Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is a loyal interpretation of an early 2000s classic, now on Nintendo Switch. Once again with this series on this platform, the nostalgia is strong with those who stick by this as an example of what gaming should be today, but new players should be aware of what this game actually is, so that their expectations can be properly tempered. Jedi Academy takes the foundation of its previous game and uses player customization to provide polish and a deeper engagement with the story in a 10-12 hour experience, but it falls short in providing meaningful options in both side missions and online play. If that earns your purchase, then the question remains: what kind of Jedi will you become?

While the learning curve in Deep Sky Derelicts is very steep, as I began to really understand how the systems work I enjoyed it more and more. There’s a lot of replay value here with the different classes and the ships being procedurally generated, and a greater understanding of the mechanics helped me appreciate how well they all work together. If you enjoy deep RPGs in sci-fi settings, Deep Sky Derelicts is worth the effort.

Exit the Gungeon is a really fun arcade game to play in short bursts from time to time. However, once you start playing longer sessions, the random nature becomes more apparent and frustrating. Success and failure can feel out of your control, and the game just seems unfair at points. The lack of accessibility and alienation of new players makes the experience more frustrating than it should be. For lovers of the original, Exit the Gungeon comes with an easy recommendation. However, for those new to the series, it may be better to exit stage right.

If you’re looking for the next gripping narrative or memorable character moments, this is where Ara Fell trips up. If you just want a simple and recognizable JRPG experience to add to your Switch library, you could certainly do worse.

Curious Expedition is a unique experience that fails to live up to its inspirations. Lacking storytelling through areas that could have offered so much was seriously disappointing, as the gameplay loop offers mostly basic management and decision making that doesn’t keep you hooked. Repeated playthroughs are hindered by this as well, leaving this one feeling shallow and uninteresting.

I see what the team wanted to make, and it is exactly the kind of thing I go for. I did enjoy the comedy, and some of the drama was touching if occasionally tactless. But there are so many technical issues, so much dated gameplay design, so many dubious writing choices, and so much grinding tedium that it just eclipses the things I enjoy. I could deal with the technical issues, the weird story hiccups, and even some of the gameplay stuff if only I felt like I always knew what I needed to do. The tedium and the madness are the two things that stick out. And sadly, the tedium just outweighs the madness. I would love to recommend this game to new-found fans of games like the Yakuza series, because there is a tonal similarity, but I just can’t. Early games in that series were primitive, but they weren’t aimless.

Saints Row IV isn’t awful; the superpowers still make for some of the best world traversal I’ve ever played in an open-world game. Unfortunately, the superpowers are pretty much the only thing that’s really worth checking out in its own right. The rest of the game is merely competent at best. If the humor had been a bit more solid, or the story had a more distinct identity, it might be worth putting up with the rough edges. Sadly, Saints Row IV: Re-Elected would probably be better off getting primaried.

The Langrisser 1 & 2 collection is a pleasant tactical RPG collection with some gameplay quirks that range between novel and grating, and audiovisual stylistic choices that at times suit it well and at others are baffling. Overall, the core experience in this collection is sound enough to overlook the wild swings in presentation quality.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is an enjoyable game with its fair share of highs and lows. The gameplay loop is really entertaining, even if it only gets challenging in the post-game. The game may seem stiff, but the presentation in general is quite pleasant. Every nice thing I have to say, there are a few things that don’t sit right with me. Overall though, the flow of the game knows how to stay on top and kept me hooked until the very end. The improvements are more or less throwaways, but the core adventure is still a solid one. That is what counts in the end.

All in all, Wunderling was as fun and cute as I would have hoped. The simple controls are a welcome change from the standard side-scrolling platformer. The level design is really spectacular as well, leaving me smiling many times when I finally figured out how to get to certain places. Somehow, the platformer genre continues to entertain me, and Wunderling does a great job of bringing something both fresh and tried and true.

Panzer Dragoon Remake is every bit as good as the original. Unfortunately its modernization in some areas but not others, only shines a light on its age. It suffers from many of the same problems that any early 3D game brought into the modern age without some refinement does. It may look and sound like a brand new game, but underneath all that is a Sega Saturn game from 1995. Does that mean it's bad? Not directly, but you may occasionally need to remind yourself what you’re playing. It is merely unfortunate that with the same degree of care that was paid to its visual and auditory departments, the gameplay truly could have been given new life. I still find myself having a great time playing it, and look forward to improving my high score, but I can’t help but dream of what could have been.

