The wondrous Dwindling Heights is well designed and gives Tilo plenty of opportunities to use his mousey avoidance skills and disguises to help characters. Although there is occasionally too much backtracking, Ghost of a Tale holds a memorable journey in its tiny paws.

Chernobylite combines a multifaceted narrative with stunning, atmospheric levels that repopulate with fantastic points of interest. Players can sneak or shoot their way around the faithfully recreated Zone and see the modest ripple effects of story choices they can alter following each death.

In Sound Mind tells an interesting story and provides an intriguing combination of first-person exploration, puzzles and shooting, but it fails to have the impact it could’ve had due to bland visuals, mediocre combat, and the fact that it’s a horror game that isn’t very scary.

Trinity Fusion is enjoyable to play, but the overall package feels lacking in comparison to others in the genre. The lack of character development, and underwhelming visuals are kept afloat by enjoyable core gameplay that should mostly appeal to dedicated fans of the genre.

Afterparty is one of the smartest games I’ve played this year. The characters are great, the dialogue is smart, and the drinking mechanics are inspired. If you can forgive its technical issues and a slow start, you too can enjoy the best drinks Hell has to offer.

Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is a fun RTS. Historical Battles are a highlight and it's an easy game to grasp for newcomers with tutorials and the Art of War mode. However, bugs, lack of variety and a grindy level system hold it back.

Tell Me Why tackles a difficult subject quite well thanks to interesting central characters who interact maturely and drive the story forward. But limited use of telepathy, immaterial player choice, and a generally boring delivery tarnish this morose tale.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is a decent entry into the retro-shooter genre that will appeal most to fans of the WH40k universe, while everyone else should probably choose a different, better game to fulfill their classic action itch.

Troy is a good addition to the Total War franchise with an interesting setting. However, it does not capture the imagination or attention like previous entries in the franchise.

Having a high-concept idea is all well and good, but it doesn't matter what kind of story you tell, or the world you create, if the act of playing the game is so unpleasant. While occasionally putting the pieces together, often Observation left me bored and frustrated.

Iron Harvest has a unique setting with some original ideas, and borrows heavily from another RTS series. But rather than improve on those elements, it oversimplifies them, and lacks the content to justify its full asking price.

Seasons after Fall is a lovely looking adventure that has some charm and decent gameplay, but it gets far too bogged down with repetition in the second half and this ultimately leaves an unsatisfying impression.

Carrion is simply a great time. The metroidvania gameplay loop is addictive, while its sound design and highly detailed pixel-art look makes it a joy to hear and look at. An average story and lack of an in-game map sap some of the enjoyment, but Carrion's ability to have you play as an unstoppable monster is gory grandeur.

Ara: History Untold is a decent foray into the historical 4X, with enough borrowed and slightly tweaked elements to make it worth a look for fans of the genre. Its original ideas become too much of a slog however, along with a scattering of UI issues and performance hiccups that need addressing.

While not terrible, Sky Force Reloaded asks too much of the player with too little to give back. With some reworking to the exorbitant grind, I would maybe recommend this, but there are far better shoot 'em ups on the Switch that deserve your time and attention.

TopSpin 2K25 is a solid return to the court for the veteran franchise. It's a bit lacking in content, from the limited roster to the repetitive modes, but the excellent gameplay mechanics offer a lot of hope for the future.

All in all, Bad North's gameplay is very engaging and keeps you on your feet. Despite some weakness in the narrative department, most design choices pay off. It is a polished experience that has kept me entertained for a good amount of time.

Omensight is perfectly competent in every major category, but isn’t strong enough in any one instance to truly stand out. The unique story-telling from Spearhead Games is definitely engaging, but I can’t say the same for the rest of the game.

Tesla Vs Lovecraft serves its function well enough as a simple action shooter. There isn’t much to the gameplay, but sometimes you can find a good time paddling through even shallow waters.

Shadow Bug is a unique platformer with some interesting ideas, but one that doesn’t always stick the landing.

While Mages of Mystralia might not live up to its full potential, the game has some charm and is fun enough to be worth a look. The $20 price tag is also pretty solid.

GRID is an average racing reboot with no real personality. Despite the short races, strong AI, two new street tracks, and the shift towards arcade, it struggles because of so many recycled tracks, poor damage modeling, and disappointing multiplayer.

SteamWorld Build is a sufficiently well-designed management game that is initially engaging with a good blend of underground exploration, but it eventually becomes a bit repetitive and is over rather quickly, without much motivation to start up another town.

A straightforward puzzle game that uses an established formula without much deviation. Vandals should satisfy anyone looking for this certain type of gameplay, but aside from a nice soundtrack, it does little to stand out.

For all the promise that Loot River held with its amalgamation of gameplay features, they, unfortunately, don't gel together well. This is compounded by the technical issues making for an experience that is more frustrating than it is fun.

Invector: Rhythm Galaxy squanders the rare advantage of an officially licensed soundtrack with some strange design choices and unbalanced difficulty that may repel newcomers, while being far too similar to its predecessor to attract returning fans.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide offers an authentic representation of the 40k lore, and while the cooperative action gameplay can be occasionally satisfying, it lacks content, has a few strange design choices, and suffers from too many performance issues.

The first mainline game for Princess Peach in nearly two decades is a charming adventure with some solid ideas and excellent boss battles. Princess Peach: Showtime demonstrates that the heroine is worthy of being a leading protagonist on her own merit, despite a few performance issues.