emotionally riveting that it’s well worth the journey.

The Last Door opens up another suspenseful, extremely retro-styled exploration of Victorian England and the occult with a second season even better than the first.

It's been a whole two years without a new adventure for the Freelance Police, but the wait has been worth it, at least for one episode

The latest Carol Reed detective escapade fires on all cylinders, as Geospots crafts a compelling tale and fascinating quest through awesomely eye-catching vistas.

It’s a bit too straightforward to offer much challenge with its puzzles, and not spooky enough to sustain a haunted house thriller, but Torn will win players over on its own terms, providing a highly-polished, scavenge-heavy VR mystery.

Even with a few rough edges, Dead Synchronicity stands as a modern adventure classic, telling a dark, sad and brutal tale that will leave you wanting more, but equally satisfied.

It’s been a crazy up-and-down season, but the conclusion of The Wolf Among Us is a visceral, stylishly violent adventure in Bill Willingham’s brilliant Fabletown at heart, with some great storytelling aptitude to close things out.

Life Is Strange: True Colors paints a pretty picture, creating a story you’ll really want to invest in, with only a slow plot point or two distracting from what is otherwise a great work of art.

STAY is a game that requires dedication, both to its digital protagonist and its puzzle solving, and features the kind of narrative that’s best digested via discussion with others who’ve played it. Eccentricities aside, it provides the kind of fodder that transcends the superficial and is recommended for anybody willing to face a slice of real-world drama.

Dungeons of Dreadrock is a great puzzle adventure game with solid gameplay mechanics, well-balanced difficulty levels, an exciting narrative, and a beautiful art style.

While not as good as the original, Phoenix Wright and his comrades still manage to entertain and deliver with a fantastic script and engaging courtroom drama.

An adventure out of time, Thaumistry‘s a lighthearted text romp that casts its entertaining puzzle magic on the modern era.

Though more action-oriented than adventure gamers might be used to, Moss is that rare game that delivers exactly what it promised, delivering a lovely bonding experience with an adorable companion while solving puzzles and having a great time exploring a magical fairy tale kingdom.

Puzzle mavens, avid gardeners and admirers of sumptuous scenery will find much that is entertaining in Botany Manor’s unusual horticultural tableaus.

A love letter to gamers who prefer first-person, devilishly difficult, puzzle-heavy adventures, Catyph offers tasty dollops of sci-fi and a hint of Myst.

Another quality addition to the stable of games in the Black Watchmen universe, NITE Team 4 puts players on the hot seat of an elite hacker of a clandestine organization. Although some elements could have been executed better, the main game’s 25-plus hours of cyberwarfare goodness alone make this a must-have for existing Alice & Smith fans, and a great way for genre newbies to try their hand at some pretend hacking.

A variety of engrossing “choose-your-own” quests based on real-life travel memoirs, Wanderlust Travel Stories’ vividly written text will have you longing to start your own exotic adventure.

The shadows on the Vatican are darkening as the series gathers major momentum with the efficiently designed, tightly scripted, very enjoyable Act II: Wrath.

An ambitious story with real, complex characters makes BEYOND: Two Souls one of the year’s most memorable adventures, as long as you’re willing to look past some constrained and awkward gameplay.

A huge city in a state of entropic decay to explore, a diverse and memorable cast to meet, and an engaging new spin on adventure game navigation make for a highly compelling sci-fi experience in Cloudpunk.

The Castle is a wonderful game; an engrossing story brought to life by well-executed graphics, music, sound effects, interface, and puzzles.

The Talos Principle 2: Road to Elysium successfully expands upon its puzzle elements and provides some of the most challenging puzzles that, for better or worse, push the definition of unorthodox. While the philosophical elements and player agency that made the main game great are mostly missing, the plots and characters make up for the absence of these components. So, if you enjoyed The Talos Principle 2 on launch, you will definitely admire this expansion.

