Ultimately, there is much to discover both below and above the waterline, including aliens, mysterious messages, and even a mech that can walk on the ocean floor. While those looking out for signposting and clear directions should probably keep their feet dry, those who enjoy a more laid-back, albeit grindy, experience can safely dip their toes in these waters.

Kill It With Fire is fun. While it’s just about as bare bones as you can get and totally lacks the variety you’d want from a more long-term experience, there’s just something about repeatedly murdering spiders in various ways that puts a smile on your face. For those looking for something simple to mess around with on occasion (or as a way to vent stress) you’d do well looking into this one, while those looking for something more full-fledged should probably keep moving down the line.

I didn’t understand what R-Type Final 2 was doing with its Practice difficulty—you’d think it’d be easy with unlimited continues. I mean, we’re talking about PRACTICE. It took me several days to get the idea of what the game was doing, so I’m probably going to bounce off it. It’s only really recommended for those with way better reflexes than me—which to be fair, is probably everyone reading this.

Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos is a beautiful application of a roguelike system with a 2D dungeon crawler format married perfectly to a town-building system and overworld that invites exploration and grinding gems to uncover more things to do outside of combat. This is a no-brainer for classic Zelda fans or anyone looking for co-op fun, and it’s absolutely been the best gaming experience so far for me in 2021.

It’s a laid back, short session skateboarding game with a great style. Unfortunately, it does feel like a mobile game with its simplistic gameplay loop, reused challenges, and few maps. Despite its limitations, I found myself returning over and over again to try to 3-star every challenge long after I maxed out my stats. That’s what Skate City brings to the table. A breezy, no-stress experience that’s addicting for 15-minute intervals. If you are looking for some low pressure coffee shop skateboarding, this is the game for you.

World Splitter brings an interesting concept to puzzle platforming, and for the most part executes it well. While it can be frustrating at times, I’d recommend it to fans of the genre looking for something new who want a thoughtful and challenging experience.

Fly Together is just a purely enjoyable game with easy-to-learn gameplay ideas that develop in complexity over the course of dozens of levels. It works best in multiplayer, especially if you can get eight people together, but even as a solo game, this works as an enjoyable and chill puzzle game where you play the role of navigator, sending flights all over the place.

New Pokemon Snap is exactly what the name implies. It is a new Pokemon Snap and that’s it. It doesn’t reinvent the gameplay, nor does it add to it or even clean it up. Quality of life issues that were present in 1999 stand proudly untouched in 2021. That being said, if you just wanted another Pokemon Snap, this is exactly that. It is significantly bigger than the original, and photo editing options in combination with Twitter and Facebook integration make it a somewhat more social experience. While it is easy to say this is the definitive Pokemon Snap experience, I can’t help but find myself wanting something that truly feels new rather than simply more. New Pokemon Snap is a loyal-to-a-fault sequel, that hopefully harkens to something a bit more adventurous down the line.

Breathedge doesn’t quite hit that Galaxy Quest level of parody that is on par with its subject, but it is still reasonably entertaining. Unfortunately the gameplay itself suffers from a few serious pacing and mechanical issues, but the story may be funny enough to push you through. Ultimately Breathedge is, at best, a mediocre survival game with a pretty good story. While I wouldn’t suggest this as your first survival game, if you’re a fan of the genre, specifically Subnautica, you’ll likely find some things to enjoy here.

I struggled reviewing Poison Control; it has real notable flaws and dramatically overplays its hand with some of the anime tropes. The game is repetitive, and feels like it overstays its welcome despite not being particularly long. And yet, there are still plenty of moments that earned chuckles and even laughter. I still felt the urge to fully explore every inch of the Hells. I still did the extra, and still had some absent-minded fun freeing the Belles from their worries. Hell, I even grew to like members of the tropey cast. But, the game is what it is. I think some people will really enjoy Poison Control, but you already know who you are. The rest of you will likely find it a bit dull and potentially off-putting.

All in all Plants vs. Zombies - Battle for Neighborville is a worthy timesink if you’re looking for a fun, lighthearted multiplayer shooter. It has its issues running on the Switch but there’s nothing game-breaking. Though its single-player offerings may quickly wilt, you’re still likely to find yourself digging this one up time and time again.

Buildings Have Feelings Too! stands on its own in terms of a city management game of this style, and it’s that uniqueness that makes it something worth taking a look at. Some performance issues in load times and frame rate dips are an annoyance, but otherwise if you’re someone who likes the strategy of city management titles, but are looking for a less serious experience, then this is definitely right up your alley.

The House In Fata Morgana had a profound effect on me: I now have an answer to the question of “what was the last game to leave you in tears”, and they went from tears of sadness to joy after the main story’s stinger. I’m not sure there’s going to be another visual novel on Switch that hits me this hard - but I’d love to see someone try.

Godstrike surrounds its sole interesting mechanic with mediocrity, and there’s very little reason to recommend it at all. It controls fine and offers some replay value, but the steep initial difficulty curve, lackluster story, and middling presentation position this title well below others of its ilk. I do like how after the timer runs out you enter a “sudden death” situation, where the next hit will end your run, but that’s another small positive lost among the negatives. I’m eager to see further iteration on the boss rush-style action game, but I don’t need three strikes to call this one out.

