Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition is the best way to experience a true classic. Many elements have been changed for the better, allowing for a smooth journey through and through. I found myself more entertained by the quest system and adored the set-up of the menus, and the mechanical tweaks make it a joy to play. Xenoblade Chronicles on Nintendo Switch is enjoyable for much longer, which made me fly through the adventure this time around. Sure, there were likely some expecting a grander visual overhaul, but that doesn't take away from the care put into the package. There is even an additional dozen-hour epilogue if you're in the mood for more Xenoblade. All in all, I am just happy that the game still grips me as much as before. Definitive Edition makes me remember why I love Shulk, his world, and all the wonders that come along for the ride.

I preferred Neva to Gris, though both games are triumphant and artistic video games that will probably make you cry like a baby. If you’re a lifelong pet owner like myself, Neva has the potential to hit you like a train, but it’s also a universal enough feeling to work for anyone. The combat is a great addition to the video game aspect that definitely filled in a hole for me in the experience. Nomada Studio continues their penchant for making gorgeous games that are packed with emotional resonance. Now that they’ve told game stories about parents and pets, we’ll see how they can make us all cry next.

A masterpiece...This is the epitome of Metroid gameplay. The designers carefully mix all the best elements from the other games and layer them on top of the already brilliant level design and concepts of the original Metroid.

Majora’s Mask was and still is a fresh departure from the Zelda norm. Majora’s Mask 3D improves greatly on a few of the original’s deficiencies, though some of the bold choices inherent to the game still have a negative effect on the experience.

Pikmin's main strength is its sense of freedom and discovery. There is a strong balance between this sense of freedom and having set goals.

Whether you have all of the 100+ figures or just the three that come with the starter pack, Swap Force is well worth playing.

This is a tremendous newcomer to the Switch indie scene and as long as you’re up for a challenge, Dead Cells is spectacular.

The basic gameplay itself doesn’t really change over the course of each run: guard buildings, kill Vek, and try not to die in the process. The randomized maps and objectives add variety, but you will need to appreciate the subtle changes that the islands undergo in each run. Undoubtedly, one of the best features of the game is unlocking new mechs and creating your own squads, and it is that element that will keep me coming back to the game. Hop into a breach and pick up this game yesterday, soldier. It’s Vek-hunting season.

Its true genius lies in its inclusion of vocal harmonies that create an even more authentic band experience, and the art style and presentation also complement The Beatles' music greatly.

This is a game that shouldn’t exist in most reasonable worlds. A few years earlier and the remake might be more benign. A few years later and there’s no way this game gets greenlit. We live in a world with Final Fantasy VII Remake, though. This is a game that bounces from deathly serious climate disasters and tragedy to crossdressing dance sequences and fighting demonic houses. Final Fantasy VII Remake is a deeply weird game, but it’s a deeply weird game with awesome combat, wonderful writing, incredible music, and a joyously baffling story. In the process of this bizarre journey to a remake of a classic, Square Enix also created one of the best Final Fantasy games of the last 30 years.

I love every part of this game, and the benefits of this Wii U version are easy to appreciate.

I’m not done with Alain’s campaign to restore his kingdom and set the world to rights, but there’s no denying how exciting and captivating Unicorn Overlord has turned out to be. It’s a love letter to deep, complex tactical RPGs and will most likely appeal to those who appreciate the Fire Emblem and Ogre Battle franchises, but as someone who only has very sparse memories of the latter, I’m still enthralled by what VanillaWare has done here. The Switch performance is excellent, and the art style remains one of the clear strengths of this developer. I expect that I’ll need another 10-20 hours to see the main story through to completion, and even more to discover all of the secrets hidden around the world map. Once those tasks are complete, I’ll be updating this review with a final score. Until then, I feel confident in saying we’re looking at another candidate that’s sure to take home some end-of-the-year accolades.

Gunstar Heroes is an absolute classic of the 16-bit era. I didn’t think it was possible to make the game better, but somehow M2 pulled it off.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the best playing game in the series. It is challenging yet excellently paced. I rarely found myself over or underleveled. The world unfolds naturally and effectively rather than through tedious field skill gates.

With excellent control, track design, graphics, sound, and customization, this is clearly the best F-Zero game in the series, and one of the best games on GameCube overall.

