The bloodshot, eye-widening surprise may not be as extreme here, but Pac-Man 99 is just as tense a competitive prospect its Tetris counterpart was in 2019.
While the short run-time of around two to three hours isn't inherently the root of the problem, one can't help but note Godstrike is in dire need of a better, fleshed out experience than the one provided.
At its best, there's certainly moments of appreciation and respect for the artistic detail Narita Boy lavishes in, with its pixel art and generally-eery vision of cyberspace run amok with corrupted foes.
But even with these brief spots of imbalance - when the Lemming-like behaviour of minions can feel a little too brain-dead or uncontrollable - Evil Genius 2: World Domination is still an impressive revival of a decades-old philosophy on strategy games.
There's no doubting the similarities and equally-familiar ground Everhood is treading here and of its intentions to pull the rug from out the player's feet.
Looked at through the nitty-gritty of its stat-based party management, Bravely Default II is a commendable third outing that at its best reaffirms just how joyous the IP's approach to both RPG gameplay and nostalgia remains all these years on.
Though there's little rhyme or reason for the imitation on visual detail, NERVE still provides a satisfying-to-conquer sprint through the multi-colored void that is its setting.
That same distortion and monstrous-like exaggeration of previous may be out in full force once again, but Little Nightmares II succeeds on its bolder and more refined continuation from the 2017 original.
In a game that bills itself as a choice between stealth and combat, it doesn't take long for the deceit to reveal itself and you realize this is ill-suited and insufficiently-handled for either one of the two gameplay styles.
Olija doesn't do enough to be regarded as generally good, but at the same time doesn't frustrate to the point of truly damaging the experience.