At the end of the day, the gameplay isn’t likely to compel you to spend the 5-10 hours needed to see the story through. Everything this game does is done better elsewhere, so dive back into the bottomless eShop sea and fish up another adventure. This Giraffe is better left on safari.

Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove 3D is not a well rounded rhythm game, but it has plenty going for it.

All the pieces are here for an excellent entry level space sim but the horrible economy just drags the entire experience to a halt and makes it feel like much more of a grind than it ought to be. With some very small changes Space Commander could be excellent. As is, it will have some appeal to enthusiasts like myself, but for most there will be other space sims on Switch that will scratch the same itch much better.

Tube Slider had a lot of potential and new ideas, but the game is somewhat lacking in execution.

KickBeat is a game I could’ve enjoyed a lot more if the soundtrack had more varying genres.

Overall, Pier Solar is just an average JRPG at best. Perhaps some of its novelty was lost due to it being a downloadable title rather than an actual, physical Sega Genesis cartridge. It’s really hard to recommend unless you’re absolutely starved for an RPG on the Wii U.

All said, for the price of admission, Red Game Without a Great Name has more to offer than its lacking title would imply. With the likely frustration factor as you get further in it seems mostly suited to playing in shorter bursts, the levels are generally very quick to either complete or fail at before it takes you right back into the action again. If you enjoy some challenge and undoubtedly some aggravation in your gaming, it’s not a bad budget title to check out.

Mistover’s tense dungeon exploration and positional RPG combat are incredible. In the best of circumstances with a good team, this is one of the most fun dungeon crawlers I have ever played. Regrettably, those best of circumstances are not a guarantee, and the random generation of characters can rob the game of so much of its appeal. The inconsistency brought about by RNG drags the game down from excellent to merely pretty good. Anyone looking for a more consistent or relaxed experience would do best to stay away, but there’s still a worthwhile thrill for anyone willing to put in the time to get a truly great run going in Mistover.

The Road to Guangdong is paved with good intentions, but ultimately it’s much more of a bumpy and boring ride with a few pleasant stops along the way. Had the focus been less on the driving and maintenance of the family car and more on the family and their relationships, the handful of hours it takes to see the story to completion would be much more of a pleasure cruise. If you’re willing to overlook the time spent behind the wheel of Sandy, there’s a worthwhile and unique narrative to uncover here, but Road to Guangdong is a difficult recommendation nevertheless.

Ultimately, this mishmash of genres fails to conjure up the magic of its forebears or carve out a space for its own limited bag of tricks.

Gamers experiencing the wacky mascot for the first time may enjoy it.

A worthy entry to the series. However, the port was clearly pushed out to get a few thousand more copies sold, rather than to improve upon the original game.

Even though the aesthetic, soundtrack, and intelligent dialogue create a package that looks outstanding, Rip Them Off fails to come together in its puzzle gameplay. While utilizing trial-and-error can have its merits, Rip Them Off’s method of having the player learn a mathematic language that it then changes constantly just doesn’t make for a fun gameplay loop. Lacking hard solutions and ramping up difficulty before you’ve been properly taught makes Rip Them Off a puzzle title that is hard to recommend.

The boring music, the simplistic graphics style, the awful UI-elements and these new rules that make battles a slog to sit through have made this game one of the worst YGO experiences I’ve ever had. Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution is a fantastic battle simulator that pays homage to the anime and gives you so many cards to experiment with. RDBR locks you into a system that doesn’t seem to understand what has made YGO so diverse and fun to play. If anything, I’m glad we got Rush Duels out of the way since next year will see the release of a proper YGO card simulator in the form of Master Duel. If this is all we hear of Rush Duel in the West, that will be fine by me. With this Battle Royale, everyone ends up being the loser.

Raging Justice is what it is: a modern take on a classic arcade beat-’em-up. If all you want is something that reminds you of the Double Dragons of yore, this is a fine way to burn through a night with a friend. But if you’re looking for something substantive or something that doesn’t have vexing controls and frustrating moments, this doesn’t deliver that. What you see is what you get. No more no less.

While I remain tickled that these NGPC ports even exist, though, I am beginning to long for different things, especially since these fighters all look more or less like the same game.

Decent but not exceptional.

Conception II starts with an interesting story, an engaging turn-based combat system and Star Children (enough said), but is often bogged down by its awkward dialogue and dull characters. If you can find it in your heart to forgive and forget some of these things, there is an RPG under it all worth playing, even if it's definitely not the best thing we have seen out of Atlus.

If you're looking to do some dungeon crawling and battling against creepy monsters from Japanese folklore book your trip to Hyakki Castle.

Monster Menu: The Scavenger’s Cookbook is frustrating because I feel like there could be a good game in here. In fact, if NIS decided to put out a sequel, I might be inclined to check it out because they have made a number of excellent RPGs in the past. It just feels like they threw in so many systems, meters, and mechanics that they forgot to put in something to compel you to keep playing. There are many better games out there in all of the genres that this one borrows from that despite interesting ideas, Monster Menu can’t come together to provide a satisfying meal.

There is a great satisfaction in slamming a terrifying metal bowling ball into loads of zombies and even though there isn’t much else added in terms of mini-games, it’s a fun little game that I can see myself picking up again and again to add some quick slaughter to my day.

I enjoyed the core concept of shooting alien ships in space with a customizable fleet of ships. That’s really fun. The problem is all the bulk surrounding it. Poor checkpointing, being unable to carry tech upgrades forward, and the persistent wish that I had more control over my own aiming all sort of dampen the experience. I like where this game’s head is at, but I’ve got a list of things they can improve if Xenoraid gets a sequel.

The most unfortunate thing while looking back at this game is how fun it could have been if they focused less on adding so many ideas and just focused on the idea of shooting and eating and making it accessible for all players. If they had done this and made the co-operative function of the game cleaner, this would be a game I would love to play to kill time when I had my friends around and wanted to play something easy but unique. Then the humorous ideas around the idea of eating, belching, getting too fat by overconsumption, and more would all shine even more with multiplayer.

Super Bomberman R Online is a welcome addition to the Switch library, and provides an engaging and lag-free online experience. The core Bomberman gameplay lends itself well to the battle royale format, and the fact that players can enjoy much of what the title has to offer without spending a dime is a nice bonus. Ranks, levels, and grades all provide incentives to shoot for, if you’re so inclined, but the grading for each season isn’t really explained anywhere. Another issue is that there’s no local co-op option; every player needs to have their own game and Switch console. Regardless, any Bomberman fan should be picking this one up. I can readily admit that I fall into that camp, and I’ve been having a blast.

The fact of the matter is that unless you are absolutely dying to play an insanely quirky Japanese game about cooking, you should stay far, far away from Cooking Mama.

Gal Metal is a game with bold choices. The Joy-Con motion controls are interesting, and tightly fit the ideas of the title. In addition, the idea to create your own jams upon existing layers works surprisingly well. That being said, for most, this will be a one-and-done deal. You will play through it and be done after an hour or five. Beyond this, there isn't much to the package, though I do find myself replaying tracks a tiny bit. It really depends on what you're searching for, but as a music game, it certainly knows how to entertain.

Dinosaur King is a good game. If you can get past the requisite level grinding and somewhat strategy-free nature of the battle system, you’ll find a decent Pokémon-type title with real dinosaurs and entertaining 3D battles.

Billy & Mandy has the beginnings of a decent fighting game, but its unrefined battle system is only suitable as party fodder.