Long overdue, this review will look at the 35th cartridge in the Evercade’s main range; though there are only two games included, they’re both excellent, and it’s a great choice for Evercade owners looking for more than just classic titles and nostalgia.

In fact, for a vast chunk of its length, Goodboy Galaxy feels like an absolute masterpiece. You play as space explorer Maxwell, a dog who flies through the galaxy, making friends and upgrading his equipment as he explores different planets.

Though initially it feels like a Metroidvania style game, Goodboy ends up feeling pretty unique, given its wraparound level design and restrictions on traversal – where certain routes will take away one of your three main pieces of equipment, those being gun, shield and jump pack – which forces your approach to finding items and secrets to vastly differ on each path, on every planet.

It’s not without issues – that map could be a little more helpful in directing you to the myriad characters you come across on your travels, plus its platforming challenges can be a little frustrating at times – but its colourful, run-and-gun charm is undeniable.

It’s a big, absolutely gorgeous game with an incredible amount to do and discover, including a lot of upgrades to your good little doggy’s loadout over the course of the game, as well as lots of inventive mini games and other surprises.

The twists and turns the story takes, as well as the levels you find yourself unlocking, are constantly surprising, and it only really outstays its welcome right at the end of the game, when it forces you to backtrack through levels to find far too many extra unlockables before allowing you to proceed with the end of the narrative.

It’s a shame; it does feel as if it’s artificially extending the game’s length, when it’s long and satisfying enough already, and does tarnish the experience somewhat.

Still, until you reach that point, Goodboy Galaxy is one of the finest games on the Evercade, full stop. Note, however, that my Goodboy Galaxy’s save file ended up corrupted more than once, which was a huge pain after getting close to the end of the game (and then having to do it again!).

I haven’t seen many other people complain about this (though it does seem to be something a few people have experienced), so your mileage may vary; however, I will say that it’s a measure of how good the game is that I did start again from the beginning and work my way all the way through it again!

It’s so good, in fact, that it does overshadow the other game on the cartridge: puzzle platformer Witch N’ Wiz. Which is also an excellent game; unlike Goodboy Galaxy, which was built for the Game Boy Advance, Witch N’ Wiz is an 8-bit, single screen title (designed for the NES) in which you have to collect all of the creatures on every stage.

Though that sounds easy enough in theory, in practice you’ll be making copious use of the game’s rewind feature; you can’t jump, so pushing blocks into certain positions is how you get to previously unreachable objects and platforms, but it’s easy to lock yourself into a dead end!

It can feel a little too reliant on trial and error at times, and sometimes the single solution to a stage just doesn’t seem obvious, but it’s a satisfying game to play for the most part – and with 100 levels to conquer, it’s pretty substantial too.

Personally, Goodboy Galaxy/Witch N’ Wiz is up there as one of the very best ‘new retro’ indie game collections on the Evercade, and as long as you’re a fan of exploration – and puzzle – platformers, it’s one that feels essential if you’re an Evercade owner.

You can buy Goodboy Galaxy/Witch N’ Wiz from Amazon here.