Overall I find myself with relatively mixed feelings on Long Gone Days. I believe that it's a good experience and many fans of the genre will probably enjoy their time with it, at least a little bit when all is said and done, but it's those good parts that make its flaws stand out that much more.

I walked away from Megaton Musashi W: Wired feeling very optimistic for the forthcoming onslaught of Level-5 games due out in the near future, but it was also a reminder of their strengths and weaknesses. The presentation is incredible, complete with a compelling story and charming characters. The action-oriented parts lag behind, though. The mech battling is totally fine hack-and-slash fun, but it rarely exceeds that. If you’re looking for a fun mechs-vs.aliens narrative to enjoy on your Switch, Megaton Musashi W: Wired absolutely rocks. But if you’re here solely for robot combat, you’re best looking elsewhere.

Little Kitty, Big City may not be a high profile hit with huge accolades like Stray, and it doesn’t aspire to that kind of photorealism, but what you do get is a breezy, cute, colorful, and fun sandbox to explore. The animal friends are diverse and expressive without having a lot of physical facial expression, which is a testament to the writers’ skill. This cartoonish game is uncomplicated in the best ways, and while there’s a little stumbly-ness in some of the movement, it doesn’t detract from this brisk, entertaining experience.

I went into Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac expecting a nostalgic trip through a delightful yet flawed 3D platformer of my youth. Instead I got a lovingly re-imagined overhaul that exceeded my expectations in every way. This is now just an excellent 3D platformer with no need for qualifiers. Level design is varied with a nice gradient of difficulty and one-off mechanics in nearly every level. Every good idea from the original has been preserved and everything around it has been improved. While it isn’t technically an incredibly long game, it is dense with content and replayability. The Switch 2 version itself runs great outside of a rare technical hitch. Last but not least, they credit the entire original design team. The biggest negative I can give to Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac is that it makes it very hard to go back to the original.

I would be remiss to close this review without mentioning the fantastic music of F-Zero GP Legend. You like classic F-Zero Tunes? They are all here, except Death Wind. Like some of F-Zero X’s music? Some of that is here too. Want to hear new stuff? You’re golden. It is still a pleasure to listen to F-Zero’s music.

Inazuma Eleven GO Chrono Stones: Wildfire and Thunderflash are really great games, but they aren't for newcomers in the slightest. The game expects you to have played the previous entries and that you know what happened to the various characters.

While some will almost certainly find Grow: Song of the Evertree to be a bit too menial to keep their attention, those who simply want to enjoy a quietly beautiful adventure need look no further. From working on garden-like worlds high in the Evertree, to building a town to your own specifications, and exploring an ever growing world full of secrets to uncover, a rich experience is packed into this adventure. Performance concerns are certainly worth being aware of on Switch, but they rarely hamper the actual gameplay. If you need a break from Animal Crossing or want something even calmer than Story of Seasons, Grow: Song of the Evertree isn’t likely to steer you wrong. This is without a doubt one of the most pleasantly cozy experiences I’ve had playing a game.

After Starship Defense and Art Style: Digidrive, it was certainly nice to see Q-Games take a different approach with their latest game. While the repetitive nature of the game may discourage some players, those who stick to their guns are bound to find an enjoyable experience.

Superliminal is a breath of fresh air, the kind of game you want other people to play but don’t want to talk with them about until you’ve both experienced it. An unassuming package on its face that as you peel back the layers, will be filled with surprises and gratification as you find out what point of view it wants you to see the puzzle from. With a moral to its story that is uplifting during a time which we could all use a new perspective, Superliminal is one of the more inventive games on a Nintendo platform today.

Valiant Hearts is a game that I like more in theory than execution. I give Ubisoft Montpellier a lot of credit for taking a level-headed look at a period of history that usually gets overshadowed, but the gameplay didn’t get nearly as much attention as the aesthetics. If the puzzles had been more unique or interesting they could’ve propped up the story instead of dragging it down to mediocrity. Instead Valiant Heart turns one of the greatest conflicts in human history into a dull, repetitive chore.

The conspiracy plotline is great, and the game has a good mix of serious and light-hearted moments. It can be quite engaging at times, and it’s easy to find yourself playing just to find out what happens next.

At a glance, Madden on Switch 2 isn’t visually impressive, but after playing a ton of the game docked and handheld (and also coming off of years on PS5), it plays totally fine. The load times are kind of long. Sometimes crowds load in weird. But the gameplay, easily the most important part, is not an issue. It’s evident to me that the team at EA Sports tried to do what they could to make a solid version of Madden early in the life of the Switch 2. It’s rough around the edges, but it’s the most feature parity a Madden game has had on a Nintendo platform since the age of the GameCube. I hope that, unlike Madden on 3DS and Wii U, we get to see EA Sports take another crack at bringing Madden to Switch 2 because the initial release captures the fun of the game and future releases could refine and improve all of the technical aspects.

