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Her Story
Price: $4
Her Story is a game about a video search engine. Well, that and a murder. A woman’s husband was killed and she’s a suspect. Your job is to sift through video footage of police interviewing said woman. You do this by typing words into a search engine and watching the videos that pop up — which will give you more clues and in turn lead to more searches. Basic gameplay, but incredibly creative storytelling: Her Story was won many accolades, including being named GameSpot’s Game of the Month in June of 2015.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
Price: Free
Animal Crossing was always big, but last year’s New Horizons boosted the franchise into a new stratosphere of popularity. If you’ve wanted to play Animal Crossing but don’t have a Switch, note that Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is still very much viable, despite being released in 2017. It’s a smaller scale experience than New Horizons, as you’ll be building a campsite rather than an entire island, but it’s full of the same charm that’s made Animal Crossing a titan.
Alto’s Odyssey
Price: $5
Alto’s Odyssey is a followup game to Alto’s Adventure. Both are very similar: They’re endless runners, except instead of running it’s downhill boarding. Odyssey takes place in the desert, so you’re sandboarding, while Adventure has Alto snowboarding. Most importantly, both have a striking, mesmorizing visual style. This is a great game to download for easy pick-up-and-play sessions.
Helix Jump
Price: Free
Helix Jump by Voodoo is a tactile puzzle game that’s incredibly deceptive in its simplicity. The goal is to bounce a ball down a labyrinth by falling strategically through the cracks on each level without falling on a red zone. Sounds easy, right? Not so fast. With the fun frustration that came with tap and drag games like Flappy Bird and many others since, Helix Jump will have you screaming at the screen, then coming back for “just one more.” The haptic response when the ball bounces is also a nice touch.
Oxenfree
Price: Free
A group of friends hanging out on a beach take a turn for the worse when the teens accidentally open a ghostly rift. Soon the group is fighting for survival, struggling through time loops and doubting if everyone is truly who they say they are. Oxenfree calls itself a “supernatural teen thriller,” but deftly avoids tropes and cliches, providing characters with depth and a fascinating, eerie plot. It’s a quick game you could play in one sitting, but there’s multiple endings so you can always go back.
A Normally Lost Phone
Price: $2
Like many games on this list, A Normally Lost Phone is all about narrative. Moreso than other entries here though, this really is a case of “the less you know the better”. There are two things you need to know: first, that it’s a game about discovering a phone and piecing together information about its owner. Second, it’s absolutely worth a download.
What Remains of Edith Finch
Price: $5