Though the game's stylus-based controls are tight, and for a while seems to offer a nice distraction, it soon becomes a chore to pick it up at all. With little story incentive and no hope for variety, you probably won't make it past the halfway mark.

For those who are looking to recapture their memories of playing the original game just as it was, the Switch version is a fine means of relishing in that. As a video game releasing in 2019, however, new players should be cautious and, at the very least, aware of what they are getting into. Players who are familiar with the mechanics could complete the campaign in about 12 hours, while several to many more hours will be added for those who are new. If players want to discover what Star Wars games used to be like before the arrival of November’s Jedi: Fallen Order, this is a reasonable point of comparison. After all, 2002 seems like a long time ago when it comes to cinematic action-adventure game design. Sunshine, Metroid Prime, and Wind Waker all hold up as game experiences from this era. Jedi Outcast is far, far away from doing so.

Federation Force is absolutely a Metroid Prime game. It incorporates fresh ideas and presents them in unique ways, but it never forgets where it comes from. The co-op online shooter genre is a bold new venture for Nintendo, and one they’ve taken to with surprising aptitude. The odd lack of a retry button ads a noticeable hiccup to an otherwise wonderful experience, but it is one that is easily overcome with a little patience.

It’s a shame as the game isn’t terrible, but its good ideas are poorly executed–making a potentially great game feel unsatisfactory in the end.

Puzzle fans will find a lot to love in Vesta. The game goes beyond simple tasks to a fully fleshed-out experience with beautiful graphics and an intriguing storyline. While the pacing can be slow and certain puzzles frustrating if you don’t follow the correct sequence on the first try, this is a perfect title to pick up and chill out with. The levels can vary in length, but overall aren’t that long, lending itself well to short play sessions while on the go.

There’s a lot about Farmagia that I liked. I like a lot of these elements that are put together; the character design is great; some of the writing is funny and charming. It also ran very well on Switch, which is impressive given how many monsters could be on screen at one time. I enjoyed a lot of the writing with the elemental spirits, for example, and I think this is an incredibly solid concept. Ultimately, for having so many mechanics, all of them ended up feeling half-baked. Farmagia in a lot of ways feels like a first draft, and I’d love to see these mechanics pared down and refined in a future game. Farmagia needed a little bit longer to grow, and I hope another game can pay attention to this in the future.

All in all League of Evil is a very hard but ultimately just simply okay platformer. Even when its tendrils sunk into me, technical hiccups like unresponsive controls and shoddy level design, accompanied with a fairly obtuse level constructor, held this back from being a true gem on the eShop. As a fan of difficult platformers, I certainly enjoyed my time, but if that's not up your alley, you might want to steer clear of this flawed (but fun) title. 


The Quiet Collection is a good set of games that mixes a relaxing playing style with a good amount of humor and cleverness. There’s no real replay value in any of the individual games, but I found it a fun game to play with others as well, and watch them try to figure it out in a different way than you may have.

While some of its design choices may be divisive, Puzzle Adventure Blockle is an attractive and well-executed single-player puzzle experience.

Puzzle Puppers is a good, solid game that shouldn’t take too much time to get value out of. It’s one of those games that won’t keep you busy for days on end, but is nice to pick up and play for some pretty clever brain teasers. It does good on providing a warm, loveable aesthetic while providing quick and easy gameplay.

Unless you’re extremely against the principle of free-to-play games, Pokémon Café Mix is a delightful little puzzle game with some neat ideas and an adorable visual presentation. It’s a gentle game for tough times.

Rez Plz aims to do one thing really well: co-op puzzle platforming. And it does do that really well. If you’re in the position to play through this fully in co-op, I recommend it wholeheartedly. However, if your only option is single-player? Take heed. Rez Plz relies heavily on the two-player experience. It’s nice the solo option exists, but I can’t say it’s very good. Thankfully, the co-op is a lot of fun.

Overall I really would recommend NUTS if you are into narrative-driven games with a solid and interesting game mechanic. However, I cannot in good conscience recommend the Switch version. The UI is very hard to manage without any touch controls. The visual design harms the experience, and there are frequent framerate stutters and hiccups while playing the later levels. I enjoyed the premise and the ideas the game presents, but within this context the Switch version does not do the game justice. There is nut much to be gained here.

If you want to play Tekken against your friends locally on the go, then Tekken 3D Prime Edition is perfect for you. For anyone wanting a decent single-player experience or a consistent online experience, you're better off looking into one of the other fighting games on the system, as Tekken 3D Prime Edition fails both in a single-player experience and online.

And ultimately, that's my biggest problem with this game: Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two is just so unmemorable compared to the original. The new stuff is either bland or doesn't work, and the level design is a little worse than in Epic Mickey. It is not a bad game, and is technically solid in most respects, but what could have been an incredible bookend to the Wii library is now a beacon of missed potential.

With Oniken, what you see is what you get, and your first impression of the game is probably spot on. If you miss your friendly, Tecmo ninja man, you might want to give this one a look. For everyone else, leave this one in 20XX.

Blanc, on the whole, is a fun, short experience that barely makes it out without overstaying its welcome. By the end, I was ready to call this journey a successful, but sometimes frustrating one. It’s great for a date night, but any longer would be too much. Its story is simple and inconsequential. Blanc also has a single player option, but it’s absolutely miserable. Controlling one character per Joy-Con is an annoying experience I wouldn’t suggest. The real stand out here is the soundtrack. I would put this soundtrack in the same tier as games like Hollow Knight and Ori and the Blind Forest. My biggest takeaway is that the Blanc soundtrack should be on everyone’s playlists, even if the game itself shouldn’t.

The directed single-player experience is fun, and is at its best when you're sneaking around, silently taking out foes. The multiplayer might be more Call of Duty than GoldenEye 64, but it still carries some nostalgia. Unfortunately, you can't really relive the screen-watching glory days on DS.

Sonic Gems Collection is packed with rare games, but "rare" is frequently confused with "good". Is this disc interesting enough to rent? Absolutely. Is it worth $30? Not really.

While Another Lost Phone: Laura’s Story has noble intentions, it doesn’t have a heart. The first game was about leaning on others and drawing strength from a community; this one is just about reading someone’s texts.

YU-NO is a monumentally impressive piece of the genre’s history that finds ways to impress even today, but perhaps it’s best not to load a jewel placed back in the 90s and travel back to a time when “sex sells” was the core tenant of the visual novel framework.

This legend ultimately isn’t very legendary, stumbling in way too many places to get a good grade. You’re better off replaying Twilight Princess if you want something epic, or watching Lord of the Rings if you want something with Frodo Baggins in it!

This Game Freak game might not be for everyone, but if you’re looking for an adorable aesthetic amped up by hardcore CCG-inspired combat, Little Town Hero might be made specifically for you, because it seems like it’s that way for me.

It manages to stick to the source material and present a decent amount of enjoyment, and it does so with a good amount of style.

It's amazingly accessible for young players, features a proactive character for girls, and is a great way to introduce children to the adventure genre. And although long-time gamers will find the game to almost run on automatic, it also features a fast-paced crime story with surprise twists, and some smooth art.

You just boot up the game, enjoy it for almost 100 seconds, and move on. You can come back and play later, but there's no need to.

Dragon Fantasy is a fun game while it lasts. It feels like a title that’s starting to get really fun right as the game ends.

With a nice variety of puzzles and mechanics that will keep you engaged, it certainly deserves a shot.