This is the game that solidified my faith in Arc System Works as a developer, and they’ve only proven themselves more and more in the years since. Admittedly part of me would’ve preferred a sequel that also included the cast of Persona 5, but I’m not complaining about getting a chance to revisit one of the finest fighting games I’ve ever played.

There’s a lot of game here, and there are a lot of places they can take this franchise. DOTM is a fun time, and one I’ve greatly enjoyed.

Bus Driver Simulator Countryside is, put simply, not good. If you can nail the long-winded button scheme and control the bus any better than I can, you might get something out of it. But even still, there's still not much. It’s slow-paced, laggy, and the environment just isn’t friendly to you. The curbs will just stop you in your tracks, and the other vehicles will just keep going as if you don’t exist. Everything is against you in Bus Driver Simulator Countryside, and in turn, I am against Bus Driver Simulator Countryside.

Should you find yourself looking for something to take you away from your own mobile screen (not the Switch screen, of course), give Land of Screens a look. It is on the short side, but the story is heartfelt and incredibly charming. You can play through any of the chapters a second time if you so choose, even though there isn’t much of a reason to do so. I could only think of a couple of times where you can make a choice in the game and the only thing it would affect is a handful of dialogue responses. As far as I know there aren’t any alternate endings, so there isn’t much of a reason to play through it again. It did leave me interested in the other games from the publisher already available on the eShop. If you are looking for a chill, short, impactful game with a great story, Land of Screens comes highly recommended.

Chocobo GP is a totally fine kart racer, featuring a good deal to unlock and more than 20 characters. This isn’t the new gold standard for the genre, but it’s still a fun ride, especially with the syrupy sweet story and good deal of Final Fantasy references. The true potential is in the potential of the titular Chocobo GP mode, which is also the stand-out feature for the entire game. The fact it’s accessible with the Lite mode might give it a longer tail. Some of the season pass content rubs me the wrong way, but the base game is satisfying enough that it’s a good time even if you don’t shell out real-world money to race as Cloud.

Hundred Days is the definition of the saying: “You can’t rush perfection.” It does a phenomenal job as a strategy game by making you live through the hardships of the winemaking process. The game provides you with all the tools you need to create a great wine, but also teaches you how hard this actually is, and how little control you do have over it. This gameplay loop of figuring out how to improve your wines, and fighting against the overwhelming odds makes Hundred Days an absolutely unique experience on the Switch. I do hope that the game will be updated with additional controller options over time, because I can see myself playing Hundred Days for far longer than that title suggests.

While The Cruel King and the Great Hero is a beautiful game and aesthetically unique compared to other RPGs, it's the core gameplay and super slow pacing that stops this from being something I'd recommend over more standard RPGs that do almost everything else better. I'm sorry, Yuu, you're probably one of the most adorable protagonists I've ever played as, but that just isn't enough!

Alas, I wanted to love Young Souls more than I did, but the barely serviceable port gets in the way of what should have been a great experience. While there are some odd design choices in terms of how equipment is acquired and the fact that there isn’t enough to spend your money on, the minute-to-minute gameplay is certainly better than your generic beat-’em-up. These foul-mouthed twins had me cracking up on multiple occasions, but the software closing unexpectedly had me cursing just as often. There’s definitely potential with this one, but it’s probably worth exploring other platform options if you have them. Even though you can see the heart and charm that goes along with these two souls, a bit more polish would have gone a long way.

Aztech Forgotten Gods stumbles its way into being something special. It certainly has faults both technical and simply in terms of design. At the same time it is also incredibly bold when it comes to its ambition. The unique elements of its design are executed very well, and it's only in that final pass of polish that its limitations are truly evident. Even then, I struggled to put Aztech Forgotten Gods down once I started playing it. As I said at the outset, Aztech Forgotten Gods is perfect imperfection. While I can’t ignore its faults, I found myself significantly more enamored with its successes.

Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve now reviewed eleven games from the same developer in the last two years, but I’d really like to see them take some more risks with the endings in these romance games. Variable Barricade seemed like it would be the time, but the ending did leave me feeling a bit baited. But I accept that I’m part of a very small minority compared to the rest of the audience, and if you’re looking for romantic hijinx with a side of gritted teeth then climb over the barricade.

