While there is some good gameplay to be found in Foregone, you’ll spend a lot of your playtime with it wishing you were playing some of the inspirations it appears to be pulling from. That’s a real shame, because there are some highlights in Foregones playtime, but they don’t stand out enough for me to properly recommend it to anybody.

I enjoyed my short time with Sparklite but I’ve been left wanting more. It will be a good fit if you’re after a game to dip in and out of over time, especially on the Switch. Red Blue Games have achieved everything they’ve set out to do. Next time, they should shoot for the stars.

It is always tense and captivating and there’s a human story behind the curtain of the initial premise. The constant claustrophobic foreboding, the terrific blend of styles and its thought-provoking storytelling make this a cerebral, artisanal horror experience filled with suspense and, surprisingly, beauty.

Hyper Jam is a great game, but it’s a shame that more creative game modes aren’t included here. The one mode that is included is quite robust, but it’s almost as if Bit Dragon put all their eggs into one basket. I can’t wait to play Hyper Jam at our next game night, but there’s perhaps not enough here to keep me coming back beyond that.

Maquette is a sort of sketch of a finished sculpture, or an architectural model… is the game saying this relationship was a sketch of better times, a process to go through in order to reach some future ideal? If so, it’s a well-worn narrative, and nothing is added by its puzzles. It ends up feeling like a clumsy mash-up of Synecdoche, New York and 500 Days of Summer, but without the introspection of either. At the very least, its puzzles and environments are captivating, but unlike its lateral thinking solutions, it never brings a new angle to its central narrative.

EarthNight is a resolutely non-conformist auto-runner. Its artistry is second-to-none, with creativity and soul that are worth the price of admission alone. Sometimes its eagerness to cram as much as possible into a typically simple genre can frustrate and overwhelm, but its boldness should be celebrated.

Maneater may not be as enthralling as the Nelly Furtado song, but it’ll certainly make you work hard and make you want all her love because the game’s snarky personality does make you want to continue playing all the same. I’d personally wait until it goes on sale, but whenever you do purchase Maneater, I’m certain you’ll have a whale of a time.

Coteries of New York does offer a glimpse into intriguing lore, and I can envision it as a companion to the Bloodlines 2 release for new players if it adds some much-needed basic features seen in most visual novels. It introduces the ideas, societies and cultures of World of Darkness adequately but its short length might leave fledglings and die-hard fans hungry for blood.

In a sea of seemingly endless Metroidvanias, combat-heavy roguelikes and general run-and-gunners, the tranquil pacing and puzzle focus of Degrees of Separation feels like a welcome respite. The gameplay is easy enough to figure out with almost no prompting, the story is charming, and the presentation is lovely. So, by all means, play it with someone you love!

For something intended to be played many times, Error Unknown has a tendency to drag on. It would have benefitted from tightening up, each ‘run’ lasting fewer days in order to maximise novelty and minimise repetition. But despite having more than a few bugs in its execution, Tech Support: Error Unknown just about qualifies as a minimum viable product. Ticket completed.

Minecraft Dungeons is a lot of fun, but it’s a little lacking in depth, and it’s rather short to boot. It’s almost exactly what you’d expect from a game looking to fuse the cute world of Minecraft with the gameplay of Diablo, but it sadly never really reaches the potential of either. As I said though, it is good fun. It is replayable too, but it’s hard to really commit to doing so unless you’re helping along someone who is less familiar with games, say a younger sibling or your own kids. This puts it in an important bracket of gaming, where its perfect as an introduction to the genre, but it’s not going to offer much more than a distraction for anyone used to ARPGs.

Iris.Fall only takes a few hours to complete, and this feels just right. From start to finish it’s an engaging and well-polished experience that finishes on a high, before the demands of its tricky puzzling take too much of a toll. While the easily frustrated may wish to steer clear, this is a stylish brain-teasing trip worth taking.

Graphically, there’s no real style; at least, nothing you’d expect from a high-octane mountain biking game. Sam Pilgrim looks like a generic – if not well-rendered – human male, and while there’s a nice variety to environments, nothing screams intensity or fun. But if you’re a fan of the genre and want to dig into something that is specifically demanding on perfect performance, you could definitely do much worse.

All in all, Eagle Island is a very charming game. It combines a beautiful aesthetic with a simple yet endearing story and some fun gameplay. Despite the issues with balancing, it is still a lot of fun to play, and it’s hard to deny the rush you get when managing a 20-hit combo in midair against a giant snake. It’s a lot of fun to play and should keep its hooks in you long after you’ve finished it thanks to different ways to play it.

All in all, Tower of Babel – No Mercy is exactly what it sets out to be — an easily picked up party game that’s good for a few frantic games with friends or family. There’s such a low barrier to entry that anyone could play it, so those struggling to get parents or less game-friendly friends into the mix should find this a far easier sell than the more complex party games available on Switch. Just brace yourself for the finger-pointing when someone’s sloppily placed piece brings the whole thing crumbling down.

