The content is not at fault, nor is the level design and replay value. This one’s a blast to play with friends, and that may be its most saving grace. The sluggishness of movement and shooting is halved when you’re playing with a good friend who can share in the mayhem. It also allows online play with friends, strangers, or by invite only so you can tailor your desired experience. Playing solo is doable, but MKR is a whole lot more fun when it’s played with friends.

Dandara is a game all fans of Metroidvanias will want to try. It’s on the PS4, Switch, PC, and even iOS for a mere $12. Its adventure isn’t a super lengthy one, but for a game this unique, the handful of hours you’ll spend with the Brazilian-made game will be more than worth the price of admission. Recommended.

Legrand Legacy is a great indie JRPG that brings a lot of cool ideas to the genre. While it has its quirks and definitely bad controls with the keyboard, the gorgeous visuals and gameplay make up for it tenfold.

For three bucks on Steam it’s a no-brainer if you’re looking for a good way to kill time before bed or, if you’re a true sneaky mastermind, at work while you should be writing memos and whatnot.

Candleman isn’t a long game. Its 9 worlds can be beaten in a few hours at most, but there is some replay value in trying to light every candle. Still, it’s worth the experience if you’re in the mood for a lush, fantastical, fairytale sort of adventure. It’s not stressful, though some levels may make you a little tense. For $15, there’s not a whole lot better value for your dollar.

Whatever direction can you go, I can say this: It’s less expensive than Space Camp. Go get yourself one of those freeze-dried ice cream bars, strap a Kerbal or two to some rockets, and call it good.

In all, Tesla vs Lovecraft may be 10Tons most approachable and well-polished game yet. It's got a load of levels across three distinct London settings, and tons of weapons and gadgets to wield. I'd have loved some more long-term leveling, things that didn't wipe away after each mission. All told, it's the most fun I've had with a twin-stick shooter from 10Tons, and it shows that they're perfecting their craft.

Full Metal Furies is high-quality side-scrolling brawler that understands its roots while still managing to both pushes the genre forward with its inclusion of some great RPG elements as well as add its own unique style to the genre. Furies offers many hours of single-player fun and shines exceptionally well when played to its full potential as a co-op experience. I highly recommend picking this title up if you’re looking for something new and charming.

It’s now 8 years old, but Super Meat Boy is still one of the best platformers in recent memory. Perfectly simple controls, great level design, and grotesque but cute humor make a very memorable experience. When Super Meat Boy Forever lands on the Switch, you can bet we’ll be playing that too.

Digimon Cyber Sleuth: Hackers Memory is a great game with a great story. Worth playing or trying if you feel it might not be your cup of tea. If you are a fan of Digimon like me I won’t have to tell you the fun in being able to play another Digimon RPG.

Even though I’m not the greatest at fighting games (and usually even despise playing them), Dragon Ball FighterZ manages to make the game feel easy to get into, and quickly become rewarding by learning move sets and counter plays. While the story mode allows a bit of the customization that was found in Xenoverse, FighterZ is much more focused on being a balanced fighting game rather than an RPG, and it’s all the better for it.

In all, Chromagun is a good game. Held short of being a great game by some less-than-fully thought out design choices. It’s on the short side and doesn’t offer a whole lot of replay value, so your mileage on the $20 fee for the eshop game might vary. I had a great time playing it, but came away feeling frustrated by the above gripes, and hoping that Pixel Maniacs’ next offering doesn’t fall prey to the same avoidable pratfalls.

Unknown Worlds Entertainment has delivered everything they said they were going to plus so much more with more updates on the launch horizon and for these reasons they can easily be forgiven for taking this long. It was worth the wait.

The Red Strings Club is a fascinating exploration of humanity, emotion, ethics, and our own preconceptions of evil. It tackles some huge topics, and while it does not manage to meet all of it’s potential it is worth playing just to visit The Red Strings Club, pull up a chair, and try something different.

While The Refuge, released on the PS Vita, is not present this does not impact gameplay and the Switch version of this title is far superior to its previous mobile incarnation. The team at Coatsink has optimized this title, making excellent use of the Switch’s power. If you were disappointed by the pace of Sonic Forces and absolutely love games like Rayman Legends, then this game will have you hooked. Shu is out now in the Nintendo eShop.

