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VEKTOR (iOS)

BY CAGIL BEKTAS

There’s never been an Akira videogame, but Vektor fits the mold. It’s a bite-sized cybercycling head rush, cleverly using tilt controls to accelerate as well as turning left or right. As the soundtrack thumps and the road grows ever more cluttered, don’t be surprised if your palms start to sweat.

Perfect for: Fans of ultraviolent 80s cyberpunk anime, forward-thinking gearheads.

Playtime: Minutes at a time.

OCTOPUS CITY BLUES (PC, MAC & LINUX)

BY GHOST IN A BOTTLE

With a sickly purple/green color palette and a fixation with all things slimy and corporeal, Octopus City Blues is like a Genesis game left to rot. You’re sadsack Kaf Kafkaryan, a tentacle trimmer in the aptly named Octopus City who’s been having some … strange dreams. It plays like an adventure game but it oozes and stinks like something entirely different.

Perfect for: Octoblood addicts, squirmophiles, adventurous adventure game fans.

Playtime: A short but meaty demo.

CIVILIZATION: BEYOND EARTH (PC)

BY FIRAXIS GAMES

You’re a modern-day Columbus sailing into the deep blue, but it’s not about exotic spices this time, considering society as you know it has totally collapsed. Humanity needs a new hunk of rock to colonize. Cue the glowing hexagons! Spawn futuristic space armies. Harvest unknown materials (can you say Unobtanium?). Sid Meier’s long-lasting vision works just as well in outer space.

Perfect for: Poli-sci grads, sci-fi junkies, Captain Kirk, crop-circle enthusiasts.

Playtime: Hundreds of thousands of years hours.