With stunning visuals, solid sound and music, and nuanced worldbuilding that many adventure games would kill for, it’s unfortunate that Lamplight City is lacking in the one area that distinguishes games over other storytelling media: interactivity.

Fans of the original will no doubt persevere and get to experience the worthwhile moments of the second half, but others may find its slow development too boring, its story a little too lost for its own good.

The Awakened is a very uneven game, ranging from very poor to rather good, and the only consistent quality is its creepiness. It's worth considering if you need your horror fix, but Cthulhu will certainly forgive you if you decide to skip it.

The adrenaline-laced interactive sequences of Smoke & Mirrors are fun to play, but in between the gameplay is far too sparse and linear, and its story loses some story momentum in the process.

Nancy Drew: Midnight in Salem trades in brainteasing puzzles for a greater focus on an interesting story and a large cast of characters, but is hampered by rough edges that even four years of development couldn’t smooth.

In cramming a time-looping murder mystery into the confines of a small inner-city studio apartment, Twelve Minutes offers much to appreciate, though the execution suffers somewhat from the limitations such a premise inevitably brings with it.

The Cinema Rosa is moody and atmospheric and succeeds admirably as a mix of retro-theater nostalgia and supernatural exploration. Its story is never delivered with clarity, but it’s a brief experience worth having, especially if you have any love for classic film.

Far more hardcore than most casual games, Pahelika: Revelations is enjoyable as a collection of puzzles in a fantasy setting, but the story is needlessly hard to follow and ultimately forgettable.

With a whole extra case, better written stories and somewhat more varied analysis tasks than the last game, CSI: Unsolved! is certainly a step in the right direction, but the repetitiveness of the activities means it still isn't a great game.

The Medium creates a nightmarish limbo for untethered souls in which players must evade, outwit and even aid its horrific inhabitants, but the strong atmosphere and effective scares aren’t enough to completely atone for a poorly constructed story and one-dimensional protagonist.

The World After is a beautiful FMV adventure set in the French countryside with a fresh sci-fi take on a global pandemic, though it falls short in too many areas to make the most of its own concept.

Mystery fans will enjoy unraveling Tomb of the Lost Queen's puzzle-filled expedition in the desert, though the lack of dynamism and interaction cause the atmosphere to noticeably atrophy.

Summit of the Wolf tells an emotionally heavy story that tackles difficult issues in an honest, unflinching way, but it’s hurt by the many production corners it seems to have cut along the way.

Easy and colourful, She and the Light Bearer should appeal mostly to younger children, although the drawn-out nature of the dialog may strain their patience.

Lost Ember’s animal body possession provides some fun moments but the lack of anything substantive to do with it makes for a beautiful but surprisingly empty experience.

Murder in the Abbey is ultimately one of those games that is fairly enjoyable to play through yet leaves you with the feeling that something is missing.

While there are plenty of familiar puzzles to keep players occupied, Subject 13‘s mediocre plot and characterization can’t elevate the experience to the well-rounded adventure it had the potential to be.

Belladonna is a very short but engaging diversion for people more interested in reading than actual adventuring.

While the problems that exist in Alida are unfortunate, the game is still recommendable to die-hard first-person adventure devotees, especially those who don’t mind rolling up their sleeves and getting down and dirty with puzzles.

If you like seeing stories from various personal angles, Virtue's Last Reward offers many hours of value, but you might feel betrayed by the storytelling grind of this longwinded horror adventure.

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.

Feeling more like an expansion than a complete game, Nelson and the Magic Cauldron: The Journey refines the series’ technical aspects and continues the comically absurd adventures of its eponymous hero for those already initiated to his world.

It’s got an interesting gameplay construct and some gorgeously animated locations to explore, but some clumsy moments with controls and unclear leaps of puzzle logic mean that Maquette’s tale of whirlwind romance only flutters rather than flies.

Gibbous: A Cthulhu Adventure looks amazing and will make you laugh, but its inability to tell a coherent story prevents this comedy cosmic horror adventure from fulfilling its abundant potential.

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.

The puzzle structure, iffy dialogue, and subject matter make this a hard recommendation to a general audience. As the score indicates, unless you’re a hardcore horror/adventure fan, it might be wise to first play the demo, or await a price-drop.

Hadr’s literal disappearing act is intriguing for the mellow hour or so it takes to complete, though the lack of puzzle complexity makes the game’s great concept seem somewhat underutilized.

The Dark Side of the Moon may be worth a look if you’re able to enjoy a low-budget interactive movie full of sci-fi silliness, but the experience is let down by the relative lack of interaction and challenge.