Ultra Bust-a-Move is a puzzle video game developed by Taito and published by Majesco Sales for Xbox in 2004. The game was later ported to PlayStation Portable as Ultra Puzzle Bobble Pocket in Japan, Bust-a-Move Ghost in the PAL region, and Bust-a-Move Deluxe in North America in 2006.
Fez is a 2012 indie puzzle-platform game developed by Polytron Corporation and published by Trapdoor. The player-character Gomez receives a fez that reveals his two-dimensional (2D) world to be one of four sides of a three-dimensional (3D) world. The player rotates between these four 2D views to realign platforms and solve puzzles. The objective is to collect cubes and cube fragments to restore order to the universe.
Joe Danger 2: The Movie is a racing and platform video game developed by Hello Games for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and PlayStation Vita. According to Hello Games's managing director, it is "kind of" a sequel to the successful Joe Danger. The game was announced in August 2011 and released for Xbox 360 on 14 September 2012, and 9 October 2012 for PlayStation 3. A Microsoft Windows version was released 24 June 2013, followed by Mac OS X and Linux on 7 January 2014, and PlayStation Vita in January 2015. The game centers around the titular character, stuntman Joe Danger, as he performs stunts for an action film. It features multiple vehicle types, and has local multiplayer for up to four players.
The year 2014 saw a number of events in the video game industry. No new major consoles were released, but updates and upgrades were: the New Nintendo 3DS was released in Japan and Oceania, and Sony released new model 2000 PS Vita systems in Europe & North America. In video game-related corporate acquisitions, Amazon purchased the online video game streaming service Twitch, and Facebook acquired the virtual reality company and product Oculus. Nintendo released Amiibo in 2014, companion figurines that could be scanned by the 3DS and Wii U systems. On Twitter and other Internet social media, the Gamergate controversy began.
Plants vs. Zombies 2 is a 2013 free tower defense video game developed by PopCap Games and published by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to Plants vs. Zombies, and was released worldwide on Apple App Store on August 15, 2013, and Google Play on October 23, 2013. The player defends the lawn from zombies by placing a variety of plants. The player must battle the zombies in different time periods, including Ancient Egypt, the Golden Age of Piracy, the Wild West, the Last Ice Age, Mesoamerica, the future, the Early Middle Ages, the 1980s, the Jurassic Period, the 1960s and the present.
Monument Valley is a puzzle and indie game by Ustwo Games. The player leads the princess Ida through mazes of optical illusions and impossible objects while manipulating the world around her to reach various platforms. Monument Valley was developed over ten months beginning in early 2013 based on concept drawings by company artist Ken Wong. Its visual style was inspired by Japanese prints, minimalist sculpture, and indie games Windosill, Fez, and Sword & Sworcery, and was compared by critics to M. C. Escher drawings and Echochrome. The art was designed such that each frame would be worthy of public display.
Ustwo Fampany Limited is a London-based software development studio focused on digital design, such as clean and elegant user interfaces. Founded in 2004, the company had initially served clients in supporting their mobile apps, and developed mobile games, but gained significant attention upon release of Monument Valley in 2014, which won numerous awards and had over two million units sold. Alongside their Ustwo Games division, the company continues to produce other software for a range of computing devices through Ustwo Studios, as well as investing in new firms through Ustwo Adventure, and helping to mentor young talent within Ustwo Foundation.
Gorogoa is a puzzle video game developed by Jason Roberts and published by Annapurna Interactive. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, and iOS on 14 December 2017, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 22 May 2018, and shortly thereafter an Android and Kindle Fire release.
Threes is a puzzle video game by Sirvo, an independent development team consisting of game designer Asher Vollmer, illustrator Greg Wohlwend, and composer Jimmy Hinson. The game was released on February 6, 2014, for iOS devices and later ported to Android, Xbox One, Windows Phone, and Windows. In Threes, the player slides numbered tiles on a grid to combine addends and multiples of three. The game ends when there are no moves left on the grid and the tiles are counted for a final score.
