An incredibly influential game that popularized the template still followed by many 3D platformers today. Progress through a “hub” area (Peach’s castle) that presents access to several themed “spoke” levels (Bob-omb Battlefield, Whomp’s Fortress, etc.) that each have several different available objectives (defeating specific enemies, reaching specific destinations, collecting eight red coins, etc.) that each reward the game’s main collectible (stars). Get enough of the collectible to open the way to the next part of the hub and gain access to the next set of levels.

A procedurally-generated 2D pixel-art run-and-gun shooter very much like its predecessor. Run to the right, pick up weapon powerups and shoot enemy soldiers, use crates for cover and try not to take too much damage yourself. Blow up a few enemy beacons and get to the chopper to clear the stage and fight a boss at the end of every set of stages before moving on to the next level with a different setting and tougher foes.

A procedurally-generated 2D pixel-art run-and-gun shooter. Run to the right, pick up weapon powerups and shoot enemy soldiers, use crates for cover and try not to take too much damage yourself. Blow up a few enemy beacons and get to the chopper to clear the stage and fight a boss at the end of every set of stages before moving on to the next level with a different setting and tougher foes.

A simple life sim casting you as the manager of a campsite. Collect fruit/bugs/fish/seashells, give them to the humanoid animals camping nearby in exchange for crafting materials, build furniture to decorate your campsite and your camper van to be able to invite more villagers to your campsite and become better friends with them.

A puzzle game in which your mini character automatically moves forward until hitting an interactable part of the environment, such as bouncing high on a springboard or entering a warp pipe. You have partial ability to manipulate the level - some pieces can be removed and replaced elsewhere, such as girders that can create floors, ramps, or walls. Most available characters have one additional power, such as Yoshi’s ability to eat enemies and Mario’s ability to wall-jump. Your goal is to set things up such that your character avoids obstacles and hazards, nabs all collectibles, and finally makes it to the exit door - then it’s on to the next level.

A cooperative puzzle game where each player controls a shape that can ‘snip’ and thus modify the shape of other characters and sometimes parts of the environment. Players must cooperate to create the shapes necessary to solve puzzles such as making scoops to pick up and carry objects or gears to rotate mechanisms. This simple and easy-to-understand gameplay is used in the service of a wide variety of goals - creating a complex specified shape, moving objects with various characteristics through obstacle courses to a goal, redirecting the flow of fluids to fill containers or protect other objects, and more. My personal favorite were the “Princess Power-Up” levels where the players are tasked with creating a course for the “princess” to traverse and collect all the power-ups along the way.

A spiritual followup to Disorient on the Murder Express that takes the logical-connection mystery solving and accusation mechanic and tries to build a fuller and more polished game around it with mixed results.

The game casts you as an investigator sent to a spacecraft that has lost contact with Earth to determine what happened. You find the crew dead and collect evidence in the form of photographs and then work with the shipboard AI to reconstruct the chain of events, using your gathered evidence to support or refute theories as appropriate to determine whether the AI is responsible for the crew’s deaths.

A proof-of-concept born from a game jam. You play a washed-up detective on board a train with a few colorful characters, one of whom is shortly murdered. After inspecting the crime scene and available clues, you gather the suspects to solve the mystery. Here’s where the game’s unique mechanic comes into play - by clicking any two pieces of evidence (including the murder victim and each suspect) your character will explain their logical connection. When you’re done, you then render your accusation, which will vary depending on which logical connections you’ve drawn.

A match-3 game with a lightweight RPG framework. Combat is accomplished through match-3 gameplay, and in betwen battles you spend money and experience to improve your stats and occasionally get new abilities. You play as one of three elemental maidens who have different stat allocations and slightly different special moves, fighting a series of monsters who attack in varying ways - one enemy puts bombs on the board that deal heavy damage if not destroyed before their countdown runs out, while another poisons several tiles that each deal light damage every turn they are not cleared.