Jettomero: Hero of the Universe arrests with its vision of the beauty of stars and planets, as well as the sheer heart of the blank-faced machine you share your journey with.
A few bosses and new enemies give you something to strive for, but your ability to endure bad jumping and dull exploration are all that will keep you playing Molly Maggot. If you're desperate to see how miserable life as a maggot is then the game will provide you some context, but otherwise it's a boring, joyless slog.
There's not a lot to a game like Sketch Wars, but what is there has been done poorly. The art is awful, the controls are initially clumsy and half of them don't work properly, and the words you have to draw are absurd. Short of the entertainment you'll get from looking at its terrible drawing choices, there's nothing fun about Sketch Party.
It's very hard to imagine someone being all that invested in building up this tower and fighting off the ugly enemies for long, though. The gameplay pretends to be deep, but the heads' effects are imperceptible. You can miss an enemy you watched yourself hit, and those same enemies have no visual impact, looking like odd symbols just floating your way. The rest of the game's art is muddled to the point of being impossible to make out on the screen (except for a nice sunset); the music - a single track - gets repetitive quickly. There's just very little to keep someone playing Totem Topple. There's no strategy, no depth and no appeal.
Jujutsu Kaisen Cursed Clash is a tiresome game that is only good for some completely mindless action for diehard fans of the anime.
Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is an unashamedly ruthless platformer. Originally on the Master System, it follows the title character in a quest to punch scorpions and die from being bad at rock-paper-scissors. There’s more to it than that, but you’d be forgiven for never knowing that because this game is the bad kind of challenging. With slippery controls, big enemy hitboxes, and a tiny, tiny attack, you’re going to likely spend most of your time repeating the same few levels and seeing your ghost floating out of your body.
A decent action game, but one weighed down by its terrible plot, crummy characters, and off-putting attempts to be racy.
PUNCH LINE fails to engage the player in any way, its play and story lifeless.
Root Film takes players on a lovely tour of the Shimane Prefecture, giving them a glimpse of historical places, customs, and characters as they work to solve grisly mysteries. Unfortunately, the journey is the only compelling thing about this weak visual novel, as its story is somehow told too quickly and the game is filled with things that waste the player’s time. It’s far too drawn-out, yet somehow too short at the same time.
Plague Road's visuals may tell an intriguing story, but the rest of the game has very little to say.
Cutie Pets Pick Berries will not cure your fever for muscular wildlife, but it will give players a fun little diversion for a little while and some fun Miiverse stamps to use. Beyond that, the simple berry-matching game doesn't seem like much of a reason to keep playing, and feels better suited as a mobile game you'd play while messing around on the bus. Maybe with a few more gameplay quirks or some use of its visual theme it could have been more interesting, but as it is there's not much to keep players there - it's fun and plays well, but doesn't offer much.
Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections is good mindless fun, but folks looking for depth (in story & combat) should look elsewhere.
Double Dragon Gaiden tries to make itself interesting with roguelite mechanics, but these sabotage its chances to be great.
When Trover Saves the Universe is funny, it's VERY funny, but its humor is just not enough to carry such an average, unspectacular game.
Die-hards may love these new stories with their beloved cast, but anyone else may find Corpse Party: Sweet Sachiko's Hysteric Birthday Bash's story lacking and weak.
The look of Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time and the time it spends with its characters gives the game a great deal of charm, but its play styles continually drag it down.
The Adventure Pals, while endlessly visually appealing, funny, and enjoyable in its light combat, feels far too drawn out due to its lifeless stages, weakening an otherwise delightful experience.
Layers of Fear 2 is striking in its unsettling places, but is a looser experience than its predecessor, losing the player with busywork puzzles and winding corridors.
Atari Flashback Classics offers a vast look back into the history of an important time in games, but may offer little of interest to those without nostalgic feelings for it.
Pocket Bravery is an impressive fighter with a great roster of complex characters and a suite of fun modes and helpful tools. If only the characters looked as good as the flowing moves and strikes.