Author: Danny Neleman

It all started with a Neo Geo Arcade cabinet I eagerly raised my virtual hand when we needed a volunteer to do the Puzzle Bobble Everybubble review. Bub, Bob, and I have a long history, and I was curious to see what Taito would bring to the table with this reboot of the franchise. It must have been 1998 or 1999 when I bought a Neo Geo arcade cabinet from a former snackbar owner. Getting that machine was somewhat of an impulse purchase. It had a 2-slot MVS PCB board and included four MVS cartridges. However, it also came with…

If you’re up for a “Contra”-inspired shooting frenzy, then Retroware has got you covered. They have released a new demo and trailer for their upcoming 2D run-and-gun game called “Iron Meat”. Iron Meat is heavily inspired by Contra and features impressive 2D pixel art sprites and backgrounds. Additionally, the trailer showcases cartoon animations that we presume are part of the narrative. Apart from the Iron Meat trailer, a demo has also been added to the game’s Steam page. We haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, but be sure to do so yourself. The game is set to…

For us retro-inspired enthusiasts, probably the only interesting news coming from PlayStation’s State of Play must be the reveal trailer of psychedelically stylized metroidvania “Ultros.” There isn’t much known about the developer and publisher Hadoque, which doesn’t have a lot of online presence yet. Thanks to the trailer description, we do know that at least one industry figurehead is associated with Ultros: Delve into the depths of Ultros, a cosmic sci-fi exploration adventure, launching in 2024 on Playstation 4 and Playstation 5. In this psychedelic tale from El Huervo, the creative visionary behind Hotline Miami, you wake up stranded on…

This Dango Dash has been played and reviewed with the help of emulation, via a ROM. The game is published by Incube8 Games and can be purchased on the publisher’s website as a ROM, a cartridge only edition for $ 39.99 or complete edition for $59.99. As with all Incube8 Games releases, the physical version of the game comes with an authentic, high-quality, full-color box, manual, cartridge, and a sticker sheet. Once upon a time… Dango Dash tells the story of Dango, a boy who lives with his mother in a village that floats between the clouds on one of…

Another Metroidvania / Roguelite mashup project appeared in Steam today called Never Grave: The Witch and The Curse. The game is published by Pocket Pair Inc and developed by newly created internal development team Frontside 180 Studio. The game can now be wishlisted but a launch date is not available yet. “Never Grave” is a new 2D action game that seamlessly blends elements from the Metroidvania and Roguelite genres. Taking inspiration from these genres, players will embark on battles against enemies in procedurally generated dungeons, overcome obstacles, and strive to defeat bosses. By harnessing the distinct possession mechanic centered around…

This is a Tiny Dragon Story review for Switch. The game is available for Switch only at the moment and costs $/€ 12.99. There is available with a 84% launch discount, making it $/€ 1.99 at the moment! The sale ends on 26-5-2023 in participating regions. Tiny Dragon Story “Tiny Dragon Story” is a platforming game that takes it back to the essentials. It features Gameboy-esque 1-bit aesthetics and controls, with the game being completely in black and white, rather than using any hues of green resembling the Gameboy. Although it is called “Tiny Dragon Story,” the “Story” element is…

After the Eschatos announcement, here’s more shmup news! The Famitsu Golden Hall of Famer, NeverAwake, will finally make its way to Xbox. This nightmarish twin-stick shmup has been available on Nintendo Switch and PS4 since September 28th, but it took some time to be ported to Xbox. The game received critical acclaim, with an overall Metacritic score of 88 on Switch and 84 on PS4. You can read the Retrolike.net review here. Although reviewer Danny (me) found the core gameplay excellent, we were slightly more critical. The game felt like it dragged on a bit, with uninspired story progression. However,…

Today, Strictly Limited Games announced that the highly rated shmup Eschatos will be available for pre-order on May 22nd. Both the PS4 and Switch versions will be available through Strictly Limited Games’ website. The regular editions will cost €/$29.99, which is only €/$3 more expensive than the digital release. Additionally, the Collector’s Edition, packed with exclusive content, will be available for €/$69.99. Strictly Limited Games promises that this will be the only physical run of the game. A little bit about the game form Strictly Limited’s press release: Eschatos is a beloved polygonal vertical shoot ’em up by Qute Corporation. Initially…

Former key members of Nazca’s Metal Slug team are working on a new Run & Gun game.

Kemco’s retro-styled RPG, Sword of Elpisia, has gradually been released on all known platforms over the last couple of years, and now it finally has a physical release through Limited Run Games. While the game has been released for Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation 4 and 5, unfortunately, only the latter receives an LRG release. For those who are unfamiliar, here is a little synopsis of Sword of Elpisia: In Terra, a world whose civilization developed thanks to magic tools, there are frequent cases of people being turned into magic swords. Alice, a girl who is traveling with Aldo, the…