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THE EVERLOOM (
BY LUCAS PAAKH
You know that dream you’re always having about getting trapped somewhere for the rest of eternity? Is it ever in 16-bit animation? If so, you’re probably not dreaming. Most likely, you’re playing Lucas Paakh’s latest enigmatic adventure game The Everloom. It’s a lot like dreaming, only with more NPCs requesting ice cream for their toad’s tummy ache, and giant disembodied heads spouting philosophy. On second thought, maybe you are dreaming.
Perfect for: Fans of LSD: Dream Emulator
Playtime: Give or take one REM cycle
TOWERFALL ASCENSION (
BY MATT THORSON
Games that can send a couch full of people into conniptions are a rare breed. But when a game’s closest comparison is Super Smash Bros., it starts to make sense. Towerfall Ascension has you zipping around a one-screen arena, grabbing power-ups, taking trick shots, and causing unintentional chaos as you try and take out your friends. You’ll be glad the game can save your replays as gifs. This is the kind of game that spawns rivalries and sleepovers, a game that brings people together and tears them apart.
Perfect for: People who still talk about their favorite Goldeneye/Smash Bros. matches
Playtime: Until your friends go home
OUT THERE (
BY MI-CLOS STUDIO
Out There is not a game about making war with an alien scourge. The only monsters you’ll fight here are internal: you drift through the endless expanses of space searching for a distant waypoint that might be not even be your home. Manage your resources carefully, because every move you make is a gamble, every jump might be your last, every landing fraught with peril. Turns out being all alone is the most dangerous thing of all.
Perfect for: Gravity lovers, space cadets, those coming to terms with isolation.
Playtime: Several minutes at a time