Before the Green Moon isn’t for everyone. I don’t even know if I’d say it’s for me. The in-game days are incredibly short and punctuated by time cards that tell you when afternoon and evening start every day, which can be annoying. Half the time I felt like I didn’t have enough to do, while the other half I felt like I had far too much to do, and a lot of that was repetitive. That being said, it feels like Before the Green Moon is a fresh take on the farming game genre, and one I am glad I took the time to discover.

In a world where the Switch is filthy with TMNT arcade games across the Cowabunga Collection and Shredder’s Revenge, Wrath of the Mutants is a distant third place. It’s fine in the sense that if you get three buddies to play through it with you, you’ll probably have a good time. But beyond that camaraderie, this is a middling port of an okay game.

Not Tonight was a perspective of the knock-on effects of Brexit in the U.K.; Not Tonight 2 is a dim view of where the U.S. is headed from the outside in. If Not Tonight’s story was like a protest song, then Not Tonight 2 is a cry for help on our behalf. Panic Barn wears their beliefs on their sleeve, and that perspective informs the story in a way that makes it impossible to divorce their worldview from how they’ve envisioned our lives. With that caveat, if you give it a chance, Not Tonight 2 is an expansion of the original into a much more multilayered game with depth that makes for a more fulfilling experience. Coupling that with a tried-and-true queue management core and a cross country road trip makes for a game that is a big step above its predecessor.

Playing Hundred Heroes feels like a burden, and even more so when you consider the high caliber of RPGs that have already released in 2024 that it might be taking your attention away from. Any moments of joy the experience offers are immediately dashed by baffling game design choices that would feel antiquated at the turn of the century, let alone decades after that. Were I not reviewing the game I would have put it aside after a few hours and never thought about it again. Eiyuden Chronicle comes after scores and scores of excellent and successful turn-based RPGs from which it could draw inspiration. Instead, it neglects so many of the lessons learned throughout the years in favor of outdated, tedious gameplay.

Picross Logiart Grimoire is not a full-on replacement for Jupiter’s past Picross S games, but it’s a wonderful addition to their library. If you’ve been put off by the presentation of Picross S, this might be the entry to bring you back to Jupiter’s delightful world of nonogram magic. If you’re like me, a loyal soldier who shows up for every single one of these Picross games no matter what, the new presentation might seem like it’s just the same old with a new wizard hat, but this is one of the best Picross games that Jupiter has put out, largely because it feels new and has a nice sense of progression.

Kudzu is going to be compared with Link’s Awakening at every turn, and in fact the publisher’s own PR does just that, but it can’t hold a candle to that beloved Zelda entry. It all feels very undercooked and I can’t recommend it.

If you’re looking for a fresh roguelike game with thoughtful puzzle stylings, Let’s! Revolution! is an excellent game to dive into. Even in the moments playing a character class I didn’t enjoy as much, I still had a good time, especially since most runs are far less than an hour. This game seems to recognize its kitchen sink gameplay concept approach and lets you fiddle with whatever aspects work best for you. Here’s hoping BUCK doesn’t just stick to animation in the future because their game design is rather intriguing.

Overall, while there were some flaws to my time in Terra Memoria, I’m glad I was able to experience this captivating world which was full of great ideas, beautiful art, and an entertaining combat system. Some aspects felt not fully realized, but hopefully this means the developer is just getting started.

What I'm looking for are tightly defined spaces, logical sense of locomotion & consistent character design in my 2D platformers. While it wears the inspiration on their sleeve, Freedom Planet 2 struck out to build something grander in scale with a panache I have respect for. Even if the ambitions to make a play-your-way experience ends up flattening the experience a bit, it’s a minor quibble to my overall positive impression of the experience. Freedom Planet 2 accomplishes the most important test – it is FUN, and the extensive character and environmental diversity makes this adventure a worthy one.

