If you’re going to get into Witch on the Holy Night, perhaps while waiting for someone to tie George R. R. Martin to a chair long enough to finish off their magnum opus, it’s going to be a commitment. 20+ hours of either nudging an analog stick to stop the system from going into screen saving mode or jamming A will get you a well-written story that sets up a lot of things for the future.

Venba packs an emotional punch, but it also pulls its punches a little bit, too. There’s more to this narrative and this family that deserves to be included in the experience, and while the cooking segments definitely sing, I’m ultimately left feeling like I’ve been served an appetizer rather than a main course. It’s beautiful in its colorful but minimalistic presentation and has a fitting musical score. I’m just longing to spend more time in Venba’s charming kitchen and to be invited to share in more of the moments in her life.

I’m not sure I would overall recommend the Switch version over the PC version of the game, but if portability is a big factor for you (an aspect this game lends itself to very well), then the Switch is a perfectly acceptable platform for stopping an old god from engulfing this sleepy Japanese town in madness.

Having previewed it earlier this year, I was delighted to see Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma deliver on its promise of being an approachable, varied adventure that expedites some of the slower, more mundane trappings of the farming game genre. It deftly blends multiple systems without overcomplicating them, and provides ample freedom for players to explore its world at their own pace. The farming and construction mechanics are designed for expedience and ease of use, exchanging realism for simplicity, a real bargain given the satisfying main story and likeable characters. Even the helper/partner Woolby ended up growing on me by the time I had rolled credits. Guardians of Azuma may do as much to spoil farming games as invite players to earlier Rune Factory entries, but it’s a worthwhile dance that marches to the beat of its own, confident drum, and I’m hopeful we’ll see more like it.

It's a splendid update of an already great game.

Yoshi’s Island DS may not be perfect, but it is still a great game, even by Mario standards, and should leave a grin on your face as big as Yoshi’s.

Spirit of Justice is the follow-up to Dual Destinies in every single sense. It’s ostensibly that game but with a new, better story, a new gimmicky mechanic, and some fan service to boot. The game is finally starting to show its age fifteen years and ten games later, but the fact that it has taken this long is nothing short of a miracle. And make no mistake: a solid Phoenix Wright game with a strong story is still a game that demands one’s attention.

Frankly, I haven't seen a more impressive Wii shooter. Old and new fans alike will find much to love, and I encourage everyone here to give it a shot.

A really great Kirby game that looks great, plays well and sounds nice, but is far too short for its own good.

If you’re looking for an epic, grand story with a vibrant presentation, you won’t find that here. But if you just want raw and engrossing exploration and turn-based combat, Dungeon Encounters delivers in spades.

Berserk Boy offers a fast-paced diversion that will appeal to those who like the speed of Sonic and the transformations of Mega Man. It’s aesthetically pleasing from start to finish, and the gameplay shines through most of its runtime. A handful of issues keep it from putting both feet solidly in must-play territory, but all told it’s a good time and scratches that run, jump, and shoot itch.

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

Aside from the camera issue and length, MadWorld is superb. Everything from the visual style and the sound to the ultra-violent gameplay and visceral controls are wonderful. It has its flaws, but MadWorld is riddled with unadulterated fun.

Going Under succeeds in crafting an addictive, hack-and-slash type of experience, and just when it seems like it might be over, it takes another step for those who really want a serious challenge.

Citizen Sleeper allows for multiple playthroughs, and even when looking through screenshots during my review there are characters and locations I never once encountered within my first playthrough. Because of the heavy story-driven nature of Citizen Sleeper, your enjoyment will be contingent on your appreciation of the sci-fi genre as well as how much brain space is occupied by thoughts of Turing Tests. While that itself will denote that Citizen Sleeper isn’t for everyone, for those that have even a slight interest in the genre, you don’t want to sleep on this one.

Bakeru is an enjoyable romp that consistently delivers lighthearted action with a lot of charm even if it gets a little repetitive the deeper you get into it. Good-Feel clearly learned a lot from working with Nintendo because this game deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Nintendo’s lighter fare. This isn’t quite the Goemon spiritual successor I felt I was promised, but Bakeru is still a good time (especially for younger players) and I hope that Good-Feel both continues working with Nintendo and continues to work on projects like this.

