1. Elden Ring
FromSoftware/Bandai Namco
Hidetaka Miyazaki’s expansive fantasy game, conceived in collaboration with Game of Thrones author George RR Martin, brings to fruition the themes and ideas explored in his previous games in the Dark Souls series. Mystical, challenging and often intimidatingly open-ended, this is a sumptuous world that rewards curiosity, inspires resilience and promotes collaboration with strangers.
2. Immortality
Sam Barlow; Half Mermaid
An intoxicating blend of film and game, Immortality tells its complex, decades-spanning story via a series of disparate but interconnected clips snipped from three unreleased Hollywood films. The movies share a lead, an apparently ageless actor whose identity and fate you must uncover. Best played with a notepad and pen, you assume the role of a cinematic gumshoe in an editing suite. Groundbreaking work.
3. Norco
Geography of Robots; Raw Fury
In this stylish riff on 90s LucasArts adventure games, you play as a young woman returning to the real-world Louisiana refinery town Norco to deal with the mess of her mother’s recent death. This closely observed study of rural decline and climate catastrophe won the Tribeca film festival’s inaugural video game prize, and for good reason.
4. The Case of the Golden Idol
Playstack; Color Gray Games
A sleeper hit, The Case of the Golden Idol is a detective tale set in the 1700s. You investigate 12 murders, apparently linked to the titular artefact. Hunt for clues, then insert keywords into crime reports like jigsaw pieces to progress the story. Inventive and compelling.
5. Wordle
Josh Wardle
Much imitated, never bettered, in 2022 Josh Wardle’s simple but elegant word puzzle – originally conceived the previous year as a gift for his wife – became a mainstream hit, subsequently acquired by the New York Times. Its daily challenge has been taken up by millions of people who wouldn’t dare pick up a PlayStation controller.
