Dino Quake

When I'm thinking of a "Hidden Gem" this is the type of game I mean. It's a retro arcade game with adorable graphics akin to Bubble Bobble, gameplay like Super Mario Bros (arcade), and old-fashioned elements of many games past. But don't let that fool you; there's a lot to enjoy in this game outside of just retro elements. THE GOOD: + Easy to pick up and play + Nostalgic and ear-wormy soundtrack + Not too hard, but not too easy either + Easy to play in same-screen 2 player mode for that extra old-fashioned feeling + Satisfying gameplay loop similar to snow bros + The graphics and dino designs are adorable + Doesn't take too long to finish so it's great for when you have around 30 minutes of free time and need something short and sweet. THE BAD - It's relatively short (about 15 minutes per "run") - There's no additional modes outside of the main arcade mode and 2 player mode SUMMARY: Bite-sized game with lots of personality and cuteness factor. I am a big fan of what it proposes and I sincerely hope the game and the devs grow further. For a retro fan such as myself, it is just what I wanted. Easy recommend for retro fans, people who love cute games, and people who miss couch same-screen co-op. 9.5/10

The game feels like a fresh mix of Bubble Bobble, Snow Bros, and Mario Bros. Wonderful to play if you have a little extra time.

Dino Quake is a lot like Bubble Bobble. In Bubble Bobble, you shoot bubbles at things and then pop the bubble to beat them. In this game, you stomp the ground to flip things over and then run into them. If they run into another enemy, they became a wad of enemies that can bounce off the walls and stick together for a while, based on how many enemies are in the ball. As it gets bigger, you get better fruits from the defeated enemies. You also use the rolled-up wads of enemies to attack the bosses. I think my favorite thing about it was how picking your path for each run makes the game so much more replayable. After the starter area, you start choosing where to go after each one, and face a different set of levels with different enemies in each area. The path you take also determines which dinosaur you unlock when you beat the game. I also like the stomp mechanic from this more than the bubble mechanic from Bubble Bobble. For one, it puts more of a limit on when you can attack enemies, since you can't attack at all during a jump. This forces you to treat even the most basic enemies as dangerous when you're jumping up from one platform to another, since you'll be defenseless on your way up. The stomp mechanic also lets you repeatedly stun an enemy that's already been stunned to lock them in place, when helps a lot for setting up boss attacks, or large chains of enemies, or both. There's one problem with it, though, and that's that you're a lot more vulnerable to enemies that just troll you. See, Bubble Bobble had a problem where enemies could hang out in areas where it's impossible to reach them without getting hit, and if there's one thing I would fix about it, it's that... But Dino Quake has that issue too! Just waiting for the enemy to move isn't a great option, because both games have a time limit before an invincible enemy shows up to harass you. On top of that, sometimes enemies that end up in a place where you can't safely attack them won't be able to leave, so you just have to eat the hit and attack them during your blink time. In Bubble Bobble, the enemies pretty much needed to fall into a small room, but this can happen with any platform in Dino Quake because you need to stand on the same ground as them to attack. It's pretty rare, but it happens. All that said: it feels weird to complain about a guaranteed hit because of how easy the game is. If you're looking for a challenge, the only real problem you'll have in this game comes from how exacting you have to be about jumping because of how little mobility the characters have. Anyway, I bought this for the couch co-op and had enough fun that I kept playing it single-player to unlock all the dinosaurs and get all the achievements. Still going for the hitless run achievement (which is why the guaranteed hits are so frustrating!), but I have everything else by now, and I'm still having fun. Recommended.