If I had more time to play through Chained Echoes before the holidays hit, it most definitely would have made my top 10 list for the year of 2022. It’s every bit as stellar as you’ve likely heard so far, and something that is certainly worth checking out regardless of your platform preference. I’ve found it to be a perfect Switch experience, but I’d imagine that it runs extremely well on any console you might choose, and right now it’s freely available to play on Xbox via Game Pass. So definitely check out Chained Echoes, you will not be disappointed.

I think, in the end, it all comes down to how you look at it. If you look at Windosill and just see a game where you tap the screen a few times, move a train across the bottom, and finish it all in well under half an hour, it’s definitely not something I’d recommend. But if you’re looking for something that feels almost as much like a toy and/or a piece of art as it does a video game, Windosill might just deliver on that.

I’d go as far as saying that Bailey pretty much single-handedly makes Jurassic World Aftermath Collection a worthwhile experience. Without her, this is a decent (if a little slow-moving) stealth game. With her literally guiding you through the ruins of the infamous theme park, the whole thing becomes worth your time and money.

It is very hard to stand out in this much crowded racing genre, but Need For Speed Unbound pulls it off. The title is easily the best entry in years and sets a foundation that can easily be built upon. After many years of having an identity crisis, I can see the game evolving from here. With a consistent 4K resolution and 60fps framerate NFS Unbound showcases what could be the future of the series.

Everything in One True Hero has been done before – and much, much better – and you’d be wise to play one of the games it’s borrowing instead.

ARK: Ultimate Survivor Edition still isn’t a game for everyone, but at least now it can be said it’s a game that some people might enjoy.

I’d say that the lack of a quest list might just be Time on Frog Island’s biggest issue. After all, we’re talking about a game that’s basically nothing but fetch quests, so for the game to not include a way of keeping track of your one task seems like a major oversight. Then again, maybe the makers of Time on Frog Island just figured they could get by on a cute premise and general aesthetic. To be sure, in some cases that may be enough, but in this case, it just means you have a game that has the right tone but none of the right content.

Unlike some games that try hard to be good-natured and relaxing but actually aren’t, Lil Gator Game is exactly what it looks like on the surface: a sweet, adorable game that never feels like it’s trying too hard to be either of those things, but that’s guaranteed to win you over all the same.

Instead of being immersed in the environment of The Callisto Protocol, I found myself thinking back and wishing more and more that I was playing Dead Space. There are promises of patches to improve some of the complaints around the actual mechanics of the game, but I don’t see anything on the horizon elevating The Callisto Protocol above mediocrity.

It’s an interesting take on a formula you’d think would be played out by now, done in a way that shows there’s life in the card-based genre yet.

If you just want a game that’s a joy to play, this is it. Between the beautiful colours, the relaxing gameplay, and the thrill of gliding and soaring through the world, there’s enough to make Wavetale well worth your time.

It’s neat to see someone capture the feel of a bygone generation as well as this game does, but absent any real identity of its own, it’s hard to see why you’d play this instead of going back and replaying the originals.

In setting out to combine two very different genres, it put itself in a situation where it had to be both a solid pinball game and a decent dungeon crawler. Instead, it’s only so-so at both halves of that equation, which makes it difficult to recommend.

Of course, if you just want more Portal, that might make The Entropy Centre enough for you. It’s not much more than that, but it also sticks so closely to the formula that it doesn’t do anything crazy that would make you dislike the game, either. It’s a well-worn path at this point, and The Entropy Centre never once strays from it.

Don’t get me wrong, Marvel Midnight Suns fits squarely into that lineage, but there’s also much more to it than simply getting your squadmates into the right position. It’s an interesting mix, but it’s also one that the game more or less pulls off pretty well.

It’s a solid shooter that often manages to nail its jokes, has a unique visual style, and feels pretty great to control the further into the campaign you get. It isn’t going to be the best shooter of all time, but it’s certainly fun while it lasts, and worth checking out.

