With the conclusion of 2025 a couple days ago, I’d like to share a list of all my reviews I did in the year. To make them easy to find, I’ve broken them up into different categories.
The first major section is for retro games on retro systems. These include a few Atari titles, some games on the NES/Famicom, and the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive. These are broken down by system, or in the case of Atari, by developer.
The second is for everything else that I reviewed, most of which are modern games made with a retro aesthetic or design in mind. Many of these are games on the Evercade through Indie Heroes Collection 1 or free games on Steam or Itch.io. I’ve broken these out by genre.
I hope you will find a lot to enjoy in the links below! By the way, clicking on a game image will take you to the review of that game.
To help find what may be interesting to you, I’ve also shared some of the ways to play these games today, and my overall rating for them.
Retro Games on Retro Systems
Atari
Air-Sea Battle (Atari 2600, Steam, and more; Fixed Shooter; Negative) – An early fixed shooter on the Atari 2600.
Basic Math (Atari 2600, Steam, and more; Education; Mixed)– Another launch game for the Atari 2600, this one being simply an education game.
Breakout (Atari 2600, Arcade, Steam, and more; Brick Breaker; Positive) – Another big hit from Atari after Pong. Both the Atari 2600 and arcade versions are reviewed.
PONG (Arcade and Steam, Sports, Positive)– The first financially successful video game. It’s actually kind of fun with two players!
NES/Famicom
Donkey Kong (NES and more, Single-Screen Platformer, Mixed)– The conflict between Mario and Donkey Kong begins here where Mario jumps over barrels to rescue Pauline. A good arcade port!
Donkey Kong Jr. (NES and more, Single-Screen Platformer, Positive)– Another early single-screen platformer for the NES. It features some really funny animations.
Galaxian (NES, Steam, and more; Fixed Shooter; Positive)– Namco’s answer to Space Invaders. It’s better than expected! This didn’t come out in the USA on the NES, but was released on the Famicom in Japan.
Mario Bros. (NES and more, Single-Screen Platformer, Positive)– Our third single-screen platformer game on the NES for the year. This one is distinct in that it has a 2-player simultaneous mode that is a good deal of fun.
SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive
Altered Beast (SEGA Genesis, Arcade, and more; Action Beat’em Up; Mixed and Positive)– The pack-in game for the SEGA Genesis in the USA. I reviewed both the console and arcade versions of this title.
Golden Axe (SEGA Genesis and more, Beat’em Up, Positive)– This classic beat’em up from SEGA was the first SEGA Genesis game I reviewed on the blog. It’s still fun!
Super Thunder Blade (SEGA Genesis and more, Rail Shooter, Negative)– A launch game for the SEGA Genesis that successfully shows off how poorly the system does sprite scaling.
Modern Releases With a Retro Perspective
Action
Chain Break (Gameboy and Evercade, Side-View Runner, Very Positive, Free)– A quality runner title designed for the Gameboy.
Furi Demake – The Chain (Steam, 2D Action Boss Battle, Very Positive)– A neat 8-bit demake of the first boss fight of Furi. I reviewed this when it was free, but now you need to pay to play it. I think it’s a pretty impressive demake!
Rise of the Badger (Itch.io, Action, Positive, Free) – An enjoyable action game with a focus on story and multiple gameplay types. It takes place in the world of the Firefly TV show!
Super Homebrew War (NES and Evercade, Action Platformer Fighter, Positive, Free) – An action platformer starring lots of indie game characters.
Towaga: Among Shadows (Mobile Phones and Multiple Consoles, Action Tower Defense Hybrid, Positive)– Although this isn’t available on Steam anymore, it is available on mobile phones and consoles. It is a bit like a fast-paced tower defense title, but your character doesn’t move too much.
Adventures and RPGs
Anguna: Warriors of Virtue (GBA, DS, and Evercade; Mixed; Free)– An earlier Indie title for the GBA that plays like The Legend of Zelda and succeeds in some ways.
Biomotor Unitron (NGPC, Steam, and more; Dungeon Crawler JRPG; Positive)– My first reviewed game for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. A pretty good dungeon crawler JRPG influenced by Pokémon. Available on Steam as part of a collection.
Deadeus (Gameboy, Itch.io, and Evercade; Top-Down Horror Adventure; Very Positive; Free)– A creepy and unsettling, but also impressive horror game on the Gameboy.
KUBO 1 (Evercade and NES, Negative, Free)– An overhead action-adventure game. This is more of a demo than a full game.
Robby’s Day Out (Gameboy and Itch.io, Top-Down Adventure, Positive)– Along with Cherry Rescue, another cute game from GrafxKid. This one is a simple top-down adventure game for children.
Samorost 1 (Steam and GOG, Point & Click Adventure, Positive, Free)– A short point and click adventure game that introduces players to the world of Samorost. Also available on GOG.
Platformers
Alien Cat (Steam, Single-Screen Platformer, Positive)– A short single-screen platformer that can be completed in 25 minutes.
