Thankfully, Dig Dog's sessions are short enough that digging back into the game when failure hits is never frustrating. And the mechanics are designed well enough that failure feels like it's my fault, and not the game. It's hard to get stuck, or get into a bad situation that wasn't a result of you being reckless. The monochromatic visual style does mean that some enemies can hide in the world, but this is an intentional effect. It's a simple but slick look for the game. If you're ready to die a lot, and git gud, well, Dig Dog is the game for you.

RoboCop: Rogue City ended up being one of the biggest surprises of the season. Not only is it a great RoboCop game, but a damn fine and fun experience throughout. Having played it on both Steam Deck and Xbox Series X, it is better on Xbox for sure, but I enjoyed experiencing the combat and story on Steam Deck despite the visual cutbacks. This one is an easy recommendation if you want a competent RoboCop game, and enjoyed the original movies.

If you can stick with it and see it through, I promise the juice is worth the squeeze. If you're prone to moving on to the next game when you hit stubborn walls, I'm afraid you've probably got the wrong number here.

It's hard to shake the feeling the game is missing something - it's a well-executed genre game, but it lacks character. It's not going to fundamentally change what we expect from the genre, it's not going to shift mountains or alter the collective consciousness, but it will give tower defense nuts a deep and nicely packaged experience– And really, what more can you ask for?

Is Dead Cells well suited to being a mobile game? Personally, I think so, but I would also love to see games like Stellaris or Mirror’s Edge on mobile as well. Generally speaking, if the thought of using a controller to play a game on your iPhone or iPad is anathema, then this is almost certainly not the game for you. On the other hand, if that sounds like the greatest thing since sliced bread and goat cheese, you’re in the right place at just the right time. But, regardless of platform or what controls you choose to use, there’s no question about it: Dead Cells is an amazing game, and anyone interested in rogue-lites would be well advised to give it a shot at their earliest convenience.

I like how simple Gum Drop! is.

Rop is a perfectly cromulent experience, balancing out thoughtful challenge with minimalist design and delivering satisfying solutions.

As a fast-paced real-time action game, Heroes of Loot 2 does enough well that I enjoy my time with it, but I didn't find it as compelling as I hoped it would be.

The multiplayer is designed quite well.

Even though the camera is kind of weird, The Pinball HD seems to be the best pinball collection available for the iPad right now.

A massive, sprawling affair that will keep you busy for weeks. It's the kind of MMO that serious-minded iOS gamers have been waiting for, the sort of game that will draw a trill of appreciation from Angry Birds haters. If you have the right mindset, Empire of the Eclipse will rock your world.

Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer remains a fantastic boomer shooter, and is the most 90s thing (compliment) on the eShop right now. I hope it can see some performance improvement for docked play and gyro support added in potential updates though.

Look, we aren’t hurting for games of this genre on the Switch by any means. With that said, I think there is a certain purity to the original design that is worth experiencing for any fan of roguelikes and roguelites. If you’re game to challenge the classic test of nerves and wits, this Switch release of Epyx Rogue is a fine way to do it. Some effort was put in here to make the game work on an interface it very much was not designed for, and I genuinely appreciate the extra bits like the manual and achievements.

As mentioned earlier, it doesn’t quite reach the lofty heights of the best in the genre, but it doesn’t have to be in order to be enjoyable.

It's an imperfect game, but it's one that does a magnificent job overall at straddling a difficult line between its bleak and macabre objective, while being charming and a little humorous.

The action in The East New World is solid and you certainly get a lot of game for your money.

This is such a weird game to even review, as I can fully admit its flaws are numerous, and it's definitely not for everyone... But, any game that has us yelling at our phones definitely deserves some attention.

The touch screen controls really do work remarkably well and To-Fu: The Trials of Chi does a great job of working with the touch screen, not against it. The depth of challenges here works well, but it would be nice to have some type of meta-game or leaderboards so you could track your progress against others.

Sure, Dungeonism has a few small issues like the above-mentioned difficulty curve and a tutorial system that could be organized better, but overall it's an excellent title and well worth checking out.

If you're not too exhausted from the recent deluge of quality RPGs that have come out, you might want to give Asdivine Menace a try.

Spirittea is a great game with the potential to be one of my favorites in the genre, but it needs some updates and fixes on Switch. I still recommend it, and enjoyed the mini-games, characters, and gameplay loop a lot. The aesthetic might not work for some, but I like it a lot and recommend trying the demo if you are interested. I’ll be grabbing the physical copy for this for sure whenever it gets announced.

If you enjoy time attack games and don't mind a stiff challenge, you'll definitely want to give Trappy Tomb a look.

It's a pleasant gaming experience in every way (including the price!), so if you dig great presentation and consistent, engaging gameplay, I think you'll get a lot of fun out of this one.

Like any of its logic game brethren, Puzzle Restorer thrives on the strength of those rules. Because they make a solid foundation, the game is free to open up into greater and greater challenges without ever becoming bogged down in complexity. This could be the start of a puzzle game legacy if Gavina Games has the tenacity to keep it going. As a new twist on a popular type of puzzle game, there's plenty of room to grow.

An original game that's worth a try.

Despite the few qualms I have with the game, Dinofour is a fun and challenging experience that I would recommend to any puzzle platformer fan.

In the end, this is a pretty good gamebook with a very unique feel to it.

The fine folks at Donut Games really know how to put together accessible games with a lot of hidden depth, and Footy Golf is another excellent example of that. As with many of Donut's titles, you can probably get the gist of what this game is about from its name. You have to kick a ball across a stage into a goal in as few moves as possible, collecting coins and diamonds along the way. Fans of this publisher will probably recognize it as a cousin of the classic Cat Physics, but it brings a few tricks of its own to the table, not the least of which being a new pay model. Worry not, however, friends. Footy Golf is as gentle with its monetization as it could possibly be, allowing you enjoy the game with only a minimum of friction. Most importantly, the game itself is challenging and fun.