It’s exhausting. That it’s a story means you’ll want to read to the end, but doing so requires a really concerted effort. Which is, obviously, the point. It’s an extremely effective window into the routine life of those with dyslexia, and has very quickly revealed to me how much I don’t take that seriously enough. The idea that the whole world would be encoded behind these shifting, frustrating, bemusing glyphs is utterly overwhelming, a realisation that’s a complete “well duh” for millions of people.

I can’t over-emphasise how pretty it all is. The backgrounds are wonderful, the meticulously detailed character animations on par with the best I’ve seen. That the vast majority of this game, including not just the art and writing but also its fabulous music, is all by one guy, is astounding.

This would be great for kids comfortable with using a mouse (and indeed would work far better on a tablet, but sadly seems only to be on PC). It’s never difficult, but often grin-inducing. The cats are lovely, and giving them hats makes them happy! So much so that every single hatted cat gains you an achievement almost all with the exact same words: “The cat is happy!” I made the cats happy!

I’m not entirely sure what earns it the grandiose name! I feel like a completely unnecessary storyline might have been wisely cut at some point, leaving just the mystical title behind, and rather love that. You can imagine your own overly-grand reason for pointing light in specific directions as you play. And play it you should.

But there’s so much that’s great here, so many inventive ideas and interesting exploring. For the longest time you don’t have any means of attacking at all, and when hours in it eventually does give you a way to fight back, it’s not with a conventional weapon. I love it for that.

Mimic Search definitely feels like something that could become a very engaging longer game. There’s a lot of unrealised potential in the whole idea of the Mimic possibly being one of the few people in these woods, and that’s certainly not helped by the game’s one rather enormous flaw: it uses character models that don’t blink. Oops. I really like the idea of a game like this, with a larger forest to explore, more buildings, and a different NPC as the Mimic each time you play. Someone make me that, pronto.

Is my life better for playing General Horse And The Package Of Doom? Unquestionably. It is it also worse? Very probably. Is there £7 worth of entertainment in here? It very much depends upon your definition of “entertainment.” If you love the idea of something that exists at the midpoint of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and The Room, then goodness gracious, is this the game for you.

I enjoy playing it though! I’m not wholly convinced I’d be as enjoying it had I spent £15 to do so. Although I’m pretty convinced that aficionados would understand the pricing a lot more. I mean, it’s certainly of note that my highest score is around 18 million, while there are scores on the leaderboards over 2 billion. That is clearly indicative of a lot more game than I’ve been able to touch.

It’s pretty, it all works very simply, and yet there’s a good amount of depth to the tactics. Sure, if you’re used to playing elaborately complicated turn-based RPG/strategy games, it’ll perhaps seem a little twee. But it’s not for you, so there.

A twin-stick action game that crams in everything I want from the genre, into a few-hour vignette.

And yeah, part of me craves the mind-melting tricksy puzzle game this could also have been, where I’m juggling times of day, weather conditions, who’s in an area, and innovatively using stickers for non-conventional puzzle-solving purposes. But that’s someone else’s game to make. A Tiny Sticker Tale has its own motivations, and they’re fantastic. It’s a sweet, warm and gentle game with a novel mechanic, and we can use as many of those as we can get.

This is a simple, original idea, done really well. I don’t know that I’ll ever unlock those blue levels, but it’s a great time trying. And for less than £3, it’s a pretty low-risk choice. This is an easy one to recommend.

It deepens the more you play, as more attacks appear, and more complicated enemies join forces to buff each other. And it’s all rather fun! It’s not too hard, which is a pleasant relief, but it’ll get trickier if you don’t properly try to engage with the tactics of it all.

And really, that one element of moving around the mine by where you match is so smart, and adds so much. The deeper you go, the more involved it gets, the more tile types there are to bust through, and upgrades to add to your town. And it has me completely hooked.

