With little more to offer than superficial weirdness and pretty polygons in this series debut, it’s best to wait and see where Catmouth Island goes before investing any time in this underwhelming adventure.

Evil Pumpkin’s tricks and treats are about evenly doled out in this quirky casual entry in a wonderfully imaginative Halloween world.

Episode two is a definite improvement over its predecessor, but the AR-K series still has a ways to go to fulfill its potential.

Full of promise but little enjoyment, Enola is a unique and disturbing story wrapped in a bad game.

Andrew Plotkin’s Hadean Lands is an ambitious, text adventure puzzlefest that does nearly everything right.

If you’re a hardcore fan of the Gold Rush! original, there might be some value in picking up Anniversary on sale. If you’re not, don’t waste your hard-earned riches.

Putt-Putt Joins the Parade is a decent first outing for the cheerful purple car that will make its younger audience smile, but a number of limitations reflect its status as Humongous’ first junior adventure.

Charming, beautiful and often satisfying, Amphora’s vague goals and finicky physics can be frustrating at times, but if you have the patience you’re in for a unique experience.

Whilst a lack of gameplay variety and a slightly lacklustre ending limit its appeal, Contradiction manages to provide solid FMV production values and an interesting mystery to solve.

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

More quirky than funny, A Dreadly Business is by no means spectacular, but nor does it do anything wrong, settling for being a solid, well-made debut episode.

Hugo Pratt’s title character is nicely represented through collectible memorabilia and original artwork, but Corto Maltese: Secrets of Venice fails to deliver an engaging story or gameplay experience worthy of its source material.

A cast of interesting characters provides the focal point for Quasar, a simple sci-fi adventure that is over all too soon.

The Inquisitor loses its way through The Village with a poorly designed, technically weak sequel that fails to capitalise on the strengths of its brazen story and brutal, brilliant title character.

Sea of Darkness is a fine entry in the Nancy Drew pantheon, relying on the series’ strengths of character development, exploration, and writing.

It raises some interesting questions, but short of whiling away an hour in a doctor’s waiting room somewhere, I see little reason to recommend Rituals for any actual fun.

It’s a bummer that a game that looks as good, and is as well-designed and polished as Alum, misses the boat on story so badly.

MechaNika is a unique concoction of childlike presentation and mature content that doesn’t seem to know which audience it’s trying to please, and never quite manages to fulfill its own evident potential.

Why Am I Dead at Sea is a solid and complex supernatural whodunit, recommended for those who don’t mind plenty of reading and old-school production values.

Damn Virgins is more of an uneven frat house comedy than apocalyptic blockbuster, but its heart is in the right place and its puzzle foundations are sound.

City Quest offers a pixelated trip down nostalgia lane but its uninspired sense of humor and lack of challenge make for a somewhat disappointing homage to golden era classics.

The haunting nautical adventure from Deck13 hasn’t benefited at all from its long-delayed localization, but it’s worth a whirl for spooky game enthusiasts.

Nevermind represents a worthy concept and provides an unsettling atmosphere that fans of thrillers will love, but by the time you’re starting to wonder where the story is going, you’ll realize you actually completed the game twenty minutes earlier.

If you’re looking for something out of the ordinary, The Black Watchmen is an excellent introduction to alternate reality games, successfully merging an engaging fictional world with real-world activities and challenging puzzles that are best solved collaboratively with other players.

PataNoir is an amusing wordplay game that doesn’t live up to the uniqueness of its premise.

Thanks to Prominence’s flair for deft narrative and savvy interactivity, this is a mission with which science fiction buffs and fans of first-person exploratory adventures will want to engage.

It’s based on a fun idea and setting, but Jerry McPartlin isn’t nearly ambitious enough or committed enough to its humor to leave any lasting impact. What a drag.

With its lighter tone and smaller scale, The Last Crown: Midnight Horror is a nice little snack for fans of the first game before the next main course.