While no individual aspect is the best of its kind, the overall package exudes charm and entertainment that is hard to match.

What I appreciate about Z Chaser is that while it isn’t as much of a novelty as the X Challenge run was, it incentivizes focusing on improving your skill of the games.

Like many modern fighting games, Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r] is so unique. While it has a really steep learning curve that may turn casual fighting game players off, it is incredibly satisfying if you put the time in. If you love fighting games and want a challenge, then look no further.

Regardless of if you’ve played every Darksiders game or this is your first one, Darksiders Genesis is worth playing. The characters and combat remain fun and exciting to play even after the credits roll. While some enemies can be annoying, combat never gets dull and new items you earn along the way always make encounters fresh. Amongst the other big titles launching this spring, Darksiders Genesis is one that shouldn’t be missed.

The Bayonetta & Vanquish 10th Anniversary Bundle isn’t a sexy release by any means. Besides the nice steelbook that the physical version of the game comes with, there’s not a lot else included in this package other than the expected slight boost in graphical prowess. This collection will surely please both longtime fans and new ones who have been looking to give both of these titles a shot, but it’s hard to say that there is anything else all that alluring included here. This is just your pretty standard, run of the mill remaster of two great games – nothing more, nothing less.

Coffee Talk is an absolute joy to play.

Even with its faults, Kentucky Route Zero is well-written and contains wonderful art and sound design.

This wet fart of a release that Activision-Blizzard gave us feels like they’re stepping on my childhood and then spitting in its eye even as the teacher is pulling it off me.

Unlike the direction the Zombies mode from Call of Duty has taken in the past few iterations, Zombie Army 4 offers a cohesive and fun experience that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s engaging from start to finish and with its weekly challenges, the arcade-like setup of the chapters and leaderboards, and with Horde Mode, there’s a bunch of replay value here. Zombie Army 4: Dead War has finally broken free of its Sniper Elite shackles and will hopefully give rise to a lasting franchise of smiting out Nazi zombies.

The Turing Test is a well-made puzzle game that translates well onto the Nintendo Switch. Although its mechanics could be better utilized to create slightly more challenging puzzles in the first few chapters, Bulkhead Interactive started to perfect the formula by the game’s conclusion. Meanwhile, the narrative features solid voice acting performances and motivates you to keep playing through the game’s slow sections which are few and far between. Bulkhead Interactive did a lot right, and if they take another shot learning from the few mistakes they made, they could have a puzzle masterpiece on their hands. Regardless, The Turing Test is a very good, well-priced puzzler that is well ported and certainly worth trying on Nintendo Switch.

If you are someone who lives and breathes the Kingdom Hearts series, Kingdom Hearts 3: ReMIND will be the perfect package for you — giving you an annual injection of the heart and spirit we love from the series. But for everyone else, I’m not sure that the confusing offerings will be worth the $30 entry fee.

For as much I may enjoy the gameplay and story, I can’t deny that all the issues I encountered really marred my experience with Deadfire.

There’s a lot to love about Journey to the Savage Planet but most importantly, it reminded me why I started playing games in the first place: for fun. Journey to the Savage Planet offers a ton of enjoyment in both its gameplay and storytelling. Bravo to Typhoon Studios for kicking off 2020 with what might just be the sleeper hit of the year and mic dropping a brand new IP that shouldn’t be missed.

While it may remind you of your fond memories of the anime, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a drag that fails to entertain for its duration. Its repetitious gameplay, odd systems, and abridged storytelling lack the heart the anime had. If you’re a big fan of Dragon Ball Z, you might have some fun with Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. But if you’ve never experienced the Z Fighters’ epic adventures, there are better action RPGs out there to play.

Despite being a game that’s now 15 years old, [Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD] has been adapted to the Switch fantastically.

