Poker-styled roguelite, where joker cards have various effects. This one is easy to pick up if you have even basic familiarity with poker hands, but definitely takes some strategizing with different card and deck combinations in order to get the perfect run. I'm still currently working on this one, but after owning it for only a week I've already plugged a good 24 hours of play in!

You're a lamb. You run a cult. Combo roguelite & cult management simulator; time has to be balanced between both elements of the game in order to progress. I feel that the actual roguelite portion (the dungeon runs) could be slightly less repetitive at points, but I didn't think it was a major hinderance to my enjoyment of the game overall. Pretty fast paced and replayable, there's a lot of room for story progression and the game continues even after the main plotline has been completed. Very cute, polished art style, really nails the "creepy cute" vibe of its characters in a way I enjoy a lot. I fully completed the game, including all achievements, with around 100 hours put into it.

Adorable art style and theming; you have been literally turned into a giant die, and are now off to battle your way through a game show hosted by Lady Luck herself! You could win your wildest dreams, just as long as you make it out of there... Dicey Dungeons has a few different ways its mechanics operate, based on which character you choose, including deckbuilding, spellbooks, or "really big gun that I shoot things with." I found it to be challenging enough to be difficult, but not so hard as to be unplayable. Overall very satisfying - I'm still working towards fully completing this game, but at the time of writing I have about 37 hours put into it.

You might be forgiven for confusing this one with the previous entry, Dicey Dungeons, but the two are actually completely unrelated - just pure happy coincidence. This is a precursor to the planned full Die in the Dungeon game, which is still in production. Also, it's free - honestly, I think it's too good a game to cost absolutely nothing! This features more of a tabletop style, with deckbuilder elements (although featuring dice, rather than cards). I think it's a bit simple and loses replayability after a certain point, but that's to be expected since it's more a proof of concept than a full-fledged story game. Very fun mechanics and a cute pixel art style, and I think it's fairly challenging to master. Really looking forward to the complete game's release, since I loved this one so much! I fully completed the game, including all achievements, with around 30 hours put into it.

Greek mythology theme, as the name implies. Similar roguelite mechanics to CotL in terms of the dungeon style; however, the mechanics are more challenging and require a a certain level of strategy. No management elements, although there are cosmetic and functional upgrades that can be earned outside of the dungeon, as well as a number of plot lines to be explored. I played this a lot several years ago; I think it keeps a fantastic balance between being challenging but not overly punishing, and there are options to make the gameplay a bit easier if you struggle. (Personally, this was my first fighting game, so I needed the extra help.) Art style is gorgeous, the characters are interesting and fun interpretations of the originals. Not necessarily lore accurate to the actual mythos, if you're a pedant like me, but still really enjoyable. As of writing this, Hades 2 is in early access stages, and I'm looking forward to its full release! I fully completed the game, including all achievements, with around 130 hours put into it.

One of my all-time favorite games. This one is another deckbuilder, with traditional cards this time. I found that I had a lot of trouble learning all the mechanics at first, but after a ton of play they all felt very natural and (reasonably) balanced. I will say that I personally don't love the ARG elements as much as some fans, they're just not for me; however, if that's your thing, this is absolutely the game for you. Similarly, I had some difficulty transitioning between "chapters," just because my brain isn't really wired for that kind of cosmetic shake-up, but in retrospect I think it was done really fantastically, and on replay I enjoyed it much more. I also really love the way Inscryption does storytelling (aside from the out-of-game components), and I think it maintains some really fantastic atmosphere and plot throughout. Wonderfully creepy and engaging, plus, after you finish the main plotlines there's still a mode designed for infinite replayability. I fully completed the game, including all achievements, with around 130 hours put into it (although I'm always racking up more in the infinite gamemode).

