Rabisco+ is a simple game with all kinds of inventiveness, and plenty of charm to boot, which makes it well worth investigating — short Platinum or not.

Sometimes bad games can be fun, in their own warped way. Hike is not. Hike is just plain bad, boring, and totally disrespectful of players’ time. You’re better off going for an actual hike and getting the attendant health benefits than you would be spending a single cent or second on this putrid game.

Honestly, there’s zero reason to pick up Zotrix Starglider, even if you’re a fan of shmups. There are dozens and dozens of them on the Switch. Even if I’ve only played a handful of them, I feel quite confident in stating that this has got to be one of the worst.

What we have here is a prime example of how to do fighting games the right way. Guilty Gear -Strive- has enough for single players as well as the online crowd. It doesn’t just cater to the advanced player, but rather keeps a good balance whether you are an expert or just a beginner. Stunning to look at and listen to, and a total joy to actually play, Guilty Gear -Strive- is one that should not be missed. Even if you’ve never played a GG game before, you owe it to yourself to experience this title.

These games still hold up today, and while the visual improvements do not make the games feel “Next-Gen”, they definitely bring the games up to date and make them more than playable. The Mass Effect Legendary Edition is the perfect way for both longtime fans and series newcomers alike to experience one of the finest franchises in gaming history.

I get that Legends of Ethernal is really trying to be heartfelt in its story, and tries back that up with “hand-crafted” graphics that are supposed to make you feel all warm and fuzzy towards the game. But it undercuts the vibe it’s going for with a punishing difficulty level and lousy combat. Maybe that’s enough to win over masochists with a soft spot for a very specific art style, but personally, I think I’ll just pass.

Earth Defense Force: World Brothers could have gone horribly wrong. I mean, yes, the series was starting to feel a little stale, but at least it was comfortable. Trying something so new could have been a huge misfire. In this case, though, it’s not. World Brothers takes the series in a somewhat new direction and it mostly succeeds in what it wants to do, which means that it’s worth playing whether you’re a newcomer to the series or a grizzled EDF vet.

For as long as the adventure lasts, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart does pretty much everything that a Ratchet and Clank fan and PS5 player would hope for. It tells a great story, has trademark humor and quality voice acting, and the pacing and gameplay is always satisfying and enjoyable. If you’re looking for a new PS5 exclusive for the summer, this is it.

At about $10, Family Vacation: California is probably a little overpriced — especially when you can buy the game on PC for less than $3 as of this writing. And, obviously, if you want anything more than just a hidden object game, Family Vacation: California won’t give you that. But, again, if you want to turn your brain off and hunt for donuts and triangle rulers and all kinds of other weirdly placed junk, here’s your chance.

Maybe I have a soft spot for short geese games and this one is definitely short. I wish there was a little bit more story and maybe dial back on the Metal Slug homages. The game has some unique features, but they never seem fully fleshed out and useful. Otherwise this is a completely serviceable shoot ’em up that fans of Metal Slug will surely get a kick out of.

There’s more depth here than in most rhythm games, which means that it’s awfully easy to get sucked in — and provided you don’t mind hearing some of the same music over and over again, that’s definitely not a bad thing.

To be clear, Astrologaster probably isn’t for everyone. Humour is, of course, very subjective…and that’s without even factoring in the choral music. But if you’re looking for a game that’s completely unlike anything else out there, look no further, because this is definitely it.

Provided you can overlook plenty of gaps in logic (not to mention hideous graphics and lousy voice acting), there’s something to be said for Jurassic World Evolution. It may not be the greatest amusement park sim or city builder the Switch has to offer, but it’s solid enough in its own right that it’s at least pretty fun time.

To spite the rough and buggy nature of Rust Console Edition at launch, it fills a certain void in the online survival genre on consoles and is certainly worth checking out for those craving a more grounded experience.

Given that Through the Darkest of Times is built around telling a story, having obvious narrative problems — whether in terms of continuity, hamfistedness, or whatever — represents a bit of an issue. There are still some interesting ideas to be found here, and the setting alone makes it feel like few other games, but if you go in expecting something groundbreaking, you may find yourself disappointed.

