I can’t pretend like I didn’t have any fun with Metallic Child and honestly I should probably give it more credit for getting me to play it to its conclusion, even though I usually skip games of this genre. But it has a repetitive nature, game breaking bugs, and heavy handed poorly paced story.

Castlevania Advance Collection sets the standard for how older games should be preserved and presented to a modern audience. There are many quality of life features to make the games more accessible while keeping everything that made them special in the first place.

NEO: The World Ends With You lacks everything you would expect from a PC port, such as mouse support or useful graphics options. While the game itself is incredible, unless you desperately need the maximum resolution and framerate you’re better off sticking with the console versions.

Despite the few framerate dips and noticeable visual downgrade, Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom Prince's Edition is still a solid port of a great game that provides Switch owners a chance to experience the title to the fullest extent.

Alan Wake is a gold standard when it comes to telling an incredible story, and nothing has changed with that in Alan Wake Remastered. The gameplay still feels pretty awesome, even if it sometimes shows its age, but nothing about that detracts from one of the best games of the last decade which feels at home, for the most part, in 2021. Visually, this game is taken to new heights, and even if it doesn’t look or play as good as Control, Alan Wake Remastered, like the Bioshock Collection before, will leave players remembering that wonderful day in May of 2010 when they dove into Cauldron Lake for the first time. Or is it an ocean?

In Sound Mind is a psychological horror game which borders more on tense than scary, and proves to be a unique look into the minds of struggling individuals. Having each tape/patient provide a different world, with the patient’s inner torment essentially lashing out as the level’s boss, is a unique twist on the genre. The juxtaposition between the monster trying to hurt you, but also expressing its doubt and fears, all while Desmond attempts to calm it and show that he wants to help, felt surprisingly fresh – and gave me much more reason to continue than a simple good versus evil fight would have. A sense of humor, large levels, and a variety of puzzles make In Sound Mind a game worth picking up for those looking for a new twist in an overdone genre.

Like some sort of peasant Animal Crossing, Medieval Dynasty casts us in the role of mayor of Dysentery Village. You’ll slowly grow from labor-intensive shacks to a semi-self-sufficient hamlet through the sweat of your brow, building a dynasty that will last generations. You’ll just wish your peons would pitch in and carry their own water...and stop eating the buckets.

Diablo II: Resurrected delivers on the promise of a rebuilt original, without tampering with the soul of what made it amazing in the first place. With completely remastered graphics, all-new cutscenes, and console cross-progression, Diablo II: Resurrected takes us back to Hell, and it’s every bit as amazing as it was when we played it 20 years ago.

While the leveling system can make matches frequently feel unfair, LEGO Star Wars Battles is still a greatly enjoyable tower defense game with charm in spades.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is just as fun and infuriating as I remember. It’s a content-complete package that celebrates the series. It can feel a bit too limited, with no online play or unlockable characters in minigames, but it’s still a unique experience you can’t get anywhere else.

Steel Assault brings back the arcade feel with tremendous accuracy and care. Its brevity nicely contrasts with how difficult it can be, and the bosses are fun and distinct. The grappling hook is a great addition with unique uses, though it's a little unreliable at times. If Steel Assault were to cost 50¢ per play, I probably lost $20, and I don't regret it.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot on Switch is a stunningly uncompromised port of last year’s massive RPG. It looks and runs fantastically, while also including all three DLC chapters in a perfectly portable package.

With several new biomes, a fresh tileset system, more than two dozen mechs, and 14 story missions to set the stage for the 4th Succession War, Mechwarrior 5: Legend of the Kestrel Lancers lets us finally take our massive machines to war. The Mechwarrior universe is all about political intrigue and war on a galactic scale, and the Legend of the Kestrel Lancers pack absolutely nails it.

Hindsight 20/20: Wrath of Raakshasa tries to convince you that your choices matter and that you should feel bad about some choices and good about others, but they don't matter because you don’t connect with the characters or the world they inhabit. Your choices change outcomes, but many of them feel unnatural or contrived, and most are signposted making it feel like the game is trying to tell you that choices matter rather than letting you experience the impact. Tack on an awful presentation and bland combat and you have the recipe for a game that ultimately doesn’t matter.

