There's another world inside a painting, another time period, and one that needs your help. After the events of Royal House of Stone you thought the witch had been dealt with, but when you suddenly find yourself stranded in a realm where the inhabitants have been cursed into shadow, it's up to you to put a stop to her once again in this fun point-and-click/hidden-object hybrid.

The Ravenhearst mansion was a site of great evil, so why would anyone want to rebuild it? That's what you've come to find out in this creepy-cool installment of the popular Mystery Case Files casual hidden-object adventure series, where nobody can be trusted, and puzzles, mysteries, and crazy mechanisms await.

Selina has taken the plunge. She's moved from her home and into a unknown city to further her art degree by studying under the famous Albert S. Seligmann. The only problem is Professor Seligmann is a pretentious jerk and Selina must give it her all to prove she is worthy of his teachings. Help Selina find the knowledge and education to better her artwork and attempt to gain Professor Seligmann's approval. But the longer Selina tries to more she begins to doubt the ability of this high and mighty Artmaster in this free indie adventure.

Sea Journey is... well, it's Puzzle Quest with pirates! Built around a tile-swapping Bejeweled-like game, you venture into the great blue ocean in search of treasure, upgrading your vessel along the way. Each match 3 game you play is a fierce battle at sea, complete with cannon salvos and mystical spells conjured by talismans.

This is one of the best, most elaborate adventure hybrids to come out this year. With the emphasis squarely on the point-and-click adventuring, Sacra Terra: Angelic Night is a mind-blowing throwback to the days of yore in adventure gaming with its engrossing story, stunning visuals, and, most importantly, depth of gameplay. Alawar has created a world which is fascinating to explore and difficult to leave, and the combination of beautiful, otherworldly scenes juxtaposed with the grim, haunting asylum proper makes the entire experience surreal.

Escape from Paradise (Windows/Mac) is a simulation/adventure game similar to Westward and Virtual Villagers where you lead shipwrecked castaways on a quest to build a tropical paradise. The interesting twist is the inclusion of minigames that help you earn supplies as well as distract you while your villagers work. It's an intriguing genre-bending concept that puts you in the role of resource manager and resident puzzle solver, and despite its not-so-polished presentation, pulls it off quite well.

There's nothing ordinary about this adventure hybrid from Artifex Mundi, creators of Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek. Sure you get the familiar tale of undead pirates cursed by stolen gold, but you also get an amazingly ambitious production with attention to every detail. You can finish the entire game without playing a single hidden object scene if you wish; just opt for mahjong, instead (or do both!) Gorgeous scenes, well-designed puzzles and expert storytelling are just a few of the top notch features that make Nightmares from the Deep: The Cursed Heart an experience not to be missed.

Mr. Jones' Graveyard Shift is a curious combination of a free-form simulation, tycoon management title, and time management game. As customers come in, you custom-create grave plots based on their requests and budget. You have an enormous amount of freedom in how you create your graveyard, allowing you to be creative, inventive, or just plain efficient. Plus, there's no time pressure!

As a reporter determined to uncover the truth behind years of lies and governmental cover-ups, you venture alone into Mount Massive Asylum. But you won't be prepared for the horrifying truth and the effects the mountain has had on its inmates. Run, hide, and try to find a way out while searching for evidence in this harrowing action adventure that might be one of the most gory and disturbing games to ever come along.

The Fairy Godmother's monopoly on the potion business is on the verge of collapse due to some healthy competition, so she hires a promising young assistant to reestablish her empire. A tired genre gets a sorely needed infusion of creativity in Fairy Godmother Tycoon, a basic tycoon game wrapped in a pretty, pretty package.

How far down can you make it in this fantasy rogue like dungeon crawler from Slashwear Interactive? Also available as a download and for Android with iOS on the way, pick your familiar and your class and fight your way through different realms to be the true hero.

Choose your hero and embark upon a dungeon crawl in Dungelot. In this roguelike you'll face a myriad of monsters as you fight your way deeper into the dungeon. Collect items to increase your stats as you find the key needed to exit each level. How deep can you delve?

The latest installment in the Westward series takes things in a different direction, forgoing the old west setting and the casual village simulation gameplay for a medieval setting and casual kingdom simulation gameplay. It's bigger, it's better, and yet it's still familiar to fans of earlier Westward games. Be prepared for much fun to be had!