Creating a genre-spanning adventure game is no small feat, but to do so while subverting all expectations is something to be applauded. TINGWD does all these things and more. It’s successful in melding comedy and thought-provoking gameplay. Some tropes wear out their welcome eventually, but pushing past the annoyances yields a gaming triumph. It fits among other progressive games like the Stanley Parable or Thomas Was Alone but carves out its own unique space. There isn’t anything like There Is No Game. Well, there isn’t really a game at all, right?

The original Shantae is a lovely little game that too few people were able to experience, so I’m thrilled that it’s available for mass consumption on the eShop. Franchise fans should, of course, jump on this as soon as humanly possible, but folks curious about the series or who just want some GBC nostalgia will enjoy it too.

The premise of Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is a solid one, and it should be quirky and unique enough to stand out, but it’s hard not to feel let down by what’s on offer. The lack of depth and content are noticeable, and any kind of post-game or replay value—especially without a map—don’t contribute enough to make this a clear recommendation. I want to like this game more than I did, and while I enjoyed Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion well enough, the experience is over far too soon. It would seem that Turnip Boy got off light this time. Must have been for time served or good behavior.

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.

When Fez clicks, it’s sublime. Bouncing through the world while rotating it to figure out the right way to reach a platform nails the right balance of difficulty and reward. The way the game opens up as you play, revealing secrets on top of secrets is something I’ve never seen another game land quite as well. What stands out most to me about Fez after nine years is that I’m in the midst of my third playthrough and even with some of the sheer novelty being lessened, I’m as enthralled as I was back in 2012. Fez stands as a truly unique indie game that draws inspiration from classics but is wholly its own precious and maddening experience that needs to be played.

There’s fun to be had, but only in specific circumstances and even then in short bursts. Like it’s name implies, Bamerang comes and goes in your memory as quickly as it came. A good party game that shows promise, but is best used as a warm up for other activities.

Compared to modern day videogames this acts as more of a museum piece, exemplifying when game quality was based on hours of content and less on quality. A time when players would spend hundreds of hours exploring every nook and cranny with little motivation other than “to see what happens.” The lack of direction, confusing combat system and sheer difficulty made me take the rose colored glasses off to a much harsher game. One that refuses to let you play any other way besides the rules set originally in 1989. The story is intriguing with twists and turns throughout. The animation is still top notch and famed composer Kenji Ito’s scores are still awe inspiring but it’s tough to see whether that is enough to want to fully revisit it. It hits different by today’s standards. With Saga Frontier, the developers were asking more if they could, and never asking if they should.

At its core, Future Aero Racing S Ultra’s problem is that the whole experience is half-baked. A decent sense of speed with maniacal track design and near flawless drivers. Visually inconsistent style that just highlights the problem areas. Music that is in the right genre but is somewhere between lacking and outright horrifying. I had high hopes for Future Aero Racing S Ultra, but instead i’ll be playing more Fast RMX.

I enjoyed Rain on Your Parade, largely due to its consistent creativity and invention. This is a profoundly silly game that operates in that often untouched comedic space in video games. Sure, not every joke lands, and sometimes the goals are underexplained, but that also just sounds like how I could describe every comedy I’ve ever experienced. I welcome more video game comedies like Rain on Your Parade.

As much comedic potential as Say No! More has, it feels like it only scratches the surface of what is possible within this specific setting and world. The levels are pretty repetitive and lack a lot of player agency. While the style, atmosphere, themes and story are very good I don’t think I will return to Say No! More in the future. Not because I think I shouldn’t say no more, if anything this game made me realize that I do say yes too many times in my life, but because like a good self-help book, the real change begins when you’re finished reading the story.

I Saw Black Clouds does a lot of things successfully in the FMV genre. The acting and cinematography are impressive for a title with a smaller budget. The internal systems also lead to lots of interesting variations in the story. Unfortunately, the shotty editing and hap-hazard final act leave something to be desired. It’s a benefit to know that it can be completed in a single sitting, which might make for a fun, suspense-filled evening activity. Be prepared, though: it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

For those who already know and love Trails of Cold Steel, it would seem worthwhile to seek out the other two Trails series to really appreciate the richness of the world of Zemuria and the scores of character interactions and references that come up in Trails of Cold Steel IV, an excellent bookend to the incredible journey of Rean and Class VII. I’ve always said that the mark of a great role-playing game is in that bittersweet feeling you get when it’s over. I’m happy to have seen this story to completion, but for a while I’ll be sad that my adventures with this likeable and colorful cast have also ended.

What the Dub is a great little party game in the tradition of the Jackbox series, and it will definitely see a lot of play at my house thanks to my own predilections.

Star Wars: Republic Commando is one of the single greatest Star Wars games ever made. While that largely holds true on Switch, it is unfortunate that it doesn’t really provide a definitive experience. At best you get a higher resolution but with pared back visuals and rough performance, it's somewhat difficult to justify outside of handheld mode against the original version. It is a shame that simply loading the original Xbox version disc into a Xbox Series X produces a better remaster than this official remaster. This is still an excellent game, and the Switch version doesn’t take that away, but issues present here significantly dull what ought to be a gleaming jewel.