exploration games
'Sunless Skies' Tells Its Stories Slowly, But They're Worth the Trip
The horror of an empire on which a Clockwork Sun never sets.
Memory Is a Mystery in this Conspiracy-Driven Sci-Fi Puzzler
The sequel to 2016's minor stream phenomenon 'Asemblance' is everything that game was and more, with wild imagery and even wilder puzzles.
Loneliness, The Open Road, And 'Where the Water Tastes Like Wine'
'Where the Water Tastes Like Wine' is a very pretty, often lonesome trek across a land of myths and tall tales.
Damn, I Really Like Pressing Buttons In Video Games
There’s a certain satisfaction in games that are all about turning knobs and hitting buttons. Not on a controller, on a screen.
Find a Cure for Open World Fatigue on the Waterfront of Limbo
'The Exile on the Long Shore' is a spare, small game that evokes rather than overwhelms.
How Games Make Me Confront the Terror of Open Spaces
'Sunless Sea' is about wonder and despair in dark places.
The Open World of 'Yonder' Is Supremely Pretty, But So Shallow
There's a kindness to 'Yonder,' but I want to like it more than I do.
Abstract Alien Architecture is Really Pretty, Ok?
I’m playing an out-there exploration game called 'ESSENCE,' and (don’t laugh at me), I think it’s pretty cool.
Explore Colorful Realities in ‘Catacombs of Solaris’
‘Catacombs of Solaris’ is a first-person trip to a dimension of color, space, and impossible corridors.
You Can Build Your Dream Home in No Man's Sky
The Foundation Update offers new modes of play, including base-building.
‘Small Radios, Big Televisions’ is a Perfect Late-Night Puzzler
‘Small Radios, Big Televisions’ is the prettiest, most relaxed puzzle game I’ve played since ‘Monument valley.’