At the end of the day I think there is an argument that Yooka-Replaylee is a more accessible entry point for this game than the original. But it is disappointing that I can’t say that more definitively. There are a lot of great quality of life updates but between stability issues and some questionable feature removal, it is hard to recommend this version without reservation.

While you're still playing a regular old game of football, the variety of ways that you can play that game is grand and makes this a terrific title for casual football fans of any age.

Many of its gameplay mechanics are clearly inspired by the ones found in "GTA: SA," but sadly, Gun doesn't reach that game's overall level of quality, especially in terms of longevity. Even though Gun is very challenging on the harder difficulty settings, it can be beaten in less than ten hours.

These kinds of games are not for everyone, and some people may not like ZombiU due to its high level of difficulty or clunky combat. However, if you appreciate the qualities of the older Resident Evil games, the challenge of a game like Dark Souls, and the exploration of a Metroid-style world, this game is absolutely for you. Enter the survival horror.

The first chapter of Minecraft: Story Mode is a fun start to a five episode series.

While Shutshimi is obviously meant to be a party game, it’s very fun for the solo gamer as well. Once you start learning what items do what, you’ll be able to avoid the ones you dislike and grab the ones you dig. Shushimi is a nice surprise—I highly recommend it.

The recurring hitches and long load times combined with the subpar graphics make this entry a poor one for Nintendo fans.

Aside from the griffin sequence, there’s not a lot holding Darksiders: Warmastered Edition down. It remains an excellent heavy metal homage to Zelda games that’s satisfying and quite lengthy. I enjoy it more than its sequel, although that’s also a great game. The only real downside is that this game is on the Wii U, not the Switch, so it probably won’t get the attention it deserves.

As it stands, this is not a strong collection of Mega Man games compared to the first. If you want all the Mega Man games on your Switch, you’ll obviously need this volume, but if you don’t feel that need, you might skip this one.

Just like Human Resource Machine before it, 7 Billion Humans is one of the finest puzzle games I’ve ever played. A game based around programming logic runs the risk of being too complicated for its own good, but Tomorrow Corporation has fine-tuned the difficulty curve perfectly. Scrolling through a program and finding the exact command that needs to changed to carry out the exact right action is as fun as it can possibly be and with over 60 unique puzzles I doubt I’ll be putting it down anytime soon.

Despite the game starting to feel a little shallow over ten years later, Castle Crashers is still an absolute riot when played with friends. I can’t recommend it as a solo experience, meaning its appeal on a hybrid console like the Switch may be a little limited. I can however highly recommend it for sitting down and having a good time with a group of friends. If you’ve got other game consoles then you can probably already play this game at its best, but it’s always a good time to jump in and have fun crashing through some castles.

Overall, Northgard is a wonderful strategy game despite its shortcomings. The rough edges can make it tough for newcomers to the genre to get invested, but if you're a fan of strategy games or able to tough it out through the warts until everything clicks, then you're in for a treat. The Switch is a natural fit for the 4X genre, and Northgard is a prime example of the potential that this style of strategy game can have outside the PC ecosystem.

Door Kickers: Action Squad is an entirely serviceable 2D shooter that has a lot to offer for those looking for that type of gameplay loop, but it’s not really an experience to remember. I can see fans of the genre enjoying a couple of levels at a time, playing in bite-sized chunks. However, even though the gameplay is decent, Door Kickers: Action Squad is lacking overall a lot of what makes a smaller game stand out. Without a story or interesting hook to keep you around, Door Kickers: Action Squad is a title you’re probably going to like instead of love.

If you’re OK with dealing with text issues—or will speed through too fast to notice—then Collar X Malice is going to hook you. The themes may be disturbing to some, and the M rating the ESRB gave it is definitely deserved, but it left me thinking for a long time after I hit the title screen for the last time. Sometimes, that’s just what I need.

Radical Rabbit Stew is a thoroughly enjoyable experience from top to bottom. From the arcade, slapstick action of punting rabbits into bowls of soup, to the thought-provoking map puzzles, this action-puzzler offers a unique and interesting take on the genre, even with the sometimes repetitive nature, and boss fights that utilize overly similar ideas from world to world.

Picross S6 is still an excellent puzzle game packed with just shy of 500 puzzles from a handful of different modes. Even if it’s stagnated, I still wholeheartedly recommend the latest game. I just hope Picross S7 is more a leap forward than more of the same.