Akaw-akaw-akaw-akaw... That's the sound of Nam-Cap, an innovative retro arcade game from Studio Piña. Billed as an arcade cabinet imported from an alternate universe, Nam-Cap takes the familiar concept of Pac-Man and turns it backwards in many ways.

You play Nam-Cap, the titular heroine. Use the [arrow] keys to navigate the maze, leaving a trail of dots behind yourself. Your goal in each level is to fill the whole maze with dots (as opposed to consuming them all, obviously), but two catches make this task substantially difficult. The first catch is that the heart in the center of the maze will shrink as you lay dots, and if it disappears completely you can lay no more.

You can prolong or recover your dot-dropping privileges by catching one of the four kings that also wander the maze, forcing it to scramble back home to recover its crown. (Why kings instead of ghosts? I'm guessing it's so the spiky part can be at the top instead of the bottom.) However, that's where the second catch comes in: when you catch a king you leave a small heart behind, and if a king nabs that heart poor Nam-Cap will be temporarily weakened, not only unable to create dots but erasing every dot she passes over! Get caught while weakened by a king or at any time by the level-specific baddie, and you lose a life; lose all your lives and that's all she wrote.

The thing most people overlook about creating something set in an alternate universe is that it has to make sense within that universe, ignoring our own. Nam-Cap is a little uneven in that area; seeing the kill screen at the very beginning of the game is just odd, but on the other hand, "Work Began" as a substitute for "Game Over" makes sense because once you're done gaming, it's time to get to work. The developers might have just gotten lucky there, though.

But that's not what matters to us; what matters is how fun the game is, and this game is definitely fun. Despite the reversal, Nam-Cap captures everything that made Pac-Man entertaining, from the alternating pursuit towards and from the four other parties in the maze to the panic when you thought you'd finished the level but really there's one little spot of the maze you haven't gotten to yet. There are even little cartoons between some levels, like in the original arcade Pac-Man, although they make slightly less sense because they're attempted direct adaptions. The game has its inherent flaws, like confusion about what needs to be covered in dots and what doesn't, but those are easily overlooked in an otherwise entertaining game.

Are you ready? Excuse me... are you ABLE??

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You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. Of course, I'm talking about the Candy Planet, and I Hate Candy. Or at least, the sullen mercenary hero of Cup of Fun's platforming shooter does, so it's bad luck for him that he's been sent to the sugary sweet world to rescue a bunch of scientists. Seems like candy might just hate him back, too, since the world is full of stuffed animals waiting to pelt him with the stuff, walls covered in sticky-sweet goo that make it impossible for him to climb, bottomless pits... not exactly a warm welcome. Use the [arrow] keys to move and hold [spacebar] to fire, keeping an eye on the temperature meter in the upper left corner so you don't overheat. Your goal is to find and rescue the scientist in each stage, blasting any toddling toys in your way and... uh... nabbing their souls for upgrades, which isn't creepy at all. You'll automatically grab onto and hang from any wall you jump against unless it's covered in slippery goop, so make sure to explore every part of each level to find all the power-ups and secrets.

Provided you don't find the idea of gunning down toys that actually seem to think they're doing you a favour by showering you with painful treats, there's something delightfully weird about the whole tongue-in-cheek premise, and the great design doesn't hurt either. The spiteful, grudging tone of the alien hero and the gleefully oblivious toy enemies clash in a great way It feels like a few minor tweaks would really have gone a long way towards making the game a lot smoother, however. A map to keep track of where you are in the enormous levels, for instance, and a bit more variety in the environments, which sadly wind up mostly looking and playing the same apart from a few minor style changes. Still, I Hate Candy is one of those games with such a great style and sardonic charm that it's still worth checking out. A remarkable amount of work has clearly gone into it, and though it's begging for a more fleshed out sequel, I Hate Candy is a fun, snarky platformer with a lot of levels to explore and blast through.

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It's time to get a little dark and griddy! And by that, I mean, this week in the JayIsGames Vault, we're featuring some of the greatest grid-based games for you to gleefully go and grok. It's so hip to be square!