Cherry Rescue! (Gameboy and Itch.io, 2D Platformer, Positive, Free)– A cute little platformer that is good for kids!
Colossal Crisis (Steam, Negative, Free)– Here is an Action Platformer that I wanted to enjoy, but didn’t too much.
Culinary Wizard (Steam, Action Platformer, Very Positive, Free)– When food becomes alive, you need to defeat it so you can prepare tasty culinary dishes!
Doodle World (NES, Itch.io, Steam, and Evercade; 2D Platformer; Positive) – A cute 2D Platformer with an easier kids mode.
FickleFlame (Steam, 2D Platformer, Positive, Free)– This is a 2D Platformer with the graphic style of a Gameboy game. It’s only the first area, but it shows promise!
KUBO 2 (NES and Evercade, Action Platformer, Mixed, Free)– The second game in the KUBO series, this time being a platformer.
KUBO 3 (NES and Evercade, Adventure Platformer, Mixed, Free)– The third game in the adventures of Kubo, the cowboy turtle!
Flea! (NES, SEGA Dreamcast, Evercade, and more; Precision Platformer, Very Positive)– A very popular precision platformer on NES and Evercade! It’s quite addictive!
FoxyLand (Evercade, SEGA Genesis, and Steam; 2D Platformer; Negative)– A nice looking 2D platformer on the SEGA Genesis. Unfortunately, I grew to hate it.
PLOID (Evercade, NES, and Steam; Action Platformer; Negative)– This is a 2D Action-Platformer that has a lot of questionable design decisions. Not fun at all.
Other
The Game Master’s Gloves (Amazon and more, Gaming-Focused Novel, Very Positive)– A kid’s book aimed at helping gamers to become excited about reading. I liked it!
Next Level Pinball Museum Review and Guide (Pinball Museum and Arcade, Very Positive)– This is the biggest post I’ve done for the year. It talks about a lot of different things about the place. It’s great!!
Puzzle Titles
Alien Cat 2 (SEGA Genesis, Steam, Evercade, and more; Top-Down Puzzle; Positive; Free)– A overhead puzzle game where you control multiple cats at once? Note: The 8-bit versions of this game are name-your-own-price on Itch.io. Most versions are not.
Debtor (SEGA Genesis and Evercade, Puzzle Platformer, Positive)– The main character dies and has to get coins to pay down his debt while moving boxes around? Note: I don’t know where to buy the SEGA Genesis cart, sadly. It was delisted on Steam.
Shooters and Shmups
Blade Buster (NES and more, Vertically-Scrolling Caravan Shmup, Very Positive, Free)– An excellent caravan shmup for the NES that is a classic indie title.
Blaze of Storm (Steam, Vertically-Scrolling Caravan Shmup Demo, Very Positive, Free) – A demo caravan stage of an upcoming shmup by Terarin Games.
Distant Space (Steam, Fixed Shooter, Negative)– Despite being the second game I reviewed on the blog, I couldn’t help but be super bored by this title. It’s designed in the style of Space Invaders, but with a different graphics style.
Frequent Flyer (Steam, Top-down Shooter, Positive)– Designed in the vein of Konami’s Time Pilot, but with unlockable weapons and planes. Fun for a short time.
Galactic Wars (Itch.io, Side-View Shooter, Very Positive)– The first version of a game inspired by Galaga and other early shooters. It was my first PICO-8 review.
ImageStriker (Steam and Itch.io, Vertically Scrolling Shmup, Positive, Free)– An enjoyable shooter with great music that plays homage to Irem’s Image Fight.
Poly (Steam, Top-down Shooter, Mixed, Free)– A minimalistic Bullet-Heaven Shooter that is no longer being developed. It was free, though.
Space Invaders (Xbox and PS2, Fixed Shooter, Mixed) – The famous, and also very early Fixed Shooter from Taito.
Uchusen: Ultimate Ploid Battle (Evercade and NES, Sideview Shmup, Negative) – Although I gave this game a negative rating, I was still kind of happy to play it since it was developed in one day. That made it mildly intriguing.
Visual Novels, Walking Simulators, and the Like
The Balldragon (Steam, Visual Novel, Mixed, Free)– Sometimes funny, this is a lowbrow comedic visual novel making fun of the Dragon Ball franchise.
The Honours Project (Steam, Walking Simulator, Positive, Free)– One of two walking simulators that I reviewed this year. This one focuses on game development and loss. It’s an interesting game!
The Last Oath (Steam, Walking Simulator, Very Positive, Free)– A short Side-View Walking Simulator where you fulfill your last oath. There’s not a lot too it, but what is here is enjoyable.
Through the Ages (Steam, Real-Time Rendered Video, Positive, Free)– A nostalgic look at three of Nvidia’s classic graphic cards. There’s no gameplay, but everything is rendered in real time.
What Happened on the Moon? (Steam, Side-View Walking Simulator, Positive, Free)– This is a side-view game with narrative and horror elements. You play as a lunar rover on the moon.
Cheap Retro Gaming 
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