Even if you’ve played these games before, I’d say this collection is absolutely worth picking up. It’s wonderful to have them all on Switch since they were spread between three platforms originally (3DS, Wii U, Steam), and the Mighty Switch Force games are just plain fun and full of personality. I would like to have seen a collection of concept art a la the SNK and Street Fighter collections because Digital Eclipse has spoiled me forever with that kind of bonus content, but that doesn’t take away from the experience, and I will never, ever get sick of kicking that ugly baby.

Red Faction Guerrilla’s primary hook, its physics-based destruction, has aged remarkably well. It is still to this day incredibly fun to take out the support of a building and watch it tumble to the ground. Regrettably, the game that surrounds this mechanic is a shallow and repetitive misunderstanding of open-world design. Add to this the less than impressive performance levels of the Switch version and you’re left with a great idea that just doesn’t have the design to support it. Much like the result of its primary game mechanic, Red Faction Guerrilla crumbles without the support of more engaging gameplay to surround that mechanic.

Chroma Squad certainly does a solid job of providing an experience that invokes pleasant memories of days past. After several hours of playtime I found myself watching old episodes of the original Power Rangers on Netflix. Only three days later and my kids are halfway through season one, eagerly waiting for the introduction of the Green Ranger. While the tactical-based combat provides a decent reason for younger fans to try out Chroma Squad, it’s abundantly clear which audience is going to appreciate this game the most.

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.

Whether you want to play single games against friends, compete in online leagues, or sit back and binge a season by yourself offline, Super Mega Baseball 2 delivers in spades. This is a Triple Crown-winning batter, a multiple Cy Young-winning pitcher, and a first-ballot Hall of Famer all wrapped into one. This is the greatest baseball game I have ever played.

As someone who is primarily a casual fighting game fan, Fantasy Strike scratches an itch in a different way than Street Fighters and the like do. The simplicity of the control inputs puts it more in the space in between, almost like a less platforming-focused Smash Bros. The overall approachability makes it a great choice for less experienced fighters, but beneath the sheen of less combos and button inputs still lies a deep game with tense strategy, complete with a variety of ways to play it both online and off.

For a second attempt, Area 35 has done a solid if unspectacular job with Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble. They’ve addressed a few complaints about the game, especially in handheld mode for me, which is pretty impressive for a year and a half turnaround between games. If the initial load and maps themselves weren’t so long as to make it a chore to play in bursts, this could be an all timer. It’s not a general, but sometimes you need staff sergeants.

Hyperlight Ultimate is still a great game, and now that it’s on a modern console you should definitely play it.

This version of Clue is a perfectly fine recreation of the board game in video game form; however, the lack of single-system multiplayer kills a lot of the utility of the Switch version. The mobile version offers a far better deal and is also way easier to get a bunch of friends together to play Clue digitally.

I really love the core gameplay of Dr. Mario World, but it’s so frustrating to play on my phone that I can’t help but think it’s a bit of a disappointment. If this game ends up on Switch later down the line then I’d be first in line to play a version that’s been properly optimized for the system it’s running on, but as of now I just don’t want to go through the trouble. If you’ve got a device that’s powerful enough to run Dr. Mario World with no problems then you’re in for a real treat if you give it a try. But if you’re like me and are waiting until the time is right to buy a new phone, then the time probably isn’t right to try Nintendo’s latest mobile game either.

I’m not totally sure who the audience for God Eater 3 is. Obviously, there’s a certain appeal to an anime artstyle, but that can only carry you so far when every aspect of the game is at least slightly worse than the extremely similar Monster Hunter. God Eater does so little to carve out its own niche that it’s nearly impossible to recommend. I enjoyed slashing away at Aragami enough to have a good bit of fun with the combat, but I could never escape the feeling that I could be having so much more fun by playing a better game in the same genre.

Rise: Race the Future is a fantastic racing game at its core that is held back only by the limits of its own ambition. While it would benefit greatly from a further exploration of its own mechanics and multiplayer functionality, it remains a very fun and technically-solid racer that can more than hold its own against the system’s best.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order is like a B-movie. You know that it isn't the best in areas, but you still enjoy it with all your heart. The characters are well crafted, which makes the game such a joy. The environments, voices, and the general feel is strong. Obviously, the camera issues and endless corridors can drag down moments of the fun, but the action keeps everything flowing and enjoyable. The action never stops, which is the ultimate strength of the title.