CHDC is a very peculiar game, in both senses of the word, and I mean them both positively. While it definitely reminds me of Dreadrock, it’s certainly a unique little creation. It’s also packed with bonkers details, asides, letters sent between NPCs hinting at deeper stories, incredibly silly jokes, and a constant sense of variety. I wish to god that there were more opportunities to sell crap from your inventory. I wish the magic storage chest and cooking stations appeared a bit more often in the first half of the game. And I really wish there were a way to save mid-level, given you have to start each over no matter how far through. But I’m really enamoured with it despite all my wishing. It’s daft and breezy and very cleverly put together...I’ve not even mentioned that there are three different weapon styles to choose from, or if you’re mad you could pick from all three. Or how you need to manage food and water, but it’s never onerous. Or just how much it delights me every time I light a torch and the word “Fwoosh” appears on screen. I just love the word “fwoosh”. And the art! The drawings between levels are so splendid. It’s all a good time.

This is a ton of fun, bright, silly, fast and tough. I think there’s definitely potential to build it out into a larger game, especially with the building mechanic. However, it works just as it is, a morsel, and you’ve nothing to lose in giving it a go.

It’s also worth noting the excellent underground spooky sound-effects, and some lovely music. This all adds up to a very fun little game, with just enough Lemmings to remind me of happy times, but not so much that I can feel it triggering my anxiety. Oh, and good gracious, it only costs a pound. Which is silly. Put that price up!

So yes, this is plainly daft, and yet incredibly effective. I dearly wish I could play any level from the start, but beyond that I’ve ended up having a lot of meticulously careful fun with a game I wasn’t even sure about why I’d installed it. I’m really glad I did.

I really never thought I would ever be someone who played deckbuilding games. I never managed to get into Slay The Spire or Darkest Dungeon, and figured it wasn’t a genre I’d ever get to grips with. And then I stumbled on Meteorfall. It was love at first sight. It clicked. I got it. I got really good at it! I played it until I was on game+++ modes for every character, in a way I never play games! I’m having very similar feelings about Iris And The Giant.

At £20, I’m hesitant to recommend it. At £10, I’d be demanding you buy it. But then, value is relative to the person purchasing, and you’re a big girl/boy, you can make that decision for yourself. Either way, this is a fab puzzle game, with just adorable art and music.

So what price beauty? Patience. And how much you have with the game will determine your enjoyment. For me, an hour or so after finishing it, I’m already finding the memory of the irritations melting away, and the lovely art and story taking over. But the exasperation happened, and it’s my job to say so.

Fortunately the rest of the game is a cute little puzzler, that has its difficulty ramp up slowly and calmly. And there are over 100 of them, so you’re getting a good deal.

For under £4 you’re getting a solid couple of hours, especially if you’ve the sense to take your time and challenge yourself to evaporate as much as possible in every level. Plus it’s incredibly hard not to just start over again the moment you’ve finished, the mechanic never growing tired no matter how much it repeats.

I am now absolutely fascinated to see what R_Games does next, to see if the scope can be expanded, and the ambition raised even further.

The Amateur Deity Society is a splendid thing, combining interactive fiction with point-n-click in such an inventive and successful way. I don’t know developer Robert Carlson’s plans, but if there were a way to make this Godot-based game an engine others could use to script their own adventures, it could lead to something extraordinary. In the meantime, I really do recommend grabbing this for a fun short story told in an intriguing way.

Shiner is primarily this concept, the surrounding story rather slim (although kudos for the ranch dressing-based religion), and it would be lovely to see such a mechanic built into a larger, more established RPG. Of course, this is a student thesis project, and as such is an excellent proof-of-concept for an idea that merits further realisation. Also, it’s free, so if it sounds interesting you’d be a right berk not to check it out.

Add in some lovely music, and I’m having a great time. I love these simplified versions of larger genre, and while I certainly do wish for more complexity in the battles, I’m still hooked on having yet another turn after each failure.

This is from Minor Key Games, who blew everyone away with 2013’s Eldritch Reanimated, and have since put out a series of very odd little projects, none of which have really caught on. In amongst them is Eponymous, which also received seemingly no attention at all, which is a shame – it deserves some, hence my highlighting this now. And for a couple of pounds, it’s an hour’s oddness well spent.