An experience that leaves its mark for quite some time. With it's constantly changing level layouts, the many ways to modify your character, and the passive and active abilities of all the mutants you're going to unlock, Nuclear Throne offers hours upon hours of gameplay for those who want to sink their teeth into a top-down roguelike shoot 'em up.

The music is also amazing, too. I've listened to the soundtrack more times I can count, and each song feels beautifully tailored to each area. To Fläshyn and its spaghetti western guitar, Groundwork of the Past with its forlorn vocals and ambience, and Mt. Rubble's overpowering danger in it's instrumental, you'll feel not only in touch with the surroundings, but it'll put you in the shoes of the very mutant you play as.

Get this game. It is well worth your time.

Skullgirls is a weird case for me.

I'm a big fan of platform fighters. I really like Rivals of Aether and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for how they play and handle, but the idea of a traditional fighter always kind of scared me. Admittedly, starting from scratch in a new game isn't that big of a deal for me, but a trad fighter always seemed more complicated. Quarter circles? Z motions? Six button attack system? How do you do all that? The entire idea seemed odd and foreign to me, and it was for the first few hours of gameplay.

Despite all of that, Skullgirls is a fantastic game. The tutorial is very helpful in easing players into how the game works, and it gives an in-depth look at the game's Infinite Prevention System (IPS) mechanic. I went from not knowing how to do quarter circles or combos of any kind to being able to make up my own sort of strings, with varying success. The controls feel fluid and you never really feel like anything you get hit by is the game's unresponsive controls. The characters all feel unique and different, with Double and Beowulf having some of my favorite playstyles.

The music and art shine spectacularly. Some examples being Clear Breeze, a song that plays as you duke it out on the rooftops of New Meridian in the midst of the daylight. The Crowd Goes Wild plays in the middle of the NMO Arena, where fans of the wrestling scene shout and cheer everyone on as they clash for glory. The animation in the game flows wonderfully, and there's plenty of care given to each individual frame for these animations. The alternate color palettes, should you get bored of the standard colors, are also implemented very well. Some of them even have some special cosmetic effects, such as Robo Fortune's Varia Suit.

I highly recommend Skullgirls if you'd like to get into the traditional fighter scene. I'm nowhere near amazing, but I can only get better with time, right?