As a brand-new mainline entry that follows the previous iteration after over five years, The King of Fighters XV feels a little "by the numbers" in a similar way to how Dead or Alive 6 didn't push on from DOA5. Everything is too familiar, too safe, and lacking those key elements that truly give the impression of the next proper game in the series. The 3D character models still look a bit out of place, the story mode is awful, and there isn't enough done to ease newcomers in. Solid online modes and a large roster, with the addition of cross-play to look forward to, mean there is plenty to like for series fans, though.

It is hard to say for sure if the entire experience is worth it without playing the other campaigns, but Wardog Fury by itself is enough fun to warrant a look. If you can find someone to play it with, that is.

There is nothing so innovative about Super Destronaut DX that it becomes a recommendable title to friends, but it makes for a good half an hour break from more interesting games. The challenge mode is worth a playthrough and a few may be excited to try and secure a place on the global leaderboards in the classic game mode. If only there was more visual clarity that made the game feel a bit more skill-based and not visual-ability-based. The very worst case scenario is that players will listen to a really cool soundtrack while changing up the gaming session for a few minutes.

Make no mistake. Just Dance 2022 is Just Dance 2021 (and 2020, and 2019) all over again. Also, make no mistake, this remains tons of fun. Sure, nothing has really changed, but if it ain't broke, why fix it. Sadly, while there has been a pretty strong improvement on the visual front, with the people behind this experimenting way more with the videos and the choreography, the soundtrack is one of the least impressive in the franchise.

Lancelot's Hangover: The Quest for the Holy Booze is a fun adventure that doesn't take things too seriously - with over-the-top humour and plenty of outrageous moments. It's a short trip (read: acid trip) down into wonderland, where nothing is taken too seriously, though some of the humour provides commentary on some issues in the real world. If experiencing a Monty Python classic sounds like a fun time, then Lancelot's Hangover may be worth jumping into. Of course, it's best to go in by leaving any offense at the door, and go with the flow of what this has to offer.

Endearingly minimalistic and simple enough without compromising potential depth, Bad North works surprisingly well with its premise, but is ultimately held back by from reaching the greatness it easily could have attained. A roguelike RTT is an interesting concept, but the title does suffer from a lack of traditional level design once the difficulty curve begins to spike. On top of that, freezing can occur when returning to the world map after a mission. Autosave ensures progress is never lost, but it's nonetheless frustrating. Bad North is not a bad RTS by any means, offering a fairly strong first half, but a lack of cohesion between difficulty and level design makes its back half less palatable.

Simple strategic elements in a quirky setting fit the portable nature of the Nintendo 3DS perfectly, and the only drawbacks come from a few repetitive missions, the unusual lack of touch screen elements, and somewhat clunky control system.

In terms of content, Death's Gambit justifies a purchase, especially now with Death's Gambit: Afterlife, and the new stuff that it has added, along with some refining here and there. Having said that, this is probably a big, nicely designed, fun… ok. It's an ok blend of the exploration found in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, served along a combat philosophy, and an overall vibe that takes its cue from Dark Souls. Nothing is bad, but nothing is great either. Ok. Fans of either "genres" can find better metroidvania/soulslike cocktails nowadays.

Falling Out sadly falls under that underwhelming "ok" category of games that thousands of indies belong to. It's a nice rogue-lite exploration/platformer that can be played by two (in fact, it is fun only when played by two), but despite it having no real flaws to talk about, there's nothing about it that stands out either. It's… ok.

Decent. That's the only thing that comes to mind when thinking about Blade Strangers. Besides the novelty of being able to choose amongst indie game characters from Studio Sanzensen and Nicalis, there's nothing special about this fighter, other than the fact that it's built in such a way that it makes it a perfect entry for genre greenhorns.

Immortal Redneck's first few hours are a delightful cage match between you and the chaos within. After a few hours, though, it feels like the same old, same old. Tension is replaced with apathy, as things feel like a hamster wheel churning out the same bits and pieces. It is best experienced for its moments, and not its whole, as those moments are exhilarating and intense. As a whole, though, it fails to retain any lasting attention, and amounts to something that is fun, but ultimately disappointing.

Invisigun succeeds in providing a good party, as well as single player experience. The gimmick of being invisible is not as important or prevalent as it might seem and given the nature of this, leads to a potential huge skill difference that takes away from a casual game it might otherwise provide. Graphically a little weak, it also does not have the same simple magic a game like Mario Party or Bomberman would have in drawing in casual players. With a group dedicated to learning its intricacies, it could be great fun, but it's a little too... out there for some plain fun.

It works best when there is a decent cast of characters that fans want to see more of, and Fate has that in spades. Even with 26 playable characters here, it's barely scratching the surface of the roster available. That being said, this doesn't feel like much of an improvement over the Umbral Star, feeling more like a DLC - More of the same, and something only for hardcore fans.

Even though it's been over a decade, Bullet Witch hasn't aged as badly as might be expected. There is some creativity in Alicia's skill-set. Summoning ravens and rose spikes lends a pleasing dynamic to combat. Also, reducing an entire city block to rubble just to kill a few demons never gets old. A typical play-through will only take about two-and-a-half hours, but the extra missions and harder difficulties are sufficient reasons to keep playing.

