Last updated: Mar 13, 2026 at 17:25:13 UTC
Here you can find all the games I have played, am playing, and will be playing soon.
What I'm playing right now.
Dispatch is an episodic narrative adventure and superhero management game. Released in eight episodes in the course of a month, two every week, it blends branching storytelling with light strategy and workplace comedy, following Robert Robertson, a washed-up hero formerly known as Mecha Man. After losing his powers and suit, Robert becomes a dispatcher at a Los Angeles hero agency, overseeing missions for a roster of reformed supervillains while navigating office politics and personal redemption.
Gameplay alternates between dialogue-driven narrative scenes and management segments. During story sequences, players make choices that affect relationships, alliances, and long-term outcomes, while the dispatch interface tasks them with assigning heroes to emergencies based on their powers, personalities, and risk factors. Missions unfold through interactive sequences and quick decision points, evoking the structure of classic Telltale adventures.
Structured like an interactive TV series, each episode runs under an hour and ends on narrative cliffhangers. Across the season, new heroes, dilemmas, and workplace conflicts expand the cast and deepen player influence on the story.
I can't play these yet or they're in a holding pattern for some reason.
What's coming up!
Dragon Age: Inquisition is a role-playing game and the third main game in the Dragon Age series. It is set in the Thedas continent, the same fantasy world as the two previous games. It consists of two large countries: Ferelden (from Dragon Age: Origins) and Orlais, as well as the land inbetween. The story picks up after the events of the supplementary novels Dragon Age: Asunder and The Masked Empire describing a civil war in Orlais between the loyalists of the ruling Empress and a noble faction led by her cousin Grand Duke Gaspard.
After the events of Dragon Age II the Circle of Magi has gone rogue and the mages are at war with the Templar Order seceded from the Chantry. The player's character enters the game world from the Fade, a breach to another dimension caused by an explosion at a peace conference between mages and templars. Many clerics, including their leader the Divine, are killed and initially the player's character is held responsible for that, as the only survivor to come out of the blast. The character has however no memory of what has happened, but discovers powers that are capable of closing rifts as is then referred to as the Herald of Andraste. The initial premise is to close these rifts, with the help of the former associates of the Divine, Cassandra and Leliana, former templar Cullen and ambassador Josephine. Following the Divine's last orders they establish the Inquisition, an independent group to close the rifts and bring those behind it to justice.
True to the spirit of the series the character can be customized for appearance, sex, class and race. The available races are dwarf, elf, human, and Qunari and the classes are mage, rogue, and warrior with three specializations each. To grow the Inquisition experience needs to be earned by completing quests, which allows the player to further define allegiances and pursue romances. A custom party can be defined and each member benefits from experience as it opens up access to better weapons and more abilities. Power points open up new areas and Inquisition points define the influence over the region; each new level provides a perk that benefits the entire Inquisition. The main hub for quests is the Inquisition's war table. The War Council consists of Cassandra (also available as a party member), as well as Cullen, Josephine and Leliana. The latter three advisers can be assigned tasks to complete on their own to progress, unlocking new characters, quests and areas.
The party of four travels to different regions, mainly with the main goal to close a rift and defeat a rival faction, but there are also many sidequests not related to the main story, along with the allegiance towards templars or mages which offers separate missions, and character quests to please specific characters, often for romantic purposes. Each main mission has a recommended level to start and there are multiple difficulty levels. For combat the game can be played as an action RPG, controlling one character while the AI handles the other three, or using a more tactical approach. In the tactical mode the game is paused and orders can be issued. There are also many more details for enemies shown then, such as the HP, strengths and weaknesses. By holding a button the action can be started and as soon as it is released the game pauses again. Even when approaching it an an action RPG you still define the abilities of the other party members through skill trees and you can guide their general approach, such as aggressive or rather relying on defense. Weapon and equipment management through an inventory is also present as well as crafting based on recipes.
Multiplayer is available for up to four players, working cooperatively with quests separate from the single-player game, a first for the series. It is linked through the single-player game setting as the party members act as agents for the Inquisition. Also entirely new to the series is the introduction of optional micropayments to speed up progress, through the acquisition of the Platinum currency. Unlocked or crafted items cannot be transferred between the two game modes.
Many years have passed since the human civilization was destroyed by their own creation, AI controlled war machines that could build themselves faster then military forces could destroy them. Leaders of the conflict saw there's no way of winning this battle, only counting down days until humanity is no more. So they've built a safeguard... something that could prevent humans from going completely extinct. Many decades later, animal-modeled machines roam the Earth and human civilization is starting to form from the very basic concepts... although with all kinds of technology lying around, not only primitive weapons are being used.
Tribes and cities have been built and established, new religions created, and as human kind is more bent on destroying than peacefully resolving things, conflicts and wars ensued. But not against the machines, but among the tribes. The player controls Aloy, a young girl who was shunned by her own tribe and got cast out to live alone in the wilderness. Luckily, she had another outcast to help her survive and teach her the way or the world, Rost, who acted as her father figure. In order to prove herself and rise above the hatred towards her that she herself did not understand true reason for, she put every effort she had into the hard work of making herself a great hunter and a formidable opponent.
Years have passed and she became an adult by the time she finally got semi-accepted by the tribe she got cast out from. But during her test as a hunter and a young warrior, an enemy force with heavy firepower attacked the tribe and in the conflict that ensued, Rost died protecting Aloy. Who were they? Where did they get such weapons? How could they control some of the machines? Aloy was no longer interested in becoming accepted by the society... she had one goal in her mind... to catch Rost's killers and make them pay with their blood. The only thing keeping her is the vast world separating them... and she was about to set out of her comfort zone and make a name for herself. And, in the process of doing so, find out she is more than just another tribe girl... she is the key to saving the human race, and defeating the AI.
Horizon is an action game with role-playing elements that mainly focus on spending points to upgrade character skills or enhance the weapons and items Aloy is carrying. The open world has several different regions from sandy dunes and lush forests to snowy mountains and open meadows. Aloy's different outfits provide better protection based on a certain terrain type of weather climate. When she is not fighting enemies, Aloy is a hunter and is more than capable of hunting different types of machines, or go on a stroll and pick flowers and herbs for brewing potions. Destroying machines earns experience points as well as parts which can be used to upgrade weapons or build useful items. Some machines can also be hacked if sneaked upon so Aloy can control them.
While bandit camps can be permanenty cleared, regions where machines roam can only be temporarily cleared until the player leaves the area. Upon return the machines are re-spawned so making roads safe is not an option, but on the other hand, gathering necessary parts for building items is always available. Aloy uses bow and arrow for ranged attacks and spear for close-combat as primary weapons, with some other more specialized and powerful weapons that are available but optional. World map shows regions that Aloy has visited and fast travel checkpoints also become available after a while. A faster way to show more of the map is to track down giant walking machines, climb on top of them and hack them. This will reveal a huge region around the player as well as areas of interest. As is the case with open world games, the game story progresses by completing main objectives, while leaving many different types of side quests and optional but available.
The game also includes a detailed photo mode which lets the player create and capture screenshots that are not achievable with in-game graphics filters and camera angles.
The Darkside Detective is a 2D point-and-click adventure game set in the fictional city of Twin Lakes. The player controls Detective Francis McQueen who is part of the Darkside Division investigating cases with supernatural elements. He is assisted by his partner Patrick Dooley who is there mostly for comic relief in the buddy cop tradition. There are six standalone cases to solve, unlocked gradually, with three bonus ones after the last one has been solved or unlocked straightaway from the options menu. Cases are often linked to the Darkside, a ghost world reflection of the city. While all cases are built around supernatural events, there is a lighthearted tone with many humorous moments, a lot of satire and various references to pop culture.
Each case consists of a small number of fixed screens linked together. The detective can only move between the scenes, not inside one of them. A single action is used to start conversations with characters, pick up items and interact with the environment. Items are stored in an inventory where they can be combined and are used to solve puzzles.
The game does not have voice acting and uses a retro pixel art style. Saving is available both manually and automatically. The nine available cases are:* Malice in Wonderland: a small girl has disappeared.
The Long Dark is a first person, single player survival game set in a snow covered Northern wilderness. The game is a purely sandbox experience without story elements. The player instead simply lands in the middle of a desolate snow covered rural area completely alone, and is expected to immediately start battling the elements in order to survive.
In its sandbox form, this is a perma-death game with no win condition that isn't externally motivated (by leaderboards or achievements). A small number of challenges can be chosen at the start of the game to add more specific objectives and win conditions to the gameplay.
The main gameplay consists of exploring the five interconnected maps of the game world in search of shelter, equipment and resources, while managing the character's basic needs (hunger, thirst, body temperature, fatigue, encumbrance, health) and avoiding dangerous animals. These game maps are persistent, however the available equipment that spawns in them is randomized.
There is no character creation, but there is a skill system that levels up by use and improves the player's efficiency at different tasks. One can harvest wood and plants, fish, hunt, manage their inventory and craft items (tools, food and medication). Most equipment and clothes can also be repaired through the crafting system, provided one has the necessary resources and tools available.
With a day-night system, dynamic weather and an animal AI that tries to simulate real behaviour, the game attempts to mimic a survival experience in a natural environment with some degree of realism. However the amount of available wildlife is limited: One can trap rabbits, hunt deer, and hunt or be hunted by wolves and bears. The dangerous animals can be fought off through a rudimentary combat system (melee or ranged), avoided through a basic stealth (line of sight) system or distracted/scared away with flares. Hunting is done with a bow, pistol or rifle, the latter two being dependent on finding some of the limited available ammunition.
The relatively low amount of dangerous enemies, slow pace and emphasis on atmosphere and exploration of the game mean that The Long Dark differentiates itself from the majority of survival games of its era by pitting the player against nothing but a hostile natural environment.
This Director's Cut is a standalone version of Shadowrun: Dragonfall, the expansion for Shadowrun Returns. It is free for owners of Shadowrun: Dragonfall on PC. For mobile platforms, consoles and Windows Apps, it is the first release of Dragonfall.
Next to the content of the DLC it includes five new missions. Three are tied directly to the personal stories of the team members. They are set in new locations as well as within the Flux State with new enemies. The combat system has been revised to fine-tune the cover and damage mechanics on the battlefield. It adds an entirely new armor system as well and the AI has been revised. The interface received an overhaul to make spells, items and abilities easier to access. There are ten new music compositions and it includes the digital soundtrack of both Dragonfall and the original Shadowrun Returns.
Death's Door is an action RPG about the character Crow, a bird and also a reaper of souls. It is an employee at the Reaping Commission Headquarters, a bureaucratic institution that tasks people like Crow with soul reaping while providing commissions on successful retrievals. At the start of the game it has to bring back a giant soul, but after defeating that demonic forest spirit it is attacked from behind and the soul is stolen. Crow cannot move on until the soul is secured, so there is no choice but to help the old reaper that tricked him and collect several other giant souls that may open the titular Death's Door where the soul is now held.
From a central location called the Lost Cemetery, Crow can access different areas leading to the three giant souls it needs to defeat and bring back to Death's Door. The character can be moved around freely and has two melee attacks along with a ranged attack with limited ammo. Eventually five different weapons can be unlocked and they can be changed on the fly. They vary in style, appearance and statistics such as damage, swings, range and swing time. The regular melee attack is for quick hits, while the second one can be charged or a strong attack or is executed following a dodge roll. Ammo for the ranged attack can be found through items or by hitting enemies. Melee, but especially ranged attacks are often used to solve puzzles such as hitting items or setting them on fire from a distance. Many areas require environment based puzzle-solving to collect items and progress. There are many enemies to defeat along with several larger boss fights that require figuring our patterns, dodging and sometimes puzzle-solving to discover weaknesses.
There is a checkpoint and fast travel system through doors. At certain locations a door can be unlocked that leads back to the central Hall of Doors at the Reaping Commission Headquarters. From there Crow can quickly return to any area at any time or choose another door. When Crow dies he returns to the last unlocked door. At the HQ there are characters to talk to, puzzles to solve and the Soul Vault where four characteristics can be upgraded several times: strength, dexterity, haste and magic. Each upgrade requires soul energy collected by defeating enemies. Health can be replenished by picking up seeds and planting them in specific pots. Upon consumption all health is restored, but this can done only once at that pot until Crow dies or leaves the area to return.
The game also contains many secrets and optional collectibles. Over time three additional magic items are unlocked as additional ranged weapons that can be switched on the fly similar to melee weapons. The new magic types often open up additional paths or secrets in previously explored areas metroidvania-style, or allow Crow to pursue a new path or open a new gate that was previously locked or out of reach. There are several characters to talk to and the game contains many humorous elements.
Loco Motive is a comedic point-and-click adventure game. Set aboard the fictional Reuss Express in the 1930s, the game follows a murder mystery involving three main characters: Arthur A. Ackerman, a paperwork-loving lawyer; Herman Merman, a mystery novelist who fancies himself a detective; and Diana Osterhagen, an undercover spy. When heiress Lady Unterwald is murdered during a speech aboard the train, these three become key suspects and must unravel the mystery to clear their names.
The gameplay follows traditional point-and-click mechanics, allowing players to interact with the environment, collect items, solve puzzles, and converse with non-playable characters. The game includes features like hotspot highlighting (but only for parts of the screen close to the character), inventory management, and accessibility options such as a dyslexic-friendly font and scalable text. Throughout the story, players alternate between the three protagonists, each with their own perspective on the events, and in later stages, control shifts to allow all three characters to work together on shared puzzles.
