The best games of 2020 that you probably didn't play

Features
By published

Deep cuts and hidden gems.

Over the Alps characters
(Image credit: Stave Studios)

A frankly absurd number of games were released on PC this year, to the point where it was almost impossible to keep track of them all. But don't worry: I'm here to help. Below you'll find a selection of interesting games that slipped under the radar. If you've played all the year's big hitters and want to try something a bit different, give the following games a shot.

The Flower Collectors
Detective voyeur

The Flower Collectors
Mi'pu'mi Games / Link
A smart, politically charged mystery set in 1970s Barcelona, inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's classic movie Rear Window.

Gag
Black comedy

Gag
Joshua Roland / Link
A deeply strange, genuinely unsettling game about a very real kind of horror, presented like a Seinfeld episode from Hell.

Over the Alps
Alpine adventure

Over the Alps
Stave Studios / Link
A beautifully presented spy game with a twisting, suspenseful narrative that your choices can dramatically alter.

Beyond a Steel Sky
Classic adventuring

Beyond a Steel Sky
Revolution Software / Link
The latest from Broken Sword creator Revolution Software, this is a fun, quirky sci-fi story with a vivid cast of characters.

Routine
Looping horror

Routine
Corpsepile / Link
An experimental horror game that's like a very weird Groundhog Day, built around the minutiae of everyday life.

The Anything Gallery
Procedural art

The Anything Gallery
Jan Malitschek / Link
Type any word into this experimental game and it'll pull images from Google to generate an explorable 3D art gallery.

Mixolumia
Droppin' blocks

Mixolumia
Davemakes / Link
This stylish, addictive block puzzler has a slanted board, letting you split blocks apart to create combos. Great music too.

Defective Holiday
Holiday weirdness

Defective Holiday
Kim Laughton / Link
A bizarre collection of loosely vacation-themed explorable vignettes, with striking imagery and slightly sinister undertones.

Bleakshore
Lo-fi mystery

Bleakshore
Breogán Hackett / Link
An atmospheric, sensitively written, and quietly unnerving first-person horror game set on a beautifully bleak stretch of coast.

TimeOut
Race against time

TimeOut
Christopher Lee / Link
A beautiful film noir-inspired adventure game set in a city where time is a currency—and if you run out of it, you die.

Umurangi Generation
Virtual photography

Umurangi Generation
Origame Digital / Link
An incredibly stylish first-person photography sim with a punky, dystopian lo-fi aesthetic, influenced by Māori culture.

Under a Star Called Sun
Tiny sci-fi

Under a Star Called Sun
Cecile Richard / Link
An imaginative and considered science fiction story created with game maker Bitsy that packs a real emotional punch.

The Red Lantern
Tiny sci-fi

The Red Lantern
Timberline Studio / Link
A rogue-lite narrative adventure set in the Alaskan bush, this frozen wilderness is as dangerous as it is beautiful.

Neon Cyborg Cat Club
Music maker

Neon Cyborg Cat Club
Myshkin Entertainment / Link
This clever thing features robot cats who frolic around an atmospheric Blade Runner world generating ambient music.

Andy Kelly
Andy Kelly

If it’s set in space, Andy will probably write about it. He loves sci-fi, adventure games, taking screenshots, Twin Peaks, weird sims, Alien: Isolation, and anything with a good story.