Hollowreach

Hollowreach is quiet, atmospheric and completely absorbing. You explore an abandoned subterranean city, and the game trusts you to figure things out — there's no quest marker holding your hand. Instead you fill in a map, notice patterns and slowly piece together what happened down there.

The controls are a simple virtual stick and context taps, and they fade into the background quickly. What stayed with me was the sound: dripping water, distant echoes, the way silence builds tension before a discovery. I played most of it with headphones and it was worth it.

Puzzles are environmental and fair. Nothing felt like a brick wall, but a couple made me genuinely stop and think. Easily my favourite adventure on mobile this year.

What we liked

• No hand-holding, real exploration
• Outstanding sound design
• Fair, satisfying puzzles