More than anything, Card Shark is an experience. It’s not an exceptionally long game, coming in at eight hours, but it very much suits its length. I wasn’t left unsatisfied, nor did it feel padded. The emphasis on the tricks themselves was oddly compelling as well. By the end of the game I had learned the theory behind a good number of techniques, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted to practice some of these for real.

Returning Gunvolt fans will find plenty to love here, and I believe this game can act as a great entry point for newcomers as well. Whether you want to master the systems and chase high scores, or just feel like a god smiting every obstacle in front of them, there’s still plenty to enjoy.

At the end of the day, Fashion Police Squad is a cute, rather lightweight game with a strong sense of humor, telling a simple joke over and over… but it’s a joke that makes me smile, and isn’t that what really matters? I had fun with it and I enjoy its approach to things. Control issues might be there, but that’s really about choice of interface, and if you’re looking for a solid retro FPS on the Switch, it’s a strong candidate. One might even call it… vivacious.

The biggest mark against Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is that this is a game which requires you to love it in its entirety. You cannot play this game solely as a farming simulator or solely as a platforming action game; you have to be willing to fumble through the rice farming as you do the platforming you’re much better at. Or maybe fumble through platforming to get back to that hardcore rice farming sim you wanted, to be fair. I don’t know your life. But the whole thing is presented with such care, patient attention to detail, and downright love that it’s impossible not to enjoy the heck out of this game. It’s the sort of game that I highly recommend to people who may naturally only be inclined to one side or the other of this particular melange, because you might find yourself enjoying it more than you expected. Sit back, relax, and let the game soak over you. Take a breath. Plant the rice. Watch the water. Don’t ruin it.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is an impressive iteration for Team Ninja. It’s a more accessible title without sacrificing the challenge intrinsic to its success, it features one of the developer’s most satisfying combat systems to date, and it accomplishes this in levels that sport more verticality and exploration than ever before. It falters more than it probably should with regard to storytelling and graphical presentation—a somewhat consistent shortcoming in Team Ninja games—but it’s an exceptionally easy recommendation for anyone who enjoys more tasking action RPGs.

Out of Sight is a very decent, horror-tinged puzzle game. Its most enticing offering—a second-person perspective that sees you controlling the protagonist through the eyes of her teddy bear—is also its most thoroughly realized. The way its puzzles interact with the more restrictive perspective is very engaging and easily kept me wanting to see the rest of what it had to offer. Which unfortunately makes the more unexciting mechanical execution of the puzzles themselves stand out all the more. It’s still fun to guide Sophie to safety through puzzle and pursuer alike thanks to a decent mystery and neat camera angles, but a more challenging level of difficulty and a more thorough aversion of many tried-and-true puzzle mechanics would have elevated Out of Sight into something truly special.

I would have preferred to be granted new gear at a quicker pace and have more direct control over my build options in a first playthrough, but the positives otherwise coalesce into a very addicting (and fairly challenging) co-op shooter that’s difficult to put down.

I want to emphasize that I absolutely *do* recommend this title. It has replayability and a unique enough theme that you won’t feel like you’ve played it before. If you’re a fan of the mystery genre this is one you won’t want to miss. Lastly, I want to give a quick shoutout to Lowbirth Games. They are a studio trying to bring light to issues faced by marginalized groups through their games and that’s a cause I can get behind. They did a fantastic job with This Bed We Made and you can bet on the fact that I will more than happily pick up anything else they put out.

It’s not an instant classic, but I think fans of the original are going to really find stuff to like here. And if you’re like me and never played the original, you still owe it to yourself to give this one a solid look. The weirdness of its controls and some of its quirks mean that it might not be for everyone… but give it a fair shot, and I have a feeling you’re going to get a lot more out of it than you might initially expect.

As a big fan of the original and of Tetris in general, it really pains me to give Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 this score. I really want it to be higher, but the persistence of the sensitivity problem had me throwing down my controller and cursing in rage too much to not be a factor. If you aren’t a serious Tetris or Puyo Puyo veteran, this probably won’t matter to you and you absolutely can have a blast. But if you are, there’s a good chance you’ll experience some frustration alongside the fun. It’s still worth playing, but the issues are too significant to ignore.

