Some slick visuals and good intentions can’t make up for the fact that The Grandfather is simply too short and under-developed to deliver on its intriguing premise and experimental aspirations.

Despite its few moments of levity, however, the surreal nature of the storyline remains a little too odd throughout, and the repetitive nature of the gameplay makes Flower, Sun and Rain more of a slog to play through than it is enjoyable.

The Detail sets out to provide a memorable police thriller with visual flair, but can’t quite seal the deal in either storytelling or gameplay across its three-part narrative arc.

Spirit of the North may look as nice as it sounds, but it’s largely disappointing and unforgivably boring, offering only a superficial story and sorely lacking interesting exploration.

As the first commercial installment in on ongoing series, Rusty Lake Hotel comes with both story and gameplay reservations for newcomers, and only escape-the-room fans should bother checking it out.

The puzzles make an effort to redeem Last Labyrinth, but with its already unsatisfying narrative stretched even thinner by tedious pacing and unnecessary repetition, it’s best to avoid the trap of playing this one.

Alone in the Park offers a different approach to treasure hunting, though it’s anything but a pleasant, annoyance-free afternoon stroll.

The few complex puzzles in Without Escape tease a more involved room-escape adventure with greater potential, but as it stands, there’s simply no escaping the fact that it isn’t much fun.

More illustrated e-book than game, Mira is a trip through beautifully painted Slavic myths and legends that’s let down by a lack of gameplay and poor localization.

It’s a simple game that everyone should be able to relate to, but some of the design choices and a number of production limitations make playing Alexey’s Winter feel too much like trudging through a cold winter blizzard yourself.

Fort Solis is a bland sci-fi adventure that sacrifices interesting gameplay in its attempt to provide a cinematic experience.

Although much more playable on standard PCs, Alice is a great idea lost amid mountains of technical issues in VR. If you have endless amounts of patience and like Lewis Carroll a whole heck of a lot, this is your game. Otherwise, you probably won’t find it your cup of tea.

With its barest of storylines, over-simplified gameplay, and lack of creativity overall, this beautiful game shimmers superficially before evaporating into nothingness.

3 GEEKS had the potential to be a fun comical romp, but with its near-incomprehensible English translation, clashing art styles, occasional technical hiccup, and patience-testing gameplay, the end result falls far short of its promise.

Mount Olympus is a repetitive, lackluster, and simplistic experience barely masquerading as an original adventure.

Try MOTD only if you are willing to put up with rude character dialogue and idiotic puzzle solutions. If not, wait for House of Tales to release "The Moment of Silence."

Although it is possible to overlook the somewhat pre-dated graphics, poor elements in both plot and puzzle design taint what could otherwise have been an excellent game. With its short length and $20 price point, I simply cannot recommend The Arrangement.

Everything just falls all to pieces in the execution, specifically every element of character interaction (which is 80% of the game). It's frustrating to the point of bafflement at times, to want to care so much about the story, but feel so stifled by the atrocious dialogue and unfriendly interaction system.

Nemezis: Mysterious Journey III nails the beauty and atmosphere of a Myst game but misses the mark in just about every other respect.

This contributes to the overall feeling that A Stroke of Fate: Operation Valkyrie is exactly what it is: about half of a game. It's got pretty good writing, a decent aptitude for historical authenticity, and entirely okay art design, but it's wrapped up in a very bland package that lacks ambition, depth, length, and a single moment of tolerable voice acting.

NightCry is confusing mess of a game that nevertheless manages to provide a bit of schlocky B movie horror fun, particularly for those with fond memories of Clock Tower.

Mysterious Cities of Gold faithfully recreates the look of the television show, but its shallow, repetitive, and unimaginative gameplay should have you prospecting somewhere else.

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.

Overall, Dead Reefs offers plenty of atmosphere that teases with its potential, but really suffers from its make-shift story and weak gameplay, made worse still with poor controls.

A long-winded Myst-like puzzle game that will likely appeal to the hardcore gamer only.

To forgive is divine, but The Unholy Society comes up sinfully short in too many areas to deserve a full redemption without further acts of contrition in future installments.

The Preposterous Awesomeness of Everything only half lives up to its name, wrapping a clever bit of satirical absurdity up in a self-confessed underwhelming adventure game experience.

Although it delivers an abundance of horrifying imagery, the indiscriminately gratuitous Lust for Darkness falls short of delivering a truly engaging Lovecraft-meets-sex-cult experience throughout its brief three-hour play time.