When Yooka-Laylee was originally announced as a Kickstarter project by former Rare developers, it gave fans of the 3D platformer hope that a nearly dead genre could return to its former glory. It’s unfortunate, then, that Yooka-Laylee is no more than a mediocre attempt to capture nostalgia from the days of yore. In a year that has given us some truly innovative and special 3D platformers that pushed the genre to new heights, I can only really recommend pushing through Yooka-Laylee’s pedestrian campaign to the most enthusiastic of old Rare’s fans.

The best parts in Rebel Strike are nothing less than excellent, but the worst parts are so shamefully bad that they taint the entire experience. You can’t help but play through a level like "Trials of a Jedi", set on the planet Dagobah, without wondering what the hell the developers were thinking when they decided to keep it in the game.

Even with the occasional bout of frustration, Blek is mostly a marvel in how it’s designed. The organic way that it unfolds is amazing. While the Wii U version might not be the ideal way to experience it, Blek is still something worth looking at, even if it’s just as a curiosity.

KAMI is a fun little puzzler and gets a solid recommendation out of me.

If you’re looking for a unique game experience on the Switch that isn’t terribly expensive and will provide you with a few hours of varying challenges and laughs, Bulb Boy delivers quite handsomely. Especially since, for the moment, it has nothing comparable to go up against on the console, it is a breath of fresh air as well. As long as you keep your expectations for its length in check, little holds me back from recommending Bulb Boy to people in search of a little adventuring.

Overall Riptide GP Renegade provides a nice experience on the Switch. The XP and BP upgrade system provides a great amount of replayability, while the online and local split screen multiplayer means you can always play with other people whenever and wherever. Be warned though - the choppy frame rate in handheld mode can be a damper on the overall fluid dynamic, so you may want to plan on playing this docked. Otherwise, if you're a fan of Wave Race or racing games in general Riptide GP Renegade would be a great addition to your Switch library.


All in all, I really enjoyed my playthrough of Serial Cleaner. The stealth gameplay combined with the puzzling environment worked together well by both keeping my attention and baffling my brain. The whole 70s aesthetic and music are fantastic and complement the small story set aside from the main missions. While the controls can feel inconsistent at times, the experience as a whole was very enjoyable. Sure, it’s fun to bring on the onslaught - but who knew it would be so much fun to clean up after.

Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is the dungeon crawler I've been waiting for. The way you build up characters and use them in battle is so incredibly well put together. Everything you do to prepare feels important, and readies you for what comes next. Naturally there are a few things to be said about the story's setup and the not-so-massive enemy count, but this can be forgiven in the grand scheme of things. The game knows what it wants to be, and I gladly spent well close to 100 hours seeing it all through. If you are looking for a game that will keep you going, Labyrinth of Refrain has your back.

Overall, if you’re a fan of the De Blob series or if you’re just looking for a nice and peaceful game to add to your Switch library, I’d recommend giving this one a shot and letting your inner graffiti artist run wild.

Alwa’s Awakening is a great investment for those who grew up with old-school Castlevania games or those who prefer Zelda II to The Legend of Zelda. It’s not fast-paced or action-packed, but it has plenty of nostalgia and is well-suited to those who prefer jumping to shooting, spell-casting to sword-swinging. Well, how can I forget you, Zoe? When there’s always another Metroidvania to remind me.

X-Morph: Defense is a terrific pick up for someone who enjoys twin-stick shoot-‘em-ups but is looking for some more variety other than just blasting everything on screen. The tactical strategy required to complete levels added solid replayability and allowed me to try multiple ways to creatively destroy the human race. Other than the piercing guilt of destroying my homeland of Canada, I had a really fun experience with X-Morph and can place it firmly on my recommended list.

Iron Crypticle boasts a fascinating power-up system that revolves around building up combo chains by collecting pieces of food dropped by enemies. It’s not articulated particularly well and can lead to some confusion at first, but once fully understood it proves to be a lot of fun. The pace of the game tends to be a bit slow, especially on early floors which don’t present as much of a challenge as later floors. However, branching paths, local co-op, multiple difficulties, and even online leaderboards help round out the overall package.

We. the Revolution is a well-presented, fascinating look into one of France’s most significant historical chapters. The courtroom cases themselves could be a tad more interesting, but the game’s overall narrative is strong and engaging. We know the story of the French Revolution, but we can’t necessarily imagine what it was like living in those tumultuous times. We the Revolution is a fascinating look into the moral struggles of the era, where things weren’t as clear-cut as they seemed.

Headliner is a short experience of just a few hours, mainly built to play over and over again to see how different decisions change how the story goes. Many interesting choices exist for you to make within Headliner, some I can’t say I was overly comfortable with making. The game has a lot to say and not much interest in whether or not it’s exactly what you want to hear. I think it’s an interesting experience that anybody with an interest in politics should absolutely check out, and its “no perfect solution” approach is very interesting even if it is oversimplified. The heavy handedness and the lack of gameplay variety make this game feel hard to recommend.

