A fantastic Shovel Knight expansion. Specter Knight is a really fun character to play with lots of good mobility that's fun to take advantage of. It's also nice how you can play the stages in any order you please. Dashing through the levels cleaving through enemies and grinding down rails is cool as hell, plus the way he destroys blocks when jumping off them make for some really interesting challenges where once you jump you can't turn back! Great risk reward, very well paced too.

It's an incredible world to discover, so open, natural and beautiful. You only have a handful of items at your disposal throughout your adventure, but they're all really well used and the way systems interact is really something. The dungeons are also very good, having an incredible conceit (they're goddamn mechs), incredibly useful abilities as rewards, and a brilliant reformulation of the old dungeon style which is more compact and backtrack free. This is a lovely game to get lost in. <3

This is a somewhat nice base building game that is also secretly the sequel to Frog Fractions. Once you get into the real game, it turns out be mostly a throwback to old DOS 1980s type games, which honestly doesn't do much for me since that was way before my time, but it's still got a lot of funny and memorable bits like giving the option to import a Mass Effect 2 save. That's a solid goof, and this game's got a bunch of those, I just wish I didn't have to play a DOS game to get at them.

While this autorunner is a bit slow there's a lot I like about it. For instance, I appreciate how you play in portrait mode, which is the most comfortable way to hold a phone, that makes it much easier to play idly to kill time. Additionally, while there are only like 30 levels, each level has 3 different sets of coins to collect, plus there are various modes that reuse levels to great effect which means you get a lot of mileage out of them. It's fun to play idly as a mobile game should be.

In 3D World the Captain Toad levels were a nice diversion, a decent change of pace. However, as a full game? It's a little flat, and I'm not just saying because you literally can't jump, it's also true of the game. Walking around these elaborate worlds is nice and pleasant, but it's not terribly exciting and is terminally mild. Could've used more substance!

An incredible murder sandbox that's a joy to explore and murder within. You can pull off some incredible shit. You can drown someone in a toilet as a yoga instructor, or blow them up with a duck. You can dome them with a silenced pistol and disappear around a corner or follow a scripted opportunity to get some alone time with them. Paris, Sapienza and Hokkaido are incredible maps, with loads of potential for mischief. Whether playing silent assassin or a gaudy one it's a phenomenal time. <3

This Party Pack is full of all time classic games. The best of the lot is Tee K.O. which 100% rules. Combining random prompts and bad drawings to make hilarious, outrageous and/or surprisingly coherent T Shirts you can actually buy is an inspired idea, and I do own a couple of shirts. Trivia Murder Party & Faking it are also real god damn good, Guesspionage is good and Quiplash is fun with the right crowd. This is all killer no filler and that's practically unheard of for a Party Pack. <3

A fantastic Pokmeon entry that introduces loads of great features and a healthy contingent of new Pokemon and (for the first time) new regional variants, many of which were so good they instantly went viral upon reveal. The introduction of ride Pokemon allows you to have more control over your team, freeing you of the need for a flier, surfer, etc. Additionally the gymless structure is a breath of fresh air, the tropical flavor is fun, and the Rotom Pokedex is neat! This game a lot going for it.

While I loved the first Dishonored, this game really do didn't do it for me. I found the stealth to be a lot harder to approach than in the first game with levels that were devoid of higher paths and enemies smart enough to find you. Going through the levels I just could not find clean ways through them, frustrating me to no end. Also the non lethal options didn't have anything good for combat, which is problem when you can't stealth so good. Disappointing.

While the multiplayer didn't hit for me this time, the campaign is such a tour de force that that's not a problem. Each mission is really well designed with unique mechanics that are used well, fully explored and then moved on from before they get old. That keeps the campaign fresh and fun throughout, as does the basic mech gameplay which is as good as ever. The multiplayer is still pretty solid, though they took out a perk or two that I used so I just didn't dig it as much as the first. Solid!

A weird but charming Rugrats boardgame. Despite the lack of minigames, there's enough to keep you busy here just figuring out where to go, what spaces you should land on, collecting stuff and using items well. Each of the three boards is a little different with one being collaborative and one having different rules, but there's not very many of them. The game is pretty messy and slow, but I have a lot of fond memories of playing it. You get to be a Reptar in one board, I like that.

I don't know why I was excited for this. I guess the combination of class based action, attractive cartoony graphics, and the price point of free caught my eye, and got me excited. When I finally got in I realized that it controlled like shit, was clunky as fuck despite being stripped down compared to the rest of its franchise, and that being silly did not mean it was fun. To simply to play the game was unpleasant. I guess there was a reason why it was free.

A simple idea, to randomize the pieces in a chess game, but a fun one. I had a good time with this game idly giving myself a bunch of strong pieces and thoughtlessly steamrolling the AI commanding a lot of pawns. However the experience is somewhat shallow and there's not that much you can do to mix it up beyond changing how unfair it is and to who. Would've really liked it if both me and the computer could've both had absurd and strong armies. Still, it's a fun and silly novelty.

It turns out Picross works really well in 3D. As in the first game, working out the shape of the finished puzzle and chiseling it out appropriately works great on the touch screen. This game also adds a new complication in that blocks can be either orange (becoming curved in the final shapes) or blue (full blocks in the final shape) which adds more complexity to the puzzles and is satisfying when you see said final shape. It's a very robust second entry, a lot more than just more puzzles.

While it's great to see a fan remake in the vein of the GBA Metroid games with all the tight gameplay and refined control that go with that, the structure of Metroid 2 leaves a lot to be desired. Each area contains a number of Metroid, and you must find and kill them all before proceeding. It becomes tedious fast as you have to scour each area entirely and do the same mini bosses over and over again. Despite the gameplay being sharp I got got tired of searching a zone midway through and gave up.