Lake is, like the waves that break on its rural American Northwest shore, soothing and peacefully regular in its routine, making it ideal for those seeking a break from a hectic life.

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.

Still a solid game, but the venerable series is starting to show its age by recycling many elements.

Despite the criticism that prevent it from realizing its potential, this is by no means a bad game and could serve you well if you're looking for something new to try.

A futuristic digital age has fully bloomed in The Moment of Silence with a relatable lead character, more comfortable dialogue, clear and original puzzles, striking graphical presentation and a full-package sci-fi adventure. One of the most entertaining adventures in years.

Every moment of NUTS is surprising and delightful; its first-time developers have created a world you’ll want to spend even longer in to explore more deeply, full of fantastic design choices and an intriguing story that gets better and better as it goes along.

Été features an unconventional and innovative approach to painting, offering a unique and engaging gameplay experience. However, it eventually falls short in delivering a compelling narrative, which could have further enhanced the overall experience.

Although falling short of its full potential, Tokyo Dark tells an intriguing mystery story and nicely integrates elements of both western and eastern cultures, combining point-and-click adventure-style exploration and simple puzzles with visual novel-length conversations and multiple endings, some more satisfying than others.

Haters of happy endings—or happiness in general—are in luck, because Richard & Alice is a game so bleak and dreary that it’s hard to find any other purpose for seeing it through to the bitter end.

More a psychological thriller than pure horror game until the final stretch, Blair Witch won’t scare you so much as drive you barking mad (in both good ways and bad).

Still, with its clever, elegant puzzles and a light-hearted plot loaded with twists, it is definitely the most enjoyable game I have played in a long time.

Overall, Kaptain Brawe: A Brawe New World is a fun old school adventure game with modern user-friendly conveniences, combining some of the best elements of the genre and delivering them in an attractive sci-fi cartoon package.

All in all, while still providing a dependable Nancy Drew adventure that fans have come to expect, I just couldn’t help but feel that The Phantom of Venice seems tired, or more specifically, that it’s the latest entry in a series that itself is getting tired.

Although thin on tangible story, Pavilion’s first of two planned chapters succeeds as an engaging puzzler with an interesting game mechanic and superb production values that help atone for some troublesome technical issues.

All in all, this is a game for hardcore puzzle enthusiasts. If you like games like Myst for the intellectual challenge, you should be pleased with RHEM 3.

Working together with a partner to overcome obstacles is a great core concept at the heart of We Were Here Too, though as a castle escape game it isn’t particularly noteworthy beyond that.

Eminently playable, cheekily characterised and delectably artistic, The Serpent’s Curse rekindles the romance of the much-loved Broken Sword series.

The lack of puzzles and other challenges lets the gaming experience fall short, but the beautiful graphics, gripping story and wonderful music still make The Shattering a worthwhile experience, even if it’s an emotionally difficult one.

The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince just lands on the right side of average; a bit too easy and a bit too slow, its distinctive aesthetic and several unexpected late-game highlights nevertheless manage to deliver that happily-ever-after feeling every fairy tale deserves.

Rather than treating Mary Shelley’s creation as the monster of so many horror movies, The Wanderer: Frankenstein’s Creature is true to the spirit of the original novel and is a treat for the eyes and ears.

AER creates a beautiful fantasy world with a wonderful flying mechanic to explore it, but ultimately doesn’t give players much to do besides repetitive platforming puzzles.

Hauntii is an impressive debut from Moonloop Games, and it’s challenging to find any major flaws with it. I’m eagerly anticipating the future plans from this talented indie studio.

Its polished presentation and unusual premise make for a promising start to Metamorphosis, but the shallow gameplay and increasingly abstract direction prove to be something of a buzzkill.

Shadows of Doubt is a unique detective sim in its use of procedural generation to guarantee that no two playthroughs are alike. It is not perfect, but overall it is one of the most well-crafted experiences that anyone, even detective game veterans, should play.

Although it doesn’t feel entirely phoned-in, SIMULACRA 2 fails to either build on its predecessor’s style or provide enough worthwhile substance of its own, making for a sequel that isn’t quite transmitting at full strength.

If you're looking for a really great graphic adventure game, give "Circle of Blood" a try, but resist the temptation to pick up its sequel. Like the game's title implies, it’s all smoke and mirrors, and very little substance.

SCARF is a lovely 3D puzzle-platformer with a pleasing blend of genre elements, though the further you get, the more it starts to fray at the seams.

These flaws aside, Jack Keane is a lengthy game, light on difficulty, but never anything less than fun.