10.Abzu

Abzu gameplay

Abzu is a game without much of a clear objective. Play as a diver and swim in an underwater world. What Abzu lacks in objectives it makes up for in beautiful art design and tranquil gameplay. Explore each section of the game with scores of fishes and even some robotic submarine friends to keep you company as you discover and meditate your way through this gorgeous game.

Light filters through water with a school of fish gliding along

9.Journey

Journey gameplay 

The culmination of Thatgamecompany, Journey is a game with a simple objective, get to the top of the mountain. What ensues is an emotional journey, pardon the pun, through a desert landscape where you, possibly with a buddy, can discover the mystery that surrounds the mystery light at the apex of the mountain.

 The sunsets behind the summit of a mountain

8.Firewatch

Firewatch gameplay

You just got a new job as a park ranger in a forest. Talk to Delilah, your supervisor, and learn the ropes of the job while also learning more about Delilah and your character's life. 

Henry calls into Delilah while exploring the wilderness

7. The Stanley Parable

The Stanley Parable gameplay

The Stanley Parable is unique to this list in that its goal is to make you laugh while progressing through an interesting story. Play as Stanley, or maybe not Stanley? Embrace the paradox that is The Stanley Parable and let the story push and prod you along.

Eerie red light casts a glow into a stairwell

6. Life is Strange

Life is Strange gameplay 

In Life is Strange you play as Max, a girl who just moved back to her hometown for an artistic boarding school. Go with her as she navigates her life through photography. Enjoy the story of Max reestablishing old connections while also tracking down the mysterious person threatening her and her friends. 

Chloe holds Max at gunpoint

5.A Short Hike

A Short Hike gameplay 

Take a hike. That’s the goal of the game A Short Hike, where you’ll climb a mountain, meeting other hikers along the way. Enjoy the music, the visuals, and the relaxing gameplay as you make your way to the summit.

Hawk stands on a wind whipped deck

4.Everybody's gone to the rapture

Everybody's gone to the rapture gameplay

Everybody has disappeared in this quiet town in the English countryside. Take your time exploring their stories and figuring out what was happening in their lives when they disappeared and where they all went. 

A starscape above an uplit rotund building

3.Gone home

Gone Home gameplay

Play as a young woman coming home from college. Explore her home reading journals and finding pieces of a puzzle to learn about her, her family and figure out what happened to them.

A slightly disheveled bedroom to investigate

2.Death Stranding 

Death Stranding gameplay

The latest game from the mind of Kojima Death Stranding is divisive, to say the least. Play as Porter Bridges in his journey across America. His goal, to unite a country fractured, threatened by mysterious forces.

A war trench filled with razor wire baby dolls and a man

1.What remains of Edith Finch

What Remains of Edith Finch gameplay 

A series of vignettes in a magical realism world. Edith Finch returns to her childhood home after the death of her mother. Follow her as she goes through each room and relives the end of the life of those in her family tree.

A crown being presented with an eerie throne