• Back to the Cubeture: Era 1 - Confession time: this fair reviewer had actually never come into contact with EdibleCastle's humorous Cuboy before encountering this 2009 point-and-click game. But, as advertising methods for your flash cartoon series goes, putting together a hilarious isometric adventure where a cheerfully oblivious protagonist turns the world of the wild west into his whimsical playground has to be among the best. Polished, hilarious, and unabashedly oddball, Back to the Cubeture: Era 1 will definitely put an angular smile on your face.
• Gridz - Originally this puzzler by Atomic Cicada was released merely as "Grid", before being semi-sequeled semi-remade in 2009 with a "z" attached to the end of the title. And that added little bit of EXTREME SPELLING made all the difference, since Gridz is a true classic. It's a joy to see how the mish-mash of presented pipe-segments coalesces into an elegant solution. Perhaps it's just my latent OCD coming through, but when I'm somehow able to put order into the chaos of each of Gridz's forty levels, I get the sense that things are somehow being made right in the world.
• Grid Game - Finally, before this edition of The Vault goes off the grid, I'd like to share with you this charming little chain reaction webtoy. Released by Mark James in 2005, Grid Game feels like it would be as at home on your office-top desk as it does on your computer screen. The simplicity of clicking a cell, which then rotates a cell next to it, rippling out in a cascade of clicks and chirps is strangely beautiful. The "high score" function was definitely a devious inclusion on the part of the developer, since it just about guarantees that I won't be able to stop playing until my coffee break has well and truly disappeared in a flurry of rotating circles. Totally worth it.

While we welcome any comments about this weekly feature here, we do ask that if you need any help with the individual games, please post your questions on that game's review page. Well, what are you waiting for? Get out there and rediscover some awesome!

He ain't Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All, but we love him just the same. He's Bustermcthundersticks, and he so happens to be a point-and-click puzzle game by Ninjadoodle, where the aim is to track down 33 tiny ninjas hiding throughout a house filled with tricks and puzzles. To play, just point, click, and drag to interact and keep your eyes open for clues that will tell you how to use the devices in each room.

Bustermcthundersticks is a weird name for an even weirder game, but it makes for a great snack-sized piece of puzzling that won't weigh you down... though you will have to contend with getting that soundtrack stuck in your head. While a few of the ninjas are simple reflex grabs, tracking down the others requires both an eye for detail and deciphering contextual clues that at first glance either don't make much sense or seem like simple decoration. Some of the puzzles are definitely more obscure than others, so don't be afraid to experiment or bang on walls if you need to. Short, stylish and sweet makes for a great casual gaming trifecta, and Bustermcthundersticks is another welcome little gem from Ninjadoodle to brighten your day. Now if you excuse me, I have to go inform my husband about his new nickname.

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In-Finity's Sokoboom may look all sweet and innocent, but this simple puzzle game hides a devious difficulty curve... you may want to take the dark circles around our protagonist's eyes as a warning, because he's clearly been up all night with this one. Using [WASD] or the [arrow] keys, push each crate into a square on the floor with an X in it to open the portal to the next level. That's all. Easy, right? But despite not tacking on a lot of bells and whistles, Sokoboom's tight level design will tie your brain in knots. The downside is that the undo button, which only undoes a single move, feels too restrictive to really be useful, since unless you're going slowly and methodically it's far too easy to accidentally push a single block a few steps too far and be forced to restart the entire stage... which, considering how tidy and intricate the levels become, can be very frustrating. But with a clean presentation, Sokoboom serves up the sort of well thought out puzzling that shows you don't need a lot to be challenging. Just your wits... and apparently to have your hair styled by Javier Bardeem in his No Country For Old Men phase.

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Biology was never my strong suit in school. All those mitochondria and phylums and mitosis... meh. Luckily, you don't have to know your genes from your jeans to make it through Life Sciences, a new room escape by Rose Key. The game takes place inside your standard, four-walled room decorated with the theme of — you guessed it — life sciences. Make your escape, or be forever trapped amongst pictures of parameciums and DNA!

It's a simple but charming affair, and no heavy science knowledge is required for success — most of the puzzles are color-based. While some clicking areas are mildly fiddly, a changing cursor alleviates most of the pixel-hunting woes. The puzzles are definitely on the easier side, but they still have a nice logical flow, making for the perfect little coffee break escaper. So grab your bunsen burners and your graduated cylinders and try to make your way out of the room of Life Sciences!

