When it isn’t inventing them itself, Nintendo’s always had a knack for refining genres and presenting its own signature spin. We most recently saw this with Splatoon, a game that plenty shrugged off on its reveal, and it now stands as the finest thing to come out of the Wii…

There are few games as important, influential or impeccable as Cave Story. Originally developed by one man, Daisuke “Pixel” Amaya, and released for free in 2004, it’s often regarded as the father of modern indie games — in no small part due to its creativity, efficiency and mastery of game…

After years and years of playing, something just feels right about picking up a controller and jumping into Street Fighter II. Fighting games represent some of my all-time favorites and Capcom’s 1991 arcade hit defined those sensibilities. There are plenty of versions of it out there, but thanks to the…

Rhythm Violence. That’s the phrase that Drool uses to describe its latest rhythm game, Thumper. As simple as that phrase is, it encompasses the heart and soul of the game in a way that a longer sentence has a hard time doing. Drool was started by two ex-employees of Harmonix,…

The Switch’s library continues to grow and fill in genre gaps, and descending upon the world to fulfill that strategy RPG need is Disgaea 5 Complete. Originally released on the PS4 two years ago, the latest entry in the hellishly delightful Disgaea franchise comes to the Switch with all its…

Games are a funny business. Sometimes we purchase AAA titles that we ditch after a few hours, and other times we find dinky little flash games that keep us up all night. Some lengthy experiences can feel empty and devoid of value, while shorter games can have a profound influence…

The best video games start with a seedling of an idea — a singular core concept that lies at the heart of the gameplay experience — and slowly nourishes it to perfection. Mario’s tight platforming, Zelda’s scope of adventure and Metroid’s sense of exploration are all prime examples of franchises…

Despite my first game system being the Genesis, I was never much of a Sega kid growing up. Sonic was really the only franchise I cared about, so many of the company’s older fare, like Alex Kidd, was unknown to me for the longest time. So when I heard about…

Crossovers and puzzle games have a lot in common. It all comes down to lining up the pieces just right to keep things balanced, careful planning to keep it going smoothly, and a sense of energy and celebration to really highlight the best of the base parts. I may not…