Hollowmere Expedition

Hollowmere Expedition leans hard into mood. You explore a quiet, misty valley, solving environmental puzzles and slowly uncovering what happened to the people who used to live there. The soundtrack does a lot of heavy lifting, and playing with headphones is basically mandatory.

The puzzles are logical rather than obtuse — I rarely felt like I was clicking everything hoping something would happen. Most solutions are hidden in things you overhear or notes you find, so it pays to read everything.

It's short, maybe five or six hours, but it lands its ending. I'd rather have that than a padded twenty-hour slog, honestly.

What we liked

• Gorgeous, moody atmosphere
• Logical puzzle design
• A tight, memorable story