Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle is a unique exploration RPG on Switch that doesn’t live up to its concept. I wanted to really love it, but the pacing is sluggish, the combat is lackluster, the party system needs some work, the HUD is distracting, there are annoying puzzles, and the gameplay is overwhelming. Although there are some good elements (audio, atmosphere, slightly creepy), it is a forgettable game that left me more frustrated than excited. Horror fans looking for a scary experience should look elsewhere.

The fun, however brief, is in the friendly couch competitions. That’s the only place a game like this can be enjoyed so that players can feed off each other’s excitement to bolster the experience. But, if your party is going to last much longer than an hour, you better ensure that you’re packing additional entertainment options when the thrill wears off.

Despite the drawbacks, I still find WRC 8 on Switch to be a cool experience for race fans who are craving a more raw, complex experience. It’s nice that the KT Racing team sees so much potential in the Switch considering the fact it has yet to skip bringing any of its recent projects over. Here’s hoping the team’s support continues and their mastery over Switch hardware continues to improve.

At the end of the day, it was the story that got its hooks into me far more than the action. The adventure it takes you on paired with the atmosphere are what set this apart. Well, at least differentiates it from the rest of the BioShock wannabes.

It’s a simple game that won’t keep people enraptured for hours, but it’s a nice, pleasant distraction, and by giving so many options to the player, allowing them to approach the game how they like, it becomes a far more compelling experience.

The word puzzler doesn't do Infini justice. It's definitely not for everyone, but I'd say that it's a game that everyone needs to try at least once. Very rarely do the mechanics in puzzle games surprise me, and I think Infini's are well worth exploring, even if you only have a vague interest in puzzlers.

Overall, regardless of a missed block or two and too many similar modes, One Strike is a fun game to play if you have friends over and want to split the Joy Cons, or even if you have five to ten minutes to spare by yourself.

RemiLore lays a decent groundwork in terms of gameplay and design, but it never really goes beyond that. Combat is simple and promising, but the lack of depth makes it hard to stay engaged with it for very long. The visuals, likewise, lack any kind of unique punch or distinct art style to make them stand out as anything other than generic. The game is helped by its forgiving nature and the likable pair of protagonists you control, but a bit more care and effort could have helped make this game something truly special.

Ultimately, Catan is a faithful recreation of the classic board game, and for that, I applaud it. I love being able to take Catan with me wherever I go and never concerning myself with having people to play with me. You probably won’t be spending large chunks of time with this in a single sitting, but the game’s autosave feature makes it incredibly convenient to pick up and put down on a whim. Catan isn’t perfect, but if you’re a fan of board games, you should enjoy it nonetheless.

Whereas the original rewarded players for bringing friends, this version is frustrating and downright inconvenient if you want to enjoy it with others. It’s sad because Crystal Chronicles is still a fun game with a deep story and interesting mechanics, one which I truly wanted to enjoy again. Perhaps when we can meet in person, my old party can hang out and play through a couple of raids. Maybe meeting in person really is the only way this game can be fun. As it is right now, with social distancing and self-quarantining being the norm in the United States, I can’t recommend this title.

PAYDAY 2 on the Nintendo Switch is a very unique experience for the platform. The lack of voice chat hurts, and the game can be pretty repetitive at times in terms of what you do within the missions, but the game is undeniably fun, especially with friends. If you plan on playing with a group, it’s worth checking out. If you plan on going solo, you might want to wait for a price drop until they include some voice chat for random people. With that being said, I’ll end up putting way more time into PAYDAY 2 than I probably should, but I’ll have a damn fun time doing it!

Midnight is a small gem that hopefully future sequels might expand upon and showcase this games unique quality in a bigger spectrum.

Rogue Trooper Redux isn’t the worst remaster to be released. The narrative is campy, the gameplay is interesting, and it’s great to see how it influenced other shooters that came after the 2006 original. While there are some innovations in the campaign, there’s no denying that for a remastered video game, there are a bunch of problems. The gameplay still feels rooted in 2006, despite some tweaks, the cover system which was once revolutionary is now a nuisance, and the graphics aren’t anything to rave about. With that being said, Switch owners interested in a game to waste a few hours with mindless fun will find enough to enjoy about Rogue Trooper Redux. Fans of the original game and the comic book series will have a lot of fun. There’s no denying the impact that Rogue Trooper has had on the modern shooter; the game just didn’t leave me with a great impression.

