I don’t think the Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series is a perfect collection, especially on Nintendo Switch, but it’s a solid version of two excellent games. If you get this on another platform, I’d probably recommend it without any hesitation for newcomers looking to experience Klonoa for the first time. Despite being announced during a Nintendo Direct, the Switch version of this is rather subpar. This is a solid remaster of two of the best classic platformers you can find on the market, that would, unfortunately, be best played elsewhere. At least it’s nice to see that Klonoa is back!

Bottom line, Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is a fantastic documentary, but in its current state, it is a somewhat flawed way to play many of these games. I think the selection of titles is good enough, but the non-functional and threadbare online play, combined with various emulation issues and bugs, drags down what should have been an incredible overall package. Even with all of that, I think a lot of people will find the games playable enough for their needs. Digital Eclipse has already pushed out one hotfix that addressed some problems, and I hope some of this stuff gets fixed. At this point, it’s neither flawless nor a fatality.

Good Job! takes the pretty mundane day to day tasks of a business and turns them into chaotic and messy affairs that for the most part turn out both surprisingly entertaining and even laugh out loud funny. As far as shadow drops go after a Nintendo Direct (or in this case a Nintendo Direct Mini) Good Job! is not only one of the more surprising ideas but one of the better ones too.

With stacks of content and tons of replayability at a good price point, Trials Rising does come out swinging. While I’m a firm believer in the old saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” it is also fair to say that it can be hard to stand out when following the crowd – even if you are the leader of the pack.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection isn’t for everyone. Many of the games here really haven’t aged quite as well as others developed for the same generation. If rummaging through the nostalgia of gaming history does appeal to you though, then this mid-range priced time capsule could very well be worth your investment.

If you only played the Wii U version without the downloadable content, or you haven’t touched Hyrule Warriors before, this game is definitely worthy of recommendation.

If you already played WWE 2K25, there isn’t much here to warrant a double dip, but if you want a great handheld experience, WWE 2K25 on Nintendo Switch 2 delivers the complete experience with no mode cut and solid performance. I just hope we see next year’s entry include cross-platform online and custom creations. WWE 2K25 is a bright start for sports games on Nintendo Switch 2, and it has me excited to play NBA 2K26 in the coming months.

Game Freak has regained its footing with Pokémon Legends Z-A Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. Lumiose City is the perfect playground for the developer’s playful experimentation as they chart a path forward, scoring success with real-time battle mechanics, meaningful character interactions, and heart-pounding Rogue Mega Evolution encounters. It makes me cautiously optimistic for whatever comes next. “Au revoir, my young friend.”

The visual style works brilliantly on the Switch in both handheld and docked. The bold outlines are eye-catching and the muted colour palette lends the game a sense of mystery. Having the full experience of Don’t Starve on the move is wonderful and the day/night cycle is just the right length to hop on and play during a break in your real life. As survival games go, this is one of the best you will find for the Switch.

Picross S3 is not only the biggest overall package the series has seen so far but also the most consistently enjoyable. While I don’t think I’ll ever be savvy enough to tackle the intimidating Mega Picross, the 150 new standard puzzles, the return of Clip Picross and the addition of the excellent Color Picross ensure you’ll be kept busy for months to come.

The story that INMOST sets out to tell is the sort that’ll stick in your mind long after you’ve reached its conclusion. As for actually playing the game, despite some dragged out moments, there’s a good mix of puzzle and platforming to be found here that coupled with some truly unsettling and atmospheric visuals create a hauntingly intriguing experience but one you better be prepared for.

PHOGS! is a bright, colourful and highly charming game that will no doubt create a big smile from simply absorbing its cutesy world. The gameplay, unfortunately, can stumble due to its repetition and uneven levels of creativity in terms of puzzles. Still, if you’re looking for an enjoyable co-operative time with two adorable dogs then PHOGS! has you covered.

Wingspan is a fine adaption of the physical board game and a much cheaper way of playing it at that. Features like online cross-play, local play and well-explained tutorials make this one of the better board game adaptions to hit the console and hopefully allows Wingspan to reach a much-deserved wider audience in the video gaming world.

What can I say? If you missed out on Minstrel Song the first time around, this is another great version of a great game. This is one of the densest SaGa games out there, and is willing to show you a wonderful time if you can get over the learning curve. I think the biggest appeal, outside of the multiple new language options, is just the ability to easily get a physical copy of one of the best SaGa games ever made. No importing is required now, which is especially appreciated in 2025. With Square Enix leaving many of the SaGa remasters as digital-only releases in the West (we got a digital-only Frontier 2 remaster this year, did you already forget?) I can only hope more companies like Red Art Games put the effort into putting out boxed releases.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits delivers an interesting blend of fast-paced combat, gorgeous visuals, and light puzzle-solving. It is just a shame that I can’t recommend the Nintendo Switch 2 port without the caveats about visual issues like ghosting, some noticeable visual cutbacks, and lack of a performance mode. I’ll definitely revisit it after some patches, but if nothing major changes, this is looking like a game I should revisit on another platform in the future for New Game Plus.

This might come off as rather strict, but that’s because I do think these games are classics that deserve the best. I don’t want to be overdramatic though, because this Legacy Collection is still the best we’ve ever gotten. I think more could have been done, but I don’t want to downplay the work that went into bringing Mega Man Battle Network back like this. While I’m unsure if modern audiences would click with these, I think kids might still get a lot out of them even today. They’re all fantastic freshman RPG experiences that don’t explicitly treat their audience in a condescending manner. This is a great collection, but it could have been a legendary one.

Pawarumi is a solid shoot ’em up game with a decent spin on a tried and tested mechanic. I found that getting a handle on its multi-tasking demands is both satisfying and tense, especially when it came to keeping my cool under pressure. Throw a few decent boss fights into the mix, an online leaderboard, music that varies from pan pipes to rock music, and you have another well-crafted arcade shoot ’em up to add to the collection on Nintendo Switch.

