Now Playing at SUPERJUMP, Issue 44

We're back with a brand-new Now Playing! Our team is back with the now-standard eclectic compilation of titles, from massive classic hits to revered games made anew with mods. No matter what we're playing, we want to share it with you and maybe send you down the path to try something new. Let us know in the comments what you're playing and what news has you excited for the future!

James Burns (SUPERJUMP Editor-in-Chief)

Shadow of the Colossus

I finally get Shadow of the Colossus (SotC). If you know me well, that statement might surprise you. SotC is obviously a classic, and it contains so many of the ingredients I adore in video games. Over the years, I tried it a couple of times and bounced off it, mostly because I found - and still find - the camera movement highly aggravating. But recently, I decided to just push through that and keep playing. I'm so glad I did.

When did the 'aha' moment arrive? I'm not entirely sure; possibly somewhere between the fourth and fifth colossus, which feels like the point where the initial conceit (each colossus being a clever traversal and combat puzzle) starts morphing from a sheet of paper to an ever-elaborating origami. The first three colossi are similar enough to obscure the surprise and delight players must feel when the core concept shifts from merely cool to high art. Nothing I'm saying here is new, of course. But if you have heard a ton about this game and haven't played it yourself, I highly recommend jumping in. It's never too late.

Alexander Joy

Cave Story+

This super-deluxe reissue of the formative indie classic Cave Story conjures complicated feelings in the year 2026. Namely, it’s still a terrific game over a decade later, but has become unbearably sad in its way; the hopeful industry future we all thought it presaged has since been decisively thwarted.

The original Cave Story was not only a hell of a game, but a hell of a tale in itself. Released in that fleeting period before the Cambrian explosion of indie games (when sites like Steam and Itch saw maybe 30 new items each month, rather than the 3,000+ they do today), Cave Story represented a massive shift in what was possible within gaming. Here was a freeware adventure that could rival anything on the SNES, or even the GBA. It boasts memorable characters, tight gameplay, terrific level design, and a ripping soundtrack – and somehow it was all the work of a single person, Daisuke “Pixel” Amaya, over five attentive years. For one beautiful moment, it seemed as if the future of the games industry lay with the solo dev auteur; that love and creativity were enough to garner recognition, and that a new way of doing business was possible.

But the future refused to change. The game publishing landscape now looks less like a garden where a thousand flowers bloom than a wasteland hungry for nutrients. Indie devs are largely stuck working day jobs in other fields or soliciting donations on social media. Industry vets pine for positions that no longer exist following wave after wave of corporate layoffs. Even Amaya never quite attained the independence he deserved, needing a publisher like Nicalis to distribute his games through Steam and Nintendo so he could start making money. I can’t imagine this arrangement pays much, since Cave Story+ cost me all of $1.19 USD on sale. Be sure to buy Kero Blaster if you want Amaya to see any real earnings.

Cave Story+ thus plays like a time capsule for an era that never came to be. It’s wonderful, but, through no fault of its own, aches with what could have been. We all deserved better.

Jahanzeb Khan

Grand Theft Auto III

All this hype surrounding Grand Theft Auto VI has only made me want to revisit the 2001 classic even more. It's a game I immediately reconnected with, and I'm having difficulty pulling myself away. A true gaming classic always holds up despite its vintage graphics and systems.

Throughout the history of video games, there have been a few right-place, right-time moments for some developers, and Grand Theft Auto III on PS2 was no doubt one of them.

Although the series had built up a reasonable fanbase prior to GTA3's release, having the open-world crime simulator in full 3D for the first time felt like a revelation. Games like Driver on the original PlayStation were fun but clearly limited in what they could offer. Thus, Grand Theft Auto III offered the first true urban sandbox for players to do as they pleased, even controlling the pace of the adventure.

Simply cruising along the streets of Liberty City while listening to the radio (Lips106 is a personal favourite) is catharsis in and of itself, and that's what has always stayed with me from the experience after all these years.

The game holds up because everything about it is intentional, as even the empty spaces on the map serve a purpose. The world design is tight and polished, and it provides a city that, by the time the credits roll, feels like home no matter how much time goes by.

I'm revisiting the game in 2026 with absolutely no intention of committing the funds and hard drive space required for the bloated sixth installment. The third game in this once-pure franchise is still instant gaming gratification, and I will always enjoy losing myself in its cartoonish crime world.

Priya Sridhar

Drop the Cat

Full disclosure: I’m playing Drop the Cat as part of a Swagbucks challenge. The game is pretty simple: moving around blocks and matching them to color-coded kitties. Mini challenges also exist, including matching colored fish to sushi plates and assembling jigsaw puzzles. I saw the game advertised but had to play to be impressed since the ad used 3D cat animations that don't match the 2D graphics. The game itself is decent and fair; my only pet peeve is how the ads sometimes play at full volume through your phone, even when you’re not wearing AirPods or compatible headphones. Besides that, though, I’m having fun while sorting cats.

Rachel Alm

Big Walk

I've been playing Big Walk with friends pretty much since release day. It is one of my favorite games so far this year. There is so much thought put into the structure of the game's puzzles and the collaborative nature, and there are times when we just sit on the shore and chat. Big Walk's encouragement of slow progress and easy introduction means people who don't often play games can hop on board with relative ease. I have recommended this game to friends who haven't played a game in years!

Big Walk resonates very strongly with me, and the reason I've been spreading the good word is that I think it captures so beautifully what I love about the "withfriends" genre of gaming (friendslop, I think, does the title a disservice with the insinuation of it being 'slop'). I've played Peak, FFXIV, and BG3 with friends – all of whom I knew first IRL – but all of those games helped us foster new memories whether we're hundreds of miles apart or down the street.

I think gaming, and especially a game as special and kind as this one, lends itself well to socialization and can be helpful to those who might be lonely after a big move, or who have many long-distance or online friends. Miles dictate distance, but they don't have to dictate closeness. I love my friends near and far, and Big Walk helps us chat with the casualness of a hang, just like we used to do when we were all gathered around tables with tarot spreads between us. Hearing us all laugh over mic together is everything on some nights, and Big Walk is a beautiful world for us to gather in, explore, and puzzle out. When we meet in person again, Big Walk becomes a unifying memory and a place where the miles between don't feel quite so terribly insurmountable anymore.

Nathaniel Kelly

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Dusklight ARM Recomp)

I spent the month checking out the first few hours of Twilight Princess recompiled for Android on the Retroid Pocket Nova, and it was an incredible way to play an old favorite. Using the Dusklight app, the game runs at 60fps with an upscaled resolution, so on the Nova hardware it looked like a brand new game.

One thing that I’ve always admired about Twilight Princess is its art direction, which pulled more towards the series' often darker side. Muted tones, where the light reflects almost hauntingly off of every surface, give the game an ambiance akin to Shadow of the Colossus, a similar -ish game.

Actually, while I was playing through this, a 2.0 version of Dusklight was released that added in-app support for a full randomizer, a mod manager, and a speedrunning mode. This project has become really ambitious and sets a high bar for other recompilations (not that they compete; they are all lovingly crafted by fans and distributed for free). If we could get these features but for OpenGOAL Jak & Daxter, you wouldn’t be able to separate me from my Nova.

As good as Twilight Princess is, I’ve been pulled back into the dungeon crawlers of my 3DS for now, so I’ve put this back on the shelf. My time with the first impressive hours would lead me to easily recommend this to anyone with a PC or Android handheld who wants to revisit some fond memories of this game.

A big thank you to our writers for dropping by and to all our loyal fans for being here to check it out! Be sure to tell us what you're playing in the comments, and check back next month for more of what our team is getting into!