The actual game of Ascension is a somewhat refreshing spin on fantasy-based card games in that instead of building a specific deck that you use in battles, you're building your deck on the fly from game to game.

This seems to be the perpetual theme of Wild Blood: every positive seems to be counter-balanced by an unnecessary negative. The controls, story, gameplay -- even the visual engine itself, all seem to work against the elements that Gameloft do succeed in implementing. It's a shame because Wild Blood has the potential to be a must-have iOS title. Unfortunately, as it stands now, it's a mixed bag.

With some improvements on the technical side, Warhammer 40,000: Bowgun would be a game I’d recommend to any first-person shooter fan. As it is, it’s still a lot of fun, but you’re going to have to deal with fits of jerky controls, audio stutters, and varying framerates. Those who have come to get used to gyro aiming might also be frustrated by its absence here. Nothing that can’t be tweaked with some patches, but here and now the Switch version is enjoyable but hard to recommend over playing Boltgun on another platform.

The premise of Crime O’Clock is a solid one, and the art is really fun to look at. On top of that, each scene has ten slightly different variants. It’s neat to see things play out, even the bits that aren’t relevant to the case. Still, I can’t help but feel that the game held my hand too much most of the time. I never felt like I was actually solving any of these cases but rather just watching my AI do it while I fetch it a cup of water now and then. If you like games built around hunting objects in busy scenes, you’ll probably enjoy this game. Those who are simply intrigued by the set-up should be aware that it doesn’t deliver on it the way you might hope.

While some might prefer the new aesthetics and a stand-alone version of an app does have merits in and of itself, it's hard to make a strong case for buying Super Gridland over simply playing the browser version on those qualities alone. I choose to look at this as an opportunity to pay Townsend for the fun I had with the browser version of Gridland, with Super Gridland serving as something of a bonus. You'll certainly get your value out of the money spent, even if it doesn't offer quite the same impact or replay value as some other games in the genre on iOS.

I find myself incredibly conflicted about OK Golf. There's a lot of cool things about it, but there's just some aspects to the game that other golf games have already gotten right, and there was no reason for OK Golf to go around messing with the golf formula. I'm interested to see what future content and updates bring to improve and diversify the golfing experience here, because there is a great game somewhere in here with some fixes. Until then, I have to say OK Golf is just...okay.

Wizard with a Gun has a lot of potential. It absolutely could reach the highs I expect from a quality Devolver Digital-published game, but right now it feels like it needs more time in the oven. I love the visuals, movement, and music, but it feels a bit too grindy and lacking in other ways. It perfectly suits the Steam Deck though, and I recommend getting it to play on Deck over even PS5 if you have the option right now.

For a free game the IAP is rather fair, and the ability to watch an ad to double a bonus (or subsequently, ignore a negative effect) is fairly inoffensive.

Manic Mechanics is aimed primarily at the multiplayer co-op experience, with support for up to four players via local or online play. As a solo affair, it’s probably not going to satisfy you. Taken as intended, as a multiplayer experience, it’s quite a lot of chaotic fun. I’d be hard-pressed to recommend it over Overcooked but if you need something similar to that game, and I mean really similar, this game checks off all the necessary boxes with sufficient level of quality to satisfy.

Overall, this is a really enjoyable shooter. It feels good to play, and that’s really what counts in the end. It could be a little harder, and I do hope the technical issues I had while playing it were either unfortunate coincidences or will be fixed in an update. But I certainly found the game worth my time while it lasted, and it scratches the Defender itch well enough that I suspect I will be returning to it now and then in the future.

It may not blow you away with high end visuals, and the core gameplay is pretty simple and won't appeal to everybody, but GeoSpin is a catchy and original game that is executed very well.

Another Lost Phone is worth playing because it does broach the kinds of topics we don't usually see in mobile games but we see and hear about every day. Some may disagree about the potential of mobile games as a tool for social awareness, but since these devices are usually implicated in all kinds of unpleasantness, I think it's appropriate that they also be used as a way to remedy the issues they can often create.

The nearly real-time combat is the kind of fast action you want to enjoy on an iPad, but may just be a little too cramped for iPhone play.

If you've only played a couple of their games, go for it by all means, but if you've played most of their lineup and find yourself getting a bit tired of the old hamster wheel, you're not going to be missing out by taking a pass on Ninja Village.

I’ll still recommend Oscura Second Shadow to anyone that loves the visuals from the screenshots or are looking for another platformer. However, it’s a far cry from being a mandatory experience.

A safe bet. While not the kind of game that will eat away hours of your time before you realize what's going on or the sort that would be branded as revolutionary, Little Acorns is the sort of title you'll find yourself constantly going back to, the kind of game that fits too easily into a spare five minutes. In short, pick it up if you have an appetite for well-executed and adorable 2D platformers.

The metagame aspects of Puzzle Family are a little lacking.

When I actually play the game, I find a remarkably enjoyable soccer sim. And the Ultimate Team parts, upon reflection, aren't that horrible.

A cautious recommendation will have to do. If you're looking for an old-school strategic romp through some very traditional dungeons, you're in the right place. But these aren't play sessions you can cram into five minute smoke breaks. Dungeon Crawlers is built to last - for better or worse, you'll get hours out of it. If you're a sit-back-and-be-patient sort, you'll be just fine.

After its first update, Fashion Dreamer still needs work. While the performance is my biggest problem with it, some design decisions need to be addressed like letting any body type wear any clothes or accessories. I’m going to revisit it through each update, but right now this feels more like what we got in Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer rather than a true Animal Crossing experience as an example. There’s a lot I like, but this needed more time.

You certainly have to appreciate a bit of old-fashioned sensibility to get the most out of Dungeoneers Quest, but if you're open to that sort of structure, you'll likely have a good time here.

Even though Blockolicious ends up light on the content, it's still a decent little Match-3 game with enough interesting gameplay elements to stand on its own. The visuals, music and overall presentation also do a good job complementing the core gameplay and making the game stand out.

I think if you love Final Fantasy Tactics, Arcadian Atlas will give you something to chew on. It will also likely irritate you in a variety of ways. It’s every bit the game it’s trying to be, a passionate expression of adoration for one of the genre greats. It’s just a shame that it is content to only be that, since the sparks that do light up properly here show such promise. Perhaps we might see some of those become proper flames in the next game from this team, but for now this is really just one for those heavily thirsting for any tactical turn-based intrigue they can get.

The game is basically a trippy combination of Asteroids and Space War! played on the screen of the iPhone or iPad and marks the first in a series of Llamasoft games that are part of the "Minotaur Project," an effort by the developer to release numerous titles featuring retro gameplay, progressing forward from the Atari VCS aesthetic to the VIC 20, Commodore 64, and beyond.

Tallowmere is full of neat little touches. It definitely isn't for everyone, but almost everyone seems to come to like it after a while.

In all fairness, if you don't like endless runners, you won't like Garfield's Wild Ride, but if you do, there is a whole heap of fun to be had without spending a single penny over the initial purchase price, though you may very well feel the urge to part with those hard earned bucks after playing this charming little game.

A little rougher around the edges maybe, but a ridiculous, ageless thing that can be enjoyed by anyone. And that's okay.

Sadly, the nasty input lag that permeates the three games in this set does its whammy here, too. This is an intensely challenging game that already had a bit more lag than it should have on the Saturn, and the extra helping thrown on top of this Saturn Tribute takes a must-have down to a solid maybe.