Puzzles in the game are largely based on inventory combinations and environmental clues. While many are logically constructed, some solutions require multi-step thinking and experimentation. To assist players, Loco Motive features a built-in hint system accessible via in-game telephones. This system provides gradually more detailed clues through a fictional detective character, allowing players to receive help without being given complete solutions immediately.
Visually, Loco Motive uses detailed pixel art to depict the various train compartments and characters. Each character features distinctive animations and expressive body language, and the game includes occasional close-up visuals for comedic emphasis. The environments are designed to reflect the time period and setting, with animated background elements that suggest the motion of a moving train.
The game includes full voice acting for its cast and a jazz-influenced soundtrack composed to match the 1930s setting. The sound design incorporates period-appropriate effects and comedic audio cues that complement the game’s humorous tone. Dialogue is delivered both through brief text boxes above characters and longer conversations with branching responses, though player choices do not significantly affect the overall outcome of the story.
The tone of the game is light-hearted and rooted in slapstick comedy, with numerous visual gags and exaggerated character interactions. The setting and structure draw inspiration from classic adventure games of the 1990s, particularly those from LucasArts, but the game incorporates modern design sensibilities to improve usability and pacing. The game takes about ten to twelve hours to complete.
Following the period of instability caused by the events described in Half-Life, an interdimensional organization known as the Combine invades the Earth, defeating the human forces in the Seven Hour War. A Combine Citadel is erected in City 17, a town in Eastern Europe reminiscent of World War II ghettos. Dr. Wallace Breen, a human scientist, rules the city on behalf of his new masters. An energy field prevents humans from procreating, and no new children are born. Earth is turning into a grim, oppressive police state.
Meanwhile, Gordon Freeman, the man who was at the center of the events that took place shortly before the rise of the Combine, awakens from his stasis and is inserted into a train to City 17 by the mysterious G-man. Gordon is soon brought into a resistance group and makes a seemingly futile attempt to bring down the Combine and liberate the Earth.
Half-Life 2 is a linear first-person shooter with light puzzle-solving elements and many setpieces, similar to its predecessor in concept. The player guides Gordon Freeman through City 17 and the wilderness that surrounds it. On his way, he'll encounter a few friendly characters, but also fight dangerous foes. The game features a realistic physics system: Gordon can pick up objects and toss them freely, and many of the puzzles are physics-based - for example, at one point the player has to weigh down a seesaw with bricks at one end to turn it into a ramp.
Gordon's enemies, apart from alien wildlife which found their way to Earth, are mainly Combine forces, which utilize a variety of firearms, gadgets, and vehicles. Policemen and foot soldiers work along with helicopters, gunships, and gigantic walking machines to hunt him down. To defend himself, Gordon has a range of weapons available: from the iconic crowbar for close-quarter fighting, through pistols and rifles, up to grenades and a rocket launcher. One of the most notable weapons is the gravity gun, with which Gordon can pick up objects, hold them in the gun's anti-gravity field, then hurl them at the enemy with great force.
Setpieces in the game include coordinated assaults on enemy bases, fighting gigantic boss enemies, bringing down aircraft with the rocket launcher, and others. A few levels require the player to navigate buggy-type vehicles. Some of the more exotic stages involve the player summoning an army of antlions to unleash on unsuspecting foes.
Included with the game is Counter-Strike: Source, a version of Counter-Strike made with the new Source engine which powers Half-Life 2, and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, an online multiplayer game featuring the same physics and weapons as the single player game.
Two Point Hospital is a light-hearted hospital management simulation game and a spiritual successor to the 1997 game Theme Hospital. The player is tasked with the management of a chain of hospitals in Two Point County, with each hospital representing a mission which needs to be completed in order to progress to the next, with different objectives assigned to them.
As with Theme Hospital, the player is required to build the necessary rooms for diagnosis, treatment and comfort of patients, as well as research departments, staff rooms and other infrastructure. Staff, from humble janitors to renowned consultants, need to be hired, trained, rested, and kept satisfied with their job. Finally, hospitals can be customized to a higher degree than before, and items can be unlocked through leveling up existing hospitals. Meanwhile, the hospital's reputation and profitability need to be maintained in order to succeed.
Illnesses are, unlike those in the real world, humourous in nature (e.g. light-headedness means the patient has a literal light bulb instead of a normal head). Minor ones, which do not manifest visually, require simple pharmaceutical treatment to be researched, while visual ones require entire dedicated rooms which are equally absurd.
Aside from the main objectives for a particular mission, staff members can occasionally challenge the player in optional side objectives. Unlike in Theme Hospital, staff can make use of certain facilities like toilets and vending machines in their break times, and have more elaborate demands which affect their satisfaction with their workplace. All staff can be trained by external trainers and can even train each other, and while some skills (e.g. motivation) are common to all professions, there are some which are restricted to only a few professions (e.g. only nurses can be trained for injections, and only janitors can capture ghosts of dead patients).
Aside from staff challenges, there are occasional visits from VIPs and optional emergency objectives, which bring extra reputation, money and Kudosh for successful completion. Kudosh is an in-game currency which is received exclusively from completing challenges and missions, and helps in unlocking customization items for future hospitals, increasing their attractiveness and therefore staff and patient satisfaction.
As of the Superbug Initiative free update, the game's online features allow multiple players to join group projects and track each other's progress.
This is a non-exhaustive list, trust me.
Stardew Valley is an RPG inspired by the Harvest Moon games where you play as the inheritor of an old farm in a small town called Stardew Valley. Leaving the taxing big city life behind, you embark upon a quest to restore the neglected tract through dedication and hard work.
The gameplay consists of keeping the plot of land clean from decaying plants, stones, logs and stumps, planting and fostering new vegetation, discovering new places, combating hostile animals and monsters, earning money and collecting materials in order to create new tools and buildings, joining in social activities and events, befriending and romancing non-playable characters, all while managing the protagonist's energy levels.
There are multiple subplots which the player may choose to impact, for example, one may choose to hinder or help Joja Corporation in outselling smaller businesses in order to control and renew the town which would rid it of its traditions. The game is an open-ended one and there is no official ending. The content changes often as it being updated regularly based on player feedback.
Inside is a cinematic platformer with many game mechanics similar to the developer's previous game Limbo. The player controls a young boy and it starts with no context as he climbs down a rock at night in a dark forest. There are no conversations or explanations in the game, but the events reveal it is set in a dystopian universe where sinister experiments are performed on humans or human-like creatures. As in Limbo the boy needs to solve environment based puzzles, hide from people and animals, escape in chase sequences and complete sections with platform mechanics. The boy moves in a hostile environment and cannot be spotted, but it is not explained if he escaped or deliberately seeks out the mystery.
There is no HUD and controls are limited to movement, jumping, and grabbing objects to operate them or to move them around. Progress often involves trial and error to test different options as every challenge usually requires a new approach. He dies often and at times in gruesome ways. The boy can operate elevators, climb or swing from chains and ropes, swim underwater, operate a tiny submarine and so on. There is also a mechanic involving mind control to control other characters. Later on in the game a small group of characters can be gathered and they follow him around automatically. They can help him lift doors or push objects, or throw him in the air. There are no hints, so the player always needs to figure out what to do and where to go.
Similar to Limbo the game has a dark environment, but here with sparse use of colour. Checkpoints are activated automatically and chapters can be revisited at any moment using a menu. Optionally certain hidden objects can be located and disabled, along with an alternate ending to discover. There is a lot of suspense and tense moments in the game, but also scenes that focus entirely on solving a puzzle with no pressure.
Dying Light is an open world, action horror game. It takes place in a zombie apocalypse environment, similar to the Dead Island games by the same developer. The game is set in the large city of Harran, with influences of ancient Turkey, overrun by a mysterious epidemic. The protagonist is Kyle Crane, an undercover GRE operative sent inside a quarantine zone. His initial mission is to neutralize the rogue GRE operative Kadir Sulaiman, but he can also choose to focus on helping the survivors instead. He can freely explore the city using parkour and freerun mechanics. The game has a dynamic day and night system – during the day zombies are less aggressive, so players can gather supplies, weapons, craft items etc. and prepare for the night, when infested are stronger and more dangerous.
The focus is on melee weapons and just like in Dead Island various materials can be crafted into weapons by gathering supplies. Also borrowed from that game is the stamina bar that prevents the character from continuously hitting. Guns can also be used, but sound attracts others. By progressing through the game the character's abilities can be leveled up in the skill trees agility, power, and survival. There are often large groups of zombies that can be taken out from heights, by pushing them off, using projectiles or triggering traps. Instead of stealth there is more focus on escaping using the parkour mechanics. Unlike games such as Assassin's Creed it requires precise timing and aim to grab ledges and combine slides and jumps into fluid movement.
Progress through the city is furthered by unlocking safe zones where zombies cannot enter. During the day Crane mainly needs to scavenge, locate and save survivors, explore, set up traps and locate air drops. At night the slow zombies become much more agile. They do more damage, can sprint and will chase Crane. Especially the Volatile creatures are extremely fast and deadly, changing the game's pace with more focus on stealth as enemies will easily catch up. The game becomes harder, but experience points are doubled at night. Aside from traps, sound and distractions, UV light can be used to slow them down. There is also a dynamic weather system.
Dying Light offers an online co-op mode for up to four players. In the Be the Zombie mode there is asymmetrical multiplayer where one player-controlled powerful Night Hunter can invade another player's game at night and up to four players can work together to defeat it.
On 9th February the game was updated for free to an Enhanced Edition version for all platforms through a patch. This Enhanched Edition then replaced the default version of the game.
System Shock is a singleplayer first-person action horror game and a modernized remake of the original System Shock from 1994. Like in the original game, the player controls a hacker who is arrested after breaching the systems of the TriOptimum Corporation in the year 2072. While the hacker is awaiting trial, a TriOptimum executive named Edward Diego offers to drop the charges against them as well as give them a military-grade neural implant in return for removing the ethical restraints from SHODAN, the artificial intelligence in charge of TriOptimum's Citadel Station. After completing Diego's instructions, the hacker undergoes surgery for the implant and is put into a coma to recover.
The player resumes control of the hacker after they wake up from their medical pod months later to find that the station is now devoid of human life, with its former inhabitants having either been killed or transformed into mutated monsters courtesy of SHODAN, who now sees herself as a god destined to eradicate humanity. The player must scavenge weapons, tools and equipment to survive the monsters and hostile androids now roaming the station while looking for a way to foil SHODAN's plans and escape. Audio logs left behind by the station's former inhabitants reveal details about the story and clues concerning the player's objectives, such as door codes to access certain areas.
If the player is killed by an enemy, they will have to reload a previous save, unless they have activated a respawn unit which will reconstruct their body and allow them to continue from there. Certain areas also contain terminals which allow the player to enter cyberspace, a 3D environment in which the player controls a virtual avatar with the ability to disable security measures around the station by shooting nodes. However, cyberspace contains enemies which will attempt to impede the player's progress by returning fire. SHODAN's current hold over a floor of the station is represented by a security level, which can be lowered by destroying cameras and other security systems. The security level must drop below a certain percentage before some areas can be accessed.
Little Nightmares is a horror-themed platform game with puzzle elements. It is set in a humongous sea vessel called "The Maw", inhabited by strange, semi-human creatures. The player guides a small girl in a yellow raincoat, known as "Six", who seeks to escape the Maw. The game features varied, twisted scenery, from grimy industrial depths, to living areas with giant-sized furniture.
Many areas of the game feature platform challenges where Six must carefully jump across the architecture to get to the exit. Some parts of the game feature puzzle gameplay, with Six needing to properly use objects or interact with the environment in order to open her way or distract enemies.
Six can interact with the environment by pushing buttons, pulling levers and handles, pushing and pulling items (often to stand on), and picking up items to throw them or drop them elsewhere. Six is also equipped with a lighter to illuminate dark places.
At times, Six has close encounters with the hostile inhabitants of the Maw. In some sections Six must sneak around and avoid being seen, while in other sections she must escape from a chasing enemy.
The game world also contains various optional challenges. By exploring, Six can find lamps to light up, statuettes that can be broken, and small, skittering creatures known as "Nomes" which can be hugged. Finding all of these grants the player achievements.
Purple Tentacle, one of the crazy Dr. Fred's creations, drinks contaminated water from Dr. Fred's Sludge-o-matic. He mutates into an insane genius and grows arms, and now he's plotting to take over the world. In an effort to stop him, Dr. Fred sends three friends, Bernard, Hoagie, and Laverne back in time to yesterday, in order for them to turn off the Sludge-o-Matic and stop the sludge from spilling into the river, thus preventing the whole incident. Naturally, the cheap doctor uses a fake diamond over a real one in his time machine, which blows up sending Hoagie 200 years into the past and Laverne 200 years into the future.
Now the player must bring back Hoagie and Laverne, with the help of the time machine's ability to move objects between time periods, and then stop evil Purple from taking over the world.
Day of the Tentacle is a point-and-click adventure game and a sequel to Maniac Mansion. The player controls Bernard, and later also Hoagie and Laverne, being able to switch between them at any time. By using the commands at the bottom of the screen, the character can pick up items, use them on other things, talk to people, and more. Any of the three friends can also send his items across time to another friend.
The game takes place in the same area, but in three different eras, and thus affecting history takes a vital part in some puzzles. For instance, Hoagie can hide an item in the 18th century, and Laverne discovers it in the 23rd century - but by then, the item may have been affected by time and changed its properties.
The CD version of the game contains voice-overs for all the dialogues.
