GNOG (PS4, PC, iOS)
This is probably one of the weirdest games I’ve played in a long time. Heck, even the title is weird (pronounced ‘nog’ like egg nog). I don’t even know if I’ll be able to describe this game properly, it’s that weird. Anyway, GNOG is a puzzle game where each level is a lunchbox looking device with all sorts of switches and knobs and other doo dads for you to mess with. It’s your job to flip all the switches and fiddle with everything in the right order to pass the level. Currently it’s available to download on PS4, and is also compatible with PSVR, but you don’t have to have the VR peripheral to play it. Later on it’ll also be available for PC and iOS as well.
LEGO Dimensions Harry Potter Fun Pack
Please don’t kill me, but I’m just not a big Harry Potter fan. I read through the fourth book and got tired of it after that, same thing with the movies. But just because I’m not a fan, it doesn’t mean I HATE Harry Potter. I think the books are great for kids and the Harry Potter area at Universal Studios is AMAZING! I wish they could make a set for LEGO Dimensions based on Chronicles of Narnia, now that was a book series I was really into as a kid. But if you’re a fan of Harry Potter, there is a new Fun Pack out for LEGO Dimensions that you’ll think is pretty magical. LEGO Dimensions is available for nearly all current game consoles, but reviewed on Wii U here.
Elliot Quest (PS4, Wii U, Xbox One, PC)
Elliot Quest is a 2-D platform action RPG adventure with 8-bit styled graphics. Play as the hero Elliot as you tromp around a world map exploring towns and dungeon mazes in order to defeat four elemental guardians and save the world. Actually the story is told in confusing flashbacks so I’m not sure if I got that exactly right, but you get the idea. Elliot Quest is available to download on PS4, Wii U, Xbox One, and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
LEGO Dimensions LEGO City Fun Pack
After being a Wii U exclusive during its lifespan, LEGO City: Undercover was recently released for nearly all current consoles. You play as Chase McCain, a heroic undercover police officer who is also a master of disguise. It plays a lot like Grand Theft Auto, only that it’s also family friendly and full of LEGOs. It’s actually one of the better LEGO games I’ve played and I recently reviewed it. Now you can extend the fun of that game with the LEGO City Fun Pack for LEGO Dimensions. It’s available for nearly all current consoles, but reviewed on Wii U here.
LEGO Dimensions The Goonies Level Pack
The Goonies was a very popular movie when I was a kid, but for some reason, I never saw it in theaters. It didn’t hold my attention the way other movies like Ghostbusters, Gremlins, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Back to the Future did. I know when it was on videotape, my friend’s cousin would always visit him in the summer and she’d always bring that movie with her and make us watch it every time she was around, so I got sick of it and avoided watching it again for a long time. Luckily I was able to catch it on TV a few weeks ago so it would be fresh on my mind and I could be prepared to write this review! The Goonies are also no strangers to video games, as there were two games that came out on the NES. The first was only available in Japan but you could play it on PlayChoice arcade machines in the US. The sequel was one of the earliest examples of a “Metroidvania” type of game and you played as Mikey and used a yo-yo as a weapon as you tried to stop the Fratelli gang again as they kidnapped your friends and Annie the mermaid. Yeah it was a little weird. But now, many years later, you can enjoy the Goonies in a video game again in LEGO form with the LEGO Dimensions The Goonies Level Pack. It’s available for nearly all current game consoles, but reviewed on Wii U here.
The Inner World (PS4, Xbox One, PC, iOS, Google Play)
In a subterranean world surrounded by dirt, the people of this land live on the inside of a sphere. Around the sphere are wind holes that provide its citizens with air to breathe, and those holes are guarded by wind monks. In the game you play as (mostly) Robert, a young man who was adopted by one of the wind monks. On a trip to retrieve a missing item for the wind monk, Robert comes across a girl he falls for. Turns out she’s actually a thief, but they both get caught up in an adventure where they’ll discover Robert’s true identity, and that the wind monks aren’t what they seem. The Inner World is a cartoony point and click adventure game available to download on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and mobile devices, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop (3DS)
The most popular mother in gaming is back on the 3DS with Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop. This time the recipes you bake are all desserts: cakes, cookies, and other sweet stuff. Just like before, you’ll use the stylus and touch screen to perform cooking activities like chopping, sifting, cracking, and baking. Each recipe (over 60 in all) has multiple steps for you to complete in order, and you’ll be ranked at the end on how well you do. But this time you’ll be able to present your sugary concoctions in your very own Sweet Shop for customers to buy!
Stardew Valley (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
The farming sim that took PCs by storm last year is now available on consoles. In the game, your dying grandfather gives you an envelope to open later. One day, while bored and frustrated at your cubicle job at Jojo Co., you open the envelope and find the deed to your grandfather’s farm in Stardew Valley. So you pack up your things and start your new life out in the country. Will you be able to work hard to make money and cultivate the land and friendships to find happiness, or will you succumb to Jojo Co. who is trying to buy the land for warehouse space? Stardew Valley is available on PS4, Xbox One, and PCs, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Bye-Bye BoxBoy! (3DS)
Before game developer HAL Laboratory created Kirby and the Smash Bros. series, they were famous for a popular puzzle game trio on the NES called Adventures of Lolo (I loved those games as a kid). Over the past couple of years, they’ve proven they still have what it takes to make great puzzlers with the BoxBoy! titles, downloadable on the 3DS. Now the third and final game in the trilogy is out, with more block puzzles, stages, and powers than ever before!
SnipperClips: Cut It Out Together (Switch)
SnipperClips’ unique cooperative puzzle gameplay shows off Nintendo’s classic family-friendly innovation in gaming. Two players overlap their on-screen shapes in order to cut out parts to create a new shape. This can be repeated until the players create the shapes needed to solve the puzzle. SnipperClips endearing characters and creative gameplay make a perfect, if somewhat short, cooperative title for any Switch owner’s library.