ADVENTURE
Between Game of Thrones and the new Minecraft game, Telltale have plenty on the boil in 2015. If you prefer traditional point 'n clicks then a remastered Grim Fandango and the second half of Broken Age should do nicely. We're particularly keen to explore Firewatch, a funny and intriguing mystery game set in the Wyoming wilderness.Minecraft: Story Mode
Developer: Telltale
Publisher: Telltale
Release date: TBA 2015
Link: Official site
Tales of the Borderlands may have proven Telltale's talent at turning an existing game world into a compelling adventure, but Minecraft? That's the challenge the studio has set themselves with Minecraft: Story Mode. Moreover, they've promised not to make it an official telling of "Steve's" story, or to reveal too much about the world of Minecraft. What's left? According to the game's announcement, the story has been inspired by—and made in collaboration with—members of the Minecraft community.
Firewatch
Developer: Campo Santo
Publisher: Campo Santo
Release date: TBA 2015
Link: Official site
Explore the Wyoming wilderness in this beautiful and funny exploration game from the indie superteam at Campo Santo. You’re doing rounds of your territory as a summer fire lookout, but start encountering mysterious goings on in the neighbourhood. Luckily, you’re not entirely alone. You can reflect on everything with your trusty companion, Delilah, who’s always available on the other end of your handheld radio.
Broken Age: Act 2
Developer: Double Fine
Publisher: Double Fine
Release date: Early 2015
Link: Official site
Broken Age: Act 1 left us on a cliffhanger that we've waited almost a year to see resolved. Originally planned for the end of last year, the second half of Double Fine's point-'n'-click return is now set to arrive in the early months of 2015. In addition to the conclusion of Shay and Vella's story, Act 2 is set to challenge adventure veterans with a series of larger and more difficult puzzles.
Grim Fandango Remastered
Developer: Double Fine
Publisher: Double Fine
Release date: TBA 2015
Link: Announcement post
Initially announced for PS4 and Vita only, our cries of despair were saved by a Double Fine tweet confirming a fresh PC edition of Grim Fandango, supposedly “remastered” for modern audiences. We’re not sure exactly what that means yet, but we’re hoping for widescreen support, a new control system and maybe some high-res renders of the land of the dead’s beautiful backgrounds.
Tales From The Borderlands
Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Release date: Throughout 2015
Link: Official site
Last year, Telltale released the first episode of its five-part Borderlands spin-off. Set after the events of Borderlands 2, it tells the story of Hyperion employee Rhys and con artist Fiona as they set out in search of the elusive Vault key. The first episode showed how well the personality of Gearbox's shooter series could translate to and adventure. Hopefully the remaining parts only build on the momentum it generated.
Game of Thrones
Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Release date: Throughout 2015
Link: Official site
Telltale's Game of Thrones series is already underway, and the first episode gave us an idea of how future instalments will work. Starting at the end of the TV show's third season, it tells the story of House Forrester, and shows how their lives are affected by the events and characters from the show. A further five episodes are set to release over the course of the year, taking players up to just before the start of season five.
Life Is Strange
Developer: DONTNOD
Publisher: Square Enix
Release date: 30 January
Link: Official site
There are shades of Twin Peaks and Heavy Rain in this episodic mystery about a young girl who can rewind time. Max and her friend Sam embark on a journey through the darker side of their home town, as they attempt to find the truth behind the disappearance of another student. Told over five parts, expect Max's time-tampering to have marked and potentially disastrous effect on their future.
Way of the Samurai 4
Developer: Acquire
Publisher: Ghostlight LTD
Release date: January 2015
Link: Steam page
Turns out there's more to learn about the way of the samurai. By looking at the console version of Way of the Samurai 4, we've learned that they like pink kimonos and swordfighting. The series is known for being a bit of a samurai life sim, splitting gameplay up into combat, character progression, and events that lead to multiple endings. The PC port promises a new UI and support for both gamepads and keyboard controls.
Cradle
Developer: Flying Cafe for semianimals
Publisher: Flying Cafe for semianimals
Release date: TBA 2015
Link: Official site
A surreal first-person game about exploring a strange science fiction world that also explores your character’s relationship with a mechanical girl. You have to restore your clockwork friend by finding parts hidden in the Mongolian hills, which hide strange machines and cities. We don’t know much about this enigmatic adventure game but early footage looks beautiful.
