Jay Caplan's Reviews
Yars Rising combines modern and retro sensibilities into a fun and quirky package. It's both a solid new Metroidvania and a great celebration of Atari classics.
Iron Meat is a fantastic Contra-like shooter. With sharp pixel art, a rocking soundtrack, and intense action, it's a worthy successor to the retro classics.
A Highland Song combines 2D platforming, adventure game elements, survival mechanics, and rhythm sections into a compelling but occasionally confusing package.
Cosmic Collapse trades in Suika's fruit for celestial bodies and makes a few smart tweaks to the formula; it's a standout Suika-like puzzle game on PC and Steam Deck.
Nova Strike has promising vertically-scrolling shmup fundamentals. Unfortunately, its repetitive Roguelike structure magnifies its shortcomings.
Raiden III x Mikado Maniax is a great excuse to revisit an entry in an iconic shmup series for veterans and a good place to start for newcomers.
Don't let the adorable characters fool you, AK-xolotl is a tough Rogue-lite shmup that'll have you coming back for one run after another!
Escape from Terror City is an unpolished low-poly shmup that seeks to answer the question, "What would Contra have been like as an N64 game?".
Gal Guardians is a solid homage to a certain Castlevania game, but probably not the one most players are expecting based on the previews.