The Nintendo Switch version of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix suffers from its reliance on cloud streaming, which introduces input lag, connectivity dependence, and performance issues that undermine the series’ fast-paced combat and the Switch’s portable appeal. The high price, risk of server shutdowns, and failure to deliver native ports for games that could feasibly run on Switch hardware further sour the experience. While the cloud tech can be effective in ideal conditions, these conditions are rare, and this version pales in comparison to native ports on other platforms. Some of the entries in this compilation are classics on PlayStation 2. It was understandable that the demanding Kingdom Hearts III made in Unreal Engine 4 might not be feasible on Nintendo Switch, but there was no excuse for the much older titles.

Cast of the Seven Godsends is not without its frustrating and/or unfair moments, but it manages to provide a rewarding feeling in small doses, when an obstacle is finally overcome with enough perseverance. However, the uninspiring visuals and a soundtrack that doesn't quite manage to do its job of reinforcing the hectic and sometimes heavy atmosphere, prevent it from truly landing its grip on gamers who will not be compelled to come back for more afterwards.

The tactical spin to the CCG model in Faeria ends up working fairly well, if being somewhat simplistic. It achieves some degree of excitement in seeking new cards and new decks without ever fully hitting its complete stride, but the general premise is fun enough to try out even for hardcore fans of the genre. With a respectable single-player mode, and the entire ladder setup, players of both types will have a lot of content to play through. With a fun and a novel twist, this is a decent choice for those looking for something in this genre, but its appeal won't extend much past this.

The boss fights are incredible, the world feels alive, and there is something soothing to the exploration. At the same time, though, the exploration segments tend to carry on for too long and without much interesting happening along the way, so a lot of the game feels like padding.

For an indie game, the boss fights are really, really good. It's fun having the boss go "movie mode" on the player when they catch them in an attack, and the parrying feels really enjoyable. The fighting to get there, though, is average at best, and the platforming borders on horrendous for how often buttons don't prompt on a teleport-jump, or the dash falls slightly short, leading to unnecessary frustration. At the current price point, Homura Hime is a bit tough to recommend, but will be worth it on a sale.

An underwhelming experience. Whilst there are plenty of bonus features (medals, emblems, online leaderboards, etc.) designed to keep you coming back, the events/mini-games themselves just aren’t up to the challenge.

If it wasn't for its faithful retro presentation and soundtrack, Mighty Gunvolt Burst would be a pretty forgettable and by the numbers Mega Man clone. This is fine for children who are just getting into 2D run-and-gun action since, at the time of this review, there is no Virtual Console on the Nintendo Switch. The best part of playing Inti Creates' latest release is just experimenting with the possible combinations to make all kinds of wonderful weapons of death.

It is clear that Serpentcoil Island was largely made for longtime fans of the series. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and players who already love Shiren and can embrace the high-stakes risk-reward loop should welcome him back to the gaming landscape with open arms. Serpentcoil Island offers intense dungeon crawling with minimal frills, and there definitely is an audience that will gobble this up and come back for more. However, for newcomers or casual players, the learning curve will likely prove too steep and the payoff feels like too much of a trek to get to. Even experienced roguelike players who have come to enjoy the genre’s modern expansions may find this new Shiren a bit too dated in design to hold interest. It feels like it will enthrall certain audiences and bore others to tears, with very little middle ground between those two extremes.

The rearranged soundtrack coupled to new compositions is stunningly awesome, as Yuzo Koshiro recaptures brilliantly the spirit of the original and the gameplay of the side-scrolling sections is even better than in the original. However, the questionable choices in the art direction, the bugs, poor performance and the, at times, way too wordy expanded script, mar the experience in such a way that what should have been the masterful return of a masterpiece instead turns out to be a nice introduction to the classic for new audiences, but not much more. There's no shaking the feeling that this re-release was not treated with all the care that such an important landmark title deserved. The extra content sweetens the deal somewhat, and encourages fans of the original to come back for more, but the price of admission for such an end result is a bit too much perhaps.

On a scale of best to worst Final Fantasy titles, XII sits somewhere in the middle. It exists in a bland limbo of mediocrity. The best qualities lie in its art direction, music and animation. Being able to play with a high speed mode truly illustrates just how slow and tedious the combat actually is and by circumventing it entirely, a huge portion of the experience is compromised but also the overall product is made more enjoyable.

If in search for the next best thing in adventures, A Vampyre Story isn't it. While it has some issues, and an obvious lack of polish at places, it definitely has its moments, and some of these moments are awesome. It's not perfect, but genre fans will enjoy the three or so evenings they'll spend on it, with its humour, likable protagonist, and beautiful vistas being the best things on offer… and the fact that this is basically a Part One of a Part Two that never came (and probably never will) ruining the experience.

This has a tremendous amount going for it, but ultimately, it is going to appeal to puzzle gamers far more than JRPG fans, as the puzzle sections are incredibly demanding. Having players do hours of complex and convoluted puzzles in a row, is something that is going to put off many gamers that otherwise would have loved this title. For a RPG romp it could have been outstanding if this was shortened, and the puzzles/trickery were reduced by at least half.

Has-Been Heroes could be better if it had more depth, far more addictive if it wasn't as repetitive, and, most of all, an unquestionably worthy purchase if the gameplay didn't rely on randomness as much as it currently does so. Long story short: very one-more-try-ish, but also in definite need of some tweaking.

NBA Playgrounds plays well to the strengths of the Nintendo Switch, providing a fun multiplayer basketball game, with authentic players and commentary. Difficulty spikes in solo play are too steep to ignore, though, and the current absence of online play greatly diminishes long-term viability. A great game is here, but not yet at the surface.