Overall, Etherborn has its charms: a calming dynamic soundtrack, a smooth and simple art style, and a captivating performance by its narrator. But these are overshadowed by the thin layer of frustration caused by the loose controls and overly restrictive camera. There is potential here and if you enjoy more artful puzzle games like the ones this game has been heavily compared to, it’s at least worth a look. Just be ready for a few hangups along the way that might take you out of the experience.

Artifex Mundi created a fun, brisk, and engaging point-and-click. They leveraged the right balance of humor and storytelling, characters and circumstances. While clearly a throwback, they put enough of their own spin on the various formulas they leveraged to make something that feels familiar but still unique. For fans of point-and-click games, Irony Curtain is a sure thing. For people inexperienced with the genre it’s a friendly starting point.

All in all, Perchang is a mild distraction that does little to be innovative or hold your attention for longer than a few hours at most. For the relatively minimal amount of content that the game provides, there are tons of other games that are much more worth your time. This combined with the lack of a hint system and abundance of glitches in the game’s physics engine leaves Perchang feeling like only part of a complete game. For a simple and short puzzle experience, Perchang may be enjoyable, but many of the eShop’s hundreds of other puzzle games are better options.

The only downside of Vectronom is that it should only take a few hours to complete. Each beat of this experience is so jam-packed and the gameplay concepts switch up so frequently that I would love each one to be explored more. Don’t let that stop you from exploring what’s here, though — this gem is a design feat and one of the most delightful platforming games I’ve ever played.

Lost Orbit takes a simple premise and builds it into something that is more than the sum of its parts. Load times aside, it is a fantastic portable experience on Switch. Solid, ever-evolving gameplay and great presentation make this an easy pick up for anyone who likes high score games.

In the end, I struggle to call Lethal League Blaze anything but awesome. With a combination of fun gameplay, likeable character designs, and an incredible soundtrack that even features a song by the legendary Hideki Naganuma, this game is sure to have your friends screaming in pure hype as everybody in the room gets the hang of it. As my roommate and I played and gradually improved, we got into sections where the ball got faster and faster, eventually reaching speeds of 1000 miles per hour that had me sweating since I was so excited for what was happening. If you enjoy a good multiplayer experience, Lethal League Blaze is a must-have.

While the interface quirks take some getting used to and the campaign difficulty may turn some off, there’s definitely enjoyment to be had here for fans of the turn-based strategy genre.

Eagle Island is rife with outrageous promise, but despite its beautiful art and sound fundamental controls, everything else on the periphery falls short. This is an elegant trip that is overburdened by pratfalls and reiteration.

Professor Lupo and his Horrible Pets has so many hidden surprises, be it funny dialogue or an interesting factoid, and it’s these elements that help to further immerse the player in the world. With its wonderful art and great characters, this game is hard to beat for the puzzle aficionado.

Stranger Things 3: The Game won’t appeal to fans of the television show as it’s a frustrating experience that reminds you of all of the high points of the third season but never actually reaches them itself. Instead you are stuck with a bunch of dull fights to get through, bland puzzles to solve, and reading pieces of dialogue from the show without any sort of performance by the actors. Don’t tarnish your memories of the third season by playing this.

Dragon Quest Builders 2 features solid controls, attractive presentation, online multiplayer and limitless charm, but these don’t tell the whole story. Each element of the experience on its own would be less than impressive, but like a pile of wood, bricks, mortar, and steel before its shaped by human hands, the sum of its parts culminate in an impressive and memorable architecture.

A straightforward and to the point Contra-like experience sums up Blazing Chrome well. With six levels that will probably only take you an hour or three to clear the first time through, it’s a tiny bit light on content, but thanks to the co-op and unlockable modes, more mileage can be squeezed out of this short and sweet joyride.

