A.J. Maciejewski
As someone who's enjoyed the previous couple of Dungeon Defenders games a lot, I must say that Awakened is quite a disappointing experience. Although it retains the familiar formula and includes cool modes, it's still an undeniably clunky iteration of the franchise.
As a long-time fan of grid-based dungeon crawlers, I'm delighted to say that Saviors of Sapphire Wings and Stranger of Sword City Revisited are 2 of the best examples of what the genre is capable of. If you love a challenge, I highly recommend picking up this pack.
It may not contain any arcade games but Blizzard Arcade Collection provides a collection of 3 solid old-school gems with plenty of ways to enjoy them. That being said, it still only includes 3 games so its value will be parallel to how much nostalgia you have for these titles.
Curse of the Dead Gods is one of the most varied and gripping roguelikes that I've ever played so if you enjoy challenging combat with a wide variety of melee and ranged weaponry set in a dark and eerie game world then you'll love what it has in store.
If you don't mind restarting tricky segments over and over again then Speed Limit can be a very fun game with its action movie setup.
Progressing through Heaven Dust's zombie-filled world is highly enjoyable thanks to its rewarding puzzles and sense of exploration.
Through its intuitive and fun-filled gameplay, Barbearian offers an excellent action-packed campaign that's surprisingly huge and varied.
Due to its simple setup, NoReload Heroes Enhanced Edition acts as a solid entry point to twin-stick shooters if you're a genre newbie.
As an homage to Donkey Kong, Castle Kong does a solid job with its core gameplay yet it eventually becomes quite a repetitive game.
Playing Yupitergrad will make you feel like Bionic Commando albeit in a humorous cel-shaded puzzle-filled space station adventure.
If you enjoyed Moving Out even a little then you'll love what Movers in Paradise offers with its clever take on the familiar gameplay.
If you've ever wanted to know what it's like to be a moose then Moose Life is the perfect simulation game. However, those who prefer not to pop pills and shoot everything in sight will have a tricky time seeing what all of the hullabaloo is about.
Asdivine Cross is a decent old-school RPG that features a memorable game world and a charming cast of characters to match. If you're looking for a challenge, it might not impress but those who just want an easy-breezy JRPG will likely have a good time.
Ghosts 'n Goblins is a classic that has stood the test of time. Unfortunately, the same thing can't be said about Resurrection as it takes a bit too many missteps in trying to bring the arcade classic into the modern age.
Neptunia Virtual Stars is one of my favourite spin-offs in the delightful franchise as it contains a brilliant blend of gameplay elements, a wonderful cast of characters, and one of the funniest meta premises in gaming history.
If someone never heard of Crazy Taxi, played Taxi Chaos, and then tried Crazy Taxi; they would think that Taxi Chaos was some sort of rudimentary precursor to the series. It's not a terrible game but it's certainly not nearly as enjoyable as its 22 year old counterpart.
Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos is simply one of the best roguelikes out there so if you enjoy Zelda-style games, you won't regret it.
Healer's Quest is surely a unique game but it unfortunately doesn't quite manage to break out of its one-note premise.
Mastering Glyph's campaign is a treat thanks to its tight and varied gameplay as well as its rewarding secrets and campaign structure.
It may be fun but there isn't much in Dotori that you haven't experienced in other 2D platformers and its gameplay is a bit clunky, too.