Nick Chase: A Detective Story is a gritty, film noir-style casual adventure game flavored with hidden object scenes and loads of delicious inventory puzzles. Based on classic detective stories and graphic novels, you follow the down-and-out Nick Chase as he embarks upon his first job in ages. From his messy office to shady hideouts of even shadier characters, you'll have to use your own detective skills to piece together evidence and solve puzzles. It's one of the most enjoyable detective games I've played in quite a while, and the stellar voice acting and gorgeous hand-drawn art scores major points in my book.

Archibald's Adventures is a puzzle platform game from Rake in Grass, creator of Larva Mortus, KingMania, and others. You play the skateboard-riding Archibald who accidentally becomes trapped in Professor Klumpfus' twisted underground lair. Roll your way through 100+ stages, moving boxes with bubblegum, leaping gaps with a running start, and hitting switches beneath pools of acid to work your way out of the mutant-infested passageways.It's one of those rare games that keeps begging you to come back for more.

Simple can be smart, and this indie puzzle game is simply gorgeous to boot. Play as a little monster who just wants to build bunches of snowmen (and snowwomen!) by solving clever, tightly designed levels with rich atmosphere that will suck you in no matter what the weather is like outside. Also for iOS and Android!

It's been quite a while since I've been genuinely excited about a hidden object game. They usually look fantastic with immense effort put into the artwork, but the hidden object aspect of things suffers from a lack of diversity along with a handful of poor mini-games thrown in because, well, that's the done thing these days, isn't it? So I'm very happy to say that Flux Family Secrets: The Ripple Effect is a quality addition to the hidden object genre. And I like it!

Life for Lily, like any other visual novel heroine, is fairly typical. She feels like she's adrift after college and is only working at her uncle's restaurant for the money. But is there more to the eclectic staff than anyone might suspect? A free game made in just a month by Cyanide Tea, packed with romance, restaurant hi-jinks, and more than a few surprises you may not see coming.

Dana Knightstone is a writer, but she would really prefer to be a best-selling writer. A trip to Scotland seems like just the thing to get the inspiration she needs for her latest historical romance, but the mystery she soon stumbles on to is anything but romantic. The old hotel hides a lot of secrets, and before long Dana finds herself trying to solve an ancient murder case. Uncover the truth in this gorgeous new adventure puzzle game from Boom Zap.

Storylines in the adventure/hidden object hybrid genre of casual games contain a massive range of scenarios. Some are set in the past, some feature magic and curses, some feature an orphan on a quest to find their family, some feature time travel, etc. But what do you think about a game having all of the above? And more? Check out Time Mysteries: The Ancient Spectres by Artifex Mundi to see how that's possible!

Empress of the Deep 2: Song of the Blue Whale is a brand new adventure game from Silverback Productions, creator of the original Empress of the Deep game. The sequel picks up where the first game left off, dropping you in a lushly-rendered world filled with mythological entities, puzzling pieces of machinery, and just a dab or two of fantasy magic.

Aah, gardening. One of the most relaxing and rewarding hobbies one can undertake. There's nothing like planting flowers and watching them grow, especially when you get to sell them for loads of cash and smash gigantic bees and snails with a shovel from time to time! This is the basic premise of Magic Farm, a resource management simulation along the lines of Grimm's Hatchery and Alice Greenfingers. As a magic-wielding gardener, you must plant, water, protect and raise a variety of flowers to sell for cash. You also have three basic skills that can be increased as you play, lending a delicious RPG flavor to the game.

The Serpent of Isis is a new hidden object game by Gamgo with some considerable mystery and adventure game elements added into the mix. Beneath the ever shifting sands of Egypt, untold treasures remain buried. These are the kinds of treasures that drive men mad, possessing the minds of the adventurous and luring explorers into catacombs that twist and writhe beneath ancient pyramids. The Serpent of Isis was just such a treasure, and your grandfather was just such an explorer.

The casual village sim Many Years Ago drops itself in a crowded genre, competing with games like My Tribe, Virtual Villagers, Escape from Paradise, Totem Tribe, and many more. Why, then, should anyone bother with another village sim? In four words: laid-back and relaxed gameplay. In one word: dinosaurs!

The well-received Farm Frenzy series of time management games has now expanded to include... pizza? HA! I'm joking. Wait, no I'm not. Even funnier than my little gag there is the fact that Farm Frenzy Pizza Party is actually a good game. It doesn't innovate much beyond what the first two titles layed out, but the addition of some new buildings and new products adds a decidedly more strategic twist to the experience.

