I enjoyed Diamond and Pearl back in the day, I enjoyed Platinum a little while later, and I enjoyed Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl here and now. It hits the notes most would want from a Pokemon game, and with this being a remake and Legends being right around the corner, I think its conservative approach can be forgiven.

Vermes on Mars constantly switches from "calmly patrolling the area" to being attacked, which provides a great feeling of tension and release, as you're constantly anticipating the worms– Things become even more exciting when multiple worms or larger worms attack simultaneously which makes for a surprisingly fun gameplay experience.

If Dread Nautical had nailed its atmosphere, it’d be a truly great game, but as-is, it’s still quite a good one. The fact that the story still stays interesting even though it fails to nail down its horror elements is ultimately a mark in its favor, and the gameplay offers enough interesting choices to make it worth checking out for any fans of tactical RPGs.

Squids is remarkable in that it cooly throws out a lot of the garbage I associate with the genre and turns it on its head with a kinetic combat mechanic that keeps you in control without sacrificing any strategy.

Unidentified Falling Objects is perhaps hurt a little by a bland theme, but the gameplay works quite well and I think anyone who enjoyed Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon will have a good time here too. There are lots of challenges and stages to complete, tons of cool unlockables to earn, and a really strong multiplayer mode whether you go against a friend locally or manage to pull in enough people to play online. With solid mechanics, plenty of content, and a functional presentation, this is one UFO that puzzle game fans should enjoy being abducted by.

The pacing is just right, and the controls are more or less perfect.

If the developer can sort out the Game Center and control overlay problems, I really wouldn't have anything to complain about with Double Dragon.

Some of its new ideas could use a bit more hammering out, and I’m not sure it needed as much expanding as it has received. But it, like the game it is based on, is a rather unique game that pulls you in powerfully the more time you spend with it. There isn’t a whole lot like this out there, and it’s handily better than other homages like SolSeraph.

If you come into LEGO Marvel Superheroes: Universe In Peril looking for a port of the console games, you're going to walk away more disappointed than usual. However, if you come into the game looking for something fun to play in its own right, I think this is a better game than usual from the LEGO people.

I enjoyed Diamond and Pearl back in the day, I enjoyed Platinum a little while later, and I enjoyed Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl here and now. It hits the notes most would want from a Pokemon game, and with this being a remake and Legends being right around the corner, I think its conservative approach can be forgiven.

Stray Gods: Orpheus is an easy recommendation for fans of the base game despite its short runtime. I enjoyed the many songs and visuals in the DLC a lot more than I expected, but it should’ve either been cheaper or offered a bit more story. If you’re ok with an hour or so long experience, Stray Gods: Orpheus is worth grabbing, and it also reminded me of how good the game runs and looks on Steam Deck OLED.

A creative, entertaining, and nice looking game which requires strategic decision making, but still has an arcade feel to it. It's almost like playing an insect-based tower defense game, where the tower is your anthill, so it's appropriate that the title includes the words "Trail Defense".

Poker Pals delivers a fun interpretation of poker, with desirable asynchronous play and random match-ups for people without many online friends. It has a high replay value and should come with a warning about time-consumtion, due to the constant, but pleasurable interruptions when it's your turn.

I imagine some folks may complain that Monster Wars feels too much like its precursor without much of a change to the core gameplay. I say, why mess with a good thing? While the game does feel like a re-skin at times, Monster Wars still does a great job taking the classic gameplay from Legendary and transplanting it in a new setting.

On the whole Diablo II: Resurrected still has enough of the old magic left in it to be worth playing today, twenty years later. Thankfully, the developers realized that and largely left things untouched. Most of what has been added is optional even if you don’t find it welcome, and beyond that the only troublesome new bits are a few bugs that will hopefully be fixed. The online/offline character business may cause headaches for those who like to play both on the road and with others, but beyond that I have trouble finding many nits to pick with this remaster.

It definitely feels like their most streamlined version of their formula so far, and comes strongly recommended if you haven't done the Kairosoft thing to death yet. But if you've had enough of the sim formula from Kairosoft you may want to give it a rest, lest you end up as burned out on it as I am.

While the game is flawed, and I'd admittedly love to see a multiplayer version of the game, this is a solid match-3 RPG title.

It's perhaps limited as it's focused toward amusement and tallying up the endings versus telling some kind of grand, cryptic story with it. But if goofy animations for solving cryptic puzzles sounds like fun to you, download this. You'll have a good time.

If the onus is on the multiplayer to give Pocket Titans legs, it needs to be tweaked a little bit, but I think there's more than enough here already to satisfy.

Whether you have reason to be nostalgic for Gridrunner or not, it's worth checking out. It's a best-of-both-worlds sort of remake: faithful to its forebearers but filled with clever modern enhancements. If you're dead-set on believing that the original is best, you can go ahead and play that instead.

G-Darius HD is a full-featured port of a terrific game, and a great way to experience this classic for the first time. The capture ball mechanic and beam dueling add some fun twists to the familiar mechanics that just about anyone can appreciate. Just keep in mind that this is still a Darius game, and as such will not go easy on you. With all of the options and extras included in this version at your fingertips, you just might be able to pull it off.

Qbism is all about perspective, and forces you to think in three dimensions.

The trimmed-down-for-PSP presentation of Persona 3 Portable was an overall detriment to the game in 2009/2010, and it hurts it even more in 2023. Some nasty upscaling works against the stylish UI and excellent character art, and I do at least wish the removed animated cut-scenes had been reinstated for this version. Even with all of that in mind, this is still a great JRPG. Challenging, compelling gameplay mechanics combined with a strong story and a fantastic soundtrack make this an easy pick-up for fans of the genre and series alike, even if one can’t help but wish for a less compromised version.

Every day we see games that pander and require as little of us as possible; it's always a relief to play one that's willing to ask for more.

It's nice to see Om Nom finally freed from the boxes, and the professor has the potential to add a bit more storyline to the series. But if you're looking for something that changes up the formula, significantly expands on the original or otherwise feels brand new, you won't find it here.

If you're into the genre, Leave Me Alone is a great way to relive the glory days on your mobile device. Sure it's not as polished as a lot of other titles, but the gameplay is there, and the power to quickly skate around and fight at will is a neat conceit.

If you're looking for an accessible RPG that'll give you a lot of bang for your buck, give this one a look.

Solomon's Boneyard doesn't claim to be anything but what it is, an endless survival-style version of Solomon's Keep.