Largely action-packed platforming games with some challenging but not impossible gameplay change mini-games/missions (racing, puzzle, arena combat). You can switch between 3rd and first-person view depending on what weapon you’ve got (the breadth of the weapons is one of the selling points).

Story is at times humorous, largely tongue-in-cheek humor, the kind you found funny around late-middle/early high school, but might find funny again now. But there’s also more serious, space epic stuff too. I think it appeals to children of the 80s who grew up on space faring cartoons of that era.

The stylized art and layered game design are pretty strong for where the series started, and by the first PS3 release, it was (accurately) described by the New York Times as “…the first game to truly deliver the long-sought ‘You are playing a Pixar movie’ experience.”

Maxing out weapons and wading into a horde of robot enemies and watching them all explode instantly holds a special child-like glee. Kinda like Samurai Jack, now that I think about it.