Occasional minor frustrations with the controls aside, it’s hard to find fault with Salt and Sacrifice’s challenging combat and level design. The original was one of the best 2D Soulslikes, and this follow-up has a more appealing style and plays even better, with more varied mechanics and deeper choices. While recent FromSoftware games have encouraged more assertive approaches to enemy encounters, Salt and Sacrifice has an old-school vibe that demands patience, determination, a willingness to grind and the ability to find satisfaction in doing so. Fans of the original won’t be disappointed, and more recent Souls converts will find a new addiction as well.

All of these games are great in short bursts. It's only over repeated play sessions that they start to falter. To that end, your enjoyment is tied to your playstyle. Will you bust out Nintendo Switch Sports whenever friends drop by or log on? Perfect. You'll get months of use out of this game. But if you lean too hard on these activities all at once, you'll be burnt out in a couple of days. On the other hand, if you've been pining for a return to the glory days of Wii Sports, this game is perfect for you. You can even use the old-school Miis instead of the fancier character templates. Just remember to keep your living room clear of obstacles. All of this swinging around is dangerous, after all.

NBA Live 18 is a step in the right direction.

Overall, there’s plenty to like about The Adventure Pals. It’s clearly got a lot of polish, and at no points did I have issues with the gameplay. Levels are surprisingly well crafted, and collectibles are well hidden. The bosses are creative, showing some serious visual appeal. There’s nothing but positive things with so many aspects of this game, but the lack of a true co-operative experience left something to be desired.

There are other modern updates, I’m sure. It runs fine on my PC, and though I have seen reports of bugs and glitches, I didn’t encounter anything egregious. But there’s still a question of why. Why remake these games? Why put a fresh coat of paint on this weird little action shooter that is not so fondly remembered? I’m sure there are compelling business reasons, but nothing that makes sense to me as a gamer. Mafia II is an imperfect fix to a game that was already pretty flawed. Now it’s just as flawed, but in a way that can be appreciated by modern audiences.

As a Grandia fan, it’s been an absolute joy replaying these classic games on Switch. Parts of it are starting to feel a bit dated, but hot damn they’re still a blast to play. Thanks to a wonderful cast of characters, superb soundtracks, and an addictive combat system, Grandia and Grandia II are surprisingly accessible, even 20 years later. If you’re in the mood for more classic JRPG’s on Switch, the Grandia HD Collection will more than fill that void. It’s absolutely grand.

For gamers with a current gen console or powerful PC, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is an incredible-looking open world experience. It is a seamless extension of the films, which will appeal to many fans. But underneath all that flash, flora, and fauna is a lack of imagination and unsatisfying FPS combat. Pandora’s lovingly recreated beauty contains mystery, power and a fair amount of disappointment.

The great design and vision behind Pid can't quite overcome its faults in execution, so I can't put my stamp of enthusiastic recommendation on it.

Skylanders Imaginators doesn’t push the franchise forward or make any significant strides but it remains perfectly suited for kids and it’s a rock-solid addition to the Nintendo Switch launch lineup of games.

It’s entirely addicting and filled with more content than you could ever hope to play, so much so that I didn’t even really touch on the improved matchmaking and multiplayer options, the course creator, societies, etc. That mountain of content is wrapped up in a game that is overall pretty good. Much like golf, things that go wrong will frustrate you beyond belief, but they’ll make you feel like a million bucks when they go right. At least if you throw your controller in frustration at a bad shot it’ll be cheaper to replace than dumping your bag of clubs into a lake.

I for one enjoyed what I played, and the added content of past DLC, plus all the bonus goodies that have been tacked on above that make the whole package a pretty good value. There is a lot of gameplay to be had here too and those who haven’t played the game before are in for hours upon hours of zombie mayhem.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning is every RPG lovers dream and if you don’t mind its somewhat dated appearance, this classic absolutely deserves your undivided attention. I’ve been having a blast saving the people of Amalur and I can’t wait to see what the all-new DLC content will bring to the table.

