Ritual: Crown of Horns offers fast-paced action that fans of difficulty will adore. People looking for a casual experience or those who want a story and controls that make sense will probably be left looking for more.

With the lack of true musical and aesthetic variety, and either too easy or too challenging difficulty modes, LOUD feels like how my dad describes my music taste – just noise, with no substance. At the heart of LOUD is a fun arcade-like rhythm game that falls short in comparison to many other releases of the same genre. Big props for the Soccer Mommy shoutout, though.

Morbid: The Lords of Ire is another in a long line of fighter games trying to be gory for gore’s sake. Although it’s mostly well done, there’s not much to differentiate it from the rest of the pack. Its visual quirks can be ignored, but it still seems to be a little less than what it could be.

Everdream Valley has the potential to become a good farming game, and there were times when I really enjoyed myself just working on the farm and training my animals. But the short story, underwhelming ending, and gameplay issues were a turnoff.

Ace Angler: Fishing Spirits is a fun game, especially if you enjoy collectathons. Many of the games come down to luck, but this title will keep you entertained for a few hours.

I generally like deck-building, turn-based strategy games, but I had a hard time really getting into Rising Lords. It isn’t bad—with special nods to the visuals and overall playing time—but the clunky controls and overly busy mechanics prevent it from being all it could be.

Balancelot has a solid aesthetic and a unique approach to gameplay, but even without the awkward combat that originality is hit and miss.

The Enigma Machine has a solid, page-turning plot. The way it embraces unfolding technology (and in a unique visual style) is something I’d like to see more of. But the marriage of story and visuals with the gameplay is mixed. Some successful puzzles are let down by in-between, squinting-at-the-screen, bits; this is probably one to skip if you’re playing on a Switch Lite. But if you have affection for the early 32-bit era, give The Enigma Machine a shot. It’s not much of a commitment in terms of funds or time.

Evan’s Remains is a “mystery-thriller” that, while pretty big on mystery, is shorter on thrills. If the story (and the way it’s set-up) connects with you, you’ll have much more enjoyment than I did. However, I don’t think this is a tale with a broad audience in mind. Joined by puzzles that look and play quite similarly, the impact lessens. But the great audio/visual package elevates this one to an okay experience for me.

Samurai Riot is a decent 2D action arcade game, it just needs some refinement. It looks good, it (mostly) plays well, and it satisfies the old arcade beat-’em-up desire. If the developers fix a couple annoying glitches, it’ll be a solid options for genre fans.

Ooblets is a fun game that will keep you busy for days. But some parts can be overwhelming and feel unbalanced at times.

Overall, Astor: Blade of the Monolith is a fun hack-n-slash action game, at least for a little while. The story and the world aren’t strong enough to keep your attention, but the battles are fun in the beginning. Soon enough, you’ll feel you’ve seen all the game offers before you’ve completed the main story.

My time with SuperMash was interesting, to say the least. Some mashups were extremely fun, while others were just boring. I have to say it is a game that is going to give you a different experience almost every time you play, and while story mode isn’t too intriguing, I can’t say fully it is a bad game. That said, I couldn’t say that it is an amazing game either. The concept was a valid attempt of an idea, however many times; the mashes felt bland. As it sits even with the promise of DLC, I’m not sure it is worth the asking price of $19.99.

Risk System is a fun action arcade game that will keep you busy for a few hours. However, the repetitive gameplay may end your session early.

Torchlight III is a decent action RPG with plenty to do but with a side of repetitive quests and some glitches.

Corpse Killer – 25th Anniversary Edition offers us a trip back to gaming’s horrific full-motion video past. It’s an era we should study to make sure we don’t repeat our mistakes, but it’s far enough behind us now that I can admit some of those mistakes can provide a bit of goofy fun.

Despite the usual tropes of twin-stick shooters, RogueCube is a brief but neat little distraction with a fun weapon selection mechanic that’s best played with a group of friends.

Super Box Land Demake isn’t a terrible game, it’s just simple and not as fleshed out as its predecessor. It’s still charming, but not worth the same price as the last game at $4.99. If it goes on sale I would recommend picking it up since it is still a solid game, if a bit shallow.

Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star is an artistically impressive visual novel that compliments the darker narrative and theme. A theme that is rare to come by, that many people will relate to on some level. Unfortunately, this narrative is presented with a lack of depth, and the slow pacing harms the user’s overall experience. Additionally, the ‘sex sense’ sections could have been presented far better, and just come across a little hollow.

Power Sink is a clever, underwater puzzle/platformer with nice visuals and intriguing gameplay. Puzzle fans will enjoy the game’s built-in logic, but a host of glitches will sink the overall experience for many of those willing to take the dive.

Gematombe is a fun and simple block-breaking game. It’s cute and colorful with an amusingly silly story. Despite a few modes to keep you entertained, they rely on the same block-mechanic, which can lead to tedium. Hopefully the developer can breathe life into this one via DLC or other updates.

Worms Rumble can be an enjoyable ride, and it is certainly a bold, fresh take on the franchise. However, it is ultimately a step in the wrong direction. Worms Rumble fails to capture the essence of previous games, and adopting this style of gameplay causes it to grow stale quickly.

Super Bomberman R Online offers your standard online multiplayer space for classic Bomberman battles, with premium perks available but quite a bit of waiting time.

Overall, Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior is a solid game. The strategy portion mixed with the hack ‘n’ slash was well done, though I didn’t care for the game forcing you to switch up your gameplay style throughout the entire experience.

Rise Eterna is good enough to give tactical RPG fans something to enjoy while they await big studio releases, but its lack of difficulty and unfortunate UI issues will prevent other gamers from playing through to its unsatisfying ending.

Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance II will provide a mana-blast of nostalgic glee for those who played the original Dark Alliance hack-and-slash RPG on their GameCube, but it doesn’t offer enough excitement or variety to otherwise hold your attention.

Considering their amazing catalog, I’m not sure why Atari keeps trying to make 1972’s Pong relevant for modern gamers. Pong Quest is a clever, valiant run at it, aided by solid controls and some decent multiplayer life. But it’s still just Pong, and the game is at its best when they help you forget that.

Overall, Tales of Mathasia is a cute game and certainly does an excellent job explaining addition and subtraction to a younger audience.