Despite some of the non-enthralling parts of the farming and cooking, they are still fun enough to keep me repeating them over and over and continuing through the game, even if the plot lost my interest pretty quickly after the excessively long prologue and first few days getting oriented on the island.
WarioWare: Move It! is a great entry in the series, making excellent use of the JoyCons’ high-definition motion controls in classic absurd Wario fashion.
There are some kinks in Assassin’s Creed Mirage that hold it back from perfection, but without a doubt, it is the sharpest, most succinct entry in the franchise yet. With the best elements brought together throughout the series’ many games, Mirage stands out as at once completely classic and fully modern.
Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is a super solid beat ’em up with a steep learning curve but a lot of options to adjust the difficulty and help incentivize replay.
Step into Planet of Lana and have a beautiful, low-stress time. Its puzzle are enough to get you thinking but simple enough to keep the game relaxing and perfectly-paced.
Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe is top-shelf 2D Kirby platforming. It’s visually as good as non-stylized Kirby gets, rife with every copy ability you can dream of, and as nice and fulfilling a platformer as any Nintendo game should ever be expected to be.
River City Girls 2 is a solid beat ’em up on account of both its aesthetic and its gameplay. While it’s hampered by some elements of its combat not being as clear or precise as I’d hoped, the overall atmosphere and experience of playing the game are quite fun.
Cursed to Golf is a very creative and far more difficult than expected roguelike. It’s definitely going to scratch your golf game itch, given how truly few there are on current generations, as well as spice up the genre with its unique gameplay and concept.
Overall though, Young Souls is a great new entry in the beat ’em up genre that is bolstered by its RPG elements. The RPG aspects are numerous and well-designed so as to keep you constantly engaged with new things to try out or enemies to take a swing at again. The fact that the whole game can be played in classic beat ’em up co-op or solo is an added bonus.
Rainbow Billy is truly a great kids’ RPG game. For anybody looking to hook their kid up with a fun, unique adventure with great morals and a creative “combat” system that doesn’t throw any punches, this is absolutely it.
Dandy Ace is a great first roguelike and a fun take on the genre. Its very fun combat, not too sharp too fast difficulty, quick load times, and lack of central hub or anything to drag the time between runs on makes it extremely playable and very easy to get sucked into.
While an older entry in the genre, Nuclear Throne is still creative and fun and feels totally fresh in the sea of bullet hells. It has just enough to it to keep you going, though, by comparison to more robust roguelikes, it has the potential to dry up after a while if you’re not mastering it fast enough. Nonetheless, it’s well worth a dive into, especially with its appearance on Xbox Game Pass.
Sonic Colors: Ultimate may not be truly ultimate, but it’s a well worthwhile return to an oft-missed game.
Miitopia is a simple RPG with a few very unmodern character-creating mechanics. Whether you are charmed by Miis or not is certainly your own prerogative, but the gameplay itself is perfect for beginner RPG players with its focus on relationships between your party members. Longtime RPG players may find a good time in its relative simplicity.
Knockout City is, indeed, a knockout. It’s absolutely a blast, and despite some small issues, it’s an entirely creative and sharp concept and execution. I only hope the fun lasts after the initial buzz and free play period dies down.
New Pokémon Snap is not perfect, but it is far and away the sequel to the 1999 classic we have all been waiting for. While I wish some pacing issues and nitpicks with what is no longer in the game have influenced my enjoyment, overall, I cannot wait to spend countless more hours perfecting my photography skills and engrossing myself in this absolutely stunning world.
As Yacht Club Games’s first non-Shovel Knight IP, and as a work of individual love and passion developed over many, many years, there has been a ton of hype around Cyber Shadow among lovers of indie platformers. Cyber Shadow does not disappoint. While its simplicity compared to another recent Ninja Gaiden-inspired game may leave you wanting a tad more, the game as it is is challenging, creative, and absolutely a blast to play.
Super Meat Boy Forever is a fun and just-challenging-enough platformer with endless replayability and lots of polish.
Calico is nothing grand or over the top, but that’s the point. This small, quaint game is filled with lovely people and adorable animals for you to pet, collect, and ride as you resolve simple tasks and sell cute pastries in a beautiful little world.
While imperfect and still missing some of what made the original game a total masterpiece, it is both a worthy successor and a game worth waiting 18 years to finally have.