When moving through one of Shio’s stronger, more flowing stages, the difficulty curve is manageable. Unfortunately, the difficulty is unpleasantly noticeable and frustrating thanks to many poor choices in level design and the hero’s inability to move more precisely. Those looking for a challenge will find it in Shio, but me? I’d rather take a leisurely stroll.

Minor flaws aside, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a great reimagining, reworked with love and pride by a team who clearly understand what makes their games shine. Even though there are loads of Kiryu’s adventures to choose from at this point, this one stands apart as one of the best. It may not dethrone 0 as the definitive Yakuza experience, but it’s still an excellent entry in its own right and has essentially become the gold standard by which all remakes should be measured.

For a title on Switch, it’s great — do a run or two while waiting in line for the bus or commuting on a subway and then set it down. On console or PC, I’m not sure it would be worth the pricetag.

With peerless strategy gameplay, brilliant level design, and great storytelling, Valkyria Chronicles 4 is a worthy inheritor of the name. And just in case the number in the title seems daunting, rest assured, the game is every bit as playable for complete newcomers to the series as it is for those who’ve been waiting 8 years for the series to return to the west.

The Council once again manages to make player actions feel vital in a way that few narrative choice titles accomplish – in fact, there are some diverging plot points that are so significant I have a difficult time imagining how many versions of conversations will have to be crafted for the last two episodes. This is also an episodic series where major characters can die, and that adds a level of danger to every interaction that few in its genre can match. Episode four can’t arrive quickly enough!

Though I can’t tell if The Lion’s Song is any better on Switch than it is on PC or mobile, I can say that it’s a unique and brilliant narrative adventure that offers an artistic journey into the hearts and minds of creators amidst a singularly dynamic time in history.

Alter Army is an amusing romp that can easily kill time as players go deeper into the world and uncover its mysteries. The current level of bugginess is disappointing, but I’d still say it’s a solid choice from a brand-new studio, even if it ends a bit earlier than I was expecting.

Being the first battle royale game may have been enough a few years ago, but in the current market where Fortnite is the biggest thing in the world, it takes greater ambition than “ugly but functional” to stand out. The best thing I can say about H1Z1 is that it’s free, but even so, I still can’t recommend it when its biggest competition is also free and offers a far better version of this same premise.

No matter how salacious things may get, Reflexions never loses sight of the sweetness at the game’s core – fundamentally, this is a game about a girl attempting to overcome her shyness and tell a boy how she feels about him. While I’ll be happy to get back to battling demons and ninjas when the next full entry in the series is released, I won’t say that this is a waste of the franchise or a disrespectful use of its main character – just the opposite, in fact.

People who aren’t interested in classic JRPGs may not find anything here to pull them back in, but for everyone else, Dragon Quest XI is guaranteed to scratch that particular itch for quite some time. Not bad, Square Enix, not bad at all.

Into the Breach feels even more at home on the Switch, since it’s not technically demanding and its campaign options cater to both long and short sessions alike. I’m glad I had an excuse to revisit it, because I nearly failed to recognize this gem as one of the year’s best and most addicting releases.

Unravel Two is a fairly compact jaunt with only seven levels and some optional challenges for those who want them, but I found it to be the perfect length for what it is. The runtime offers a satisfying array of puzzles that function equally as well with one player as they do for two, it’s stunning to look at, a pleasure to listen to, and although they might not be ranked alongside other videogame luminaries, I adore yarnies. I’m not sure if a third game is in the cards considering how quickly Unravel Two was forgotten, but if so, I’d be more than happy to go on an adventure with them again.

No Man’s Sky NEXT was a meditative experience for me. The simple loop of landing, scanning flora and fauna, scrounging for minerals, and finally walking up a hill to experience a breathtaking vista never got old. Others may struggle with the game’s openness, and others will likely feel intimidated by such a non-guided experience. But for those craving an experience full of addictive play loops and the ability to go anywhere? This game is for them.

Despite some minor bumps in the road, my younger self would have looked past them and enjoyed The Low Road, and my older self agrees – It’s a point-and-click adventure that delivers a satisfying story, a wonderful soundtrack, and fantastic design.

