A straightforward and to the point Contra-like experience sums up Blazing Chrome well. With six levels that will probably only take you an hour or three to clear the first time through, it’s a tiny bit light on content, but thanks to the co-op and unlockable modes, more mileage can be squeezed out of this short and sweet joyride.

It retains about the series' penchant for easy and accessible gameplay wrapped in a retro package. Its simplicity and lack of additional modes could harm long-term enjoyment, but BIT.TRIP VOID is brimming with creative ingenuity that shouldn't be missed.

Monster Tale is a fantastic action game stinted by pedestrian exploration. Fortunately, consistently engaging combat and pet evolution systems temper the game's overreliance on backtracking, and its pleasant visuals and soundtrack suit the game well.

Puzzle-platforming with a twist that repeats itself over and over and over.

At the end of the day, The Next Penelope isn't a racing game. It is an adventure game that happens to use racing as one of its core mechanics. There are many little things that you need to keep in mind to nail down a challenge. Strategy is the magical word here, and you shouldn't forget when the game throws you yet another curve. The journey is over before you know, which is a slight shame, as I was hoping for it skew a bit longer. Of course, it comes down to what a game does with its running time. In that respect, I couldn't be happier.

Whether your throughline with Streets of Red is roguelike beat-’em-up or throwback to arcade brawlers, it’s a great time. While it works best in co-op, overall this is a game with easy-to-grasp controls that builds out a wealth of variety with numerous characters and upgrades. The journey might not be that long, but everything about it is polished and enjoyable.

Donut County is incredibly endearing, but it ends too soon.

Overall, these remakes of the Spyro trilogy are great, and new and old fans alike will probably have a lot of fun with them. I know I did. But that doesn’t change the fact that certain bits and pieces of dated mechanics and designs do hold these games back ever so slightly from being almost as great in 2019 as they were in 1998.

It is hard to call Myst anything other than a masterpiece, and this modernized version is no exception. The worlds of Myst continued to be developed for years after the original's release, and while its sequels developed on the incredibly rich lore and plot, for my money none of them ever quite recaptured the feeling of the original. While the Switch version has some minor performance issues, they’re more than made up for by portability and the option to play with touch controls in classic mode. If you’ve never played Myst, or if you grew up with the original, take this excuse to journey back to the ages of Myst and get lost all over again.

As an excuse to hit up the sources on Wikipedia to read about the actual war that formed Japan’s political system for more than half a millennium, Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei does a really good job. As a romance… four out of five isn’t bad, I guess? But the presence of that fifth one made me bail out far faster than normal for one of these games.

I love that Katamari has not one but two new games in 2025 after more than a decade of remakes and little hope. It’s even better that the one on Nintendo Switch feels like the third game in a trilogy with the two original PS2 games (that are also available in HD remaster form on Switch). Once Upon a Katamari is a full-fledged fresh entry in a series that hasn’t had this kind of shot in the arm since HDTVs were a thing. Here’s hoping we get a more consistent drip of Katamari following this charming entry that largely understands why the first one was such a cult hit.

Whimsical Mario remixes fill the background as you work and play. New downloadable puzzles and challenges offer continuing content to extend the title, giving you something to come back to when the main game is eventually over.

With top-notch graphics and sound that believably invoke the Metroid series, not to mention some really cool pinball innovations that incorporate many trademark features of the series, this game really does feel like a seamless, if unlikely, merging between classic arcade pinball and the creepy-cool Metroid Prime series.

Regardless of length, the game provides for a satisfying experience while it lasts, with puzzles neither seeming too hard or too easy. Fans of puzzle games in general, and particularly those in the vein of Capcom's Zack & Wiki, won't regret picking this one up.

Don't get me wrong, my time with TOEM while playing was a lot of fun. The little contradictions I came across during my time with the game didn't really sink in until after I finished the game. I did put in the time and collected as many stamps as possible. But even so, you should expect to stick too long to TOEM. Once you've seen everything, there really isn't that much to return to. Still, in some cases I'd argue that the journey is the destination. When it comes to TOEM the journey can be a little tedious and sometimes even a bit repetitive. But if you're looking for a slow paced game to relax over a weekend there's still a lot of charm and enjoyment to be found here.