I Wanna Be The Guy was a small indie platform game released way back in 2007, and if you're wondering what took it so long to get a sequel, you obviously never played the original. A quick refresher: you could be killed by falling apples. You could be killed by apples that fall upwards. If you avoided the apples, a cloud could drop out of the background... and kill you. And that would be how you got past one screen. The sequel ups the insanity and makes you wonder if you really do want to be the guy.

My Kingdom for the Princess has returned in an aptly-titled sequel, My Kingdom for the Princess 2! Nevosoft brings back its casual resource management/building game with a new story, new levels, new settings, and some other little twists to give players of the original something to look forward to. If you love games like Build-a-lot but can't stand keeping track of so many things at once, My Kingdom for the Princess will suit you just fine.

Super Hexagon, the latest release from VVVVVV creator Terry Cavanagh, is the kind of game that makes you hate games. It will make you feel like an inept player who couldn't play an arcade game even if you were in Russia (where arcade game plays you, we hear). You might even get mad at Terry, who crafted this fast, stylish game seemingly just to show you how often you can fail. But after you lose ten times in as many seconds, you'll suddenly realize that Super Hexagon has you by the collar, has already taken your lunch money, and if you want it back, you're going to have to keep playing. Strangely enough, that's a challenge you'll be thrilled to undertake!

A young, acolyte named Corbin, who is training to be a Pictomancer, is called in to restore a very historical painting. But, it's not the paint cracking or fading on this piece that's causing its destruction. Pestilence, a strange mysterious monster, is actively destroying the grand image and Corbin must stop it before the prominent picture is lost forever. Fight the minions of the Pestilence and recover the painting before it claims Corbin himself.

Following the highly-successful footsteps of puzzle-RPG hybrids, Spandex Force combines several match 3-style jewel swapping games with a sim-like spoof of superhero life. Patrol the city surrounding your headquarters searching for thieves and citizens in need. When you engage a bank robber or intervene to save a helpless human, a simple puzzle interface appears as your challenge to complete the task. It's a surprisingly fresh take on a rather tired genre that scores major points for wearing a wacky sense of humor on its sleeve.

Addictive arcade action is back, as you match tiles while running through infinite dungeons and sailing across a bizarre sea! Earn and unlock monsters for your crew to provide bonuses, bring new characters aboard to upgrade your equipment, and much more in this great indie game for your computer, or iOS and Android!

FRACT first teased our eyes and ears back at the beginning of 2011. It's been a few years, but the full release is finally upon us in the form of FRACT OST, an abstract first person puzzle game steeped in mystery and musical riddles. It's the kind of game that rewards you for jotting down notes on a piece of paper, as you never know what odd shape/color combination might be used to solve a puzzle later on.

Time to roll up your sleeves, don your chef's hat and prove to the world that you are not a great cook, but faster than a striking cobra in a Formula 1 car. May the assembly begin! Based on a popular flash game, Family Restaurant is the very familiar "assembly line" type of puzzle experience. Create the ordered dish as closely to the desired specification and as fast as possible: grab ingredients from the side and arrange them over the dish as required. It might include some baking or frying. It will involve much shouting and gnashing of teeth.

Dogs, cats, fish, bunnies and birds. It seems like everybody wants one, and it's your job to provide! In Pet Shop Hop you play Cassie, a zoology major working to preserve her family's pet store against the might of the Megapet Superstore. It's a resource management game along the lines of Airport Mania and Magic Farm, but tasks are separated into distinct categories and the atmosphere is a bit more relaxed and, well, cuddlier.

3 Days: Zoo Mystery, a new hidden object game from Realore Studios, drops you in the middle of a mystery at the local zoo. You play as the owner's niece, Anna, whose job it is to find several animals that have mysteriously disappeared. You have three days to solve the crime, otherwise the feds sweep in and shut the place down for good! Serve meals, work with the police, become a salty dog, circumvent hi-tech security systems and so much more in this eclectic mystery.

What would you do if you found out there was more to your world? Like... a LOT more? And then you had to save it? That's what happens to Gomez, a little 2D creature who finds out his world isn't 2D as he always thought, and thanks to a mystical hat unlocks a power that will allow him to see every hidden side of it... something he'll need since he needs to track down fragments of a mystical cube before the world destroys itself! A stunning exploration-based platforming indie adventure that will bring out the wonder in you.

