First #JustBeatIt of the year with #YakuzaKiwami2 🐉 Loved the QoL improvements over Kiwami 1. They've absolutely mastered the the tonal whiplash charm and the "just one-more-thing" gameplay loop. From Construction to Cabarets, every ridiculous shenanigan had me hooked. @[email protected]

#JustbeatIt Wildfrost has gotta be the hardest roguelike deck builder I’ve ever played. It feels like starting Slay the Spire on Ascension 5 and gets significantly harder after the first win. It’s a shame that its difficulty makes it inaccessible to all but the true sickos because it has fun turn-based mechanics like moving fighters around two battle lanes, waves of interesting enemies, and granting free discards after a few turns. Easy mode, please! I don’t want to lose 9 out of 10 runs! 4/5

Shogun Showdown is a puzzle-like roguelike deck builder with strategic combat that kinda feels like dancing? Well, maybe slower like chess. …No, it’s like boxing! You’re constantly hopping in and out of enemy range, jabbing, then floating away like a butterfly. The meta progression feels satisfying without being required to complete a run. I #JustBeatIt by winning my first run, but with more “days” (i.e. ascension levels) to continue the challenge, there’s more to explore here. 4/5

#JustBeatIt Defender’s Quest 2 really grew on me. Sure, it’s not as good as the first, but it’s still a great character-building tower defense game. It takes the best parts of DQ1 and leaves room for future enhancements. It’s a miracle this game came out after a 12-year development hell, and it deserves respect and admiration for what it accomplishes. I really enjoyed my time with it. 4/5

#JustBeatIt Westerado: Double Barreled is a great introduction to sandbox RPGs like Fallout or Skyrim where you have the freedom to do (or kill) whatever you want but without the 60-hour time commitment. You play a revenge-seeking cowboy who is taking on tasks from needy townsfolk to learn clues that will help him identify his brother’s murderer. The genre isn’t for me, but it’s a neat little spaghetti western! 6.5/10

#JustBeatIt Defender’s Quest, a personal top-10 all time video game, is a 2012 indie Tower Defense RPG that miraculously just released a sequel against all odds. I could spend a whole podcast episode talking about it. You find and recruit heroes from 6 classes and level them up between clever stages. It perfectly slow-drips new challenges offset by new army improvements. It offers 3 difficulty settings, bonus challenges, and New Game+ mode to squeeze out even more enjoyable content. 💎 5/5

#JustBeatIt with the good ending live on stream, DuckTales 2 (NES, 1993) improves upon the first game's excellent gameplay by fixing the pogo mechanic. The difficulty is more balanced with more interesting bosses and easier stages, though the castle in Scotland may be the hardest stage in the series. Capcom added some cool concepts, like cake now functions like an energy tank, and cane upgrades can unlock gates and secrets. Kinda weird to spend Scrooge’s hard-earned money on items though. 8.5/10

#JustBeatIt Mega Man 2 remains one of the all time best action platformers, especially in 1989. There’s so many memorable moments like dodging Quick Man stage’s lasers, one-shotting Metal Man with his own blade, and discovering that only Bubble Lead can beat Dr. Wily. And I can’t leave out the music! The soundtrack is a paragon of excellence that would transcend beyond the boundaries of video game music. 9/10