Side-scrolling through a suburban household as a tiny robot in Time Loader provides an immensely satisfying environmental puzzle-platforming experience that more than makes up for the weak endings.

Throughout that time I was both pleased and impressed, as Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy is a solid game with an intriguing story and fun, well-integrated puzzles.

The storytelling is a little vague and lacks emotional punch, but if you’re looking for some innovative mechanics and visual artistry, Moncage’s perspective-based puzzles set in colorful cube vignettes are a marvel to experience.

It’s more of a slicker rehash of its predecessor than a sequel with all-new ideas, but Little Nightmares II successfully delivers big thrills in a game so eerily atmospheric it feels like it could have been ripped straight from the subconscious mind of a terrified child.

You can find faults without too much effort, but I can still say the same thing about this one I said about the first: it's a blast of pure fun, and provides the proper conclusion to a truly enjoyable series of adventures.

Beacon Pines is utterly charming yet wonderfully creepy, with a surprisingly thoughtful narrative despite its cute characters and storybook aesthetic.

Anyone a bit worried after the second episode can welcome the series back with open arms; A Crooked Mile is an intense and violent episode that is fun and over far too quickly.

Though only teasing the series' larger story arc for now, The Journey Down's HD remake is a short but vibrant indie adventure that far exceeds the quality of many full-blown retail games.

It’s over before you know it, but Feria d’Arles is a warm and hilarious throwback full of clever puzzles and wonderful characters in a vibrant, colorful version of Provence.

For those who won’t be deterred by the endless deaths and time-looped backtracking in Outer Wilds, its intriguing mystery and non-linear exploration of an entire solar system will be a novel and deeply engaging experience.

Eternal Hope is a side-scrolling platforming adventure about love, death, and tragedy in a fantasy postapocalyptic land that is as fun as it is gorgeous.

Aspire: Ina’s Tale is a short but varied experience blending puzzle-solving, action-platforming, and mystical metaphors. Beautiful and charming but not overly challenging, its emotional impact and memorable moments make it an escape worth taking.

Though a few artistic and technical blemishes stifle the immersion, Demons Never Lie remains an engaging if not particularly challenging narrative adventure.

The adventure gamer’s platformer, Forgotton Anne’s endearing exploration of lost objects come to life is sure to please all but the most dexterously challenged.

In the cyberpunk world of The Red Strings Club, player agency takes a backseat to a complex story teeming with personality and impactful moments, generating challenge through moral dilemma rather than gameplay.

The Last Campfire is a wonderful way to while away a few evenings, pondering your own mortality while having a fun time doing it by solving puzzles in a lovely fantasy world.

Little Kite tackles themes of abuse, drug addiction, and childhood trauma in a manner that few others dare, though its content might be a little too bleak for some players.

Evoking the feel of classic Sierra games but without their sudden deaths and dead ends, Sumatra: Fate of Yandi is a fun, enjoyable tale of survival in a lush rainforest, only marginally brought down by a weak ending.

A charming game about two robots surviving the apocalypse, Wanda has a surprising amount of humanity packed into its fairly short playtime.

Whatever the root cause, the story is solid on the whole, and these few foggy moments didn't detract from my overall enjoyment.

With a unique premise, a true understanding of Egyptian history and a love for mysterious revelations, the Toblers have created a monster of a game.

The Shapeshifting Detective is a unique game that provides a solid mystery with a creative twist on the usual means of information gathering.

Though not entirely successful as a broad narrative experience, Road 96 presents a series of compelling individual character studies whose offbeat sense of humor and heart make for a rewarding road trip.

Unusual Findings is a clever tribute to ‘80s pop culture; a fun, creative story brought to life by well-executed graphics, interface, and voice acting.

Dr. Doyle and The Mystery of the Cloche Hat presents a captivating murder mystery with a fantastic old-time aesthetic and an interesting if slow-paced take on standard adventure game staples.

