Developer Tiny Roar’s cozy exploration title, Lou’s Lagoon, follows the protagonist’s search for her missing uncle. Explore the skies of a varied archipelago with a customizable seaplane, full of races and storms to navigate, before landing on an island cluster to explore on foot. Armed with a vacuum-like device called The Swirler, the player can harvest resources from local flora and fauna (i.e., wool from a llama) to complete quests, build structures, craft housing decorations, or rebuild dilapidated structures to explore previously out-of-reach areas. Despite the jumping physics leaving a bit to be desired, the paraglider is a satisfying tool for touring cozy, stylized island environments. – Alex Van Aken

If you’re a turn-based tactics fan, particularly of Into the Breach, you should put Demonschool on your radar. The game stars a group of teens battling demons, which unfolds in grid-based tactics encounters. For each turn, you plot your entire party’s moves based on telegraphed enemy attacks, which let you know who’s hitting whom and from where. You have limited Action Points (AP) to spend on movement, basic attacks, and special abilities, but you can rewind turns freely if you change your mind.

The goal is to optimize each turn so you deal with as much punishment as possible while avoiding incoming attacks. Disrupting enemy formations, including pushing targets into the firing range of their comrades’ attacks, or swapping tiles with them. Sandwiching targets between foes unleashes tag-team synergy attacks, and each party member sports a powerful special attack. (unlocked after building a meter).  Demonschool feels as much like a puzzle game as it does a strategy, and each turn is an engrossing exercise of plotting the best turns. Watching a turn play out in real-time is a satisfying example of the phrase “I love it when a plan comes together.” – Marcus Stewart