Robert Purchese
It starts with a bump, but played the right way, V Rising offers riches few other crafting survival games can match.
There's a confidence to Manor Lords that belies its one-person development, and what's there can be spellbinding, but it's a pastoral idyll that still needs significant development.
Mechanically, Life Eater uses a diary-based puzzle system in some really interesting ways, but it struggles to say anything meaningful about the shock-factor setting it's gone for.
This time it's Hades that Shiny Shoe's game feels similar to, but with some delicious differences that make this roguelike stand out all on its own.
A gentle adventure into a family's secrets that's nicely crafted but over before it really begins.
A gentle and unusual building game that's memorable but missing some purpose.
Lurking behind a dated exterior is a limited but sophisticated RPG with a unique setting and some memorable new ideas.
The Invincible is a spectacular adaptation of Stanisław Lem's book, but it's limited in terms of what you can do in it, and the impact on the story you have.
An unforgettable story of desperation and hope in beautiful, gruesome, plague-ridden 14th Century France.
Dome Keeper merges digging and base defence but struggles to make either a success in their own right.
An interactive movie that tells a memorable story of human choices.
King Arthur: Knight's Tale is not without its charms, then, but it's not the once and future king you might have been waiting for. Maybe watch Fast and Furious instead.
It's a great concept, and it's perfectly enjoyable, but it lacks the excitement and flourishes it needs to really come alive.
A bold, stand-out, knockout of a card game that drips with imagination and menace.
The Dark Alliance revival lacks finesse, and local co-op, but give it time and it's not without its own charms.
Dorfromantik is sunshine on the screen, with a puzzling heart that will keep you busy for days.
Trials of Fire is a complex but seductive deck-building strategy game about sculpting the perfect RPG team.
If you can ignore the story, It Takes Two has some of the best co-op gameplay in years.
A dazzlingly different debut with a haunting sense of place and adventure.
A charismatic and enjoyable gangster sim that gets a bit bogged down in admin.