I’m not sure how Ember Lab did it, but I walked away from Kena: Bridge of Spirits with my expectations surpassed to a much further extent than I could have imagined. The visuals are breathtaking, the gameplay evolves in meaningful ways, and the heart the story contains has no bounds. You’ll find it hard to come across a more wholesome and beautiful game in 2021 than Kena: Bridge of Spirits, it’s everything I wanted it to be and more.

Death Standing: Director’s Cut is the definitive version of the game. It’s gorgeous and runs at 60 frames per second, while including everything from the PC version. The new missions are a bit too light on content, but they round out the experience nicely.

Sable is high on the list of game of the year contenders in one jam packed with them. It’s a gorgeous, immersive coming of age story that happens organically and at your own pace - you can see as much or as little of the game as you like. While it certainly has its share of issues, Midden is just a place you have to visit.

F.I.S.T. Forged in Shadow Torch features complex combat, a huge and incredibly detailed map to explore, loads of secrets to find, a lengthy campaign, and gorgeous visuals. While I may have had a few minor gripes and do wish there was less required backtracking, I had loads of fun chasing down The Legion and its Iron Dogs and unraveling the mystery of the spark. F.I.S.T. is a must play for fans of the metroidvania genre.

WarioWare: Get It Together, despite its rather short campaign, features over 200 incredibly funny, absurd, and downright creative microgames for players to complete. You’ll find yourself laughing your way through the experience, fighting with your friends over who failed a game, and savoring your triumphs over the late game’s harder challenges. The addition of the Emporium, Break Room, Missions, Play-O-Pedia, and Wario Cup are nice and will keep the game fresh for many players well after they complete the story, but a few players may not enjoy the grind to unlock all the Prezzies available. As it stands, WarioWare: Get It Together is a great, though short-lived, game – perfect for a night in with a friend.

Aragami 2 is so ridiculously easy that you can breathe in its general direction and you’ve exploited some gameplay mechanic. It’s great for those who like speedrunning, or those who might not have a lot of time in their day, but if you’re hoping for the slow and methodical stealth gameplay of Aragami 1 then you won’t find it in the sequel. Just like most developers (eyeing you Ubisoft over Splinter Cell) it seems working gameplay formulas mean bugger all.

Underneath stability problems and bugs lies one of the most ambitious games I’ve played, bringing a tabletop game level of choice to RPG enthusiasts. The rich story and excellent writing delivers in a huge way...if you can get the game to cooperate.

If you can’t play on PC, Divinity: Original Sin 2 on Switch is a perfectly fine way to play. It has its issues and quirks that make it more of a companion to the PC version, but being able to play wherever you want makes up for it.

Tails of Iron is a fantastic, brutal, and gorgeous game. Placing rats at the forefront of an adventure game was a bold move, and serves the world that Odd Bug Studio has created immensely. The battle between the frogs and rats is intense, the combat is challenging - yet fair - and the wide variety of equipment is sure to make any RPG fan excited to experiment with new loadouts. I enjoyed every moment spent in the Rat Kingdom, and can only hope to see more from Redgi, his brothers, and this fantastic world.

A fun experience for a gamer of any background. King’s Bounty II gives us a world full of interesting characters, fun side quests, mysteries to solve, and challenging yet rewarding battles.

Lost in Random offers a highly enjoyable experience with rich, dynamic gameplay and an interesting plot. While it's weighed down by repetitive fetch quests and some bugs, it's easily still one of the most charming games I've played so far.

The Medium proves to be an interesting look into the human psyche, one that attempts to figure out why individuals are the way they are, while still stating that your past does not excuse your current actions. I greatly enjoyed my time in Marianne’s shoes, and found myself constantly impressed with the incredible graphics and unique mechanics. Bloober Team has made an impressive product, even more so on the PS5 with their willingness to make use of the PS5’s controller’s special features.

Lost Judgement is a small leap forward for the Yakuza spinoff series. While I would have expected a bit more from a sequel, what’s here is still just as enjoyable as the first game, if not more so. The highschool additions are a novel look at the often used Japanese setting, while still focusing on the crime drama and investigation fans love.

The PC release of Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town has benefited greatly from all the quality of life changes which have been patched into the Switch release, making it an enjoyable farming experience right from the start. It looks shockingly similar in quality to the Switch version, a credit to the dev team, and the optional Expansion Pass adds a good deal of content, some of it cosmetic while other features expand the world, the plot, and the personalities which inhabit Olive Town.