I wrapped up Little Noah: Scion of Paradise in around ten hours. It was just such a refreshing feeling to finish up with a game in this style in a short period. I really appreciated the simple gameplay loop of going on a run, finding cool familiars, and figuring out the best order to put them in. I didn't feel bogged down by the systems cause I knew no matter how good or bad a specific run went, I’d still be coming out of one with some currency to work on the next upgrade I wanted. I would have liked some optional modes now that I’m finished with Little Noah, like a daily challenge mode or something, but I still had a fun time and recommend it to anyone curious.

Returning to Arcadia Bay has been pretty disappointing for me. The magic that I felt from the game in 2015 is gone as playing the episodes in quick succession makes their flaws all the more obvious. I would be unsure about recommending the best port of this game now, but my feelings on the Switch version specifically are far less complicated. This is not a very good port, and the baffling difference in quality between the original game and its prequel only makes that more blatant. If I could rewind time, I would go back and avoid playing this port so I could simply live with my positive memories of the original instead of confronting the serious letdown the remaster has turned out to be.

Them's Fightin' Herds is one of those indie games with a lot of heart and moxie, that wears its heart on its sleeve and shoots for the stars with what it tries for, even if not everything comes out polished on first blush. It is a fighting game born out of passion and intersects at a weird venn diagram of people that a project like this will even appeal to. In 2020 at its 1.0 launch on PC, Them's Fightin' Herds was something that had such wildly new ideas for how to take fighting games as a genre forward, and came at the perfect time for online play to take center stage. In 2022, it is ever so slightly harder to recommend when games in the triple A space seem to have taken notice of features that TFH beat them to market with. If you want a game with heart, soul, and a unicorn that shoots a demon out of her magic book, you've come to the right place. if you want a fighting game that's got the correct number of buttons for single Joy-Con play with a friend on the go, TFH ain't a bad choice for that either!

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope takes the fantastic canvas that was Kingdom Battle and paints a masterpiece on it. The combat is as fun as it is strategic, and each world is a delight to roam through. The added freedom in terms of movement during battles and the light RPG elements pair exquisitely with the slapstick Rabbid humor and the whimsical music composed by industry titans Kirkhope, Shimomura, and Coker. The story serves its purpose well enough, even if the ending is a bit lackluster, but the gameplay is unassailable. If you liked its predecessor, you'll love Sparks of Hope. It sets a new bar for Mario-themed spinoffs, and I'm full of hope that the series doesn't end here.

And after several months of student life and stylish fighting, Persona 5 Royal holds up perfectly in its portable form.

Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova is a straightforward, easy to understand adventure game that does its job of being approachable for a younger audience. The inclusion of optional cooperative multiplayer locally on a single system earns it some bonus points for being playable with friends, siblings, or parents. Fans of the series will also find plenty to enjoy from familiar characters. While combat can get a little repetitive, the puzzles are genuinely inventive. Ultimately whether a trekkie or not, Supernova provides a reasonably solid experience with fun multiplayer that is approachable for everyone.

I said that Moonscars is a game of inches and I mean it—you’ll fight for every inch of progress. Personally, the game presented too many challenges for my enjoyment. If the difficulty didn’t go up every time I died or I could activate checkpoints without having to fight a clone afterwards, it might be a different story, but I don’t appreciate being punished for doing inevitable things (dying, saving). Did you find Hollow Knight and Blasphemous too easy? If so, Moonscars may give you the challenge you crave. For the rest of us? It has limited utility.

This is a game anyone with an understanding of the toy can pick up and enjoy. While a more mature single player will probably not stick around too long, this is one that families will definitely appreciate on whatever platform they choose to play.

Atari Mania is endearing and enjoyable despite some stumbles, especially if you hold some form of nostalgia for the old Atari brand. I had a good time with this even if I felt like I was waiting too long between batches of mini-games. The overworld puzzles ended up being one of the cooler parts of this package. I just wish the mini-games erred more on the side of WarioWare excellence as opposed to the muddy middleground.

