Proteus

The procedural generation offers a reason to restart, but the island felt deeply familiar in my playthroughs. Players on Proteus's forums mention a couple of surreal, well-hidden secrets, but my experience each time was largely identical, and I found no deeper meaning or binding narrative to the island's mysterious landmarks. Proteus is mood music. If you're looking for a soothing green oasis to return to every now and then, this will do the job nicely.

Things do get a little old after you've gone through a number of cycles, but whatever the case, it's difficult to argue against the merits of experiencing Proteus at least once. You might just find something you like, something completely different, or something that emotionally affects you in ways you never thought possible from a video game. And that alone makes Proteus a winner.

Proteus is a very different sort of interactive experience. Maybe, by your definition, it's not even a game. But that doesn't matter. It's a joyous experiment in exploration from start to finish – even if it is a very, very short-lived one. Are you tired of shooting terrorists and zombies all the time? Consider Proteus a much-needed vacation.

A childlike sense of amusement came over me while I explored the island in Proteus. Every time I saw something new in the distance, I got excited and had to see it up close. Proteus is a game that needs to be seen, experienced, and most of all, needs to be heard. Trust me, you'll want to wear headphones for this one.

Proteus is a brief experience, and for all its mysteries, has a disarmingly straightforward message about nature and mortality. Its randomness and secrets make it worth playing through a few times, and beyond that, it's easy to imagine wanting to return to it just for respite from a stressful day or a noisy city. (There's also a sweet "save a postcard" feature that captures screenshots - or so you think, until you click on one and are transported back to that moment in your previous game, with everything as it was.)

We're entering a new age of emergent, subjective gaming where what we get out is what we put in; where design is a collaborative process of interpretation and imagination. Proteus, Dear Esther and Journey all hint at that future, a Venn diagram of experience, narration and exploration – and at the centre is you.