After losing his Wife to illness the Huntsman's daughter has gone off into the forbidden woods filled with tricksters as well as The Hollow Queen. Now the Huntsman must venture in himself and face the unknown to find what took his daughter in this free indie visual novel.

From Divo Games, creator of Sea Journey and the Be Rich! series, come a time management/simulation game that will really sweep you off your sandals. Jack of All Tribes is a bit like Virtual Villagers meets Gemini Lost while they're having a party at Build-a-Lot's house. You take on the role of Jack, unwitting chief of a tribe, and help the various prehistoric peoples get along better while you spruce up their villages. It's a very well-built game that hits that "one more level" mark perfectly, and you won't be able to put it down until the end.

Flit through the world adapting into various forms of animals and learn to use their unique special abilities in Aladar's free colorful, adorable action platformer!

Based on Wilkie Collins' 1859 story The Woman in White, Victorian Mysteries: Woman in White is a stately and serene casual game that gets the mixture of hidden object and adventure genres just right. As you wander through the victorian mansion, collecting keys and investigating the area, you'll encounter interesting people as well as a few unusual mysteries of your own, adding a level of warm depth not seen in every hidden object game out there.

Hey, you! Go Be a King! In fact, let's do one better. Be a King 2! The casual strategy/simulation series from developer 300AD has returned, boasting excellent visuals, lots of house upgrading and farm building, and tons of ruined villages to spruce up, all in the name of making the medieval world a better place to live. Awww!

Unwell Mel is a light-hearted and humorous match-3 puzzle game. In the grid comprised of Mel's organs (some of which are shaped like dogs and birds, which we'll assume is normal), click two adjacent pieces of food to swap them and form a line of three in a row to clear them. Thrown in with the food are medical packs, which can restore your power-ups, and bugs that, in some instances, actually help you clear away disease.

9:05, by Adam Cadre, is another snack-sized text adventure that is just right for a casual audience. Even if you're new to the genre and are looking for something short and simple as a primer, do give this one a try. You've screwed up on the job before, but never like this. You've overslept in a major way, and you're in for a world of trouble if you don't act fast.

It seems like this particular group of birds has been pretty upset with a particular group of pigs for quite some time. Now that they've taken their shenanigans to outer space, you can bet the madness isn't going to calm down anytime soon. Rovio Mobile has dropped its irate little friends into the role of space super heroes defending their egg-shaped homeland in Angry Birds Space. The physics/action game calls upon your mental fortitude to use gravitational forces to destroy all of evil-pig-kind. The angry birds are back and they need your help!

Madeleine has been the valette to Prince Oscar for years, ever since they were both children. She's been his guardian and his guide, but also his confidant, and as he approaches adulthood she hopes to help him find a bride in the princess of a neighbouring kingdom... at least, right up until they become embroiled in a dangerous mess of political intrigue and secrets that threaten their lives and their hearts in this gorgeous, fascinating indie visual novel from Hanako Games.

Ah, the opera. The drama! The romance! The... cadavers? As the lowly stagehand of a popular opera group, you weren't expecting anything out of the ordinary when you're all summoned to a tiny, remote town to perform. At least, until the performers start coming down with an unfortunate case of dead. Is it a simple case of a madman on the loose in the sleepy little town? Or is there something much more sinister lurking behind the scenes?

Currently available in Early Access, Darkest Dungeon is a brutally difficult turn-based strategy RPG that focuses on the physical and mental challenges of heroes faced with impossible odds and unspeakable horrors. With traits that can impact a character's personality for good or ill, permanent death, and a stunning dark visual aesthetic, Darkest Dungeon is an engaging challenge, though it may struggle with balance.

Brash, sassy, and punchy, Ittle Dew and her friend Tippsie want just one thing... adventure, and lots of it! Fortunately the island she's stranded on has that in spades, along with challenging puzzles, humour, and weight-lifting cacti. Ludosity serves up a knee-weakeningly adorable and funny indie action adventure that calls upon classic inspirations like Zelda and The Secret of Mana without ever losing its own style and creativity.