The biggest impediment to recommending these games to others is just the fact that, well… in many ways they are slight things. None of these games are terribly long if you know what you’re doing, nor are they tremendously difficult. The stories are not super compelling on their own. They are little games in a way, and they are definitely aged. But if you loved these games before, these remasters are perfect for what they’re trying to do. They’re charming. They feel like a sudden rush of nostalgia not because they’re exactly the games you remember, but the rare form of remaster that does add some stuff on top while still preserving all of the spirit and intent perfectly. And if you’ve never played these games but want to understand why people loved them so much, these are the perfect way to try them out.

Persona 3 Reload remains one of the best JRPGs out there, and what I encountered here does little to deter me from that sentiment. Switch 2 owners might not be getting the best version performance-wise, but they’re still getting a version that’s worthy enough to play on the go. Those who care about smooth framerates will be better served playing it on more powerful platforms. But if you’re looking for a solid enough port on Nintendo’s shiny new Switch, you can certainly do a lot worse than this.

I enjoyed my time with Shotgun Cop Man but, where I couldn’t stop replaying My Friend Pedro, I don’t see myself returning to this one. Shotgun Cop Man is frantic, fun, and funny. It is also repetitive, irritating, and doesn’t separate itself from the pack. What it does have is enough charm and sharp gameplay to make itself a worthy pickup. It also has a great title. Shotgun. Cop. Man.

So at the end of the day, despite everything that made this look like it was going to be a disaster, Granblue Fantasy: Relink is not just an alright game. It’s a really good game, a delight in terms of action RPG gameplay, and easily a title that you can start sinking a huge amount of time into whether you know this crew or not. I’m excited for the prospect of more, from more characters to more stories. And if you’re looking for a new RPG to sink your teeth to at the start of the year, you already have a strong example.

The good news here is between its two re-releases, Stronghold: Crusader has only expanded, and while I can’t say with absolute certainty since I never got around to playing the original (even though it was on my radar at the time), it certainly seems worthy of the “Definitive Edition” designation. While I think the developers could have done more with the graphics, it offers all the same challenges plus new ones. Having said that, the challenge may actually be too much for some modern gamers thanks to the steep learning curve and somewhat hidden tutorial. If you are serious about the real-time strategy genre, the copious amount of content, the extreme depth, and have mastered other games, Stronghold Crusader – Definitive Edition may be just what you needed.

Scarlet Nexus is an excellent way to get your JRPG fix. It’s stylish, has an evolving storyline, unique characters, and a wicked fun battle system. It does try to do a lot, and in doing so falls a little short at times, but this is something that will only bog you down if you let it. The game has a lot to offer and boredom is the last thing you’ll feel when you’re running around swinging buses at enemies. If you’ve ever wondered what can be done when truly using the power of the mind, this title offer you a fresh perspective.

Potionomics is one of the best new games I’ve played this year, and I highly recommend that anyone and everyone who looks at this and says “that looks interesting” give it a shot. This is a game that deserves to go on to big things, and it has thoroughly won me over. Or, to bring over a catchphrase from the game that clearly informed at least some of this game’s substance? Capitalism, ho!

In some ways, Natsuki Chronicles is a slight thing. It’s certainly not going to be the game that makes people who never play shoot-em-ups reconsider that stance, nor is it the sort of thing that you’re likely to devote months of play to unless you have a burning desire for a new shooter and this is the extent of your options in that regard. However, there’s nothing wrong with it being slight in that regard. What the game seeks to do, it accomplishes well and with aplomb, missing some minor technical issues with its presentation. And it certainly has more than enough content to keep you engaged as you challenge higher difficulties, grinding your stage level up for a little more defense, trying to earn up the credits for a new primary weapon. So it’s a little thing, but it’s a fun little thing. That’s what it wants to be, and it deserves good marks for aiming at a simple target but hitting it with notable skill.