Puyo Puyo Tetris makes its way to Nintendo Switch in spectacular fashion. With the best multiplayer options out of the box, this puzzler can't be missed for anyone in the need of fun. The solid amount of modes make that quick go enticing, intriguing and above all entertaining. Back when I reviewed it on the Nintendo 3DS, my complaint of the solo modes did hamper my experience somewhat. The Switch alleviates those concerns since the multiplayer is so easy to get running. It helps that it is a colorful and bright adventure that triggers the senses and just makes you smile. Puyo Puyo Tetris is, without a doubt, one of the best games currently available on the Switch.

The mixture of old and new characters, locations and ideas works quite well, though the feeling remains that more could have been done to the world as a whole. That doesn't mean that you won't be charmed by most of what the game offers, because faces like Yew's or Magnolia's are hard to ignore. It helps that it moves along at a solid pace and the battle system is still a joy to behold.

Taking a long range view of Arranger, I feel like it's a clever puzzle mechanic that is used in enough permutations that it continued to feel fresh throughout. It's a masterclass of measuring its difficulty to remain approachable and understandable. Even in the games final moments, I would instantly get confused about what they would ask of me, and slowly work my way to a satisfying solution with a little bit of time. I can honestly say, this may be one of the best puzzle games of the year, if not the last couple. The difficulty never felt insurmountable while maintaining its story intrigue. Looking deeper into the mechanics, I was in awe at the clever nature each solution took. At the end of the day, Arranger is a complete package of puzzle, story, heart, art and music. If only it stood out more from a mainstream aspect, but the least I could do is yell it from the rooftops here: Play Arranger!

Plants vs. Zombies is a fantastic handheld game, and well suited to the Nintendo DS. Unfortunately, superior versions of the game are available for much cheaper on almost every other platform, making the DS version a hard sell.

The overall complexity of the game will immediately turn off the more casual players who were attracted by the control scheme. The hardcore Madden players will most likely prefer one of the more traditional console versions because of precision issues with the gestures.

Pop Island: Paperfield is great value at 200 points, especially for those who own the original. It is easy to make the assumption that it is a bite-sized edition of the first game, but it is more akin to an expansion pack, throwing new stages and vehicles into the mix.

The conclusion left me wanting more and the experience was as smooth as silk. It was addictive, fun, and strikes the perfect balance between an arcade and puzzle game.

If you can immerse yourself into the story early on, Black Book will be your go to for many, many gaming sessions. Black Book is structured in a way that you can spend hours on end playing through it or pick up and play it mission by mission without losing your way in this incredibly well-crafted RPG adventure.

If you want a very artistically and technically accomplished Doom clone, Prodeus absolutely delivers. Support for fan-made levels can potentially expand your experience somewhat but the option to create your own is missing from this version. Performance on Switch isn’t flawless but it is still very playable and looks great the whole time. While it struggles to find its own identity along the way, and comes off more as an elaborate mod or a fan game than a title of its own, Prodeus does still stand as a solid though unoriginal shooter.

It's a marvelous little game which everyone should play, but with the caveat that it ends abruptly and will have you passionately craving more when it’s done.

Super Scribblenauts is ultimately very similar to the first game. If you loved it, you'll likely get a lot out of this level pack.

What Skyward Sword HD does best is make a 3D Zelda once thought limited to a unique console playable in perpetuity (hopefully). Along the way, enough changes and tweaks are made to improve the adventure, whether it’s streamlined tutorials or satisfactory button controls. It wasn’t known at the time, but this represents the final chapter of Nintendo’s 3D Zelda design that started with Ocarina of Time. With hindsight, Skyward Sword HD serves an interesting coda that paved the way for Breath of the Wild. The linear ebb and flow of Link’s earliest chronological story might be rooted in the past, but it’s still an engaging and cozy adventure in the present that’s well worth playing or revisiting.