The sniper puzzle gameplay in this game is truly amazing and inventive, think sniper elite but turned puzzle game. You explore to small maps marking enemies and then have to figure out the best way to take them out all in one shot: after you hit a target you relaunch for it to go to the next and the next in a chain. As the game goes on it adds a few new mechanics, just as fine aiming the bullet mid shot and enemies with armor that require being shot from a longer distance. The add these at a good pace so it stays interesting and keeps you thinking. I had no issue with the length of the game, honestly what brings the score down for me is the game’s presentation I just find it super ugly and pretty jarring from an art style angle. Some may find it appealing but the cutscenes and look of the game did not do it for me at all.

This caught me at a great time I really had a blast playing this game. It plays like a low budget Resident Evil which is a total positive in my book, it especially takes a lot of inspiration from RE7. You wander around the studio complex avoiding the puppets, solving puzzles, filling in the map as you find items, and managing your inventory. It doesn’t hide its clear inspiration and just embraces it, and even has some fun references. The game is definitely not scary but it has a cool vibe and the plot, while pretty thin, is actually pretty charming which I didn’t expect. I felt compelled to do all the optional content to make sure I got the true ending because I wanted to see a good ending and it was well worth it.

This really is a quintessential indie game and it still holds up really well today. The action platforming is really fun, with a good variety of weapons and enemies that keep things fresh, but really the story here is a large part of the appeal. It’s a lot more interesting than I remember it being, granted I hadn’t played this game in easily 10 years if not longer so it was totally gone from my memory. The characters and world building are quite good for this genre and it’s a creative concept I really enjoyed. I need to shout the music out also, it’s really great chiptune work with tons of catchy songs that really helps bring the game together.

Sadly this has nothing to do with Children of the Corn… but it was still pretty fun. It’s a 3D platformer that is a nice blend of different games in the genre, some Mario 64, some Banjo, but really it’s sort of its own unique thing. For what it is I enjoyed it, not as much as other indie platformers I’ve played but I appreciated its unique mechanics and ideas, I just struggled with some of the level design that could be a bit obtuse or didn’t mix well with the camera. Worth a try for fans of the genre but not going to win anyone over who isn’t.

Advance Wars was the first tactics series I ever played, I loved it back then and turns out I still do now. I like all the different units with their pros and cons, as well as the different operators with their unique abilities. The story is simple but the characters are pretty neat at least, you are really here for the tactical combat anyways.

The game is just as fun as ever and the game looks mostly good… the map and COs look good, but man they really ruined the combat animations in my opinion. They lack a lot of the charm of the GBA release which is sad, I honestly just turned them off cause I couldn’t take looking at them….

Another great tactical FPS, I really wish Rainbow Six still had single player campaigns like this. Shows it’s age in places but still holds up today, it’s a bit of a toss up if this is better than the original Vegas I do like the tactical sprint addition and a super tense section where you don’t have your allies. The first game had slightly better environments though, being focused in downtown Vegas is very iconic, but this one does have great levels as well like neighborhoods, a convention center, a villa, and a monorail station. Worth playing if you like tactical shooters or are just nostalgic for the days where Ubisoft was putting out great games left and right.

This is about as close as I’m ever going to get to enjoying motion controls because they really fit in well with the WarioWare formula. This is clearly a Smooth Moves sequel and it does a good job replicating that while adding lots of new ideas. Most of the poses are fun, though a few of them I struggled to get to work such as the poses that uses the IR on the controller to read your hand. Presentation is fun as always, seeing the whole cast on a tropical island was cute and the micro games are as goofy as ever. Fun game I would play more of, I’m just never going to love motion controls so it ranks at the bottom of the franchise for me.

I have loved Dragon Ball basically my entire life, I’ve played tons of different games based off the series over the years and while I’ve adored tons of them this one has become my new favorite. Playing through the entire saga of DBZ from start to finish is amazing, and it really feels like you are living in the world as you fly through all the locations you recognize from the series.

