When Yooka-Laylee was originally announced as a Kickstarter project by former Rare developers, it gave fans of the 3D platformer hope that a nearly dead genre could return to its former glory. It’s unfortunate, then, that Yooka-Laylee is no more than a mediocre attempt to capture nostalgia from the days of yore. In a year that has given us some truly innovative and special 3D platformers that pushed the genre to new heights, I can only really recommend pushing through Yooka-Laylee’s pedestrian campaign to the most enthusiastic of old Rare’s fans.

The best parts in Rebel Strike are nothing less than excellent, but the worst parts are so shamefully bad that they taint the entire experience. You can’t help but play through a level like "Trials of a Jedi", set on the planet Dagobah, without wondering what the hell the developers were thinking when they decided to keep it in the game.

Even with the occasional bout of frustration, Blek is mostly a marvel in how it’s designed. The organic way that it unfolds is amazing. While the Wii U version might not be the ideal way to experience it, Blek is still something worth looking at, even if it’s just as a curiosity.

KAMI is a fun little puzzler and gets a solid recommendation out of me.

If you’re looking for a unique game experience on the Switch that isn’t terribly expensive and will provide you with a few hours of varying challenges and laughs, Bulb Boy delivers quite handsomely. Especially since, for the moment, it has nothing comparable to go up against on the console, it is a breath of fresh air as well. As long as you keep your expectations for its length in check, little holds me back from recommending Bulb Boy to people in search of a little adventuring.

Overall Riptide GP Renegade provides a nice experience on the Switch. The XP and BP upgrade system provides a great amount of replayability, while the online and local split screen multiplayer means you can always play with other people whenever and wherever. Be warned though - the choppy frame rate in handheld mode can be a damper on the overall fluid dynamic, so you may want to plan on playing this docked. Otherwise, if you're a fan of Wave Race or racing games in general Riptide GP Renegade would be a great addition to your Switch library.


All in all, I really enjoyed my playthrough of Serial Cleaner. The stealth gameplay combined with the puzzling environment worked together well by both keeping my attention and baffling my brain. The whole 70s aesthetic and music are fantastic and complement the small story set aside from the main missions. While the controls can feel inconsistent at times, the experience as a whole was very enjoyable. Sure, it’s fun to bring on the onslaught - but who knew it would be so much fun to clean up after.

Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is the dungeon crawler I've been waiting for. The way you build up characters and use them in battle is so incredibly well put together. Everything you do to prepare feels important, and readies you for what comes next. Naturally there are a few things to be said about the story's setup and the not-so-massive enemy count, but this can be forgiven in the grand scheme of things. The game knows what it wants to be, and I gladly spent well close to 100 hours seeing it all through. If you are looking for a game that will keep you going, Labyrinth of Refrain has your back.

Overall, if you’re a fan of the De Blob series or if you’re just looking for a nice and peaceful game to add to your Switch library, I’d recommend giving this one a shot and letting your inner graffiti artist run wild.

Alwa’s Awakening is a great investment for those who grew up with old-school Castlevania games or those who prefer Zelda II to The Legend of Zelda. It’s not fast-paced or action-packed, but it has plenty of nostalgia and is well-suited to those who prefer jumping to shooting, spell-casting to sword-swinging. Well, how can I forget you, Zoe? When there’s always another Metroidvania to remind me.

X-Morph: Defense is a terrific pick up for someone who enjoys twin-stick shoot-‘em-ups but is looking for some more variety other than just blasting everything on screen. The tactical strategy required to complete levels added solid replayability and allowed me to try multiple ways to creatively destroy the human race. Other than the piercing guilt of destroying my homeland of Canada, I had a really fun experience with X-Morph and can place it firmly on my recommended list.

Iron Crypticle boasts a fascinating power-up system that revolves around building up combo chains by collecting pieces of food dropped by enemies. It’s not articulated particularly well and can lead to some confusion at first, but once fully understood it proves to be a lot of fun. The pace of the game tends to be a bit slow, especially on early floors which don’t present as much of a challenge as later floors. However, branching paths, local co-op, multiple difficulties, and even online leaderboards help round out the overall package.

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.