I desperately want Undying Moon to be a linear, level-based adventure where I can see all the levels and fight all the bosses without enduring the tedious rigmarole that roguelites require. Keep the randomized level layouts! Keep the randomized paths and boss encounters if you have to, but just let me play your beautiful game without all these roadblocks. Eventually, I just got sick of Undying Moon. It was more frustrating than compelling, in part because it does so much right, but its wings are clipped right out the gate by its grind-heavy, roguelite trappings. There are better roguelites out there (Binding of Isaac and Dead Cells, for example), but I’m sorry to say none of them look nearly as amazing as Undying Moon.

If you're looking for a brutal platformer that won't treat you with kid gloves, Will You Snail is one of the most unique games you'll find on Switch. I've played my fair share of titles in the genre, but I've never really seen anything like this. The diabolical Squid is as annoying as it is crafty, and seeing how it conjures up spikes, laser beams, and other instruments of death according to your own movements feels incredibly fresh. Even though I had to drop the difficulty a few times to make my way through, Squid always brought it back up eventually to keep the game challenging. However you choose to play it, the ability to alter the challenge at will makes Will You Snail eminently approachable. You'll probably grow to hate Squid pretty early on, but that just makes it all the more satisfying to shut it down. I've Snailed and lived to tell the tale, and it's absolutely worth playing through, just not at a snail's pace.

Video games as a medium have come a long way since the early aughts, and that’s the lens you have to view Bloodrayne through to enjoy yourself with it. The presentation is grimey and dark, which feels befitting of its tone, but it rarely looks good or interesting. Rayne as a character is a cardboard cut-out of female action stars of the time, and the story would be laughably bad if it weren't there already. As well, the action has aged poorly with its unrefined hack and slash nature, even if you can wring a few drops of fun out of it. It’s hard to recommend Bloodrayne to anyone other than people who've played it and have a fond nostalgia for it.

At the end of my day in The Wild at Heart, I am really happy with the adventure I had. I am going to continue to explore to my own heart’s content, and I look forward to finding every last treasure, missing cat, deep lore page, and mysterious secret. I wish there had been a little more care put into how the difficulty was handled, but even so, this was a really pleasant time. Hopefully this isn’t the last we see of Wake and Kirby, as I expect that there is a lot of room for them to continue to grow into young adults, and there is room to perfect what is otherwise an enjoyable experience.

It’s hard to have an in-depth breakdown of Breakout Recharged because the core structure is so simple. But that uncomplicated nature is an asset. The developer knew to keep the focus on the fundamentals - multiple game modes to keep things fresh, a way to play with friends, leaderboards, and a clean look. If you’re not a fan of brick breakers, then this won’t convert you. But if the last one you played was Arkanoid, then you’re in for a fun revisit.

Glee-Cheese Studio’s motto is to develop innovative games with a strong artistic identity. With A Musical Story, they have done exactly this. It plays and looks like no other rhythm game out there and, to me, is close to faultless. I am very excited to see what they will produce next. Here’s hoping for an album release of the soundtrack on streaming services… Please!

Triangle Strategy doesn’t reinvent the strategy RPG genre, but it polishes it to an HD-2D shine. Each facet of the game complements the others, and at every turn I was left waiting with baited breath to see what would happen next. A new game plus mode unlocks after rolling credits, making it all the easier to dive back in and uncover paths yet untrod, and the second I had completed one route I felt that overwhelming rush to see what I had missed. The grid-style, turn-based combat lives up to the best of its predecessors, and while it may lack the customizability of a job system, the cavalcade of recruitable party members is a worthy replacement. Whether you’re in it for the story, the gameplay, or the aesthetics, the total package is one for the ages, and from any angle the strategy is clear: add Triangle Strategy to your Switch library. Maybe tell friends and family to end their turn; you’re going to be busy for a while.

