Halloween 2018 Special: Some lovely games!

Video games, you may have noticed, are often a little bit horrid. All sorts of naughtiness, and a distinct lack of people just being kind to one another. What are we like?! But fortunately there are games that make an exception to the potty-mouthed meanies that dominate, and today I celebrate them and their cuteness with a collection of lovely screenshots.

This is just a smattering of recent games that sprang to mind, so please leave your suggestions for many more lovely games in the comments below. I'll link to reviews or tag pages where we've got them, but just enjoy looking at some happy smiley pictures. Click on any of the images to see them far too big.

Day Of The Tentacle

There are few games that bring me as much joy as DOTT. It delighted me as a 15 year old in 1993, and it continues to delight me today. Plus the remastered version somehow makes the game look like it does in my memory.

Minit

One of the best games of 2018, it's also outrageously lovely. And if you're put off by games with timers, so am I, and I can assure you this one's worth a go.

Chuchel

Sure, there may be a little bit of animosity between our friend Chuchel and that cherry-stealing beastie, but this is unequivocally one of the most joyful games ever made.

Hidden Folks

Animated, super-detailed game of Where's Wally/Waldo, but with all manner of tiny little bits and bobs to find in any scene. And delivered with a buoyant spirit.

Proteus

OK, not a recent game, but I'm incapable of leaving this one out. The loveliest game ever made? I think so.

>Alphabear

This splendid word game always feels much more at home on mobile than PC, but provides so much ebullient pleasure in either form.

OneShot

So many extraordinary ideas crammed into one hell of a clever game. It does stuff with your PC you didn't know games could do, and all with a depth of optimism.

GNOG

Oh beautiful lovely wonderful GNOG. If you missed this one this year, what better moment to pick it up than now, with the awkwardness of the controls completely fixed. It's just absolutely wonderful to play.

Aer

Aer never really came together all that successfully, but that doesn't stop it from being a really very beautiful game, involving flying about gorgeous landscapes.

RiME

All the exploration, none of the combat, in what is sometimes a sad game, but always a splendid, gentle one.