Hollow Tide

Hollow Tide is a slow, quiet adventure about sailing a small boat between half-submerged ruins and piecing together what happened to a drowned world. There's no combat to speak of — it's all exploration, light puzzles, and reading the environment. The mood does a lot of heavy lifting, and it earns it.

You unlock new areas by solving mechanical puzzles built into the ruins, mostly rotating platforms and water levels. Nothing is brutally hard, but a few late puzzles made me put the phone down and think, which I liked. Touch controls for steering the boat are gentle and never fiddly.

It's a short game, maybe five hours, but it's the kind you'll think about after. If you want something calm to unwind with, Hollow Tide is a beautiful little trip.

What we liked

• Gorgeous, melancholy atmosphere
• Clever environmental puzzles
• Gentle controls, no combat stress