Major plus-side: this is a free, browser-based game, and shockingly robust. I think it's probably best for those who are already Pokémon fans, or familiar with the game mechanics and strategy, because I found that I struggled a lot more than my sibling, who is an avid competitive Pokémon battles player. I also felt that the progression of the game was a bit too long for me to truly get into - one complete run has 200 waves, which can take hours of real-life play, and there are only a few upgrades that can be earned via consecutive successes, which means that it began to become relatively unrewarding after my first victory. All that being said, I think it's fantastic, and I've certainly recommended it to a fair few people; while it's not for me personally, this is absolutely a thoughtful and well-made roguelike that deserves some serious commendation.

Really wonderfully done logic puzzle game where the solutions come in the form of rewriting the rules and mechanics. Breaks puzzles down into components of pure logic statements, which it's up to you as the player to interpret, take apart, and reuse to your advantage. It's hard to describe Baba in classic game terms because it's pretty unique. Hiding incredibly complicated and perhaps even devious puzzle difficulties behind its cute exterior, and has a fantastic use of conventionally accepted game meta. Super frustrating game, but in a rewarding way. I fully completed the game, including all achievements, with around 24 hours put into it, and yes, I had to look up some of the solutions.

Point-and-click hidden object game. Pretty small and simple, and a bit more of an art piece than anything else, but I do love the style and spooky vibes. I fully completed this game, including all achievements, in a little under 2 hours. The creator has another game, Landlord of the Woods, that I have my eye on next.

CrossCells is... fine. It's not really my cup of tea, since I'm not great with this kind of number logic, but it's simple, short, and sweet. If you're a big fan of Sudoku or similar puzzle styles, I think you'd probably enjoy this a lot. Not a ton of replayability - of course, with the low price, I think it's still worth the purchase. This is for numbers-logic people. I fully completed CrossCells, including all achievements, with around 2 hours put into it. I'm also listing HexCells in the same entry because they share a lot of their fundamental premise and style, & they're by the same person - if you like one, you'll like the other, and vice versa. I've also fully completed HexCells, including all achievements, with around 2.5 hours put into it. Right now, I'm working through the rest of the series very slowly. Pretty good set of games, but not my favorite.

This is one which I just recently picked up, and which I find delightfully macabre. This one is a strategy simulation game, where the player must manage their time and resources in order to successfully found and maintain a cult dedicated to their own personal god. I actually struggle a lot with the gameplay - personally, I have a lot of difficulty with resource management and memorizing sequences, which are both major elements of Cultist Sim - but I enjoy the theming and play style immensely despite the challenge. Maybe one of these days I'll actually manage to create that successful cult...

Adorable puzzle game where you play as a mother cat making bento boxes for her kitten. I felt that there was a good difficulty range as the game progressed, but it never got too complicated. Sweet story, sweet design, and fun to spend an afternoon running through. I fully completed this one, including all achievements, in about 2 hours.

A puzzle game about creating order from chaos. And then doing it again, and again, and... I enjoyed the art on this one and had a lot of fun working through it, but since it isn't a story game and also has very little replayability with its limited correct answers, it's the kind of thing you put down and don't pick back up. I also found myself frustrated with some of the achievements, which is the opposite of what you want from a game intended to be calming! Despite this, I am absolutely not detracting from the game's merit; I just think it's one I'm unlikely to take another swing at any time in the near future. I didn't finish the achievements (due to the aforementioned frustration) but have spent a good 9 hours in-game.

Horror point-and-click style. The simple art style on this one is pretty deceiving, though: the puzzle solutions require physically rifling through the game's files on your computer. I thought it was super fun and nontraditional in its solutions! I did feel like the plot was... less than robust, and mildly confusing at best, but I still had a lot of fun with the actual game mechanics. I fully completed this one, including all achievements, in about an hour - although my sibling seemed flabbergasted at how quickly I completed it, so perhaps take that length with a grain of salt.

These are super fun. The point off is only for the first game - I found the second to be much more compelling and fun in its mechanics - but both are cute little stories about how we interact with and create art, and what that means. I fully completed both, including all achievements, in about 2 hours and 1 hour respectively.

