With its beautiful artwork and incredible soundtrack, The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince is a satisfying experience that could be further enhanced with more intuitive controls and a larger assortment of puzzles. Even though sometimes the puzzles can feel too easy or monotonous, the lack of challenge can be preferable for players looking for something simple. Being on the shorter side in terms of game length, Liar Princess would not have done any better if the game was longer – in fact, it was a good length for the purpose of the story. Overall, The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince was a delightful experience and is undeniably a story to remember.

Yes, Ape Out is a short game but the action, visuals and soundtrack are simply bananas. Plus, the price is definitely right at just $14.99 US. That’s a lot of primate pandemonium for a pretty fair price, and that’s not even mentioning the extra Arcade Mode in which you earn points for kills and speed. A refreshingly original game that takes its gaming influences and runs with them like a jazz soloist on a Saturday night, Ape Out is one game that elevates ultraviolence to an art form.

This just feels like a frustrating cash grab. I take no joy in being so harsh on this game, as I’m sure many of the people who worked on it did their best in what clearly little time they were given – and hey, game development is hard – but they, and LEGO’s target audience, deserve better than this. If you’re looking for a better LEGO game to get into, check out the recent DC Super-Villains, or the re-release of the Harry Potter games.

It’s unfortunate that the roguelike genre has gotten so stuffed lately. Caveblazers is a sharply put together game. If I had received it as a birthday present for my Gameboy in the late 90s, I would have played it on every long car ride. It’s tightly made and has a great gameplay loop. It leads itself to some really exciting moments. But after playing through it for several hours, I loaded up the Nintendo store and bought Dead Cells for my Switch.

What drew me to Arcade Spirits is the aesthetic and the story. The characters are cute and easy to like, and I love being able to track my status instead of guessing where I stand. Arcade Spirits has an enjoyable story and I will be playing it again until I’ve romanced everyone. It doesn’t really bring any innovation into dating sim world but it is one I can easily recommend.

For casual players, the game still has much to offer as a strategy map game should. I look forward to keeping my eyes on Stardock. So far, between this and other titles like Star Control, Ashes of the Singularity, and Offworld Trading Company, they have a firm finger on the pulse of the galactic exploration and exploitation genre.

It’s pretty to look at and mechanically sound, with its only real downfall being the clunky joystick response which – while not game breaking – can simply be a little frustrating in an otherwise relaxing experience.

The gameplay hasn’t evolved too much from previous Trials games, but for fans, that’s maybe not such a bad thing. If you’ve enjoyed previous Trials games, then Trials Rising is highly recommended.

I love Eastshade. It was everything I wanted it to be and more. The world was beautiful and expansive, the storytelling was not only strong but often masterful, and the whole package left me with that post-game hangover that has you putting down every game after it. It’s still early 2019, but I have no doubt that Eastshade will remain one of my favorite games of the year and one of my very favorite exploration games of all time. If it were up to me, I’d never take that final ship back out of Lyndow.

Intruders: Hide and Seek is a short game focused around one thing, and it does it pretty well. The hiding, seeking and sneaking gameplay works, and developers Tessera Studios interweave it with a short, decent story and not too much else to overly complicate things. The characters look like demonic dolls and the voice acting is scary for all the wrong reasons, but luckily they never play enough of a role to bring this cat-and-mouse affair down too much. If you’re looking for a stealth VR title with solid gameplay and a decent story, seek no further – Intruders: Hide and Seek is a worthy VR title hiding in plain sight.

My only real gripe with the game is the lack of saving and respawning options. I am one of those players that tends to die a lot, so it can be a bit frustrating. Not to mention the mini-map is quite small, so it can be easy to miss something important before moving onto the next level. Other than that, RemiLore: Lost Girl in the Lands of Lore is an incredibly fun title. With beautiful graphics and fluid hack ’n’ slash action, not to mention the back and forth hilarious banter from our heroes, this title is an easy pick whether you are playing it at home or on the go.

While I love the moment to moment action, the pacing can still get downright glacial at times. If you’re hoping for an RPG experience, you’ll be rather let down. As far as action platformers go however, Dragon Marked For Death is a ripping good time.

This version is a lot more than the original ever was on the PSN, but it is a modified version. I’m just happy to have this game on the Switch, but I recognize that it’s far from a perfect port. If you can see past the minor flaws, Final Fantasy IX is an excellent investment on the Nintendo Switch.

Under this pretty coat of paint lies one mediocre game that is ultimately disappointing.

DiRT Rally 2.0 is an outstanding game that took everything that was good about the original and improved upon it. There are very few games I would classify as a must buy but DiRT Rally 2.0 absolutely is one of them.