Nothing about the game is really satisfying, nothing about the game stands out, and poor and lazy design choices make it feel much more like a cash-grab than a full fledged experience.

If you have children who like the show, then this may be worth a purchase. It will easily distract them for at least 6 hours and could be 40 hours or more if they want to gain every collectable. However, if you saw the title of this game and thought Giganto-what, I would suggest you move on and give this a wide berth.

Ultimately, Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 is only worth buying if you really love the X series formula and are willing to experience it in bizarre and inferior forms. Mega Man X8 is the singular high-quality X title to be had here, so you have to ask yourself if X8 plus three not-so-terrific titles is worth your $19.99. I love Mega Man in all his forms, so it’s worth it for me. But for you? Maybe not.

While the massive roster will please fans, the similarities between characters, the convoluted story, the barebones RPG elements, and the technical issues make Warriors Orochi 4 a low point in an otherwise fun series. There’s so much potential with Warriors Orochi 4; unfortunately, the latest installment misses the mark on so many of the shots that it takes.

Zombie Driver: Immortal Edition is one of those games that’s terrific to have sitting on the SD card of your Switch. It’s a great little game to go in and play a level or two every now and then. This is not to say that you can’t spend hours playing it; you can. It just doesn’t get its hooks into you in the way I would like. A little more variation in mission type and more visually defined areas (e.g., snow or a skyscraper-filled business district) would have gone a long way.

For all my grumbling and complaining, I hesitate to be too hard on LEGO Avengers 3DS. Even with its problems, it is an awesome idea that does quite a bit right, and a TON of people will enjoy it.

Claybook is a great pick-up-and-play game for the Switch that young players will enjoy. It’s also good for anyone that just wants a relaxing puzzle experience to unwind with.

Farming Simulator 20 on Switch looks great and provides a relatively decent sim experience, but it's not as robust as the last FS entry on Switch due to now being more mobile-focused.

Liberated, despite some minor visual downgrades, is a standout title for Nintendo Switch. I was fully immersed by both the action and story all the way through. Atomic Wolf has done a commendable job of adapting the power and potential of comic books as a video game. The developers have stuck the landing, and I’m excited to see what stories and experiences they end up creating next.

If you are looking for a quality 2D adventure, and enjoy being a completionist, Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash should be on your radar. Chibi whips it, and he whips it good!

Unfortunately, I just don’t see how Mario Party is supposed to be enjoyable playing solo on a handheld when there isn’t even a fully fleshed out board games to play on. It’s just a series of 1min mini-games that award you 1-3 stars feeling very much like this should have been a mobile game. The mini-games are fun, but the model in which they’re presented to players feels very out of place on the 3DS. This might be a good pick-up for families with a few kids at home but I can’t recommend it to fans of the series or an older audience that have so many better titles to choose from on this platform.

Overall, Infinity Runner isn’t a bad game, and it can certainly be an enjoyable experience especially if you are a fan of the genre.

While GRIP isn’t perfect by any means, the game’s change of pace from my standard racing fare in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was welcome and somewhat addicting. For Nintendo Switch owners who are looking for a racing game that differs from the “kart” scene, the low-gravity and speedy thrill of GRIP is the way to go.

If you are a fan of Wipeout-style games and own a New 3DS, LifeSpeed is a decent option for you to pick up since Nintendo will never put an F-Zero on the 3DS. The poor audio, lack of online multiplayer, and confusing first few races are a bit off putting, but the racing mechanics are solid enough to keep the game fun.

I really wanted to like Skellboy. As I mentioned, the beginning moments led me to believe that I was going to have an enjoyable experience. The world is endearing, and I absolutely love the characters and humor. Unfortunately, despite some great ideas, a lot of the execution falls flat. With some tweaks and patches, some of my issues might be fixed, but as a whole, Skellboy isn’t a journey worth taking.