Star of Providence  Download GAMESPACK.NET

I bought this game when it was still called Monolith, and now, roughly 8 years after its original release, it finally gets the attention it deserves. The gameplay loop is simple: Pick a room, destroy everything in it, pick another room, repeat till boss. What makes this one engaging is its bite-sized nature, combined with a money multiplier that keeps increasing with every enemy you defeat without getting hit. Said money can then be spent at shops, which may or may not offer powerful upgrades. Therefore, the real punishment for getting hit is not the health loss, but the hit to your economy. This gives players an incentive to bring their A game at all times. And your A game you should definitely bring, because this game gets crazy hard on higher difficulties. If you can’t handle the absolute onslaught of bullets that fill the screen (especially during boss battles), you simply will not beat this one. There are no gameplay-related accessibility options whatsoever (only a few visual ones), so make sure you’re in for a clobbering before you buy this one. Peripeteia

Another thing I thing I feel I should point out are the weapons. While they run on ammo that can be restored, eventually they will run out and disappear, leaving you with your default pea shooter. I highly recommend you grab any damage upgrades you come across, no matter how small, as those are the only way to “permanently” boost your damage output across the entire run. I know all this might sound a little daunting, but I’m sure most people can beat this game on default with a bit of practice and pattern recognition. On the other hand, if bullet hell is not your thing, you should probably stay away from this one. Mars Vice

If you enjoy fun, twin-stick shooters with perfect controls and roguelite mechanics, this game is for you. I play using a PlayStation DualSense controller. The game is fair and always keeps you in control. When you fail, (and you will) you have no one else to blame but your self. Don’t be deceived by the graphics; this is a modern game designed to maximize your enjoyment. You can teleport to any previously visited location on the map right from the start, making exploration quick and fun. There is no backtracking if you missed a section you can see it on the map and teleport to the adjoining room. I think it comes out on the Switch today.

I’ve only done one “complete” run of this as I write, but as a big fan of roguelites who has played well over a hundred of them, this might be my all-time favourite. Has Binding of Isaac game play flavour, but it fused with a twin-stick shmup. It uses NES aesthetics to a near perfect degree and has tons of weapons, enemies, bosses, secrets and obscure lore to find that can keep you coming back for possibly hundreds of hours. Even if you only played this for a single run, it’s a very satisfying experience, but I personally won’t be stopping there. It helps that I also love shmups, but even if you typically don’t, the combat in this is so tight and has so many different ways to approach it that you may very well enjoy it anyway.

ADD ONS/PATCHES AND DLC’S: Star of Providence