Hexagroove: Tactical DJ may take just a little time to explore, but I found it super engaging. This music game requires you to think about every decision you make, and teaches you how you can play the virtual crowd. There are plenty of musical loops and timing elements to keep you replaying levels and going wild in Freestyle. The minigames may prove a little too demanding at points, but that is only a slight niggle in an otherwise superb journey throughout this musical experience. Overall, Hexagroove is a nice surprise through and through.

Eyes of Ara is an excellent point-and-click adventure that gets bogged down in its final moments. Up until then, progress is smooth with excellently designed and balanced puzzles throughout. The docked controls are functional but handheld play is where Eyes of Ara really shines. If you’re part of the ever more niche crowd who still enjoys clicking their way through a complex environment, reading journals, and solving deep puzzles, Eyes of Ara ought to satisfy.

Overall, Candleman is a wonderful experience for anyone who enjoys platform games or just great artwork, even in a simpler form. It is a cute and inspirational game that is easy to pick up and play through a section as needed, or binge it all in one sitting.

Lord of the Rings: The Adventure Card Game is charming, if stunted by some inconsistent voice acting and less polished user interface. While some might have wished for player-versus-player options included, the single-player focus allows the card game to hone-in on its core strength – engaging narrated storytelling tied into a solid card game foundation. If you are a lone ring bearer rather than part of a fellowship, this could be a precious experience to you.

Arcade Spirits features a detailed character customization at the outset, but that’s the best thing it has going. The somewhat interesting story is weighed down by lackluster characters and boring visuals. The voice acting is okay, but not all of the dialogue is voiced: some lines have no audio, some have a brief character refrain, and others are fully voiced. Ultimately, the dialogue and points system just wasn’t engaging enough to keep me fully invested in the narrative, and its comedy leanings prevented the romance elements from feeling genuine. It doesn’t help that the writing is littered with far too many pop culture and gaming references. Those who devour visual novels like Gauntlet would devour quarters might find Arcade Spirits worth playing through, but everyone else should probably cash in their prize tickets for something else.

Death Come True is a great FMV game from a creative mind. The characters and choices you make are really interesting, and everything is wrapped up quite nicely. I don't think players will have anything to return to in the long term, but the experience is enjoyable while it lasts. Hop into a strange hotel and let the journey take care of you.

Super Punch Patrol is very clearly a painstakingly accurate love letter to classic beat-’em-ups. What's fascinating is it manages to invoke this without the need for a throwback art style. It draws on its inspiration in gameplay rather than presentation, which is very refreshing. Of course the difficulty will scare some off, but fans of the genre will absolutely want to give Super Punch Patrol a shot. Grab a friend, and fight your way through these crime filled streets as you punch your way to justice.

Overall, Cake Bash is an immensely charming experience that may or may not be worth the price of admission depending on the individual. I, for one, will absolutely be busting this treat out at parties once the opportunity arises.

I know Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate is a good game because I’m devoting small amounts of time to it. When I have 20 minutes to spare I’m calculating whether or not loading it up would be worth it. Success in game gives me the feeling that I did something clever. The side stories are interesting and I want to know how they turn out, and it’s a beautiful world to spend time in. I have a real feeling of regret knowing there is a lot of content here that I will never see. There are numerous aspects of Shiren the Wanderer that I couldn’t find a way to jam into this review like how allies function, the over 100 optional sokoban puzzles, the Minesweeper-like dungeon, creating new items at the Tanuki lottery house, fusing items together for new effects, and much more. For anyone wanting to dive into a game with real depth, this is a great one.

"Press Jump to Die" perfectly describes the difficulty posed in Gonner2. It’s a brutal unapologetic platformer roguelike that shows its style at all angles. In the character design, unnerving minimalist soundtrack, and world building there’s something special here. The game does a lot with a little and in the end it’s tricky to decipher what. That’s just up to you to “press jump.”

Vigil: The Longest Night absolutely holds its own, both in 2D adventure games, as well as in the glut of Souls-alikes that have emerged in recent years. It’s fast, fun and rewarding to players who manage to overcome the initial similarities to FROM Software’s series, and manages to carve its own unique take on the formula, with strong narrative and combat hooks to support it. If only those load times could let us get to the action sooner.

The Blizzard Arcade Collection is a product of not only slavish devotion to the original releases, but also a glow up that presents the trio of classic games with its best presentation yet. The addition of rewind and save states lets newcomers experience them without having to beat their heads against the wall. Even better, the tome of special features and developer interviews shows a devotion from Blizzard to make this collection a true historical document that too many classic game collections lack. Even for those who haven’t played the originals, this is a package I’m happy to recommend to anyone.

Whether I was being threatened by Jarod, having deep personal conversations with John, or being made audience to the circus that is Stan and Mitch, I found myself continuing to go back for more over and over with Road 96. If you want a deeply political and sometimes downright scary experience, this is the place to be. Add to that a fantastic soundtrack of both folk style music and electronic synthwave that really hits the ‘90s vibe, and Road 96 is an experience you will not soon forget.

Ocean’s Heart is a tremendous experience even with some rough edges. It’s evocative of the likes of Minish Cap in all the best ways and succeeds at being more organic and open than a lot of similar games. I’d love to see this game’s foundation build and grow because the promise is immense, but even if this is the peak of Ocean’s Heart’s developer Max Mraz, it’s still an enjoyable game.