wallmeat
2017
This really isn't my style of game at all, I already dislike brawlers and one with intentionally obtuse controls seems like a personal match made in hell, but I have laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of it and it is the game that finally pried my kid out of a Fall Guys death grip so I accept what it offers with thanks.
2021
The thing that makes this game compelling--the unpredictability of the physics--is also the thing that makes mastery elusive and creates unfortunate premature endings. I've totally abandoned strategy and given up on getting 3000 points. My only purpose now is making big fruit bounce. Nothing matters but big fruit. And getting 2 watermelons, so they cancel each other out. My secret dream.
2023
Entertaining jam game with potential. Short and easy in its current incarnation, as jam games are wont to be, but I'd love to see a longer version of this.
1999
As a maze game, the difficulty is a bit uneven, but the level design is ridiculously cute.
2018
Got this while looking for a farming sim without story/social gameplay. I went into it thinking I'd do some low stakes farming for an hour or two, and this thing consumed my life for over a month (80+ hours) and provided a much-needed chill/vegout zone. At it's core, it's a goal-driven farming sim for people who enjoy clicking buttons and organizing/decorating things, with useful multiplayer features that allow you to visit and work on other people's farms to gain a boost on your own farm. Fairly granular privacy controls and a well-designed leveling progression create a play-your-way grind-based game that actually doesn't feel like a grind outside the (brutal) holiday events. I'm normally not big on cosmetics but I bought several DLC at regular price and will probably pick up the others in a bundle. I'm sure I'll continue to poke at this a while. Highly recommend.
TBD
Obscure and enjoyable color-match arcade puzzle series where fish of the same type can only be caught in schools of 3 or more if at least one fish is at the surface. Puzzli is Japanese only and Super Puzzli 2 has an international version.
Very enjoyable Magical Drop style puzzle game with the twist of only being able to combine coins in equal or greater value to the next denomination (e.g. 2 50c make 100c). The CPU is hard as balls, and the solo version is good fun.
2019
I decided to give this another go on Nintendo Switch and it's a bad port. It has long load times and stutters, the graphics look weirdly rezzed down. What a waste of time. If I'd paid more than $3 I'd be genuinely annoyed.
2000
I know I'm a shitty casual and everything but I found this almost impossible to play, let alone enjoy. The reaction time required and the volume of random obstacles (dogs, an actual POLAR BEAR?) is really something.
1992
The controls and speed on this game is abysmal. Astonishingly unfun.
2023
Shows promise and I like the concept, but ended up being too grindy and slow.
2001
Weird, fun, addictive puzzler. A mashup of Picross and Magic Drop where the player completes block pictures by placing/removing blocks to fill in the blanks. If you are into handheld block puzzles definitely give this one a try.
2021
I want to play this Zelda-like. The music and graphics are enjoyable, and the story is reasonably fun, but the controls are driving me bananas. At first I legit thought something was wrong with my controller. Maybe I'll come back to it, maybe not.
2005
This run and gun sometimes pops up on hidden gems list. I liked the graphics and the humor, but the gameplay didn't do much for me.
The Nintendo Switch port of this game was extremely tedious. Load times were an issue, and as newcomers to the franchise we had a hard time understanding what to do. Swift death, accompanied by truly incredible load times, made this one a chore. It cost me less than $2 and it wasn't even worth that to try it, at least not for Switch offline coop.