It’s pretty clear that Honey Parade isn’t putting their A team on the Switch stuff. If you’re a Senran fanboy like myself, Peach Ball is probably worth it. If you just like video game pinball, there are better, more cost-effective options out there.

The totality of SolSeraph is a pleasant ride that recalls ActRaiser to a fault. While the platforming and tower defense strategy might have their maladies, they still fuse together to make an interesting and engaging game. It’s refreshing to see someone take a stab at such a winning concept, even if they stumble a bit on the way to the finish line.

I'm mostly disappointed in Super Cane Magic Zero. The fun, dumb world and deep RPG mechanics could have hooked me, but the punishing repetition and clunky combat kept me angry through almost all of my playtime. An extremely specific group of hardcore goofballs could have fun with Super Cane Magic Zero, but most players can find a better use for a group of friends.

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.

Devil May Cry was the pioneer for character action games and despite being released 18 years ago, it still manages to stand tall among more contemporary counterparts. It certainly shows its age, most specifically in the dated platforming and at times jarring camera changes. Yet, when it comes down to pulling off combos and looking cool as hell, it hits the mark, still feeling fresh all these years later.

Trials of Mana is certainly a title worth your time, but newcomers to the series may want to hold off until the release of the modern remake next year. The Collection of Mana does a fine job of providing faithful recreations of 8 and 16-bit classics for a modern portable system, but make no mistake: all three games show their age. For those who had their formative years during the Super Nintendo era and those that simply prefer 2D sprite-based gaming, this package will serve you well. For everyone else, having the first three Seiken Densetsu entries in one package may not be enough incentive given that the flagship title’s re-invention is just around the corner.

War Tech Fighters wears its influences on its sleeves, with series like Macross, or rather Robotech in the case of the title, likely serving as a major source of inspiration. Franchises like Gundam and Transformers almost certainly played a part as well. For mech fans, there is certainly something to be said for the customization that War Tech Fighters brings to the table. Beyond that, there is a solid space game that unfortunately doesn’t make the best use of the mechs themselves. If you’re a fan of one or the other, you may lose interest, but as an avid fan of both, I found plenty to enjoy.

Citizens Of Space offers a ton of worthwhile content for anyone in search of something light. Technical issues keep the adventure from matching its scenario's quality, but the excellent music plays on in my head. The last 9% of Earth still calls. The galaxy may be saved, but this ambassador ambasses on.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a welcome return to the exploration-heavy Castlevania games of the past. Visually, the art style is likely to be off-putting for some, but the gameplay is fun and varied throughout, and finding hidden passages and treasures never gets old.

Overall, this is a solid collection of classic action games that have enjoyable boss fights and provide a great challenge, but it doesn’t feel like a definitive compilation.

Graveyard Keeper is a strange beast, offering a truly unique spin on the management sim. It’s systems are robust and plentiful, but frankly many are downright confusing. The developers decided to do the player no favors, leaving much of the complexities a mystery without searching online. That is enough to scare some away, but if it isn’t a dealbreaker, there’s more than enough here to keep you busy for hours on end.

The Switch version plays great, but Capcom could have included more ways to customize the gameplay, visual, and audio settings. Street Fighter fans who have always wanted a way to play the game at any locale will love having the game on a super portable system like the Switch. As a single-player experience though, this version of Street Fighter leaves a lot to be desired and you might be better off downloading a NeoGeo fighter.

Furwind definitely hits some high notes, but also falls short in other regards. The platforming is solid and outside a few abilities that missed the mark, combat is satisfying. Level design and variety are wonderful, continuing to stay fresh throughout. However in contrast, the enemy design was a let down due to a small pool of enemies. Fun boss battles and the cutest protagonist ever do help to mitigate the shortcomings resulting in a brisk and enjoyable experience.

Wonder Boy: Monster Land is ultimately a weird deep cut for Sega Ages, but it is one I’m glad exists. I’d never seen the arcade version of this game, and I always ignored the console re-releases previously. That said, this is a very enjoyable old-school platformer that is charming enough to warrant some attention more than 30 years later.