If you’re into unique and creative takes on platforming, Pepper Grinder is well worth jumping (or rather, drilling) into. I’m not the biggest fan of the boss fights (especially the one that currently glitches out), but overall, this is a good grind from start to finish. I’d love to see more takes on drill-based platforming along these lines, though the tight package developer Ahr Ech has put together is a concentrated blast of fun.

Felix the Cat may have been a bit more of a novelty on the ‘90s platforms it arrived on, but time hasn’t been kind to this comic feline’s pixel-based adventures. Despite starring a cat with a magical bag, these two games have almost no tricks up their sleeves. The addition of the Famicom version yields very little in terms of noticeable gameplay differences, so its inclusion is a bit of a mystery. I know the answer, but why couldn’t these two games have just been added to NSO instead? What's more, the overall challenge will be markedly light for anyone with platforming experience, and there’s no shortage of extra lives to earn and power-ups to keep you from danger and propel you through the largely pedestrian level design. If this 2024 collection had a few more interesting extras thrown in, it may be worth a pick up, but as it stands, this is just another black cat you don’t want crossing your path.

Car X Highway racing feels like a missed opportunity to give us an enhanced experience of the mobile game and a bigger miss on giving us an American “Wangan Midnight”. While the music and graphics hold up, the plot and game play are just too thin for a console release. Other mobile ports like Gear.Club unlimited feel better polished and the races feel more satisfying. Even some of CarX technologies other releases such as CarX street give more driving depth. With so many other racing games on offer within the Nintendo Switch Library, it is difficult to stand out. CarX highway attempts to give us something a little different than the market standard in racing games and for 10 bucks, it's not a bad buy but I would be looking at a few better polished titles first.

I remain happy that MLB The Show 24 is on Switch since it brings a quality simulation baseball game with current rosters to a Nintendo platform, something that has not been the norm in the past 20 years. While the Switch version is showing its technical limitations and age, it’s still a fine way to play through the bountiful content spread across the game. Optimally it’s best played in handheld, but no matter how you play it, the gameplay is rock solid. Additionally, the way it treats baseball history with the Storylines mode is incredible. Now if only the video wasn’t so compressed and I didn’t have to worry about the game or server crashing at any point.

The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered is a solid port of an interesting but flawed game. If you want to explore some dungeon-like areas, rock some SaGa-like combat, and listen to some beautiful music, then it’s worth journeying through Avalon. Otherwise, this remains a game I think is neat but wouldn’t necessarily emphatically recommend to most aside from the specific group I just described.

Highwater's well told story, and surprisingly deep gameplay, made it hard to put down. It's not quite like any other narrative adventure game I’ve ever played. Combat and menu design can be a little clunky, but ultimately every encounter serves as a deliberate and well crafted puzzle. This is a very fresh take on a post apocalyptic story that oozes with satire, dark humor, and some oddly cozy end of the world vibes.

As a games-archivist myself, I cannot commend Digital Eclipse enough for having the ability and access to keep telling these stories in interactive and accessible formats. If you never grew up with a Commodore 64, I know how hard it can be to learn of this part of history. But the creators of Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter story allow you to make it as easy as opening an app on your phone. Not only that, but thanks to these additional contextual materials it allows the games to be understood and studied in the context of their time. It is something that archives, cultural institutions, libraries and perhaps even lawmakers should take note of.

Ultimately Side Order is a fun gameplay concept while it lasts. I’d suggest Splatoon fans play through the mode with each weapon once then bounce off. It’s a great game to play while listening to a podcast or something, but the lack of variety makes the mode get repetitive by the end especially if you’re trying to unlock everything. Hopefully this mode makes it into the inevitable next Splatoon with much more variety than what’s currently offered here.

If you enjoy classic Contra-style gameplay and want to wash the awful taste of Rogue Corps out of your mouth, Contra: Operation Galuga is a worthy palette cleanser. What it lacks in visual attractiveness, it does make up for with a solid run-and-gun experience that is comparable to the best Contra games of the past. The additional characters, four-player Arcade Mode, and tricky Challenge Mode extend the replay value, but some of the more fun, Easter egg-type perks that you can unlock require far too much grinding. While it may fall a bit short of being a sure-fire hit, Operation Galuga provides a fair amount of entertainment and some good ways of adjusting the difficulty of what has been a notoriously tough video game series.