Headliner is a short experience of just a few hours, mainly built to play over and over again to see how different decisions change how the story goes. Many interesting choices exist for you to make within Headliner, some I can’t say I was overly comfortable with making. The game has a lot to say and not much interest in whether or not it’s exactly what you want to hear. I think it’s an interesting experience that anybody with an interest in politics should absolutely check out, and its “no perfect solution” approach is very interesting even if it is oversimplified. The heavy handedness and the lack of gameplay variety make this game feel hard to recommend.

Hexagroove: Tactical DJ may take just a little time to explore, but I found it super engaging. This music game requires you to think about every decision you make, and teaches you how you can play the virtual crowd. There are plenty of musical loops and timing elements to keep you replaying levels and going wild in Freestyle. The minigames may prove a little too demanding at points, but that is only a slight niggle in an otherwise superb journey throughout this musical experience. Overall, Hexagroove is a nice surprise through and through.

Eyes of Ara is an excellent point-and-click adventure that gets bogged down in its final moments. Up until then, progress is smooth with excellently designed and balanced puzzles throughout. The docked controls are functional but handheld play is where Eyes of Ara really shines. If you’re part of the ever more niche crowd who still enjoys clicking their way through a complex environment, reading journals, and solving deep puzzles, Eyes of Ara ought to satisfy.

Overall, Candleman is a wonderful experience for anyone who enjoys platform games or just great artwork, even in a simpler form. It is a cute and inspirational game that is easy to pick up and play through a section as needed, or binge it all in one sitting.

Lord of the Rings: The Adventure Card Game is charming, if stunted by some inconsistent voice acting and less polished user interface. While some might have wished for player-versus-player options included, the single-player focus allows the card game to hone-in on its core strength – engaging narrated storytelling tied into a solid card game foundation. If you are a lone ring bearer rather than part of a fellowship, this could be a precious experience to you.

Arcade Spirits features a detailed character customization at the outset, but that’s the best thing it has going. The somewhat interesting story is weighed down by lackluster characters and boring visuals. The voice acting is okay, but not all of the dialogue is voiced: some lines have no audio, some have a brief character refrain, and others are fully voiced. Ultimately, the dialogue and points system just wasn’t engaging enough to keep me fully invested in the narrative, and its comedy leanings prevented the romance elements from feeling genuine. It doesn’t help that the writing is littered with far too many pop culture and gaming references. Those who devour visual novels like Gauntlet would devour quarters might find Arcade Spirits worth playing through, but everyone else should probably cash in their prize tickets for something else.

Death Come True is a great FMV game from a creative mind. The characters and choices you make are really interesting, and everything is wrapped up quite nicely. I don't think players will have anything to return to in the long term, but the experience is enjoyable while it lasts. Hop into a strange hotel and let the journey take care of you.

Super Punch Patrol is very clearly a painstakingly accurate love letter to classic beat-’em-ups. What's fascinating is it manages to invoke this without the need for a throwback art style. It draws on its inspiration in gameplay rather than presentation, which is very refreshing. Of course the difficulty will scare some off, but fans of the genre will absolutely want to give Super Punch Patrol a shot. Grab a friend, and fight your way through these crime filled streets as you punch your way to justice.

Overall, Cake Bash is an immensely charming experience that may or may not be worth the price of admission depending on the individual. I, for one, will absolutely be busting this treat out at parties once the opportunity arises.

I know Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate is a good game because I’m devoting small amounts of time to it. When I have 20 minutes to spare I’m calculating whether or not loading it up would be worth it. Success in game gives me the feeling that I did something clever. The side stories are interesting and I want to know how they turn out, and it’s a beautiful world to spend time in. I have a real feeling of regret knowing there is a lot of content here that I will never see. There are numerous aspects of Shiren the Wanderer that I couldn’t find a way to jam into this review like how allies function, the over 100 optional sokoban puzzles, the Minesweeper-like dungeon, creating new items at the Tanuki lottery house, fusing items together for new effects, and much more. For anyone wanting to dive into a game with real depth, this is a great one.

"Press Jump to Die" perfectly describes the difficulty posed in Gonner2. It’s a brutal unapologetic platformer roguelike that shows its style at all angles. In the character design, unnerving minimalist soundtrack, and world building there’s something special here. The game does a lot with a little and in the end it’s tricky to decipher what. That’s just up to you to “press jump.”

