MOST INNOVATIVE GAME/TECH

JAMES O’CONNOR PUBG

Might not be doing anything too new, but it does what it does well enough that the next few years of PC gaming are going to be changed by it.

KOSTA ANDREADIS CUPHEAD

Hand-drawn frames of lively and vibrant characters, high-res multi-layered play spaces, refresh rates that don’t gel with traditional cel animation. Cuphead is a technical feat.

JAMES COTTEE HELLION

A game of scavenging, salvaging, mining, orbital mechanics, space station customisation, and occasional base defence combat in a far distant star system hostile to human life. Hellion may still be in very, very early access, but with its combination of spaceship piloting, first-person action, and emergent problem solving, it is notable for actually delivering something approaching what Star Citizen has promised, but has thus far not delivered. (If you believe I am wrong, and that I simply don’t understand game development, please explain your reasoning at length and send your letters to me, care of this magazine.)

DANIEL WILKS GOROGOA

Gorogoa is a deceptively simple, amazingly beautiful puzzle game that came out midDecember. It plays with perception and space in such beautiful ways that it’s hard not to be captivated and impressed. Solve puzzles by moving images in a grid of four squares, shrinking, zooming, and overlaying images to cause interactions. It’s art as game as art.