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury might be one of the strongest Mario games available on Switch. The base game is fun and varied, while Bowser’s Fury offers a distinctive, inventive, and superb open-world 3D Mario experience.

Like trying out a broken roller-coaster ride - one that is highly enjoyable while it lasts, but is over too quickly and gets stuck often, so the excitement quickly gets replaced by frustration. However, when it does move, it gives you a thrilling, almost magical, experience that makes you want to remain seated all the way through to the end.

This is probably the best game I've played so far this year, and I'm betting you will love it, too.

As an interactive timeline and a virtual exhibit, Atari 50 is unparalleled. No other historical collection comes close to how awesome this is as a context-rich story (the only ones that do are also from the same developer). I hope that this style of giving historical context and not just presenting a list of 40-year-old games without any explanation is the trend going forward for packages like this. Even if I’m not chomping at the bit to play some RealSports Football, I’m thrilled that I now know its place in the grand history of Atari.

Simply put, Guitar Hero 5 is a fantastic and full-featured Wii rhythm game.

The impeccable port combined with the additional features and cool 3D effect make this the definitive version of one of the pinnacles of the genre.

It seems as though the Zeboyd partnership is going on hiatus for a bit to recharge the batteries, but This Way Madness Lies is a nice game to go on break with. It’s more of a sonnet than a full-on Shakespeare play, and the Switch definitely needs something short in this realm after some of the absolute marathons I’ve had to deal with recently.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is great in a lot of respects. The game flies by with its various mechanics, making for a highly entertaining adventure. That being said, I can't shake off the feeling that the final acts in the various routes could've been better. When I spent 60 hours on singular route, only to be greeted with a bummer of an ending, it stung a lot. Combining the crapshoot of your ending with a few technical problems drags the whole game down. The actual character arcs, complete with fully voiced interactions, do a great job of accounting for the limitations, thankfully. Three Houses is certainly worth seeing through, but it is way more about the journey than the end.

NieR Automata is one of my favorite games ever made. I was nervous about how it would hold up on Switch, especially given how troublesome its PC port was at launch, and I am incredibly happy to have been wrong to worry. This might be the best third-party Switch port I’ve ever played, which makes it incredibly easy to recommend this game to anyone who has never played it before. There are simply no two ways about it: NieR Automata was a triumph of design in 2017, and it is a triumph of porting big games to Switch in 2022.

Dawn of Sorrow matches and in some cases exceeds the quality of "Symphony of the Night" in almost every way. Yet the two games have their own styles and features, so the newest addition to the series is in no way redundant with its legendary forebear. [JPN Import]

In spite of a few, mostly minor, dated problems, the raw beauty of the world made me happy to be revisiting this game.

Aside from some small control issues mostly stemming from the fact that multiple functions are tied to the same button, Mark of the Ninja Remastered is excellent. It’s a smartly-made stealth game that oozes style while being packed with gameplay variety and depth. Playing this 2012 release today made me wary that it might show its age, but the amazing thing is that in 2018, this game feels extremely fresh. This ninja has been hiding in the shadows, waiting to strike on Switch, and the results are fantastic.

BALL X PIT is exemplary of what a great game should be. Combining simple to learn mechanics, with a lot of depth and variety into a strangely unique beast of a roguelike. Once it got its fangs into me, the game simply wouldn’t let me go. Above all what struck me the most is that it's a game that looks almost effortless in its brilliance. Yet, the attention to detail and the sheer amount of customization feels unexhaustive. I have gone back into this pit again and again over the last few weeks and I am still not getting tired of it. You’re even able to challenge your friends on leaderboards with the fastest time that can keep you engaged for long after you’ve reached the bottom of this pit. BALL X PIT filled a hole, or a pit if you will, for me that I wasn’t aware I had. The only thing I can do is keep crawling back out, shouting that others should join in, before I’m dragged back into its depths again. I don’t think I’ll be leaving the BALL X PIT anytime soon.

About as perfect as an arcade racing game can be.

It is likely one of the best action games of 2021 and stands apart using its beautifully varied areas to explore. The soundtrack is also fantastic, with composer David Fenn managing to strike a perfect balance between high energy action and peaceful contemplation. Not to mention the crow you're controlling is just a cute little bird. If you are a fan of action games and have an itch for one that will kill around 8 hours, Death's Door is a pretty good place to clock in and get to work.

