(This is a review for both games)
In theory, this game is the perfect 2D sonic: excellent soundtrack, a well-told but not intrusive story, inventive and speedy levels... well, for the most part.
Unfortunately, it's a case of quite a few tiny cracks in its hull that bring this ship down a little bit. Every level seems to have some obtuse gimmick that has no right to be in a sonic game (the spinning wheels of Marble Garden, the infinite pits of Ice Capp, tedious seesaws in Mushroom hill, too many aspects of Sandopolis to count, instant death crushers in Flying battery and who could forget the barrels of doom).
If none were there, I would absolutely say this is the greatest 2D Sonic. But they are. So it's not.

Also quick one about the MJ/Jetzons original soundtrack. I definitely prefer Icecap, launch base I could go either way but the original carnival night track is genuinely awful for a Sonic. It has no driving rhythm; in fact, there are tons of long awkward stops, a but like the actual level. Also, using the Entry of the Gladiators melody in your circus-themed composition is just creatively bankrupt. I know music is about personal taste but I think this track is horribly overrated still.

Now THIS is more like it! Chemical Plant is one of the single best zones of any sonic game; they absolutely nail the pure speed and adrenaline that comes with it. The other stages are a little bit hit or miss but overall I enjoy them all for playing very differently to each other.
My only criticism would be that boss fights, particularly the final zone, are not particularly enjoyable. Sonic has struggled with these as early as his first appearance and while I like that some of these have very quick ways to beat them, none are particularly interesting. The final egg robot is a pain in the ass as every time you die you have to fight mecha sonic AGAIN! And I died a lot because of his tiny hit box.
Other than that, they nailed the blue blur on their 2nd attempt. Good job.

For a game originally released on essentially a calculator, it's incredible. Best controlling top-down Zelda I have played. Dungeons all play well and make you think a lot about some puzzles. But aside from gameplay, this story, similarly to Majora, presents a surprising metaphor of waking up from your dream state, as hard as that may be. Dreams can be idyllic and terrifying, but they must end and reality must be returned to. As depressing as it is, there is hope to be found in reality as well, and your dream will live on in your memory.

Definitely does not have the story of its predecessor. In some places it makes up for this, I absolutely love the dungeons so far and overall they are actually an improvement. The whole island section is now one of my favourite moments in any Zelda game for how tight and thoughtfully challenging it is. I enjoy the RPG aspects included for more variety as well. Definitely coming back to this but I do find it harder to engage with as while I like its puzzles, I dislike being stuck in the overworld because of some random person I need to talk to in some meaningless location.

If you are here after seeing my Dead Cells review or have not played this, do it immediately before reading anything else. There's not too many spoilers in this, but you should play this knowing very little and learning a hell of a lot.

Noita is hard. Really hard. Nothing will make sense for the first few runs. But the first time you climb over the mountain or go left instead of entering the mines, you may realise just how much you are in for. The game switches genres entirely. It is in fact, a metroidvania with permadeath and one with a palpable sense of intriguement for its world and locations that draws you back in time and time again.
Wands also make no sense at first, which is exactly why you are given an aptly named holy mountain to experiment to your hearts content before plunging back into the unknown abyss. Your spells function more as letters in algebra than they do simple power ups. The number of combinations, wand stat potentials and variety of incredible or harmful combinations that can be created is essentially infinite. There is a good chance you could craft a wand entirely unique to that playthrough and your own ingenuity, never to be seen again. Due to this, I believe Noita has the greatest combat (I struggle to even call it that with how much else you can do with it) of any videogame, let alone any roguelike/metroidvania.
More than anything though, the atmosphere evoked by its arstyle, sound design and general crafting of its world is unlike anything that I know exists. There is no story per-say, but it doesn't need one.
If I have any criticism, and frankly this does not even effect me anymore, the difficulty will put you off, especially at first, possibly for a while. It is a pixel physics based game so you can die (and this will happen a lot) very quickly to a few tiny pixel of lava, acid or frozen vapour. Sometimes you can get stuck in spaces it does not seem you should be stuck in due to a tiny pixel. You can call this bullshit. But you CAN learn from this and treat everything in the game as formidable. Play patiently, there is no time limit, and you will succeed. you may even find things far weirder than the typical final boss you were expecting if you take the time to break the game in half to explore, which is exactly what the devs want you to do to survive.

Noita is diabolically evil. But it is never impossible...

Also idk if you've seen the playtime but I STILL do not have every achievement and I have only finished the game THREE TIMES.

Inspired by Paper Mario and it shows. It leaves me wanting a hell of a lot more and there's a lot that needed more development but what's here is good. Combat and levelling is incredibly satisfying and the writing/characters are pretty great across the board. The actual compositions are decent but they get repetitive when used for an entire world.
If there is one thing about this game that is perfect it is its ending, which is probably why I am left with a very good impression despite several flaws. Its a short game so I'd recommend it because you haven't got much to lose.

Thank fuck the controls are fixed from Zelda 1. Establishes the formula we all know and love. Dungeons (while they do all have the same music, probably for memory reasons) all play very differently from each other, providing a sense of uniqueness that would grow along with the series. The overworld is well designed and I love the soundtrack. There are quite a few individual moments I dislike; dungeon 3 is pretty bad, Ganon's tower is a bit too hard and unforgiving for me, there's some cryptic bullshit to obtain a lot of crucial items and while definitely controls better than Zelda 1, it could still be a little better overall. Still, great sign of things to come.

If this game is not for you, I understand. It is a very story and cutscene-heavy game and is typically only adored by people who played it as a child so as to ignore this fault. I expected to find more faults in my recent replay. But no. Instead, in the slew of recent mediocre mainline titles, this holds up as one of the most emotionally successful games in Nintendo's library. I wish not to spoil anything other than that the final chapter made me cry countlessly as a child and even more so as an adult now understanding even more of its themes.
Again, if you prefer the main entries, I get it. Their gameplay is generally more expansive and, of course, some may not enjoy the roguelike elements. But anyone who grew up with the game will understand exactly what I mean when I say it is far, far more than some Pokémon spin-off game. It is a heart-wrenching masterpiece of storytelling.