Thief is a reboot of the Thief series and throws away most of the lore - there are no Pagans, no Hammers and no Watchers. The game starts when Garrett, a master thief, is on a job with his former apprentice Erin. They run into a mysterious ritual from a faction loosely reminiscent on the Mechanists, and due to unfortunate happenings Erin falls right into the middle of it. Garrett blacks out for a year and awakens in the city which changed to a fascist regime in the meantime. Now Garrett has to use his thieving skills in order to find out what is going on (the common people are affected by a strange disease) and eventually stop the usual conspiracy.
The basic structure is similar to Deadly Shadows: There is a semi-open city hub structured into various districts. Just like in the predecessor, those are divided in loading screens and gradually open up over the course of the game. These can be freely explored until starting a self-contained mission at the designated point. Here lies the main difference to the previous Thief games: instead of sandbox levels, the design is completely modular and can be compared to the Clocktower level in Deadly Shadows. The set-pieces may be relatively open in itself and offer various ways to deal with obstacles or reach the next point of interest, but in the end they result in a choke-point of no return leading to the next area. Movement is also restricted because jumping is only contextual. Rope arrows make their return, but can only be used at a few designated spots. Except for a few minor climbing sequences, the whole game is in first-person.
Garrett can take on guards in direct combat, the system is based on dodging attacks with a designated button and placing blackjack hits at the right moments, but since he is no fighter he usually has no change against multiple enemies. So his main weapon of choice is stealth. It is based on shadows - the light gem in the interface shows how visible Garrett is - and while breaking sight also plays its role, there is no dedicated cover mechanic like in Deus Ex: Human Revolution. However, Garrett can grab onto corners and peek out to avoid running in front of a guard. This means the majority of the time is spent with observing guard patrols, picking a good time to move behind a guard, performing a blackjack takedown and drag the body into darkness before someone sees it. Like in Human Revolution, the takedown is a context based button press instead of a free swing.
In contrast to the previous Thief games there is no loot requirement to beat a mission, but of course there is still plenty of stuff to steal which is directly converted into gold. While the majority of small loot items is just lying around or found by opening drawers, there are also unique items which bring extra money. These are usually hidden and require the usage of a new mechanic: Garrett grabs a painting or book shelf and slowly moves his hand until he feels a hidden switch. By pressing a button, it may open up a secret passage, unveil a safe or disable traps. The lockpicking minigame works similar and requires to find the sweet spot by moving the lockpick around. Safes require the combination which has to manually puzzled out by searching the environment for clues and carefully reading near documents.
Between missions, Garrett can also find much loot in the city by just moving around and keeping his eyes open. However, the most lucrative is to take optional side missions. Here Garrett has to retrieve a certain object - usually it is just a quick burglary within the city, but sometimes they are real self-contained missions. Of course there is a useful usage for money: visiting a shop and stock up on equipment. The obvious choices are depleting resources like Garrett's trademark arrows which can be used for many tasks, e.g. regular arrows for distracting guards or water arrows to extinguish light sources, food items to heal, or smoke bombs. However, there are also various one-time purchases which reward new equipment to interact with the environment, e.g. a razor to cut out valuable painting or a wrench to open up ventilation shafts, or tool upgrades, e.g. a bigger arrow capacity or more sensitive lockpicks. Also available are items which reward passive bonuses. Additionally Garrett has two magical abilities to his disposal: The swoop move works similar to blink in Dishonored and allows to quickly move forward. Focus (similar to instinct in Hitman: Absolution) slows down time and has several useful perks, e.g. faster lockpicking, easier combat or showing all loot in the area. Those perks have to be unlocked with focus points which are also bought with money.
One of the game's special features are the difficulty modes. While there are the usual three standard types - the highest does not allow for kills or civilian knockouts - the player can also add several other difficulty options, e.g. disabling focus, more expensive resources, slower movement, no kills or knockouts, no quicksave or permadeath. Because those reward bonus points for bragging rights, the difficulty can only be changed when starting a new game. On the other hand there are also several other interface related options which can be disabled at any time, e.g. loot glow, prompts when approaching an interactive item, enemy alert indicators, objective markers, mini map or ammo counter.
Besides the main campaign, there is also a challenge mode. This mode re-uses some of the game's mission areas and adds special objectives. The modes are Chain & Gain (there is a timer running out which can only be expanded by collecting loot), Chain & Gain Limited (Chain & Gain with an overall time limit) and Special Loot Hunt (finding as much special loot within a time limit by using the "hot and cold" indicators). The goal is a leaderboards high-score.
The PlayStation 4 version uses the DualShock 4 gamepad's light bar to emphasize the effect of being in the shadow (with a dimmed dark blue) or exposed to the light (with a bright white).
The Alters is a survival game set on a hostile alien planet. It focuses on the struggles of Jan Dolski, a space miner stranded there after a mining mission gone awry. The main premise revolves around Jan’s ability to create “Alters”—alternate versions of himself who diverge from him at key points in his life. Each Alter has a unique set of skills, knowledge, and traits, reflecting choices and paths that the original Jan might have taken. Players use these Alters to perform specialized tasks, solve problems, and keep their base functional under increasingly dire conditions.
Gameplay combines exploration, base-building, and resource management inspired by Satisfactory. Players control Jan and his growing team of Alters to mine resources, construct facilities, and navigate hazardous areas of the alien world. The base itself is a large, wheel-shaped structure designed to stay just ahead of the lethal rays of the nearby sun. Players must power and expand their base by attaching modules and infrastructure, much in the style of games like Fallout Shelter or X-COM.
The game introduces a “Tree of Life” system that lets players view the different paths their character's life might have taken and create Alters from those timelines. Each Alter brings their own expertise and perspectives to the base’s operations, adding depth to problem-solving and interpersonal relationships. Players must manage the physical and psychological well-being of their crew, addressing their needs and disputes to avoid rebellion and conflict.
Exploration plays a key role in the gameplay, with players needing to venture outside their base to gather resources, discover points of interest, and respond to environmental hazards. Anomalous creatures and radiation-rich areas pose additional risks to their missions. The game's day-and-night cycle adds urgency to these tasks, reflecting the slow advance of the sun and the danger it brings.
The narrative explores themes of survival, regret, regret of choices, and the human will to persevere under extraordinary conditions. Players face moral and strategic decisions that affect both their ability to stay alive and the relationships between their various Alters.
1802: the merchant ship Obra Dinn becomes lost at sea. 1807: the ship drifts into port at Falmouth with no living soul on board, and all the crew and passengers dead or missing. An insurance investigator for the East India Company's London Office boards the ship in order to determine what exactly has happened. To this end, the investigator uses a magical pocketwatch called "Memento Mortem" which allows to view the moment of any person's death.
Return of the Obra Dinn is a first-person detective game. The player's task is to determine the fate of each of the 60 people that were on board the ship. The player can explore the entire ship, from the upper to the bottom deck (although some locations are initially inaccessible). Whenever the player comes upon a corpse, he can use the Memento Mortem to view the moment of the person's death. This allows the player to hear the last few things said in the person's vicinity, and explore a time-frozen diorama that depicts the exact moment of their demise. Additionally, if the diorama includes any older visible corpses, the pocketwatch can be used to generate an illusory image of these corpses elsewhere on board, which in turn can be used to access their death scenes. In doing so, the tragedy of the Obra Dinn is slowly reconstructed, death by death.
Each discovered death scene is entered into an initially blank log-book. The player's task is to fill in the identity of the deceased person, the means of their death, and (if applicable) their killer. To help in this endeavour, the log-book includes a list of names of all people on board, several group portraits, and a map of the ship; it also allows to quickly review certain details from previously seen death scenes.
Determining the identities and fates of the people on board is not easy, and often requires careful consideration of the clues present in the death scenes. For instance, the player may need to identify the people's roles based on their behavior, clothing or relationships with other people. At other times, he might need to carefully examine several successive death scenes in order to reconstruct a sequence of events. Whenever three people's fates are identified correctly, the game acknowledges this and the correct information is marked as such.
The game uses a graphical filter that mimics retro 1-bit graphics, such as those found in early Macintosh games.
Return to Monkey Island is a point-and-click adventure and a direct sequel to Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (1991). It has the original creator Ron Gilbert back at the helm and picks up directly after the events of that game. However, it also incorporates and acknowledges the characters and events from later titles such as The Curse of Monkey Island (1997), Escape from Monkey Island (2000) and Tales of Monkey Island (2009).
This game focuses on the series' protagonist Guybrush Threepwood as he sets out to finally reveal the secret of the Monkey Island. A short prelude explains the ending of the previous game, why this title is told as a flashback and an optional scrapbook available in the main menu is provided with a brief history of the events of all games. The adventure is divided in several parts and starts on Mêlée Island where Guybrush, reprised by Dominic Amato, once again finds himself without a ship and crew to travel to Monkey Island. Mêlée island has also changed, with Carla the swordmaster as the new governor, Elaine advocating social and health issues, and a new pirate leadership refusing to fund Guybrush's venture. Many characters from all titles return in this game, such as Stan the salesman, Otis, Wally the map maker, the Voodoo Lady and Murray the talking skull, but also many new characters. Next to the familiar Monkey Island and Mêlée Island there are entirely new locations such as Brr Muda and Terror Island.
A classic point-and-click interface is used to experience the story, talk to characters and solve puzzles. When hovering over a character or object, usually one or two options are provided: to examine and to interact. Items can be picked up and are stored in an inventory where they can be combined or used in the environment. There is also a todo list as an inventory item where quests are tracked. A separate action is available to highlight all hotspots in the environment. The game can be played in an easy Casual mode or the Hard more with more puzzles. There is also a separate Writer's Cut option with more text and dialogue, available for both modes. Hints are provided through another in-game item, a hint book provided by the Voodoo Lady. The environment is also littered with optional trivia cards stored in a trivia book. Players need to answer a question about the series. If it is answered incorrectly the card disappears.
The game retains its humorous approach, often breaking the fourth wall. The game uses an entirely new visual style headed by Rex Crowle and similar to the one used in his game Knights and Bikes (2019). It aims to resemble a picture book or a pop-up book with exaggerated character features, using 2D and no longer the pixel art of the original two games or the sharp cartoon or 3D look from later titles. The original composers also return with new music.
In Hatoful Boyfriend, the player plays the role of a human girl who is beginning her second year at St. Pigeonation Highschool, the World's best school for birds. On her first day, she meets a variety of different pigeons, whom she will learn about through the year. The first time a new pigeon is introduced, a picture of what he would look like as a human is shown.
The game is a visual novel dating sim. The player reads the story through the dialogue and, every now and then, has to choose from different options or different answers. Some of these choices, like choosing a class to attend, will raise one of the protagonist's stats: Wisdom, Vitality and Charisma. The other choices determine how the story unfolds and how she will bind with the different birds. As the story progresses, it branches until one of different endings is reached. The ultimate goal is to have a love interest develop between the girl and one of the pigeons.
Hatoful Boyfriend can be played multiple times to unlock the different endings. The endings are shown in the gallery, accessed from the title screen. Unlocking the ending also adds files in the archive, also accessed from the title screen. The archive files contain various trivia about the game's backstory.
Blue Prince is a puzzle game that places players in the role of the heir to Mt. Holly, a sprawling, mysterious mansion with an ever-shifting floor plan. At the heart of the experience is a central objective: to find the elusive and mythical "Room 46". According to the game’s premise, locating this hidden room grants the player ownership of the entire estate. However, the journey toward Room 46 is neither straightforward nor predictable, as the structure of the house changes each day, making the search into an evolving strategic challenge. The game is inspired by Christopher Manson's 1985 puzzle book Maze.
Gameplay in Blue Prince is structured around daily exploration runs through the mansion. Each morning begins in the estate’s central lobby, where players are presented with three sealed doors. Choosing one leads to a draft of three potential rooms, and only one of these can be placed. This room becomes part of the current day’s mansion layout. As the player continues, they add more rooms in this fashion, making strategic decisions about which spaces to include based on available doors, room features, and ongoing goals. Once the day ends—either by exhausting resources or reaching a stopping point—the mansion resets. The player begins the next day anew in the lobby, but with only certain permanent upgrades retained, such as blueprint enhancements or unlocked room types.
A core mechanic of the game is the management of footsteps, which represent how far the player can travel during a single day. Each transition from one room to another consumes a footstep, and backtracking consumes additional steps, creating a push-pull between exploration and efficiency. When footsteps run out, the day ends. Another central mechanic involves the use of doors as strategic gateways. Rooms can contain one or more doors, and the player must consider how each room connects to the broader layout. Poor planning can result in cul-de-sacs or dead ends, limiting further expansion and progress toward the ultimate goal.
The mansion is also filled with various items and resources that support exploration. Coins, which may be found in decorative environments such as bars or living rooms, can be used in special vendor rooms to purchase helpful tools. Gems allow access to rare and valuable room choices during the drafting phase. Keys serve multiple functions, from opening locked doors to unlocking specific types of rooms or pathways. The interaction between these items and the environment adds complexity and variety to each run. Players may encounter rooms with safes, locked cabinets, or darkened spaces that require light from elsewhere in the house, creating environmental puzzles that often span multiple rooms or runs.
While the search for the final room is presented as the main goal, various clues and mechanics become apparent to attentive players, with layers upon layers of puzzles and lore, both inside and outside the house.
This is an updated version of Another World for the 20th anniversary of the original game, five years after the updated 15th anniversary edition. It is adapted for mobile devices offering both touch controls and a virtual D-pad. The backgrounds are reworked for higher resolutions with subtler shades of light, and crisper detail and edges to the polygons and animations. It is still possible to switch to the original graphics. This version also contains remastered sound effects and three difficulty modes.
