With obvious influences from games like Journey, Scarf is a beautiful and easy-going platformer that tells the tale of a creature of light (that’s you) and a red dragon scarf as they jump, glide, fly and explore magical worlds together.
Honig Studios has produced an adorable puzzle adventure in which you direct the eponymous Hijo through a series of levels to rescue his mother who has been kidnapped by bandits. It’s a family friendly, non-violent western game that is available on multiple platforms including PC, consoles and mobile.
Strange Horticulture is a unique game where you run a small apothecary shop specializing in magical herbs, but also work to potentially solve mysteries and maybe even save the world with your near magical plant-based formulas.
If you’re a fan of storytelling or of Lovecraftian horror, give Transient: Extended Edition a pretty hard look. While short, the game offers a deep, rich story, a few scares, and surprisingly well-thought-out graphics in a cleverly designed world.
Noble Fates on the surface is a medieval kingdom builder, and it checks all those boxes nicely. But it also has a deeper level as residents of your kingdom compete for leadership and fight for survival as god-like players try to conquer the mortal realm.
Tandem: A Tale of Shadows is a puzzle game that allows you to play as two different characters more-or-less simultaneously, but each character has an entirely different perspective, meaning that you as the player get to explore your environment with both of them.
The first game reviewed in the New Year is Aquarium Designer from Sigur Studio. This serene aquarium designer game offers a surprising amount of depth and even has a single player campaign. It’s a perfectly peaceful way to ring in the New Year.
If you are looking for a little holiday fun, then Too Many Santas makes quite an impression, like an ugly but somehow still amazing Christmas sweater. The game has the player dating one of six Santas in this really fun, low budget full motion video game.
If you fell in love with city builders back in the 1990s when games like SimCity were first hitting their stride, then Silicon City is a first-class trip back to that nostalgia. It might struggle to capture a huge number of modern players, but the developers are highly active and supportive of their community.
Love Colors is a painting game where you use your mouse, keyboard or game controller to color and paint beautiful, pixelated portraits and other works of art. It’s amazingly relaxing, and a perfect way for gamers to escape the stresses of real life.