This game had issues at launch, particularly it’s unbalanced combat system, but over a decade later these issues stand in stark relief. Ultimately, even if everything else were great, and the combat system worked exactly like they wanted, the game would still feel unfair. And in a 100+ hour JRPG, that constant grinding unfairness will poison any joy a game can create. There are times where I enjoy playing it, but always know a kick in the teeth is lurking around the corner.

We. the Revolution is a well-presented, fascinating look into one of France’s most significant historical chapters. The courtroom cases themselves could be a tad more interesting, but the game’s overall narrative is strong and engaging. We know the story of the French Revolution, but we can’t necessarily imagine what it was like living in those tumultuous times. We the Revolution is a fascinating look into the moral struggles of the era, where things weren’t as clear-cut as they seemed.

It’s a cute RPG that’s not super demanding and can easily be played while you watch TV or lie in bed. There are a few places where it’s not super clear what you’re supposed to do next (find all the Mysterious Grasses before visiting the fairgrounds, kids, and those Grasses are all in the Twin Mountains) but overall it’s pretty straightforward. And there's swimsuit DLC coming in July, so that's cool.

While the roughshod nature of the Switch port doesn’t quite make Crash Team Racing a dominant kart racer on the system, the solid single-player mode and finicky yet rewarding boosting and driving still adds up to an enjoyable time, as long as you’re fine with a visual downgrade and a long wait between races. I really enjoyed revisiting Crash Team Racing with Nitro-Fueled and it reminded me of how great the single-player component of this game is. I just wish there weren’t such large caveats that held it back on Switch.

American Fugitive hits most of the bullet points you look for in a functional open world game, but some glaring omissions, sparseness to the world, and a lack of developed characters keep it from being GTA in the boonies you might hope for. This far into the Switch life cycle, you can find better alternatives for your open world fix.

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.

Much of the enjoyment of what my friends and I affectionately call “Settlers” or “Sottlers” (don’t ask) is the social element of chatting, taunting, teasing, and laughing while gathered around a table. One potentially neat thing is that you earn experience points while playing, and by leveling up you can unlock new tile, game piece, and table themes, but earning some of these bonuses can take a lot longer than you are likely to want to play. Catan on Switch doesn’t have that, so unless you really enjoy playing board games against A.I. or have the patience to wait for potentially unsatisfying online competition, you are better off building the largest army or longest road somewhere else.

​The limited modes of play and lack of strategy necessary make Mowin’ & Throwin’ best suited to casual party-gamers who are looking for something fun in short bursts. Silly characters and colorful graphics along with a clever concept make it pretty entertaining. For anyone looking for a simple party game to add to their library, give this one a try!

The biggest issue with Wet Dreams Don’t Dry is its Mature rating as it has a sense of humor that would only appeal to the most basic of teenagers. If the concept of having sex isn’t the funniest thing to you, then you won’t find much to like here. Beyond its failing humor, all that is left is an uninspired adventure game that isn’t particularly fun to play since the puzzles are never interesting to figure out. Even a franchise like Leisure Suit Larry deserves better than this.

My Friend Pedro seems like the kind of game that either clicks with you or it doesn’t. If you’re a patient player who likes killstreaks, points, and stylish gameplay, you might like this a lot. If you’re like me and have less patience for a game that feels unintuitive for the first 20 levels out of 40, the final product might not click so easily.

Boxing Champs has promise, but a lack of depth makes it more fleeting than I hoped it would be. Still, the fusion of boxing and beat-’em-up is a strong concept if you’re hankering for a vaguely Punch-Out!!-inspired good time. Just don’t expect to be wowed by personality or variety.

Rock of Ages 2: Bigger & Boulder is a good game with a great sense of humor. A worthy sequel to ACE Team’s first Rock of Ages title, fans of its predecessor are sure to find Bigger & Boulder a worthy successor. Some of the stages overemphasize jumping, and the process for unlocking traps seems to give too much to the opponent. I wish I had more fun with the tower defense mode, but the fun the presentation provides helps smooth over these concerns. If you’re looking for a laugh on your Switch, you’re not going to find anything on Switch more willing to laugh at itself than Rock of Ages 2. In spite of some of my gameplay concerns, I recommend it.