Vigil: The Longest Night absolutely holds its own, both in 2D adventure games, as well as in the glut of Souls-alikes that have emerged in recent years. It’s fast, fun and rewarding to players who manage to overcome the initial similarities to FROM Software’s series, and manages to carve its own unique take on the formula, with strong narrative and combat hooks to support it. If only those load times could let us get to the action sooner.

The Blizzard Arcade Collection is a product of not only slavish devotion to the original releases, but also a glow up that presents the trio of classic games with its best presentation yet. The addition of rewind and save states lets newcomers experience them without having to beat their heads against the wall. Even better, the tome of special features and developer interviews shows a devotion from Blizzard to make this collection a true historical document that too many classic game collections lack. Even for those who haven’t played the originals, this is a package I’m happy to recommend to anyone.

Whether I was being threatened by Jarod, having deep personal conversations with John, or being made audience to the circus that is Stan and Mitch, I found myself continuing to go back for more over and over with Road 96. If you want a deeply political and sometimes downright scary experience, this is the place to be. Add to that a fantastic soundtrack of both folk style music and electronic synthwave that really hits the ‘90s vibe, and Road 96 is an experience you will not soon forget.

Ocean’s Heart is a tremendous experience even with some rough edges. It’s evocative of the likes of Minish Cap in all the best ways and succeeds at being more organic and open than a lot of similar games. I’d love to see this game’s foundation build and grow because the promise is immense, but even if this is the peak of Ocean’s Heart’s developer Max Mraz, it’s still an enjoyable game.

All in all, Cloud Gardens is definitely a title that leans more towards experience than game, but its classification matters much less than how it feels to play around with its tools or the positive message it espouses. By focusing on creating and elevating green spaces, we can return our world to one where nature is in harmony and a balance is struck between humanity’s footprint and mother nature’s embrace. Spending a few minutes or even a few hours experimenting with Cloud Gardens feels like a worthwhile endeavor.

The experience isn’t altogether bad, but it does leave something to be desired. The ideas don’t come together in a way that makes this title stand above the property it’s based on.

I would’ve better enjoyed any one of these systems had they been more fully fleshed out. As well, the game is certainly visually impressive but lacks depth to its mechanics and character growth. I’m incredibly happy to see more cultural representation in games, but I wanted more from the story than what Thirsty Suitors was giving me. It’s an outlandish take on the Scott Pilgrim story but lacks the same kind of fun.

It’s probably not fair to say that the Rocket Knight Adventures games are bad, because when they were originally released (1993 & 1994) they were probably very good, and in fact while doing research on the series, I was surprised to find they were reviewed quite favorably. This was, of course, during a time when degree of difficulty was a positive thing. I don’t think they hold up particularly well, but perhaps I should be grateful that they’re being preserved somehow, a window into the 16-bit era that I grew up with, but have mostly left behind. I suppose if you’ve been itching to revisit Sparkster’s adventures, this is the best way to do it.

Magical Delicacy is a difficult game for me to write about. There are a lot of little points of frustration which at times made me want to stop playing, but then another piece of the world or another crafting puzzle would bring me back. These pain points are most easily felt early on in the game, which is a shame because I think it will stop a lot of people from playing before they can experience all the delights that Magical Delicacy has to offer. Perhaps this makes Magical Delicacy a particularly apt title - this game is a bit of an acquired taste, but there’s nothing quite like it.

Fear the Spotlight is a fun time, though it’s quite short and a smidge underwhelming–for somebody who has played every Silent Hill and most of the mainline Resident Evil games. For a newcomer curious about this genre, Fear the Spotlight provides an excellent entry point.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind does an admirable job of channeling the ‘90s show and video game era. The Rangers themselves are a bit hard to distinguish in terms of how they play, which makes subsequent playthroughs a bit less enticing, but there are stage objectives to complete for those so inclined. While the different stage types keep the action from getting stale, the Megazord segments are a bit of a letdown in terms of both gameplay and presentation. All in all, seeing another decades-old property brought back for another ride that plays well and hits those nostalgic notes is a welcome fourth quarter addition to the Switch’s stable of brawlers.

Worms Armageddon: Anniversary Edition is a good, faithful port of a classic PC game, for better and for worse. If you’re a fan of the series, it’s an enjoyable way to play it despite the clunky controls, but if you’re a new player you should expect a steep learning curve. The classic Worms games are neat to play around with for an hour or two, but are not worth buying the game just to see.

