The Dark Souls series has proved that the video game audience has a penchant for gruelling toughness and intense, heart-pounding boss encounters. And yet, even though Titan Souls has all these things and shares half of its damn name with From Software's legendary series, hardly anyone's noticed it. Titan Souls' case probably isn't helped by the fact of being an indie, alongside its simple, innocuous visual style, which doesn't instantly reach out from the computer screen, press your face up against it and scream "PLAY ME". But look beyond the surface, and this is one of the most compulsively playable games of the year. A series of boss encounters in an open top-down world, TS sees your diminutive hero with a single arrow to slay them, as well as being able to only take one hit himself. You need to charge up your arrow to fire it, and need to retrieve it each time too, so dodging is key, and you'll need to master the craft quickly if you're to avoid getting crushed by a giant fanged treasure chest, or decimated by a giant yeti. Anyone looking for a gruelling, tough yet accessible challenge with echoes of the older Zelda games needs to give this overlooked indie gem a chance. Buy Titan Souls at GOG