A puzzle game about telling stories by dragging and dropping characters and scene elements into the correct order and position. It's part point and click, part interactive fiction, all silly fun! The concept is simple without being too easy, and things can be solved in some pretty creative ways if you want to flex your out-of-the-box thinking. I finished this one, including all achievements, in about 3 hours, and now I'm waiting until I forget all the solutions so that I can play it a second time.

This one is pretty fun and subversive, playing a lot with the idea of "video game space" and object dimensionality in the puzzles it presents. I'd recommend this for anyone who likes that kind of "meta" game style. Unfortunately, I can't give a full and complete review as my poor laptop absolutely HATES running Superliminal - but from what I've seen, really solid stuff. I have not completed the game.

Very sweet art style and nice, simple gameplay. I love the area and character design in this game - incredibly cozy, wholesome vibes, while still taking a certain amount of creative puzzle-solving to complete each task. Silly and wonderful! I finished this game, including all achievements, in about 7 hours.

This is a walking simulator game, where you have to find the puzzles just to progress. I think it does some absolutely amazing interplay between the environment and the "flat" puzzles themselves, and has some amazing moments in it when it comes to out-of-the-box solutions. Overall, it has a very soothing atmosphere, which distracted me from how annoyed I was getting at some of the puzzle difficulties. I played for 5 hours and can only confidently say that I'm not sure how far in I actually got, only that it wasn't as far as I needed to go to complete it! I disliked the lack of clues, although some people would probably consider this a bonus. Decent game, not for me. Obviously, I have not completed the game.

This game is, essentially, fetch quest heaven. The art style is cute and seriously charming, and I enjoyed myself very, very much - it scratched an itch in my brain. If you don't like fetch quests, then you should probably pass on this one. But what's wrong with you!? I finished this one, including all achievements, in 12 hours.

This one toes the line between visual novel and puzzle game: essentially, it is your job to select the correct story elements in order to open up new plot threads for your doomed player characters. Adorable pixel art style with a lot of bright colors and silly fantasy tropes. My only criticism is that it's too short, because I could have been satisfied playing for much longer. I fully completed the game, including all achievements, with about an hour and a half put into it.

Atmospheric and beautifully drawn, with a strong concept. However, I felt that some of the achievements were very unrewarding/unintuitive, and I felt that there was very little meaningful player input throughout - Behind the Frame more like a short film with interactive elements than a true puzzle game. The story was beautiful, but the gameplay itself simply worked in a way that I didn't love. Still, a gorgeous and touching narrative. I finished this one, including all achievements, in an hour and a half.

This collection is great. The games are all surrealist horror point-and-clicks with some really odd, fun logic. They were originally Flash games - I have distinct memories of playing them on shady game websites around 2017 - that are now a fully fledged series, with recurring characters and stories throughout. As a note, when I say "Cube Escape Collection," I'm referring not only to that title, but also to all the other Rusty Lake games, including Paradox, Roots, Paradise, Underground Blossom, Hotel, The White Door, Samsara Room, and The Past Within. All of these are interconnected, and each is relatively inexpensive if you'd like to get a taste of the style without committing to the full thing. I've loved them for years, and I find them genuinely very fun and engaging. I'm not personally a huge fan of the ARG/out-of-game stuff (I've established that I like all my story to be kept in the same place, like with Inscryption) but some people adore it and, honestly, I don't feel it detracts too much from the story within the games. Brilliantly confusing and haunting, plus lots of fun! I've fully completed all of these games as of right now, including all achievements, although Rusty Lake is still producing more. I've put, at a conservative estimate, about 75 total hours into the games when you add them all up.

This one is a dating sim - which isn't always my favorite - but I thought it did have plenty of very cute features, and it's completely free to play! Pretty short and sweet, which is pretty expected given its price tag, but I did enjoy it. The game includes some fun and interesting mechanics beyond your standard romance VN. It took me 2 hours to complete the game entirely. (Also, while on the subject, I'd be remiss not to bring up the other game I've played from the same devs: Amelie. It's a yuri horror visual novel. Very short - I fully completed the game in under an hour! - but if you're a real fan of visual novels or lesbians you might enjoy this one.)

