NO MAN'S SKY

I admit I'm easily impressed with half-decent graphics and decent gaming mechanics and by the "cute factor" that confirms my being a casual gamer. Then there's my distaste of any first-person game involving shooting. And I understand that as such I don't fully appreciate the furore with which gamers who play AAA titles lashed out at the studio behind the game for all the hype and clever marketing prior to its release.I feel their pain, I really do.

But this is every spacefaring child's greatest dream- becoming an explorer exploring a whole universe of worlds . So a lot of them  repeat, and a lot of them are boring, and a lot of stations should be brimming with life since they provide services that require considerable resources etc. But awaken your inner trekker and boldly go where no one has gone before for the simple pleasure of going. I would have made it even more abstract, resembling elaborate Universe simulations appearing nowadays (Illustris?) with even more modest gaming elements, but this is a remarkable feat in itself.

You have to applaud the nature of procedural/chance build-up of worlds, their flaura, fauna, surface, lifeforms, mechanical representations of their respective cultures etc. This aspect alone is sufficient enough to sparkle our imagination like very few gaming titles have so far. Hell, even the soundtrack (not talking about the 65daysofstatic's  ogt album) is procedurally generated by a uniquely designed system -how cool is that?

 No Man's Sky is based on four pillars: survival, combat, trading and exploration, and the three of four pillars may have crumbled. But the pillar of exploration will stand tall as a bold pioneering project for as long as there's gaming.

TOKYO JUNGLE

Another non-classifiable game that managed to break the mould of the stale action game genre. It's incredible how justifiable animal aggression combined with quirkiness and comical aspects of the game makes this an extremely enjoyable gaming experience.The food chain and everything it dictates in animals entertains us and we readily take up the role of an animal fighting for its survival  You can choose one of the  species left in the streets of a post-apocalyptic Tokyo where humans are no more, be it a dog, cat, a herbivore or carnivore that escaped from the zoo etc. There are many things to take into account and master as you go along- attack, evading and hiding moves and manoeuvres against other animals , mating and  securing the area for your offspring while your computer years swoosh past you, adapting, looking for food, herbs etc. Naturally, each animal  has its weaknesses and strengths , and restarting the game  you had no high expectations for to begin with  with another animal is what gives you a different perspective that makes this game definitely worth your while