Now here's something you don't see every day: an adventure/hidden object game that tries to tell a story. A real story. And succeeds. Not only does Elixir of Immortality know how to weave an intriguing plot, it knows how to do it with pictures, setting, and presentation instead of loads of words. You won't find blocks of text or terrible voice acting in this game. All that's to be had is a delicious tale of intrigue, a lot of fantastic mini-games, and scenery so packed with so much mystery you'll want to wade in and start messing around with things yourself.

Last Day of Work loves virtual sims. I mean seriously loves them, at least according to their lead designer. And, well, their product line, which includes the massively popular Virtual Villagers series. For those of us who love messing with the lives of little virtual people without all that faffing about on an island, Last Day of Work created Virtual Families, a game which featured the animated people without the exploding volcanoes. Now they've come out with the sequel to that fabulous game, Virtual Families 2: Our Dream House, which deepens the gameplay of the original in new and interesting ways, and all for your handy portable iOS device!

There's something dark hiding inside this free indie adventure. On the surface, it's about a little girl who spends her dreams in a safe, magical place. But sometimes her dreams are cut short... and what kind of life is a life spent hiding anyway?

When a man goes missing deep in Louisiana on his newly acquired sprawling estate, his family turns to you to help find him. You don't have much to go on, and time may be running out... but his daughter may hold a clue. The last person to see him, she also claims she saw a ghost that night... but even in a place as mired in history and shadows as this, ghosts can't really exist... right? Find out in the seventh installment of the fantastically popular hidden-object adventure series, Mystery Case Files!

Farm Frenzy 2, the follow-up to last year's Farm Frenzy, takes the smell out of farming with a challenging and addictive resource management/arcade title. Keep your animals fed so they produce basic goods you can refine into more complex (and profitable) products. Then, load everything on a truck and send it to town, using the resulting cash to upgrade your buildings to be faster and more efficient. But uh, watch out for panda bears that drop from the sky. They don't play very nicely with your livestock.

You awaken alone. You have no memory of who you are, or how you got to this magical castle. There are fairies ready to guide you, and goblins waiting to test you. Using only the mouse, solve puzzles and mini-games in Awakening: The Dreamless Castle, with the goal of collecting six magic runes and discovering who you are and why you've been asleep for a hundred years.

As the only daughter of a large Chinese family in 1920s San Francisco, you never suspected you were a magician, but when you wind up bartending at a very special speakeasy, you learn just that in this fast but fun and beautiful free indie otome visual novel made for NaNoReNo.

On the surface, Paradise Beach resembles a casual building game like Coconut Queen. The gameplay, however, is more similar to the classic of the tycoon sim genre Rollercoaster Tycoon. Join Mr. Gates and his cute — and occasionally annoying — granddaughter as they develop beachfront property. Travel to six different islands and work with the pair to develop a fun beach experience, all the while helping endangered species, uncovering dinosaur skeletons, finding pirate treasure, and all the other fun things that happen to folks who create vacation beaches.

In the hidden object game, G.H.O.S.T. Chronicles: Phantom of the Renaissance Faire, you play a ghost hunter called in to aid a renaissance faire/theme park that has seen better days. It's one of the better hidden object games around that doesn't resort to cheap tricks when hiding items, and the beautiful presentation and haunting adventure aspects make it a true winner.

When you find your village turned to stone and your father abducted for a strange gem in his possession, you have no choice but to set out and save the world. Provided Mittens the disembodied hand doesn't stop you. And you team up with a plucky firefly with a code of honour. And... well, you get the idea. A gorgeously creative and immersive light-hearted indie action-RPG with a built-in mod creation toolset, Driftmoon is an effortlessly fun and funny adventure that anyone can, and probably will, enjoy.

Overhaul Games releases a remastering of a Dungeon and Dragons RPG classic, containing over 400 tweaks and improvement in addition to hours of extra gameplay and new party members. (Re)Discover the tale of a hero (you!) who had no idea they were destined for greatness when a violent murder turns their sleepy life upside-down and they suddenly find themselves the target of sinister forces as they race to uncover the secrets of their own destiny in time to save themselves AND the world.

Matches & Matrimony: A Pride And Prejudice Tale gives you the chance to simulate your own Austen-style romantic adventure. Pursue nine different endings in this clever visual novel. Will you throw caution to the wind for the passionate Colonel Brandon? Succumb to the temptation of the nefarious Mr. Wickleby? Manage to capture the heart of the elusive Mr. Darcy? Or will you end up alone? These and other results will all come from the choices you make.

