DeVuego

Arise: A Simple Story should be recognised as a beautiful and touching story, no matter its short length. It's a heartwarming and truly captivating journey – providing you allow yourself to be immersed in the narrative. With the stop/start nature of the loading screens and the long-winded gameplay, this can be hard but definitely worth pushing through.

Bleak Sword DX is a tough sword-slashing adventure that stands out thanks to its interesting visuals and standalone levels. Although this exciting outing feels fresh and looks great, the difficulty level may be too high for some players.

While the puzzles could have been done better, the storyline in Call of the Sea is top notch with fantastic voice acting and atmospheric sounds.

CLeM is a puzzle/adventure game for those who enjoy puzzle/adventures only to a certain point. Its simplification of exploration and inventory management allows the player to focus on the puzzles and the story, both of which hold up well over its short duration.

Clue: Murder by Death is a modern take on the classic board game, bringing 3D graphics and open world exploration to the mystery solving. Investigate the scene, interview suspects, and eventually present your case, all within only two hours. Unfortunately, there are numerous bugs within that timeframe.

Colossus Down offers an interesting art style and comedic writing, that all fit well in the wider context of the game. Sadly, it just isn’t enough to carry you through the repetitive and uninspired gameplay. Making it difficult to recommend to newcomers, and established fans alike.

In the beginning, I felt that Concept Destruction was kind of bland, but after unlocking several vehicles and testing them out, I started to realize that each vehicle changes the strategy of play. It is more than a drive-fast-and-smash-your-car-into-another-vehicle style of game. It is certainly worth the asking price of $4.99.

CricktoGame is a refreshing puzzle game with simple mechanics, relaxing music, and difficult puzzles, but not challenging enough to rage quit.

I had a lot of fun playing Crossing Souls. The game turned out to be a lot more than I thought it was and even though I'd seen the references and heard the jokes, I could relate to it. Not to mention how much I love the overall look and sound of the game. It leaves you wanting more, but in a good way.

When all’s said and done, Cubit the Hardcore Platformer Robot is a good game. Even though I already played it to death on 3DS, it still gets my recommendation to those patient enough for no margin of error.

Curse of the Sea Rats is a 2D platformer adventure game in which you fight enemies and upgrade your abilities while searching for the evil pirate witch who turned your party into rats. Exploring new areas and defeating the witch's crew is fun throughout the course of the game, and is definitely worth a play-through for those patient enough to deal with its difficulty.

Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition is a game with a promising concept, yet it didn’t really do anything for me. I really wish I liked this game more since it is much like others of its genre that I enjoy.

Overall, Enchanted Portals has the potential to be a wonderful game. Unfortunately, it missed the mark with clunky controls, slow loading times, and dull gameplay.

Endling: Extinction is Forever is a good game for survival fans and another reminder that humans suck. The story evokes a lot of emotion and tough choices. Overall this is a bitter-sweet game. The story is bitter, and the gameplay is sweet.

Beautiful to watch and genuinely challenging, Etherborn offers an innovative approach to puzzle games that has resulted in something unique and provocative.

Everdeep Aurora, a pixel art platformer from Ysbryd Games, has its faults. It also has enough charm and personality to overcome them. Striking visuals, fun gameplay, and an absolutely adorable cat make this a game that arcade adventure fans should definitely check out.

Everhood 2 is an RPG broken down to its core elements-visually and procedurally-then remixed as a rhythm-based action game. It baffles at the start, continues to challenge and surprise, and ends before you've had the chance to really figure out what was going on. It'll captivate players who are willing to let it.

If you’re a family with younger kids, Explosive Dinosaurs isn’t a poor choice. It offers some fun, albeit shallow, minigames. But a few omissions prevent this from being a must-have title.

Although the story in the adventure puzzle game Frank and Drake takes a while to get going, it does eventually draw you in. There are several, non-linear paths to complete the game, allowing you to play through several times and explore all the options and elements. And the unique, rotoscoped animation looks great through each time.

Freddy Farmer provides a couple unique twists to classic arcade platformer action. They may not be enough to hold the attention of today’s gamer, but NES-era fans looking for something new will find a lot to enjoy.

While FreezeMe is not the epic game is could have been it is a great attempt and a first of its kind on the eshop. I think a lot of people will get at least a little enjoyment out of it, even if it’s just those warm, fuzzy, nostalgic feelings. The game is a little buggy but nothing too bad. Check it out if you’re a fan of 3D platformers.

Galacticon pays homage to games like Joust, Asteroids, and Defender, but adds its own elements to make it feel fresh. The strategy around how to get the best score for each run certainly makes for a challenging and addictive game. My only complaint is that you don’t get information about how points are earned until you beat the first level. But for only $4.99 and the amount of enjoyment I’ve gotten out of Galacticon, this game is worth picking up, especially if you are a fan of arcade-style games.

