Trine: Enchanted Edition is a good game, well made and competent, but not necessarily for me. I can appreciate what it has accomplished, but its slow, methodical brand of puzzle platforming and the “meh” combat leave me wanting.

King of Fighters ‘98 is one of the better fighters you’ll find on the Switch right now. It’s large roster and vibrant graphics brought me into the game, and its simple, intuitive gameplay gives you a lot to work with. There will probably be better fighting experiences for the Switch in the future, but right now King of Fighters can take its throne as one of the top fighters on the console..

Volgarr the Viking is not the type of game I can enthusiastically endorse to all gamers. You must be a determined player, undeterred by repeated deaths (I died over 150 times on one stage). Also, the graphics and controls strictly adhere to the type of game you’d have found in your local arcade 30 years ago. As long you can look past those things (or embrace them), you’ll find an deliciously tough and magical experience.

Despite hearing great things, I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with Style Savvy: Styling Star the way that I did. I wasn’t prepared to get sucked into a fashion simulator, literally spending dozens and dozens of hours matching the colors of a bag to a customer’s dress. I certainly didn’t expect to find characters whose success I was even remotely interested in. It’s a fantastic boutique sim that is fun to play, even if you don’t know a thing about fashion. I certainly didn’t, but I’d be hard-pressed to show you a game I was more addicted to than this one over the last year.

The game might be dated in some respects, with a punishing difficulty and steep initial difficulty curve, but it’s worth powering through to learn the intricacies. Aside from that, since it does have an arcade background, it’s a tiny bit on the short side with the only carrot on the end of the stick being online leaderboards. Wild Guns Reloaded might still sidle into cult classic status on Switch, but at least if you do dive into it now, it’ll be with the novel new characters, stages, and polish.

Some patterns can absolutely destroy you without proper notice, forcing you to play over and perfect certain levels. While that side can be little irritating now and again, it can't be denied the amount of effort Q-Games put in.

Even if you don’t have a fondness for Amiga like I do, it is a wonderful contemporary take on a classic puzzle platformer with a visual flair, well-thought-out puzzles, and a cheeky personality. Attention to detail was paid in making Road to Ballhalla, and elevates it from good to great.

The style of Ultimate Chicken Horse is great and when it all comes together, it is a special brand of silly party gaming. Unfortunately, unless you find that perfect situation, the quality of the fun can vary wildly. So much of the amusement here is dependent on having the right people to play with. Find that setup and this is a madcap party game.

With Mega Man 11, Capcom is catering to new players and hardened veterans, and satisfies both to a degree, but it will likely disappoint some players, too. It might not be the Mega Man game we need, but on October 2 it will be the one we get.

Conduct Together is an overall low-key affair but the puzzling chops here are solid and well crafted. The solo experience is the draw to me, as it’s the kind of serene game with demanding puzzles that sucks me in. Multiplayer is a bit more goofy and frantic, but it has a fun feeling, especially if you can find some conductor compatriots to ride or die with.

FutureGrind is a brilliantly simple 2D application of extreme sports game concepts that offers a lot of variety packed in a relatively lean package. Surprise was at every corner of this game and the engaging trick system and enjoyable campaign made for an awesome time.

Blazing Beaks is one of the Switch’s hidden eShop gems. Regardless of the potentially steep learning curve, the game always leads to lots of laughs. It’s best played with a group of friends to get the most enjoyment out of all the content that the game has to offer. If Blazing Beaks even remotely catches your eye, it is well worth a purchase.

Despite shortcomings, the remake of the first Resident Evil title is a tense, exciting romp through a mansion that has a ton of creepy secrets. There are definite signs of aging here that make me appreciate current day luxuries, but once I got past those I enjoyed Resident Evil’s puzzles, scares and horrors.

Ultimately, it’s a shame it took 18 years before Mr. Driller Drill Land made it to America. We’ve missed out on an absolute marvel of an arcade puzzle game that is jam-packed with personality and gameplay variety. I highly recommend you don’t let the opportunity to play this game pass you by. Who knows when the next time is we’ll see Mr. Driller and his friends come back.

Lair of the Clockwork God is a welcome trip off the beaten path, filled with stellar comedy and a wealth of lighthearted, enjoyable puzzles. The sum is greater than its parts, as I can easily poke holes in the platforming, but that total is still filled with goofy fun. Check out Clockwork God if you want to laugh a lot while controlling two adversarial pals in a quest to, I guess, save the world from certain dooms.

ScourgeBringer offers everything you’d want from a roguelite experience. Fast-paced gameplay, amazing visuals and soundtrack, and understandable systems round out a truly enjoyable experience. Some button-heavy combat and hardcore difficulty aren’t enough to damper the fun to be had in this top-notch action-platformer.

This is a rare instance of a game that feels perfect on the go but also looks great on a big screen TV. Yes, the core gameplay loop is fairly simple, but The Falconeer never really pretends to be anything other than what it is and it excels wildly at it. If you’re a fan of aerial combat games and want to try something outside the usual realm of fighter jets and spaceships, I can strongly recommend trying out The Falconeer. While it may get repetitive for some, the core combat loop and lore filled world drew me in and I’ll likely be returning for more very soon.