Two to three years later it was also ported to PC and a variety of console platforms with platform-specific tweaks. On the GOG distribution portal 15th Anniversary Edition was replaced with this version, but both versions are still accessible as a single package.
Unpacking is a game about unpacking items and fitting them in a new location after moving. Starting in 1997, each level offers a new location and a new period in the protagonist's life as they move to a new environment with eight periods in total. It always starts with one or multiple empty rooms filled with cardboard boxes. A single bedroom at first, players eventually need to unpack for an entire house with many rooms. Selecting the cardboard box changes the cursor into an object lifted from inside. It can then be placed in the room, such as inside cabinets, on top of a shelf on a desk etc. The box disappears automatically when there are no more items inside. Most items can be put anywhere, but after everything is unpacked incorrect placements are highlighted in red. For instance: a toothbrush cannot be stored on a desk, but needs to be placed in the bathroom. There is some freedom and there is no time pressure, but only when all items are in a correct location is the environment completed. Because there are many objects that need a location, there is some puzzling involved to make everything fit.
Items from boxes are not always in the correct environment, so the player needs to move them between rooms. It is possible to move between rooms at any time, as well as zooming and scrolling, for instance to get a good look at a specific object. Some items can be stacked. It is also possible to rotate objects and sometimes this is done automatically, for instance when moving a rolled up poster towards a wall so it can be hung. After a level is completed pictures (screenshots) can be taken and it is possible to decorate them as well as apply filters. The sped up version of the unpacking process can be viewed again through an animation or a GIF.
Satisfactory is a first-person open-world factory building game with a dash of exploration and combat. The game tasks you with charting and exploiting an alien planet, battling alien lifeforms, creating multi-story factories, entering conveyor belt heaven, automating vehicles, and researching new technologies. The factory-building aspect of Satisfactory has been described as a first-person version of Factorio. Unlike some other open world games like Factorio, the Satisfactory world is pre-generated, i.e. not procedurally generated. The world is 30km^2 in area.
Fifteen years after the events of Ridley Scott's Alien Ellen Ripley's daughter Amanda is looking for answers. She is an engineer working for Weiland-Yutani Corporation. When she finds out that the logs from USCSS Nostromo have been located and transported to Sevastopol space station she decides to join a small crew sent by Weiland-Yutani to retrieve the data. Little does she know that the ship that has found the logs reached Sevastopol with a terrifying passenger on board, the one that murdered the majority of station's population and left the survivors cowering in fear.
Alien: Isolation is a survival horror game. It is set on the Sevastopol space station where Amanda is searching for USCSS Nostromo logs. Sevastopol is split into many areas, and a certain degree of freedom is given to the player: areas may have several alternative routes to the goal, hidden rooms and ventilation shafts; also Amanda may (and later needs to) backtrack through the station. As the game goes on Amanda's tools will be upgraded and she will be able to get access to previously out of reach areas.
Amanda is an engineer, so she is able to loot containers and bodies for resources and craft devices like noisemakers, smoke bombs, or Molotov cocktails, mainly used to distract the enemy. Later she acquires a flashlight, a motion detector and several types of weapons to defend herself against humanoid enemies (groups of hostile survivors or androids). However, Amanda is not a fighter, and each encounter should be carefully planned. Many actions take some time, for example to use a medpack Amanda needs to stand perfectly still.
When Amanda draws attention of the alien, stealth is the only way to survive. The alien cannot be harmed, and it kills Amanda in a single hit. In most cases it doesn't follow a predetermined scripted route, but instead relies on its senses to track Amanda down.
In addition to the main story mode there's Survivor mode in which the player needs to escape from a specially designed map fulfilling secondary objectives along the way, while being aggressively hunted by the alien. This mode includes online leaderboards.
This Special Edition contains:
This Special Edition contains:
Master Thief Garrett is contacted by the Keeper Artemus, who wants him to steal two valuable artifacts. Meanwhile, Garrett learns that the coming of a Dark Age had been prophesied long ago. Gaining access to the Keeper Prophecies, Garrett learns that an ancient book known as the Compendium of Reproach contains more information about the prophecy. As Garrett is trying to solve the mystery, it becomes more and more clear to him that there is a traitor in the order of the Keepers.
Thief: Deadly Shadows is the third installment in the Thief series. The game follows the same design philosophy and gameplay structure that distinguished its predecessors. As before, stealth is the key to successful completion of missions. Avoiding confrontation with the guards, Garrett has to make his way through the levels towards the objective. Shadows and sounds play a large role, as guards will react to suspicious noises, and studying their patrolling routines is essential.
A few gameplay elements have been slightly altered. Garrett can no longer swim, but is able to use climbing gloves that attach him to the walls. He can also flatten himself against walls while standing; if in shadow, he remains completely unnoticeable that way. The player can see Garrett's limbs even if he is viewed from first-person perspective, allowing more precise movements. Switching to third-person view is also possible.
The most significant gameplay change is the non-linear exploration of the City, which has been added to the largely linear missions. In order to access the next mission, Garrett has to explore the City. On his way, he can overhear conversations, steal valuables, avoid or knock out the guards, and even accept secondary missions, which will influence his reputation with some of its factions.
Inscryption is a single-player deckbuilding and narrative-driven puzzle strategy game. The story begins with the player trapped in a dark cabin, forced to play a mysterious card game overseen by an enigmatic figure named Leshy. Progression through the game requires winning card battles while uncovering hidden secrets in the cabin. The player takes on the role of an unnamed challenger, gradually piecing together the nature of the card game, the cabin itself, and the larger mystery tied to the world outside.
Core gameplay centers on tactical card battles across a 3x4 grid. Players summon creatures using various resources: blood, bones, or energy, each gained through different mechanics such as sacrificing existing cards or having creatures perish in battle. Victory is determined by dealing damage on the opponent’s side of the scale, with damage values represented visually on a balance. Loss occurs when the opponent tips the scale in their favor. Different card types and unique sigils introduce abilities like flight, instant kills, or additional summons, creating synergies and strategic planning opportunities.
Between battles, exploration allows interaction with objects in the cabin and participation in roguelike map progression. Each run places the player along a branching path where encounters include combat, campfires to strengthen cards, traders for new cards, or events that alter the deck. Defeat typically results in restarting, though the deck and options can change with every attempt. Deckbuilding is incremental, encouraging experimentation with combinations of creatures and abilities.
Beyond card battles, the game includes escape-room style puzzles inside the cabin. Solving locked boxes, safes, and other hidden mechanisms grants new cards or items that affect gameplay. These puzzles also expand the narrative, hinting at the nature of the cabin’s master and the layered reality surrounding the card game.
Over time, Inscryption shifts into new formats that change both the card game rules and the narrative perspective. Additional chapters introduce different card systems, including digital card interfaces, expanded resource management, and meta-narrative elements that reshape the meaning of earlier gameplay.
Since the events in Star Control II the Ur-Quan have been pacified and the captain who bravely destroyed the Sa-Matra has had a horrible vision of the future. Suddenly without warning, all Hyperspace travel in the universe has stopped. Top scientists have pinpointed the cause of this disturbance somewhere in unexplored space in an area known as the Kessari Quadrant. Hastily assembling a fleet of ships as and an untested Precursor star drive... a loose alliance of alien races known as The League of Sentient Races sends a task force to the Kessari Quadrant. You are its commander.
Star Control 3 features a new 3D star map, new alien races to discover, new worlds to explore and colonize, new artifacts to research and a new isometric Hyper Melee battle system for inter-starship battles.
Oxenfree is an adventure game with supernatural elements set on Edwards Island, an old military island. Five teenagers travel there by boat to hang out and spend the weekend. The blue-haired Alex is the main protagonist and she is a good friend of Ren, a talkative stoner. She brings along Jonas, her new stepbrother who does not yet know much about Alex. Joining them is Mona, Ren's crush, and the cynical Clarissa. Clarissa used to date Michael, Alex's brother who passed away, and they do not get along. The island has a few shops for tourists, but only the old Mrs Adler lives there. There are however still many buildings from a long time ago. The game starts as a lazy evening at the beach with a campfire. Ren talks about strange phenomena that occur in a nearby cave and that triggers an event that takes the teenagers to locations all over the island.
The game is played from a third-person side view with side-scrolling environments. Alex can be moved around freely and a single button is used to climb or jump gaps, but only to continue moving as there are no platform elements. She is the main character and controlled by the player, while the other characters generally follow her. Most of the attention goes to character development, conversations and the relationships between the characters. The game uses a free-flowing conversation system where the characters talk to each other and Alex can intervene, often by choosing from three options. Each option has a different colour that represent a certain emotion. These fade after a short time, so the player chooses one of the options and can also determine when to cut off someone. Remaining silent and not weighing in is also an option. Alex's choices influence how the other characters think about her, how they feel towards each other and what type of options will be available for later conversations. A small text balloon showing a character's face often signals this to the player. Based on the choices, different routes, actions and companions can be chosen, also leading to different endings.
The game's focus is on progressing the story and there is only a small amount of puzzle elements. These are solved by using Alex's portable radio, which can be activated at any time. By adjusting the frequency she can listen to conversations and music, as well as a tourist guide for interesting locations on the island. There are however also locations with red frequencies. These often trigger supernatural events involving the island's history with horror elements, often including audio and video distortions and glitches. Solving a puzzle is usually done by finding the right frequencies. Another type of puzzle involves finding the correct speed for audio tapes. It is not possible to die or get stuck, but many choices are irreversible. After the initial events the goal is to bring all the teens back together, unravel the island's history and explain the strange occurrences, and find a way off the island.
There are two types of optional collectibles. Seven photographs can be collected based on triggering certain events and after requiring the advanced radio twelve buried letters can be discovered by tuning the radio to a specific frequency at a specific location. There also several anomalies that can be tracked for additional information, but are not mandatory.
With the Playstation 4 release a simultaneous update is made with the Xbox One and the PC version. The option to continue the game anew with "New Game +" mode is added to the main menu, which will visible after finishing the game. New dialogues, settings, conclusions and earlier feeling of deja-vu will be triggered, throughout the New Game+.
Zak McKracken is a tabloid reporter (and not a very good one at that). After having a psychedelic dream one day, Zak realizes that something is wrong -- space aliens are dumbifying the general public through the telephone system. Zak must stop this, but he can't do it alone. After finding a strange crystal, Zak manages to get the help of the anthropologist Annie and her friends, Melissa and Leslie. The four unlikely heroes must now figure out a way to destroy the dumbifying devices and save the Earth.
Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders is a third-person puzzle-solving adventure similar in gameplay to Maniac Mansion. The player chooses verb commands (Open, Pick Up, Give, etc.; there are no Look or Talk commands) to interact with the game world. The game features up to four controllable protagonists; it is possible to switch between them at any time after they have been introduced, and also exchange inventory items if the characters are in the same location. The game can be described as a "globe-trotting" adventure, since the heroes are required to travel to different exotic countries and even leave the Earth for a while in order to complete it. Some of the puzzles are optional or can be solved in different ways.
The FM Towns version has VGA graphics with 256 colors and higher-quality music and sound effects.
GOG release comes with two versions of the game that install simultaneously. One is FM Towns version with updated graphics, while the other is marked as Floppy version which is the old DOS version of a game.
This Collector's Edition is only available through an (pre)-order on the iam8bit UK or iam8bit USA website. This edition contains:
The download code for the game, on the platform of choice, is sent through e-mail after payment verification. The download codes for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions are for US accounts only, as they are region-locked.
The Swedish game studio Frictional Games continues its tradition in the horror genre (Amnesia, Penumbra series) with SOMA. This time, the player is presented with a science fiction story in which the protagonist, Simon Jarret, is suddenly transported to an abandoned facility the moment he goes through a brain scan. After surviving a car accident with severe brain injuries as a result, Simon accepts to have his brain scanned with a new, experimental technology. While he starts the day in his apartment in Toronto, the scan takes him to the mysterious PATHOS-II facility mere hours later.
Much like its predecessors, SOMA's gameplay is built from monster encounters, puzzle solving and the exploration of mysterious game world and plot. Similar to Amnesia or the last two Penumbra games, Simon in unarmed and every encounter requires the player to avoid direct contact with the hostile creatures of PATHOS-II. As for the puzzles, Frictional reuses in part the capabilities of its in-house engine, the HPL engine (on its third main version), to manipulate every object in the world as if the mouse were a virtual hand that the player inserts in the game world. However, this time around puzzles are mainly about interacting with computer terminals, leaving object manipulation more for world exploration.
Since December of 2017, an additional Safe Mode option was added to the game. This mode allows players to experience the story without the fear of their character dying.
Astroneer is a single-player and multiplayer sandbox survival game. Set in the 25th century during an age of interplanetary exploration, the game casts the player as an astronaut exploring distant worlds. With limited tools and resources, the player’s goal is to survive, gather materials, and establish bases while uncovering the secrets of the solar system. There is no fixed narrative path, but the exploration of alien planets, the discovery of ancient structures, and the pursuit of new technologies provide a loose framework for progression.
Gameplay revolves around harvesting resources and shaping the environment. Using the Terrain Tool, players can dig, deform, and collect soil and minerals directly from the ground. These materials fuel crafting, research, and construction. Oxygen and power are vital survival mechanics: the astronaut must remain tethered to oxygen sources or portable supplies, while all devices and vehicles require power management through generators, solar panels, or batteries. There is no dialogue system or morality component, and no hostile NPC enemies.