Split Fiction is, in a lot of ways, the best this studio has ever delivered, but is still far from flawless in its execution. The plots from all previous Hazelight games have consistently been an issue and this game is no exception. Its tone and characterization are pretty flat, with a lot of cringe moments to take away from the experience. Fortunately, one thing this studio has learned is to keep the action moving, and providing tons of set piece moments to override any bad taste the dialogue could ever leave. The puzzle mechanics work well as long as you can communicate with your partner with patience and the set pieces are a rollercoaster ride of excitement. It also helps that this runs perfectly on the Switch 2. Split Fiction can really test relationships, but whenever a new Hazelight co-op adventure drops, I’m always down for the thrillride.

There’s more to do after rolling credits the first time, but my main take away is just how good the combat feels and how gorgeous everything looks while you're doing it. Absolum is made by a team that understands how to make a great brawler, like Shredder's Revenge and Streets of Rage 4, so you can expect a similar level of polish and chops. I ended up clearing the game with every character because I was having such a good time, and with all the awesome games I still haven't played from September, that's proof positive that any beat-'em-up fan should absolutely be checking out Absolum.

Despite the map design issues, the gameplay is solid and is definitely not a rehash of the original Advance Wars. The additional characters, new story emphasis, and diversity of the scenarios make Advance Wars 2 feel like a brand new game.

TowerFall is an outrageously incredible local multiplayer game, quite possibly one of my favorites of all time. Smash Bros. might draw attention away from TowerFall when it launches, but I’m reminded of how when Super Smash Bros. for Wii U came out, I had a group of friends over and we wound up playing more TowerFall than Smash. In the ever-expanding sea of local multiplayer games on Switch, TowerFall stands out, thanks to its intuitive and fun gameplay, excellent style and presentation, and variety of play.

New Super Mario Bros. (NSMB) features the best wall jump yet—there is precious little more satisfying than saving oneself from a perilous pit with a knee-jerk wall-jump. Mario may not control as he did in any of the classic Mario games, but he still feels perfect.

it is the title's simplicity that makes it so enjoyable. It's the world's most accessible game, and is a total blast.

This is SwapNote for artists. I highly recommend this app, and I think it will develop a big following among the 3DS artists out there.

A Short Hike is a game I can recommend to anyone without hesitation. It’s perfect for new players, looking to play something for a short while, but also respects experienced players by giving them the freedom to play the game however they choose. The charm the game brings to the table is reason enough for me to return time and time again to this world. It’s a feel-good zenlike game and I’m so incredibly happy that I can now return to this world at any time on the Switch. Finally it is only A Short Hike away.

Although it’s coming out at a packed time of year, Neon White should definitely be on the radar of Switch owners. Whether trying to stay ahead of the story, ripping off a stage or two in between games, or trying to shave a few hundredths of a second off your level time to get up the leaderboards, there’s always an excuse to shoot up heaven.

The lengthy and replayable Street Challenge mode, multiplayer options, and abundant customization settings make NBA Street V3 a fulfilling package for anyone even slightly interested in basketball (and not completely put off by the hip-hop vibe).

This is both a worthy upgrade and worthy introduction if you’ve never played a game in the series before. The game may be augmented, but they’re augments made for the betterment of mankind.

By and large, Dream Daddy succeeds at creating developed characters that have unique stories, interesting dialogue, and fun personalities. I wouldn’t call anything here realistic; the cul de sac where the game takes place feels like a dreamy land where only the happiest characters exist, despite the hardships that they discuss. Dream Daddy looks great in handheld and TV mode, and this version boasted a handful more optional scenes, but nothing strikingly new in comparison to the rest of the dates.

DJ Hero 2 is an excellent sequel. It takes the solid gameplay the original game laid out and offers vast improvements.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is every Zelda Dungeon, Resident Evil Mansion and Escape Room honed to its finest edge and plays with the player as much as the player plays the game. In a year already stacked with impressive indie games, this will be the one that is going to haunt me for years to come. I could not be more excited about seeing others experience it for themselves.

