A Drawing’s Journey

There's truly infinite potential with an idea like the World of Drawings, so it would have been nice to see it pushed harder here. As it is, A Drawing's Journey is a game that's unfortunately one I wouldn't recommend. Its gameplay is tedious and full of needless misdirection, its story is unfulfilling and rings hollow when it tries to make a big play at the end, and the whole thing just bums me out because it's nice to see small projects like this succeed. Having played it myself, I suppose I'm not surprised to see that the few people who bought it seemingly never made it far - I highly doubt normal people would stick with that nonsense battery puzzle as long as I did!

Ganryu

Ganryu isn't the greatest game ever made, but it's exactly the kind of game that I enjoy and it's a dang good one if you ask me. It's a quick romp through feudal Japan that uses an interesting conceptual hook, features lovely visuals that thrive off of inspired choices instead of what's conventionally impressive, offers action that's both challenging and strategic while maintaining an excellent balance the whole way through, and it takes ideas from other games that I happen to really like and uses them effectively. I think it's one that's quite underrated and absolutely worth your time if you enjoy any of its inspirations.

Override

Override might not be the most exceptional shoot ‘em up ever, but it’s one that does nearly everything well, and the things it doesn’t do as well were corrected for its remake, which is a privilege most games don’t get to experience. Between the PC Engine version’s approachability and the Sharp X68000 version’s added bells and whistles, there’s something here for everyone who has even a passing interest in shoot ‘em ups. Override can be safely recommended for those unfamiliar with the genre as something that’s reasonable for them to finish (I beat it on my first attempt and I’m not good at the genre!), whereas veteran players can try to go for Last Battalion's elusive second ending to get the thrills they seek.

Shin Megami Tensei: Synchronicity Prologue

Synchronicity Prologue is a delightful surprise of a game! Team Ladybug really didn’t have to go this hard and provide one of the most concise and enjoyable indie Metroidvanias for a marketing campaign. It’s commendable how well this game manages to capture the essence of Shin Megami Tensei while adapting it to an entirely different genre AND making it more accessible to people than most games in the series tend to be. It’s not quite as mechanically extravagant and refined as Touhou Luna Nights, but I’d go as far as to say that it uses its license far better than Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth does, it's one of the most successful SMT spin-offs in terms of its execution, and that it's one of Team Ladybug's best games!