The crafting system enables players to create workstations, vehicles, and modular base structures. Printers allow raw resources to be refined into larger equipment, while crafting recipes dictate how new tools and modules are assembled. As the player gathers rarer materials and researches alien artifacts, increasingly complex machines and base systems can be built. Vehicles such as rovers and shuttles expand mobility, enabling exploration of caves, mountains, and other planets.
Progression is tied to exploration and research. Scattered artifacts and alien technology can be analyzed in research chambers, unlocking new crafting blueprints. Players must balance time between mining resources, powering bases, and traveling to new planets, each of which has distinct biomes, hazards, and materials. Survival depends on managing these demands efficiently, as environmental dangers such as storms, suffocation, or falling debris threaten progress.
The multiplayer mode allows several players to share the same world, combining efforts to build bases or explore. The modular construction system supports experimentation, letting players customize the layout and appearance of their installations. Environmental shaping can also be used for functional purposes, such as building ramps for rovers, or purely for aesthetic designs.
Brent Halligan, a Scotland Yard Detective, is on the trail of a murderer whose victims suffered heinous acts of dismemberment. Similar murders took place years earlier, but the wrong man was sent to prison only to be killed before his innocence could be proven. When similar murders begin to happen again, Halligan is determined to solve the case once and for all.
Searching for clues, the mystery of the Skeleton Murders evolves bit by bit. Halligan has many puzzles to solve in this 3rd person mystery adventure game.
Divinity: Original Sin II is an isometric fantasy role-playing game featuring turn-based tactical combat and deep narrative branching. Players embody a Godwoken - a Sourcerer hunted by a fanatical order - who must navigate the chaotic world of Rivellon and ascend to divinity through choice-driven consequences.
Gameplay revolves around highly interactive, turn-based combat played from an isometric perspective. Players build parties of up to four characters - either through solo play or cooperative multiplayer - choosing between richly pre-made origin characters or fully customized avatars. Combat leverages environmental effects (e.g., combining elements like fire and poison), Source-based abilities, and classic RPG mechanics like loot and progression. Outside of battle, players explore, engage in complex dialogues, and experience quests that adapt to decisions and character origins.
Distinctive features include deeply personalized origins, each with their own narrative arcs that dynamically intertwine with the main storyline. The game’s world reacts to player actions through environmental manipulation and intricate faction dynamics. Multiplayer supports split-screen and online co-op for up to four players, allowing shared control of characters and emergent narrative outcomes.
The Definitive Edition adds new difficulty options - like Story Mode and Honour Mode - and includes the Divinity Engine 2 as a modding toolset, enabling creative community experimentation and expanded replayability.
Beneath a Steel Sky is a single-player point-and-click adventure game. In a near-future Australia divided between vast corporate cities and the barren Gap, Robert Foster is abducted from his desert settlement and taken to Union City. The transfer goes wrong, leaving Foster stranded inside the city with only the personality core of his robotic companion, Joey. To escape, Foster must move between districts, blend in among workers and executives, and uncover why Union City’s central network, known as LINC, exerts such control over daily life.
Play is presented from a third-person, side-view perspective. Using a context-sensitive cursor, the player examines objects, speaks with characters, collects items, and combines or uses them to solve environmental puzzles. Inventory objects can be scrutinized for clues and applied to hotspots in the scene or to other items. Conversation is handled through dialogue options that open new topics and often unlock alternate puzzle solutions. Failure states exist in some scenes, so planning and observation are encouraged.
The game uses a system in which non-player characters follow their own routines, creating a sense of a living city. Guards rotate patrols, workers change stations, and bystanders relocate between rooms. This movement can expose new information or opportunities, such as slipping past security, eavesdropping on key exchanges, or timing actions around an NPC’s schedule.
Joey’s upgradeable personality core is central to progression. Foster can install Joey into different robotic shells found around Union City, changing Joey’s capabilities and enabling new interactions, from opening secured doors to operating machinery. Access control is a recurring theme: many challenges involve acquiring and using passes, codes, or credentials, as well as interfacing with computer terminals to retrieve data, alter permissions, or divert power. Locations range from factory floors and maintenance tunnels to executive offices and restricted systems hubs, each with unique hazards and logic puzzles.
Beneath a Steel Sky: Remastered adapts the game for touch controls with a tap-to-move interface, a streamlined inventory, and hotspot highlighting. It also adds an integrated hint system with context-sensitive nudges, remastered audio, and newly produced animated sequences with artwork by Dave Gibbons.
Following Garrett's previous adventure, the repercussions of his actions have changed the political landscape. The Hammerite religion has crumbled and a new leader named Karras has risen up to convert many of these fanatics over to the mysterious Order of Mechanists. Meanwhile, a new Sheriff has arrived in town and has been effective at cleaning up crime - maybe too much so. This is bad news for Garrett, whose profession of master thief puts him on the wrong side of the law. As the risk increases however, so too does the amount of treasure available to a skilled thief.
Thief II: The Metal Age keeps much of the same gameplay and abilities from the original Thief: The Dark Project, but also offers a few new items for the protagonist to use. Among them are scouting orbs, which can be thrown to see around corners and flash mines. The heart of the gameplay is still stealth, made up of Garrett's ability to stay quiet, stay hidden and keep signs of trouble out of anyone's view. Garrett's main weapons are his sword, his blackjack and an assortment of arrows, each with a special power. Each level features a variety of objectives as well as several items which don't belong to the protagonist, but are nonetheless valuable and can be stolen.
Evoland II is a single-player action role-playing game. The story follows a young hero who becomes caught in a disruption of time itself. Early events in a quiet village escalate when an encounter with strange forces causes the world to fracture across different eras. Traveling through past, present, and future, the protagonist and their companions must restore balance to the timeline while uncovering the truth behind the anomalies.
The central gameplay blends action RPG mechanics with shifting genres tied to time travel. Combat often takes place in top-down real-time battles where the player uses swords, ranged attacks, and special abilities against groups of enemies. Progression includes finding new equipment, learning techniques, and solving environmental puzzles that block the party’s advancement. At different points in the story, the perspective and mechanics change, adopting the style of other genres such as side-scrolling platformers, tactical battles, or shoot ’em up sequences. These transitions serve as both thematic references and functional gameplay variations. In some segments, the player navigates dungeons filled with traps and monsters in classic RPG fashion. Others shift to grid-based strategies or turn-based encounters where party composition and positioning matter. Several sections introduce genre-specific systems, like card duels or bullet-dodging sequences, which are integrated into the main story rather than appearing as separate mini-games.
Character growth is handled through experience points gained in combat and exploration. Leveling up increases health and damage, while equipment and items expand available strategies. Some mechanics are tied to the timeline: advancing to different eras may alter environments or open new paths in previously visited locations, requiring backtracking to uncover secrets.
Temporal shifts affect the art style and mechanics, moving from retro 8-bit visuals to modern 3D-like perspectives depending on the period. Each change not only redefines the world’s appearance but also how the player interacts with it, forcing adaptation to new rules and opportunities.
Dialogue plays a key role, with numerous NPCs providing information, side quests, or humor. Choices in conversation occasionally branch into alternate routes or optional content, though the main story follows a largely linear arc. Collectibles, hidden treasures, and references to classic video game history are scattered throughout, encouraging completionists to revisit earlier zones.
The Room Three is a single-player first-person puzzle adventure game. The story begins with the unnamed protagonist, who survived the ordeals of the first two games, The Room and The Room Two, boarding a train that is suddenly diverted into a mysterious accident. Awakening in a remote mansion known as Grey Holm, the player discovers they are once again caught in the schemes of the enigmatic figure known as the Craftsman. To escape, they must explore the mansion’s labyrinthine rooms and uncover its secrets, solving elaborate puzzles tied to the Craftsman’s experiments.
Gameplay revolves around investigating intricate puzzle boxes, mechanical contraptions, and hidden pathways. The player interacts with environments by rotating, zooming, and manipulating objects to uncover hidden mechanisms. Many challenges are multi-layered, requiring careful observation, note-taking, and the use of specialized tools to reveal solutions. As puzzles are solved, new areas of the mansion unlock, often leading to more complex constructions that connect back to previous discoveries.
Progression depends on methodically examining items and experimenting with their functions. An inventory system stores discovered artifacts and puzzle pieces, which can be studied and rotated to find concealed switches or inscriptions. The signature eyepiece returns, granting the ability to perceive hidden markings, alternate layers of reality, or invisible structures that advance puzzle-solving. Each room introduces new themes, from alchemical workshops to strange laboratories, expanding the scope of mechanical and logical challenges. A hint mechanism allows for a gentle nudge toward solutions without spoiling entire puzzles.
Unlike earlier entries in the series, The Room Three incorporates branching outcomes. Multiple endings are available depending on how thoroughly the player explores Grey Holm and whether they uncover the Craftsman’s deeper mysteries. Hidden pathways and secret puzzles provide opportunities to alter the fate of the protagonist.
The Room Two is the sequel to The Room and provides a rather unique type of discovery or puzzle mystery game. Both leverage the benefits of touch style interaction with very intricate mechanical buttons, slides and optical effects. The Room Two repeats the previous interface context again in style and functions. The player this time will have only slightly more understanding of the goal as you follow a series of paper notes. The notes are rather mysterious in context and are presented as riddles or conundrums for the player to explore and solve. The gameplay is presented as larger themed rooms dimly lit as before with multiple areas of importance to decipher with linking doors to your next chapter or challenge as you progress.
Player controls are free form in the way of being able to spin, turn, and manipulate the focus area of your attention in many directions and angles. To quickly zoom or focus to an area of interest a simple double tap will orientate that first person view to that region. To move away a quick two finger pinch will move out or closer. If the player chooses to acquire help they can at certain points touch the question mark on screen to light or vague hint. The hints never progress to a level that spell out what is needed but are more in line with suggestions. Objects found or used during the game appear in inventory at the left of the screen in boxes with the player needing to choose or manipulate them in various ways.
Evoland is a single-player role-playing game. The game follows a silent protagonist who sets out on a lighthearted quest through a fantasy land, encountering monsters, dungeons, and puzzles along the way. Rather than presenting a single narrative focus, the journey functions as a playful exploration of the history of role-playing and adventure games. As the player advances, new mechanics and visual styles are unlocked, charting the medium’s progression from early 8-bit simplicity to modern 3D design.
Progression is structured around collecting chests scattered throughout the world. Instead of only awarding items, many chests unlock features tied to the evolution of video games. Early on, the player begins with monochrome graphics and basic movement, but chests gradually add scrolling screens, background music, sound effects, richer color palettes, and increasingly complex interfaces. Later upgrades introduce new gameplay systems such as inventory menus, real-time combat, turn-based battles, and polygonal environments.
Combat alternates between two primary styles. In some sections, players fight enemies in action-oriented real-time encounters using a sword, bombs, or ranged attacks. In others, battles shift to a turn-based format on a separate screen, with hit points, magic points, and attack commands. Boss fights highlight both systems, blending timing-based mechanics and traditional RPG strategies. Exploration also includes dungeon crawling, environmental puzzles, and light quest objectives.
The Room starts with the player in a room where what appears to be a safe or complex puzzle box of some kind needs to be unlocked. Details about the room are hidden in shadow with only the safe/puzzle well lit in the center of the room in front of the player. The progression is across four chapters. Each chapter presents increasing difficulty as the player attempts to reach the end goal.
Player controls are free form in the way of being able to spin, turn, and manipulate the focus area of your attention in many directions and angles. To quickly zoom or focus to an area of interest a simple double tap will orientate that first person view to that region. To move away a quick two finger pinch will move out or closer. If the player chooses to acquire help they can at certain points touch the question mark in the upper left of a screen for vague hints. The hints never progress to a level that spell out what is needed but are more in line with suggestions. Objects found or used during the game appear in inventory at the left of the screen in boxes with the player needing to choose or manipulate them in various ways.
OneShot is a single-player adventure game with puzzle-solving and narrative-driven exploration. The story follows Niko, a child who awakens in a decaying world that has lost its sun. Guided by the player, who is acknowledged as a separate entity within the narrative, Niko must carry a fragile lightbulb that represents the new sun. The journey spans diverse regions, including rural villages, industrial ruins, and desolate cities, where the protagonist searches for a way to restore light to the land. The central theme is the bond between Niko and the player, as both work together to decide the world’s fate.
Gameplay combines traditional point-and-click adventure elements with inventory-based puzzles. Players interact with objects in the environment, collect items, and combine them to progress. Challenges often require logical reasoning and careful exploration, such as repairing broken devices or discovering hidden paths. Unlike many adventure games, the perspective is presented in a top-down style, allowing Niko to move freely through each area while interacting with objects or characters.
Progression is non-linear within regions, with puzzles that vary in complexity and sometimes depend on information gathered earlier. An unusual feature is the game’s use of metafictional mechanics: in the original PC version, certain puzzles break the boundary of the game window, requiring players to check files or desktop elements outside of the game itself. These interactions emphasize the connection between Niko, the player, and the world.
Dialogue choices allow for limited interaction with characters, though the story remains mostly linear, guided by scripted events and conversations. The game includes a journal mechanic that provides both narrative clues and puzzle solutions. There is no combat or traditional inventory management beyond puzzle items, keeping the focus on exploration and story progression.