Virginia
Developer: Variable State
Publisher: Variable State
Release date: TBA 2015
Link: Variable State
The Twin Peaks influence is immediately clear in Variable State’s adventure game. You play a recently-graduated FBI agent on a mission to discover the fate of a missing boy. The devs say it’s “inspired by our collective love of 90s TV dramas like Twin Peaks, The X-Files and The Outer Limits, we wanted to create a game which captured their mixture of the inexplicable, the absurd and the mundane.” We’re looking forward to this one.
Syberia III
Developer: Benoît Sokal
Publisher: Anuman Interactive
Release date: TBA 2015
Link: Official Site
The last entry in the Syberia series came out 10 years ago, but creator Benoît Sokal is reviving it along with its signature leading lady, Kate Walker. Syberia is a point and click adventure game with a steampunk theme. It was originally supposed to begin development in 2010, but had trouble with funding. Now, with the recent return in popularity of the point and click genre, Syberia should feel right at home.
The Black Glove
Developer: Day for Night Games
Publisher: Day for Night Games
Release date: TBA
Link: Developer’s Site
Even though The Black Glove fell woefully short of its Kickstarter goal, Day for Night Games is determined to complete it. Made up of ex-Bioshock developers, the Kickstarter trailer showed us a surreal adventure game with real promise, but even a last minute plug from Ken Levine couldn’t push it to its goal. Not many details are known about The Black Glove’s gameplay, but its got a great team behind it. Hopefully they can get it done.
That Dragon, Cancer
Developer: Ryan Green, Amy Green, Josh Larson
Publisher: Ryan Green, Amy Green, Josh Larson
Release date: October 2015
Link: thatdragoncancer.com
A touching memorial to Joel, the son of Ryan and Amy Green, who passed away from cancer at a young age. That Dragon, Cancer is important work, a reminder that games have power as expressive records that can capture pain, loss, humanity, and who a person was.
Midwinter
Developer: Chilli Hugger Software
Publisher: Chilli Hugger Software
Release date: TBA
Link: Developer’s Blog
A remake of the 1989 Atari and Amiga classic, Midwinter is being made by many of the same people who were on the original’s team. They aim not just to make an updated version of the game, but a version that fully realizes creator Mike Singleton’s vision. It’s unclear exactly what they’ll add or change, but you can be sure it will be a first person action-adventure game with quite a lot of snow.
Children of Liberty
Developer: Lantana Games
Publisher: Lantana Games
Release date: TBA 2015
Link: Official site
It’s the eve of the American Revolution and four young spies are on a mission thwart the Redcoats. That’s the enigmatic background for a stealth game that blends 2D character sprites with 3D environments.
Sunless Sea
Developer: Failbetter Games
Publisher: Failbetter Games
Release date: Feb 2015
Link: Official site
Experience strange happenings on the endless Zee. London has sunk into a subterranean nightmare, but humanity survives. Take a skiff and start exploring the islands nestled in the dark. They’re full of strange characters with strange stories to tell. Collect them, report back to the authorities in Fallen London, earn some coin and upgrade your ship so you’re ready to go deeper into the darkness.
Last Life
Developer: Rocket Science Amusements
Publisher: Double Fine Productions
Release date: 2015
Link: Official Site
A sci-fi noir adventure featuring a private detective who, after being killed, is resurrected through advanced 3-D printing technology and attempts to close the case on his own murder. If that's not appealing enough, this successfully Kickstarted adventure takes place on Mars.
King’s Quest: Your Legacy Awaits
Developer: The Odd Gentlemen
Publisher: Sierra Entertainment
Release date: Fall 2015
Link: Official Site
After several false starts, the reboot of the King's Quest series is due to appear this fall. Developed by The Odd Gentlemen, the makers of The Adventures of P.B. Winterbottom, it will eschew a point-and-click format and instead provided a combination of platforming action and puzzle-solving.