I think this one is genuinely an all time great RPG. It's expansive, has some incredible world-building, and has quite a lot to say, even in its funnier moments. You play as a downtrodden, amnesic cop who's plunged himself into a suicidal death spiral over an ex-lover - and who has a murder to solve before tensions boil over. You're assisted by the vastly more straight-laced Kim Kitsuragi, your temporary partner while you figure out where, when, and who you are. This one is quite political, but in a good way - the fantastic elements of the universe play incredibly well with the political ones, which creates a world full of an incredible amount of life. One major issue: the studio is a massive POS that nabbed the rights to not just the game but the entire universe from its creators, then kicked them to the curb to try and milk more profit out of it. So, if you're looking to pick up Disco Elysium, I'd recommend taking advice straight from the devs and raising the Jolly Roger. I promise it's worth it. I haven't completed the full gamut of achievements, since there are so many branching paths of gameplay, but I've spent about 40 hours in Elysium.

Ah, Doki Doki. The game I haven't picked up since July of 2018. This one is a horror visual novel that sets itself up as a dating sim before taking a sharp dive into left field, and touches on some incredibly heavy themes. The "visual novel where cute anime girls get brutally killed in a twist ending" trope a bit trite and overdone now, to be honest, but DDLC was one of the originators of the trope (as far as I'm aware!), and it definitely was the game that got me into both visual novels and horror back then. I do think it did some genuinely fun stuff with the genre, and I have fond memories of digging through the game files for secrets, so it's going to make the list, regardless of how it's aged into mostly jokes. I never bought the expanded version, so I don't have any achievements or anything, but I apparently plugged 9 hours into the original, which I would consider "completed."

These are short and simple games that are attempting to recreate the feeling of high school drama taking place over AOL Instant Messager. I haven't played the third in the series yet, although it's on my list, but I did complete the first two, including all achievements, in under an hour and around 4 hours, respectively. Despite their fairly short length and lack of robust features (hey, it's AIM, what did you expect?) I think they're still a lot of fun and surprisingly bittersweet for what they are.

An atmospheric platformer that walks (and jumps, and swims) its way through the stages of grief. Absolutely gorgeous artwork and storytelling, especially since there is no dialogue whatsoever; the game simply thematically stands on its own. If I'm being honest, this one made me bawl my eyes out. Another point in its favor is that it isn't particularly punishing - while it is, of course, a platformer, it is quite forgiving of failure, prioritizing the ability to access the story over challenging the player's abilities. Any struggles were more based around learning, understanding, and completing its puzzles, rather than frustration at failing a timed jump. For me, as someone with difficulty making precise movement, this was really awesome and made me incredibly fond of even the gameplay itself. I honestly cannot recommend GRIS enough - it is heartwrenching and beautiful, while being relatively accessible to the less skilled player. I fully completed this one, including all achievements, in 7 and a half hours.

Visual novel. Eerie and unsettling throughout, this game cultivates a fantastic atmosphere through its art direction, music, and writing. While I wouldn't consider it full-blown horror, it's certainly intentionally spooky. I enjoyed this one a lot, and strongly recommend going in blind - after all, it's a visnov! I will say that I wish determinant choices were more readily flagged (as it is, it's very difficult to tell what outcomes will arise from what selections, and I found achievement hunting to be quite tedious as a result) but this is likely because I am a big enjoyer of looking for every scrap of text in a game, rather than enjoying the intended play experience. Overall I quite enjoyed IDNBTT! I haven't yet completed the achievements, but I have about an hour of play time.

Another art piece masquerading as a game. You play as a woman trying to fall asleep. That's it. I adored the style and mechanics of this one! Again, I honestly just wish that it was longer so I could experience more of it. Regardless, super sweet and colorful. I finished this one, including all achievements, in under an hour.