If there’s one word that can quickly sum up Nintendo’s latest entry in the Mario Kart series, it’s beautiful. From top to bottom, this is a gorgeous game, likely the best-looking one Nintendo has ever made. Even the soundtrack is superb, with amazing songs that call to mind past Mario games in new musical styles. Behind that beauty, unfortunately, is a degree of vapidness.

I came into Dicey Dungeons with high hopes and I was thoroughly blown away. It’s so smartly designed in how the classes and equipment all work together to create consistently unique and creative instances where you have to squeeze the usefulness out of almost every play style and strategy. The episodic design fits it very well, because it makes the early parts far more approachable, while keeping the variety up enough that even later episodes slow you down, you still have so much to enjoy. Dicey Dungeons is an amazing game that I’d almost call a roguelike game for people who don’t like roguelikes. You do have to like turn-based combat, though. And dice.

Super Mario Maker is a supreme early leap into the world of game-making software for Nintendo, and I want to see them make more fascinating games like this, even if I can’t place a Charging Chuck on screen.

DUSK’s arrival on Switch has been a long time coming. But I'm honestly relieved that the creator took his time sanding down and sharpening every little corner of DUSK for its Switch debut. It feels like a game that was meant to be played on Nintendo’s console and uses its retro inspirations to pump new life into this particular genre of games. If you ask me, it's the beginning of a new dawn.

The Lost Crown is a title that I hope people remember at the end of the year when recalling the standout video games of 2024 because there’s no doubt this should be among them.

A highly original action game that takes quite a while to master, and it has tons of modes, multiplayer features, and unlockables to keep you playing until you do reach a level of mastery.

Under the guise of a video game, Virtue's Last Reward unfolds an intricate story in which your participation is consistently worthwhile. In spite of the interruptions caused by its less engaging puzzle segments, this game stands out as an exceptional narrative experience unlike anything else on 3DS.

A masterful and beautiful experience with powerful visuals, transcendent audio, and challenging gameplay.

Tunic is a modern masterpiece and its mysteries, secrets, and puzzles will stay with you for a long time after the credits roll.

Warts and all, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is a revolution in the way golf games control. The new Wii MotionPlus controls are very good, but not amazing yet. If you can power through the early throes of career mode so your player is halfway decent, or are a huge fan of Disc Golf, then by all means pick up this game immediately. Just don't expect it to actually improve your golf swing.

But more than anything else, Shovel Knight oozes personality and charm more than any game I’ve played in recent memory.

It's ironic, then, that the monotony of the new battle system still ends up being redeemed by a great story. And if great stories are your thing, The World Ends With You will warm your heart. If you are all about gameplay, you'll probably get bored fairly quickly.

What really stands out about Time Splitters 2 is not the gobs of stuff they’ve thrown in, but that each gob is so well crafted.

To be sure, Edith Finch is a fantastic game that anybody with an interest in narrative experiences should probably try out if they haven’t already. The ability to play the game in handheld mode is an added bonus, as the short length of the game (2-3 hours) makes it perfect for something like a road trip or when trying to show the game to a family member who you think might be interested. With well-acted narration, plenty of variety in terms of gameplay, and a powerful tale that will have you coming back to find any details you might have missed, What Remains of Edith Finch is a must have for any Switch owner who enjoys a captivating story.

I first played 13 Sentinels on PS5 after the Switch version was announced because I feared that the Switch would be the inferior way to play it, and my time with this port has left me feeling like I made the wrong decision. 13 Sentinels fits on Switch so well that it feels like it was made for handheld systems—which, in fairness, it kind of was. A Vita version was originally planned before the game was delayed so much that the idea of releasing a new game on Sony’s dying handheld was laughable. Because of that, this version feels like 13 Sentinels is finally where it was meant to be all along. This game is wild and weird in all the best ways, and there has never been a better time to play it than right now.

I am almost sure that there is a game for everyone in this collection. Whether you’ve been following Simogo since their mobile games, or only played Sayonara Wild Hearts, each of the titles on display is such a great encapsulation of what has made this studio so unique. It’s not just a documentary showcasing the history of the studio, but this is Simogo pioneering a way forward: presenting a path for the preservation and (re)appreciation of games made for mobile devices. These types of games, more than any other, are so quickly lost to the annals of history. But they are important in their own right and collections like these give them the respect they deserve. I simply had a fantastic time with the Simogo Legacy Collection. It is everything one can expect from a collection celebrating a legacy. My hope is that other studios are taking notes and can learn from what Simogo has achieved here.