If you do manage to suffer through the game, including its frustrating final boss, you’ll be rewarded to another manga cutscene, another beautiful David Liu cutscene (which I would like as a desktop background), and another McDuffee song. And then, and this is truly the best part of RCGZ, you unlock the ability to play the Intro, Outro, and End Credit sequences from the main menu. You can also flip through scanned pages of the original game’s Japanese instruction booklet if that’s your bag. I haven’t played too many games where the bread is the best part of the sandwich, but here we are.

Atelier Sophie 2 does not reinvent the wheel nor blow me away as far as RPGs go, but it did lull me into a peaceful, coma-like state of gratification. This game severely lacks intensity or high stakes and I think that’s kind of the point. It’s a warm bowl of soup when the weather outside is frightful.

Having The Ezio Collection together in a single package like this is the ideal way to experience these games. These are incredible games that, while showing their age, remain a joy to experience. There are absolutely weaker moments that feel a bit repetitive, but there are also plenty of reminders as to why these games are so highly revered. Assassin’s Creed Revelations in particular is easily one of the best entries in the entire series. This Switch release certainly has some drawbacks, and it's arguable that a straight port of the original games at a higher resolution might have yielded better results than this down-port of the remasters, but the net result remains positive. Performance is overall a significant improvement over the original releases and still a superior way to play. It’s unfortunate that Ubisoft has decided to work their way backwards through the original Assassin’s Creed story arc with their Switch releases, but even if you haven’t played the original, this trilogy holds up incredibly on its own.

As we come to the end of another card-filled yarn, my final impression is a positive one. Both Voice of Cards entries present an accessible RPG form for newcomers and enough meat on the bones for veterans. While I was left wanting a bit more length for the first game, The Forsaken Maiden simply feels like an experiment that didn't fully hit the mark. Part of that could also be blamed on a new voice for the narrator/GM, which sounds younger and less weathered or seasoned. Dividing the focus into multiple smaller stories may have hurt the overarching narrative, but this is still an RPG worth playing, with secrets and replay value for intrepid card sharks. I'll be interested to see how, and how quickly, Square Enix follows up with another Voice of Cards title. It seems like this series won't soon be silenced, and that's a good thing.

Grapple Dog has some neat ideas, and it keeps them coming throughout the campaign so it continues to mix things up along the way, but it doesn’t really stand out in a major way. It’s an enjoyable game, but it doesn’t do any one thing exceptionally well. If you’re a platformer freak like I am it’s definitely worth a look, but there’s not much here to put it above some of the great examples of the genre on Switch.

SOL CRESTA is an intense and deep vertical shooter entry on Switch, and genre enthusiasts would be doing themselves a favor by adding it to their libraries. In-game achievements unlock new content, such as Caravan Mode, online leaderboards, and the aforementioned Sound Test. Even finishing the final stage on normal difficulty is a steep challenge that requires a fair measure of skill, particularly with swapping formations and the slowing of time that this ability grants. If this is the level of quality we can expect from future arcade-style shooters courtesy of PlatinumGames, I’ll be demanding as many as we can get, until Kamiya-san blocks me on Twitter.

If I’m not having fun with an RPG I’ve noticed lately that I have to force myself to play it. Monark started strong but my opinion of it dropped rapidly every time I spent an hour checking everything I had unlocked in the school; I had to be missing SOMETHING that would get me to proceed, right? If you’re feeling sharp and are okay with little to no environmental variety then Monark might be worth a look - there’s a demo for it - but it’s nowhere near the best RPG from this developer in the last six months.

Action Arcade Wrestling is a fun pick-up-and-play arcade wrestling game to play with a friend. It won’t hold your attention for too long. Still, with the massive pool of customizability and readily available downloads from the AAW community, there is enough here to wet a wrestling fans’ appetite. If only it had the same depth with its available modes, it would have gone from a good game to a great one.

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.

If you can laser focus on the strategy elements, and maybe favor diplomacy over direct conflict, there is a playable though still rough experience here. But if you’re looking for satisfying Warriors combat, there are plenty of better options already on Switch.

As sure as the sun rises and sets (and wait until you see that in game), the Switch eShop will receive more and more titles hoping to cash in on NES-fueled nostalgia; don’t let that stop you from picking up the immensely satisfying throwback that is Infernax. Even though my mace and armor are dripping with demonic ichor, I’m still ready to charge back in.