We’re not exactly starving for choice when it comes to Metroidvania-style games on Steam, and nothing Noreya: The Gold Project does should push it to the front of your wish list. Indeed, there are a lot of obvious flaws here that pull the adventure down. At the same time, it hits the basics well and there are a few really interesting elements that, when combined with the strong atmosphere, might just hook you.

The ramping difficulty unnecessarily lengthens all but the shortest duration games, but the overall gameplay gives you just enough control over random elements that most board gamers won't lose focus.

Jones is, on the whole, a great saviour of kitties, and Jones On Fire is a fun runner. It lacks a bit in the longevity department, but with a little love and a few more environments it could be positively gripping.

Its simplicity is what makes it work, so as long as you aren't looking for your next deep iOS gaming experience, Daddy Was A Thief should fit the bill.

And sure, this isn’t Double Fine’s best effort, yet it remains more interesting and charismatic than most puzzle-adventure games that pop-up on the app store, regularly. Making it worth every beat of your adventurous heart… assuming your heart is as big as mine.

In spite of all of my problems with the game, it's still really fun while it's rolling along.

The early experience can be very frustrating as you get a feel for when you should press on and when you should head back to town. Then you settle into a groove, and it feels good in a fairly mindless way. Then it starts to get a little repetitive, because the game never really tries anything too different and there certainly isn’t much in the way of a plot to keep you going. Grinding-as-lotto makes it an easy game to pick up and put down, and the absence of plot or direction means it’s one of those rare RPGs that you truly can digest in small bites over the course of a long period of time. It serves a very specific need, but if you have that need it does a great job of handling it.

Pac-Man World Re-PAC isn’t rendered unplayable by these performance problems, but they do mar an experience that needed all the shining up it could get to help make it palatable to newcomers. If you can look past the quirks of the original game’s design, if you can overlook the obvious technical issues, and if you can ignore the fact that you can find a lot of better 3D platformers on Switch at this price or lower, you will likely get some fun out of this release. It really should have been better, though.

Despite the fact that 2008 is longer ago than most of us would like to admit, there is still some fun to be had with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Some may have preferred a different version from the Wii one, but what it lacks in visual punch it more than makes up for with additional content and more focused level design. It’s an enjoyable, silly Star Wars adventure that probably isn’t going to flip the switches of anyone without affection for the brand, but will be a good enough time for fans to keep them from focusing on its many rough edges. A bit of a time warp, but not a bad one.

I really love War of the Zombie. I just wish it didn’t have so many flaws and broken features. The game is clearly a victim of its own lofty ambition to create as comprehensive a squad based tactical RTS game as possible on the iOS platform for under $3. It is extremely playable but it has a tendency to fail you in rather inopportune ways.

As long as you’re able to gather your buddies onto the couch for some gaming fun now and then, you’ll have a good time with Action Arcade Wrestling.

Ultimately, The Teal Mask isn’t going to change anyone’s mind about Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. If you were able to get past the technical flaws of the base games, you’ll probably enjoy yourself well enough here. The main story isn’t as good and there’s something lost with the more linear structure, but the photography is fun and the basic loop of Pokemon remains as entertaining as ever. We’ll have to see how the second part of The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero goes to make any final judgements, but for now this is really just for those who loved their time with Scarlet & Violet and want to keep the good times rolling.

After a few content updates, GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon has the potential to be an essential in the genre. Right now, it still feels like an early access game and one that has annoying technical issues on Nintendo Switch. Its biggest draw is the aesthetic and combat, but it needs to be polished and tweaked in its current state to be an easy recommendation when you have much better games in the genre on Nintendo Switch priced similarly.

Code Mystics has handled this version of Biomotor Unitron with its usual level of quality. All the same features, all of the same flaws, but overall the best official way to play this game. This is a simple, straightforward RPG in most respects, with an interesting customization system to keep you engaged. In modern times it may be too limited and grindy for some, but if you like the idea of slowly cobbling together a killer mech to take the top spot, Biomotor Unitron may be of interest to you.

TOHU does a lot of things right and doesn’t really do anything seriously wrong, but I found myself feeling very ho-hum about it in the end. The art is really nice and I enjoyed many of the puzzles. But as pretty as it is, there’s something very “generic point-and-click adventure" about the game that keeps it from truly standing out. Touch controls work well enough but note that if you’re playing docked you’re going to have to deal with a relatively annoying cursor-based interface that doesn’t work all that well with a controller. There’s so much obvious love put into this game, but I’m not sure all that personality is enough to make this anything more than a fairly standard take on a well-worn concept.

As it is, it's not a bad little platform shooter, and there is something awesome about Honest Abe toting a flamethrower, but it's not Ravenous and Wobblyware's best work.

As neat as it is that the stylish combat of Devil May Cry translates well to the mobile version, it still has a tendency to feel repetitive and button mashy.

Piclings is still a lot of fun based solely on the ability to create your own levels. This novelty alone means I'll be playing the game for a good long while until I run out of funny ideas for levels.

The constant push for purchases more or less ruined the experience for me.

If multiplayer was working properly, Tank Riders probably would have been a game worth checking out. The controls, while annoying, were workable, and the different types of weapons offered some variety in taking out opponents. Unfortunately, without multiplayer, all you're left with is the too-short single player campaign which can be completed in a few hours and simply doesn't have enough content to carry the whole game.

With decent visuals, a great cohesiveness of thematics, and a good amount of content and replayability elements, N.Y.Zombies 2 is worth checking out for any horror fans.

My technical issues due to playing on an "older" device aside, brevity is the beauty of Smash the Office. The game is mostly mindless, but that makes it the perfect time-waster when you just want to smash things--real things, things you have to soldier through every day for eight hours and a lunch break--for a few minutes here and there.

Mighty Dungeons is hard to recommend in its current state.

While Blitz Brigade offers an enjoyable experience in team-based FPS gameplay, the overall experience is still clouded by freemium add-ons that add unnecessary annoyances.

While a good space sim at its core, Strike Wing is still a game of tempered expectations.

A solid attempt at an overly exhausted genre, but nothing exceptional, despite its fun factor.

A lot of hard work has certainly been invested into SXPD and its with no doubt that this game has got a lot of clear potential, but due to its repetitive nature and lack of depth it unfortunately misses the mark just slightly. I

It’s hard to strike a freemium balance with puzzle games like Super Monkey Ball Bounce.