“Dense and tense” is how I would characterize this game. Not dense because of the amount of content in the game (there really isn’t too much), but by how much is happening on screen for the player to keep track of. It is tense not in story stakes or in-game punishment, but because of that internal desire to plan around these chaotic situations to avoid getting hit even just once. It is a smooth experience overall, with some nuanced gameplay wrinkles that resulted in some exasperation.

To the Moon has its quirks, but is still remembered fondly as one of the standout indie titles from the early 2010s. The core experience still holds up and has visually been recreated well by X.D. Network, and I hope they end up giving other RPG Maker classics like Yume Nikki a similar treatment. The jump to Unity did cause some unfortunate niggles, like the more noticeable loading times and control issues, and some of the slight visual alterations made me uneasy at first, but I still enjoyed playing To the Moon on Nintendo Switch almost as much as I did on PC 8 years ago. If you’re a fan of narrative-focused games, walking simulators, or whatever you want to call them and still haven’t played To the Moon, it’s definitely worth checking out.

The aesthetic, charm and gameplay Tokyo Mirage Sessions brings make it worthy to stand on its own and I hope that those who end up playing the game see it this way as well. Nintendo seemed to think that Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE was worthy of an encore here on Switch, and I find it to be a worthy encore, indeed.

Life is Strange 2 found not only a unique voice with the debut of Sean and Daniel, but an important one.

Showdown is a great first effort into multiplayer madness beyond co-op for Yacht Club Games that I am sure will carry lessons into their next project. Showdown is a compliment to the entire Treasure Trove package that does not encroach on the core experience. Some people will love Showdown’s addition and others will brush it off to the side. It’s like a cherry on top of an ice cream sundae; a sweet inclusion, but not essential to the overall enjoyment of the package.

Assassin's Creed: The Rebel Collection for Nintendo Switch significantly undermines visuals for portability; there are better (and cheaper) options for Black Flag and Rogue.

Yacht Club Games proves that their final Shovel Knight expansion, King of Cards, is no fool’s gold by making their best game to date.

Wattam is not a great video game by any definition. However, it is a great, zero-stress experience that wants to show how great friendship can be. If you’re looking for a game to test your skills or provide you with a mature narrative that makes you think, Wattam ain’t it. However, if you’re having a bad day and just want to unwind by kabooming golden poops all over your screen, Wattam is more than happy to take you under its bowler.

This is the beauty of Mosaic; it’s not just another tale made up for storytelling impact. These are feelings and situations I felt empathy with and that are a current problem within our world today. It’s great to see more developers wanting to go down this route when creating games and wanting to make a difference. I’d be surprised that when the end credits roll on Mosaic, you wouldn’t want to change even the smallest details of your own life for the better.

Disney Tsum Tsum Festival is a complete and utter failure of a party game, with only a match-three puzzle mini-game providing even a small amount of fun.

Espire 1 is a decent stealth action game. It contains replayability through its Challenges mode, but what it offers in terms of main story is a bit short – roughly four hours of story, padded to five or six hours via gates that force you to finish a certain number of Challenges to continue to the next mission. Of course, the main draw of Espire 1 is that it takes place in VR, and it uses that to its benefit. Sneaking around and using the bevy of Espire gadgets and traversal options available to do so feels great, but is overshadowed by a combat system and AI that is so exploitable that sneaking around quickly loses its purpose in the first place.

Star Ocean First Departure R is an underwhelming port of an excellent but often forgotten Square Enix JRPG.

Arise: A Simple Story mixes its narrative-driven adventure with puzzle-platforming in some ways that can be deemed successful. The time-altering mechanic gives the game some variety throughout its four to six-hour runtime, never overstaying its welcome. Paired with its beautiful art direction and well-told story, there is definitely a reason to pick up Piccolo Studio’s new game. However, there isn’t any facet of Arise: A Simple Story that strikes deeper emotional chords; it just lacks any personality. In turn, it does make it very approachable with themes that are easy to understand. You may not need any tissues as you endure the old man’s tale, but if you’re into narrative-driven adventures, Arise: A Simple Story might be for you.