A young girl explores an eerie house. A man wanders through a fantastical forest. A ruthless knight fights anything that stands in his way. Inmost tells the tale of these three souls; you play as each one to reveal their part in the puzzle-platformer’s emotional odyssey. Tender, terrifying, and tragic, the game grabs onto you and doesn’t let go.

What we love: Decoding the symbolic story. Initially it’s hard to connect the experiences of the three characters. But as you slowly unravel what it all means, the heart-rending (yet ultimately hopeful) tragedy that binds the trio together becomes clear.

Quick tip: As the man, probe dead ends for hidden passages leading to stashes of pain shards. These glowing orbs can be traded with the mysterious stranger outside the castle wall for snippets of his dark story.

Meet the creator: Alexey Testov and Andriy Vinchkovskiy cofounded Lithuanian indie studio Hidden Layer Games. They spent years working as contractors creating match-3 titles, but when business began to dry up, they decided to make their dream game—and Inmost was born.