PixlBit

It’s all that and a bag of chips, home skillet.

Get ready to ride a time machine back to the ‘90s. A time when we thought the Internet was something completely different than the cesspool we know today; a time when JNCOs and flannel were acceptable clothing choices; a time when we raised the roof and exclaimed everything was “the bomb, yo!”; a time when Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers was intended to be released in America. For whatever reason, Sony rejected the title from release on the PlayStation and in Japan it remained. Until now, that is, when Atlus finally dusted it off and brought it into the future on the 3DS. The fact of the matter is that if Soul Hackers would’ve been released when intended, it would’ve been better than tight, it would’ve been straight phat, dawg.

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It's probably best to keep games with "Mystery Dungeon" in the title away from Nick.

Mystery Dungeon. Seeing those two words in succession are enough to make me cringe. For years now, Chunsoft has been developing this series of roguelikes across different licenses, with Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity marking the third in the respective subseries. No matter how they seem to spin this core concept, I simply can’t build an appreciation for it. While it tries to cater to a wider audience by removing the “hunger” facet and dialing down the difficulty, it’s still possible given its random nature to have the odds stacked so highly against you that there’s no chance for success.

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UFO gives us more of what it does best.

The 3DS eShop can be a dangerous place. Littered with just as much shovelware as gems, it can be tough to know what you're getting into after a brief skimming of the media associated with a given title. In the case of Johnny Impossible, the association with publisher UFO should already be enough to make your spidey-sense tingle, but if you’re still on the fence given its Metroidvania gameplay, let me assure you, it’s no diamond in the rough.

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With a bigger budget, 505 could've had a real hit on their hands.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to turn in my gamer card for this one, but Funky Barn is a legitimately fun game. I know it sounds like shovelware garbage, and it does seem like it was built on the budget of such a title, but the farm sim is actually competent in its design, complete with an addictive game loop. Unfortunately the game's low budget is painfully obvious – from the low quality art to the long loading times to the hard freezes, Funky Barn has a healthy dose of anti-funk.

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If you didn't have enough stress at your day job…

If you noticed the developer on Aero Porter, your interest may have immediately piqued. Vivarium, which should be synonymous with Yoot Saito, helmed creation of this second entry in Level5’s Guild01 series. Like his previous works, Seaman and Odama, Aero Porter is an odd beast that’s fascinating in concept, but rather painful in execution. Aero Porter is not fun – but on the other hand, it doesn’t seem like it’s trying to be. Saito pulls no punches; he’s very up front with the fact that you’re going to be running the baggage sorting at an upstart airport and it’s very much your job. And jobs entail work, which is exactly what Aero Porter feels like.

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