Baba is You manages to take the familiar idea of nudging blocks and solving puzzles in a fresh direction. Brilliant.
A smattering of technical issues keep Subnautica from true legendary status, but only just.
Heaven's Vault communicates the beauty of assigning meaning to symbols, and thus the people who wrote them.
A charming watery theme park management game where fish are friends, not food. Until they eat each other or you forget to feed them.
A fantastic feat of interlocking storytelling and design.
Wonderfully weird and inventive. Katamari Damacy isn't perfect, but it holds its own impressively well 14 years on.
Donut County is a short, entertaining tale of a trash panda who just wants a sweet quadcopter.
An approachable and thought-provoking meditation on life's only certainty.
Changing weather and festive traditions enrich the four-year-old life sim.
Bungie sticks the landing as it finally brings together the threads of its epic first saga.
A wonderfully absurd tale of insurrection and kicking stuff in a cheery-looking world.
A charming traveling artist adventure which uses image capture in interesting ways.
Initially stunning but lacking the depth and variety to support mammoth playtimes.
A streamlined peep at the events which build up to Life is Strange. Emotionally satisfying, but sometimes clunky.
Gris's visual appeal hinders as much as it helps its exploration of grief.
A robust puzzler whose colourful visuals can't mask a lack of personality.
Visually stunning but mechanically lacklustre, Valiant Hearts gets in the way of its own storytelling.
An ambitious game but one which exposes and compounds the weaknesses of solitaire.
A glacial pace and abundance of busywork make My Time At Portia a tough recommendation.
Despite an attractive veneer, Planet Alpha offers rote and shallow platforming. Try Playdead's Inside instead.