At the end of the day, your enjoyment of Dandy Dungeon hinges on a few factors: Do you like cute, quirky, and simple RPGs? How do you feel about rogue-lite elements and grinding for items? The unique presentation and charm are definite positives, but the gameplay does become worn out given that you have almost no agency in the dungeons outside of drawing your hero’s path and activating a handful of limited-use items like fireball scrolls, healing potions, and stat buffs. Like Black Bird before it, Dandy Dungeon is certainly an oddity, but it has enough strong points to make it worth a look.

Hiragana Pixel Party's main issue is that it is just merely an okay rhythm game on the Switch eShop. Even as somebody who doesn't play a lot of rhythm games I have a hard time believing that there are not better games in the genre available for the Switch. If you're interested in learning Japanese, the game might be a solid investment but otherwise the repetitive nature makes it difficult to recommend to anyone who isn't both a fan of rhythm games and interested in learning Japanese.

Cadence of Hyrule successfully earns its place in the pantheon of Zelda adventures by carving a distinctive rhythmic path that brings new ideas to the series while also hitting the right nostalgic keys.

Verlet Swing is one of the most outlandish games I’ve played in a long time. The presentation is simply delightful in a weird drug-induced kind of way, and seeing what was in store for me next was something that helped push through the frustration that cropped up. The core grapple gameplay is fun, and the levels were generally designed well. However, it’s evident they were designed with mouse and keyboard in mind, especially towards the latter portion of the game.

Ultimately, Refunct is incredibly simple, severely brief, and painfully easy, but this is exactly how it bills itself on eShop. The description contains a bullet list of selling points like “Peaceful,” “Relaxing,” and “Seamless,” and it certainly delivers on these promises. The controls feel good, too, with the actual platforming being very forgiving, and there are little collectables you can pick up but to no real end. If you need something to take your mind off a stressful day or an impossible Dark Souls boss, or just as a break between 30-hour RPGs, Refunct might do the trick. Just don’t jump in expecting Mirror’s Edge or Portal.

With the growing library of roguelikes and card-based strategy games accumulating in the eShop, new entrants continuously need to find new ways to stand out from the crowd. Slay the Spire succeeds in this regard by foregoing a traditional story or narrative and allowing the player to become completely immersed in strategic thinking. It may not be the prettiest or flashiest roguelike out there, but it certainly has my attention.

If you aren’t interested in Kirito and Asuna’s budding romance or Yui playing the dual-roles of both game guide and in-game daughter, you aren’t likely to derive a lot of entertainment from Hollow Realization. There are better action-RPGs on Switch, such as the aforementioned Ys VIII, but certainly none that give the freedom of exploring and interacting your favourite SAO personalities.

Timespinner is a highly enjoyable Metroidvania that plays wonderfully on Switch. While it’d be even better if the time travelling theme felt more integral to the gameplay, the game gets so much else right, ranging from the exploration to the dynamite soundtrack. It’s highly reminiscent of its Castlevania inspirations, but through an engaging story and diverse abilities, Timespinner weaves its own path through the annals of Metroid-inspired video games.

While I’ve only played the Switch version, I have to imagine that the original PC release of Golem Gates would be a lot of fun. All of the actual game design is fantastic and very addictive. Unfortunately, this is another instance of a great RTS game not translating well to a traditional controller. Add to that the performance issues on Switch and the console release becomes an even harder sell. Were it not for a truly delightful core gameplay loop, Golem Gates would be an easy pass. As it is, there is a compelling experience to be found, but it’s buried deep.

What little merit PixARK has is thoroughly overshadowed by how blatantly unfinished it is. It’s astonishing that a Minecraft knock-off would be listed on the eShop at a higher price than Minecraft, but it’s truly mind-boggling that the actual game is in such a sorry state. Do not play PixARK.

Q2 keeps alive the tradition of Persona games having killer OSTs; Shoji Meguro might be the best composer in the business right now.

Much like Super Volley Blast, Super Tennis Blast is a very enjoyable arcade sports game that is a notch above comparable modern fare. It’s still a little rough around the edges, but with strong multiplayer fundamentals and an engaging career mode, this is a tennis game that deserves a place on the Switch next to Mario Tennis Aces.

