After spending time with Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD, I’m still confused as to why this specific game was the pick to revive the franchise. The 10 mini-games included aren’t that strong and the main game is mediocre at best, dragged down by the motion-focused level design and abysmal boss battles. On one hand, I was happy to play Super Monkey Ball again, but on the other, I wish I could play a better Super Monkey Ball game.

The supernatural elements in the game had me interested right away, but the interface issues and the tone of the narration kept pulling me out of the experience.

Mosaic was a game I wanted to love. Adventure titles that offer deep storytelling are some of my favorite experiences in the genre, and Mosaic had everything lined up to be truly special. Unfortunately, a little bit too much monotony, a control scheme you will be fighting throughout, and major performance issues make this a game that will have you looking for a way to alleviate your frustrations. Hopefully a patch comes to fix the performance issues in what could have been a fairly decent experience.

Just in terms of the big picture of the overall experience Torchlight 3 has sort of a Frankensteined-together feel, lacking in cohesion and polish. Given the presence of not only Diablo on the platform, but other strong contenders like Victor Vran that deliver a more exciting experience, unfortunately this Torchlight entry just fizzles out a bit.

No matter how much you love Star Trek, no one can escape the curse of off-screen objects.

It’d be nice if the Shipgirl fights were more visually interesting, but Crosswave looks a little too much like a mid-tier Playstation Vita game for my tastes. All of the dialogue is fully voiced...in Japanese, which is something (and also diagnostic of most Vita games). On the other hand, Crosswave already features Neptune from the Neptunia franchise--and I have to assume that the other Goddesses will move in eventually. That’s probably not enough to keep me coming back, though. If you like anime-based visual novels, you might get something out of Azur Lane: Crosswave. For me, though? I like a little more “game” in my video games.

Should you find yourself looking for something to take you away from your own mobile screen (not the Switch screen, of course), give Land of Screens a look. It is on the short side, but the story is heartfelt and incredibly charming. You can play through any of the chapters a second time if you so choose, even though there isn’t much of a reason to do so. I could only think of a couple of times where you can make a choice in the game and the only thing it would affect is a handful of dialogue responses. As far as I know there aren’t any alternate endings, so there isn’t much of a reason to play through it again. It did leave me interested in the other games from the publisher already available on the eShop. If you are looking for a chill, short, impactful game with a great story, Land of Screens comes highly recommended.

Its core gameplay is initially attractive and mildly addictive, but the missions and enemies offer little variety or depth. You might enjoy playing with the different suits and upgrades, but unlocking any of the good stuff requires hours and hours of playing through the bland trial missions.

The ambition and scope of this lengthy indie epic is impressive, taking big swings and, despite the numerous inspirations, carving its own distinct path. If you want your Japanese-style RPG to do to New Jersey what Shin Megami Tensei does to Tokyo, then YIIK is the closest you’ll ever get.

A workable frame rate might have salvaged this uninteresting, watered-down 3DS version of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Instead, the game's single redeeming quality is marred by technical and gameplay problems, leaving it a shallow, unworkable execution of a good idea.

Titan Attacks is a fun little title, even though the amount of content isn't anything amazing.

If you haven't played Assault Horizon Legacy and you have a New 3DS, this is the version to get. The additions aren’t major, but this version is the definitive one, as long as you own a New 3DS.

Tedious, buggy, irritating gameplay.

Should you be into ‘80s arcade games and retro curios, TAITO Milestones is going to have some appeal. The gameplay on offer here hasn’t aged particularly well, but it’s always enjoyable to be able to compare contemporary video games to those that came before, just to see how far we’ve come. Even in the six years between the earliest release and the latest of these 10 games, you can see a massive difference in quality and performance. While the lack of extra features and presentation is a tough pill to swallow, the online leaderboards for each title add excellent replay value to games that are all about chasing high scores. Going into these offerings and not expecting stone-cold classics is sure to be a refreshing and educational experience, and you might even find a few old-school arcade titles to keep on rotation.

Despite all of the negative points to the game, the charm that made the original a favorite to many still shines through. As long as you don't start up the game expecting "Mario Kart DS," you'll get lots of fun out of Diddy Kong Racing DS.

The first Dragon Quest feels like a relic from the past with its incessant grinding and tiring dialogue. But it’s hard not to recommend: it does have that Dragon Quest appeal that many games in the series have, and the soundtrack and visuals (save the character models) give this release a great classic feel. There’s no doubt this 33-year-old game shows its age, but Dragon Quest presents a simple, straightforward experience that’s worth playing if you can forgive its dated flaws.

Stela feels like a golem, crafted from the bones and sinew of better titles. Sometimes, this can be a successful experiment: Darksiders, for example, may not contain a single unique gameplay concept but manages to forge its own path through its worldbuilding, characters, and art direction. Stela accomplishes no such feat, and so I spent most of my playtime wishing I was playing its inspirations instead.

Looks and feels a little dated (despite it being "new"), and control and gameplay issues combined make for a sometimes frustrating game.

Garage is a game that, to put it bluntly, feels unfinished. Everything from the less-than-tight gameplay (in a genre all about tightness and control) to its sloppily-missing Chapter 10 makes me feel Garage could have benefitted from more time in the oven. And it’s a shame the game came out this way too, because it has multiple positive aspects and the (missed) potential to be something greater.

Tsum Tsum Festival is not built to produce a competitive atmosphere, but is rather a heart-warming collection of mini-games. My husband, John, and I played most of the games in a cooperative mode because, frankly, it was way more fun. But if you’re going to have John on your team for Bubble Hockey, for the love of Tsum Tsum don’t have him guard the goal.

The only sour spot in the package is Bop It’s cumbersome motion controls.

Even if its originality is in question, Family Tennis 3D is competent and fun in small doses. It's rough around the edges, but because of how solid it is, I wouldn't be averse to the idea of simply playing this installed application for 10 minutes rather than digging out a cartridge just to play a bit of tennis.

The problems with Evolution are many, but in the end it still tells a cute story featuring charming characters.

With super simple gameplay, the only rewarding part of Weapon Shop de Omasse is its lighthearted story that isn’t all that memorable.

Ultimately, Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3 is just okay. While the gameplay and controls are good enough, the story mode itself isn't anything to shout at.

While Ninja Usagimaru: The Mysterious Karakugi Castle had some levels that were way too hard, the formula and presentation still work. Most of the levels left me feeling clever, with only a handful leaving me feeling dumb. I would recommend this game to anyone that beat the first one, but this is not the place to start.

The Low Road is a fun, albeit brief point-and-click spy adventure. My playthrough was complete in two sittings over the span of a few hours and left me wanting more. If you’re looking for a good title from the genre, I can definitely recommend it, just be prepared to have that same yearning for a sequel that focuses more on interactions with characters and less on the environment.

Unfortunately, this version does have too many ugly blemishes to recommend over other digital versions available on other platforms. But if your only avenue is playing on Switch, you can still get definitely some enjoyment out of playing locally against your friends or against the varying difficulty levels of the computer. And hey, at least you don’t have to clean up the game pieces when you’re done!