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It's not easy being the modern equivalent of Robin Hood. All he had to contend with were a few half-competent sheriff's henchmen. These days an honest, hard-working thief can't catch a break, with everything from security cameras to laser beams plotting against him. Which is why Bob needs your help once more, in Bob the Robber 2, a great little stealth puzzle platformer by Flazm.

Creep around (rather loudly, for a thief) using the [arrow] or [WASD] keys; use the up [arrow] to interact with objects, and the [spacebar] to whack unsuspecting guards. You also have three upgrade slots, bound to [Z], [X] and [C]. Your task is to reach a certain goal (you can't miss it, it's surrounded by arrows), and then make your getaway. Keep away from any creatures/pieces of technology you see guarding the rooms, or you'll set off an alarm; if you set it off four times, you're busted, and then it's back to square one.

There are lots of improvements compared to the original game. For starters, there are ten levels instead of five, and there's a shop where you can buy upgrades. Every time you pick a lock or mess with the electrical box, you get a tiny mini-game, and don't they make everything better? When you knock someone out, you now have a timer so you know exactly when they'll wake up, which really comes in handy. The levels all fit into a single screen, the graphics are improved and the music is toned down a little. The difficulty curve is similar, meaning that it's well calibrated and strikes a nice balance between using your brain and your reflexes. Another fun feature is the fact that you can adapt the gameplay to your own temperament, and either rush through the levels or try to be patient and stealthy.

Now to end with a pun. Bob the Robber 2 is a steal at this price? No, it's a free game. It's criminally entertaining? Laaaame. It'll rob you of your free time? Yes, alright, let's go with that one.

Play Bob the Robber 2

Say you're a little boy (but really you're a dinosaur) and in your roaring rampage of dinosaur-ness, you've stomped all the plants you can. Well, the king of the forest would like a word with you, and he wants you to replant everything you've crushed. Such is the premise of Seeds, an adorable new launch game by funstorm. You blow the seed as far as you can by dragging the mouse left and then right. Click while the seed is in the air to drop more seeds and plant flowers. There are sweet spots that give you extra points or other bonuses, so your goal is to aim for them while avoiding trouble spots such as rocks, ponds, and crows. Use the points you earn to buy upgrades that help you make the most out of each launch. There's no distance goal: your distance and score accumulate on each launch to eventually bring you to the next zone.

Seeds is a lovely game, but it isn't without its flaws: the handling could definitely be improved, for example, and it gets very hard to aim your drops accurately as your launch speed increases. But between the vibrantly colored, ridiculously adorable graphics and the way it tweaks the genre just enough to stand out from the rest of the crowd, it's absolutely worth playing.

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Black Side is an unassuming little puzzle game from Mateusz Narolewski that will have you saying, "Even a child could do that!" — just before it sends the little troops inside your hindbrain dashing to their battle stations and makes you question whether someone's been replacing your breakfast cereal with paint chips. Using your mouse, trace paths across a board of black and white tiles so that the white tiles you've selected turn to black.

"Oh, that's too simple!", I can hear you saying. Well then, how about this? Your paths can only start on tiles that have been marked with a star, and so the number of paths you can trace on a given board are limited by how many star tiles are there. And all tiles, black or white, will always flip when you've included them in your path. Sometimes, you'll need to traverse tiles twice — once to get somewhere, and once again to flip them back. With a simple premise that must have been a cinch to code, Black Side reminds us that sometimes, all you really need to craft a successful game is a very good idea. Also, that innocent-looking pixels are still capable of making us go completely slack-jawed

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So, how about that E3 stuff, eh? While the news about how the Playstation 4 will be cuddling up with indies is certainly great, for me the biggest disappointment was Sucker Punch not standing up and going, "Haha, psych! You thought we were going to stick you with this dorkus malorkus? Not bloody likely. May we now present inFamous 3: Full Throttle Zeke, And Also Cole Is Back Because He Is Best". But I know, I know. You don't come here to see me mewl nervously about upcoming games. You come here for games. And darlin', have I got a batch for you.

