Hollowreach

Hollowreach is a quiet one. You explore a strange, half-abandoned place, poke at mechanisms, and slowly piece together what happened. There's no combat and no timer, so it's the game I reach for when I want to unwind rather than compete.

Controls are all tap and swipe, and they read your intent well most of the time. A few puzzle interactions needed a second attempt because the tap zones were small, but nothing that broke the flow. Headphones make a big difference here since the sound design does a lot of the storytelling.

Battery behavior is mild thanks to the slow pace and dark palette. On an OLED screen the dark scenes probably help even more. It's short, maybe five or six hours, and I didn't want it to end.

What we liked

• Calm, no-pressure exploration
• Excellent sound design with headphones
• Gentle on battery, especially on OLED