As you might have noticed, this week marks 20 years since Eurogamer first sprung forth from boss-man Rupert Loman’s loins (or something like that, I wasn’t paying attention), and to mark it we’re running a short series of celebratory features. We would present our own picks for the best games of the last two decades, but honestly where’s the fun in that? So here’s a collection of the Eurogamer team’s personally-cherished gems that might have gone unsung, or might have escaped your attention.
An altogether darker vision of Lewis Carroll’s adventures, Alice: Madness Returns is delightfully macabre in all the right ways, blending Carroll’s Wonderland with American McGee’s fine eye for horror and metaphor.
Whilst the platforming and combat can, admittedly, feel a touch unpolished at times, it’s the striking design and unsettling story that’ll keep you pressing onwards, even when you begin to doubt there’s a fairytale ending awaiting poor Alice.
Stuffed with colour, collectables, and a host of deeply disturbing creatures, this reimagining of Wonderland – a psychological horror in its very purest form – is a grim, grotesque place that shines even in its darkest moments. Its sequel cannot come soon enough.
In a just world, we’d be talking about this as one of Nintendo’s crowning achievements. As it is, Arms is already forgotten just over two short years on from its release, even by Nintendo itself; with cover star Spring Man relegated to an assist trophy in the latest Smash Bros., we never even got any amiibo…