While there are some classic remasters and remakes that leave you wondering what made them so great in the first place, that’s not the case with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2. It’s been remade in a way that makes it feel thoroughly modern (in a good way), and even if you’re entirely new to the series, you should find plenty to enjoy here.

It’s certainly one of my favorite Switch games of the year so far, and an excellent RPG altogether. Even if you’re not the biggest Monster Hunter fan in the world, I think you’ll find the unique monster gathering mechanic to be quite addictive, making this a hard game to put down.

It looks nice, it plays well, and it doesn’t try to be anything more than it is. What more could you want in a game of pool?

You can easily get by in this game with just sailing around, enjoying the wide open spaces and getting lulled into a meditative state, and every so often picking off an easy ship when you stumble across one. That may not be the point of the game, but it certainly made my experience a pretty good one. Does that mean I played King of Seas wrong? Probably. But I’ve always thought that one of the signs of a good game is that it allows you to play it your way — and there’s no denying King of Seas gives you freedom to do just that.

Obviously, your enjoyment of Scarlet Nexus will likely be greater if you actually do enjoy anime (or maybe not – or all I know, this game’s story may be horrifically bad!). But if you’re indifferent to the genre, you shouldn’t let that stop you from enjoying a very fun action game.

As rough as Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection is in places — and it’s very, very rough — it makes up for that by also being a whole lot of fun. I leave it up to you to decide exactly how much poor performance you’re willing to put up with to play a very enjoyable trilogy — because in this case, you’ve got to be willing to put up with quite a bit.

The moments where everything comes together and the game genuinely feels fun are far too rare. Obviously, given it’s from Nintendo, you know that Mario Golf: Super Rush will be competently made, and you could never describe it as a bad game. But there’s a difference between not bad, and genuinely good or enjoyable — and it’s a gulf that Mario Golf: Super Rush never quite manages to get out of.

I have not given up on Dark Alliance, and I hope they continue to improve and change the game into something great. With some variety, the combat could get better. With some balancing changes or NPC companions, solo play could become viable and fun. Some adjustments to the gear drops and mechanics could deepen that system and improve upon what they started with. I was left frustrated and disappointed with Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance, but I will keep coming back to see how it grows in the coming months, and hope to be able to love it in the future.

In an ideal world, Buildings Have Feelings Too! would have found a way to couple its inventive premise and fun aesthetic with equally enjoyable gameplay. As it stands, however, there’s just too great a disconnect between the two to make the game worth your while.

While not every event is a winner in Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the experience is a fun one that is easy enough to pick up and play for family and friends yet still competitive enough to hook players into upping their skills and going for the gold. If you’re a fan of the genre or the Olympics themselves, certainly consider checking it out.

Because there’s such a disconnect between what it wants to be and what it actually is, it’s hard to know whether to recommend Glyph. It doesn’t come anywhere close to achieving what it sets out to do, but it still offers enough that if you can overlook its failures, there’s a decent enough game hiding underneath.

If I were inclined to be generous to Protocol (and I’m not), I’d say it’s more a failure of execution than of ideas. After all, it’s at least smart enough to know that it needs to be better than it is. Still, the end result is the same: a game that’s not particularly fun to play.

Fly Together! was clearly meant to be played, well, together. And I have no doubt that it’s even more fun when you play with people. But the fact is, it’s still totally worth picking up, even if you just want to play solo.

While I can’t wholeheartedly suggest Legend of Mana to everyone, I would say it’s worth a look if you’re willing to sink time into understanding the mechanics of the game and don’t mind a little aimless exploration. Or, if you’re like me and already knew what to expect going in, you can have a little peace of mind that Square Enix and M2 did a really solid job of bringing Legend of Mana back to life on modern hardware.

Rabisco+ is a simple game with all kinds of inventiveness, and plenty of charm to boot, which makes it well worth investigating — short Platinum or not.

Sometimes bad games can be fun, in their own warped way. Hike is not. Hike is just plain bad, boring, and totally disrespectful of players’ time. You’re better off going for an actual hike and getting the attendant health benefits than you would be spending a single cent or second on this putrid game.

Honestly, there’s zero reason to pick up Zotrix Starglider, even if you’re a fan of shmups. There are dozens and dozens of them on the Switch. Even if I’ve only played a handful of them, I feel quite confident in stating that this has got to be one of the worst.

What we have here is a prime example of how to do fighting games the right way. Guilty Gear -Strive- has enough for single players as well as the online crowd. It doesn’t just cater to the advanced player, but rather keeps a good balance whether you are an expert or just a beginner. Stunning to look at and listen to, and a total joy to actually play, Guilty Gear -Strive- is one that should not be missed. Even if you’ve never played a GG game before, you owe it to yourself to experience this title.

These games still hold up today, and while the visual improvements do not make the games feel “Next-Gen”, they definitely bring the games up to date and make them more than playable. The Mass Effect Legendary Edition is the perfect way for both longtime fans and series newcomers alike to experience one of the finest franchises in gaming history.

I get that Legends of Ethernal is really trying to be heartfelt in its story, and tries back that up with “hand-crafted” graphics that are supposed to make you feel all warm and fuzzy towards the game. But it undercuts the vibe it’s going for with a punishing difficulty level and lousy combat. Maybe that’s enough to win over masochists with a soft spot for a very specific art style, but personally, I think I’ll just pass.

Earth Defense Force: World Brothers could have gone horribly wrong. I mean, yes, the series was starting to feel a little stale, but at least it was comfortable. Trying something so new could have been a huge misfire. In this case, though, it’s not. World Brothers takes the series in a somewhat new direction and it mostly succeeds in what it wants to do, which means that it’s worth playing whether you’re a newcomer to the series or a grizzled EDF vet.

For as long as the adventure lasts, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart does pretty much everything that a Ratchet and Clank fan and PS5 player would hope for. It tells a great story, has trademark humor and quality voice acting, and the pacing and gameplay is always satisfying and enjoyable. If you’re looking for a new PS5 exclusive for the summer, this is it.

At about $10, Family Vacation: California is probably a little overpriced — especially when you can buy the game on PC for less than $3 as of this writing. And, obviously, if you want anything more than just a hidden object game, Family Vacation: California won’t give you that. But, again, if you want to turn your brain off and hunt for donuts and triangle rulers and all kinds of other weirdly placed junk, here’s your chance.

Maybe I have a soft spot for short geese games and this one is definitely short. I wish there was a little bit more story and maybe dial back on the Metal Slug homages. The game has some unique features, but they never seem fully fleshed out and useful. Otherwise this is a completely serviceable shoot ’em up that fans of Metal Slug will surely get a kick out of.

There’s more depth here than in most rhythm games, which means that it’s awfully easy to get sucked in — and provided you don’t mind hearing some of the same music over and over again, that’s definitely not a bad thing.

To be clear, Astrologaster probably isn’t for everyone. Humour is, of course, very subjective…and that’s without even factoring in the choral music. But if you’re looking for a game that’s completely unlike anything else out there, look no further, because this is definitely it.

Provided you can overlook plenty of gaps in logic (not to mention hideous graphics and lousy voice acting), there’s something to be said for Jurassic World Evolution. It may not be the greatest amusement park sim or city builder the Switch has to offer, but it’s solid enough in its own right that it’s at least pretty fun time.

To spite the rough and buggy nature of Rust Console Edition at launch, it fills a certain void in the online survival genre on consoles and is certainly worth checking out for those craving a more grounded experience.