Bullets Per Minute has an interesting foundation without bringing anything too complex, and then gives you just enough tools to mess around with it. Even if you’re not a big rhythm game player, it’ll keep you at your own pace, and you’ll get better and better as you go. This subgenre is barely starting, and whilst it is early to tell how it will evolve from here, others would do well in taking cues from this experience, where simplicity behind the premise and a set of rules is enough to hit the right notes.

I’ve reached an age where the games I would have enjoyed 20 years ago and more are a distant recollection of quick wits, skill and muscle memory, of the ‘how-on-earth-did-I-play-that?’ variety. Yet here we are, four years on from Studio Kobe’s Kickstarter launch and while it feels like a lifetime has passed in the interim, not just in videogames, I find myself playing a game in a genre that I had all but given up hope of finding any kind of pleasure in again. In Narita Boy, beating seemingly insurmountable odds can still be fun.

It’s all genuinely a lot of fun. I do think there’s probably a little too much challenge for some people, and the short campaign won’t keep everyone’s attention, but for those who like to look cool and seek high scores, Severed Steel is going to be as hard to resist as an arm cannon through a flimsy window.

There are tonnes of tower defense games out there but this, while not overly original, is well balanced and fun. It’s visually detailed, intuitive to pick up, and has plenty of levels and achievements to keep you occupied.

If anything, Spitlings is very relaxing to play. I can see it being great for people who are bored and need something light to occupy their time. While it may seem like it’d be a fun couch co-op game as well, there are plenty of other titles that come to mind that accomplish what Spitlings sets out to do much better. Despite this, the music is very fun to listen to as you button mash and watch all of the orbs of spit rain down and eliminate the evil goo on the screen, and the game is very aesthetically pleasing to look at. However, it leaves a bit to be desired in terms of engagement as the game goes on, and the novelty wears off pretty quickly.

The challenge presented by Skybolt Zack is entertaining to a point. But there are performative barriers and embedded frustrations that can sap the motivation of players. It’s at this point where the upbeat background music ceases its arcade nostalgic tone and grinds down further upon the player. Beyond engaging with Skybolt Zack on a performative level, it was of more interest to interrogate the gaps where the meaning of the game falls through – where a lot of players might find themselves residing.

Bum-Bo is repetitive, childish, revolting, and gratuitous – and most importantly, it’s a stroke of genius. The team behind Bum-Bo have thrown caution to the wind with this one, revelling in the stuff we all loved about The Binding of Isaac but didn’t want to admit. We’ve no need for a story when we have the basement-dwelling combo of tabletop gaming, semi-edgy humour centering on the grotesque, and fiendishly difficult completion tasks. The game is fun, irritatingly so. It makes no sense whatsoever, but you’ll be glued to it from the first trial run.

Overall, Nowhere Prophet manages to feel like a completely new experience, despite the fact that you can see a lot of the game’s influences in the way it plays. The mesh of different ideas and genres makes for a game that will hook you and keep you coming back for more. Even losses aren’t as infuriating as they could be thanks to the regular unlocks you get as you go through each run. It’s just really good, and if you like card games, then you should add this to your shuffle pile.

Lightmatter is a generally well-crafted experience which gently eases you into more difficult challenges and switches up the puzzles just when you’re getting irritable. Tunnel Vision Games have created a finessed puzzler with superb pacing.

Cloudpunk even does more than expected in its decision-making gameplay; though you’re presented with binary decisions, it’s rarely a good vs evil dilemma, with plenty of variables at play to make either option valid. It really needs to be experienced by anyone interested in cyberpunk narratives, story-driven gameplay or leisurely driving games. Even for those not interested in its themes, provided you’re open to the relaxed gameplay style, Cloudpunk will surprise you with how full of life its world is.

Though the game posits itself as adorable and relaxing, a depressing vision of humanity arises through its narrative (or lack thereof), one in which the aspects of humanity represented are colonisation, environmental destruction, war, and work. The game tells us one thing but shows us another. A story woven into the chapters or levels of the game that develops these ideas might help address this contradiction. Until then, this game is merely a settler simulation with solid mechanics―a well-oiled machine that’s lacking in heart.

Its world, art-style, exploration, and hack-n-slash combat are super fun, but these feel hampered by Tribes of Midgard’s key conceit as a tough tower defence game. Increasingly long nights mean you get little and less time to explore, and this is exacerbated by growing demands on resources. Instead, Tribes of Midgard would have made a better open-world game—its procedurally-generated Norse realm is so explorable. I would gladly play Tribes of Midgard more if I wasn’t bound to the settlement as much, and I hope that’s a mode that could be explored in the future.

The Sojourn’s stakes aren’t so dire, but it still has something to say if you’re ready to listen. Put on some headphones, turn off your phone, and let The Sojourn wash over you. It’s an experience you won’t soon forget.

