In 2022 I went through one of the toughest times in my life, and A Building Full of Cats helped me out. I didn’t want to think, I just wanted something pretty and no-stress, and as it turned out, finding cats was pretty therapeutic.

There were several levels, the total number of cats in the hundreds, some hiding away. The artwork was colourful and great to look at, with full marks on being cute.

I immediately went into A Castle Full of Cats because I couldn't get enough.

I went in with no expectations and was surprised by how much I liked In Sound Mind. With indie horror you never know what you’re going to get—an asset flip with nothing but loud noises or something with actual substance? This fell into the latter, impressively so, with a decent story involving mental illness, plus combat and puzzles, as well as a number of chapters with different environments and bosses associated with them. There was even a pesky antagonist that stalked the player throughout the entire game; I noticed him peeking around corners, or watching from a bit away. It was extremely effective.

And sometimes it’s the little details that really stand out. Each chapter had a song attached to it, and I love when music is implemented in such a way (Alan Wake 2 comes to mind).

Time loops can often be messy and convoluted, but The Forgotten City tackled such a concept with fantastic writing that delved into philosophy and history. The visuals depicted a Roman city with a curse bearing over its people, and the goal was to get to the bottom of said curse that would inevitably kill the population if one person sinned. With each loop it became possible to stave it off for longer, but never forever, since humans love being naughty. It was a great setup and I loved its focus on narrative—there was a lot of talking, and that was okay with me.

It didn’t give step by step directions on how to progress, which is in stark contrast to how the majority of "detective" games do the work for you. It was trial and error until all the pieces fit, certain moral decisions required to get by. Combat was optional and even then, it was bare-bones and probably didn’t even need to be there. I really enjoyed it; I'll always be on the lookout for titles like this.