It's mystifying that something so free, so open, is the work of two people, total. I have managed to break it a couple of times, through some outlandish actions, but the majority of the time I've just been delighted to find out my cockamamy plan has worked out. It also offers that most crucial of immersive sim elements: the bit where a great plan goes to crap, and you're flailing to survive. It's a joy that Ctrl Alt Ego rarely has me wanting to reload in such moments, but instead to scramble, to try to improvise my way out of a sudden and overwhelming jam.

Oh my goodness, get this, and indeed every other game they’ve made. Play them all, and you’ll only probably maybe go completely loopy. I adore them, and this one lives up to their reputation completely.

If you’re not into city builders, play this. It’s nothing like them. Like I say, it was unhelpful you even mentioned Sim City at the start of this. If you do love city builders, then you should play this too, because it distils the most pure concepts into a gorgeous, chunky, meaningful game. Which is to say, if you exist, I really do recommend playing Dawnfolk.

But overall, this was far from the rogueish resource management game I’d feared, and a far more rounded story adventure. Which made it exactly what I wanted, while I completely understand how the reverse happened for so many others.

I adore the art, the retro sound effects and music, and its presentation throughout. But the standout feature by miles is the ingenuity of the puzzles. There’s no combat here, no call for reflexes or timing – just super-solid puzzles that’ll make you gasp when you eventually figure them out. Chronoquartz is a proper all-time treat.

This really is one of the best Metroid-likes I’ve played, and its lower-than-usual difficulty is something I have found incredibly welcome. And I feel certain I’ll be playing it all over again when it comes out on Switch. There’s a lot here, and it entirely justifies its $20 tag.

This is all just such a great idea, so well executed, and the best digital jigsaw game I’ve played by a long stretch. That you can play a significant amount of it for free is almost silly.

I’m assuming this is free because it’s so short, but I would very gladly have paid a few pounds for it. I can find nothing about the two developers, other than guessing that they’re Icelandic from their names. (Get in touch!) But clearly this could be developed into a longer game that people would be delighted to pay for. As it is, this freebie is a proper treat.

Daemonologie achieves so much more thanks to its brevity and its lack of an attempt to preach or proselytise. The horror is the horror, and it’s not a scary witch. That you have to be a part of that horror to experience it only makes it far more powerful.

Grab this with both hands. It’s really solid stuff, a fun story, and a lovely entry-level tactical combat game, and indeed infinitely more accessible visual novel.

It’s a bunch of lovely ideas, each used just once, despite many being strong enough to be the basis of a game of their own. (The Snake puzzle especially.) I can’t wait to see what FLEB does next.

You’ll think about a subject you likely often don’t, yet one that is soon to have such massive implications for all of humanity. And you’ll not feel berated or lectured at as you do so. Because The Last Survey is as much about its subject matter as it is its portrayal of human behaviour, of paranoia, fear, and the desire to do the right thing at personal cost. Also its damned good writing with some fantastic animation, presented in a way impossible outside of the realm of gaming.

This is really brilliant! This is a game deserving of widespread attention of the sorts Draknek & Friends receive for theirs. It deserves to be in their midst, rubbing shoulders with Hempuli Oy and Stephen Lavelle. I think you, a person who is good at this sort of game, are going to properly love this.

I wish I could better communicate just how incredibly ingenius this game is, and without ever being all “LOOK AT ME I’M SO CLEVER!” coughjonathanblowcough. Instead it’s smart, modest and charming, like I’m not. The best thing is you just play it.

Melon Journey is also the very essence of “wholesome gaming”, without feeling puritanical or pallid. It’s entirely family-friendly, extremely cute, but not saccharine. It has an edge, even if that edge is entirely about melons.

This is very deliberately not a true point-and-click adventure, so don’t go in expecting one. And be warned, this is a grim tale with unpleasant themes. It is, after all, a horror game. As you might expect, if you’ve played any of Navarro’s games before, the pixel art is impeccable. The writing is fantastic, too, and the hour-long experience – as ever – makes me crave a longer, more involved game from the creative team. However, these episodic bite-size games allow entirely different approaches, art styles, and themes, which is very welcome too.

So, so much has been poured into this, every tiny crack packed with details and extras. The sheer number of computer games to find and play, some dreadful, some pretty decent, is bewildering. Let alone the amount of art created for one-off throwaway gags. And perhaps most importantly, that created to illustrate the repeated goals to escape from creature’s bottom holes.

I am so deeply in love with Batbarian. Not because it’s a brilliant Metroid-ish platform game, which it is. Not because it has excellent art and animations, which it does. But because it’s a game that wants to be played.

I’ve shouted out loud so many times while playing, sometimes in mad frustration at myself, other times in absolute delight at my success. I have even proclaimed, “I AM SO GOOD AT THIS!” immediately before leaping straight into the teeth of a spinning cog. It’s just an absolute pleasure to play, no matter how bad you might be at it.

This is a treat. It’s about a quarter of the length of the games it emulates, but at a squillionth of the price. The animation and pixel art is a nostalgic delight, cutting no corners at all, and the writing is brisk, fun, and always cheerful. That this withstands the comparisons it invites is no small feat, and I dearly hope there’s more to come.

When we look at History, and we learn about Wars, we see arrows on maps, armies defeating armies, flags replacing flags. But it’s so easy to forget about the minutiae within that. The farmer in the mountains whose life was bounced between fascist regimes, before being completely destroyed in their wake. A Painter’s Tale offers this perspective with such an extraordinary lightness of touch, almost a nonchalance, and is so much more powerful for it.

What makes this work for me is a light narrative that doesn’t overly get in the way, alongside its willingness to step outside of the immediate meme’s boundaries to provide entertainment. And that it scared the bejesus out of me over and over.

This is tremendous stuff, a game that could absolutely have been released alongside Raven Software’s mid-90s fantasy shooters and held up. (Although people would have been mystified by the lighting tech.) Hands Of Necromancy is a welcome addition to that fold, and HON Team have become a team to follow.

This is a dark story, and it’s one that has allusions toward historical acts of rape, cruelty and death. It’s a game very much for adults, and its melancholia is very affecting. It’s also astoundingly well written (this is from a Portuguese team, and the English is perfect), beautifully delivered, and the all-too rare treat of a solidly well-made adventure game. That this is developer Whalestork’s first project is mindblowing. I am fascinated to see where they go next.

Super Crush KO, despite its fantastically obnoxious name, lets me in! And it’s hard to say just how much happiness this has brought me. This is a frantic, fast, combo-driven combat platformer that is astoundingly accessible. I’m not going to say “easy”, because actually, I think I’ve been getting quite good at it as it’s gotten tougher. Because I really believe this game has one of the best difficulty curves I’ve ever encountered in the genre.

The White Door is their most successful entry yet, a brilliantly imaginative, unsettling puzzle adventure that increasingly weaves its way into the ongoing Rusty Lake mythos, while operating independently of everything that’s come before.

Linkito elevates the form, with stunning art, a daft and interesting story, characters who talk to you betwixt levels, hidden extras, and a sense of fairness. It’s really rather excellent. And for this I only slightly resent it.

This is just tremendous. It’s extremely silly, but so well executed. I love the relationships between the aliens, and the superbly lackadaisical supervisor makes me laugh every time he appears. This is a piece of jubilant daftness, and that’s why I adore it. It’s short, perhaps an hour to go through the first time, but at its super-low price it’s still a bargain. SPACE COURT!