Space is a lonely place — especially if you’re a working-class dude trapped in a cube floating through the cosmos, scavenging loot from mutant-filled cargo holds in order to provide for your loved ones. Cargo Commander strikes an intriguing balance between whimsical space-sim and a brutal take on the dungeon crawler–esque “roguelike” genre. Even when the controls have you pulling out your hair, the game’s charm will bring you back, holding your breath for one more space donut.

A few years before he became known as the creator of Prince of Persia, a university student named Jordan Mechner created the Apple II classic, Karateka. Telling the story of a nondescript karate guy out to save a princess from the clutches of an evil warlord (and his awful, awful pet hawk), Karateka was a big leap forward for in-game storytelling and animation, and essentially invented fighting games as we know them. Now, 28 years later, Mechner’s finally revisited his roots and produced a Karateka remake, and it’s… not quite what we were expecting.

Batman: Arkham Asylum, released on Mac last year, pushed superhero games in directions that nobody really expected but everyone wanted (and almost immediately began to copy). Its rhythmic fights were immediately satisfying and endlessly fun. Its wonderfully creepy, secret-filled world was a joy to explore. And its atmospheric detective puzzles and stealth challenges explored a side of Batman that seldom came through in games. So how does Batman: Arkham City top that formula? By giving us much, much more of it.