The problem with AER is length. At maybe a couple of hours or so to beat, with a story that doesn’t feel entirely resolved, I wanted more. The gameplay and world are so enjoyable that AER deserves the epic treatment of a full-on adventure.

The simplistic gameplay comes to life thanks to vivid, heavily retro geometric graphics (think Atari 2600-stylings and you’re close). HoPiKo is oddly fun and even though it can get quite challenging, has a nice zen-like flow to the levels.

A game like this may have taken you a few weeks to grasp and explore in the ‘80s but faced with a modern society that deeply understands video games, it might only last a few hours. But, for those few hours, you’ll be whisked back in time to experience the origins of the modern platformer and better understand why the genre still exists today.

The Almost Gone is a clever little indie. It looks great. The spare soundtrack is effective and evocative. The puzzles are smart, and the narrative is superb. It’s also a game that could easily get lost in the crowd of other releases. It deserves attention though, and is well worth playing.

Iron Danger is a unique and rather wonderful little game set in a mythology we rarely get to see explored in video games. It’s charming, the characters are generally very likeable, and the systems are unlike anything else in gaming. It is, quite simply, good fun, and solving each of the combat encounters is intensely rewarding. It’s certainly worth a look if you want something just a little bit different, or if you just really like time-travel.

Steel Division 2 is a rich and complex strategy with plenty to offer those who can put the time into learning its intricacies. The fact that it’s so detailed makes the lack of a tutorial even more frustrating. Yet, I must admit, once I ‘got it’ I was having quite a lot of fun. I’m still yet to win a multiplayer match, and with the fanbase that developer Eugen has built up, it seems unlikely I ever will. If you’re already a fan of their work, you’ve probably already bought this. If you aren’t, but you are the sort of person who likes to wade into the thick of things, you’ll find that climbing the difficulty curve is far from a tankless task.

My Time At Portia makes up for its lack of polish with nearly everything else it has to offer. It has what seems to be an endless amount of content, so you’re definitely getting your money’s worth. It doesn’t quite reinvent the wheel, but it definitely gives the games it’s inspired by a run for their money.

Whereas a more compelling introduction could have better grabbed the player’s attention, Draugen’s plot and design decisions are mostly done for good reason. Typically not one to rush through a game, I nonetheless eagerly consumed it in a single sitting. By the time the credits rolled, I had no regrets about letting myself be absorbed in this quaint rural locale and its captivating tale for a scant few hours of my time.

Haven is a game about taking time out – it’s about staring into the endless mesh of rust and stars and considering where you are, who you’re with and where the both of you want to be. Some of the mechanics are a little rough around the edges, and the overall experience doesn’t quite feel perfect. But neither are relationships – Haven explores one that’s really special, and I’m beyond grateful to have spent time with it.

No Straight Roads won’t impress punk fans with its devotion to palatability and conventions; it’s not wont to hollering “F*ck off nazi punks“ and pointing a middle finger to the authority and the Man. Instead, it’s content with embodying the irreverent goofiness of pop-punk bands, with the dynamic duo of Zuko and Mayday making loud, emotional proclamations about saving rock music against the tyranny of EDM without a sliver of irony. It’s all the more charming for its lack of pretension, and the polished veneer of its absolutely heady soundtrack, which is perfectly in sync with the intoxicating rhythm of its boss battles, makes this a game worth headbanging to.

Spirit Hunter: NG is an adequately playable visual novel overall, but the standards of its writing and presentation are sub-par for the hefty price of admission.

Dead End Job does manage to simulate that feeling of a ponderous, repetitive crappy job thanks to its grindy nature, questionable furniture placement, and not-quite-permadeath respawn system. The variety of goofy ghosts to bust and beefy amount of levels are the high points and for a cheap thrill, you could do worse—or a lot better.

Overall, Ancient Enemy is an incredibly enjoyable game and one that is unlike anything else I’ve played. It feels like it’s been inspired by many of my favourite oddities, but it puts them together in a way that is completely its own, and I adore that about it. The story and exposition can occasionally overstay their welcome, but that won’t be an issue for a lot of people. It’s certainly a game that’ll have you ready to shuffle the deck and start the next round, and that’s the best thing about card games.

Eastern Exorcist has a solid foundation, and launching in early access is definitely to its benefit. The game has some localization issues, as some key item descriptions were completely left untranslated from Chinese, which I couldn’t read (sorry dad). However, that didn’t impede me from progressing. With a bit of tweaking to its combat and polishing up on its localization, Eastern Exorcist can be an even better experience.

Mundaun is a real triumph of horror, full of stark, well-realised images, incredible sound design, and a score that can stand with the best of horror. I still don’t know if I have found the best conclusion to Curdin’s story as the game branches and changes as you make certain decisions, but the blurry edges of its sketched world will be lingering at the edges of imagination for weeks to come.