• Kitt's Kingdom - It's curiously well armed cat versus never ending army of dog in HighUp Studios' action/defense hybrid. Control the titular Kitt as he fends off wave after wave of angry canines, protecting your tower from their forces and earning all sorts of upgrades to hold the line. It's a gorgeous little game with lots of peppy charisma, though a metric ton of grinding and some mildly clunky controls may sour it for some. I promise you that it is at least vastly more entertaining than trying to nap while a cat determinedly attempts to maneuver its butt at your face/
• Juggernaut: Awakening - This ambitious retro RPG from Jordan Allen, Nick Johnson, and Matt Jones loses several points off the bat for not opening with someone screaming "I'M THE JUGGERNAUT... uh... RHYMES-WITH-WITCH!" But, no, I kid. Despite suffering from a steep difficulty curve that demands a lot of level grinding right out of the gate, this game, about a group of friends who run afoul of forces best left alone, is still worth checking out if you're the patient sort. Sprinkle in a bit of humour, an epic quest, and an angry beargator and you have the potential for a lot of fun... if you can slog your way through some seriously brutal turn-based combat to get to it.
• Questopia - Aleksey Spirkin's dungeon-crawling action RPG has a lot of promise, though it's held back by slow movement and awkward aiming. See, you're a hero stuck inside a massive pyramid, and everything wants to kill you. Fortunately, everything also drops sweet, sweet loot, which I think we can all agree remedies almost any situation. The charming old-school style and addictive hack-and-slash (or run and shoot) style gameplay will appeal to some, though others will take issue with how hard it can be to aim directly at an enemy... especially while it and several of its friends are barfing magical orbs of death at you. Eh, still better than when I worked retail.
• Dream Fishing - Look, just play it okay? Sophie Houlden's Ludum Dare "minimalist" entry maybe be simple, but it's also simply delightful. Traipse around the surreal, softly lit area, casting for and catching fish that have some words of wisdom to deliver. It won't take long to play, but the game embraces its title and core concept perfectly to provide one of the most unexpectedly enjoyable little gems of playtime that's worth the few minutes it'll take you to check it out. Frankly, I loved it, and Sophie is my new bestie wether she realises it or not.

You might know that they sent monkeys into space, but the fact that these may be lady monkeys probably isn't very important to you unless you're the loveless primate hero of HighUp Studio's launch game Monty's Moon. Unable to find a gal, Monty believes his best chance for love is somewhere out there in the Black, and thanks to a similar simian scientist who can build all sorts of cannon accoutrements for an omnomnominal banana fee, Monty might just be able to reach the moon and find the lady of his dreams. Click to launch Monty when the arrow on the gauge is as far to the right as possible, and steer him with the mouse, nabbing 'nanas and avoiding birds and the like, which will slow you down if struck, and netting mystery power-ups you can activate with a double-click. After each launch, you'll be able to spend the bananas you earned on upgrades that will help you fly farther in different ways. While you can skip the fall animation after a failed flight, you may not always want to since you can grab bananas as you fall, too.

Monty's Moon doesn't really do anything new with the launch genre, but it does it very well, with a polished presentation and a quirky sense of humour. The sheer amount of grinding required won't appeal to everyone, however, and it doesn't seem like Monty follows your mouse as quickly as he could or should, which makes quick reflexes at high speed sort of moot. It wouldn't grate quite as much if there were a bit more variety in the sky instead of the same birds and backgrounds on and on for so long. Though it could have used some more fleshing out, however, Monty's Moon has charm and style to burn and makes for simple yet fun arcade action on your beverage-of-choice break.

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Developing sequels to racing games can be a tricky proposition. Once you've added more cars, more tracks, and Waluigi, where else is there to go? Fortunately TurboNuke knows how to do follow-ups right, and the result is American Racing 2, the much awaited sequel to last year's hit first-person racing game. Gentlepeople, start your engines!

The gameplay mechanics should be familiar: Select an event on the calendar with the mouse, and you'll be transported to the track for a rolling start. Using the [WASD] or [arrow] keys accelerate, brake, and turn left and right as you speed around, advancing upon your opponents. Guiding yourself behind an opponent will grant you a burst of speed from Drafting, as well as adding to your Boost Meter. Your boost can be activated with [X], [Ctrl], or [Shift]. Most of the events are standard "so many laps against so many opponents", though there are also challenges like running over a certain number of boxes, or forcing an opponent to spin-out before time runs out. Each event has requirements for clearing or getting a gold medal. Completing events and damaging opponents during a race grants you cash which can be spent on upgrades for your vehicle. New events are unlocked as you clear races, leading up to the overall championship at the end of the season. Finish all the events, and you unlock the friggin' rocket car. So you've got that going for you.