If you like Metroidvania style games with compelling storytelling, satisfyingly challenging boss battles, and music to match the feel of the game, Iconoclasts is worth playing through again and again. I am so glad that solo developer Joakim “Konjak” Sandberg has given us this masterful piece of art to consider. It was definitely worth the wait.

This shift in the overall Total War mindset really makes the Tomb Kings expansion stand out. Instead of amassing all the territory you can to subdue and vanquish your enemies, the Tomb Kings feel more focused. It’s not about amassing a world empire, rather the Tomb Kings are about restoring the glory of their own empire and gaining the power they seek that way. As a result, the whole affair was shorter than my normal Total War campaigns, but it was one of the most satisfying campaigns I’ve had since the Shogun 2 days.

Baseball Riot is a great physics puzzler and with a 5 dollar price tag on the Nintendo store it could be a great little title for rainy afternoons or the morning commute. However if you tend to lean towards your phone for those times this title might be better off left in the dugout.

I can’t recommend Darkest Dungeon enough. Its hallway crawling, madness suffering, darkness fighting, dungeon romping is some of the best RPG play I’ve had in recent years. The game shines on the Switch, despite a few minor setbacks in the font and controls. If you’re a veteran of the game or have never tried it, put it on your want list because Darkest Dungeon is very easily added to the Switch’s growing list of “Best Games”.

Son of Scoregasm is an easy recommendation to make to anyone that loves twin sticker shooters or challenging indie arcade games. For everyone else, your mileage may vary depending on your patience. Beyond a ridiculously fun scoring system, a ton of unique levels, multiple enemies and bosses, and a solid soundtrack, Son of Scoregasm is good ole fashioned shoot ‘em up fun. It doesn’t reinvent the genre, but it is easily one of the most refined iterations of it yet.

InnerSpace just might be the de-stressor you need after a long holiday season. Polyknights and Aspyr have put out a game that revels in its peace. Boss fights aren’t “fights”, they’re boss puzzles. You just need to figure out how to approach every situation, but you never need to fear failure. It’s a journey, a world of self-discovery from beginning to end. It’s a beautiful game, a sad game, and a hopeful exploration. Highly recommended.

There are tons of multiplayer modes, but the best of them is the mock game show Wheel of Rumpus. In short, you should probably get this game. This is our Stikbold! A Dodgeball Adventure review for Nintendo Switch.

World to the West is another solid entry in the Zelda-like games that are hitting the Switch’s eShop. Its shortfalls are minor, and its upsides are great. If, like me, you long for a top-down Hyrulian adventure on the Switch, then World to the West is a great game for you. It’s out today on the Nintendo Switch, for a mere $19.99 and worth every penny for a nice 10-20 hour adventure.

As an example of boss fights at their finest, Furi is a great game. And when it was over, I felt like I’d achieved something, even on easy mode. I suppose the reason I’m a little disappointed in the game is that it left me wanting more and that’s a good thing. Furi is out today, January 11th, on Nintendo Switch. If you’ve yet to play it elsewhere and love the premise, give it a look.

There’s a lot of “downtime” where you’re just waiting for things to happen, but that’s prison. You’re learning the routine of the jail, finding openings, and in the meantime, there are plenty of “quests” for other prisoners you can complete to build up your arsenal and keep yourself busy until you find the perfect opening. And as in life, in The Escapists 2 proves that duct tape can fix anything. If you’ve never played the series, or if you love it, it’s certainly worth the $20, especially if you have a friend to play with.

There’s little doubt that LA Noire was the perfect game for Rockstar to try VR with. But is it the killer app the ecosystem needs to get most gamers to invest? I’d say no. But for those looking for a game that’s worth playing on their Vive (and Rift with some trouble), LA Noire: The VR Case Files is right up there with A Mage’s Tale and Robo Recall as one of the best.

In the end though, Bleed does what it sets out to do: it entertains and it offers fast, furious, and difficulty shooting and platforming. It’s a good game. It’s just too short for my tastes. Bring on Bleed 2, and let’s get nuts, Wryn. It’s not much to write home about visually, but in the world of Indies, it’s the gameplay that really counts and Bleed nails that part.

If you are looking for a ground-breaking, genre-defining game this is not it. If you are looking for an entertaining puzzle that demands swift reactions and just happens to be furiously addictive then Sparkle Unleashed is $7.99 and available on the Nintendo Game Store now.