Kick & Fennick is not the typical retro-styled platformer...it's 3D, for starters, and its jumping mechanics are anything but standard. Adding a healthy mix of puzzles and platforms, Kick & Fennick's Wii U adaptation is very competent, even if it's impossible to avoid a certain feeling of repetitiveness derived from a lack of variety in the backgrounds and goals.

Ninja Smasher intends to bring back the spirit of 8-bit platformers and it certainly mastered its conventions: the plot is minimal as the player sets off through a maze-like map, with a difficulty curve that is very well adjusted to the player's own development as more items and techniques become available.

The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 brings back point-n-click adventures to the Wii U in a game that offers well-written dialogues and plenty of humorous situations in the background of a visually rich and polished environment. Despite the lack of interaction through the GamePad, The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 is a game that will certainly please fans of the genre, after the dearth of point-n-click titles over recent years.

Defend Your Crypt is a well-designed real time trap'em all game where a progressive capture system will allow the player to eliminate as many enemies as possible to prevent their looting. It can get repetitive at certain moments but the trap system and the way further traps are unlocked will provide for some real moments of fun to the players who enjoy a good dose of real-time trapping of invaders.

Lovely Planet is certainly one of the least conventional titles to don the mechanics of a first person shooter. Its simple and clean visuals go completely against the genre's standards whereas the quick and easy way to bring the player to the game shrugs off any concerns about plot or narrative. A game made for quick, intense gaming sessions that can get too saturating if played with a different mindset.

Being a short and intense game, Ziggurat gives many incentives to be played again and again and only suffers from some technical flaws in its Wii U incarnation which nevertheless don't stand in the way of an addictive game.

Infinite Dunamis is a competent, if low-budget and unambitious RPG designed in the style of its 16-bit ancestors. What it lacks for in originality of the plot, characters and style it makes up in terms of an interesting and involving combat system.

Toon Tanks could have made an effort to provide something simple and fun but it fails on every goal it set for itself. A graphically plain work, whose levels are nearly all alike, offering only one model of vehicle for the whole game and completely devoid of creativity or originality, there is no point in which Toon Tanks stands out within even the most modest of ambitions.

Journey to Kreisia is an RPG whose formula has been repeated over and over, which does not necessarily mean it should be shunned.

Hot Rod Racer has no personality and its gameplay mechanics are simply frustrating and not fun. There are few objectives, its tracks don't motivate the player to go forward and the vehicle's hitbox makes everything more difficult. A clear case of a game designed for the mobile segment which has no place elsewhere, no matter how low its selling price is.

It doesn't fully live up to its potential due to repetitive gameplay mechanics and to its often maladjusted control system and interface, which together with the lack of a proper plot and tutorials will only contribute to make it less appealing to many players.

Alien on the Run may resemble a typical low-budget production to be released on a digital format but the simple package in which it comes does a great job at disguising what lies beneath: a very addictive game that features a stunning visual presentation and remarkable level design.

Psycho Pigs is back and this remake certainly honours the original with its simple and very fun concept, its humour in all levels and overall loyalty to a game from nearly thirty years ago.

Dual Core is a competent arcade-style shooter that comes out on top when played on a local co-op. It misses out on the solo experience, as its one-player mode is far less fun and compelling than with two, three or four players, which only makes the lack of an online multiplayer mode more difficult to understand. Be as it may, Dual Core will certainly be a good choice for anyone eager for some fun and intense multiplayer shooting experience.

Blasting Agent makes sense in its original format and environment but when converting it to the Wii U, the result is too problematic - not just due to its technical issues and unstable framerate but especially due to incoherent level design and the overall feeling that this conversion adds nothing to what already existed.

Quest of Dungeons may not be a groundbreaking game or an instant classic but it does its job: it's a fun dungeon crawler, with good skills and combat systems and a visual style which will fit perfectly with the nostalgic crowd.

Even if the gameplay might require some variety after a while, The Letter Quest is easily recommended to anyone who wants to try something that walks away from the norm.

Dragon Skills has a simple and accessible concept which seems appealing to the retro-minded players but it's also plagued by problems which turn it into a difficult experience. If the decision to use the GamePad vertically is hard to understand, merciless difficulty progression and lack of fluidity don't make anything better.

140 takes its minimalist credentials seriously and reduces all elements to the...minimum, emphasizing its excellent controls and level design. The concept is very well executed and this could be a more memorable game if only its content was wider and the price a bit more in a line with what it brings.

Its gameplay is extremely frustrating and entirely based on trial and error, forcing the players to repeat the sames stages over and over under an extremely tight time limit and making use of very inaccurate and imprecise controls, which will only aggravate the players' overwhelming sense of frustration.

Poncho lives much more off its puzzles and mental reasoning demands than of platforming action - not to mention it features unlimited lives - and any potential for a fluid action game is lost in this.

While it doesn't really innovate or go beyond the limits of the original's gameplay, it works well enough and its local multiplayer will provide some hours of fun. Pity that it doesn't have anything else to stand for itself and that the lack of online modes as well as its long loading times make this a less fun game than it could.

Futuridium EP Deluxe brings back the space-themed shoot'em up, this time with a psychedelic atmosphere that will pit the player through fifty levels which will pose a significant amount of challenge - sometimes too much challenge for its own good, as the controls aren't always responsive as they should and level design could use some serious improvements.

With a wealth of levels and plenty of incentives to get back to it, Gear Gauntlet ends up becoming too tough at certain moments, driving the players to the brink of desperation in a work that will deter the less experienced but satisfy those determined enough to push ahead.

Act it Out! A Game of Charades brings the well-known charades game to the Wii U in a format that allows up to eight players at once. While the production is simple and responsive enough to work, it also falls short of taking full advantage of the Wii U's capacities, making its price tag a bit too hefty for this competent but still rather underachieving work.

Just Dance 2017 keeps the tradition of being the best game in the dancing style. Featuring a new musical selection and the same upbeat gameplay as before, Just Dance proves that it deserves the recognition of being the best party game out there. For the next chapter, a renewal featuring brand new gaming modes would be very welcome, as keeping the same formula could start to become repetitive in the long term.

ASH tries hard to pay tribute to turn-based RPGs of the 1980s and 1990s...so hard that it doesn't realize that genres evolve for a reason. This game is mostly stuck on a sea of obsolescence and not even its well-written dialogues can add a different flair to a production that does poorly in nearly every other aspect.

Kingdom’s Item Shop may have a rather interesting concept but the action is so repetitive that it quickly becomes a tedious chore. Overall the game lacks challenge and achieves little with its unusual premise, which could have taken the game in a different direction, were it not for an overwhelming feeling of repetitiveness that quickly takes over everything.