American Racing 2 has the usual assortment of new races and whistle-bells (including a rear-view mirror!), but TurboNuke has clearly listened to the feedback from the original, and has given their racing engine a good tune-up. Race fans should appreciate how upgrading tires now also improves your car's handling, making precision driving challenges much less frustrating. It's a little more CPU-taxing this time around, which is a shame, but overall American Racing 2 should more than satisfy your daily recommended need for speed.

Play American Racing 2

Though currently only in Alpha demo stage, Lune, a unique adventure puzzle game by the appropriately named Team Lune, is still worth a gander. Using just [WASD] or the [arrow] keys, you control the moon itself, from its size to its ascent in the sky, and thus affect the world around you with light and the tide. Of course, you are not the moon. (Which is a good thing, because if I personally were to be the moon, it'd be a lot less serene ambient puzzle solving and a lot more DAWN OF FINAL DAY.) You're a young girl who seems to have the mysterious power to shape the moon to her will, and you can click anywhere on the ground to make her move there. As you explore, you'll come across certain objects you can interact with as marked by a dialogue box that appears overhead when you draw near, allowing you to click to select a choice to enact. Figuring out how to proceed also means figuring out how to use the moon's power to your advantage, such as manipulating light and shadow, or bringing the tide in to flood an area with water. Which just goes to show you how unrealistic this is because everyone knows they would only use the moon for supreme acts of laziness or indulgence, like moving it out of the window so you could sleep without its light in your eyes, or making an endless stream of artsy Facebook selfies.

Right now the biggest obstacles to enjoyment can come down to a lackadaisical camera that's more interested in slow, sweeping, theatrical shots than actually helping you as the player, and some slightly awkward movement. Lune has such a great concept and the sort of enviably immersive atmosphere you wish more games had that it's a shame that it doesn't showcase a bigger variety of its potential gameplay in this demo early on. You'd be forgiven for thinking our heroine is wasting her power by early on using it only for a few obstinate block-pushing puzzles, and the game's stubborn lack of directions means some players may find themselves floundering around and frustrated before the game really shows off its chops. Beautiful? Sure. The sound and striking use of light and shadow combine to create a game that at once feels both ominous and peaceful in an otherworldly sort of way, and one you want to learn more about. If lovely, clever puzzle-solving to let yourself sink slowly into is what you seek, then give this demo a try. We can't wait to see the final product.

Play Lune (Alpha)

Lorraine has probably had better days. Separated from the rest of her crew, stranded in the alien jungles of Tavor, trapped in an ancient ruin, she's now accosted by monsters and the undead. Still, it's not all bad. Occasionally she'll encounter data-discs left by her crewmate Ridley, and various bits of equipment to give her phenomenal new movement abilities. Escape from a cursed alien tomb, find your crewmate and — if you're particularly fortunate — come out of it all with the brand new old fabulous Idol of Tavor as your lovely planetary parting gift. Metroidvania-style action and adventure await you in Angril's new sci-fi platformer, Darktopia!

One of the first important things you'll learn about Lorraine — aside from her ability to handle difficult circumstances well — is that she can't jump due to an injury she sustains from a fall. Fortunately, you'll recover some boots off a fallen crew member, which allow her to, well, hop with [Z]. With some difficult maneuvering with the [arrow] keys however, Lorraine will soon be collecting colored keycards necessary for passing the appropriate doors, double-jumping, and even using a nifty little gadget called an Accelerator to improve her jumps even more. By pressing [Shift] while running once she finds it, just before jumping, the Accelerator enables Lorraine to boost her horizontal momentum for a full second. What that means is that if it's timed correctly, Lorraine's jumps can cross most of a whole screen even if they don't gain any additional height from it. The fun physics of this doohickey alone is enough reason to give Darktopia a try, and when combined with the double-jump the combination gets almost slapstick as Lorraine whizzes across the screen, disregarding the terrain almost entirely.

