19. Exanima

“Exanima Trailer”

Switching it up for the first time on this list, in Exanima the main character is female. She has been thrust into the Underworld with no means of escape from her death sentence. Everything in this game wants to kill you and if you can outsmart the brutal enemies, then their equipment is yours for the taking.

Continuing the theme of ‘you don’t know where you are but you must fight to survive,’ the enemy AI have but one command: Kill the main character in the most violent way possible. Combining puzzle elements with exploration and combat makes for an unforgettable game with a haunting atmosphere.

It remains at number 19 on the list because of its attention to small details and the attention to the storyline that the developer is clearly pouring a lot of time into. The combat is also based in physics, so if you’re looking to behead your enemy with a seriously cool and sweeping attack rather than simply kicking him into a rack of wine and knocking the entire display over, this is the game for you.

She faces down an enemy armed with a battleaxe with only her torch, but will she emerge victorious?

Wearing the armor and wielding the weapons of the enemies she’s already conquered, our hero is about to face her first real challenge.