Rain isn’t the longest game I’ve ever played, nor is it the most frantic or thrilling, but it is definitely an incredibly enjoyable and engaging tale of two children lost in the cold, dark of night.

While the game comes down to luck a little more than I would have liked which was frustrating, this dungeon crawler with a twist has a lot of redeeming qualities going for it.

If you want something to do that will hold your interest while you laze around, or a bit of a different experience the next time you go to watch a movie, I highly recommend Late Shift. It has some issues that are a bit jarring, but if you don't let those distract you, it's a great experience overall.

Like two ki blasts meeting and struggling to destroy one another, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is a mixed bag of things. It captures the spirit of the anime with its frenetic combat and ridiculous overacting but stumbles mightily with an impenetrable tutorial and convoluted structure.

It really gives some recent Action RPG’s like Diablo III a run for their money, at a fraction of the cost. It truly felt like I was playing a full retail title.

FIFA 21 is a complete package that will keep football fans hooked for the entire season. Although there are only a few small improvements, the tactical possibilities that these unlock are vast. With Dual Entitlement, meaning you can transfer your progress to next-gen consoles and the fact that it's packed to the goalposts with content, FIFA 21 comfortably takes the golden boot for 2021.

What is does get abundantly right is its unique tone, powerful narrative, masterful writing, and a visual style that fooled me into underestimating it makes it worthy of praise.

His past games have demonstrated that Suda51 is probably incapable of making a cookie-cutter action game. Yet underneath its misdirection of wild and crazy, that’s kind of what Romeo is a Dead Man really is. Strip away the disorienting style shifts and patchwork narrative, and you’re left with a fun but limited third-person action game with Soulslike elements. The game succeeds at stylistic surprise but at the expense of polished mechanics and satisfying coherence.

Papo & Yo really tugged at my heartstrings, like few other games have managed as of late, and on that basis, despite some valid criticism, I feel it really is a worthwhile little game.

Dreadnought offers a fun experience for anyone who has dreamed of commanding their own spaceship and battling against other people online. The triumphant feeling that comes with taking down an enemy with a well-timed volley of missiles, and watching as they go down slowly in flames, is an experience I would recommend to anyone.

Coupled with a strong and detailed art style that really fleshes out the story settings and you have a mystery game that all should find worthy enough to play.

Rhythm Fighter provides an interesting concept and although the beginning is overwhelming, it is an enjoyable and forgiving experience. You don’t need much sense of rhythm or direction, making it a friendly experience for many. It starts to become repetitive despite the battlefield being randomly generated, but its catchy music encourages you to pick up the game again and again.

With its randomized maps, a variety of civilizations to choose from, and multiplayer as an accessible option, The Battle of Polytopia is surprisingly replayable. On top of that, being available for mobile devices, you can play it anywhere you go. Truly, The Battle of Polytopia is the pocket-sized 4X that I never knew I needed until I played it.

Though other Monster Truck titles in the past have gone bigger with the theatrics familiar to motorsport fans, Monster Truck Championship simulates the experience very well. Considering the polish of this title, I can see it getting the sequel treatment in due time. I would recommend this motorsport game to anyone who likes monster trucks and/or Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. While I’m excited to see the return of live motorsport events. Monster Truck Championship does a great job of putting me in the driver’s seat until then.

All in all, Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 1 is two classic games in one visibly aged package. If you’re interested in seeing what else the people behind Disgaea have been working on, this will be a real treat. However, I wouldn’t recommend these games to people who aren’t already fans of NIS titles. And if you’re a Soul Nomad fan, then what are you waiting for? Not only did NIS finally port the game to a new console, but it also threw in a free second game.

Pupperazzi is a lighthearted, chill little game that anyone can enjoy. If you’re not too worried about realism and don’t need a lot of high-level content, you’ll be happy with what Pupperazzi has to offer. The bad news is that it’s over pretty quickly, and there isn’t much reason to go back. The dogs are cute, and the whole thing is marginally surreal, but a bit of story or maybe some strong canine characters would have added to the experience, especially for older dog lovers.