The Birdwatcher makes for a somewhat enjoyable walking tour of Norrköping, but the detachment of story and gameplay makes for a surprisingly disengaging mystery.

It is much, much easier for me to recommend the game as a free browser-based Flash game than as a commercial product.

The Subject tries to take the helpless cat-and-mouse horror of games like Amnesia and meld it with player-guided puzzle solving, but doesn’t push either angle as much as it should. The result is a middling mix of both, though a welcome casual mode implemented post-launch at least puts the focus on gameplay over survival.

The one-of-a-kind Dropsy’s heart is absolutely in the right place, but it’s tough to fully embrace a game with so much unwelcome filler.

Hostil feels like the bare-bones outline of a survival tale in an alien landscape. There’s enough effort and polish to demonstrate a legitimate attempt at a serious narrative, but it’s disappointingly hamstrung by its own brevity to really be effective.

A brief reboot of the cult classic series, Black Mirror does well to pile more richly atmospheric doom and gloom on the Gordon family, but is hobbled by creaking mechanics and poor design decisions.

Ghost of the Dusk is likely not going to help much putting Jake Hunter on the map in the West. For every step forward its main story takes, the side cases negate with dull and drawn-out sessions of tap-the-screen, making them feel more like padding that will try the patience of even devoted visual novel fans.

The acting is good and the central mystery is intriguing enough to want to see it through, but Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus? isn’t able to rise above its repetitive nature and lack of any real gameplay to maintain interest all the way to the final unveiling.

The FMV mystery Jessika supplies a thought-provoking if uncomfortable story, though a number of flaws in the interface and to a lesser extent the English translation take focus away from the tale it’s trying to tell.

The Fabled Woods delivers an intriguing trio of interconnected tales with a nice coat of production polish, but the game’s brevity and lack of interaction result in a power hike through the heart of the wilderness instead of a more compelling, slow-paced stroll.

Rallying in its final third to finish on a high note, Sense – A Cyberpunk Ghost Story just manages to overcome its earlier humdrum sections with a multilayered tale of deceased souls.

Hoodwink establishes an interesting premise in a unique setting, but its ease and occasional frustrations spoil some of the fun in this (undisclosed) episodic debut.

If a unique and lengthy visual novel is what you’re craving, WILL: A Wonderful World could fill that particular void. So long as you can accept its rapid tonal shifts, constant despair, and uneven writing, the fate-shaping wordplay delivers something fresh and enticing.

Though Fate of Kai features a clever gameplay concept and enjoyable comic book aesthetic, its simple puzzles, slight story, and a few notable moments of frustration keep the game from reaching its potential.

May's Mysteries is a substantial puzzler that is sure to satisfy fans of logical and mathematical brainteasers, but offers little of interest for those seeking more.

Proving too slow-paced and repetitive for its own good, Root Letter fails to seal the deal on its promising set-up, though it may yet pave the way for improved Kadokawa mysteries to come.

Just Take Your Left is a skillfully animated wacky cartoon adventure that will frustrate as much as it entertains due to its bugs and poor player feedback.

Although it might be worth checking out Red Comrades Save the Galaxy for the sake of novelty alone, don’t expect too much from either the plot or the puzzles. You’ll just end up confused anyway.

Firewood is effective in its creepiness, but it’s hobbled by a confusingly disjointed story, overly simple puzzles and a brutally short playtime.

The debut installment of Montague’s Mount is very pretty and atmospheric, but the lack of plot, puzzles or scares so far should have you waiting until the next episode before you decide whether to climb on.

Unfortunately, the game's confusing plot, lack of human contact, static scenes and frustrating gameplay had simply worn thin.

Too unremarkable to share in its predecessor’s cult status and too clunky to rival its modern competition, Yume Nikki – Dream Diary is a reverential yet surprisingly unfaithful reimagining of its 2004 namesake.

In Sheep’s Clothing is a very disappointing episode that starts slow and never picks up much steam. It all falls on the finale now to redeem this uneven series.

It has an interesting, thought-provoking story and takes an innovative approach in combining different gaming genres, but Headspun’s implementation is uneven and results in equal measures of fun and frustration.

Outside of the story failings, which are really inexcusable after three/four complete games, there’s some solid adventuring to be found in this hellish town. The problem is that the game takes one misstep backward for every step forward. Excellent puzzle ideas are hindered by flawed implementation, while the dramatic shifts in gameplay are likely to alienate many players. Were hour-long, fright-free puzzles the missing link for survival horror fans? Were adventure gamers clamouring for punishing platforming sequences and boss fights? There’s a market in the middle, to be sure, but even for them, Doorways: Holy Mountains of Flesh is too uneven to fully embrace. There are things here to enjoy, but be prepared for an uphill climb.

Ultreïa is beautiful to look at and its robotic world is creatively imagined, but a chronically underwritten story means there’s not much else to recommend beneath the surface.

If the numerous technical problems are fixed, this is definitely a game that would-be detectives will want to pick up. Until then, most players will want to take a pass.

Generally overpriced for the offline game, especially considering there's no actual game in the online "game."