Publisher: Playstack
Developer: Color Gray
Year: 2022
Platform: Windows, Switch
Rating: 7
2018 saw Return of the Obra Dinn become a cult classic thanks to a grisly murder mystery logic puzzle. The Case of the Golden Idol continues in that spirit though in a more whimsical–but also more complex–manner.
Continue reading The Case of the Golden IdolPublisher: Infocom
Developer: Infocom
Year: 1985
Platform: PC, Commodore, Apple, Mac, Amstrad, Atari ST, TRS
Rating: 4
Considered one of the most difficult games in the Infocom catalogue, Spellbreaker deploys an excellent plot that neatly and satisfyingly wraps up the Enchanter trilogy. Yet, as seems to be in the case in all of his games, Dave Lebling’s puzzle structure maddeningly gets in the way of most of the fun.
Continue reading SpellbreakerPublisher: Infocom
Developer: Infocom
Year: 1984
Platform: PC, Commodore, Apple, Mac, Amstrad, Atari ST, TRS
Rating: 7
Steve Meretzky took over the reins from Marc Blank and Dave Lebling in his second adventure after the wildly popular Planetfall. His style is quite evident here. While telling perhaps a weaker story with a significantly less serious atmosphere than Enchanter, Sorcerer far exceeds it as a sequel thanks to a more user-friendly design and some truly excellent puzzles.
Continue reading SorcererPublisher: Sierra
Developer: Sierra
Year: 1992
Platform: DOS, Windows
Rating: 2
The sequel to The Colonel’s Bequest, The Dagger of Amon Ra tells a more interesting and complex murder mystery about a stolen Egyptian dagger. Despite this, the game manages to be far worse on nearly every other level.
Continue reading The Dagger of Amon RaPublisher: Infocom
Developer: Infocom
Year: 1983
Platform: PC, Commodore, Apple, Mac, Amstrad, Atari ST, TRS
Rating: 4
The first game of the second trilogy in the Zork universe, Enchanter tells a much more interesting tale with significantly more rewarding puzzles than it’s predecessors. Sadly, some poor design choices and inconsistency make it not terribly fun to play today.
Continue reading EnchanterPublisher: Sierra
Developer: Coktel
Year: 1993
Platform: DOS
Rating: 5
Notorious for its copious–and I mean copious–inventory puzzles, Lost in Time tells a convoluted time travel story that falls short of the heights it aspires to. But it’s still a good time if you’re willing to have a walkthrough at the ready.
Continue reading Lost in TimePublisher: Virgin Interactive
Developer: Revolution
Year: 1992
Platform: DOS, Amiga, Atari, Windows, Mac, Linux
Rating: 2
Showing signs of things to come for Revolution Software, Lure of the Temptress certainly has some innovative features and touches of humor. But an incredibly dull story combined with a janky user interface makes this one a tough road to hoe.
Continue reading Lure of the TemptressPublisher: inkle
Developer: inkle
Year: 2021
Platform: Windows, Mac, Switch, Android, iOS
Rating: 5
A murder mystery where you’re the murderer is ripe for intrigue and clever manipulation. Overboard! begins with a bang (not literally), pulling you into the dark web of secrets surrounding the shipmates you haven’t killed. Sadly, though, the structure of the game leads to repetition and fatigue, leaving it way less satisfying than it should have been.
Continue reading Overboard!Publisher: Animation Arts
Developer: Animation Arts
Year: 2023
Platform: Windows, Linux
Rating: 4
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: In this era where a daily deluge of entertainment options are available and attention spans are shorter, if you don’t grab the player almost immediately you run the risk of your game not being played at all. With Monolith, Animation Arts (Lost Horizon, Secret Files series) returns from a lengthy absence to deliver an overall solid third-person point-and-click adventure in the well-worn isolated astronaut subgenre. Yet I fear many players won’t be willing to see it through, as every one of the game’s weaknesses are highlighted in all their infamy in the first hour of play.
Continue reading MonolithPublisher: Crows Crows Crows
Developer: Crows Crows Crows
Year: 2022
Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series
Rating: 6
More of an expansion of The Stanley Parable rather than its own game, Ultra Deluxe succeeds in adding fun additional content without necessarily making the game a better overall experience.
Continue reading The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
Death By Troggles 
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