Wonder Boy: Asha In Monster World is a very nostalgic good time. The reimagined visuals only make the experience better. If you purchase the physical copy, you will have the opportunity to play the original game as it comes free as a bonus. The original game is also fully translated into English for the first time since the limited Wii Virtual Console release. This is one of the best games in the series and it’s fantastic that more gamers can now play this “lost” sequel. RPG and platformer fans will have a blast with this one, while newcomers will surely find something to enjoy as well.

While you can certainly play it straight, it’s a lot better if you take all the weird detours it offers — and the end result is a game that, even if it’s not 100% unique, is still well worth checking out.

C14 isn’t the greatest visual novel I’ve ever played, but it’s not the worst by a long shot, and given the developer’s track record I’ll count that as a positive.

Given how much I enjoyed Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion from start to end, I’m feeling pretty confident right now that I’ll be remembering this game fondly for quite some time.

It goes from being just plain dull to being dull and doltish. Norman’s Great Illusion may think of itself as a treatise designed to make you think and awaken a class consciousness, but the reality is that it’s closer to a cheaply printed pamphlet that’s not even worth the sheet of paper it’s printed on — or, in this case, it’s not even worth the bandwidth you’d use to download it or the bytes it would take up in your harddrive.

Biomutant has been hit with multiple delays, but unfortunately still feels like a half-finished product. The morality system is little more than a means to a few strong magic attacks, and the choices you make throughout the story are laughably irrelevant. A lot of the choices like the single narrator for all of the voiceover, and the overly simple combo mechanics can all be called creative choices, but in the grand scheme of things simply feel like the quickest route to a finished product. I truly wanted to love Biomutant, it has been high on my list of “must plays” since it was first announced, but in its current state, I simply cannot recommend anyone rush to buy it for $60.

Playing the HD Remaster filled me with regret in that I could’ve enjoyed this deep and engrossing title many years ago (The copy I bought from amazon is still sealed…). Yes, while it would’ve been nice that all the DLC was just baked into the base game, but it’s a small price to pay to be able to recruit demons on the go, or not have to worry about losing access to the title if a digital storefront shutters (I mean Steam will never close…will it?). Don’t make the 16 year mistake I did by letting this one pass you by.

Basically, it all comes down to how much you miss the flying levels in Rayman Origins and/or Jetpack Joyride, and how okay you are with seeing their core mechanics resurrected with little of the charm and none of the originality. Skyland Rush – Air Raid Attack imitates those games pretty well, but doesn’t add anything of its own in the process.

As much fun as I had with Rain On Your Parade, however, I still keep going back to how the game’s desperate desire to be liked was somewhat off-putting. It’s unfortunate the developers didn’t have more confidence in their abilities to make a fun game without all the viral bells and whistles, because even without them, there’s something here that’s well worth playing.

Ultimately, if you played Days Gone and it didn’t click with you before, it probably won’t now. Like I said, it is not a perfect game. The story is not very deep, side characters can be a joke at times, the game tends to meander on its way to the real plot points, etc. None of this is changed with the PC release, but the performance is leaps and bounds beyond what it was on the PS4. If you never had a chance to play it back in 2019, or just skipped out on it for whatever reason, the PC version is the absolute best way to play Days Gone.

Overall, I enjoyed revisiting Assassin’s Creed Valhalla for this expansion, and consider it to be a fine add-on to the game. Whether you’re in the middle of a current playthrough or would be coming back to the game after completion, you’ll find you can jump into Wrath of the Druids at pretty much any point, which is a good way to handle an expansion in an open world game like this one. Admittedly I’m not particularly wowed by any one element here, but if you’ve already enjoyed Valhalla up to this point, I can’t really see a reason to not pick up the expansion as well. You’re definitely getting a sizable amount of engaging content for the asking price, and some of the new mechanics and gear available makes for a pretty entertaining time overall.

Ladders by POWGI isn’t a perfect word game, but it’s still highly enjoyable, so if you’re fond of word ladders, it’s definitely worth spending some time with the game.

It shows itself to be so willing to skewer a genre that’s ripe for it, but then it falls into the same traps and pitfalls that you’d expect in any other survival game. If you’re a fan of the genre anyway, that may not matter, and you may appreciate a bit of humour added on to the usual, but if you’re hoping that Breathedge might be a breath of fresh air, look elsewhere.