But Darktopia (which I'll always think of fondly as, "How Lorraine's No-Good, Awful Day Got Better") isn't just about the flagrant use techno-toys to violate the local laws of physics until they feel a bit sheepish and go home hanging their heads dejectedly. Lorraine eventually manages across a blaster rifle, for example. But you won't be able to just set it on Auto-fire and mindlessly laser your way out of the ghoul-infested ancient ruins, oh no no no. Either assault blaster rifles are banned in the future, or the fact that its previous owner abandoned it in a catacomb of ancient alien tombs indicates that it's a slightly inferior model, which Lorraine doesn't appear to stop to consider. Although [X] will allow you to fire (in any of your cardinal directions, by the way), each shot will heat the barrel slightly as indicated on a color gauge. That means for each shot, a cooldown period is required. And if you manage to max the gauge out to red, be prepared for a loooo-o-ong additional cooldown during which time you'll be unable to fire back.

Sly level design also plays a big part in Darktopia. For all the aerial acrobatics Lorraine can eventually muster there is a distinct lack of headroom in these ruins, and much of that is filled with spikes and various other nasties. In some games, that would be annoying. In Darktopia, it's thought-provoking. It means you'll really puzzle out where you need to get to and how the heck to go about it. There will be moments you'll think you're stuck, as you can't always get back to where you started and all the color-coded doors won't open without the corresponding keycards. Don't panic! You'll eventually acquire some nifty device that will make what's impossible for Lorraine at the moment a glib reality later on. The checkpoints enable Lorraine to come back upon death to the last one she'd visited (presumably as a fully-living being rather than some eldritch, undead horror), and just reaching one will fully heal her as well. Even if you're not a huge fan of Metroidvania-style games, come for the gameplay physics of Lorraine's collectible arsenal of gadgets, and stay for the crafty level design and fun. And remember that no day has to be awful as long as you've got deft moves, some futuristic ability-enhancing devices, and a blaster rifle. Definitely a blaster rifle.

Play Darktopia

While there are no shortages of short escape-the-room games out there, lengthier adventures with enigmatically coded locks and multiple adjoining rooms, especially ones that hold up to the test of logic, are a rarer find. Among those few that manage to both confuddle and delight with seamless logic and an impeccably clean design, stands Kotorinosu with Room Γ as a one-in-a-million (nearly) flawless escape. Inexplicably locked inside these space age surroundings, with no narrative and the only words nearly invisible in the abstract, your goal is to search around, connecting what you see to what you can do, progressing forward until the last door swings open to set you free. Perhaps it doesn't sound like much, but in Kotorinosu's hands, it means you can happily while away a large chunk of your afternoon in this weekday escape.

To get started in the first room, point and click to explore and navigate, following arrows on the side of the screen to change views, or clicking a doorway or hallway to move that direction. The cursor doesn't change over active areas, leaving you to rely on other visual indicators while looking under furniture and around corners. Sometimes those details are inconspicuous or miniscule or camouflaged by our eyes' tendency to overlook the forest in the trees. Inventory is kept in the side bar where you can highlight to use (the item will follow your cursor) or click the tiny "i" to view an item in detail (which you'll need to do from time to time). Helpful is how inventory items disappear only when they're no longer usable.

Typical of Kotorinosu's style, Room Γ is full of puzzles that rely on figuring out how or where to use objects and decoding ciphers, no bouts of arithmetic or too obvious answers. It's like Device or a Neutral creation in its level of challenge. Among multiple puzzles and rooms, you'll find yourself going back and forth a lot, repeatedly opening and closing your inventory, and reusing items. It can be a bit irritating to have to fiddle with so many items, especially because that tiny "i" for each inventory item means some precision clicking, making you wish for double-click method of opening detail screens that Detarou uses. Although there's no true pixel hunting, because this escape is challenging, anyone who gets stuck will probably spend a long time fruitlessly clicking anywhere and everywhere, wondering if they missed a pixel somewhere. More likely, it's just easy to miss the spot where an item is used. The visuals are so serene and aesthetically pleasing that there are at least two hide-in-plain-sight moments with the potential to trick us. But as lovely as it is to look at, the best part of Room Γ is its use of puzzles. They fit the theme and feel original even as they're not completely unique, making the experience feel like more than a simple escape—it's easy to overlook the flaws and dub Room Γ a perfect break out adventure.

Play Room Γ