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TRIALS FUSION (PC, PS4, XBOX ONE, XBOX 360)

BY REDLYNX

Trials has come a long way since its humble Javascript beginnings. Luckily, this sleek, latest-tech update still remembers the ragdoll fun of the original, rewarding players with the gruesome spectacle of free-falling limbs at the end of every trial. Trials Fusion thrives on making you feel like an unhinged daredevil, while also inviting you to laugh whenever those delusions of grandeur come crashing back to earth.

Perfect for: Bikers, ragdoll physics lovers, people with a knack for equilibrium.

Playtime: 2-4 minutes per trial.

PINK HOUR (PC)

BY STUDIO PIXEL

Pink Hour comes from Studio Pixel, who created the classic Cave Story a decade ago. The pedigree shows. Watching your cheery pink office worker protagonist jump from weeny platform to weeny platform is awfully cute, but the actual game is anything but. Pink Hour is tiny, more of a proof of concept than a full game, but it demands perfect execution, a fine sense of timing, and knowledge that can only be gained through dying and doing it all again. Keep hope; your pink surrogate does.

Perfect for: Fans of Cave Story, perfectionists, people who like happy plump pink creatures

Playtime: One flawless run: 4 minutes. Otherwise, no end in sight.

BROFORCE (PC)

BY FREE LIVES GAMES

If the phrase “side-scrolling action hero team-up” does not blow your socks off, then maybe Broforce isn’t the game for you. But maybe it could still win you over. It’s a throwback to a simpler time, when videogame problems were solved with fire and explosions. But the throwback is more than spiritual: you can play as the Terminator, Blade, Snake Plissken, Ellen Ripley and more. Shoot stuff, blow stuff up, save stuff. It’s how the Broforce works.

Perfect for: Fans of 80s action movies, those who wish RoboCop had more crossovers, lovers of explosions

Playtime: Brief, wildly replayable levels.