All in all, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is pretty enjoyable, but definitely lacking on content at launch. There’s a really good launching point presented at the moment and I expect the long term lifespan of Darktide will be great. There are a few small bugs to work out, but nothing I encountered that was unforgivable. I don’t think there’s much you haven’t seen here before, other than maybe the setting, but it’s fun nonetheless.

New Joe and Mac: Caveman Ninja just barely passes as a decent remake of the original. Making gameplay mechanics fit the new visuals better and fixing sound problems really needs to be top priority, possibly with a few update patches. The Hunger/Health meter also really needs to be adjusted as not to deplete as fast as it does here. It’s definitely not horrible overall, but also doesn’t live up to the fun factor of the original. If I had to break everything down here, I would say this release largely feels unfinished. In it’s current form, it’s good, but it can, and should be, much better. I would recommend waiting for a few quality patches or a price drop before diving into this one.

I enjoyed revisiting Front Mission, and I think the base game is neat enough to warrant a look for any RPG fan out there that hasn’t had the opportunity to play one of these games yet. Both campaigns are pretty sizable, it took me a bit to finish the initial OCU campaign, and then there’s the tougher UCS campaign to check out that I haven’t finished, so you’ll certainly get a number of hours out of the game if you decide to dive in. I’d suggest giving Front Missions 1st: Remake a shot, maybe more so if you’ve never played the game before, just keep in mind that it’s a prettier port of a classic strategy RPG that may not have all the bells and whistles you’re used to with more modern titles.

Star Ocean: The Divine Force is an improvement from the previous game; Integrity and Faithlessness, but this is not a return to form to games like Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, or The Second Story. tri-Ace, to me, could do no wrong during the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 era. I would love to see tri-Ace return to greatness with a higher quality new Star Ocean title, but with this one I’ll have to settle for average.

The bottom line is that Super Kiwi 64 is an enjoyable 3D platformer that brings its influences to mind without ever feeling like it’s just a copy-paste of older, better games. Add in a pretty decent price, and it makes Super Kiwi 64 difficult to resist.

Retro Goal is just a really fun game all-around. It captures not just the spirit of the sport it’s trying to emulate, but also the essence of what makes a great soccer game. It may not look like the new standard for soccer games on the Switch, but if you pick it up, you’ll soon find it makes a very convincing argument.

I can only recommend this if you are already a fan or like fast paced puzzle games in general. Nothing bad or horrible with this release, but also nothing groundbreaking, Just an above average classic puzzle game with a great challenge. Pick it up if you want to experience the world of Arkanoid.

It may not last that long, but it also never comes close to wearing out its welcome. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is an excellent sequel to an equally excellent game, and now that it’s out on PC, it’s absolutely worth your time (even if that time is over far too soon).

I know that, as a middle-aged man, I’m clearly not the target audience for a game about rebuilding your family estate and bonding with your horse. At the same time, though, I can’t imagine that the people who would be interested in that would want to put up with it, either. Horse Tales plays poorly and performs even worse, and it’s bound to disappoint anyone who picks it up.

To be fair, during the more traditional gameplay sections, the game performs mostly fine. But seeing as you spend the vast majority of your time here wandering through a hideous open world, the performance is an issue. If you can put up with that thanks to a deep and abiding love of all things Sonic, I wouldn’t fault you – but if you take one look at this ugly mess and decide you don’t want any part of it, I wouldn’t blame you for that either.

As I said, there’s pleasure to be found in a bit of neatness and order, and A Little to the Left appeals to that specific part of the brain. But it doesn’t do it consistently enough to make the game worth playing, unless you like having a bit of frustration mixed in with your cute and cozy puzzles.

Even with all those pros working in the game’s favour, it’s hard to recommend Alan Wake Remastered when it means suffering through such a terrible port. Unless you’re a Switch-only gamer, you’d be well-advised to ignore this altogether, and playing the game on any of the many other systems this is available on. And if your only option is the Switch? Maybe skip this one and just trust everyone who says it’s a game well worth playing.