THE STANLEY PARABLE

Stanley is just another nine-to-fiver living a stale life of crunching numbers and doing meaningless repetitive tasks at work, a man with no family to come home to . The sudden disappearance of all his colleagues leaves him alone in the building with just an eloquent inner voice at his side telling him what he should do. The voice is annoying, controlling , laughing at his condition, incredibly discerning and intelligent. The game is all about starting again and again, finding alternate ways to come to a meaningless end for Stanley, or sticking to a silly routine like playing the baby game and pushing a single red button for 4 hours without a single pause  until the game recognises you as a God and you come out victorious. How can you not like that? The game puts our tenacity, sense of identity, belonging, orientation, purpose, irony, obeying or disobeying our inner voice to a serious test, with an illusion of choice being the main ingredient of the game. THE STANLEY PARABLE laughs at life, games, the gaming industry, our use of time, rendering them all obsolete.

"Onward Stanley...to destiny. Wouldn't whenever we end up be our destination, even if there's no story there? Or to put it another way- is the story of no destination still a story?"

GODUS

True, this is yet another life simulation game, but with a truly unique twist to it! You're God and you can go about it as you please, whether as an angry god or a benevolent one or something in between.You can see a civilization prosper or send them into oblivion if you so please. You manipulate the flora and fauna, sculpt the landscape, manipulate people's breeding, beliefs, life and test their faith. It feels awkward and fulfilling at the same time, playing God-you're omniscient and omnipotent. Or are you really a true god? The use of cards and steady progression of actions you take makes me wonder if god the player be just another god answering to a supreme god in a pantheon of gods. Be as it may, it is still a wonderful opportunity to test your worst and your best human qualities within this game, be them God-like or not.

COMIX ZONE

Comix Zone was a dream come true for everyone old enough to play games at the time. The appeal of this game wasn't that it was a great  beat 'em up with excellent graphics, no. The magic of this game lies in the fact that it managed to succeed where ordinary comic books failed- at being visibly interactive. Sure, there were attempts at making comic books with alternate endings and branching points in it, but this game was the first to persuade us we were in an actual comic book with many comic book cliches being laughed at (the narrator, aide,stale lines of the main protagonist and its sign-of-the-times clothes etc). Being able to physically destroy the panels and its edges and to jump from one panel to the other was the most unique thing this 13-year old has ever seen.You can't move around as freely as you'd want to throughout the world of this comic and there are pointers indicating where you should/will go , but then again if you could it would be most unappealing to you as a reader of the comic book you are playing, wouldn't it? :)

THE NEVERHOOD CHRONICLES

This game was  and still is a personal favourite from the 90s.Yes, it's a simple point-and-click adventure game with a linear structure and simple navigation throughout the imagined claymatian world. But what a magnificent world it is! Wooden and clay sets with abstract, yet easily identifiable architecture  of a highly artistic Demiurge aided by Terry Scott Taylor's  incredible genre-bending soundtrack invite you into a uniquely odd world. So many things I like about video games are featured here: superb stop-motion animation of the characters, awkward posture and coordination of Klaymen along with somewhat tedious walks he takes throughout the game, slapstick humour,silly full motion video cut scenes, puzzles that range from simple to abstract to silly, absense of inventory screens (I always disliked them in games) etc.
A cult classic that will be enjoyed even a hundred years from now!

JOURNEY

Probably the best game I've ever seen and played. The mere thought of making a game out of a life parable (imagine Piers Plowman made into a game :) ) and  succeeding in bringing all aspects of a regular human experience into a 2-hour gaming fun is a feat in itself. Everything befalls our beloved ethereal creature we guide through this life's journey: the loneliness and dignity of human experience,longing, growth, companionship. the beauty and mystery of life, the acquisiton of knowledge and experience, facing nature that is closer to Tarkowsky than Von Trier, wearing the ever-growing mark of  a seasoned soul. Our hearts slowly melt with passion and love and at the end of the game , when our character reaches the end of the road and passes on, it is very hard not to shed a tear. I know I did.Never have I felt such warmth in my heart while playing a computer game.

A true masterpiece of gaming if ever there was one.

SUPERHOT

I really dislike FPS games. I always did . I didn't like the original Doom,Wolfstein, I didn't even like playing Operation Wolf  in the local arcade when I was a kid. The stream of titles that flooded the market didn't  convert me into a fan, no siree (ok, except for maybe Borderlands). But then Superhot appeared and I was immediately attracted to it . Highly appealingly simplistic yet elegant visual representation combined with sparse use of colours gives this game a truly unique look. Plus the mechanics are impressive, limiting as they are- everything moves when you move your mouse , otherwise time passes extremely slow.The levels/missions don't last for days on end  (you can actually have a good night sleep before a daunting day at work), and each one is a bundle of joy and excitement. The look and feel of SUPERHOT make me almost forget I'm playing a game in  which I'm supposed to kill other living beings.

A masterpiece!

A Foreword

Games should be works of art defying the existing genres, current markets and should constantly defy expectations of both the young and the seasoned. I see playability, graphical capabilities and many other aspects that seem superimportant to us nowadays as secondary to games being authentic pieces of multidisciplinary art.
I'm too old to be playing Mortal Combat 56456, Tekken 234826, Super Mario on Steroids Part 293847 or other rehashes flooding the gaming market. Give me a small indie game that has an interesting twist to it and I'm hooked. Nothing against smart big titles either.
Ygorrr