I’m impressed by how much thought was put into Tails of Iron and how that shines through while playing the game. Nearly every new screen I entered contained another small inclusion to admire. In my final attack on Frog Village, I found farmer frogs tending to their fields in between fights with enemy frog soldiers. Odd Bug Studios including them shows that even the big enemy isn’t only evil; this is a civilization that unfortunately happens to hate Redgi’s. The care and attention to world building would have been enough to keep me playing Tails of Iron, but the tight combat made it a joy to play the whole time.

With 400 stars to earn, dozens of Blue Things to find, and countless secrets to discover, it turns out that A Little Golf Journey is actually much larger and content-full than its name would imply. I love having it to chill out with before bedtime as I need to wind down after multi-hour Metroid Dread sessions, and I think it might actually be my new favorite golf game on Switch, closely edging out Golf Story. I did encounter a few technical issues where my ball got stuck and I had to restart the hole, but this wasn’t a frequent occurrence. If you’re looking for a peaceful and zen-inducing golf experience, there might not be any better than A Little Golf Journey. I intend to relive this journey over and over as I shoot for the stars, and yeah, those little blue things, too.

The feeling of being stuck emotionally and maybe favoring isolation is a common theme that many can relate to given the last 18 months we have all experienced. Tie that in with this slice of life being shared with us, and you have yourself an incredibly well written and truly unique experience. Stilstand is a brief, yet powerful story that is well worth taking the time to check out.

After all these years, I’m still a zealot for the Picross S (and its predecessors) even if innovation and evolution is slow paced. Seeing touchscreen support added after more than four years of Switch releases is great to see, and hopefully more upgrades and updates will come to Picross S8 and more in the future. Until then, here’s almost 500 new puzzles that are at the same solid level of execution as the thousands Jupiter has made in the past.

Overall, The Artful Escape is a standout in terms of visual and sound design, with a story that feels relatable even if you yourself don’t have a famous folk-singing uncle. With a runtime of only about three hours it’s a brief experience, but those hoping to find a challenge to overcome will be disappointed in the shallow gameplay it has to offer. Francis’s story is memorable and powerful, and the environments he shreds through are truly a sight to behold. People who enjoy the aesthetics of artists like the late David Bowie should absolutely give this game a look, especially if they also happen to be musicians themselves. You might learn a bit about what you actually want for yourself in life and become inspired to visit a Cosmic Extraordinary of your own.

RiffTrax: The Game is a good time with a good group of people. Everybody had about the same amount of fun with “Write a Riff” mode as when playing WTD, even given the different goal (riff vs. line) but most of my friends agreed that “Pick a Riff” was the more interesting game. As in CAH, when you get a joke that lines right up with the scene in question? Priceless.

Overall, I had a great time with Rytmos. Its puzzle gameplay is perfect for pick up and play sessions in between larger games. The puzzles made me feel smart and changed up the gameplay frequently enough to not get stale. However, what made this game truly a standout was that it not just used music as a way to enhance gameplay, but to actually teach me more about the music used. It felt as if the developers really wanted to share their love of music from all over the world with me. I could’ve never told you how African jazz sounded before playing this game, and I am really glad I discovered a genre like this thanks to Rytmos. The Switch version stutters occasionally and isn’t a perfect port, but if you’re looking for an easy to understand puzzle game that will get you through a few hours, this is absolutely one you should turn up the volume for.

It’s not a particularly deep game, but that doesn’t stop it from just feeling like a warm sweater on a chilly day. Also considering its run time is anywhere from 3-5 hours total, it doesn’t need to be particularly complex to be a worthwhile experience. The one major gripe I had is that the ending tries to create a lot of emotional weight that just wasn’t there throughout the rest of the narrative. The plot provides some light followthrough with story, but mostly it’s sparse and to attempt a big sentimental swing felt tacked on at best. That still doesn’t prevent A Tiny Sticker Tale from being nothing short of delightful through and through. A bite-sized portion of happiness that is the definition of cozy games.

This is a very straightforward HD release of System Shock 2. This remaster does little to modernize actual gameplay, and playing with a controller is simply not ideal. On a technical level it does exactly what it sets out to do and does it very well. The game itself remains an important release that would lead directly into iconic titles like Bioshock and thus makes for a fascinating historical curiosity. But it is important that you approach System Shock 2 from the right perspective, keeping in mind its ambition at the time of its original release.

Some hardware limitations and online issues keep it from being the ideal experience many fans crave, but the plethora of control methods along with the enjoyable gameplay and captivating story make it a game that people must try at least once.

This War of Mine does a fantastic job of providing a thought-provoking experience through strategic thinking and tough decision making. As you begin to learn more about the systems with each passing day, it’s easy not to notice real-world minutes turn into hours. I found myself restarting a campaign quite often after discovering a new strategy and my enjoyment increased each time. This is definitely one of those games that if you play late at night, you might just find yourself trading in some sleep to get through just one more day.