Temtem proves that there is still room for competition in the monster catching and battling space. There’s also proof here that games like Digimon or Pokemon, while doing a lot well, leave a lot of things on the table and that’s where Temtem shines. It’s easy to write it off as a copy-pasted clone, but the additional features of co-op battles, deep synergy combat mechanics, and rich endgame content culminate in a real diamond in the rough for those finding the competitors lacking. The main story content can be rote but for those hardcore fans wanting something deeper, Temtem may be what you’re looking for. Temtem is both better and worse than the opposition, and I think that’s okay.

No Man’s Sky makes the jump to Switch mostly unscathed. In terms of performance it greatly exceeds my expectations, but at the cost of a couple features. Settlements are ultimately a minor loss but multiplayer will be significant to many players. Hello Games hasn’t ruled out adding it in the future, but it is worth being aware of if you’re planning to pick up No Man’s Sky on Switch. Beneath these few complaints is an incredible game that outdoes anything else in its genre. It is one of those games you can play indefinitely.

Youropa left me feeling quite ambivalent about the final product. As a puzzle game it has some clever mechanics and explores them with plenty of abilities to extend your playing experience for quite some time. However it must be said that this playtime feels extended by a sluggish pace that makes exploration and even some of the puzzle solving feel exhausting at times. The game runs good enough on Switch and for those who like trying their hand at creating games or levels of their own, Youropa has plenty to offer here. But if you’re looking for something with its own personality or a story that will keep you engaged while solving these puzzles, you’re going to have to pull some other strings.

It's a shame that No Place for Bravery crumbles under the weight of its ambition. Should the performance and technical issues be fixed, it would become something I could easily recommend. The music, story, and visuals are all wonderfully crafted, and it would be unfortunate if this version ended the final product. Fortunately, it does seem like patches are in the works, but it remains to be seen how much of the above issues are fixed by them. Ultimately, No Place for Bravery is a promising title that may be able to live up to its aspirations with a little more work under the hood.

As this made-up storybook was created by a young child, I feel that RPG Time: The Legend of Wright is intended for a younger audience or as something a parent can use to introduce video games to their kids. There are even a few times where it recommends you play with an adult. But with the overly hand-holdy approach to some of the gameplay, I fear a lot of younger kids would quickly lose interest when there’s a lot of downtime due to control being taken away or a lot of dialogue. I still think the game has some fun moments that made me chuckle and features a lot of great hand-drawn art, but I find it hard to recommend this as the best option for the first game for a young child.

It was interesting to read through Episodio 1926 to see what happened to the characters and how they would deal with the fascist threat that was only growing in Italy. The text issues (especially in necessary scenes for best endings) were a bit annoying, and if you’re not going for 100% completion it’s possible to run the story through as a long weekend read.

Tinykin is a “stop and smell the roses'' kind of game that is brief in a way that gives a meaningful experience without overstaying its welcome. Its charming world and endearing characters are a pleasant window dressing to this safe, mellow bit of fun, and that’s all it needs to be. Splashteam’s singular focus on exploration and charm runs deep, and the end result is laudable for their Sophomore outing.

NieR Automata is one of my favorite games ever made. I was nervous about how it would hold up on Switch, especially given how troublesome its PC port was at launch, and I am incredibly happy to have been wrong to worry. This might be the best third-party Switch port I’ve ever played, which makes it incredibly easy to recommend this game to anyone who has never played it before. There are simply no two ways about it: NieR Automata was a triumph of design in 2017, and it is a triumph of porting big games to Switch in 2022.

Despite the control issues, I’ve been enchanted by Dorfromantik because it’s a zen-like relaxing game that keeps me engaged with bountiful variety and just-enough strategy. If you’re seeking a level-based puzzle challenge or a boisterous multiplayer experience, Dorfromantik won’t be for you, but if you’re down for some low-key tile tinkering, this is a gem.

Tunic is a modern masterpiece and its mysteries, secrets, and puzzles will stay with you for a long time after the credits roll.

I can see why Amnesia: Memories ended up as a breakout hit for the developer, even if I had to bite my tongue for most of an evening working my way through a route. It contained a lot more of the little quality of life items I took for granted in their later works, and if you’re curious about romance games, this is a fine starting point.

