It all comes together to create a game that has a really mellow atmosphere, but challenging and active enough gameplay to keep you involved.

The setting and characters in Empyrean are the sort that you want to get to know more of, while the situations you find yourself in sometimes feel like a cross between Batman and the Rocketeer. It takes a while for all the pieces to get into place, but once they do, this is simply a fantastic romp through a highlight reel of great moments in pulp fiction. Even though I secured a happy ending, when I reached the final page, I was sad that there was no more. For a gamebook that exceeds 300,000 words to leave me feeling that way, I'm not sure how I could do anything but give a very firm recommendation, no matter how slowly it starts.

With its sharp and colorful visuals and classic gameplay sensibilities, Super Phantom Cat is a pretty perfect hybrid of the new and old.

For free, you'd be silly not to check this game out, especially if you enjoy word games.

Despite my issues with the performance, and I’m more annoyed by technical issues than most, I ended up adoring Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince. It joins Monster Hunter Stories 2 as my two favorite monster collecting games. It has heart, charm, and one of the best gameplay loops in a monster collecting game. I hope we see some patches improving the performance though, because that’s the only thing holding this back.

Tinkering and experimenting is rewarded- it's a joy to see every moving part a half-moment from lining up. The elegance of the later levels, as each piece takes its part in a grander pattern-that's something worth experiencing. Assuming, of course, you can get that far.

Another Crab’s Treasure is superb. It has a few polish issues holding some areas of it back, but I can’t recommend it enough at its asking price right now. I’ve already spent nearly 25 hours with it across platforms, and can’t wait to keep doing more as I play it on Steam Deck and PS5. Just avoid the Switch version for now. Another Crab’s Treasure feels like this year’s Lies of P at a smaller scale, and that’s about the best compliment I can give a soulslike right now.

Ouros is a relaxing and great puzzle game that feels like something we’d see hit iPad a decade ago in a good way. It plays perfectly on Steam Deck with full touchscreen support, and has enough accessibility in its progression and hint system to be a great introduction to puzzle games as well.

The original Small World was a great example of what could be done with board game on iOS, and this update has given it a needed rebirth. It is now able to stand against iOS strategy greats like Ascension, Agricola, and Eclipse without shame. Small World 2 is worth a second look for mobile strategy aficionados.

Le Parker: Sous Chef Extraordinaire seems like a really out there game based on the trippy visuals and the odd premise alone, but it's actually a safe bet if you grew up with retro platformers. It marries that '90s aesthetic with its own voxel-like art, and manages to maintain a tight control scheme that relies on simple directions and a lone action button. Oh, and the low price and lack of hidden catches don't hurt.

While the asking price might seem high for some, TEVI is absolutely worth it. There are a few issues holding it back like some visual clarity ones for certain parts of levels or the slow opening hours, but this is a superb Metroidvania experience that I hope gets a physical release. I adored it on both Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch.

I really have to recommend Tiny Dangerous Dungeons to anyone who enjoys platformers or Metroidvanias

Action-RPG gems of this size and quality don't hit mobile very often.

I can see some people getting bored of this very quickly considering there isn’t any in-game goal or progression barring what you build and want to see yourself. After seeing so many screenshots of gorgeous things my friends made, I’m glad to finally have a perfect version of Townscaper on my iPhone and iPad. While iCloud sync would’ve been great to have, there is a workaround and everything else in this conversion is exactly what I wanted. If you held off on getting Townscaper on PC or Nintendo Switch, the iOS version is definitely worth it. If you already own it elsewhere, you will likely enjoy it a lot more on iOS thanks to the added control options and ease of access.

If you've got even a little bit of love for the single-screen action games that used to dominate the hobby, you'll want to pick this up and start counting sheep immediately.

To The Moon doesn't offer much in the way of mechanical depth, and there's really only one way to experience the story, so its replay value is not great in theory. It's certainly one of the jobs of a review to inform readers of things like that. But the ultimate goal of a review is to tell you if something is worth your time and money, and in that capacity, I can't recommend To The Moon enough. The mobile version has some issues with fiddly controls, but don't let that stop you from playing this superb adventure. It's beautiful in the most human way possible.

Fans of Tiny Tower will love this Vegas sequel and for others I’d advocate checking it out.

Barring the few features I’d like to see in potential patches, Venba delivered in spades, and I can’t wait to see what Visai Games works on next. Venba is a great 1 hour or so long experience that will definitely have you salivating at some of the food while probably thinking of your own family or friends while playing.

Rex Rocket is an excellent game that manages to scratch both my itch for a great new Metroidvania and a Mega Man-style action platformer.

Asphalt 5 definitely delivers on the fun meter. The controls and content really makes this a racer accessible to everyone.

Aksys Games has been selecting some superb otome visual novels to localize in recent years and Variable Barricade is one of the best in the genre on Nintendo Switch. With each newer release, it feels like the genre is becoming more accessible to those who aren’t fans of pure visual novels. If you’re a fan of otome games, you need to get Variable Barricade. For newcomers, this light-hearted experience might finally get you into the genre.

It's challenging, fun, and gives you a huge amount of toys to play around with, provided you're good enough to pry them off of dead spiders and zombies.

If you're an old school gamer at heart, you really can't go wrong with Captain Cowboy.

I haven't been this impressed with the evolution of a game of this nature since the original Metroid spawned the phenomenally brilliant Super Metroid.

Wefiends Inc. really did a great job with Dandy, and all the thought and work they put into it resulted in a fresh and clever shoot 'em up that will offer hours of fun.

Inexpensive, innovative, and sensory-spinning thrills of this caliber are rare.

Considering its graphics, sound, and gameplay, few apps offer the elegance that is Splice: Tree of Life. Four dollars is a small price to pay to expand one's way of thinking.

My only complaint with Splatoon 3: Expansion Pass Wave 2 – Side Order is that it could’ve used a bit more variety for a mode that requires you to replay it so much to get the most out of it. While it may not hit the set-piece highs as past game expansions, this is exactly what I want to see from Splatoon as a series, and I hope it is included in the next game as an optional mode. The team nailed everything here, and if it ever does get more added through free updates, it will be perfect.