An after-school project traps five students in a nightmare wrapped up in an urban legend that turns out to be all too real in this free indie horror game. Will they be able to unravel the mystery and lay a spirit to rest? Or will they drown in blood in a bathroom stall? Maybe! A complete rebuild of the classic Japanese horror game released in English.

Recluse is a short, cute, and creative metroidvania-style platform adventure game from chambers that tied for eighth place in the most recent Ludum Dare compo. Centered around the "tiny world" theme, you play a snail who has never left its shell and is now ready to emerge into the world. While much of the gameplay is standard platform fare, there is a unique mechanic that makes Recluse worth experiencing: screen shoving!

Royal Trouble, the latest from Heartwild Solitaire creator Orchid Games, is a casual point-and-click adventure game that focuses on Princess Loreen and Prince Nathaniel as they try to escape the dungeon without driving each other mad in the process. Players in search of an amusing script with memorable characters and looking to solve some logical puzzles shouldn't miss out on this escapade.

Do you like your hidden object games with a little less fluff and a lot more, well, hidden objects? Little Things is the answer. Sitting pretty next to Pure Hidden, Little Things is a hidden object game that doesn't fool around. All you do is find items, from sheep to elephants to ping pong paddles, by running a magnifying glass along a field of tiny pictures. It's a visually impressive game that delivers exactly what the title promises: lots and lots of tiny little things.

If The Incredible Machine met the classic board game Mouse Trap, TubeTwist would be the result. Arrange tubes, accelerators and other contraptions to manipulate the path of the Macroton (a colored marble-like object) from the Injector Tube (the start) to the Reactor Tube (the finish). It's that simple!

In this challenging, engrossing, evocative and creative roguelike puzzle game from SpryFox, you find yourself the ranger of a tiny, isolated town, tasked with finding and rescuing the children who go missing each year picking the berries the town exports. With randomized puzzles, stunning design, and a clever crafting mechanic, Road Not Taken is highly recommended.

They call it the Place of Bones, and that's where you find yourself trapped in this surreal and unsettling indie game. Surrounded on all sides by different factions and people caught up in their own strange wants and desires, you'll have to solve puzzles and use sins to corrupt those around you into changing their views and thoughts.

Girls like robots and robots like girls, as long as they're not surrounded by girls. Then robots get very nervous. Nerds like girls, but girls don't like nerds. And, then, there's pie. Doesn't everyone love pie? Maybe, maybe not. But those are just some of the rules to consider when trying to make everyone happy in this clever block arranging puzzle from Pop Cannibal and Adult Swim Games.

Façade is an interactive drama that puts you in the role of a dinner guest catching up with your old college friends, a married couple named Grace and Trip. Using the mouse and keyboard, you're able to move around their apartment and manipulate objects inside, but Facade is no escape-the-room adventure game, most of the interaction involves, get this, talking to Grace and Trip.

With loads of scenarios to work through, trophies to be won, and the sandbox modes for each state, Virtual City offers hours and hours of fantastic casual gameplay. Fun to play in small chunks or while away the time in immersive gameplay. Not a clone or a knock-off, but a virtual experience all its own, Virtual City is a fantastic wild ride. Just, really, don't forget the garbage. You won't like what happens if you do.

From the creator of Youda Camper comes another overtly-titled casual game: Youda Farmer. In this resource management sim you play the role of a farmer growing and gathering crops and other food products to sell in town for profit. Using the money you earn, buy new facilities and upgrade existing ones, stimulating the town itself to open new shops and expand current ones.

Emily has become a mom, and she adores her little girl, but she'd also like to go back to work. Running a restaurant and taking care of a baby is a serious challenge, especially when your patrons frown at your unruly offspring. Time management is all about multitasking, but can you handle a baby, dirty plates, an oven full of pies and the cash register all at once? Of course you can, and you should! Emily needs you!

Sam and Max are back in another season of episodic adventure games! Expanding upon the established point-and-click formula explored in Sam & Max - Culture Shock and following episodes, the first game in The Devil's Playhouse season, The Penal Zone, lets you see things through the warped perspective of Max. Yes, it's as crazy as you think, if not moreso. But it's still a lot of adventuring goodness with the duo's characteristic sense of humor slapped on every object and situation.