Fire Emblem Fates is so perfectly executed that I wonder how they’ll top it as the series progresses. Every complaint from Awakening has been addressed, leading to a fine-tuned strategy game that borders on genius.

Twisted, a lowly GBA game, is everything that the DS-powered "Touched" was not. It's big, it's funny, it's well designed, and it's fun.

When Fez clicks, it’s sublime. Bouncing through the world while rotating it to figure out the right way to reach a platform nails the right balance of difficulty and reward. The way the game opens up as you play, revealing secrets on top of secrets is something I’ve never seen another game land quite as well. What stands out most to me about Fez after nine years is that I’m in the midst of my third playthrough and even with some of the sheer novelty being lessened, I’m as enthralled as I was back in 2012. Fez stands as a truly unique indie game that draws inspiration from classics but is wholly its own precious and maddening experience that needs to be played.

The difficulty is absolutely harsh and is sure to turn some off, but feels completely fair, outside of the rare fake chest which can quickly destroy an otherwise promising run. However, no matter how frustrating a death can be, I constantly found myself right back into it without a second thought.

When I first played Gone Home five years ago, I remember sitting and staring at my computer screen for a long while after completing the game. I didn’t want to move or speak. I just wanted to think about what I had experienced over the course of an evening. The Fullbright Company knows how to tell a story and they succeed at making the player feel that he or she is part of that story. If you want a narrative experience that demonstrates what the video game medium is truly capable of, play this game, but do so slowly. Gone Home is not a game to hurry through, but one to savor and remember.

Overall, UNSIGHTED is a game that I hope doesn’t fall into the “hidden gem” category. For the simple reason that it is a gem that should not be hidden and needs to be in the line of sight (get it?) of as many gamers as possible. Despite the stress of the lifespan gimmick, this unique element is what will keep you on your toes and panicking, worrying but ultimately loving your time as Alma. The narrative is beautiful, and characters are all full of life and loveable, making for a gaming journey that you will genuinely care about.

Over the years I’ve heard many people demand a sequel, in terms of gameplay, to one 2D Metroid or another. No matter what sequel you’ve wished for, Metroid Dread is it. It is simply Metroid, in the best way possible. Metroid Dread is the culmination of 2D Metroid in its entirety. It is a testament not only to what the genre has always been, but the potential of what it could become. It is a triumphant return of Samus Aran as the undisputed queen of the genre. Long may she reign.

Super Mario Maker 2's newfound strength is hidden within the details, and that is what I really like about it. In its wake, it lost some of its Mario Paint roots, but Story Mode brings enough fun to overcome that sadness. Players and creators, rejoice.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is another grand slam of a game from Pocket Trap. This is a brilliantly designed top-down adventure that is one of the best 2D Zelda-esque indie games of the entire Switch era. My teeny-tiny complaints only lie with the combat, but the delightful puzzles and joyous yoyo parkour more than make up for some occasionally tiresome battling. We might be days away from the Switch 2, but be sure not to miss this absolute gem of a game.

I put about 280 hours into Generations Ultimate and was playing it even up to the time this review goes live, but for mostly lack-of-PC reasons I never got into World. Monster Hunter Rise has enough content that I feel like I’ll be able to go all the way with it, and be able to take on the new hunts as they’re delivered. Even those who are just looking for a good action game, and have no history with the series, should jump in. If nothing else, I could use some help with Rathalos.

With a noble history on the Famicom, Super Famicom, and now the GBA, Fire Emblem holds up the tradition of excellent gameplay, interesting scenarios, and an engaging storyline. The only real complaint I have as a Fire Emblem fan is that the game is very easy.

After years of hearing how cool Downwell is, it’s great to see just how fantastic it really is. It’s a straightforward, no-nonsense masterclass in design where it’s super easy to sit down with the intention of playing for five minutes and walk away a dozen runs and more than an hour later. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some gun boots to fire off so I can get to the bottom of this well.

