Hollowreach

Hollowreach is an adventure game with almost no words. You climb down through an old mine using a lantern that both lights your path and solves environmental puzzles, and the whole thing is built around curiosity rather than combat.

Controls are a drag to move and taps to interact, and the game trusts you to figure things out. I got stuck twice, wandered off, and found the answer by paying attention to the background. That little moment of 'oh, obviously' is what the game is chasing, and it lands often.

It's not long, maybe four hours, but it's the kind of thing you play with headphones on in one or two sittings. The sound design does a lot of the emotional work.

What we liked

• Wordless, atmospheric storytelling
• Puzzles woven into the environment
• Excellent headphone soundscape