Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy manages to achieve something quite difficult - successfully reimagine an already beloved group of characters and arguably elevate them to new heights. Lidos Montreal took the humor synonymous with the ragtag team and injected a surprisingly healthy amount of heart into a story that delicately manages to balance a universe-ending event with the personal demons haunting each member. It’s a confidently told linear tale that feels like a playable six-issue comic book run and turns out just as fun and colorful as that sounds. Oh, and there's a talking dog. That always makes a story better. - Simon Card
The original Psychopaths had a respectable story way back in 2005, but it largely served as an introductory chapter to a larger world and grander scheme, the full scope of which we never got to truly see. Until its sequel. Psychopaths 2 does a wonderful job at expanding its world by filling us in on its history – the creation of the Psychopaths, the secrets of its founding members, and the world both inside and outside the Psychopaths HQ – while also keeping the plot rooted in the mystery established at the very end of the first game: Who kidnapped Truman keynote? It’s a carefully crafted tale with surprising twists, big payoffs, and a very satisfying conclusion. - Mitchell Saltzman
Like any great mystery, the best parts of Inscription are its secrets - the things it doesn’t tell you outrightly on the screen, but what it whispers between lines of code. Taking what can often become tired tropes if not executed properly, Inscription weaves rogue like elements, mutated dual threads, and even found-footage horror recordings into a twisting maze of intrigue. Around each of its corners lies a new nugget of information key to solving the mystery at hand. Never stepping over the line into becoming a full-on horror game, Inscription seamlessly integrates its gameplay into the plot, making sure that whatever dread may be bubbling up inside you never stops you from uncovering those ever-enticing secrets. - Simon Card
While many of our favorite games have a penchant for huge, world-scale plots, there’s a lot to be said for small, intimate plots like that of The Forgotten City. It’s a time-loop game with a small cast of characters, a limited but secret-filled city space, and an intriguing moral mystery at its heart that prompts surprisingly deep discussions and questions reminiscent of an ancient philosophy course. The Forgotten City’s tight puzzle box of a world and infinite loops give the player space and time to get to know everyone’s personality, motives, secrets, wants, and worries, all while steadily uncovering the answers to a ‘whodunit’ where even the crime itself starts off as a mystery, and your actions determine if and how the perpetrator is ultimately stopped. All this from what originated as a Skyrim mod! - Rebekah Valentine
As a series, story is by far Life is Strange's greatest strength. Life is Strange: True Colors offers up a compelling mystery that maintains a compelling pace across all five episodes. Its characters are beautifully sketched, and big and small choices matter, the combination of which keeps you emotionally invested until the end. - Taylor Lyle
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