Vampire Survivors is not an especially challenging or substantive game, but it is one that feels good to relax and unwind with for a half hour at a time. A podcast that I listen to once described the game as “my favorite slot machine”, and it’s a moniker I think is very apt for how good Vampire Survivors is at giving a satisfying rush of dopamine with its overwhelmingly flashy effects, absurd power curve, and snappy pace of upgrading. There are no hidden depths lurking under the surface and I truly don’t know what more I could say about the game than I already have, but it doesn’t need to be anything more than it is. Sometimes I just want to see big explosions, flashing colors, and numbers going up, and Vampire Survivors gives me all of that in great quantities with pretty much no friction along the way.

You might not want to play more than 20 hours of Diablo III: Eternal Collection, but the time you do put in will be unbelievably entertaining.

Even during dives where the game wasn’t giving me proper direction, I still was enthralled by the experience and wanted to plunge back into the game again and again. I’ll never forget the moments where I was clinging on by single digits on the oxygen tanks and barely made it out alive, over encumbered with fish, or the moments where I was suddenly jumped by a predator and had to evasively dive away and shoot my gun in blind panic. Dave the Diver keeps you on your toes, but the rewards after a successful dive always make me want to play “just one more round.” My sushi restaurant is currently thriving, and I am still looking forward to jumping back in many more times after this review is published.

SteamWorld Dig 2 takes everything fans loved about the original game and turns the dial up to eleven. It’s bigger, better, and even more addicting than its predecessor, and absolutely deserves a spot in every single Switch owner’s library.

Ikaruga is great—everyone should play it unless you’re fundamentally opposed to the genre. It can be frustrating but I found that I got a little farther almost every run. Maybe someday I’ll even try to get through Arcade Mode with the default settings (on Easy) so that I can actually post a high score!

With the pitching mini-game and Owner Mode (or Dynasty Mode for the less hardcore), gamers will have plenty to enjoy for the rest of this baseball season and well into the off-season.

Cave Story+ isn’t the definitive version of Cave Story—I think that crown still belongs to the WiiWare version, but then again, that version isn’t portable. I do miss the ability to switch graphical styles, but it’s really the only regrettable absentee. Having no Pro Controller support is more concerning, but I’m hoping that sees a patch fairly quickly. The bottom line, though, is Cave Story is great and you should play it.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf is a beast of a game, featuring hundreds of hours of open-ended gameplay. If you were turned off by the lack of structure and real goals in previous Animal Crossing games, nothing here will change your mind.

If you skipped out on the original WiiWare release, this version is still an excellent choice. It performs slightly worse than its console counterpart, and fighting the same opponents in each difficulty level can get a bit annoying, but despite those two small complaints, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s still an excellent game in its own right.

Despite the occasional glitch, Stardew Valley is a welcome addition to the Switch’s quickly growing library. I’ve played over 30 hours of the game, and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. More crops are always available to grow, more upgrades are ripe for boosting my farm, and more minerals are mine to mine. It’s a game I can see myself coming back to time and time again for years, and that’ll be easy to do with the portable nature of the Switch. It’s a masterpiece, and a perfect game for Nintendo’s newest console.

At its heart it is a puzzle game unlike any other. You aren’t simply solving puzzles, but actively making choices and feeling their impact reverberate on the experience. The warning signs were there and they are true. Blue Prince can take over your life if you don’t watch out. But I say let it. Step into this manor over and over again. Get swept up in the mysteries of the Sinclair family and keep pushing forward. Whether you will stay long after the credits have rolled is ultimately up to you. But I can guarantee you that this is truly a unique game in every sense of the word. It will be the benchmark that future puzzle games will be measured against and that’s no small feat.

If you’re a fan of scary movies or games that don’t spell out their story, I’m certain that you will enjoy what Inscryption has to offer very much. But it was the deckbuilding system, sigils and strategy that kept me coming back again and again and again. Inscryption feels like the perfect fit on Switch and is great on the go. While I thought I would play it in short sessions, the game kept pulling me in again and again to play for hours on end. You’ll definitely get everything you’ve asked for and more while playing Inscryption and it makes for one must of a card game on the Nintendo Switch.

If you're into Pokémon, you likely already have the game. If you're not, then this game won't convert you. However, if you've been away from the series for a while, this might be the game to make a return to the series.