OneShot: World Machine Edition adapts the original PC version for consoles by reinterpreting the metafictional elements. Instead of manipulating desktop files, the player accesses a simulated operating system called the “World Machine,” where messages, images, and tools recreate the fourth-wall interactions of the original. This allows console players to experience the narrative themes of direct communication and metafiction without leaving the game interface. This console edition was later released for PC.
NORCO is a single-player point-and-click adventure game. The story is set in a near-future version of Louisiana where decaying industry, corporate expansion, and environmental collapse have reshaped the region. The player takes the role of Kay, a young woman returning to her hometown of Norco after her mother’s death. Her brother Blake has disappeared, and as Kay investigates his absence, she becomes entangled in a conspiracy involving oil refineries, private security forces, and religious sects. The narrative blends Southern Gothic atmosphere with dystopian science fiction, framing the journey as both a family drama and an exploration of a changing landscape.
Gameplay follows the traditions of classic point-and-click adventures. Players explore hand-painted environments, clicking to move between screens and interact with objects or characters. Conversations advance the story and often present choices that reveal background details or influence character relationships. The interface includes an inventory system where collected items are examined, combined, or used to solve puzzles that block progression.
Progression is largely narrative-driven. Instead of complex inventory chains, puzzles often involve logic or dialogue-based challenges, requiring the player to pay attention to details revealed in the environment and text. Some sequences include light mini-game mechanics, such as combat presented through quick input challenges or memory-based interactions, but the focus remains on storytelling rather than mechanical difficulty.
A unique feature is the “Mindmap” system, which serves as a visual notebook of characters, events, and key concepts. As the player advances, Kay’s thoughts and memories appear here, letting the player review important information or examine new connections. This system supplements the narrative by clarifying relationships and motivations, helping the player track the game’s layered plot.
Branching dialogue choices allow for subtle variations in how events unfold. While the overall story has a fixed structure, individual conversations may change how characters respond or what information is revealed. Exploration is rewarded with optional interactions that expand the world’s lore, from overheard conversations to hidden environmental details.
In the year 199X, in the village of Onett, on the continent of Eagleland...
Young Ness was asleep one night when a loud crashing noise awoke him suddenly. As he rushes out of bed and up to a nearby hill, he encounters a strange meteor, carrying a single passenger: a mysterious insect-like being named Buzz Buzz. Buzz Buzz tells him that in the future, an evil alien being known as Giygas has conquered the world, and the only ones who can stop him are four young kids: three boys and a girl. Ness, of course, is one of the chosen ones, and he must find the other three children: Paula, a young girl with remarkable psychic powers, Jeff, a mechanical genius, and Poo, the young Prince of Dahlaam. Together, these four friends have the power to defeat Giygas and save the world from his chaotic reign!
EarthBound is a sequel to Mother. It is a top-down role-playing game in which the heroes travel around Eagleland and various other, exotic countries, trying to end Giygas' evil influence.
On the way, Ness and his friends will encounter a lot of enemies and battle them in turn-based combat. Unlike in the previous game, enemies are visibly walking on the screen. Each turn, each of the characters in the party can attack with their weapons, use a special ability (some characters have powerful psychic powers that can hurt enemies, heal comrades, and more; some also have some other, unique special powers), use an item or try and escape.
The game features "rolling HP meters" - when a character is dealt damage, it's not all taken away from his HP right away, but instead his HP decreases slowly; if the combat is ended quickly, even a massively damaging attack can leave a character with only minor injuries. By winning battles, characters receive experience and thus become stronger. If the player-controlled characters are strong enough, weak enemies will escape from them instead of trying to attack; when chased down, they will be defeated instantly.
Saving the game is done by finding a telephone and calling Ness' father. When the heroes defeat enemies, Ness' bank account receives money, which can be then retrieved from ATM machines throughout the game and spent in shops to buy better equipment or useful items.
Dr. Dekker, a psychiatrist, has been stabbed to death, and his killer is still on the loose. Stepping in shoes of a new psychiatrist, taking over the office and patients of Dr. Dekker, the player continues to try and help the patients deal with anxiety all the while searching for answers about what happened to Dr. Dekker and possible find the murderer seeing how all of his patients are also suspects.
But more you talk to your patients, more you start to question your sanity and line between reality and fiction grows thin. The game progresses through days, but in order to be able to go to next day, the player needs to talk to his patients and deplete key conversations while trying to manually type in questions to find out more additional info is optional, but may provide clues. There are five key patients that are also primary suspects, while a few other irregular patients also come for therapy.
Nathan, who is convinced that he is reliving the same day over and over again. Marianna, who is convinced she is luring people to their deaths by making them follow her and end up being sacrificed to a sea god. Claire, who murdered her husband in a jealous rage, then reanimated him using necromancy. Elin, an angel of death who believes she can shapeshift into loved ones of the people who are dying. Bryce, a gravedigger who can supposedly use an extra hour when time stands still for everyone else. And Jaya, Dr. Dekker's secretary, who is into psychokinesis and who headhunted both Dekker and the player for the job. Suspects are a bunch and each comes with very believable, yet crazy story.
At the beginning of each day there are several patients the player can interact with and ask questions. Some questions are preset, while others can be manually typed in to be asked. Text-parser often react to certain keyword while in other cases the sentence will have to be properly assembled in order to trigger the right answer. From time to time, player will also receive items from people which can be checked to more information. In the end, based on all the gathered info, the player gets to accuse the murderer. While the story works similar to Her Story, it is much more believable because you are not looking at recordings but characters talk to the player directly. The story borders between supernatural and horror.
Starbound is a single-player and multiplayer 2D space exploration and sandbox action game. The player takes the role of a traveler from one of several races whose homeworld has been lost or abandoned. Their ship is left stranded without fuel in orbit around an unfamiliar planet, forcing them to descend, gather resources, and establish the means to survive. From this starting point, the player explores a procedurally generated universe of planets, each with distinct environments, wildlife, and civilizations.
The core objective is to explore new worlds, collect materials, and expand outward from the first planet. Early survival involves building shelter, mining ore, and crafting weapons, tools, and armor. As the player progresses, they can repair their ship, enabling interstellar travel and the discovery of other planets with unique climates and hazards such as extreme heat, cold, or radiation. Many worlds contain settlements inhabited by NPCs, along with dungeons, hostile creatures, and secrets to uncover.
Combat is an important part of survival. Enemies include native wildlife, raiders, and story-related foes. Weapons range from simple melee blades to firearms, bows, staves, and procedurally generated variants with different properties. Armor sets provide protection and special abilities. Characters also have access to a range of tech upgrades that grant enhanced mobility or combat powers, such as double jumps, dash maneuvers, or energy-based attacks.
Crafting and progression systems form the backbone of the game. Players gather resources through mining, farming, and hunting, which are refined at workstations into tools, furniture, and technology. Advancement often requires acquiring rarer ores, enabling access to higher-tier equipment. A colony system allows the player to build structures that attract settlers, turning constructed bases into functioning villages. Farming and cooking expand survival options, with crops cultivated on planets or aboard the ship. The construction system is tile-based, letting players customize buildings and ships with a large variety of blocks and decorations.
A structured story campaign runs alongside the open sandbox gameplay. This narrative follows the player’s character as they join an interstellar peacekeeping organization and investigate an ancient force threatening the universe. Missions take the player to handcrafted locations such as temples, laboratories, and space stations, each featuring platforming challenges and boss encounters. Completing quests advances the story and unlocks access to new tools, systems, and regions of space.
The universe is procedurally generated, meaning each star system, planet, and dungeon differs between playthroughs. Players may freely beam between their ship and surface locations, with bookmarks allowing easy return to important discoveries. Environmental survival requires crafting specialized gear or consumables to withstand hazards like poisonous atmospheres or volcanic terrain.
While the game can be played entirely solo, it also supports cooperative and competitive multiplayer. Players can form teams to build, explore, and fight together, or engage in combat with one another. Cross-world persistence means character progress, ship upgrades, and story advancement are retained regardless of the universe being visited.
When Tommy, a garage mechanic, defends his girlfriend in a bar fight in a Native American reservation in Oklahoma, the entire bar, along with everyone inside, is sucked into a shuttlecraft. They are transported into The Sphere, an enormous, organic alien ship. Tommy is set free by one of the denizens and his task is to save his girlfriend Jen and grandfather Enisi, and find out what the meaning of The Sphere is.
This 3D-shooter, based on a modified version of the Doom 3 engine, takes place entirely inside the gigantic ship. As a combination of organic and cybernetic structures, gravity is defied: with the proper grids activated, you can walk on walls and ceilings. There are also multiple dimensions inside the ship you can cross using portals. During his quest, Tommy struggles with his Native American lineage. The ghost-like hawk Talon is always on your side and you sometimes cross over to another land to get help from your grandfather. Tommy can also shift to Spirit Walk, an alternate dimension in the game to get past obstacles and solve puzzles. When you die, you are also transported to another realm where you have to shoot lost souls with your spirit bow before being sent back. Your new health and spirit status will be based on your performance there.
The weapons Tommy uses are usually organic, with secondary fire functions. The arsenal includes a wrench, a rifle, crawlers, an acid sprayer, an auto cannon, a leech gun (chargeable with fire, ice, red orbs or lightning), a rocket launcher and the spirit bow. Certain parts of the game require you to explore large areas in a flying pod. You can use it to engage enemies or use the tractor beam to move objects. Navigation, often with a distinct lack of direction, is reminiscent of Descent then. Puzzles usually require you to decipher codes, activate switches and find entrances.
The game supports OpenAL and EAX HD surround sound, and multiplayer games for up to eight players in duel or team deathmatch. Although the game is developed by Human Head Studios, it is produced and was originally designed by 3D Realms.
Primordia is a point-and-click adventure set in a post-apocalyptic world void of human beings. Cast-off and long defunct machines litter the land, in which a few intelligent robots try to survive with what little resources they can gather. One of them is Horatio Nullbuilt, the main character of the game. A spiritual and independent individual, he spends his time studying the Holy Book of Man and tinkering with the derelict airship he calls home. His droid sidekick Crispin, also built by him, sports a much more sarcastic outlook on life. Their existence becomes threatened when a hostile robot steals the power core that the pair needs to survive. So, Horatio and Crispin set off in search for energy.
Primordia has a typical point-and-click interface: a left mouse click to interact with objects, a right click to examine them. Every function needed is always available from a drop-down control panel that appears when you move the pointer to the top of the screen. Items can be combined in the bottomless inventory and may be used on every hotspot and character. Crispin can be told to interact with objects, too.
As Horatio and Crispin wander about, a datapad automatically stores codes, passwords and information about the world. The datapad also contains a map which allows fast travel with one click to every known location. Conversations with other robots are handled in a multiple choice fashion. There is both a manual and an automatic save system.
In addition to the voice-acting cast, the game also features detailed in-game developer commentary.
Thief Gold is a reissue of the game, Thief: The Dark Project, updated to version 1.37. Thief Gold includes three entirely new campaign missions which deepen the plot and provide new challenges, as well as five new types of enemies to overcome. Some of the original Thief levels have had minor modifications, including bug fixes, small design changes, and the new enemies.
Thief Gold also includes a bonus "Behind the scenes at Looking Glass Studios" footage and DromED, a level editor for Thief.
Shardlight is a point-and-click adventure game with a post-apocalyptic theme, set in future Australia twenty years after a nuclear war. Ordinary people live in extreme poverty, suffer from disease and strive to have a chance at getting the vaccine. The society is ruled by the Aristocracy - mysterious masked people who are only known under their pseudonyms taken from history.
We meet the protagonist, Amy Wellard, as she is doing a risky technical job in order to qualify for the vaccine lottery. After she discovers things the government would prefer to keep secret, she decides to switch sides and join the resistance.
Freddy Pharkas was one of the fastest guns in the American West of the 1880's. However, in one particular gunfight with an outlaw named Kenny, he was outgunned and had his ear shot off. This traumatic experience caused Freddy to give up his pistols and enroll in the school of pharmacology. Blocking out the memories of his past, Freddy arrives in the town of Coarsegold with the dream to own and run his own pharmacy. Working with the town's doctor, Freddy is able to fill prescriptions, mix concoctions and diagnose simple symptoms. Business among the townsfolk is brisk however, the good times are not to last as suddenly townsfolk are run out of town and businesses are being foreclosed and boarded up. Freddy must deal with the town's problems, and discover the larger plot, or risk having a fancy shop in an empty town and losing all his customers.
Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist is a humorous point-and-click adventure game bearing many similarities to other Sierra titles in the same genre, in particular Leisure Suit Larry series. Players use the command bar at the top of the screen to choose a verb command that is combined with locations and objects visible to the player. Freddy can walk to new locations, look at particular objects, attempt to use objects, talk to people and enter his inventory to access items that have been picked up. Like other Sierra games, successful actions add to the player's score, judging the player on 1000 points.
Doki Doki Literature Club! is a visual novel with elements of a dating sim and psychological horror.
The player is invited to become a member of his school's Literature Club, which consists of four girls: the cheerful and energetic Sayori, the shy and reclusive Yuri, the boastful and testy Natsuki, and Monika, the level-headed president of the club. The player character is invited to write poems to present to the other members. After every in-game day, a minigame takes place where the player chooses words to include in his poem. Different words appeal to different girls in the club, and by choosing them carefully the player can deepen the relationship with one of the girls.
The game initially appears as a typical dating sim, with a cute, upbeat aesthetic. However, the mood of the game becomes significantly darker and disturbing over time.