It may be a conventional, paint-by-numbers murder mystery, but the resulting portrait is a rather generous one that provides two unique perspectives, a complex story, and hours of fun.

An incredible, audacious attempt that doesn't quite live up to its goals. Easily one of the most complex stories ever told in a computer game. Highly recommended as both the continuation of a great series and on the strength of its high points.

Bursting at the seams with challenging puzzles and thought-provoking science fiction, The Talos Principle is a philosophically-minded first-person puzzler that’s well worth your time.

Jennifer Wilde: Unlikely Revolutionaries is a remarkable game that tackles themes rarely seen in commercial adventures. The writing is superb, with rich and complex characters and interactions. While the pacing feels rushed toward the end, this does not detract from the game’s overall excellence.

The Awakening proves that the twenty years that have passed since Riddle of the Sphinx first released are but a drop in a bucket. With improved visuals, a great soundtrack, and quality-of-life improvements bolstering this tough-as-nails puzzle lover’s dream, the Toblers’ impressive archeological adventure has nicely stood the test of time.

Sleekly packaged and eminently playable, Yesterday conceals the darkness of the human mind within a beautiful artistic canvas; drawing you in with glimpses of dreadful secrets and leaving you shocked, yet satisfied, with its twisted narrative.

Combining smooth gameplay and solid level design, the pieces in Phantom Path click together to form a puzzle game that is easy to pick up but hard to put down.

Visage drapes over you like some ghastly blanket, smothering you with unsettling ambiance and high-quality scares. Though it fumbles a certain stretch of gameplay, its otherwise meticulously designed structure, head-scratching puzzles, and creative manipulation of level design more than pick up any slack.

Shut In is a short but intensely atmospheric side-scrolling pixel art horror adventure that nicely builds dread, tension and intrigue whilst also cleverly exploring the everyday difficulties that living with depression and anxiety can bring.

To the Moon is an unassuming game that does an unbelievably good job of evoking emotion. It tells a sweet, sad story in an unconventional way, and it shows a lot of promise for Freebird Games.

A fantasy tale with charming artwork, music and a wide spectrum of adorable characters, NAIRI combines a visual novel and point-and-click puzzle elements into a heartwarming adventure that isn’t fully finished just yet.

With a captivating backstory and engaging, challenging puzzles, ASA: A Space Adventure is a welcome addition to the pantheon of Myst-style puzzle-adventure games.

While it doesn’t quite reach the Promised Land, Heaven’s Hope offers a fun and humorous time that forsakes overtly religious themes in favor of good old-fashioned earthbound adventuring.

Season: A Letter to the Future stands as a relatively successful combination of exploration, documentation and philosophical meditation. Its surface beauty is matched by its depth of reflection, only marred by some repetitive gameplay elements and strange character design choices.

Ramas’ Call: Twisted timing features stylized environments with vivid, colorful details, energetic sound design, and clever inventory and fetch quests. Players will enjoy its entertaining story and quirky, memorable characters.

Slighter than other Amanita offerings, CHUCHEL whizzes you through an assortment of easy but highly comical sketches, succeeding in its primary aim of making you laugh.

This game explores a fun premise brought to life by colorful pixel art and quirky characters. The puzzles suit the game’s overall humorous tone and are complemented by a surprisingly accessible, turn-based combat system. Adventurers can look forward to happy times in It’s Grim Up North.

The X-Files Game will delight fans of the series by placing them wholly inside a world of lies and conspiracy, complete with a torrent of in-jokes and interaction with their favourite series regulars. Even non-fans will enjoy this spooky sci-fi romp, due to its slick interface, gripping plot-line and highly immersive quality.

The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker is engrossing, disturbing and erudite, and though it’s a little lacking in plot it’s full of welcome ideas.

Although disappointingly short on actual gameplay, the funny yet surprisingly touching STONE is one of the most engaging and enjoyable bite-sized adventures of the year.