In the world of Shadowrun, magic and the digital age collide in a dangerous age where dealing with backstabbing dragons running drug cartels is every bit as likely as corporate espionage carried out by cybernetically enhanced trolls. Harebrained Schemes puts a fresh spin on the cult classic tabletop game and brings it into the digital era with this engrossing turn-based strategy RPG, including the tools to make and share your own campaigns for free.

Lynnea Glasser (formerly Dally) returns to the interactive fiction scene with Coloratura. Play as a displaced alien who only seeks to get away from the blind, apathetic humans and return to their place of bliss. Without the ability to directly manipulate objects, you can 'color' the humans moods to create situations beneficial to your goal. Whether dealing with them violently or more peacefully, you will get back to your resting place. Whatever it takes.

When college student Miranda stumbles across a castle in Belgium after getting lost late one night, the last thing she expected was to find out vampires are real. Now, she's being held prisoner by two of them while they wait for the rest of the family to return in two weeks... but is there more to Adrian and Luca than meets the eye? A short but gorgeous pay-what-you-want visual novel with six endings and a dark side.

Chop! Chop! Chop! What's that sound? The sound of timber being harvested in Realore Studios' Adelantado Trilogy: Book One! The creators of games like All My Gods and Roads of Rome have done something special with this casual simulation/resource management game, adding some role playing elements and throwing in a good helping of originality. The Queen of Spain has appointed you, Don Diego De Leon, as adelantado of the new world, and it's up to you to find out what happened to previous expeditions that were sent out and never seen again. While you're there, find treasure to send back to fill the the country's coffers and best your rival Pablo Rodrigez to the gold and riches that surely rest in this unexplored land!

The Kingdom of Fredicus is a place that loves its heroes. Unfortunately, Reemus, exterminator extraordinaire and overshadowed brother to the local dragon slayer, is having trouble convincing that populace that he deserves a little undying adulation. Sure, later in life he'll have Several Journeys to prove his bravery against invading death slugs. Right now, though, it's early in his adventure gaming career, and even after his first minimal-property-damaging bug slaying, he's have trouble getting people listen to the glorifying ballads written by his faithful bear companion, Liam. So a-questing he goes, in search of glory, gratitude, and, most importantly, a soft bed. It's The Ballads of Reemus: When the Bed Bites, the first premium downloadable adventure game in the popular series, produced by the newly minted Click Shake Games! And while the anticipation may have driven us all a little buggy, it was totally worth it.

A casual game that both challenges and chides you is finally here, and it's time to cater to your toughest customer yet: Chef Gordon Ramsay. Hell's Kitchen is a resource management management sim based on the gritty reality-television cooking competition show of the same name. Take control of both serving and cooking as you seat customers and prepare meals to meet chef Ramsay's high expectations. Perform well and raise your rank from dishwasher to Senior Chef, but if you fail you suffer Ramsay's fiery, scornful wrath.

Lisa will do anything to get a good recommendation from the Dean for medical school... including babysitting his twin daughters. Maggie and Libby are more than a handful, but Lisa is convinced she can handle them... at least until the phone calls start... and she starts to realise that Libby's "imaginary" friend might not be so imaginary after all. A spooky point-and-click adventure game that's just the thing for the Halloween season.

Dear Esther is an interactive story told through a first person adventure setting. There's very little gameplay to speak of, just a deep mystery about the deserted island you're walking on, along with unanswered questions surrounding a horrific crash and a book written by a long-lost explorer. What happened in this dreary place? And, better yet, can you find a way out?

Lou is waiting to meet the girl of his dreams for a second date in the park. When he gets there she is nowhere to be seen but Lou is a man who appreciates nature and good exploration. Even with the peaceful birds chirping away without a care in the world, there is something in the air that just doesn't fit right in this free indie point-and-click adventure.

Seven children are trapped in what remains of their town, along with the child who caused all that destruction in the first place. Can they save themselves? Why is Yuuichi doing this, and is he beyond redemption? Also, you can die by jumping on a bed, there are killer princesses everywhere, and the kids constantly have bizarre conversations about very adult topics. Re: Kinder is a very strange game, but one with a surprising amount of emotional depth.

After Shiori's parents die in a car accident, she drifts listlessly until she discovers a photograph of a relative she doesn't remember, in a town her parents did their best to make her forget about. Despite a rocky translation and some annoying gameplay sequences, this creepy free indie horror adventure emphasizes story, mystery, and character for a solid and engaging play.