Dragon Quest IX is a fantastic game, and it is easily the best new traditional RPG to grace the DS.

Pokémon X and Y is an odd pair of games to quantify because, on one hand, they are still solid entries in an incredible JRPG series and they offer some select new features that go above and beyond to make this feel like a brand new generation. On the other hand, inconsistent presentation, insubstantial core innovation, a low Pokémon count, and a minimal post-game keep them from achieving the total nirvana that this series has always been capable of.

Challenge is prevalent, but with lovely visuals and sound coupled with a well-crafted, though still terse, difficulty curve, this is an adventure worth working your way through. My only real qualms are with the controllers on the Switch and some frustration found in the late-game bosses. This is a gem of an addition to the Switch library.

The Stanley Parable is an extremely worthwhile video game and, I would argue, one of the finest examples of meta-humor (as well as humor in general) in the medium. Just don’t read too much before you play it.

Astral Chain is the most ambitious game Platinum has ever made, and is for the most part a success. It would be tempting to use the old idiom, “jack of all trades master of none” but specific elements of Astral Chain excel far too greatly to refer to Platinum as anything other than masters. The combat, story, and music are some of the best you’ll find on Switch. That being said, there are clearly areas in which less focus was placed. Given your character’s role as a police officer, I found the gradual de-emphasizing of the investigation mechanics to be a tad disappointing. A few areas of the visual design could also use work, but they’ll hardly affect enjoyment of the game. Ultimately, what we’re left with is one of the most exciting and original action games on Switch, if not the most.

Star Ocean: The Second Story R is a great remake of a less heralded PlayStation RPG. Unlike First Departure R and some of the other ports and remasters out there, this is a smart, modern upgrade to a decades-old adventure. It’s an enjoyable action RPG with a wealth of player choice and a lot of charming quirky aspects. If you’ve ever been curious about Star Ocean and have an affinity for old-school action RPGs, this is a must-play. Even beyond that, the beautiful presentation might be worth the price of admission by itself.

The game shines when it comes to its boss battles, enemy and item variety, aesthetic, and music. But experiencing all the game has to offer requires determination. La-Mulana is not a game for those without lots of time and patience.

While I had a good deal of fun with Pokemon Moon, I couldn't shake the feeling that not everything was sound about it. The story didn't keep my attention as much as I would have hoped, the journey was easy to get through and some of the battles had slowdown. Despite that, I just kept pushing forward and wanting to more see of the world that Game Freak has built.

Dragon Ball FighterZ remains a winner on Nintendo Switch. The game plays fantastically and is fun for both the fighting novice learning the ins and outs and the expert. From casual options that you play with a Joy-Con to online ranked modes that run without too much lag, this title has everything you want out of a fighting game. 24 iconic characters bring a fun variety of moves to the table that thrilled me every time I played.

The title has an enormous replay factor, and many Monkey Ball fans will find themselves playing the game until the next iteration of Super Monkey Ball.

Pikmin 4 is everything I could’ve wanted from a new Pikmin game and more. It is simultaneously a return to form with a heavy focus on Dandori and also a leap forward with entirely new mechanics and big improvements to returning mechanics. There are some flaws—nighttime missions are a drag and the early tutorials are dreadfully slow—but those warts don’t outweigh everything Pikmin 4 manages to achieve. This is a new standard for Pikmin; all we can do now is hope it doesn’t take another ten years for Pikmin 5.

Overall Kentucky Route Zero may not be for everybody, but those for whom it is for will find it an incredibly well put together experience. The dark and mysterious atmosphere and memorable locations mixed with well written and human feeling characters make this game something that players who value a narrative focused experience won’t soon forget. It’s a story about looking for that which you’ve lost, and maybe finding some new stuff along the way, whether you really mean to be doing so or not. Those looking for a challenge or something a bit more action packed won’t find what they’re looking for here, but those looking for a surreal and mysterious tale will have come to the right place.

When Guacamelee 2 does so many things right, from the wonderfully tight and responsible gameplay to the downright gorgeous look and feel of the Mexiverse, it’s hard to not talk about it without gushing. But it’s earned that right, delivering a top-tier experience across the board. It captures the essence of multiple genres and blends them brilliantly within a visually stunning world that’s equally as fun to explore as it is to stare at.