While it can be played perfectly well with a controller, the Switch 2 version does also have mouse controls, which are a great fit for all the scrolling and planting you need to do, in addition to GameShare functionality for the multiplayer modes. Its focus on being a remaster of the first Plants vs. Zombies means it doesn’t have all of the new plant types introduced in later sequels. Still, it’s a great tower defense entry point and a welcome reminder of how much we rely on Mother Nature, even during a zombie outbreak.

a great launch game that offers fun gameplay and an awesome use of 3D.

Art Academy is great piece of software that is well worth your time and money, provided you don't have access to cheaper and basically identical DSiWare apps.. My only gripe about the game is that you cannot export your photos, which may be enough to turn some people off from enrolling.

With its awesome sound design, diverse gameplay, great pacing, and usually fluid visuals, Call of Duty: World at War is a great package and easily one of the best first-person shooters ever developed for a handheld system.

Nano Assault has enough issues, whether it's the roughness of the on-rails sections or the face button directional shooting, that it might turn off some players, but if you want some fast-paced and focused shooter action that looks damn fine and can get addictive, Shin'en's latest is well worth your time.

Despite some apprehensive dalliances with repetition, I loved ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove. The sublime style drips with funk, and the cadence of roaming through floors using my presents to try to avoid failure and find my ship parts is one that made for a charming experience. It didn’t matter if I saw some of the same things several times over my multiple playthroughs. The whole thing is spectacularly goofy and weird, even if I eventually do figure out why the hell the yeti has a pencil.

Ayo the Clown is visually adorable and full of so much charm that you can’t help but love the little guy and the world that Cloud M1 has created. I am looking forward to what else they can create; I wonder if Ayo the Clown 2 could be on the horizon? With a little polishing of controls, character models and the town function, who knows what heights Ayo could float to.

Collecting Elebits in a 2D setting becomes tedious after just a short time; however, the game excels where it emulates two of its adventure brethren, Zelda and Pokémon.

Easily one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve witnessed in terms of gaming... One of the most complex, yet user friendly sports games I’ve ever played.

At the end of a long day of driving and parking cars, Very Very Valet is pretty, pretty good in terms of delivering a fresh co-op experience. It doesn’t directly relate to food prep, and that’s a definite plus in a genre filled with similar activities.

Overall, Ice Age 3 is one of the best Wii games I’ve played so far this year. Its variety and high production values kept me motivated, and for Pete’s sake, I got to ride around on a Pachycephalosaurus and headbutt other dinosaurs!

The game’s biggest strength is in how well it establishes the tone and feeling of the console CoD4 games. The fast pace, mission structure, and gameplay are all distinctly Call of Duty, and everything performs beautifully.

Fun is the simplest word to describe Feel the Magic. You will not find a more zany, unique, and varied game available. The story, graphical style, and games blend together to create a truly one of a kind experience.

While the more frustrating points of the game may turn away those looking for a more streamlined experience, the amount of content here makes Denpa Men 3 a great value for those who feel up to the challenge.

Cindered Shadows truly takes the playstyle of pre-Awakening Fire Emblem: map after map, limited things to do to prep, and forcing budgeting for most of the time. The maps themselves are about the same difficulty as about a chapter from 17 to 20 in the base game, but without the backup of possibly having higher-end classes. That said, it was still a fun experience, and the new options provided by having the Ashen Wolves in my class make me want to get back on the bike and finish the storylines I’ve yet to play myself.

Jurassic World Evolution looks great on my TV, and while it’s perfectly serviceable in handheld mode, there’s definitely a graphical hit—everything looks much fuzzier. Depending on what scenario you’re playing in, you’ll hear some famous legacy voices, most notably Jeff Goldblum introducing the game and chiming in every now and then to give a warning about whatever the project division heads are suggesting. I really enjoy Jurassic World Evolution, despite my historical distaste for city/park sims. I’m sure this is mostly due to the dinosaurs themselves, but it’s also not overly complicated.

While ISLANDERS: Console Edition can sometimes feel like a slightly frustrating experience with both its core mechanic of abandoning progress and irritating controls, I’ve still found myself returning to it again and again on Switch. It’s a relaxing little puzzle game that just put me in a fantastic zenlike mood and let my brains focus on finding simple solutions to achieve my own goals. I think that it works wonders for short pick up and play sessions and as something to just keep installed on your Switch to return to over time. I wish the controls were a bit more refined and that some buildings came with a few more tips on where to place them. But for this small package, it has quite a lot of content that kept me satisfied. If you were to send me off to a deserted island and I could only bring one game, this one would certainly be on my list of choices.