Iconoclasts is a single-player side-scrolling action platformer game. The story follows Robin, a young mechanic living under a theocratic regime that outlaws unauthorized technology. After taking up her late father’s wrench, she secretly helps people by repairing machines, which draws the attention of the ruling organization known as the One Concern. Branded a criminal, Robin becomes entangled in a struggle between the government, rebel groups, and the mysterious source of the world’s power, leading her across hostile landscapes and uncovering truths about her society and herself.
Narrative progression is delivered through scripted events and dialogue with allies and enemies alike. Robin is often joined by companions who provide context, skills, or support in combat, though control remains with the player. The plot mixes personal stakes with larger conflicts, as Robin’s efforts to help others are consistently pulled into ideological clashes and escalating battles against authority.
Gameplay combines combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving in interconnected 2D environments. Robin’s primary tool is her wrench, used both as a melee weapon and as a means to interact with machinery. She also wields firearms, starting with a basic stun gun that can be upgraded with new types of ammunition such as piercing shots and explosives. Puzzles frequently involve using the wrench to power machines, manipulate switches, or ride moving platforms, often while under enemy pressure.
Combat involves fast-paced encounters against human soldiers, robotic enemies, and large bosses with multiple attack patterns. Robin can dodge, climb, and aim weapons in eight directions, encouraging mobility and precision. Boss fights are elaborate set pieces that test both reflexes and puzzle-solving. Defeating enemies and solving challenges rewards materials that feed into the game’s upgrade system.
Collectible resources found throughout the world can be used at workbenches to create tweaks, which grant passive bonuses such as increased health, faster stamina recovery, or resistance to hazards. Tweaks can be slotted and swapped, though they are fragile and can break when Robin takes damage, requiring repair at a bench. Unlocking new abilities and weapons also expands exploration, allowing access to previously unreachable areas.
Unavowed is a single-player point-and-click graphic adventure game. The story begins with the player’s custom protagonist, who has spent the past year possessed by a violent spirit. After being freed during an exorcism, the character discovers that their actions under possession left a trail of destruction in New York City. Offered refuge and purpose, the protagonist joins the Unavowed, a secret society sworn to protect the city from supernatural threats. The player investigates paranormal disturbances across the five boroughs, uncovering connections between the recent surge of activity and their own haunted past.
The game is presented as a traditional point-and-click adventure. Players guide their character across hand-drawn environments, interact with people and objects, and collect items to solve puzzles. Each investigation is structured as a self-contained case with its own characters, settings, and challenges, but events gradually link together into a larger narrative. Choices in dialogue and exploration determine how situations unfold and which information is revealed.
At the start of the game, players choose the protagonist’s gender and one of three personal backgrounds: bartender, actor, or police officer. Each background influences the introduction sequence and grants different dialogue options and solutions in later missions. Progression is driven by conversations, puzzle-solving, and deduction rather than combat.
Companions play a central role in the gameplay. Each companion possesses unique abilities, such as spellcasting, enhanced perception, or physical strength, which affect how puzzles can be solved and which paths are accessible. Party composition can change the available solutions to a given problem.
Dialogue trees offer multiple approaches to conversations, ranging from persuasion and empathy to direct questioning or supernatural insight, depending on the player’s choices and party members. These conversations not only advance the plot but also influence character relationships and open alternative ways to complete objectives. The game contains no inventory management beyond collecting items necessary for puzzle-solving. Instead, focus is placed on narrative progression and uncovering clues through observation and dialogue. A journal records key details of the investigation.
The Age of the Great Guilds has arrived. Communities and states comprised of people united by a common trade were created. The Guild of Weavers has achieved such mastery in their trade that they discovered the secret of weaving the very fabric of reality. They were treated with suspicion by other guilds, who eventually accused them of practicing witchcraft and banned them to a secluded island, which they called Loom.
Bobbin Threadbare is a young man from the Guild of Weavers. He is outcast from the guild and blamed for the lack of prosperity in recent times, though he does not know why. On his seventeenth birthday he is summoned by the Elders of the guild, who intend to decide his fate. However, shortly thereafter all the inhabitants of the village except Bobbin are turned into swans. Bobbin finds out that he is the child of the Great Loom, found by Lady Cygna, who tried to use the loom's powers to save the guild. Bobbin's stepmother Dame Hetchel teaches him the art of weaving magical drafts, and Bobbin embarks on a journey to find the lost flock, and the answers to his questions.
Loom is an adventure game that sets itself apart from other titles in the genre through its unique gameplay system: the player character does not carry items around, but rather manipulates objects through the use of spells (called "drafts" in the game). The drafts themselves are woven by playing magical notes on a special instrument called "distaff". All the puzzles in the game are solved by learning and correctly applying these drafts.
Each draft is a sequence of four notes within one octave. The player learns new drafts by exploring the environment and interacting with it through a simple point-and-click interface. Once a draft has been learned, it may be applied in a different situation in order to solve a problem. Drafts range from simple general actions (such as opening) to more specific and complex commands, e.g. turning straw into gold. Drafts can also be "reversed", i.e. played backwards, in order to execute the opposite action (for example, closing something instead of opening). As the game progresses Bobbin learns to play higher notes on the distaff, allowing him to access more drafts.
The game features three difficulty levels, differentiating them by changing the way the interface works. The easiest level displays names of the notes as well as marking the correspondent areas on the distaff; Standard level features the distaff with the marks at the bottom of the screen, but no written notes; whereas Expert does not display the marks at all, requiring the player to memorize and play the drafts by ear.
The CD DOS version of the game has enhanced 256-color graphics, audio tracks, and full voice acting. However, it also removes a few close-up scenes and conversations. The FM Towns version preserves these scenes and includes similar graphical and musical enhancements, but has no voice acting.
Ion Fury is a prequel to Bombshell. Shelly "Bombshell" Harrison, a bomb disposal expert working for the Global Defense Force (GDF), returns as the game's protagonist, fighting against the cybernetic forces of Dr. Jadus Heskel.
The game is built in a modified version of the EDuke32 source port of the famed Build engine that powered Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, and Blood, which brings modern additions to an otherwise quite old-school experience, such as high resolution support, higher-quality textures, and autosaves running alongside regular manual game saving options, while retaining the bulk of the gameplay from these titles.
On 28 February 2018, the Preview Campaign was released, having but one short episode that ends in a boss fight. Shelly has four weapons available to her, with her signature three-barreled revolver and homing bombs first seen in Bombshell also making a return. The game prides itself in the level of interactivity with the environment, and rewards exploration and uncovering secrets, some of which bring bonuses like health, armour and/or ammo pickups.
Scott Pilgrim is in love with Ramona Flowers. There's just one problem: she has seven evil exes who must be defeated in order for him to win her heart, and they're not going down without a fight!
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a retro-style 4-player side-scrolling beat-'em'up loosely based on the graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley. It is a throwback to 8- and 16-bit era beat-'em-ups, particularly River City Ransom, and features art by popular pixel animator Paul Robertson as well as a soundtrack by New York chiptune band Anamanaguchi.
Initially choosing from either Scott, Ramona, Kim Pine, or Stephen Stills, up to four players must fight their way through the streets of Toronto, Canada in seven levels. Each stage is made up of multiple sections, culminating in a battle at the end with one of Ramona's exes. Around each stage there are many shops, some of them hidden, as well as destructible objects and weapons that can be picked up. The way characters progress and level up is similar to Castle Crashers and earlier levels can be revisited.
Each character starts with only a handful of moves -- punches, kicks, jumps, dashes, and blocks -- but as enemies are defeated, characters earn experience which unlocks new moves like running tackles and leg sweeps. Defeated enemies drop coins, which can be picked up and spent at the many shops around Toronto. Items will often replenish health, as well as increase various character stats based around strength, speed, defence, and others.
Characters also have access to several special moves, which use a "Guts" meter: an area-clearing attack that has low power, but will knock nearby enemies away; and a special striker move, which will call in another character, usually Scott's romantic stalker Knives Chau, for a quick support attack. If a player manages to take out five enemies without taking a hit, their character will glow for a short time, increasing their speed and strength drastically. In the co-op mode players can perform attacks together and lend each other money.
The game has a large number of unlockables and secret bonuses, such as a secret character and a new striker move, a Boss Rush mode, and a Zombie mode.
Joe King is the hero of this point and click adventure. His plane is carrying actress Faye Russell when it crash lands in a remote jungle, and he must battle through 100 screens of adventure and puzzle. The game's feel is influenced by hammy B-movies, and the characters are quite stereotyped and comic. As standard in point and click adventures, a set of icons at the bottom of the screen allow you to interact with visible characters and items in the main view area.
Guard Duty is a point-and-click adventure game using classic mechanics. The protagonist is Tondbert, a guard to the Castle of Wrinklewood, who wakes up with a terrible hangover. His first task is locating his clothes, but soon enough there are more pressing matters. A hooded figure snuck into the kingdom and kidnapped princess Theremin. Knights are sent away to bring her back, but Tondbert decides he should be the one to rescue her. This story covers the first two acts and then the third and final act offers a very different story. Set a thousand years later in a futuristic environment, players get to control Agent Starborn, a member of a resistance group, in a small orbital station. Eventually both fates intertwine.
The game mixes typical exploring with conversations, collecting items and solving puzzles. In the first two chapters playing as Tondberg with a medieval fantasy theme there is an inventory system that also contains a RPG-like quest tracker. All actions are done using the mouse. The left mouse button is used to move around and interact, the right one to examine. Items from the inventory can be used in the environment and can be examined, but no inventory items need to be combined. It is not possible to die. There is a save game system with both auto saving and manual saves. The game often uses a lighthearted tone with humorous elements.
The final chapter playing as Agent Starborn has a dark sci-fi theme and more serious tone. It also has different game mechanics. Starborn can use a communicator to talk to the rest of his team to ask questions or have them help. There is no longer an inventory button and all available items are now shown near the top of the screen. Items no longer needed to be clicked to be used in the environment they are used contextually right away.
Heavy Bullets is a first-person shooter with eight maze-like levels and a minimalist visual style with bright, psychedelic neon colours. Taking cues from the roguelike genre, every session is different based on a number of variables that determine the level lay-out, monsters, items and the placement of vending machines. Even though the character has a number of lives, there is also permadeath. The game is presented as a simulation inside a mainframe where a janitor is sent in to reset it.
The main weapon is a revolver with room for six bullets. It needs to be reloaded manually and bullets can be picked up to use them again. Other weapons are (homing) bombs, mines, rockets and a ceremonial knife, but these act as items with limited ammo except for the knife. Enemies consist of roaming creatures, snakes that hide in the foliage and turrets shooting grenades, rockets or regular bullets. Certain turrets and enemies have a specific weak point that needs to be targeted.
The play style can be tailored by spending coins left behind by enemies at various vending machines. There is one for ammo and another with medical supplies. Various items can be picked up, such as a scope, a proximity sensor, shoes to run faster, a bomb vest, a teleporter, high heels, a repellent for poising (or through a one-time use antidote), various potions and pills, and pieces of ore to sell for cash. Certain statistics can also be upgraded such as additional lives. Only one item can be carried, but after purchasing a backpack two can be stored and swapped.
Next to the vending machines there are ATM-like banks. There it is possible to withdraw money from previous sessions as well as depositing it. A single item can be stored in the bank for a next session. Additional options are life insurance and a last will that yield a portion of money, bullets, bombs and more for a next session in case the character dies. Other game elements are keycards to open item rooms and secret rooms by manually searching walls. A certain amount of backtracking is allowed, but certain sections are fended off by yellow lasers after progressing too far. Every level is finished by finding a door in the ground. At level four and eight, a boss needs to be defeated. In total there are two bosses, fifteen enemy types and more than 30 items.
Sam and Max - a canine shamus and a hyperkinetic rabbit - are the freelance police: private investigators who receive missions from and are answerable to "The Commissioner". Upon the completion of a rescue mission from the clutches of a mad scientist, the duo drives through the opening credits and immediately receives a new assignment: Bruno the Bigfoot is missing from the circus and seems to have kidnapped Trixie, the Giraffe-Neck Girl. Sam and Max are on the case and will follow the mystery all across the United States, even if it takes them to such locations as The World's Largest Ball of Twine and The Mount Rushmore Dinosaur Tarpit.
Sam & Max Hit the Road is a puzzle-solving point-and-click adventure game. The player directly controls Sam, though Max will usually follow closely behind and is even available to use directly as an item in the inventory. Sam is able to be directed anywhere on the screen, look at objects, try to use objects, try to speak to objects and use items from his inventory on objects. Sam and Max must unravel the mystery piece by piece in order to unlock new locations on their map. They can travel between these locations at any time by using the car keys on their police car.
During conversation, the player is able to make Sam ask questions of persons, speak non-sequitur exclamations, or ask about specific objects, people, and locations (which are also unlocked as clues are discovered). The verb interface from previous LucasArts adventure games has been modified to icon-based commands, allowing the entire screen to be used for the playing area, similarly to Sierra titles.
The game also features a variety of mini-games, which can be accessed at any time once found. These include Highway-Surfing: a game where the player must jump over exit signs on the interstate, Car Bomb: a variant of Battleship, a Sam & Max coloring book, a Sam & Max dress-up game, and a Whac-a-Mole variant entitled Wak-A-Rat. The CD version of the game includes voice-overs for all the conversations.
The Blackwell Epiphany is the final installment of the Blackwell storyline and continues about a year after the happenings of The Blackwell Deception. In the meantime, Rosa Blackwell and her spirit guide Joey started to work for the police as consultants. Their main job is still to guide lost spooks, ghosts which are unaware that they died, to their salvation, but after the first investigation in an abandoned building they witness a murder. The spook of the shot man is just ripped apart and the main drive of the plot is finding out, and eventually stopping, the reasons behind it.