Point-and-click psychological adventure. Very short and sweet, but I really enjoyed this one! I liked the art and play style a lot. There's not that much to say purely because it is a very tiny game, but it's definitely worth tossing in an hour on. Again, I finished this one, including all achievements, in under an hour.

Short, adorable, and only a couple dollars. A point-and-click hidden object game where you're a lost cat trying to get home, sneaking past all the neighbors along the way. Very relaxing, nostalgic atmosphere, and clearly created with a whole lot of love - this feels like the kind of game you'd play using the family computer, on a crappy 2012 Flash website. I finished this one, including all achievements, in under an hour.

Close to a visual novel, with a strong art style and an interesting concept. As of right now, this one isn't complete yet - I'd like to see them push the premise further in the upcoming chapters, as I've found it fairly simply thus far. I do enjoy what's there, though! As it stands, it took me an hour to finish.

Still releasing, but the five chapters that are out so far are fantastic pieces of art - literally speaking! This is a horror/romance visual novel with entirely hand-drawn backgrounds and characters, and the medium works incredibly. Set in Appalachia, with a fun and diverse cast of characters and dateables - and the romance isn't even the best part (or even a required element), since the horror is the primary focus, and it's so well done. I'm desperate for the next chapter to release! I've completed all of the achievements so far, although it took me about 27 hours.

You're on a path in the woods. By the same creators as Scarlet Hollow, and equally visually incredible, if not even more so. You're the Hero. As the title might suggest, your job to slay the Princess before she ends the world. Or... save her, if you'd prefer. Or try something else. Who keeps locking all these princesses in basements, anyway? A story about the narrative, one's agency, one's nature, and one's perception. It is a love story. Yes, even then. I finished this one, including all achievements, in about 9 hours.

I want to love this one. Unforeseen Incidents is a point-and-click adventure with an interesting premise, fun puzzle solutions, and a unique art style - it's everything i love in a game. But... oh, my God, it takes so long to do anything. Locations don't fit on one screen, you have to scroll to see them all, and it takes time. Dialogue is unskippable and easily triggered, and it takes time. You have to walk literally everywhere, with your INCREDIBLY slow walking speed, and it takes absolutely forever. I'm sorry! I'm sure it's a great game besides the one issue! But I just could not make myself finish this one. I sunk about 2 and a half hours into this, and then gave up.

Bordering on a puzzle game, but it's more narrative and Zen than it is challenging. Gorgeous pixel graphics and a sweet, fulfilling story told through snapshots of its unseen protagonist's life - the only criticism I have is that it's not particularly replayable. Still, I do love this game, and it's great for unwinding at the end of the day. I finished this one, including all achievements, in 4 hours.

A hidden-object story game about love, grief, and letting go. I found the gameplay overly simple (after all, I like a nice engaging puzzle) but I don't think that a more complex gameplay style would have aided this at all - in fact, it would probably be a detriment. Fairly short, musically-themed, and incredibly touching. I completed this game, including all achievements, in an hour and a half. And then I sobbed for the rest of the afternoon.

The classic. The original, even. Enjoyable gameplay and characters, and it caters to diverse play styles pretty well. Stardew is an absolute time sucker, and not because it's needlessly grindy! It's just the kind of thing that draws you in. I'm also a fan of the wide modding community - it's nice to be able to edit gameplay to suit your own preferences, or even just your aesthetic taste. The only reason I'm taking that star away is that I have absolutely never been able to get over the heart event that encourages you to move someone's wheelchair without asking, and punishes you if you act rightfully upset by this. It just pisses me off! (And yes, that particular scene can also be modded out - it's just the principle of the thing.) Otherwise, cute and fun, and very distinct. I just wish the fans would be nicer to Demetrius!! I completed this one, including all achievements, in... 285 hours. Nice and quick. Then I uninstalled it forever before it consumed me permanently.

Silly, cute, and fun. The abominations I have created in this game can absolutely not go overstated. Virtual pet game for those with incredible whimsy in their hearts - what more is there to say? I finished this game, including all achievements, in 17 and a half hours.