The game is easy to pick up, but as the levels continue it becomes clear that the frustrations are not going to be eased, and the various modes are just repeating something you've already played.

Simple and addictive.

A pretty terrible port of an excellent PC title. The trick to enjoying the GameCube incarnation will be coming to terms with the control and graphic inadequacies.

Spin the Bottle: Bumpie's Party is not a game per se, but a fun multiplayer experience in its own right.

It’s a perfect gateway drug to nonogram puzzles if you’ve never tried them before. And if you’re a Picross vet hankering for more, this is well worth diving into as long as you’re okay with the fact that, if you want to play this free-to-start game without mindlessly repeating puzzles ad nauseum, you’re going to have to spend some money.

A strong base game is at the core of I Am Setsuna, but it’s surrounded by some very depressing environments that make getting the best of the battle system difficult. Bundle up and get ready for a short story with a lot of snow.

You could sum up Bloodroots as a derivative of Hotline Miami, but the final product stands farther apart from that game. The weapon variety and depth gives different levels a distinct personality and the world itself offers a bombastic, naturalistic cartoony style. But what I keep coming back to as my favorite part of Bloodroots is its versatility. The action is ultimately easy to grasp, requiring only three buttons, but you can stylishly do so much with those base ideas thanks to the oodles of weapons and smartly designed levels. Paper Cult stuck the landing on this vibrantly violent game.

Despite some annoyances with the difficulty and a few lame power-ups, the game is incredibly rewarding when you finally complete a difficult level or reach a new high score.

From fighting your favorite enemies to building a town from nothing, there’s plenty to do in One Piece Unlimited World Red.

At the end of the day, Ministry of Broadcast has a lot of charm. With its interesting setting and its hilarious, sarcastic sense of humor there’s a good chance you might be able to force your way through some of the more frustrating parts. However, others may find that those frustrating sequences happen more often than deemed acceptable to put up with. Add the fact that every death leads to a crow taking an antagonistic shot at the player, an aspect that has an ability to be funny one second and incredibly annoying the next, and Ministry of Broadcast becomes a game in which the term “your mileage may vary” heavily applies.

A fantastic game. It has some very solid writing, a great set of characters, interesting (if easy) battles, and great replayability. Strange artifacts from the porting process dog the game, but not so much as to greatly affect my feelings towards it.

Another World remains an utterly brilliant game. No matter if you use the classic or modern visuals, the game has a true alien feel to it. In addition, the trial and error gameplay is as addicting as it was those many years ago. While the game is extremely short, I did find myself continuously loving how the production value stayed intact. That is something worth celebrating.

Having The Ezio Collection together in a single package like this is the ideal way to experience these games. These are incredible games that, while showing their age, remain a joy to experience. There are absolutely weaker moments that feel a bit repetitive, but there are also plenty of reminders as to why these games are so highly revered. Assassin’s Creed Revelations in particular is easily one of the best entries in the entire series. This Switch release certainly has some drawbacks, and it's arguable that a straight port of the original games at a higher resolution might have yielded better results than this down-port of the remasters, but the net result remains positive. Performance is overall a significant improvement over the original releases and still a superior way to play. It’s unfortunate that Ubisoft has decided to work their way backwards through the original Assassin’s Creed story arc with their Switch releases, but even if you haven’t played the original, this trilogy holds up incredibly on its own.

Do you know the feeling when you play that game's sequel and even though it improves on the previous game and delivers new features and modes, the warts become clearer and it doesn't feel as new and awesome? That's what I experienced with Madden NFL 11.

I feel like I say this with a lot of games, but I really enjoyed Steel Assault until I didn’t anymore. Up to that point, it was really fun, and I have to commend Zenovia Interactive on their effective graphical filters, which are a big part of the appeal.

The game design for each mini-game is very solid, and the card game is also strategic without the need for an encyclopedic knowledge of the rules.

