Big Helmet Heroes isn’t going to dethrone Castle Crashers as the wildest, weapon-wielding brawler. But this effort is certainly better than many competitors. With a patch or two to remedy the occasional crash, Exalted Studios’ might just land a unexpected hit.

Sail Forth’s simulation of ocean waves and its accessible approach to sailing are top-notch. But the rest of the world isn’t as meticulously realized, resulting in low-stakes tedium across your exploration of the high seas.

From a unified visual style to maps that will test your mettle, Dark Deity 2’s improvements are plentiful. Sure, the dialog can come uncomfortably close to sounding like made-for-streaming filler. But when you’re using the carefully-cultivated abilities of your party members to trounce a dominant foe, these moments can be forgiven.

Fans of Jeff Minter’s digital psychedelia will undoubtedly appreciate Akka Arrh once they learn to make sense of the on-screen bedlam. Fortunately, the steep learning curve is balanced by long-term appeal, positioning the game just south of classics such as Revenge of the Mutant Camels, Polybius, and Tempest 4000.

Parking Garage Rally Circuit makes a solid argument for racing games reaching their peak during the ‘90s. Sure, Walaber’s latest effort is capable of cultivating nostalgia, with its Saturn-era visuals and approachable controls. But it’s also a timeless test of skill without all the fluff found in modern racers.

Every missed shot develops into another hazard across Duck Paradox’s stages. Here, precision platforming and bullet-hell dodging collide in a thoroughly challenging and delightfully hectic 2D roguelike.

Pleasingly, METAL SUITS: Counter-attack absolutely shines on portable PCs like the Steam Deck or ROG Ally, extending solid sixty frame-per-second-performance even when there’s a chain reaction of screen-shaking explosions. Hopefully, Eggtart can temper the game’s sporadic difficulty spikes and prohibits clusters of enemies from bunching up.

Eternal Strands is filled with great ideas. But sporadically, the game’s execution and exposition can’t match these lofty ambitions. At best, the game is a thermodynamic playground that lets you experiment with frost and flame. But once you’ve absorbed its principles (and the weaknesses of the game’s bosses), the game’s appeal might dissolve like ice in an inferno.

Held back by a lack of curation and a disheartening hardlock in Rastan Saga Episode III, Taito Milestones 3 nevertheless delivers some gems. Across the ten-game compilation, you’ll find classics like Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Island, respectable second-string action in Thunder Fox and Runark, as well as Dead Connection underrated gangster-style showdowns. Hopefully, the fourth installment will bring back Bubble Symphony and better beta testing.

Demonschool flirts with brilliance in its tactics and aesthetics but can’t keep its coursework consistent. You might enjoy the vibe but expect the semester to feel twice as long as it actually is.

Peer past some forgivable anachronisms and Critical Games manages to capture the sanguine charms of early console role-playing games. Occasionally, attempts to capture retro appeal can lack authenticity, becoming the equivalent of an unexceptional ‘80s cover band. But here, Joshua Hallaran and the team hit almost all the right notes.

A small team of Polish developers did something the big conglomerates like Activision or Electronic Arts would have botched and made a solid RoboCop game. Sure, there are a handful of technical glitches, but Rogue City builds on Verhoeven’s film, pushing the character in new directions. If you’re a fan of the movie, consider this worthy companion piece.

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom: Pirates of the Disturbance is an enjoyable excursion that should delight fans of Satoru Yamaguchi’s multimedia franchise. In Catarina Claes’ world opening your heart can be a risk, injecting a drop of pragmatism into an otherwise straightforward blend of comedy and romance.

Another winning entry in Nihon Falcom’s action-role playing franchise sees Adol mapping an expansive forest, a feat no other adventurer has accomplished. While it played great in its original Vita-based iteration, this Switch port offers dual language voice acting, smoother framerates, and higher quality output for Tenmon, Naoki Kaneda, and JDK SoundTeam’s triumphant soundtrack.

Literally and figuratively, there’s a lot to dig in Dome Keeper’s mixture of excavation, resource management, and defense stages.

Jaleco’s diminutive ninja become a star across Japan in the 1980s. Ninja JaJaMaru: The Great Yokai Battle +Hell helps to explain this accomplishment, offering a commendable update of the Famicom classic, with the deluxe version of the game bundling an 8- and 16-bit era anthology.

Despite a few frustrating moments and a bug that prohibits completion, Sprawl’s six-hour jaunt is remarkably fun. Across that succinct span, you’ll master bullet time-enriched gunplay while parkouring about. If Max Payne with relaxed gravity sounds remotely interesting, consider spending an afternoon inside this dystopia.

Slime Rancher 2 expands everything that made the first game so endearing, offering richer environments and ecosystems. While the first game delivered a cozy slime-raising sim, the sequel feels like a proper adventure.

Revenge of the Savage Planet is a fun, inventive follow-up with strong humor and style, held back slightly by late-game narrative shifts and some repetitive mechanics.

Assault Suits Valken: Declassified offers a worthwhile reinvigoration to the best 16-bit mecha title ever made. While the game is rooted in 90’s design decisions, details like a sense of weight and the ability to inflict environmental damage make Valken a must-play experience.

At $15, UFO: Unidentified Falling Objects offers a compelling campaign, standalone challenges, and a robust multiplayer component. Fans of action puzzlers like Mr. Driller or Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo will want to take UFO for a test flight via Steam demo. Despite the simplistic visuals, play is stellar.

There’s certainly no shortage of Vampire Survivors clones on Steam. But Parry Nightmare provides distinction by not letting you fight enemies directly. Instead, a well-timed deflection stuns foes, allowing a secondary character to defeat them. Sure, it’s a marginal innovation. But given the game’s modest price and the wonderfully jazzy soundtrack, the concise campaign can offer enjoyment if you aren’t burnt out on the genre.

Rune Factory 3 Special makes few missteps in this remaster of the 2010 DS title. But for Switch owners, the availability of the technical superior Rune Factory 4 Special makes this effort a bit superfluous for all but the most fervent franchise devotees.

Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch swaps its predecessor’s slow-burn campaign for fast, flexible tactical runs. It doesn’t reinvent either the tactics or roguelike genres, but the streamlined combat, consequential meta-progression, and replay-ready structure make it a surprisingly satisfying spin-off for fans and newcomers alike.

For players willing to embrace its sharp edges, ANTHEM#9 stands as a bold, stylish experiment that earns its place in the crowded roguelite landscape. Blending gem matching, deckbuilding, with aesthetics that recall the Persona series, it’s just a few tip screens shy of getting a full recommendation.

Between the lack of exigency and a formulaic approach, Voidwrought is competent but rarely compelling. Sure, the game’s dark atmosphere is attractive, and the game’s delivers the fundamentals expected from an action-adventure. But I stuck with it to the end due to obligation rather than eagerness.

Katanaut throws you into a cosmic bloodbath where every swing of your blade feels both desperate and exhilarating. It’s punishing, stylish, and a little grindy, but alongside Dunjungle, it’s one of the more gripping action roguelites out there.

Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian may not break much new ground for Gust’s long-running series, but it delivers a heartfelt mix of streamlined alchemy, lively combat, and a moving storyline about loss and renewal. It’s less about reinvention and more about the power of periodic emotional pull.