The combat is good, the strategy is a lot of fun, and the only real thing that lets this version of Ancestors Legacy down is the lack of multiplayer. So, it’s perfect for those who’ve no interest in playing with others, but may miss the mark if you were hoping for a more inclusive experience.

This game wants to be very charming, and it sometimes comes very close. The art is rich and beautiful, and the interfaces look great. But every other aspect of the game feels one step away from being memorable. Menus are confusing and difficult to use. Locations are overly greebled with landmarks and winding paths, making it difficult to get around with ease or speed—and the map is obtuse, instead of helpful, at a glance.

On its surface, Moncage does so many things I like. Its narrative is conveyed through interaction, rather than through text or cutscenes. Its predominant mechanic is clever. It’s short. But it stands as an example of just how easily a game can be undone by only one or two critical shortcomings. There’s a world in which a few chewy brain teasers would be enough for me to overlook some one-dimensional characters–this is a puzzle game after all. One-dimensional puzzles, though, are harder to forgive.

I always remember Kingdoms of Amalur as a game that took risks, and then delivered on them despite the rocky development it went through. There are many other examples of games that have improved considerably using some of its design choices, but it’s undeniable that there’s no experience that quite matches this. I just wish it would have maintained that once present rebellious spirit here as well, coming up with the sorely needed update in the face of a new generation.

Mosaic is a cold game in which you strive to find even a shred of warmth. It fills you with a desire to be better, to talk deeply to yourself and reassess your values. It doesn’t feel like a game, exactly, but more of an experience in empathy. Full of quirky dark humour that for once doesn’t come in the form of cringy dialogue, and enriched with concepts that could make even the most steeled among us weep, Mosaic does the heart some good.

If you’re seeking a more challenge experience, Blue Fire is worth a look, but it is a game which will test your patience. It’s only truly let down by the Void trials, and while there’s nothing wrong with a tougher experience, they stop being fun after just missing that platform for a fifth time in a row. Those willing to put that aside will find a game with plenty of depth, offering a solid visual presentation, enjoyable dungeons, and intriguing story which comes recommended.

It can get dull in spots, especially if you find yourself with downtime, but there’s enough flavour and personality in the artwork and important characters to make things interesting. I wish the story was better, and that the 80s cheese was toned down to make room for something more thought-provoking, but what’s here is unique. So if you’re up for some fun, time-management based gameplay that doesn’t take itself too seriously, get your ticket book out and hit the streets.

Overall, despite some smaller issues that are being patched out as we speak, Pathologic 2 retains the grim atmosphere of the original, putting meat on the bones of the storyline and characters, but leaving none for you. It’s a shame that the negative reviews put it at risk of obscurity, because it’s immeasurably engrossing and deserving of some serious play-time from those who like to enjoy the journey more than the end goal. You will starve, you will die, you will kill others and run away, you will feel deeply miserable and admit that all hope is gone – and at the end of it all, when you shut down your PC, a nice walk in the sun will seem all the more rewarding.

Beatable within two hours but offering good replayability, The Solitaire Conspiracy is a short but sweet experience. Featuring some strong visual aesthetics, an engaging narrative and enjoyable gameplay, this bite-sized title proves particularly entertaining and left me wanting more. Though limited by the smaller scope, it marks another winner by Mike Bithell, making this one conspiracy we recommend investigating.

A fairly tight and enjoyable sim. The campaign scenarios introduce you to all of its systems very gradually, and there’s plenty of freedom to customise your aquariums exactly how you please – even if they’re arguably not as interesting to build and look at as theme parks and cities. But each to their own.

While turning off frustrating features is a blunter solution than seeing them integrated into a better-balanced game, As Far As The Eye has a grounding in something really beautiful. I look forward to the opportunity to experience the game I saw parts of underneath its less well-implemented elements. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the one I got to review.

Landing just a handful of months after its E3 reveal, Blair Witch stands proudly as one of my favourite indie surprises of 2019. Its ever-morphing and vastly expansive setting of the Black Hills Forrest always evokes chills and I like how the ‘found footage’ trope that defined the 1999 movie was used here in inventive ways during puzzle sequences. I did, however, find myself getting lost far too frequently and the forced moments of stealth were really a test of my patience during the final elongated chapter. That said, Blair Witch is not one that should be missed horror fans, even for those unfamiliar with the movie or Bloober Team’s previous work.

Ikenfell’s pure heart won me over. The end of the epilogue alone made my gay little heart melt. I cared an embarrassing amount for the characters the game introduced me to, and the ways in which their interactions are examined is a high point of the game for me. Its sheer empathy, inclusive nature, and amazing soundtrack all make for an engrossing experience, especially if you’re queer and not used to seeing yourself represented in a respectful way. Just make sure that you fight more battles than I did along the way, else you might end up having a bad time by the conclusion.