Overall I found A Little to the Left to be enjoyable in the moment, but after playing I rarely have thought about the game since. The puzzles are very clever and the way they are seemingly integrated into real life objects and locations makes A Little to the Left stand out from many other puzzle games. It should be very accessible to people who do not play a lot of games, even though I felt that by the end that the game had run out of steam and felt a bit too abstract for its own good. While the Switch version performs fine enough, the controls did feel like a drag when using a gamepad, which caused me to play the game in handheld mode with touch screen controls. A Little to the Left has a clear and unique identity among other puzzle games and while it won’t last you an entire weekend there is enough here for those looking for a new type of puzzling challenge.

Chibi Robo has a fun and distinctive charm to it. The characters are all a bit quirky.

Based on the developer name I went in assuming the writing would include top notch humor and I wasn’t disappointed. The dialogue between Flux and Juicebox is well written and a wonderful reward for completing tasks. As long as you don’t mind the slower pace and simplistic combat, Crashlands is a fun way to help a space trucker reach retirement.

It's an able ambassador of the "throw-in-a-bit-of-everything" philosophy these games have fostered for the past few years.

Minor issues aside, escapeVektor still packs a lot; in addition to the story and online leaderboards, the game features a variety of achievement-like badges, and every level has four high score medals.

Overall, Nidhogg 2 is a successful follow-up to the dynamite original, instantly making this one of the must-have local multiplayer games on Switch. Not much is there for the solo player, though the online multiplayer is nice. The ideal setup is a slew of friends passing off controllers in the tournament mode, but even in less than ideal multiplayer scenarios, it’s still a chaotic and wacky blast.

The core gameplay in Breakout Beyond is great, but I wish it would go beyond in terms of content and options. There are 72 levels and, after that, an endless mode with a leaderboard, but why is the endless mode gated behind the levels? Why is there a leaderboard only for the endless mode, when it would be fun to see how far other players could take each level? I don’t want to get bogged down in comparisons to other games, but having played the fantastic Tetris Forever earlier this year it makes me want to see some other modes or extras, perhaps adding in the original arcade version of Breakout or even the Atari 2600 version. These few wishes aside, I really enjoyed my time with Breakout Beyond and I know I”ll return from time to time to play more. While I do wish there were some more modes or options, at the end of the day this shows the simple genius of an arcade classic very well.

The wait for NightSky on a Nintendo platform has been long, and, unfortunately, may not have been worth it. While the graphical and aural presentation is worth celebrating, the actual gameplay comes up short, feeling like the primitive form of a much better game.

It's absolutely jam-packed with features and if you're someone who already has Shovel Knight, it's a heck of a free addition. As a solitary game, it's a much harder sell. Like you said, it's more of a curio or bonus than something that could stand solely on its own.

When No More Heroes III is good, it’s really good, and I keep finding myself wishing other action games played like it from time to time. But when I really sit down and think about playing the game, it’s tough to remember any particular moment outside of the boss fights because they all blended together; my strongest memories are those of frustration as I desperately struggled to push through the bullshit to get to the stuff that was actually fun. Even the game’s style and technical performance are wildly inconsistent between the sublime combat and sterile overworld. It feels half-baked in the most literal sense, with one half being cooked to perfection, and the other half still cold from the freezer. I just can’t shake the feeling that I’m the one doing something wrong, because I’m just not sure how a game can be so incredibly good, and yet so very bad.

Super Princess Peach is cute, delightfully absurd, and a true-blue Mario game, but still a bit easy. It's probably worth fifty clams to a hardcore Mario fan, but maybe a bit iffy for someone looking for a challenge. [JPN Import]

It may not provide the technical challenge other video games boast, but for anyone who enjoys a different, more story-centric style, there are few other places to look.

I'm not mad at Shakedown: Hawaii, just disappointed. Vblank demonstrated a deep understanding of mechanics-based story cohesion in its last release, but that seems to be forgotten here. The disconnect between plot and play in Shakedown leave both shallow and underwhelming.

Bit.Trip Fate is, sadly, one of the weakest entries in the Bit.Trip series.

That's the whole game: an arcade mode that takes an hour or two to get through and the little bonus features. It's no ten-thousand-hour item-finding level-gaining marathon, just an honest arcade-style game. Beat it, and you're done.

