Bow ties. Fancy champagne. Bow ties. What makes the BAFTAs neat, is that the even actually recognises the importance of video games and regularly elevates them to the same level of attention that film and television happens to enjoy, with their own dedicated awards show. This year, the nominations for the best in gaming makes for one heck of a stacked field, albeit one that isn’t exactly surprising.

There are those games who use their visuals to tell more innovative narratives, games who twist and deconstruct familiar shapes and instead create a world that looks far more unique. Whether it was fan service, updated nostalgia or emotional splashes of paint, these were the games of 2018 that succeeded in creating distinctive works of art.

Indie games are a vital part of the video game eco system, and 2018 saw more than one such game rise to the top of the food chain. Here’s a look at the best of the best, from the indie darlings that we just cannot get enough of.

We saw the glory of a war god reborn, we felt the joy of navigating through New York City while spinning webs and we faced stories of a personal nature on a scale that may have been more indie in design but was truly epic in scope. How do you even begin to sum up 2018? How do you condense a year’s worth of gaming into any single rewards category? Well the Game Awards 2018 certainly did just that, with results that probably weren’t surprising.

The Critical Hit gang could wax lyrical about their favourite games of 2018 for years to come, and we certainly will do so with our annual awards that are clearly more important that Geoff Keighley’s upcoming big budget show. Y’know, if you don’t mind an awards show that has the budget of used chewing gum, guest cancellations a’plenty and is being held in the stately location of my kitchen. Top that, Keighley. Today isn’t about our opinions however. We want to hear what you consider to be the best of the best.

The follow-up to Lucas Pope's Papers, Please is a maritime insurance investigation on a lost ship, and it's out as early as next week.

Papers, Please creator Lucas Pope has finally put a release window on his new project, with Return of the Obra Dinn promising a captivating mytery adventure aboard an abandoned ship.

Lucas Pope, the creator of the hit indie title Papers, Please, has been working on a new game. It’s called Return of the Obra Dinn, and it now has a new playable demo.