Read Only Memories

This is a great game to play slowly and savor, as it's a throwback to older adventure games such as Deja Vu or Uninvited. As in those games, you progress from one screen to another as an observer/player: You can click on different objects and people, gather items, and figure out what needs to be done to further your own agenda while also helping others along the way. Plus, as in any similar game, you have a wide variety of locations you can go to at any given time. It doesn't hold your hand, but Read Only Memories is very good at letting you know where you should be heading next and why, though it doesn't tell you how to accomplish what you need. This cuts out a lot of the frustrating guesswork from other games this one pays homage to.

Read Only Memories also is progressive for including a lot of characters of varying racial, sexual, and even robotic backgrounds. As this is a text-heavy game, what makes this so worth spending time on is getting to know the characters and then, just as importantly, deciding for yourself whom you believe, why, and how you choose to react. After an hour with this game, the world feels fully realized, the characters and colors are bright (a rarity among many video games), and the writing is funny and smart. All this means it's a strong game -- strong enough to stand on its own merits. The diversity and inclusion are a great bit of frosting and rarely the focus.