I understand why people who love the “RPG” in the action-RPG genre but as someone much more into action games this was perfect for me. There are tons of RPG systems here you can use, but ultimately they are all additive and as long as you are spending a tiny amount of time leveling up your moves as you play through the sagas this game plays just like a fighting game. The combat is just deep enough where I never got sick of it, it has tons of flash to it and makes you feel like a total badass as you teleport behind enemies and unleash a powerful move to wipe them out. Despite being named Kakarot you do play as a good number of characters which was much appreciated. All of them are fun to play and have great unique move sets.

The open world is very basic, you can find the dragon balls and make wishes which is a great feature, but it mostly exists just to fly through and get from mission to mission (as well as pick up XP orbs like Crackdown). This was fine with me as it was very quick to navigate and filled with side quests that put the spotlight on lots of lesser used characters, especially tons with original Dragon Ball characters that were forgotten.

The last thing I want to shout out is the production value, the game does a great job adapting the entire story and while it does a good solid job most of the time there are moments they really go over the time. These moments are reserved for only the most special moments of the series, I won’t spoil them but they are done great justice here and are super memorable. This was just a great way to experience such a pivotal series in mine and many other’s lives so I’m very glad I played it.

This was a lot better than I thought it would be, what it lacks in gameplay challenge or complexity it makes up for with sheer creativity. Each of the ten different costumes for Peach lead to drastically different stage designs and mechanics so things are always staying fresh, especially since you only see each one three stages each they really go all out with them each time. The whole look of the game is really great, the animations are beautiful and just the concept of the levels being stage plays leads to tons of great visual design. Collectables add reason to fully explore each stage, but I would thing replaying just to find them all may be a bit more annoying than it’s worth because each stage is very scripted so they are super cool the first time but might be a bit more tedious if you were to jump back in ASAP to clean up things you missed. The boss fights were also a bit of a low point, they weren’t bad but also weren’t great. Shout out to the king fu and ninja costumes those were my favorites, but they were all enjoyable.

This game got my attention because the concept reminded me of the GBA game Drill Dozer, but it really is completely different than that game (but just as wonderful). This is a momentum platformer at its core, you use your drill to move through soft ground/water/snow/etc and launch yourself from spot to spot, fighting enemies with your drill along the way. The game has super creative level designs that I was loving the whole way through, especially in the third and fourth worlds. There are some small vehicles and gun sections which are a blast to play, and the bosses are pretty challenging in a fun way that makes you feel very accomplished when you finally get them down. I’ll never complain about a game being too short (I definitely prefer that to how bloated games often feel) but I definitely would have loved a few more worlds in this because it was just so well made and fun to play I didn’t want it to end.

This is easily one of my favorite Metroidvania games I’ve played, I was hopeful seeing the original trailers and it blew my expectations away. The movement in this game is amazing and just gets better as it goes, chaining together your usual double jumps, dashes, wall jumps with tons of other abilities you unlock as you go make the game feel incredibly fluid and allows for some great platforming sections. The collectibles are often in spots that require you to use all these skills so they feel super satisfying to get each time, as well as using a lot of them for leveling up weapons or buying perks/more potions/etc. The game does a great job balancing all these light RPG systems where you feel like you could beat the game without doing them all if you are skilled, but really making it feel rewarding if you take the time to find things in the map.

The combat is also quite fine despite not being overly complex, you have a few different combos you can do with your blades as well as a bow but really the skill comes from dodging or parrying at the right times. The boss battles all felt fair even some of the tougher ones later one and led to some really awesome moments. The way the map flows is also quite good, you pretty frequently find golden trees where you can restore your health and save, as well as finding fast travel points around the map which are super useful but also not game breaking. This allows you to jump around a bit but by limiting where you can initiate to only those spots it doesn’t take away the feeling of exploring. The areas themselves vary from pretty standard settings to a few that really stand out that I won’t spoil. The map also lets you place icons as well as a collectible you have that let’s you save screenshots on the map so you can easily remember a spot you want to return to later which is a great feature.

If you are a fan of the genre this is definitely a game I would recommend, it plays super well and the story, while not the most in depth hooking narrative ever, has a pretty neat concept that kept me entertained and led to cool gameplay moments.