Ring Racers is a gem, the somewhat lengthy tutorial and the mostly fixed single player rubber-banding won't take that away from it.
This game joins CTR in the field of kart racers that just "get it", it's very technical with a lot of inter-woven mechanics making the game a blast to play and get better at. The ring-feeding being a variant of the F-zero boost mechanic adds a lot of strategy and intense moments compared to robo kart, I love that the devs went and honed such disruptive ideas, really ends up being a breath of fresh air in the kart racing field.
On the presentation side I think the game has a pretty strong themeing which really transpires in both visuals and soundtrack, there is a staggering amount of content (like 8 times the amount of tracks in a typical new mario kart) though the circuits still managed to be highly varied but still consistent with the core theme, of course the sonic (& some sega) IP helps with its long history but the fan-service is a given in such a project and if anything makes it easier to love.
I also want to mention the single player progression which I think is really well realized, it uses a similar system to the challenge wall in smash brawl, which lets you play the game as intended but keeping side objectives in mind, it really encourages you to play more of the game and feels good feeding you rewards regularly, also have the option to skip some of the challenges if you feel like it. I also like how many secrets are hidden among the tracks, it's really fun to explore familiar areas in a new light and discover all the effort that went into them (most of them being linked to unlocks too).
Overall this is an amazing fan-project that isn't afraid to push its genre forward, both in mechanics and how it handles progression, and a beautiful love-letter to the sonic IP.

Cool game, compared to Valfaris I think the shmup formula works better for the kind of atmosphere they're trying to sell. I still feel like it lacks ambition, it's not really pushing boundaries on difficulty, spectacle (too many reused animations, enemies and patterns, not enough environmental effects despite the really cool art style) or lore (the idea of the world is cool but it's not really going in any depth about it) so it probably won't end up as too memorable. Still it's fun to play at the end of the day and they managed to make melee not feel awful in a shoot'em up so I'd recommend it if the premise sounds appealing to you.

Traditional Arcade styled kinda remix of classic Pac-Man as a platformer.
I don't think Annalynn's formula works all that well in comparison, my main issue being with the snakes (ghost equivalent). They can very often be off-screen so it's hard to track them and they have really erratic behavior, sometimes instantly turning around when you're following them to kill you but most frustrating being going through doors and popping up just on top of you. It really makes the game a lot more frustrating that it needed to be and not what I'd expect from an arcade game that shouldn't have any incentive to empty your wallet with cheap deaths.

Pretty big disappointment considering how much praise I see for it, dropping after 5 hours just off of episode 3.
I don't think it was a bad idea to have this open area structure, it really helps selling the whole heist thing but they definitely should have been half as long. As it is it really feels like you're running in circles doing the same things over and over again to get to the different jobs and even those need you to get through the same things most of the time, I'm really missing the tighter level design and variety in environments that was in sly 1.
Having Bentley and Barney be playable help you feel like a proper "band of thieves" and they control a lot better than I was expecting considering how it usually goes with these kinda games, still the areas really feel like they were designed for Sly first most of the time.
The game also has a lot more combat than the first and I'm kind of confused as to why they went that route because it's really not fun, the boss fights being focused on that really sucked the fun out of them compared to the more platforming focused ones in the first game.

Another absolute must-play coming out of a fan-game community.
Subversion is a super metroid rom hack that is able to stand on its own legs despite retaining a lot of the spirit of the original.
The new map is genuinely impressive, both through sheer scale and world design, with a lot of interlacing parts and areas to explore as you unlock your upgrades (both old and new) and I think the game does some very interesting things with its progression, like splitting up upgrades from previous games into multiple pieces to be able to have a large amount of hidden upgrades and secret areas.
Unlike some of the other 2D metroid games, this one felt very fair, most of it is designed to be intuitive and you never really find yourself shooting at random walls in order to progress, yet it's still inventive and presents some eureka moments which are key to the series.
All of this makes a lot of Subversion's parts feel on par if not better than Super Metroid (and that's already one of the best games of all time), with my only caveats being the progression for the last batch (3 or so items) of upgrades being a bit tedious due to the amount of backtracking required and some underwhelming bosses mostly because they had to be taken out of super metroid.

Really good game despite the abysmal production value.
The star of the show really is the writing here, the humor felt on point and got a nice amount of laughs out of me and I thought it was very reminiscent of Undertale on that side. Story-wise it had some decent plot points as well, I think overall the setting is interesting and unique, but at times it can read a bit like tumblr fan-fiction (which depending on the person doesn't have to be a bad thing, personally I do think it's cute).
Gameplay-wise it's not great but I definitely wouldn't call it bad either, it plays slightly different from most plaftormers by having a bunch of rechargeable jumps and floaty physics on top of a good amount of combat, it's certainly not boring but at times it can feel a little out of control.
Ultimately still had a really enjoyable time with it, I wish the sequel will happen eventually because this is just really sweet and fun.

This is one of those rare games that I couldn't really enjoy but still like.
I'm not sure exactly what it is, maybe it's the entire concept of reverse platformer, or just this particular implementation of it in real time that makes it extremely chaotic and surprisingly reflex-based even with the time stop that makes it hard to have fun with.
However Pompom really goes hard on its concept, every level is a goldmine of a new ways to explore it and this combined with the challenging difficulty means the game is never boring, but it can easily get frustrating.
Ultimately I'm a bit on the fence about recommending it, I think if you're going in you need to do it with an explorative mindset (like you could do in a museum), it's worth seeing all the different twists it has on its own concept, even if the gameplay itself isn't perfect.