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble is the best entry in the series since the original GameCube games with its spin dash move working amazingly well, 200 inventive stages that get truly challenging later on, a visual look so pleasing on the eye and the option to play any of its modes online.

The worst thing I can say about Blossom Tales 2: The Minotaur Prince, is that there are very few of the developer’s own ideas in the entire game. On the flip side of that, you could argue that because it is taking its inspiration from one of the greatest franchises of all time – and does a good job of replicating it – the quality of the game is very high. At no point during my entire playthrough, did I want to stop playing or feel like I wanted the game to end. The adventure was fun from beginning to end.

Nintendo games are at their best when they’re approachable and polished to a sheen, and Mario & Luigi Brothership is great at both of these. This is a sizeable RPG that contextualizes classic turn-based mechanics in a platformer framework. This isn’t anything new, but it shows that this current run of Mario RPG remakes wasn’t a fluke. The mechanics are strong, and even as someone who doesn’t usually like RPGs like this, I had a pretty great time. Brothership might be a bit on the longer side, but I think this is a fantastic game to give to a younger gamer looking to understand the appeal of the genre. There’s a ton of personality on display that I think will make people of any age smile, and the systems are flexible enough to keep most of your time enjoyable.

It’s been a good while since I’ve played Donkey Kong Country Returns and this HD upgrade has been a delightful reminder of just how much fun Retro Studios’ first stab at the platforming series was. As far as new additions go, this definitely ranks near the bottom when it comes to Nintendo’s Switch porting efforts. That being said, the visual update is certainly pleasant on the eye and it’s hard to argue the game’s sustained quality in level design. If you missed out on the game the first time around, then bump the score up a point. Returning players, meanwhile, will still find a brilliant time awaits, one far more impactful, the longer the gap since your last Donkey Kong Island visit.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition isn’t just a handful of a title, it’s also a handful of an “upgrade”. With clear benefits in some aspects and obvious drawbacks in others, especially for handheld players, this version of the game makes for an awkward debut for the RPG franchise in native Switch 2 form. Playing on a TV, this is on the whole an improvement over the original Switch version running on Switch 2. The trade-offs aren’t big ones. It’s a shame this came at the cost of severely mucking up the textures in handheld mode, and I sincerely hope that Nintendo and Monolith don’t simply leave it in this form. This game deserves a better fate than that.

I’m not exactly sure why Luigi’s Mansion 2 was chosen for an HD remaster over the original, but after all is said and done I’m glad this game got another chance at life. Outside of the mission structure (which I even grew to like at the end), I never felt this carried over any of the negative connotations with it being a 3DS conversion. The gameplay feels fresh, and the controls rarely gave me any issues. Having a second thumbstick goes a long way in making this feel leagues better to play than the original. They haven’t really added anything substantial, so people who have played the original won’t be met with any new surprises. I had fun revisiting this charming ghost adventure, but I can’t say it’ll be worth it for every player given the steep cost. It does have me wanting to dust off my 3DS for the remake of the original and redownload Luigi’s Mansion 3. I’m back in a Luigi’s Mansion mood, and hope we get to see a fourth game on Nintendo’s next console.

I’ve always loved Crisis Core, it’s a foundational kind of game I remember fondly from my youth. It came out at just the right time, born during the dawn of the now thriving YouTube generation of millennials, featured proudly in Windows Movie Maker AMVs and cutscene compilations. Make no mistake, my enjoyment in Crisis Core is far from ironic or “cringe” that many might associate with those. It’s common to reflect back on that era negatively, but to me, Crisis Core represents the pure innocence of youth and the earnest mistakes associated with it. Zack’s story is so endearing and captured the attention of so many teenagers across the world for a reason. We got to see someone struggle to stay afloat in a system far larger than himself and do his best to keep his innocence intact. As I played this on my Nintendo Switch, I felt sent right back to that part of my life. I even got the urge to play it under my covers late at night as if to hide from parents I no longer live with. Repackaging those feelings, and cutting as much of the bloat as possible is commendable. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion strives to be the experience we remember, rising above the game we actually got.

Just like Etrian Odyssey’s identity exists to modernize classics, the Origins Collection successfully modernized Etrian Odyssey. It’s easy to be sad about what isn’t there, but I understand that I have a minority viewpoint in the fanbase and those remakes added a lot of things people didn’t need. These games were always meant to focus on gameplay over all else, and what was preserved has been done so in stunning quality. The games themselves are not perfect, but I think these remasters are as perfect as you can get to recreating them today. They’re simple at their core, and these remasters are simply great. If Atlus decides to bring back more of its extensive DS and 3DS catalog to modern systems, I sincerely hope they continue with this amount of effort going forward.

Pinstripe is a game that isn’t without its problems. For me, what kept me going was the story and the characters. It feels like it’s a game that accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do and doesn’t try to be anything more. Its simple gameplay might put some off, as will some of the dodgy design flaws such as the backtracking that takes place, but stick with it and you will find an adventure that will stay with you for a long time to come.

It’s probably one of the best looking indie games of the year, accompanied by incredibly effective notes of religious horror. More importantly, minus a few small gripes, it’s still a very enjoyable game to play through. Definitely one to sink into when the clocks go back in time for the dawn of All Hallows Eve.

Goofy, endlessly surprising and genuinely laugh‑out‑loud funny, the world could use far more games like Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream. I’m ecstatic that its chaotic silliness is back in our lives, and you won’t touch another game this year that works this hard to make you smile. This is Nintendo at its quirkiest, and you can feel the team’s enthusiasm shine through in every bizarre moment. It’s simply unmissable.