DeVuego

Blades of Fire may not be remembered as the most original action-adventure game of this generation, but MercurySteam's latest effort is still well worth playing for fans of the genre. While its convoluted level design can be confusing at times and the well-crafted combat system doesn't evolve much throughout the journey, the engaging smithing mechanics and the touch of grounded realism in the fighting, without overcomplicating things, make Aran and Adso's quest to slay the queen an enjoyable adventure.

Temtem is a fantastic game when you look at its story and gameplay mechanics alone. However, when you see the variety of activities it has to offer and the way its economy is structured, it will make you second-guess your stay after the main story campaign is done and over with.

With its unique setting and interesting story mechanics powered by time-traveling, great sense of scale, and nice visuals, The Waylanders had the potential to be a remarkable role-playing game. The uneven pacing of the story, writing with wild quality shifts, the rather run-of-the-mill combat, the clunky interface, and a general lack of polish, however, make the game often frustrating to play, preventing it from reaching the heights it could have achieved.

Alfred Hitchcock - Vertigo is an interesting narrative-driven adventure game, or more like an interactive story, which incorporates several themes from Hitchcock's work. While not linked to the film of the same name, Vertigo is similar in many ways and - like Vertigo - features a compelling and well-told story with (mostly) interesting and well-developed characters. However, this story is countered by distracting facial animation, issues with balancing the generally good audio, and other technical problems. Alfred Hitchcock - Vertigo isn't a bad interactive story, I'd even recommend the story, it misses the mark on too much for me to not offer some caution.

Metroid Dread proves that the Metroid franchise is still ready to innovate the genre it helped build with exciting new ideas. While it hasn't taken on all the lessons from newcomers that have filled in since its absence, it doesn't feel like an outsider looking in.

Aragami 2 is another enjoyable sneak ‘em up and a solid improvement over its predecessor, but an overfamiliar world and mechanics make it hard to get too excited about the game. Aragami 2 gets the job done cleanly and efficiently, and is worth a shot if you’re into old-school stealth, but its memory may quickly fade into the shadowy recesses of your mind.

Call of the Sea is a gripping, interesting, and creative take on the Lovecraftian formula. It moves away from the oft-trodden horror roots and creates an imaginative and immersive puzzle adventure with none of the lingering racism you might expect.

Arise: A Simple Story is a beautiful, moving experience I couldn’t stop swearing at. The game delivers a lovely yarn and some clever level design, but clunky controls and an infuriating camera leave this platformer stranded in purgatory. Arise’s story may be worth your time, but only if you’re the patient type. Simple as that.

Song of Horror is a genuinely atmospheric, creepy horror game, with the major selling point of an enemy that you're never actually sure about. The advanced AI system of the horrors you face, combined with sound, visuals and other game mechanics make for one of the more engrossing and captivating horror titles of recent memory. There are some faults, such as backtracking and a bit of adventure game logic when trying to solve puzzles, but these do nothing to stymie everything Protocol Games are bringing to the table.

Etherborn looks nice and has some really interesting puzzles but they are presented in a way that's just a little too slow, not to mention a little too frustrating, to be truly enjoyable.

They Are Billions offers an almost perfect gameplay loop, mixing tower-defence with city building and exploration, as you balance resource-management, defence and offense, all against your ever-impending doom at the hands of a world infested with the undead. The only downside to a game that looks and sounds great, offering a tense experience in a compelling setting, is a campaign that doesn't fully make-use of the gameplay loop perfected by Numantian Games, leaving the campaign feeling weak, compared to the survival mode, which is the real draw.

GRIS is breathtakingly beautiful and demonstrates how artistically inspiring games can be. With its simple gameplay and incredible soundtrack, it is a game that could and should be enjoyed by everyone.

Aragami: Nightfall is a worthy expansion for the stealth game developed by Lince Works, with four new story chapters taking place before the awakening of Aragami, new Shadow Techniques and new scenarios, which are as varied as the ones found in the main game. As the DLC doesn't offer anything substantially new, however, those who didn't like the main game will not change their opinion with Nightfall.

Moonlighter is a wonderful game that uses a delightful separation of tools to make you want to keep playing. It innovates the dungeon crawler genre in the most ingenious way possible.

Metroid: Samus Returns is another wonderful 3DS game that gives owners yet another reason to pick up their 3DS consoles, even with the Switch’s growing library. It looks great, plays great, and is as faithful to older Metroid games as you could ask for. All we can hope for now is that this is just the beginning of the 2D Metroid renaissance.

After such a long and troubled development, many feared that RiME would be a failure, but Tequila Works proved that there can be light at the end of the tunnel. With peculiar storytelling, varied puzzles, well-crafted platforming elements and gorgeous presentation, RiME can rival with the unique beauty of Team ICO's games.

While there are a few minor technical problems, I haven't played a puzzle adventure game that's absorbed me like The Sexy Brutale has in a long time. A great story well worth telling.

Influenced by adventure-platform games of the past, Rise & Shine manages to enrich a classic gameplay formula with a tight mix of different genres, interesting combat depth, and varied puzzles. Shooting controls can be a bit uncomfortable on a gamepad, but this is the only gripe in a game that's objectively very well put together. Highly recommended to fans of Another World and Flashback as well as to those looking for a quirky and fun experience that doesn't overstay its welcome.

With an engaging story mixing together thriller and comedy elements with occult themes and plenty of dark humor, as well as some interesting characters, Yesterday Origins is a point and click adventure game that fans of the genre will surely appreciate. With the gameplay formula not straying too far from familiar ground, however, the game developed by Pendulo Studios will hardly appeal to those who don't enjoy this classic genre.

With the recent renaissance of point-and-click adventure games over the past few years, Dead Synchronicity felt right at home on the PC. That transition over to a controller doesn’t always work as well as intended, but developer Fictiorama Studios have brought over a fine example of how to make the genre work on the PlayStation 4. Even if Dead Synchronicity is only for those with an iron constitution and immune to the horrors of living in a world struggling after the apocalypse, it’s worthy of being a notable title for those looking to give their temporal lobes a workout.

Lince Works managed to create an impressive stealth game with Aragami, offering a quality level that can make it compete with better known releases and established franchises. With an engaging story, charming setting and some unique stealth gameplay mechanics, as well as varied scenarios and huge replay value, Aragami is a game that fans of stealth games definitely don't want to miss, especially at such a low price.