Picross S5 [Nindie Choice!] - The contemplative puzzle series is back and more polished than ever with this new iteration of Picross. Whether you’re looking to work on the classic single-color pixel puzzles, the tougher version of those in Mega Picross that changes up the rules a bit, challenging color puzzles, or then multi-piece pictures made from a variety of individual pieces of all shapes and sizes this version will have you covered. It may be that I’ve been away for a version of two but what struck me most with this latest title is the quality of its tutorials for each of the modes. While I’ve played them all before between this and other franchises, the subtle hint system and explanations offered for how to play each mode effectively and in the smartest way possible was handled very well. I felt like this time around I’ve developed a much better understanding of the nuances of Mega Picross with the game’s guidance, though it could just be I’ve done it enough times now that I’ve come to understand it through brute force instead. With a pretty diverse set of challenges and plenty of puzzles across each mode Picross maintains its big picture lead on the competition with this outing, offering plenty of modes with nuanced but still significant differences which each help push your puzzle skills to new heights.
Destropolis - As a big fan of arcade-style twin-stick shooting I can
also be a pretty brutal critic when games fail to stand up well against some
outright excellent titles currently in the space. Destropolis is a tough one
to put a finger on though, certainly not having a great deal of depth or
ambition but also delivering a reasonably consistent good time for a
low-budget price. The playfield is what looks like a big city crowded with
buildings that you and your very geometric enemies will progressively destroy
through a variety of means, whether shooting, curshing, or blowing up in some
way. You’ll accumulate new weapons, temporary power-ups, and then have to
choose between perks as you level up, allowing you to focus the build for your
current run to your liking, Move quick, try to play smart, shoot things, and
then eventually get overwhelmed only to start over again and try to get a
higher score. That’s really all there is with no meta-progression, and lacking
that unfortunately it gets easier to burn out on what becomes pretty redundant
play. If you’re just looking for a game to pick up for a few minutes
periodically to blow some stuff up though it has a low and reasonable price
and can make for some fun in that context.
Micetopia - Metroidvanias in the vein of classics from the 8 and 16-bit
eras have become pretty common over the years on Switch, so in order to really
break away from the crowd it can take a fair amount of effort. In some
respects Micetopia delivers the goods, with a reasonably-good art style and a
generally classic feel to the combat, even if on that front it’s just adequate
more than exciting. In particular, your attack range feels tight and there’s
just not much to get enthusiastic about. Then when you pit this title up
against numerous others in the same space when you combine the lackluster
combat with the traversal and puzzles that also just don’t have the same
original edge to them the game just ends up feeling safe and middle of the
road at the end of the day.
Paw Paw Paw - Side-scrolling slasher/brawlers have been around for eons
and just as it has always been, though there are those that somehow manage to
make the inherently repetitive combat in the game engaging many fail at this
task. Paw Paw Paw tries its best by throwing a few different classes at the
problem, providing some means of variety and finding something that can suit
any given player, but unfortunately there’s simply not enough variety in your
attacks to keep it from getting repetitive in a hurry… and what action there
is tends to be pretty dull to boot. Your best bet is to try to use the
environment to your advantage, luring your enemies into traps without yourself
falling prey to them, but aside from that it has a very button-mashy without
much room for technique. Granted, to a degree all games in this genre have
their struggles with this sort of inherent repetition, just more of Paw Paw
Paw’s competitors have put in the effort to compensate better to overcome that
issue, making it feel too generic and dull.
Arrog - There’s something very personal about games that are hand-drawn
coming from single developers or even very small teams. It obviously makes for
something unique and the experience can often be a bit dependent on an
appreciation for the specific style everything is depicted in. Arrog’s look,
overall, is a bit on the simplistic side, and there’s no doubt that the
imagery used is shooting for symbolism helping to carry the narrative through
to the player. The problem is that though I always found the game’s look to be
interesting, and could generally stumble my way through what you could try to
call it’s puzzles (more often than not it devolved into randomly clicking on
things until you did the right thing unfortunately) it’s hard not to consider
it a bit of a mess. Throw in that the playtime struggles to get much further
than an hour or two (depending on how efficiently you click on things) and
though it’s interesting from the perspective of simply being different it’s
hard to recommend to the average player looking to be engaged.