It’s Christmas and that means trying to find the perfect gift for the loved ones in your life.
It can be tricky to know what to get video-game fans, especially if you’re not particularly into the medium yourself, so this list has been put together to help you out. I’ve included a bit about what the game is, while highlighting what sort of person might like it. I hope you find it helpful!
Note that all the games in the list below had a release in 2017 and were either published or developed in Bristol, Bath, or another part of the South West region, either fully or in part. So if you’re looking for the perfect gift for the gamer in your life, all the while supporting the South West games development scene, the following will be perfect…
Adventures of Bertram Fiddle: Episode 2: A Bleaker Predicklement
Studio: Rumpus
A Great Gift For… fans of comedy, especially that pleasantly bleak British comedy that relies on word play and turns of phrase to get its laughs. This well-paced point-and-click adventure is part two of a two part series, but you can dive right in at this point without missing too much if you’ve not played the first, and the jokes will land just as hard.
Man O’ War: Corsair
Studio: Evil Twin Artworks
A Great Gift For… wannabe scurvy scallywags and those that adore Warhammer. This Games Workshop title pits you as the captain of a ship on the dangerous waves of the Old World, fighting chaos, battling sea monsters, firing cannons, buckling swash, and hopefully picking up some treasure along the way.
Production Line
Studio: Positech Games
Format: Windows
A Great Gift For… car nuts and anyone obsessed with efficiency and process. As the title suggests, in Production Line you’re managing a car factory and attempting to make high quality vehicles by running the shop floor in as straightforward, fast, and profitable a manner as possible. Smart, streamlined, and so very good.
Terroir
Studio: General Interactive Co.
A Great Gift For… wine buffs and foodies. Terroir sees you managing every aspect of a vineyard, from growing the grapes to selling the plonk, taking into account environmental factors and trying to accomplish specific goals. It’s all bottled up in a clean yet charming low poly art style.
Cat Quest
Studio: The Gentlebros
Format: Windows, Mac, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
A Great Gift For… fans of cats (so… everyone). This cute-as-heck action RPG stars a cat running about overworlds and dungeons fighting monsters, grabbing loot, decking themselves out with sweet new gear, and doing it all over again. Plus there are puns and jokes about cats mixed in for good measure and that’s never a bad thing.
Ogre
Studio: Auroch Digital
A Great Gift For… old-skool tabletop fans. This is a faithful adaptation of the beloved Steve Jackson Games classic from 1977 and though I’m probably biased on account of having worked on it, I think any wargamer will appreciate its deep strategic play combined with a lengthy campaign and customisable maps.
- You may like: Classic strategy game OGRE to be released on STEAM today
Heat Signature
Studio: Suspicious Developments
Format: Windows
A Great Gift For… storytellers and sci-fi nerds. As a daring space adventurer / galactic arsehole, you pick a generated mission to go on, board a ship, then figure out how to complete your objectives without dying. Don’t expect a big overarching story, instead come to the game ready to tell your own tale and think for yourself, and you’ll have a blast.
The Signal From Tölva
Studio: Big Robot
A Great Gift For… the person you always buy a first-person shooter for. While most FPSs you’ll play this year obsess over online competitive multiplayer or bombastic linear campaigns, this is instead a more thoughtful shooter about exploration and making your own way through a unique alien world.
Behold the Kickmen
Studio: Size Five Games
A Great Gift For… the sports enthusiast with a sense of humour. Behold the Kickmen is what you’d get if someone who knew loads about making exciting comedic video games, but next-to-nothing about football, made a video game about the sport. It’s a great little kickabout while not worried about things like “the offside rule” or “that football pitches are rectangular”.
Go For Launch: Mercury
Studio: Joe Chisholm
Format: Windows (Vive optional)
A Great Gift For… space and science geeks. While the vast majority of us won’t be headed into space in the near future, it’s nonetheless a dream for many and with this budding astronauts can get a glimpse into what it might have been like to have been a part of early space travel – accurately replicated cockpits and all.
Bending the Light
Studio: Deeperbeige Games
Format: Windows (Oculus required)
A Great Gift For… that person who bangs on about their VR kit. While non-game VR experiences are all well and good, sometimes you want to play a proper game with rules and scores and everything. Bending the Light is a perfect choice: an engaging yet relaxed puzzler that makes great use of virtual space.
Planetoid Planeteers
Studio: Data Realms
Format: Windows
A Great Gift For… explorers and co-op gamers. Either alone or with a friend, Planetoid Planeteers is a physics-based platformer that slaps you on a planet with some bare essentials, then asks you to navigate its dangers and shoot through alien baddies by crafting the tools that will ensure your survival.
