Letters – a written adventure is a delightful word manipulation game, chronicling one young woman’s life and how language can change it. While it isn’t always as engrossing as it could be, it has charm in spades and should—at least the first time around—engage those interested in story-driven experiences.

With its surreal atmosphere and a deliberately ambiguous story that leaves many questions unanswered, Magnus Imago may reward those willing to delve deeper with plenty to think about, but it doesn’t provide much challenge or narrative resolution as a reward for your efforts.

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.

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.

It may be a little dense and awkward on occasion, but Warp Frontier boldly flies into some deep, dark places, mostly managing to balance challenging puzzles with personal choices and big ideas.

The storytelling is a little vague and lacks emotional punch, but if you’re looking for some innovative mechanics and visual artistry, Moncage’s perspective-based puzzles set in colorful cube vignettes are a marvel to experience.

Side-scrolling through a suburban household as a tiny robot in Time Loader provides an immensely satisfying environmental puzzle-platforming experience that more than makes up for the weak endings.

Chasing Static offers a brief and intriguing foray through a foreboding retro-horror landscape, but its barebones story and under-explored ideas make it feel like a warm-up instead of a main event.

Its heavy focus on puzzle-solving frequently overshadows the story, but Another Tomorrow is a well-designed game with interesting isometric graphics and a great variety of puzzles of varying difficulties.

Don’t Escape: 4 Days to Survive combines traditional point-and-click gameplay with an intriguing day-night survival mechanic and randomized events for repeat playthroughs to provide a fresh take on the adventure genre that’s easy to recommend.

She Sees Red is a highly atmospheric, well-acted (but poorly dubbed) interactive movie that will keep you engaged for about the same length as a film before faltering a bit under its limited choice format.

Even though a disjointed visual style and overly no-frills approach holds Zof back from greatness, fans of Myst-like puzzle adventures will find much to enjoy about the wide variety of surreal environments and enigmatic machinery that make up its difficult but fair puzzles.

While Chapter One can be a little too cumbersome and lacking in logic at times, young Sherlock’s investigation into the many mysteries on Cordona Island provides more than ample breadth and depth for any armchair detective.

As an extremely short prologue to a bigger upcoming game, The Whisperer shows a strong proficiency in building fear, but less so for resolving a satisfying mystery.

It could use more polish and it’s not as expansive as it deserves to be, but KAPIA is a charming, well-paced, nicely designed adventure in a unique postapocalyptic world that just about any point-and-click fan can enjoy.

Though its gameplay strains a bit under the weight of some cumbersome design decisions, Spike Chunsoft’s AI: The Somnium Files nonetheless succeeds in crafting a worthy spiritual successor to the Nonary Games, putting its own compelling spin on the visual novel-styled mystery thriller.

Though it’s over far too soon, Milo and the Magpies is a lovely, fun backyard adventure with a charmingly curious protagonist that’s worth playing to marvel at the gorgeous artistry alone.

Slice of Sea sets you loose in a gorgeously illustrated dreamscape and trusts you to figure out what needs doing along the way. Its lack of direction won’t be to everyone’s taste, but if you long to get lost in beautiful otherworldly surroundings, you won’t want to miss it.

An unusually thought-provoking mystery adventure, Amos Green’s Final Repose is a knockout entry in the long-running Carol Reed series that will appeal to both series fans and newcomers alike.

With its lack of puzzles, unapologetically bleak atmosphere and ungraceful presentation, Saint Kotar, will not be for everyone, but embrace it for what it is and you may just find it endearingly janky every step of the way.

Whilst its exciting plot twists are sure to have you dizzy with surprise, Vertigo ultimately fails to stand up against the weight of expectation brought about by its own name.

Life Is Strange: True Colors paints a pretty picture, creating a story you’ll really want to invest in, with only a slow plot point or two distracting from what is otherwise a great work of art.

The Sundew is very nice to look at and attempts to use its cyberpunk setting to cover intriguing thematic ground, but its story, gameplay and presentation come up short in just about every other way that matters.

Though not entirely successful as a broad narrative experience, Road 96 presents a series of compelling individual character studies whose offbeat sense of humor and heart make for a rewarding road trip.

Lone McLonegan has all the throwback trappings of a Golden Age point-and-click adventure with a welcome Wild West setting, but lacks an understanding of what made those classics work, resulting in a pointless, tedious outing.

Imaginaria offers an intriguing glimpse into the unremarkable lives of those who remarkably choose to reside in extreme isolation. Gameplay boils down to little more than an interactive educational tour, but as long as you’re fine with a narrative micro-experience rather than a brain-teasing survival adventure, this trip to remote Antarctica is one worth taking.

While its story never really soars, Unbound: Worlds Apart presents a brilliant and elegant Metroidvania type of gameplay that challenges both the mind and the reflexes. It’s perhaps a bit too twitchy for your diehard adventure gamer, but anyone who can handle a little action with their puzzles will fall in love with the beautiful art style and fun, finely tuned gameplay here.

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.