While UnExplored leaves a lot to be desired in the way of graphics, it has its own charm in its aesthetic which is backed up by the bitchin music that follows you on your dives. Even in its shortcomings, I found UnExplored to be redeemable and the amount of angry, annoying, pleasurable fun was worth far more than any downsides. Can I really be bothered by a lack of an overall storyline when each dungeon run has its own substory? Can I really complain about some graphic inequality with AAA games when each time I play is unique and a lot of fun? Well, I can’t see how I could do that, maybe just don’t bring it up to the people that picked up No Man’s Sky on its first day…

Crackdown 3 feels like an Xbox 360 title running in 4K. In small doses, the action’s a lot of fun. I love jumping around the city and blowing stuff up, but I can’t imagine this is the follow-up fans deserve. I hate to say it, but Crackdown 3 would more than likely pale in comparison to other open world games released over a decade ago like Infamous, Prototype, and Borderlands. It’s not awful or even all that boring, but the gameplay isn’t anything we haven’t already experienced in the series twelve-year history.

The vast majority of any joy I experienced playing this game came from reveling in the cheesy dialogue and Garry’s Mod-level animations your character is condemned to in the hub world. If you’re looking for a solid fighting game, or if you’re looking to celebrate 50 years of culture-defining art and beloved characters, this ain’t it chief – you’re better off putting your Crunchyroll subscription to good use.

With a game that employs multiple means of victory through strategy, great focus on Slavic mythology and a beautiful map peppered with resources, bodies of water and forests, Thea: The Awakening will really surprise you. For fans of simulation titles with a sweet mix of RPG elements, Thea is an easy recommendation as there is very little on the Switch that even compares in the genre.

Far Cry New Dawn sets out to continue the story where Far Cry 5 left off in a fresh new take on what the apocalypse means. The detail in every aesthetic is absolutely gorgeous, and the sense of isolation when out on the road feels eerie but real. The system for upgrading Prosperity means you always have something important to do and the game does a good job of putting you in the shoes of someone trained to survive, however the lack of creative new weapons, apocalyptic customization, and what feels like less content than its predecessor really hold New Dawn’s potential back.

Despite some small annoyances that are either confusing or intrusive to the overall immersion that Steins;Gate Elite provides, this was a genuinely fun and engaging experience. In fact, because of how graphically close it is to the anime and how intense and complex the narrative is, Steins;Gate Elite is smooth as butter from start to finish and captures the true meaning of a graphic novel come to life.

Don’t let the simple aesthetic fool you, OlliOlli and its sequel are damn near flawless skateboarding games that hold up incredibly well in 2019. For one low cost, you get a super satisfying package that bundles two of the best high-score achieving games in recent memory. With a boatload of content and near endless replayability, OlliOlli: Switch Stance is an absolute must get on the Switch. Whether you’re a skater boi or not, olli ya’ll better pick this one up.

As you might be sensing, Metro Exodus makes me feel severely conflicted. On one hand, I appreciate the characters and atmosphere, but on the other, I think it needed some more time. Features like individual volume sliders for voices and music are missing, the general button layout is awkward, and button presses don’t always respond as I’d expect. Mix that in with the bugs, and we have a package that has the structure for excellence but was set loose on the world too soon. In my heart, I have strong feelings for Exodus, but I’ll forever be haunted by how outstanding a few more layers of polish could’ve made it.

Observer on the Switch brings back all the good aspects of the game and gives you more flexibility on how to play it with new touch inputs and, of course, the option to play it on the go. Observer also looks better in handheld mode, which provides even more reason to make full use of the console’s capabilities. However, it is still the same flawed game it was almost two years ago when it first released. Observer is a visual and auditory tour de force and excels wonderfully as a narrative entry into the cyberpunk genre, I just wish more attention went into creating a compelling gameplay experience to accompany it.

If you’re a fan of the Battle Royale genre or first-person shooters in general, Apex Legends is at least worth giving a shot, and even if you’re not a fan of those things, try it out anyways and see if you fall in love with any of the game’s charismatic characters.

Mage’s Initiation might suffer from aiming itself at nostalgic fans of a bygone era of gaming, but when someone new stumbles on it, they’ll have themselves a good time…as long as they avoid forests.

With good reason, Re-Legion is getting missed reviews in the Steam Marketplace. RTS fans are disappointed because the concept seemed so new! An RTS that focuses on conversion rather than building factories or buildings to convert armies. It’s a really cool idea, but the implementation was not there. It’s upsetting, really. Everyone who picks it up really wants to like it because the vision of the developers is very clear. They clearly have a love and understanding of what they are going for, but they may not have had the right team in place to make it happen for them.

Hyper Jam is the perfect couch game with some friends, or a palette cleanser from other denser AAA titles. It will definitely stay in my rotation of games to play with my buddies whenever I have the opportunity. This lightweight arena brawler is a stylish delight.