Gold-Plated Games

If you need platformers, particularly of the puzzle variety, you’ll find enough to choke a hedgehog in these Weeklong Deals. This certainly isn’t as stand-out a lineup as the last few weeks have been, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some must-haves among the rabble. Eastshade and Unforgiving are both excellent first-person adventures, Spirits Abyss is a very promising recent roguelike, and I will rep Titan Quest every time it comes around as one of my favorite ARPGs ever. I’ll see about updating my Conglomerate 451 review this week as well… I still recommend it, but it’s a very light, very conditional rec.

 

GAME GOOD

Titan Quest Anniversary Edition (Review) – Still one of my all-time favorite ARPGs despite some antiquated design, and comes with speed controls now

Eastshade (Review) – Ridiculously beautiful, tranquil adventure game where you play as a painter

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (Review) – Solid Wild West FPS with some fantastic storytelling

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood (Review) – Not quite as charming as Gunslinger, but still a good Wild West shooter fix

Wuppo (Review) – Adorable platforming adventure

Conglomerate 451 (Review) – I need to update this review, but what you’re getting is a decent indie dungeon crawler with some balance and variety issues

Chasm (Review) – I like this odd little metroidvania, but the procedural generation really doesn’t add anything

How to Survive (review) – Weird indie survival ARPG with zombies

Unworthy (Review) – A decent but unforgiving swing at adapting Souls gameplay to 2D

Unforgiving – A Northern Hymn (Review) – Truly stand-out indie horror title based in Swedish folklore

Spirits Abyss (Review) – Creepy and colorful roguelike platformer

Straimium Immortaly (Review) – More challenging and more bewildering than Spirits Abyss, but still very fun

Nosferatu: The Wrath of Malachi (Review) – Dated and janky but still a really cool horror roguelike FPS adventure

Abyss: The Wraiths of Eden (Review) – Basically Bioshock as a hidden object game

EDGE (Review) – Neat puzzler where you navigate around a cube

Tiny and Big: Grandpa’s Leftovers (Review) – Incredibly sharp and funny 3D puzzle platformer

Back to Bed (Review) – Neat little puzzler with a Dali look

Nihilumbra (Review) – Solid puzzle platformer that uses a painting gimmick

Virginia (Review) – A clever interactive story that probably would have benefited from some dialogue

Pocket Kingdom (Review) – Charming puzzle platformer reminiscent of GBA classics

Kautic – The Bald Wizard (Review) – I rather like this odd little platform adventure

 

GAME BAD

Hero Siege (Review) – An absolute mess of poorly-balanced ARPG arena action

8BitBoy (Review) – Pretty good example of how NOT to do a nostalgia platformer

Megamagic: Wizards of the Neon Age (Review) – Sadly all style, no substance

Deadly Traps (Review) – Another uninspired precision platformer

American Patriots: The Swamp Fox (Review) – Sigh