It’s hard to fully rate these fan discs or compilations of post-game content because they’re so dependent on how well the base game clicked with you, or if you weren’t satisfied with the handling of a suitor and want to see them get their comeuppance. Later x Crowd is one of the better fandisc treatments on the Switch, however, with a good mix of modes and two games worth of fanservice. It’s a definite recommendation after clearing the original.

The most glaring problem for Bear and Breakfast is that controlling the game is an immense chore on Switch, which means it ends up being a chore to help a bear complete his own chores. Opening up new areas and completing specific goals to move forward in the game is rewarding, but trying to navigate menus with the clumsy control scheme isn't worth getting out of bed for. Despite its flaws, Bear and Breakfast is no doubt a better game on PC, so play it there if you're smarter than the average bear.

This feels like a different flavor of Shovel Knight, but thankfully it never feels off-brand. Dig is not a sequel, but even calling it a spin-off doesn’t feel totally right. This is just the 2D side-scrolling adventures of Shovel Knight’s origins displayed through a different vertical lens with a dash of arcade roguelike design tossed in. Through it all, the bountiful creativity that Yacht Club has made their staple is everywhere throughout the experience.

Cursed to Golf is an extremely compelling, if also unforgiving, game. It succeeds at being an incredibly unique take on both the rogue-like and 2D golf formulas. The difficulty may be off putting to some, though, and an argument can be made that it would be better off with some adjustments made in that department. That being said, it is hard to deny the underlying quality and charm that this game exudes with every swing of the club. Cursed to Golf is a big deal for relative newcomer developer Chuhai Labs. While the studio has developed and published several titles and their lineage can be traced back through multiple companies well represented on Nintendo platforms, Cursed to Golf may very well be the game that puts them on the map.

I don't dislike Potion Permit, but I also find a good chunk of reasons to be disappointed by it. The town of Moonbury is charming with a massive cast of varied and fun characters, and the resource gathering gameplay loop has the usual ability to keep you sucked in for hours, but there's just something there that made me feel like it wasn't scratching the itch as well as it could have. Add to that the various technical issues and the inexcusable crime of not allowing me to romance Helene, and it is difficult to imagine recommending this game to someone before pointing them towards many of the other options popping up around it. Despite all it does well, Potion Permit doesn’t quite do enough to stand apart from the crowd.

Beacon Pines is an incredibly neat narrative adventure game that feels unique in terms of its mechanics. The story and mystery presented in the game’s world feel fun to discover, and the drastic differences noticed while going back and forth between different branches will likely be enough to keep your attention for the game’s 6 to 7-hour runtime. I especially enjoyed the game’s narrator, as she gives a delightfully enthusiastic (if not cheesy) performance throughout. If you want a complicated story with a simple delivery method, and a fun way of branching around, Beacon Pines is definitely a game to give a try.

Overall, Jack Move is likely going to be one of my favorite games of the year, and I wish more bite-sized RPGs like it existed. Visually the game’s pixel art is a treat to look at, and this is only bolstered by the fantastic soundtrack that accompanies it. Bright Town feels alive and NPCs have their own side stories that happen as the main story progresses, encouraging me to talk to every NPC at every possible opportunity to learn about things like the woman dating a mafia runner or the two hacker sisters who are clearly on another level. If you enjoy the cyberpunk aesthetic and want a short RPG to spend a weekend on, Jack Move is absolutely the place to go for a good time.

Ultimately, your experience with Legend of Heroes games will likely shape your enjoyment of Trails from Zero. While the background of the Trails in the Sky trilogy will help to explain certain events and moments, these three games simply aren't available on modern consoles; you'd probably need to play them on Steam. If you played Cold Steel 3 and 4, which came to Switch in 2020 and 2021, respectively, you may find that the more insulated first Crossbell game plays it a little too safe. Fortunately, Lloyd and the rest of the SSS make for likable characters that you can't help but root for. The dialogue-heavy second half of the game can drag a little bit, but the cumulative experience is still a positive one that I would recommend to RPG fans. With Trails to Azure coming in 2023, the stable of Falcom titles on Switch continues to grow, and there's Zero reason to be unhappy about that.