DeVuego

While it may be simple in concept, Arise: A Simple Story delivers a real showstopper when it comes to its gameplay, offering up an innovative blend of aesthetic splendour and strong themes. It’s a beautiful, poignant journey not to be missed and one of the best games of the year.

This is a confident noir point-and-click that excels in mood and world-building, even if it sometimes struggles to keep its focus.

While Your House doesn't live up to its boast of "blurring the lines between genres", it is a compelling visual novel with a decent enough story and some great puzzles along the way. If you're after a gripping mystery to tide you over for an afternoon or two, this one's certainly worth checking out.

Armed with a decent aesthetic and a unique twist of horror and real time strategy, The Are Billions is let down by a rigid gameplay loop, a lack of building variety and a steep difficulty curve. While there is fun to be had here, and the game certainly has its fair share of stand-out moments, veterans of the genre will be disappointed with the simplicity of building whilst newbies may find themselves struggling to work out the best strategy for expanding and progressing.

It’s not a masterpiece, but a worthy survival horror throwback it is — and sometimes, that’s exactly what you want.