Tag Archives: Retro Gaming

Is The Grinch 2: Saving Christmas Worth Playing? Full Review

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When Outright Games released The Grinch: Merry & Mischievous Edition on Xbox last year, I made no secret of my affection for it. In my review of that release, I admitted right away that I loved the original The Grinch: Christmas Adventures. It captured the quirky charm of Dr. Seuss’s world while letting me step into the fuzzy green shoes of one of the most iconic holiday characters of all time. Expanding on that foundation felt like a gift that kept on giving.

So when Casual Brothers and Outright Games followed it up with The Grinch 2: Saving Christmas, I was eager to see where the franchise would head next. As it turns out, the developers didn’t just add a few new levels—they completely reimagined the way we traverse Dr. Seuss’s winter wonderland.

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Blades & Battles Review: Hack-and-Slash Like It’s 1991

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Every couple of months, an indie developer drops a game that begs one simple question: Do you miss feeding quarters into arcade cabinets at a pizza parlor while your fingers stick to the buttons?

QUByte Interactive clearly does.

Their latest release, Blades & Battles, is an unabashed love letter to the sword-and-sorcery brawlers of the early ’90s—think Capcom’s Knights of the Round collided directly with Sega’s Golden Axe. It trades modern open-world bloat for a straightforward 2.5D side-scrolling beat ’em up wrapped in chunky pixel art, heavy metal energy, and Arthurian folklore.

I fired it up on Xbox Series X, roped in a buddy for some couch co-op, and spent an evening hacking through Morgana’s monster hordes. Here is how it holds up.

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Things to Know Before Playing Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster

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If you grew up watching VHS copies of The Beastmaster and Conan the Barbarian, or spent hours pouring coins into arcade cabinets like Golden Axe and Magic Sword, indie developer Dormidin Studio and publisher Selecta Play made a game aimed right at your nostalgia cortex.

Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster isn’t trying to be a delicate, sanitized indie platformer. It is an unapologetic, blood-soaked, sword-and-sorcery 2D Metroidvania that wears its pulpy ’80s and ’90s dark fantasy influences on its leather-clad sleeve.

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Soccer Kid Collection: Everything You Need to Know

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Every so often, a piece of quirky 16-bit history resurfaces on modern consoles, reminding us just how wild and experimental platformers were in the early ’90s. Released under the retro-preservation banner of QUByte Interactive, the Soccer Kid Collection (QUByte Classics) brings back a cult oddity that originally graced the Amiga, SNES, and MS-DOS.

If you grew up in the era of mascot platformers or have a soft spot for retro deep cuts, this Xbox collection is an intriguing trip down memory lane.

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Is the Gobliiins Collection Worth Buying? My Honest Review

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If you grew up playing PC games in the early 90s, the name Gobliiins probably triggers a very specific mixture of core memories: incredible cartoon artwork, hilarious slapstick animations, and puzzles that occasionally made you want to pull your hair out.

For the uninitiated, the series is a legendary line of point-and-click adventure games in which you control a team of goblins—each with a single unique ability—to solve absurdly creative environmental puzzles.

Well, Red Art Games just dropped the Gobliiins Collection on Xbox Series X|S, and I’ve spent the last few days completely glued to my controller. If you love classic puzzle games or are just looking for something genuinely charming to play, here is why this collection deserves a spot in your digital library.

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Living on the Edge: Why Psyvariar 3 is the Most Thrilling $20 You’ll Spend on Xbox This Year

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If you told me at the start of the year that one of my favorite Xbox gaming experiences of 2026 would be a sequel to a niche, Japanese arcade shoot-’em-up (SHMUP) that hasn’t seen a mainline entry in over two decades, I probably would have laughed. Yet, here I am, completely hooked on Psyvariar 3.

Developed by Banana Bytes (the team behind Sophstar) and published by Red Art Games, this vertical shooter is an absolute masterclass in high-risk, high-reward gameplay. For $19.99, it offers an incredible amount of content that both honors its arcade roots and modernizes the genre for today’s controllers.

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Pinball FX: How to Play Classic Williams Diner, Fire!, and Comet Tables on Xbox

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If you grew up pouring quarters into arcade machines, or if you just appreciate the unmatched art of 1980s mechanical game design, Zen Studios just dropped a massive treat. Williams Pinball Volume 10 has officially landed on Pinball FX for Xbox Series X|S, and it is a pure hit of mid-to-late ’80s nostalgia.

For $14.99, this pack brings together three legendary tables that defined the neon-and-chrome era of arcade culture. What makes this specific drop special isn’t just the nostalgia, though—it features two tables that have never had an official digital recreation until now.

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R-Type Dimensions 3 Xbox Review — Old-School Challenge Meets Modern Visuals

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If you followed my preview post back in January, you know how excited I was for the release of R-Type Dimensions III. ININ Games promised a definitive modern rebuild of the iconic sci-fi shoot-’em-up, and after spending significant time blasting through the Bydo Empire on Xbox Series X, I’m thrilled to report that it completely delivers.

For the uninitiated, R-Type is royalty in the side-scrolling shmup genre. It’s legendary for its precision gameplay, atmospheric bio-mechanical horror, and an unforgiving-but-fair difficulty curve. Dimensions III takes the foundational DNA of the arcade classics and masterfully elevates it for a modern generation of pilots.

Here is why this package is an absolute triumph for retro purists and newcomers alike.

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Should You Buy Atomic Owl on Xbox? Full Review and Verdict

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If you had told me a few years ago that one of my upcoming gaming weekends would be spent playing as a samurai owl running through an 80s synthwave-infused cyberpunk version of feudal Japan, I probably would have laughed. Yet, here we are. Atomic Owl, developed by Monster Theater and published by eastasiasoft, recently made its way to Xbox, and after spending some quality time with it on the Series X, I’ve got some thoughts.

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Slots & Daggers: A Unique Micro-Roguelike Experience

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If you told me a year ago that one of my favorite gaming experiences would involve pulling the lever on a slot machine to hack a skeleton to pieces, I probably would have laughed. But here we are.

Solo developer Friedemann (the brilliant mind behind the cozy building game SUMMERHOUSE) teamed up with indie publisher Future Friends Games to bring Slots & Daggers to consoles, including Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. And let me tell you, it is an absolute blast of dopamine, crunchy beats, and retro charm.

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