One of Square-Enix's most classic and beloved JRPGs comes home with a modern facelift, now available on Steam, Android, and iOS. Zidane and his theater troupe planned to kidnap the beautiful Princess Garnet, but he never expected her to WANT to be kidnapped, or for the fate of the world to be at stake...

Lucid is a simple, colorful, matching-based puzzle game from YeaBoing. It ditches complexity in all its forms in favor of a pure puzzle experience, slowly ratcheting up the difficulty to keep your brain thinking as fast as you can match dreamy-colored tiles.

In Lost Pig, you are Grunk, a rather dim creature who works on a farm and who, evidently, loses a pig. Using your best typing skills, find your way through the forest and beyond and retrieve that darn swine. It won't be easy, since pigs in Grunk's world are not cooperative. Utilize your intuition (and maybe a little luck) and you'll find your way out of Grunk's mess in this hilarious interactive fiction.

Zombies. Those creepy undead creatures. Ever since George Romero showed us just how nasty the undead can be, zombies have become a staple of good (and bad) horror. And they come in all shapes and sizes. The only thing as varied as the zombies are the ways in which resourceful protagonists come up with to send them back to the grave. But one of the most interesting weapons of choice has to be the bowling ball, as we see in Zombie Bowl-O-Rama.

If you've seen one match three game, you've seen 'em all, right? Azkend aims to change that, but not in the way you might think. Instead of shaking up the gameplay or introducing awkward new features, developer MythPeople spent time polishing the game to a brilliant shine. The end result is typical puzzle gameplay with an absolutely gorgeous visual design and sound package. It goes to prove that a rich presentation can turn an otherwise ordinary game into a real gem.

Baroque Decay serves up a twisted fable in the form of an indie action adventure about a young boy who decides to leave home in search of glory and fortune. Instead he finds a dark castle with the promise of riches if he can figure out a riddle before sunrise, but with five different endings, not to mention some gorgeous pixel cutscenes, not everything is as it seems.

It's the end of the world... unless you can find a cure, that is. You and a handful of other scientists and survivors are holed up in an underground bunker trying to find a way to develop a cure for the disease turning humanity into mindless monsters. But in this meaty free indie horror game, as the days pass, you'll need to work to keep your facility running smooth, and make hard choices.

Everyone is always bothered by the unexplained bump in the night. But what if the noise is more simple, like someone rustling in the supposedly empty bunk below you. Each night you are haunted by nightmares, but they are nothing compared to what happens when you are awake.

A most unusual plague sweeps an isolated town on the outskirts of Paris. Anyone else would be keen to stay away, but they don't have your experience and skills. You've been called in to investigate, and track down one woman's little girl... a little girl who may be wrapped up in something very dangerous. Scour the town for clues and try to pull the evil out by its roots in this dark hidden-object adventure.

Alt Shift gives us an all new Shift-style game with smoother graphics, deeper puzzles, and a healthy dose of mini-games. The story is one that we've heard before. It's your basic "dimensional traveler meets opposite gendered partner, evil mad scientist kidnaps partner for unclear reasons, dimensional traveler must defeat mad scientist through clever puzzle platforming," story. Like Shakespeare wrote.

Fairway Solitaire is a new casual card game that (miraculous as it may seem) blends solitaire with golf. Don't let that trick you into thinking it's a dull game filled with white gloves and whispering announcers. Fairway Solitaire is as funny, bright and entertaining as any casual game out there. And with its slightly new take on some familiar themes, it's worth heading out on the green and sinking a few holes.

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a princess named Sophia who was having a horrible, very bad, not good day. Poor Princess Sophia woke up in an abandoned castle to discover that (a) she'd overslept by about 100 years, (b) all the humans including her family had booked for places unknown, and (c) there was no local wi-fi. Being the intrepid Princess that she is, Sophia immediately set out to find the rest of humanity along with a decent half-caf mocha latte. Yes, our favorite non-magical princess is back in Awakening: The Skyward Castle, the fourth and final installment of Boomzap's popular adventure hybrid Awakening series.

What city dweller hasn't momentarily yearned for a little plot of land somewhere and a lovely green garden? A place to call your own, a place to breathe in nature, a place to make the neighbors, well, green with envy. This is the premise of Gardenscapes by Playrix Entertainment, a hidden object game with elements of time management and sim games thrown in to make a fun, exciting, and yet curiously relaxing experience.