Both Assassin's Creed III and Liberation are titles worth investing time into. They contain tons of content that’s fun, and the time setting makes for some interesting scenarios, but the technical issues for this Switch port aren’t worth the trade off for being able to play on the go. These issues aren’t bad enough that the Remastered editions on the Switch are an unplayable mess, but it’s still a mess regardless.

Despite its generally low amount of content, Anarcute is enough fun to keep you playing to the end, with the full package making it incredibly difficult to count the little game out. I found it impossible to ever be in a bad mood while playing this game, spending my sessions bouncing my foot to the incredibly upbeat soundtrack while sending my cat army to throw a gas truck at a group of fascists and shouting about how I was going to “tear down the PETriarchy”. It’s good old fashioned chaotic fun, and in the end it doesn’t really need to be anything else to succeed at what it’s going for.

If I have a grievance with European Conqueror X, it’s that there’s an enjoyable, robust, and competent turn-based strategy game at its core surrounded by nothing distinguishing. It satisfies that itch for its genre, but its dry presentation and impersonal nature might keep you from wanting to play for more than short intervals.

Gato Roboto might lean a little too heavily on homage, but never truly in a bad way. It might be more goofy than great and more adorable than original, but the game still delivers a pint-sized prance that comes together nicely even if it’s a little short. This follows through on the premise of Meowtroid extremely well.

Project Nimbus isn’t bad, it does too many things competently to deserve such a label. And it isn’t utterly bereft of fun; at times I was enjoying zipping around the battlefield launching autonomous drones to hunt down targets. However, the core gameplay loop just doesn’t sustain any feeling of satisfaction.

If you feel the need to revisit Wonder Boy or Adventure Island, which were ported to pretty much everything available in the late 80’s, you might give Wonder Boy Returns Remix a shot. For the rest of us, though, there are two much better Wonder Boy games on the Switch that you’ll probably enjoy a whole lot more.

​Little Friends delivers on its promises, but its failure to do more to capture my attention left me mildly disappointed. The dogs and cats are adorable, and there are many outfits to buy and customize. But after the daily feeding and watering of your friends is over, the gameplay becomes a little rote. Perhaps a more laid back player will find this charming game amusing enough to occupy their sparse free-time.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, while short, has a lot to offer thematically. It doesn’t show anything mind-blowingly new, but rather comes across like a beautiful amalgamation of the greatest hits from dark fairytale. It only scratches the surface of its own potential, but the beautiful scenery, music, themes, and interesting take on gameplay make it a definite title to check out.

Team Sonic Racing is the perfect addition to the Switch’s kart racing lineup. It’s a fast and exciting roller coaster of a racer with the style and spunk you’d expect from the Sonic series. While it doesn’t perform on the Switch as well as on other consoles, that doesn’t change the fun of speeding through this iconic universe.

The unfortunate optimization problems as well as the general gameplay may leave somebody who’s not a fan of survival games disappointed, but people already well acquainted with the genre will probably find it a thrilling and spooky experience if they give it a shot. Darkwood is a game with potential, and I certainly hope the developers take any lessons learned from it and return with the killer horror title they’ve come close to creating.

The Spring of 2019 has been a wonderful stroll down memory lane of Square Enix glory, and Final Fantasy XII is the high note it ends on. Featuring every quality-of-life improvement to date, and the ability to play in handheld or on a television at a moment’s notice, it’s an easy decision to call the Switch version the definitive experience. Final Fantasy XII may end up being the best of the franchise on Switch, but with so many titles still available, hopefully it won’t be the last.

Outbreak is sort of a fun mode, but it does get old quickly, and everything surrounding it is unexplained or prone to error messages, and I can see it becoming kind of gross in a free-to-play way. Blades of Time is bad, and you should not play it.

Any Castlevania fan would be doing a disservice to themselves by not picking up the Castlevania Anniversary Collection. With the ability to save replays and create a save state, choose from six different display options and three borders, and flip through a bonus book filled with cool art, history, and interviews, this anthology is a great value. I would have liked to see a sound test option built into the main menu, the ability to remap buttons, and multiple save files per game, but on the whole the Castlevania Anniversary Collection delivers.