If you’re looking for a fun trip to Toronto, this game is as solid now as it was back in 2010. Just be sure to get a few friends together for maximum enjoyment.

I’ll end this by saying that I didn’t entirely hate my experience with Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly and am glad I made it through because experiencing the characters really was a treat. There are a lot of heart-warming moments and lessons in this title and I am happy I got to learn a few. I just wish there was more to do, especially because the game is not that long to begin with.

Mega Mix will likely be a fun entry for those newer to the series, but for veterans, it really doesn’t have much to offer. Stick to Future Tone instead.

I don’t want to come off as overwhelmingly or unnecessarily negative about KarmaZoo. At its core, this is a weird game trying a weird new idea in a way that I can respect. The problem is just that I think most of its swings don’t actually work, and the net result is more mildly frustrating than innovative. It keeps unfolding new ideas, but each new idea strikes me as kind of mid-tier. It grows in depth, but none of those new depths ultimately work for me. I think that if you have a dedicated group to play the game with, you might get a fair bit more out of it. If you don’t have that, though? You can probably keep this one locked in its cage.

Ocean’s Heart is a love letter to its genre, and I feel like it’s one that does it justice. I really enjoyed this game and all it had to offer. The main story, as well as the side-quests, keep you interested and immersed in the world you’re exploring, the visuals are full of color and charm, and the gameplay, while basic, is elevated by constant puzzle-solving and exploration, making it harder to get bored. If you have it in you to ignore the clunky controls (which I did) then you will find a lot to enjoy about this game.

It may be more initially intimidating to genre newcomers than, say, Guilty Gear Strive or Dragon Ball FighterZ, but being fun to pick up yet challenging to master is the hallmark of any great fighting game. It’s part of the appeal, even, and when you take the consistently deep gameplay of KOF and combine it with greatly improved graphical presentation, solid rollback netcode, and mechanical changes that allow for more player freedom, you get something that truly does “shatter all expectations” as the tagline implies.

Unless you’re really into this game’s subject matter (Hey, if you like decorating housing in Final Fantasy XIV, you might just be one of these people), you’re probably going to pass on this. The game does try its best to give you the full experience without making it feel too much like real work, but for me at least, I spend enough time cleaning that I don’t really need to do it in a video game. Having said that though, I cannot deny that the experience is well-polished, and absolutely worth a buy if being a house flipper is your personal fantasy.

All in all, playing Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei was a real treat. It has its moments where the story can feel like it’s dragging, as well as a few grammatical errors here and there, but if like me you have aged out of cutesy, under-developed romance games and prefer more mature themes and realistic (albeit still animeish) characters, I recommend you pick this up.

It may have been a five-year wait, but I am so happy Arcadia Fallen got a second game. The charm from the first game lives on, but elevated with new tricks, and honestly, it really scratched my itch for a fun and immersive VN. As I mentioned above, the story itself isn’t grandiose or crazy, but it is a fun read, and you’re bound to love the cast. If anything, the abundance of choices you have to make will keep you busier than most other visual novels out there. On top of that, you’ll have a few challenging puzzles to keep things spicy. I’m honestly so sad this game is over for me. I truly enjoyed myself with this one and can’t wait for what’s next from Galdra Studios. Hopefully, the wait isn’t another five years, though. I want more Elias NOW!

The biggest impediment to recommending these games to others is just the fact that, well… in many ways they are slight things. None of these games are terribly long if you know what you’re doing, nor are they tremendously difficult. The stories are not super compelling on their own. They are little games in a way, and they are definitely aged. But if you loved these games before, these remasters are perfect for what they’re trying to do. They’re charming. They feel like a sudden rush of nostalgia not because they’re exactly the games you remember, but the rare form of remaster that does add some stuff on top while still preserving all of the spirit and intent perfectly. And if you’ve never played these games but want to understand why people loved them so much, these are the perfect way to try them out.