Immortal Redneck isn’t especially thought-provoking, but it’s a fiercely entertaining shooter complete with magic, mythology and a great sense of humour.

Is This Seat Taken? is a terrific little indie outing that will make you smile. The logic-based puzzles feature groups of fussy people who know what they want. It's satisfying to help them find their place while following a sweet story about fitting in. Well done to the developers!

As far as retro puzzle/platformers go, Moons of Darsalon is one of the most unique and entertaining I've played in quite some time. It's engaging, it's funny, and it's frustrating in (usually) the most entertaining of ways. The gameplay, graphics, and audio combine to remind us that sci-fi is still allowed to be campy fun. Gil Gerard would be proud.

Neva is a stunningly beautiful game, with jaw-dropping artwork, a heartbreaking yet hopeful narrative, and incredibly creepy enemies that are very satisfying to destroy.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed is a colorful follow-up to the successful 2023 film. With engaging characters and excellent voicework, things look and sound pretty great. Unfortunately, pacing issues and frustrating combat mar the experience.

One Last Breath is an ambitious game set in an artfully creepy world, with some great ideas in its foundation that unfortunately don't shine through as well as they could in its mechanics or storytelling.

Reventure is a creative take on the adventure-platforming genre. It pokes fun at classic Zelda-isms while providing an enjoyable way to forge your own path by finding all 100 endings to the game. This humorous game makes excellent use of its retro graphics and audio to create something truly unique and downright enjoyable. Check it out!

Having waited over a year for this game, I’ve a hard time believing this finished product represents what Enjoy Up intended.  Only four real tracks, poor control, glitches, and broken Ai amongst a host of other problems … clearly something went very, very wrong! This isn’t the sort of game you’ll want to beat, never mind replay. New tracks may come (if the game is a success) but hopefully the promised patch can at the very least fix the glitches.  Until then Rock ‘N Roll Racing Off Road is simply an awful game. Spend your money on some of EnjoyUp’s good Wii U releases instead.

Running on Magic is a runner platformer that puts players in a challenging but light-hearted race against the Grim Reaper himself. Its whimsical presentation and procedurally generated levels keep things interesting for its somewhat short lifespan, just don’t expect it to be more than it claims to be.

Unless recently divorced and/or identifying as non-binary, I have a hard time envisioning that many will get $19.99 worth of fun here. Solo, while having its heart in the right place, would have been better off as a visual novel. As a short game, it just doesn’t have enough focus on its aesthetics, camera, puzzles, or optimal porting. 

Super Hyperactive Ninja has a simple and silly premise that results in a funny, fast-paced game. It’s not complicated, but it is challenging even to keep you engaged level after level.

To succeed as a Metroidvania, a game has to set itself apart from the rest. SuperEpic’s second-screen mini-game approach is not only an innovative concept, it helps underline the satirical conceit the game’s story lays out. Even with its shallow combo-based combat system, there’s plenty here for fans of the genre to enjoy.

Tamiku is a modern arcade-style game with a rather charming presentation but ultimately the gameplay may be a bit too simple for some, especially given that the difficulty curve may scare away anyone who’s never handled a joystick. If you’re looking for an inexpensive and challenging arcade experience, Tamiku may scratch your particular itch.

The Cabin Factory is a horror walking sim that somehow combines the frights of isolated cabin hauntings with the terrors of the 9 to 5. It does become repetitive and sometimes feels unfair, but remains entertaining enough for the hour or two it'll take to complete it.

Even though The Red Strings Club is in a pixelated genre which is oversaturated, the story all but makes up for it. I would recommend this despite its controls for anyone on a budget looking for a great story-telling game, and for all sci-fi/cyberpunk fans.

The Stone of Madness has all the elements required for a fantastic stealth puzzle game – a gorgeous settng, an intriguing story, vibrant characters – but is sadly let down by bugs that cause it crash consistently in one place, leaving the otherwise absorbing story incomplete.

Twin Robots: Ultimate Edition is pretty fun while it lasts, and steps have been taken to ensure it lasts longer. It takes a fairly unique premise, and makes it more enjoyable with the option to play in local co-op. If you missed it on Wii U, this Switch version is the one to consider.

I honestly don’t have much to say about this game, except that it fails to captivate me. The 3D effect is decent, but the overall graphics are just cheaply done. The gameplay is repetitive and boring, there is nothing that makes me want to keep going.

Save yourself the ludicrous $6.66 price of Van Helsing Sniper Zx100 and play Face Raiders (which is included for free on the 3DS) instead.

Zeroptian Invasion is a fun game to pick up and play on the go. The controls are easy and the levels themselves are challenging, making for a good time.