

Tears of the Kingdom amiibo
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-Yo (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
The 16-bit Super Nintendo is my favorite home game console, but my favorite handheld is the Game Boy Advance (it was pretty much a souped up SNES, so that’s why). So I was pleasantly surprised to find that this game tries to imitate that GBA style. When you first turn on the game, it even shows a mock GBA handheld system with a cartridge entering it! Anyway. Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-Yo is a top down viewed action adventure game. You play as Pippit, a bat who lives in the big city and is the nephew of the biggest mafia leader in town. But Pippit has no interest in that. He just wants to enter yo-yo competitions. But one night on the way home, Pippit finds his aunt, the leader of the Pipistrello mafia family, trapped by four other mafia bosses. Turns out they want revenge for her running the city’s power unfairly, so they try to trap her soul into four batteries using a machine. Luckily Pippit appears in time and tosses his yo-yo into the soul stealing beam. Now his aunt is trapped inside the yo-yo and they must work together to get the batteries back. This game is a lot like a 2D Zelda title, except the overworld is the city streets, and the dungeons are sewers, shopping malls, construction sites, and soccer stadiums! And because of the emphasis on top down platforming and yo-yo mechanics, this game also makes me think of Startropics as well! The very definition of a “hidden gem,” the game is available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Exo-Calibre (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Cary’s Best Games of 2025 SO FAR Awards Show!
Around this time of year, I like to make a list of my best games SO FAR, because usually the AAA titles are released later in the year during the holiday season, and the titles that came out earlier tend to be forgotten. So here’s when those games get their due. Keep in mind that this is my list only and no other outside opinions contributed. And if a game isn’t on this list, it either just didn’t appeal to me as much or I haven’t had a chance to play it yet. Ok with that out of the way, let’s begin!
Instants (Switch, PC)
Back in the mid-2000s, I remember scrapbooking being a pretty trendy and popular hobby. And I don’t know, maybe it still is? And now you can play a game about it with Instants. Yeah they’ll make a game out of pretty much anything, won’t they? In the game you’re tasked with placing family photos in sequential order in a scrapbook you can then decorate. It’s available on Switch and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
Ashwood Valley (Switch)
Irem Collection Volume 3 (Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox X/S)
Irem was a video game publisher who made a lot of arcade classics like Moon Patrol, Kid Niki: Radical Ninja, Kung Fu Master, and R-Type. They also made a lot of console games, including a couple of my favorites: Kickle Cubicle on NES and Steambot Chronicles on PS2. Sadly they went out of business in 2011, but now you can play a handful of their arcade games in this collection. There’s nothing that really ties any of these games together except they are all 2D shooters that march to the beat of their own drum. This collection is available on most current consoles but reviewed on Switch here. Let’s take a look at the games on this collection!
Nice Day for Fishing (Switch, PS5, PC)
Nice Day for Fishing combines two very different game genres. Fishing and…an RPG? Yeah and you know, it’s not the first time this has happened! I remember playing a Game Boy game called Legend of the River King that combined those styles, too! Anyway, in this game, you are a non-playable character (NPC) in a typical RPG, who can only say “Nice Day for Fishing,” and “Mornin’!” But one day you accidentally open a box that sets an evil monster on your world, kicking out all the regular players and letting you control this fisherman NPC. Now it’s up to you to use your fishing skills to save the day! Nice Day for Fishing is available on Switch, PS5, and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.