Overall, New Star GP is a fun, bite-sized racing game that avoids some of the overly in-depth portions of the F1 series and skims the surface of team and car management to give you some control, all while keeping it simple and enjoyable. If you are someone like me who really likes the idea of multi-season sim racing but tires of the constant car development, juggling of team staff and 60-lap races, New Star GP is the game for you.

I’m not done with Alain’s campaign to restore his kingdom and set the world to rights, but there’s no denying how exciting and captivating Unicorn Overlord has turned out to be. It’s a love letter to deep, complex tactical RPGs and will most likely appeal to those who appreciate the Fire Emblem and Ogre Battle franchises, but as someone who only has very sparse memories of the latter, I’m still enthralled by what VanillaWare has done here. The Switch performance is excellent, and the art style remains one of the clear strengths of this developer. I expect that I’ll need another 10-20 hours to see the main story through to completion, and even more to discover all of the secrets hidden around the world map. Once those tasks are complete, I’ll be updating this review with a final score. Until then, I feel confident in saying we’re looking at another candidate that’s sure to take home some end-of-the-year accolades.

Inoffensive and tailor made for a young audience but that’s in no way meant as a knock against Snufkin. I came into this review completely uneducated to the world of Moominkin, but I think I’ve been won over to this part of Finnish folk stories. I saw Snufkin as a new indie cozy game, but instead found something charming, full of warmth and love. I discovered a whole world of stories I will now be reading to my young child. So long Frog and Toad! In a world where the Bluey game was a disappointment, I think this may be my child’s first video game that we play together, if only for more of the Moominkin world to explore. I came for the cozy game, but left with new parental gaming goals.

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.

The twists and turns will keep you engaged and by the end Pentiment left me feeling with a sense of joy, purpose and appreciation. I am quite certain that if you enjoy adventure games, story driven games or roleplaying games, you will too.

Honestly the disappointment on Cavern of Dreams hit me pretty hard. This genre has hit a fantastic revival era and I feel that the game really does attempt to carve its own identity. But it gets stuck in the mud of not being able to stand on its own. It feels too slow for a 3D platformer and there are too few collectibles to call it a collect-a-thon. Cavern of Dreams left me dreaming for a better game and that's just a real shame.

Much like the last several entries in the Picross S series on Switch, Picross S+ isn’t reinventing the wheel, but if you are hankering for more Picross, this is a great value and an excellent package. Jupiter remains the king of Picross, sitting on a throne filled with puzzles and a user interface that is evocative of the Switch’s home menu: straight to the point with a hint of whimsy.

Even though this is more or less my third time playing through Pocket Card Jockey, the game is as enthralling as ever. The main thing holding it back is that it just doesn’t flow as well if you primarily play Switch on a TV. As a portable game, especially since the races are relatively quick and easy to pick-up-and-play, it excels. One of the unsung heroes of the 3DS is now on Switch, and at a minimum it should win, place, or show in the pantheon of Switch greats.

It’s amazing that Sunsoft revisited Ufouria after multiple decades, especially because Ufouria: The Saga 2 feels like a full realization of the endearing game. It won’t take you more than a few hours to save the day, but it stays fresh throughout that play time whether you’re a newcomer to games or a well-worn Metroidvania veteran. I hope this isn’t the last time we see Hebe and his friends.

Star Wars Dark Forces Remastered is an excellent and faithful remaster that honors the original while touching it up just enough for modern platforms. While there are a couple areas where I feel they could have done just a little more, I can’t deny that this is the best way to play an excellent first person shooter. Whether you’re returning to it after three decades, or playing for the first time, there has never been a better version of Star Wars Dark Forces.