Loot-driven action RPGs can find themselves in a pattern of being repetitive, relying on the desire for the next shiny piece of armor to keep players engaged. Lapis x Labyrinth certainly falls into that category, but unfortunately despite the huge number of items you earn, many tend to be downgrades. However, the diversity in each character type works to its advantage, promoting mixing and matching party members to help reduce the feeling of grinding in this outrageously stylistic 2D Action RPG.

Resident Evil has a storied history and the series has evolved over the years to feature a wide range of gameplay styles. Revisiting the core survival horror gameplay with an added modern control scheme proves to be a wonderful pairing. Featuring two characters for a majority of the adventure adds some interesting puzzle design, but also takes away from the feeling of isolation and dread. Fortunately the frightening and off-putting atmosphere helps to counteract that. While it isn’t the best of the classics, Resident Evil Zero still manages to deliver an authentic survival horror experience.

Despite shortcomings, the remake of the first Resident Evil title is a tense, exciting romp through a mansion that has a ton of creepy secrets. There are definite signs of aging here that make me appreciate current day luxuries, but once I got past those I enjoyed Resident Evil’s puzzles, scares and horrors.

It’s astonishing just how well RE4 has held up after nearly fifteen years, but it still managed to draw me in and keep me playing no matter what intermittent problems I ran into. There’s a reason this game has been so celebrated over the years, and if you’re like me and have been ignoring it for over a decade, then there’s no better time to see what the big deal is than right now.

Blazing Beaks is one of the Switch’s hidden eShop gems. Regardless of the potentially steep learning curve, the game always leads to lots of laughs. It’s best played with a group of friends to get the most enjoyment out of all the content that the game has to offer. If Blazing Beaks even remotely catches your eye, it is well worth a purchase.

There isn’t anything really bad about Sniper Elite V2 Remastered, but there also isn’t anything that’s particularly good either. The Remastered port itself is underwhelming, so I don’t think there’s much reason for fans of the series to take the opportunity to relive their memories of the original. Newcomers wouldn’t be making a mistake to pick up this game, but I can’t think of anything in the game that’s really worth going out of your way to check out. I’m really interested in the idea of a shooting game that’s leveraged on methodical and deliberate actions, but the level design in Sniper Elite V2 undermines its stealth mechanics so much that it ends up feeling like every other shooter on the market, but now with far less health and much harder aiming.

Overall, if you are already a fan of visual novels as a whole, Worldend Syndrome will probably be successful at drawing you in. If you’re not already a fan of the genre, it isn’t likely to change your mind. Between the lengthy prologue and the slightly disappointing shift in gameplay that comes after it, Worldend has a lot of potential for its storytelling that it constantly seems to put just out of reach in order to pad out its length and starve the player of interesting information until the very last second, before repeating the same process over and over again.

All told, Shalnor Legends isn’t trying to hide its source material, but this opens it up to serious criticism because it doesn’t do enough to differentiate itself. If you are going to make a Zelda-like, it’s important to either have a compelling hook or be great. Blossom Tales and Reverie are much stronger titles in this genre that found a way to be similar but also different from Nintendo’s legendary franchise in their own ways. Shalnor Legends pales in comparison to any Zelda game. The use of “Legend” in the title is the only real link between these worlds.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Champions managed to impress me in multiple ways. While the game looks nice enough, the presentation is purely background for some fantastic gameplay elements. The grid system and its approach are really fun to play around with and give you just tons to consider. That being said, the tutorial can be a bit confusing and throws you into the game proper with very little care. Once you get over that hump, you will find that it can be learned through a number of games. There are deliberate systems at play, but the game guides you to where you need to go.

All in all, Venture Kid is a retro platformer that plays fairly well, but lacks the excitement or inspiration of the Mega Man series it tried to model. With such a wide spectrum of games in this genre that push the limits of what an action-platformer is capable of, something so vanilla is going to get lost and overlooked. Unless this is the first such game you’ve ever played, you’ve likely seen everything offered here somewhere else.

