Part of me wishes Another Crab’s Treasure predated the Souls games, just so we would have to refer to genre offshoots as Crablikes. The sauce is certainly thick on this one, and I’ll be thinking about it for quite some time. Another Crab’s Treasure pulls off exactly what it set out to do, and it’s going to be a favorite for many. Thanks to some of the less palatable late-game moments, it didn’t quite get to that level for me, but I very much appreciate all the shell-bound friends and pelagic puns I met along the way.

If you get anything from this review, it’s that Rocket Knight Adventures is an underappreciated classic, and you should definitely play it. The two Sparkster games are more Sparkster, but more disposable and with a feeling of cynicism. Whether you wait for a sale is your decision. Rocket Knight Adventures: Re-Sparked Collection is fine, just play Rocket Knight Adventures already.

Still Wakes the Deep blends this terror with genuine human flaws. Outside of Dredge, I don’t know if a game has felt so uniquely Lovecraftian. This is a game that everyone should play just to experience once, and thanks to its deathless story mode, you can. It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s noteworthy and a game you’re not going to stop hearing about for a long time, and it scratches the itch you’ll have been feeling since playing Alien: Isolation.

Even though my expectations were high, Shadow of the Erdtree still managed to exceed them.

Shortform horror is well-established within the indie sphere, and you can generally find whatever niche or subgenre you’re looking for. From RPG Maker narratives to raunchy slasher horror, hobby developers have stuck their fingers in a lot of scary places. But through slick and enjoyable writing and a surreality of its own, Anthology of the Killer manages to be more than just another corpse on the pile.

Easily stands amongst the classic games that inspired it while simultaneously paying homage to them.

It's pure fun, and I honestly can't ask for anything more from a game.

Quotation forthcoming.

The fact that Paper Mario did diverge after The Thousand-Year Door makes this remaster even more effective.

Quotation forthcoming.

Quotation forthcoming.

The best thing I can say about PO’ed is that it can be completed in around three hours. Aside from that, I really didn’t enjoy it. It’s not the worst FPS I’ve played. For all its problems, it at least isn’t bland. It has its high points, demonstrates a capable development team with a willingness to experiment, it just didn’t result in a fun final product.

If you've ever had thoughts of throwing your phone away or abandoning the internet to its robotic rulers, Mullet Madjack taps into that frustration.

If you enjoy a good story that can make you laugh one minute, hold back tears the next, then audibly mumble “WTF?” right after that, do yourself a favor, and check out1000xRESIST.

Animal Well is packed with more things to do and secrets to find than most other games.

It's definitely worth a visit.

Despite it not being what I expected and having a few quirks like unusually long load times (30 seconds at most at odd times), Sucker for Love: Date to Die For is an easy recommendation for anyone. It’s a genuinely heartwarming tale steeped in horror. The way it utilizes concepts familiar to Lovecraft fans and makes them its own is inspiring. It’s flirty, charming, funny, and frightful in equal parts. If Akabaka was able to make this kind of leap between the first and second entries, I can’t wait to see what they do for the third.

I have no doubt that this is going to be — and in many cases likely already is — a runaway 2024 favorite for many. It didn’t quite land there for me, personally, but I won’t soon forget the satisfaction of a deft parry and the shrieks of those who sacrificed themselves throughout Christian’s harrowing journey. Hell, I may even dive back in and see how it holds up to a return trip, just not anytime too soon; the wounds are still fresh.

If you're a fan of games with a unique and compelling narrative, Stellar Blade has fired on all cylinders in that regard.

It’s still an enjoyable journey and adds plenty of playtime thanks to the multitude of cinematics, lengthy main story, and generous helping of sidequests. The Rising Tide is definitely a step up from the meager offerings of the boss rush mode that was Echoes of the Fallen. If you’ve been looking for a reason to return to Valisthea, this is it.

But regardless of what caused the project to get derailed, it still means that Phantom Fury is a disappointing result. It’s a mash of ‘00s FPS cliches without reprieve. I spent most of its runtime wishing it was over. Or, at least, wishing it was what it promised to be. Its overall blandness has done the impossible and made me appreciate Duke Nukem Forever just a little bit more.

I believe it will help anyone who plays it understand themselves more, especially if they feel the darkness life can throw at them has changed them somehow. It’s a beautiful game, an essential game, and the groundwork for what I hope becomes a franchise that takes those things in life some of us have been taught to bottle up and presents them front and center.

Life Eater feels like an experiment that neither fizzled nor exploded. All the parts are there, but they don’t fit together quite right. Something is missing, and before that something was located, it was released into the wild as-is. Because it can’t find its effectiveness, the central concept that should be so compelling and disturbing is just kind of fluffy. If an apathetic detachment from ritual sacrifice was what Life Eater was aiming for, then it nailed it. Unfortunately.

Whether you are a history nut or an action RPG lover, Rise of the Ronin should be your next choice in a game. You’ll have fun dicing up your enemies while learning about Japan’s rich culture. It’s the perfect combination of the two, and I hope to see more entries like this to dive more into historical content.

What I mainly took away from Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom is that its creators had a lot of fun crafting it. There’s a lot of love poured into it, and it shows in all the small ways it goes the unnecessary extra mile. It’s surprisingly polished, even if there is the odd frustrating moment of fighting with the physics. It just feels like a complete, uncompromised package that succeeds in what it sets out to do.

It’s worth a look for being so effective at delivering its perspective. Death Noodle Delivery is sympathetic, but it has no answers for you. It may remind you that you’re not alone in your struggles, but rarely have I found that sentiment to be helpful. Instead, we can only be like Jimmy and hope that by continuing to put one foot in front of the other, we’ll eventually get somewhere better. At least there are noodles to comfort us in the meantime.

Felix the Cat is a decent game. It’s rather routine. It’s slightly above average. But it’s not a passionless title with no value. On top of that, it’s a quality port. So, even if you come in with only an appreciation for the NES, the character, or Shimada Kikaku (for some reason), then you won’t be disappointed. Limited Run Games didn’t recover a hidden gem, but it gave an old cat another life.

Unicorn Overlord is Vanillaware’s custom-built device for capturing the heart of anyone who’s loved watching tiny units bash against each other on a map. It puts a lot of love into each of those units, from what they do and how you can manage them, to their art and direction, down to making each new addition feel impactful. It’s a campaign full of strategy goodness, and I can forgive some quality-of-life nitpicks and repetition when the end result is just this damn good.