Definitely much better than the first (which I dropped after a few hours), big part of it being the actual tcg being a lot more fun with some of the later sets being added, although that era still had some bs rng and annoying status effect. It also does a lot more with the deck building by constantly asking you to switch up your deck to play around changing rules from fight to fight, and just overall gives you a lot more cards.
Pretty solid game overall, but more recent adventure card game definitely did things better (mostly thinking about ygo stuff since pokemon tcg hasn't had anything since)

We had a lot of fun on the patient gamers discord making and sharing some "kaizo" levels using the level editor which is for now only 2D. That editor is pretty complete for what it is and the physics feel really close to the psx crash games which is all it really needed.
I also played through all of the 3D levels in the current demo and honestly thought they were really good, better than some in the originals with a nice mix of level design from crash 2 and 3, also some pretty cleverly hidden collectibles. The Uka-Uka power up is also a great idea as an addition and feels true to the original games.

As a crash fan this is something that I never thought I wanted but now appreciate so much, I genuinely can't wait for it to get a 3D level editor.
If you're a crash fan you have to try this and talk about it, it needs to be bigger than it is.

Dropped the game at level 19.
There's a lot to like about moons of darsalon and I personally really enjoyed the demo which made me buy the full game earlier than I'd usually do. The visual style is unique and honestly pretty awesome, that combined with the amazing sound design really helps give it a very unique vibe that's easy to love.
My problem lies with the level design in the main campaign, the game actually seems more like a mario maker kind of deal with a campaign that tries to showcase different concepts from the level editor. The result is very hit or miss levels with a bunch of gimmicks, most of the time you end up just running around shooting things and quickly realize the game doesn't really do anything interesting with its lemmings/oddworld mechanic.
I think this had a lot of potential with its presentation and revisit of these mechanics, but the low quality level design leaves a pretty boring experience overall.

I'm really enjoying set 8 so I figured I'd make a set ranking now that we've had a bunch, here goes nothing:

1. Monsters Attack! (Set 8)
2. Gizmos & Gadgets (Set 6)
3. Fates (Set 4)
4. Beta (Set 1)
5. Reckoning (Set 5)
6. Rise of the Elements (Set 2)
7. Galaxies (Set 3)
8. Dragonlands (Set 7)

I still think dragons were the most unfun and toxic mechanic in any set. Anyway really looking forward to set 9

Playing the demo during the next fest I immediately knew this would be one of my favorite deckbuilders. Wildfrost is a fantastic game that imo really elevates the genre.

There's a level of polish in this game that's several steps above the competition. The art, animations and soundtrack are top notch and result in the game feeling super smooth.

This level of polish is also apparent in its mechanics, the game boasts a set of very simple cards using several relatively simple keywords that all strongly fit the game themes and still present a lot of strategic depth when combined together.

The tactical element is also a big part of what makes the game unique and so enjoyable, and also, I assume, why so many steam reviewers are struggling with it. Every encounter is built to be challenging (there's no filler small encounter like you'd find in StS) and you have a lot of decision to make every turn as you can freely rearrange your units before you play a card, allowing you to choose who will take hits and/or dish back. Being limited to one card a turn and the enemies being dangerous also means the game is very punishing, often one mistake will be enough to end the run even when you have a great build, alternatively it also means wins are very achievable with mediocre ones if you play correctly. Personally I found this to give it a great learning curve which really fits the lower amount of encounters (and run time) but I can definitely understand it being frustrating if you're used to simply winning with strong decks in other deckbuilders.

The game handles progression in a way I adore, there's no straight meta upgrades like in Hades or most roguelites nowadays, simply variety unlocks a la Isaac to complexify the game as you go, it's even done in a similar manner as the unlocks are achievements based, giving you reasons to pick up unusual builds and great replayability.

The game still has some pitfalls however, I found that despite most builds being viable, they often end up feeling similar as you look for the same things to make them work (multi-strikes, barrage...). There's also one specific encounter that will always require 5D thinking and still be dependant on RNG (the aimless + teeth one) which can be pretty tiring. The game also doesn't have enough variety in its encounters in general.

Still, after 22 hours and beating the final boss on the highest difficulty, I'm really happy about my experience with wildfrost and will definitely eventually be back to grab the rest of the unlocks. Highly recommended to anyone familiar with the genre who's not afraid of a challenge.

This is a game that wears its Hollow Knight inspiration on its sleeve and joins the rank of the rare platforming-focused Metroidvanias. I've described it multiple times as "Kaizo Hollow Knight" and I think that's far from a flaw. It is excellent at following up on your mastery of HK mechanics, proposing a massive new world to explore and overall a way more challenging experience both in platforming and boss fights while keeping similar movement (it does also feature an easier difficulty that I've heard is closer to its inspiration).
Still Aeterna Noctis manages to be its own thing by switching up the level design frequently, introducing different physics and platforming elements depending on the biome, and introduces an important mechanic at around the midway point that changes how you approach platforming in a way that feels challenging and rewarding.
The game also features gorgeous hand draw environments and great use of lighting, although the MC does look a bit janky amongst them (probably for clarity reasons). The soundtrack is decent and while the story isn't anything special I found the dialogue pretty well written and funny at times.
Overall I had a fantastic experience with it and will look forward to what Aeternum studios has in store next for us metroidvania fans. Highly recommended for those who want more Hollow Knight and are not scared of challenging experiences.