If you’re not a Nintendo Switch Online subscriber, I can only recommend this if you’re desperate for the Tetris 99 experience against computers. There are better, fuller Tetris games out there - even Puyo Puyo Tetris is a fuller experience (and comes with a whole lot more).

If you’re a fan of the golden era 3D space shooters that permeated gaming in the mid to late 90s, I can virtually guarantee you’ll enjoy Strike Suit Zero. That being said, it is at best a solid and enjoyable entry in the genre that doesn’t do much to advance it. Its performance levels make it a bit of a rough ride as well. All that said, its grasp on the genre is solid enough that I still found myself having a very good time playing it. If you’re hankering for a classic 3D space shooter you can take on the go, give Strike Suit Zero a shot.

Cafeteria Nipponica is just fine. The game was able to pull me in multiple times, but also created way more dead air than I was good with. It does some unique things like improving recipes and concerning yourself with customers directly, but it follows that familiar template that Kairosoft managed to create.

Slime Tactics falls into the category of a game that is cool on paper but only decent at its execution. Tactical placement with a neat story twist is interesting but fails to provide the level of engagement I want. The continual upgrades kept me moving ahead but I was still ultimately frustrated by the entire package given the grind that was seemingly required to compensate for poor AI.

Duck Game has been of favorite indie party game for years on PC, and I’m so excited to finally be able to bring it with me wherever I go to convince more friends and coworkers to play it with me at any time. Even though it was made as a PC exclusive five years ago, it still feels like Duck Game was made for the easy pick-up-and-play-anywhere multiplayer that the Switch was first advertised with. Few games draw out as many laughs, screams, and curses among my friends as Duck Game does, and now that it’s available on Switch it’s going to be a cornerstone of my millennial rooftop parties for years to come.

Full Package should be retitled “Flawed Package” because there are a few issues here that are noticeable enough to hamper the experience. It’s prone to substantial bugs to the point where it freezes, and there’s just a dated feel to it, both in the humor and the visuals. However, while there are noticeable issues, the core sandbox gameplay is strong, and if there is one thing I can say about Saints Row: The Third, it’s definitely not boring.

Shadows of Adam is an enjoyable but familiar JRPG. It doesn’t do anything overly surprising, but its fun combat mechanics and humorous writing largely overshadow a by-the-numbers story. It isn’t overly challenging, but sometimes it’s nice to step away from the grind and the random battles and take on something more leisurely. Those who long for the plethora of similar titles from the SNES days will find a better than average adventure here that outclasses many of the budget releases currently on the eShop.

At its core, it’s still a super fun and well-crafted puzzle game. Despite issues with spinning up new players for the intended online eSports puzzle world, Puyo Puyo Champions has a smooth interface and a decent amount of options. It’s much more streamlined and optimized for multiplayer, though. This is a great option if you want to play this puzzler online against pros or locally with friends. If you crave a more light-hearted romp, Puyo Puyo Tetris is still available on this system and has a daffy story mode. Champions is primarily for the lionhearted.

The level of production found in Masquerada is above and beyond what I would have expected from a small team of 15 artists, programmers, and designers. From the impeccable writing to the beautiful music, everything about this game feels polished. Each and every character you meet is interesting and well developed, and the adventure is perfectly paced. Anyone with a passing fancy for RPGs and who loves a well thought out and engaging story would do well to give this title a look.

In a lot of ways, Final Fantasy X-2 could be considered the superior title to Final Fantasy X. The battle system has more variety, the tone is more upbeat and fun, but without the context of the events that occur in the first game, the story just won’t make a lot of sense. I definitely recommend exploring Spira during what should be the eternal calm, but not until after you’ve actually defeated Sin.

It effortlessly blends tabletop and video games into an enjoyable experience that claws at what both can excel at. Creating characters, exploring overworlds, battling through dungeons, and doing it all with a friend or two is a fun time. The roguelike design also helps make it a little more varied, making this great to break out at a game night. In a way, it’s like a tabletop campaign without a dungeon master. In the ideal circumstances, it’s electric and even just as a solo game, it’s a good ride.