Sorry for all the posts today. I bought 10 games in the last week and playing them so I figure why not post impressions...
Game Dev Tycoon
I played this on PC and enjoyed it but wanted it portable so I double dipped (a common problem for me lol)
If you like simulation games and especially Game Dev Story then you will probably enjoy this game.
I played handheld and the touchscreen controls are perfect, and text is not too small.
No performance issues and it looks crisp.
You start as a game dev in your garage and follow the history of gaming starting around Commodore 64. You can play 30 years but I chose 42 so it will last a bit longer. New consoles will come out as they did in reality though everything is fake named but obvious.
You will hire more devs, create games using a topic+genre (you research to learn new topics as you play) and then adding features that you have researched previously into the game. Developers have stats you can train and the dev portion has a few steps where they focus on things like graphics, sound, AI, world design etc. Then you release it, get a review, and it goes on sale. Making a hit game is some trial and error at the start but eventually you will get a big hit and get a bunch of cash.
You can make your own engine also to use which ends up being very powerful as you progress.
There is E3, marketing campaigns, fans and fan letters, sabotaging competitors, "hot" genres that rotate, contract work, competitions etc etc
If you want to experience the history of consoles and PC while making games (that you get to name muahaha), then you will likely love this.
The graphics are pretty lackluster and music is sorta just there, but the actual game is very engaging and I find myself playing for 2+ hours at a time.
Overall I give it 8/10 and it's tied with Game Dev Story as my favorite game in this niche.