Asher Vollmer is an American indie video game developer. He created Puzzlejuice and Threes. Vollmer also worked on Guildlings and Beast Breaker.
Blek is a 2013 puzzle video game for iOS and Android by kunabi brother, a team of brothers Denis and Davor Mikan. The player draws a snakelike black line that recurs in pattern and velocity across the screen to remove colored dots and avoid black dots. It is minimalist in design, features excerpts of Erin Gee, and takes inspiration from Golan Levin, the Bauhaus, and Japanese calligraphy. The brothers designed the game as a touchscreen adaptation of the Snake concept and worked on the game for over six months. It was released in December 2013 for iPad, and was later released for other iOS devices and Android.
Life Is Strange is an episodic adventure game developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix. The first installment of the Life Is Strange series, the game was released in five episodes periodically throughout 2015 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. It was ported to OS X and Linux in 2016, and iOS and Android in 2017 and 2018.
Stardew Valley is a 2016 farm life simulation role-playing video game developed by Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone. Players take the role of a character who inherits their deceased grandfather's dilapidated farm in a place known as "Stardew Valley". The game was originally released for Windows in February 2016 before being ported to other platforms. Stardew Valley is an open-ended game, allowing players to grow crops, raise livestock, fish, cook, mine, forage, and socialize with the townspeople, including the ability to marry and have children. It allows up to eight players to play online together.
Little Nightmares is a puzzle-platform horror adventure game developed by Tarsier Studios and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One, released in April 2017. A Nintendo Switch version was released in May 2018, followed by a Google Stadia version in June 2020 and mobile versions were released on 12 December 2023 and published by Playdigious. Set in a mysterious world, Little Nightmares follows the journey of Six, a hungry little girl who must escape the Maw, an iron vessel inhabited by monstrous, twisted beings.
Far: Lone Sails is an exploration adventure videogame developed by the Swiss development company Okomotive. The game was released for Windows and macOS in May 2018, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in April 2019, for Nintendo Switch in August 2019, and for Android and iOS in October 2020. A sequel, Far: Changing Tides, was released in March 2022.
Monument Valley 2 is an indie puzzle game developed and published by Ustwo Games. It is the sequel to the 2014 game Monument Valley. It was released for iOS in June 2017, and released for Android in November 2017. A new chapter called The Lost Forest was freely added in October 2021. Monument Valley 2+, an Apple Arcade exclusive, was released on March 11, 2022. The PC version of the game, Monument Valley 2: Panoramic Edition, released on Steam in July 2022. A sequel, Monument Valley 3, was released in December 2024.
BoxBoy! is a series of puzzle-platform games developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo. The series centres around Qbby, a square-shaped character who can produce a string of connected boxes. The boxes are used to overcome obstacles in stages that Qbby must be guided through. The first game, BoxBoy!, released on January 14, 2015, in Japan on the Nintendo 3DS. Its sequel, BoxBoxBoy!, was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2016, with a third game, Bye-Bye BoxBoy!, in 2017. A physical compilation of the first three games, HakoBoy! Hakozume Box, was released in Japan. A fourth installment, BoxBoy! + BoxGirl!, was released for the Nintendo Switch in April 2019.
Bayonetta is an urban fantasy action-adventure video game franchise created by Hideki Kamiya. It is developed by PlatinumGames, owned by Sega, and, since the release of Bayonetta 2 in 2014, published by Nintendo. The franchise was introduced in 2009 with Bayonetta, which was followed by two sequels, Bayonetta 2 (2014) and Bayonetta 3 (2022), as well as a spinoff, Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (2023). The games follow the titular character, a witch who wields dual pistols, shooters in her high heels, and long, magically transforming hair which becomes a supernatural weapon.
Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon is a roguelike puzzle game co-developed by Vine and Yacht Club Games, and published by Yacht Club Games. A spin-off of the platform game Shovel Knight, the player takes control of the namesake adventurer as he becomes trapped within a magical artifact, the Pocket Dungeon, and is forced to fight his way out while battling other knights who befell the same fate.