All in all, Pocket Rumble’s goal of being a fighting game for everyone was accomplished. This is great for newcomers and veterans of retro fighters as this one is easy to learn and hard to master. Just keep in mind, if you’re looking for anything to collect or any sort of progression besides just ranking yourself up, you won’t find it here. The authentic retro style and addicting gameplay, however, is still worth your time– especially if you want something that you can pick up and play in quick and insanely fun bursts.

Sure, the game isn't quite the innovative title it was in 2012, but the puzzles are still challenging enough to leave the player feeling like they've accomplished something once they finish the epilogue. It's a worthwhile addition to the Switch's library, and fans of other escape-the-room titles will get a real kick out of it for the few hours it lasts.

Doraemon: Story of Seasons combines the two series into a wonderful new experience on Switch. There’s nothing here that breaks the mold, but that is the charm of Story of Seasons: it feels comfortable and easy to get into, and this iteration definitely goes out of its way to help you ease into the gameplay. If you can get through the excruciatingly long introduction, this is a well polished, beautifully-drawn version of Story of Seasons that anyone familiar with the series will love.

Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling might be the first fandisc on the Switch that manages to do to the original what Pokemon Platinum did to Diamond and Pearl: the second attempt completely subsumed the original. There are even reminder points as to what happened with each of the suitors in the original six paths, so newcomers - or people like me who played the original at launch 30 months ago - can jump in and quickly pick up what is being laid down. And with the improved text, it’s a no brainer to pick up the sequel.

Overall, Black Future ‘88 is stylish and fun, but the experience feels fleeting. Once you’ve played a few runs or tried the assist mode, it’s possible that you’ve seen most of what’s on offer. Unlocking new characters, weapons, and perks adds replay value, as do the daily challenges, but it’s more the cool visuals and action gameplay that make this one worth picking up. Two-player co-op is another nice feature. If your first impression of Black Future ‘88 is positive, I would say give it shot, but a lack of depth and variety keep it from reaching greater heights.

Bleed mostly does a good job of making the most out of its relatively simple design, with the time slowing mechanic resulting in a unique feel that sets it apart from other run and gun games. The checkpoints and upgrades, as well as variable difficulty settings, make it very accessible in a way you don’t always see in this genre. Bleed is yet another compelling indie experience on the Switch eShop.

I truthfully didn’t expect The Flame in The Flood to make the impression on me that it did. It’s easily the best survival game I’ve ever played, all the way from its satisfying gameplay to its masterful audio design. In the veritable long river of eShop games on Switch right now, this is one worth making sure you’ve got enough food and water to last a couple weeks.

This is an essential entry into the greater view of video game history and I’m so happy that a collection like this exists.

Pac-Man Museum + is a lot to chew on, as there are many upsides to this package. The selection is good, there’s plenty of replayability, the leaderboards are nice, and a few stand-out titles can be found within. Plus, you really can’t beat the entry price being so low. But sadly, it’s a package that is bogged down with a handful of control issues and a lack of options. In a collection celebrating a character via a customizable arcade, it’s unfortunate there isn’t as much care put into the customization of the player experience. Will I still be playing it often? Absolutely. A handful of these titles both promote Pac-Man’s historic legacy, while standing on their own. Others, however, get lost in a game that is ironically all about mazes.

Broken Sword 5 delivers a competent point-and-click, with a cast of colorful characters, a rollicking-if-cheesy adventure, and solid puzzle design. Some minor issues with gameplay and puzzle design don’t harm the game’s quality too much, and in such an undeserved genre they’re forgivable. The biggest issue with the game is that it is a bit too married to convention both in plot and gameplay. Broken Sword 5 won't stick with like classics of the point-and-click Golden Age, but it’s still a solid adventure and I’ll be keeping my eyes open for future (and past) travels of George and Nico.

The gameplay loop of riding to places, exploring a bit, grabbing patients, and moving back is extremely novel and engaging. With every mission introducing unique attributes, it is always a delight to see what curve The Stretchers throws at you next. There were a few minor problems, mostly with precise movements, but never anything that soured the fun. Overall though, I can't help but admire the things Tarsier Studios put in. The Stretchers is a good time.

Swords & Soldiers II is a follow-up that is exciting for lovers of the original.

While there are some things lacking about the game (specifically anything Wii-centric), Shattered Dimensions is a very fun, worthwhile Spider-Man game that genuinely feels different and engaging.

The time control aspects are quite innovative and bring variety to the game. The adventure and trap dodging are wonderful and challenging.