Like most Vanillaware games the 2D art is to die for, but there are lots of design issues: repetitive stages, pointless combat mechanics, a story that's given way too much importance... they should stick to adventure games.

This game was a feature on every arcade for a solid decade, and while it's clearly not super well-made (or fair), there's enough spectacle and haptic feedback to make a co-op run feel like a good time regardless.

I really liked the sort of mythic tone this expansion went for, exploring Oolacile and fighting Artorias were a blast. Aesthetically this almost feels like a preview of DSII at times, deny it all you want I don't care.

Not even my love for snow areas can save this one. The optional boss is so terrible it almost feels like a joke. The puzzle leading up to the final boss is a neat idea, but the fight itself is kind of a letdown.

A sort of tonally incoherent setting, some silly platforming, reused and/or awful bosses, and some uniquely annoying enemies. It is overall not a horrible experience, but not something I'd go through again.

The oxidized molten-metal castle is very visually interesting for a "fire level." The boss fights are great, I didn't even mind revisiting the Smelter Demon. Overall the best of the DSII expansions and it's not even close.

I like the Ariandel/Friede boss fight but other than that this felt pretty forgettable. Wandering around a big featureless snow field isn't that fun and there isn't a lot else to do but farm your precious OP weapons I guess.

I get the intention but I don't really appreciate turning Dark Souls into a sort of white-knuckle kaizo action game. But thematically I do love this DLC and it has two of the best boss fights in the entire series, so.

Solid "RPG beat-'em-up," even if I'm not a huge fan of Vanillware combat-feel. The post-game co-op loop is pretty fun and the Frazetta-inspired art direction is neat. Would appreciate a modern port at any rate.

A combined version with all Darkstalkers fighters, selectable fighting styles from each of the three main titles, and a robust single-player mode. Curiously lacking command lists, but still a great single player-oriented title.

The placid backgrounds and cartoon monkey will lull you into a false sense of security, but this is brutal Grand Master-style Tetris. I really dig it if only for the ambiance and animations, not like I'm any good at it.

Pretty cool lane-based scrolling shooter with well-implemented touch controls and a fun "twisted fairy tale" aesthetic, awful slowdown puts a real damper on the experience but maybe it's worth trying on an emulator.

There's a lot of things you can criticize it for, especially the camera, but the fundamentals of 3D platforming were laid out here. I also enjoy its trippy stages, some of them really nail the feeling of dreams.

A simplified roguelike very much like Mystery Dungeon. Four dungeons, each with a different objective required to proceed, make dungeon runs short, crunchy, and varied. An ideal little game for handhelds. Funny, too.

Multi-player races are chaotic by design, there's a reason why this has survived so long as a couch classic. Battle Mode is also famously the most fun you can have playing a Mario Kart game. Enjoy the sprites-on-polygons look, too.