While there are some traditional inventory puzzles (collecting items in the scenes and using them with other items), the majority of the game is spent with detective work: talking to people, following leads and hunting for keys or passwords. The most important research tool is Rosa's phone which allows to search the internet for keywords and view notes (sometimes they have to be combined to form conclusions). In most situations, the player can freely switch between Rosa and Joey: While Rosa can interact with physical items and living people, Joey can access places which are closed to Rosa. Joey's only way for direct interaction with the world is using his breath to create a light wind. New to the interface is a button which allows to directly call the other protagonist to the current screen.
There is an optional in-game commentary by Dave Gilbert, Ben Chandler and bloopers from the voice recording.
The Blackwell Deception is the fifth main game in the series and continues the story of the writer Rosangela Blackwell, following the events in The Blackwell Legacy (2006) and The Blackwell Convergence (2009). She is still accompanied by the family ghost Joey Mallone as they work together to solve the problems of troubled ghosts in order to make them pass to the afterlife.
The game starts when Rosangela receives word about a yacht that detaches itself every night to float round in the midst in the Hudson River. Solving that single event leads to a larger storyline that spans multiple cases. This entry also focuses on Joey's history for the first time and delves deeper into his past. Especially when they meet another human character that is able to see him. Players initiate conversations to get information stored as notes and solve puzzles by using or combining objects. Sometimes the only way to proceed is by deduction, by combining notes in a logical way to make assumptions that can be used during conversations to press characters.
As different freelance artists are used for the graphics for each title in the series, there are some differences in the visuals. The designer made a conscious choice to spend less money on the detail of the background art in exchange for a larger amount of locations for instance. Also new to this entry is the use of MyPhone, a smartphone that replaces the notebook and the desktop computer from the previous games. Rosangela is now able to check her e-mail on the road and do "Oogle" web searches right away.
Just like the previous two games players can switch between Rosangela and Joey at any time. Joey is able to pass through locked doors but cannot lift physical objects. He is often able to scout locations before Rosangela accesses them. Despite his lack of physical influence, he is however able to blow at very light objects to move them, a technique often used for puzzles.
The Nowhere Islands are an idyllic place; the residents of Tazmily Village live peacefully and in harmony with nature and with each other. But this changes when the mysterious Pigmask Army arrives and proceeds to destroy and corrupt, with force and sly persuasion alike. The main character is Lucas, a young boy who must find out who wants to destroy the tranquility of Nowhere Islands and turn them into a high-tech nightmare.
Mother 3 is a top-down role-playing game. The player character (the characters controlled by the player change often) travels around the Nowhere Islands with his party, talking to people and furthering the plot. It is possible to "dash", which not only allows to travel faster, but also allows to knock weaker enemies out of the way (or to ram some objects/characters).
There are many enemies to battle in the game. The battles are turn-based; each turn, a character can attack with his weapon, use a special ability (some characters have powerful psychic abilities, others have different special skills), use an item or try to run away. The battles feature a musical combo system, where tapping a button in rhythm with the background music will cause additional damage to the enemy. The characters have "rolling HP meters"; when they are dealt damage, they don't lose all the HP right away, but their HP decreases slowly; this way, even if a character receives massive damage, he can survive with only minor injuries if you manage to end the combat quickly. Winning battles gives the characters experience (and thus makes them stronger) and, later in the game, money (known as "DP"), which can be used in shops to buy better equipment or useful objects.
There are many frogs encountered throughout the game, who serve as save points (and later as ATM machines). If all characters die during a battle, you can come back to life near the latest save point encountered and try again.
The Blackwell Convergence is the fourth game in the Blackwell Legacy series. After the prequel Blackwell Unbound with Lauren Blackwell, this title continues the story of her niece Rosangela Blackwell, following the events in The Blackwell Legacy. Just like the previous games, it is a classic point-and-click adventure title focused on puzzle solving, with fully voiced characters.
The game stars New York-based freelance writer Rosangela accompanied by her spirit guide Joey Mallone. He is a ghost who cannot be seen by other persons and through a family tradition he works together with Rosa to resolve cases where ghosts of dead or murdered people wander the earth until they are aware or at ease with the situation. When they get to terms, Rosa takes them to a portal where they can move on to rest in peace.
The game starts with a case at a building where construction contractors hired to do the renovation all leave the job without warning. The duo suspects the involvement of a ghost and investigates the situation. That case soon spins out of control when Rosa is confronted with events that delve deeper in the storyline explored in the previous titles. The game features many returning characters and a basic knowledge of the previous titles helps understand the story, but is not required.
Just like Blackwell Unbound, players can switch between Rosa and Joey at any time. Joey has a few advantages as he can move through walls to eavesdrop and can access more dangerous locations. To solve the puzzles, cooperation between the two is often needed. Rose can pick up objects and store them in an inventory, but most of the problems can be resolved through conversations. Important topics are stored in a notebook and can be used to confront other characters. This also often opens up new locations to visit. The player is urged to follow the story as certain clues need to be remembered or jotted down, especially when using Rosa's computer to look up information on the internet or when checking e-mails. It is not possible to die, but certain actions are time-based even though no quick reflexes are needed.
Next to the main game, players can also enable the developer's commentary to hear designer David L. Gilbert talk about design choices along with trivia related to the game. Compared to the previous games, the graphical style is more detailed, which is especially evident in some old locations that have been redesigned. Another new feature is the inclusion of rain to set the atmosphere and it also has an influence on certain events in the game. The characters are controlled through the mouse with two buttons for actions; left is used to act in the environment and right is used to examine. Hotspots in the environment appear with a description when the cursor is hovered over them.
Blackwell Unbound is the third game in the series and a prequel to the previous two games. It goes back in time to the early seventies, to one of the ancestors of Rosangela Blackwell from the The Blackwell Legacy: chain smoker Lauren Blackwell. All members of the family have been visited by Joey, a ghost, who urges them to help him solve cases of lost and disturbed ghosts.
The narrative starts in medias res while Lauren is investigating some cases. She reads the newspaper every morning for the mention of strange occurrences and then heads out with Joey to check if there are ghosts involved. On that particular evening, there have been three false alarms and two more locations to visit. These involve strange music by a saxophone player and an old lady at a construction site.
Using the AGS engine, this adventure game has a classic point-and-click interface with the two mouse buttons for examining or using objects. You can strike up conversations and change the outcome based on your responses. Lauren carries around an inventory and a notebook where she jots down clues. You can combine clues to link events, and then use these new observations in conversations. The inventory is scarcely used. Important items include a dictaphone and a camera.
Gameplay is largely based around the storytelling and dialogues, rather than complicated puzzles. All characters have full voice-acting, there is a complete soundtrack, and a director's cut mode with an audio track where Dave Gilbert interferes regularly while playing to explain the design choices of the game. While playing, Lauren can make four bonus photographs that unlock hidden items such as extra music tracks, concept art and more.
New to this game, players can switch between Joey and Lauren at any time. Joey is immaterial and can pass through walls, as long as he stays near Lauren. During conversations, the character portraits are no longer shown.
The Blackwell Legacy is the second commercial adventure game by Dave Gilbert. The premise is based on his 2003 freeware adventure game Bestowers of Eternity. This game uses the same characters; the young writer Rosangela Blackwell and the ghost Joey Mallone, major parts of the storyline, but not the puzzles. Bestowers of Eternity was originally meant as the first part of the series, but never continued. This game can be considered a remake, but with a much broader scope. The Blackwell Legacy is the first in a series of episodic games, with standalone cases, similar to the 2006/2007 Sam & Max games.
Rosa is a freelance writer in New York. Her aunt, who took care of her when her parents died, until she was five, has just passed away. Her memory fails her for the exact events, but her aunt was hospitalized. She was kept sedated and didn't utter a word for twenty-five years. When Rosa visits Dr. Quentin, the care physician at the hospital, she gets to know her aunt and her grandmother had a condition that drove them mad. They deliberately inflicted injuries upon their own bodies, were very aloof, and talked to themselves. While Rosa is worried about the hereditary traits and gets sudden headaches, she receives an assignment for the Village Eye, a local newspaper, to investigate a suicide in a student's dorm. The game takes place in New York and the storyline covers two days.
Using the AGS engine, the game has a classic interface with the two mouse buttons for examining or using objects. You can strike up conversations and change the outcome based on your responses. Rosa carries around an inventory and a notebook where she jots down clues. You can combine clues to link events, and then use these new observations in conversations. Gameplay is largely based around the storytelling and dialogues, rather than complicated puzzles. All characters have full voice-acting, there is a complete soundtrack, and a director's cut mode with an audio track where Dave Gilbert interferes regularly while playing to explain the design choices of the game.
After finishing the game, you receive a code to unlock the voice-acting bloopers.
Everspace is a single-player roguelike space combat and exploration game. The player takes the role of a pilot navigating through a series of procedurally generated star systems. With only fragmentary memories and a mysterious AI companion, the pilot must uncover the truth behind their existence while surviving hostile encounters, environmental hazards, and the scarcity of resources. Each attempt through the sectors brings them closer to understanding the overarching mystery, though death resets progress and forces the journey to begin anew.
Gameplay combines fast-paced dogfighting with resource gathering and crafting. Combat is real-time and arcade-like, with ships equipped with energy-based and projectile weapons, missiles, and defensive systems such as shields and countermeasures. Players must manage energy reserves carefully, since weapons, shields, and equipment all draw from the same power pool. Encounters range from small pirate skirmishes to large-scale battles involving multiple factions.
Progression is built around repeated runs through sectors. When the player’s ship is destroyed, resources gathered can be invested into persistent upgrades that improve hull strength, shield efficiency, or weapon capabilities for future attempts. Credits can be spent on enhancing perks, while rare materials are used to craft new equipment mid-run. This loop of dying, upgrading, and retrying is central to advancing further into the galaxy.
Exploration is another core element. Each sector contains points of interest such as derelict stations, asteroid fields, or hidden caches. Players can mine ore, salvage wrecks, and trade with neutral outposts. Choices often revolve around risk and reward: whether to divert from the main path to gather resources or push onward with dwindling supplies. Fuel management and jump drives dictate movement between systems, adding further layers of planning.
Other systems include crafting and item management. Blueprints discovered during runs allow for on-the-fly creation of consumables, weapons, or upgrades using gathered materials. Random events, distress calls, and environmental hazards such as radiation storms or minefields introduce variety to each journey. Dialogue sequences with the ship’s AI and characters encountered during runs gradually reveal narrative context and expand the lore. There is no morality system, but factional dynamics influence encounters, with groups like the Okkar Empire or outlaws reacting to the player’s presence differently.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is the fourth main entry in the Deus Ex series, and the direct sequel to Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Set two years after the events of Human Revolution, Mankind Divided follows that game's protagonist, Adam Jensen, on a new adventure as he investigates a subway bombing in Prague. The world is heavily divided between those with augmentations and those who do not, with the latter fearing the former following the ending of the previous game. This division is known as the "mechanical apartheid".
As with the previous game, players will investigate the bombing by speaking to characters, exploring the environment, and completing missions however they choose. Various actions, such as completing quests, finding alternate routes, hacking terminals, and neutralizing enemies earn the player Praxis points, which they can use to activate Jensen's mechanical augmentations. These augmentations give Jensen abilities such as turning invisible, strength to lift heavy objects, and hacking into higher-level terminals. In addition to most of the augmentations from Human Revolution, several new "experimental" augmentations are available. Due to their untested and unauthorized nature, the player must deactivate one of Jensen's original augmentations in order to use one of these.
The game utilizes the same hybrid first/third-person combat system seen in Human Revolution, with the camera moving to third-person whenever Jensen is pressed against cover. There are many weapons available for the player to use, including several different types of guns and grenades. Some of the new augmentations offer additional weapons, including a blade projectile and an electric weapon which knocks out several enemies at once. Guns can be customized on the fly using crafting materials gathered by exploring the game world. Crafting parts can also be used to make special items such as mine templates and multitools, which can hack into any terminal.
In addition to the main campaign, there is another mode called "Breach". This arcade-style mode dispenses with the story and character elements of the campaign and focuses on speedrunning and perfecting different levels.
Aviary Attorney is a visual novel based in Paris during the turmoil years of the 1840s. The player takes the role of the attorney Jayjay Falcon (and his assistant Sparrowson) who has to defend his clients in four criminal cases. The drawing style is reminiscent of the European Romantic period and is inspired by the French caricaturist J.J. Grandville; the writing has both serious and humorous (puns, contemporary references) elements. All participants are depicted as humanized animals, mostly birds.
Each case begins with a investigation period. Here Jayjay talks to various witnesses to collect information and evidence. Usually there are a number of questions to ask and sometimes he has the option to probe into a subject - but this may antagonize the witness. This opens up more locations to visit which can be chosen from the Paris overhead map. However, there is only a limited amount of time available until the trial starts.
During the trial, the accuser introduces their evidence and witness. Of course Jayjay has the option for cross-examination (topics of further interest are marked in the text and can be clicked on) and presenting his own evidence. Every action influences the jury's opinion, so it is important to avoid irrelevant questions. Like many court dramas, there may also be some twists and turns like an unplanned recession and another investigation phase. It is possible to fail a case when asking the wrong questions or missing pieces of evidence, but because of its branching structure the game still continues. Especially the last case and the ending have major changes depending on the previous results.