SOMA
Developer: Frictional Games
Publisher: Frictional Games
Release date: TBA 2015
Link: Official site
SOMA is a sci-fi horror from the creators of Amnesia and the Penumbra series. It's set in an underwater complex where machines are coming to life—taking on increasingly human traits. Add in corridors infected by strange, alien machinery and you've got a recipe for a chilling and creepy adventure filled with puzzles, exploration, and—at a guess—a fright or two.
Ladykiller In A Bind
Developer: Love Conquers All Games
Publisher: Love Conquers All Games
Release date: TBA 2015
Link: Announcement post
Or, to give the game its full title, My Twin Brother Made Me Crossdress As Him And Now I Have To Deal With A Geeky Stalker And A Domme Beauty Who Want Me In A Bind!! MTBMMCAHANIHTDWAGSAADBWWMIAB!! is an erotic visual novel about social manipulation from Christine Love, the creator of Analogue: A Hate Story. Given the theme, things will no doubt get pretty kinky. Hopefully they'll at least be some post-bondage cuddling if things get a bit too intense.
Armikrog
Developer: Pencil Test Studios
Publisher: Pencil Test Studios
Release date: TBA 2015
Link: Steam Greenlight page
It's not a sequel as such, but Armikrog has more than a little in common with late-'90s adventure The Neverhood. It's made by the same creators, for one thing. More to the point, it's a claymation point-'n'-click. Armikrog tells the story of space explorer Tommynaut and his blind dog Beak-Beak. Its developers promise a roster of quirky characters and unique settings—all made possible by the $974,000 the game attracted on Kickstarter.
Blackmore’s Bane
Developer: iOiOi
Publisher: iOiOi
Release date: TBA
Link: Blackmore’s Bane
A “steampunk graphic adventure” about hunting a serial killer through Victorian London, you play as the Blackmores, a genius family of scientists and intellectuals with access to the highest technology. The team list voice talent like David Hayter of Solid Snake fame and Donna Burke, who has acted and sung in Final Fantasy and Metal Gear.
Caffeine
Developer: Incandescent Imaging
Publisher: Incandescent Imaging
Release date: Mid 2015
Link: Official site
That the world has run out of caffeine is only the start of Caffeine's terrifying set-up. It's a first-person psychological horror adventure set in a world where corporations create synthetic coffee by mining minerals in space. You wake on one of these space stations, alone and with no memory. Over three planned episodes, Caffeine will let you explore the station—solving puzzles and unravelling the mystery of who you are and what happened to everybody else.
Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today
Developer: Fictiorama Studios
Publisher: Daedalic Entertainment
Release date: TBA 2015
Link: Official site
A dark, dystopian point-'n'-click that nevertheless names Day of the Tentacle and Monkey Island as inspirations. Perhaps not to the extent that you'll need to USE DESPAIR ON EXISTENTIAL CRISIS, but expect dialogue trees and inventory puzzles as you take on the role of man-with-no-past Michael. He's got plenty to deal with; namely a series of natural disasters, an unnatural pandemic and the dissolution of time itself.
Decay: The Mare
Developer: Shining Gate
Publisher: Daedalic Entertainment
Release date: February 2015
Link: Announcement post
The first two episodes of horror point-'n'-click Decay: The Mare were released on PC last year. If you missed them, it's because they were only available through the Windows Store. The series has now been picked up by adventure specialists Daedalic, who, alongside a third episode release, will bring the full series to more visible PC storefronts. In it, you play Sam—a recovering addict who visits rehab and, instead, becomes stuck in an seemingly unending nightmare.
Return of the Obra Dinn
Developer: Lucas Pope
Publisher: Lucas Pope
Release date: TBA
Link: Official site
From the creator of Papers, Please comes a game about mystery, murder and time travel. In Return of the Obra Dinn you play as an insurance adjustor tasked with discerning the fate of the titular ship, which has returned to port in circumstances as mysterious as its disappearance six years prior. Using 1-bit rendering to create a striking aesthetic, the game asks you to explore the ship, and travel back in time to view a frozen tableau depicting the moment of each crewman's death.
Oort Online
Developer: Wonderstruck
Publisher: Wonderstruck
Release date: TBA 2015
Link: Official Site
Claim land, build a home, and explore a completely player-driven economy in this promising online MMO sandbox with voxel-based visuals. There are monsters to battle, a robust crafting system, and you can fight other players in PvP zones.