Despite a few bumps along the way, Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution is the best Yu-Gi-Oh video game I have played in years. Opening booster packs to build your best deck out of the cards you have is the perfect simulacrum of actually playing the trading card game (unless you’d prefer to just buy the single cards you need online), and the choice to include no real-money purchases whatsoever helps mitigate the cost sink that has kept me away from the physical card game in the past. There will never be a Yu-Gi-Oh game that is quite the same as simply playing with real cards, but Legacy of the Duelist is the closest that we have ever gotten to the real thing.

People new to the franchise will appreciate the efforts taken to acclimate them to the mythology and mechanics of Wayard, but the lack of nostalgia might diminish the title's overall appeal.

Lone Wolf only gets better the further into the game you get. The writing is superb, from the terrific pacing of the story to the interactions between the characters you meet along the way. Spending half of your time reading text on a screen doesn’t sound like the most fun until you realize just how engaging the story is. It’s a shame that Joe Dever passed a little over a year ago as I would have loved to have seen more Lone Wolf titles on the Switch. Instead, I will continue to thoroughly enjoy his final game, and make sure to read the work he left behind.

The Framed Collection is a beautiful experiment in interactivity. The heist-comic book premise permeates every inch of these games from puzzles to story to art. A few puzzles didn't quite land for me, but the tight pacing and variety in complexity kept me engaged until the end that came too soon.

While The Screaming Narwhal is merely an introduction, and provides no clear conclusion, it's still a fun adventure that fans of the series will enjoy.

Teslagrad may have been a long time coming on Wii U, but it was worth the wait.

Zen Pinball 3D is a polished experience that will please pinball and video game fans alike. Despite its conservative take on pinball, as compared to games like Devil's Crush, it still offers an enjoyable experience that is worth any 3DS owner's time.

Bleed 2 is a very accurately named game. In many ways it could be seen as a level pack for its predecessor, but the few small changes in the design all help to make it a better experience. These kinds of short, creative games are perfect for the eShop, and if we see Bleed 3 at some point I wouldn’t hesitate to pick it up.

It’s safe to say that SaGa: Scarlet Grace - Ambitions does everything that fans of the series have grown to love over the years. It manages to stay faithful to the spirit of SaGa but wraps it in a package that looks great and feels like a fresh take on the formula. What may be surprising to both new and old fans alike is just how much time is spent in combat. All of the terrific dialogue and interactions between characters is gated behind hours of complex combat mechanics and some difficult battles. The time commitment is definitely worth it, but just make sure you’re ready for the trademark Kawazu punishment that you’ll inevitably experience.

Despite some concessions being made to the Switch version of Inertial Drift, there were few performance issues beyond the resolution. Slight frame drops at the start of every race are a curiosity that disappears quickly, but I did have one complete crash. Overall, the gripes with Inertial Drift that I had hold it back from realizing its full potential. Nonetheless, most issues can be overlooked when the sheer enjoyment you'll feel hitting the perfect drift line is undeniable. With a robust amount of content and a rarefied local multiplayer, this is an easy recommendation for fans of the genre.

It’s a good thing the story of Meg’s Monster is engaging because even if the gameplay cleverly ties into the narrative, it doesn’t amount to much. As long as your expectations are managed and you’re expecting something closer to a visual novel than a JRPG, Meg’s Monster should be an enjoyable read as long you’re ready for some bittersweet emotion.

Little Inferno is terrific the way it is, and doesn't need to conform just to fit inside a box. In the end, it's enough to just snuggle up around the fire and keep it well fed.

I never got into Mario + Rabbids despite multiple attempts, mostly due to the Rabbids, but throwing characters I care about into this formula worked really well for me. Persona 5 Tactica is certainly the most replayable Persona game in years for someone who doesn’t try to see every romance option, and if Atlus can get out from the crunch for Persona 3 Reload to fix up the load times this could be a sleeper for best strategy game on Switch.