Hollowreach

Hollowreach is quiet, strange, and hard to put down. You explore a flooded, half-collapsed city, uncovering the map yourself as you solve small environmental puzzles. There's almost no text — the game trusts you to piece the story together from what you find.

The pacing is deliberate. Some rooms are just atmosphere, a shaft of light and dripping water, and those moments land because the game earns them. Puzzles rarely repeat, so you're always learning a new little rule rather than grinding the same trick.

It's short by design, maybe six or seven hours, and it's better for it. This is one I'd hand to someone who says mobile games are all shallow — it politely proves them wrong.

What we liked

• Atmosphere that does the storytelling
• Fresh puzzles that rarely repeat
• Short and complete, no padding