First Review, Yayness

I'm just going to say it: The Winter Solstice is one of the best GM games I've ever played.

As soon as you boot up the game, you are greeted with the lovely clean Vertigo Games logo, a good sign I would say.
Anyway, on to the game. The first thing you do is head to the Options menu, because your computer isn't the best in the world.
You see that you have quite a wide variety of performance-boosting and appearance-boosting options to choose from - so no matter how bad your computer is you can still get a great framerate, though naturally at the cost of graphical appeal.
Anyway, on to the game. The setup is akin to a side-view scrolling shooter, except there's no scrolling. You move around with the arrow keys, and besides gravity, there are no special things to take into account, although you should not ignore the fact that you will bounce quite strongly if you hit the bottom.
Your objectives are twofold: score as many points as possible, and don't die.
Actually, death in itself has no penalties, unless you run out of lives, in which case you stink at the game, but never mind that.
However, the time it takes for you to respawn means that you'll lose a lot of scoring opportunities (small lights and possibly a powerup snowflake).
One thing I like is the very clear line between objects in the game - there are small lights, which give you lots of points when shot and come in huge masses, and can't hurt you in any way (your bullets aren't even destroyed when they hit them).
Then there are lightballs, which are larger and take more firepower to take down. More importantly, they shoot at you. Although they don't earn you points nearly as quickly as small lights, destroying them is important because they're sure to kill you if you don't - unless you're really, really good at dodging bullets.

There are six acts, each one with a distinct setting and different enemies and lights. The sixth act is a boss battle, and a perfect culmination to the game.

The game is short, which is unfortunate, but there ARE medals to earn, plus unlockable bonus modes - three Precision levels, and Survival mode. Precision Mode turns an action game into a puzzle game, as you try to maximize the effects of four shots by bouncing them the right way. Survival is your typical bullet soup how-long-can-you-not-die minigame.

There is also a short description of the process of making the game, as well as the deleted gameplay engine.

Graphics are very detailed and all fit together very well. The ambient lighting really completes the ensemble.
The soundtrack in the game is excellent - every act is synced to the beautifully fitting music, and the resulting effect is quite astounding.

Overall, you really need to download this game. It's addictive and very unique.

I really don't see a way for this game to not win the competition, unless God enters. Or maybe Santa Claus.