Icey delivers a fantastic 2D brawler with satisfying combos and hard-hitting combat. It's multi-branching paths give you more story with the meta-narrative, but doesn't quite flesh out all of the parts into a cohesive whole. But, at the end of the day, we play beat'em ups to do just that.
Hipster Attack is an entertaining and addicting tower defense game. It has just enough call back to its inspiration while adding the right options to differentiate itself
If you like strategy games and are really into ancient Japanese legends, Haunted Dungeon: Hyakki Castle takes art and story from the Edo period to create a unique strategy game. While it was not entirely my speed (it does put the crawl in "dungeon crawl"), it is a break from the frantic pacing of many dungeon crawlers with a central mechanic adds creative possibilities to puzzle solving and combat.
At its core, At Sundown is an entertaining indie game that is fast-paced and fun without requiring a hefty system to run it. Its main game mechanic of using light and shadows is interesting, but the lack of ability to see where your player is can stifle the enjoyment of the game itself.
If you like challenging strategy and don't mind learning the game's systems and unit counters, The Legend of Evil is a light-hearted spoof on classic hero versus evil tropes.
If you are looking for a deep Metroidvania game that will challenge you with hours of gameplay, La-Mulana 2 is worth checking out. It is a faithful recreation of the classic genre while telling a fresh story. The characters within have a fun sense of humor that will keep you entertained in the midst of the action. Even though the controls are not perfect, after a few hours of play, I found them less frustrating over time.
If you want to play a worthy successor to the long line of Metroidvania classics and are willing to experience rogue-like difficulty to get it, Dead Cells is an experience worth having over and over again.
Garage: Bad Trip is every 1980s action horror flick power fantasy wrapped up in a bloody retroware wrapper. It tries to balance it's graphic gore with classic tropes and it's suspense with moments of the ridiculous, but leans heavily into its Splatterpunk influences. While its controls are tight for a twin stick shooter, Garage: Bad Trip has some mechanical bugs which diminish the overall experience.
If you like games like Terraria and Starbound but are looking for something new, Dig or Die is definitely worth your time. At $12 USD, it provides an incredibly challenging and new twist on the genre. But be advised: they aren't kidding about the dying part. You're going to do that… a lot. Don't be too proud to start out on easy mode. If you take my advice, you might just live long enough to blow this popsicle stand and hustle some more of CRAFT & Co's automated fabricators!
Youropa came out of Early Access on June 27th and is just as charming as ever before. At $24.99 USD, its gorgeous landscape and mind-bending puzzle will keep you busy for hours as you make your way across a gravitationally-challenged Paris. Its gentle pacing and ambient music would make this relaxing experience if it weren't for the mental gymnastics required to think dimensionally!
Perhaps the greatest challenge of every Warhammer 40,000 game is to capture the scope of a massive universe with fidelity to its rich content which has influenced countless sci-fi titles while adapting to the high expectations of modern gamers. In this regard, Warhammer 40,000 Inquisitor - Martyr fights a bloody battle, emerging victorious, but not unscarred. It is flawed and imperfect, but I adore it for what it is: a solid Warhammer 40,000 game which draws game mechanics from its source material and brings the grim darkness of the 41st millennium into a different medium.
If you like highly challenging rogue-like games with unique role-playing elements, Soulblight may be a game that scratches that masochistic itch that few games do. Its Taints system is different than any other roleplaying system that I have seen used before.
Road Redemption is a violent, but wacky successor to the Road Rash franchise born in the 90s. It's an “over-the-top” biker beat'em up that has some buggy moments, but they make for some of the more entertaining points. If you like the pacing of rogue-likes in a beat'em up wrapper, Road Redemption is worth swinging a pipe at.
At its heart, this is a street-level view with a focus on people and their relationship more than the politics of the situation - which is saying something with the amount of historical content found within. It reveals a timeless truth that we would be careful to heed in our heightened cultural climate: the fires of revolution always burn hot, but they are uninhibited in who or what they consume.
The Bug Butcher feels like Earthworm Jim and Alien Hominid met in an arcade to play Space Invaders and the residual DNA collected from their shared joystick and button usage was used to genetically engineer The Bug Butcher. Its frenetic pace and creative arsenal create a humorously fun experience full of equal parts mirth and mayhem. If you enjoy arcade-style side scrolling shooter, The Bug Butcher needs to be in your go-to rotation.
It is good for short commutes to and from work and the Nintendo Switch IS both a living room console and a handheld portable. Maybe it will grow on me. But for now, it just leaves me in the Void.
Gray Dawn is true to its description of being a psychological thriller with religious elements, but it can't seem to focus in on which religious elements it wants to portray.
Personally, I am loving my experiences in Appalachia. It has been a great point of connection with friends and family. And that, to me, is almost… not quite, but almost heaven.
If you are looking for a puzzle-solving adventure that will keep you on your toes, Iris.Fall is well worth your time.
Matching pixel stylings with the ambient soundscapes of Jim Guthrie makes Swordbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP a wonderfully weird journey with a good balance of action and puzzle-puzzle-solving.