A shorter selection of games for this week, but definitely a good variety and quality games. The quickest game this week can take you all of 5 minutes to complete.

Doug’s Nightmare (Xbox X|S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5)

Estimated Completion Time: 3-4 Hours
Publisher: eastasiasoft
Developers: Undev Games, eastasiasoft
Release Date: May 22, 2024
Xbox Store Links: Xbox
Playstation Store Links: PS4/PS5

Just the one achievement list available on Xbox. The game is cross-buy on PlayStation and features the trophy stack between PS4 and PS5.

Doug’s Nightmare is mix of twin-stick shooter and beat ’em up genres. You step into the peel of Doug, a banana fraught with fear and anxiety. Your mission: guide Doug through the tumult of his psyche by pummeling his inner demons into submission. Each level unfolds similarly: you enter a room, locked in until every adversary is vanquished. Some rooms yield gifts for Doug upon completion, ranging from cosmetic attire to new armaments.

Doug wields both ranged weaponry and his trusty fists, but engaging in close combat heightens his anxiety. Should Doug’s anxiety meter bottom out, you’ll face his doppelganger before he can unleash his special attack once more. The game features 8 levels and each one culminates in a boss encounter. It’s worth clearing every room on the map to ensure you pick up the better weapons.

Players can opt for a casual experience (my choice) or the recommended normal difficulty. While the game proved enjoyable, its repetitive nature did become apparent over time.

The Mermaid of Zennor (Xbox X|S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5)

Estimated Completion Time: 5 minutes
Publisher: Penguin Pop Games
Developers: ebi-hime
Release Date: May 22, 2024
Xbox Store Links: Xbox
Playstation Store Links: PS4/PS5

One achievement list available on Xbox. Cross-buy on PlayStation along with the PS4/PS5 stack.

The Mermaid of Zennor is the ultimate achievement hunter game. It’s a visual novel and will take you a whopping 2-5 minutes to get through if you’re just looking for achievements. Go into the options menu and choose Skip: All Text, Text Speed: MAX and Auto forward delay: MAX. Then start a new game and start skipping. There’s only one decision to be made in this visual novel so if you want to save yourself another minute or two make a save at the choice. Finish the game and reload your save to pick the other choice.

The Mermaid of Zennor was originally an old Cornish folk tale. This story involves an autistic girl who is ignored by her parents, bullied by her peers and has an unhealthy obsession with her older brother. The game reads like a novel and if you’re into these kind of stories is definitely worth a read. If you’re just here for the achievements though I won’t judge you.

Ultra Foodmess 2 (Xbox X|S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5)

Estimated Completion Time: 6-8 Hours
Publisher: Silesia Games
Developers: Painful Smile, Riftpoint Entertainment
Release Date: May 22, 2024
Xbox Store Links: Xbox
Playstation Store Links: PS4, PS5

One achievement list available on Xbox with the stack available between PS4 and PS5 versions.

Ultra Foodmess 2 is a local party game and the sequel to Ultra Foodmess Deluxe. Have fun with up to 4 friends or duke it out against the in game bots. Customize the challenge by adjusting the foodbots’ difficulty from regular to hard and set the victory threshold anywhere between 1 and 10 points.

There are 10 different games modes and you are free to choose any combination. The game features it’s own silly versions of games which give the flavor of travelling the world. From Foodball to Dash N Splash, Mashed Pit to Toasty Dessert. Whether you’re engaging in Lunch-A Libre or embarking on a Flower Collection spree, each mode promises its own delectable delights. Matches are fast and action packed.

It seems the completion time will be a bit longer for this game due to the 2 achievements of unlocking all characters and running over 42km in game. I will admit, I do not yet have the full completion for this one. I was able to attain 700 Gamerscore in roughly 2-1/2 hours of play.

Cat Pipes (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows,

Estimated Completion Time: 30 minutes – 1 hour
Publisher: AFIL Games
Developers: Tribus Games
Release Date: May 23, 2024
Xbox Store Links: Xbox, Windows
Playstation Store Links: PS4/PS5

Cat Pipes has a stack on Xbox between the Xbox version and Windows. On Playstation you get the cross-buy option with the stack on PS4 and PS5.

Cat Pipes is a super cute puzzle game with 45 levels. You rotate pieces to connect the pipes to all of the cats located on the levels. It’s a pretty simple concept, but I did like this game. You click the squares to rotate the pieces, that’s it and that’s all. It was quite chill and I definitely enjoyed figuring the bigger levels out. Sometimes simple is good and for this puzzle game it really works.

Paper Dash – City Hustle (Xbox X|S, Xbox One, PS4)

Estimated Completion Time: 1-2 Hours
Publisher: EpiXR Games
Developers: EpiXR Games
Release Date: May 24, 2024
Xbox Store Links: Xbox
Playstation Store Links: PS4 (40% off until May 30)

This is probably my favorite game type published by EpiXR. You fly around levels as a paper airplane and shoots ghost targets riddled throughout the levels. This game features 10 levels focused on flying through different city themes. Each level has 3 waves of enemies to get through. It’s a pretty chill experience which EpiXR games are known for.