Flipping Death’s slight mechanical complaints don’t detract from the strength of a great voice cast and an understanding that the audience should care about what happens next, not just that they should be laughing.

The playable aspect of Black Friday is unremarkable, its story has an odd structure, and its documentary aspect, on Switch at least, has some problems with execution. Nonetheless, 1979 Revolution: Black Friday is an understanding treatment of people and events that are all too often viewed as wholly evil by Westerners. This is a thoughtful, sympathetic showcase for a fraught historical moment that still affects global politics today.

Strange Brigade is the rare title that manages to construct completely satisfying single- and multiplayer experiences in the exact same space. It’s not a huge project — a motivated team could blast through in under five hours while digging up all of the secrets might take closer to twenty — but it’s immensely replayable thanks to character variety and the different dynamics of co-op and solo modes.

While the story was a non-event and there’s not nearly enough absurd hijinks happening to suit my taste, I still found Donut County to be a worthwhile experience that was hard to put down. Making things disappear into the earth like a wrathful subterranean god was cathartic in an unexpected way. I’m not sure that I can fully articulate it, but I do recommend it.

There’s not much else to say about Kero Blaster. It looks cute, it’s simple and easy to play, and it’s put together well. For people who want a brief distraction that doesn’t require much time or commitment, this fits the bill and feels right at home on the Switch. I won’t turn down filet medallions if they’re in front of me, but a good ham and cheese can make me just as happy.

Ys: Memories of Celceta makes it easy to overlook its shortcomings. A likeable cast, an intriguing mystery, and smooth combat made my time with the game fly by. I hadn’t played a Ys game in over two decades when I decided to give this one a try, and I’m now convinced that I should delve a little deeper into the library of games to see what other gems I’ve missed.

Anyone looking for high-quality turn-based strategy that eschews the aliens, giant robots, and dragons that generally populate the genre will find Phantom Doctrine to be just the thing they’ve been looking for.

Overall, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle brings a welcome shot of vitality to the turn-based strategy genre thanks to interesting team mechanics and a colorful Nintendo theme that sets it apart from its contemporaries. Taking one of the biggest IPs in the world and marrying it to an all new type of gameplay was a huge risk that paid off wonderfully, and I’m glad that it finally found its way to my Switch. Now, bring me a sequel with a couple of needed improvements and 100% fewer rabbids, and we’re in business…

With some tweaking, Mothergunship could easily become a must-play. As it stands, only those with high-level twitch skills are going to have an enjoyable time. People like me might eventually get through the campaign, but I’m not sure I want to anymore.

Sadly, all its clever systems end up centering on warfare, and it is in warfare where Taishi too often fails to deliver. For every pitched battle ending in an exhilarating upset victory, there were a dozen that left me feeling like they were wasting my time. Despite all the clever tools in Kou Shibusawa’s thirty-year vision for historical simulation, I frequently had no way to create a new history for a unified Japan without marching into the inevitable.

That Death’s Gambit is beautiful and rewarding enough to be worth the struggle is what makes it a more successful homage to Dark Souls than most. It’s not the most creative game, but that doesn’t matter when so few developers are capable of pulling this kind of trick off.

Cosmic Star Heroine has the pieces in place to become a modern classic JRPG in the same way that Shovel Knight and Freedom Planet take their cues from old-school platformers. Given the amount of effort that went into the battle system, it’s clear that Zeboyd Games did their homework on the mechanics of their ancestors. However, while they definitely nailed the combat, the narrative is too rushed and the characters too shallow for Cosmic Star Heroine to reach the majesty of the games that inspired it.

The twin-stick genre is one of my favorites and I can’t help but take it a little personally that Bad Trip only made half the journey toward being a great game. Here’s hoping that Zombie Dynamics can build on their solid aesthetics and create an experience worthy of such a slick look next time out.

Fortunately, not even the rough patches could shake the shine off of the gift that Detached had given me. The likelihood that I will ever board a spaceship in real life decreases with each passing day as the responsibilities of adulthood tether me to the ground, but at least now I can load up Detached, put on my helmet, and dream my dreams again.