Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-Yo (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
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Posted on July 16th, 2025 by
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)
Posted on July 14th, 2025 by
Save the world and play as one of three anime ladies with flying suits in this 16-bit styled 2D vertically scrolling bullet hell shooter. Exo-Calibre is available on most current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Instants (Switch, PC)
Posted on July 9th, 2025 by
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)
Posted on July 7th, 2025 by
One day a brother and sister were messing around in an attic and opened a door to another world. Upon entering, your sibling changes into a cat, and you as the other sibling must farm and make friends, and tame animals to change your brother or sister back in this farming sim for Switch.
Irem Collection Volume 3 (Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox X/S)
Posted on July 4th, 2025 by
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)
Posted on July 2nd, 2025 by
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.
Bunny Cubed (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S)
Posted on June 30th, 2025 by
Help a cube shaped bunny push blocks into the right spaces on a carrot patch in Bunny Cubed. It’s another example of the “Sokoban” genre of block pushing puzzle games. It’s available on all current consoles but reviewed on PS4 here.
Hello Kitty Friends Match (Mobile)
Posted on June 25th, 2025 by
Hello Kitty and all her friends have been sucked into a magical portal and end up in an abandoned fairy village. Help Hello Kitty use a new magic wand to rebuild the village. She needs star power to use the wand, so solve match three puzzles to earn stars to build the village. Hello Kitty Friends Match is a free-to-play mobile game, but reviewed on iPad here.
Cornhole Hero (Mobile)
Posted on June 23rd, 2025 by
I didn’t even know what “Cornhole” was until a few months ago. Sounds like an insult or what Beavis says when he has too much sugar or caffeine. But no, it’s a game where you throw bean bags on a board and try to get them to land on it or in a hole. I think we played something like this at elementary school fairs and such. But what if Cornhole was popular enough in the 70s and 80s to warrant making an Atari 2600 game out of it? Because you know they would. Well now you can see what that’s like with Cornhole Hero, a free-to-play mobile game (reviewed on iPad here).
The Games of Capcom Fighting Collection 2
Posted on June 20th, 2025 by
Game maker Capcom is known for lots of things, like Mega Man, Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, etc. But probably what they are known best for is their large roster of fighting games, such as Street Fighter. They did a collection of them a few years ago, plus one last year that had all their Marvel games on it. And now they’ve got another one with even more fighters! So let’s take a look at the games on this collection.