The core experience of playing Snakeybus is amusing but fleeting. There are scoreboards for each level, but I suspect for most the experience isn’t grabbing enough at its foundation to justify trying to challenge those at the top. The soundtrack is mellow like that lo-fi hip hop beats to study to YouTube channel, but it becomes redundant quickly. Levels are a bright spot in their diversity in both the locales and how well each of them has their own sense of verticality/layering of lanes to drive in. If you’re looking for a breezy unique twist on a classic game, Snakeybus can provide a few hours of mild humor.

Shinsekai: Into the Depths really shows that you can’t assume a mobile port will be a subpar experience. Even with the tedious resource gathering and rough fall damage, this is a great Metroidvania that will surprise with how well it presents underwater platforming and exploration for a 2D experience.

Very early on, I knew that Good Job! was special, but it captured my attention from the bottom floor all the way up to the penthouse. The rudimentary presentation truly complements the humor of the physics and the fun of completing the objectives. Every floor of the office tower feels fresh, and reaching the end of the game brought both great satisfaction and also that bittersweet realization that I was finished with another wonderful gaming experience. Minor issues such as not being able to control the camera and occasionally finicky controls fail to hamper a thoroughly enjoyable puzzle game. If you are looking for a charming, funny, and innovative new game to play while cooped up inside, Good Job! represents one of the best candidates for the position.

My Hero One’s Justice 2 feels less like a sequel and more like an obligation - and that’s when it actually works. With the first game’s roster already a bit out of date by the time it launched, there was an obvious need to expand the lineup with characters from later in the show’s run. The roster now stands at around 40 fighters featuring characters through the end of the Shie Hassaikai arc in the fourth season of the anime. If you were really concerned with having the latest heroes and villains to play with in the arena, then I suppose your prayers have been answered. For anyone else, My Hero One’s Justice was already a tough sell, and now that I can’t even get past the title screen without the game freezing I cannot recommend this lazy sequel at all.

Operencia differs from a lot of the dungeon crawlers on Switch: it’s more of a low fantasy story, and its fixed story and chapters helps to differentiate it from the dozens of roguelikes and roguelites we’ve seen in the past few years. For that alone, Operencia: The Stolen Sun is worth a long look.

One Step From Eden is a good game, but it’s sorely lacking in accessibility options. If you haven’t measured your reaction time lately, you may want to do so before embarking on the perilous journey that is One Step From Eden.

Mekorama’s simple visuals and gameplay do nothing to hide its mobile roots, but we’ve seen scores of titles make their way from that platform to Switch. The transition for this game is certainly a very positive one given all the extra content and the added control scheme. While the music and sound effects are unremarkable, almost every stage presents a new and interesting challenge that would generally take a minute or three to solve. Those looking for a lighter, low-stress puzzle experience would do well to show Mekorama some love. I’ll give it a B for effort.

I suspect once the text skipping patch is live, that’ll be what draws me back into the Masquerade. It’s still an intriguing world, and it’ll help me to see more of it once I can get past the redundancy quicker. If you like darkness and blood in your visual novels, take a bite out of Coteries of New York.

Overall, Bubble Bobble 4 Friends is a great time but is lacking in content. From start to finish, the classic Bubble Bobble gameplay was a joy and return to form. However, only fifty new levels and the original arcade release left me feeling like there should have been much more included. For veterans of the Bubble Bobble series, this is a worthy follow up to the classics. For newcomers, the accessibility options, like the lack of a serious penalty for dying, make this one of the easiest places in the series to jump in. If you don’t mind the light amount of content, Bubble Bobble 4 Friends is an excellent pickup.

While the first two Doom games carry very little of the horror they may have originally had into the modern age, Doom 64 absolutely does. This game is still creepy, but without sacrificing any of the action of the originals. Its gameplay is refined and this port in particular cleans up its most egregious rough edge. The maps are as confusing as ever but being able to see where you’re going makes it much more tolerable. If you’re a classic Doom fan and have never played Doom 64, you owe it to yourself to pick it up. This just may be the best classic-style Doom.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a whole new approach to the series. While it has created some downsides, I can't understate how great this game has come together. The overall flow has been expanded with Nook Miles goals, DIY projects, and very lively animal friends. What I'm impressed by is how I was never left without something to do, and how I could see the world improve around me. There are a few things that New Horizons could have explained better, but they are also part of the more free flowing future that the franchise wants. Even after all these years, there is a daily routine that I hold dear and makes me adore the various elements that glue this game together. It has been sharply dialed up to eleven, without disagrading any newcomers.

This won't be for everyone, but if you’ve missed this era of video games, Hyperspace Delivery Service is a fairly fresh take on the genre.

I wish I loved La-Mulana 2. Everything about it is intensely engaging, from its tight controls to its interconnected world. The presentation—wonderful pixel art matched with an outstanding soundtrack—only makes the entire game more appealing. This game is an easy recommendation for anyone whose primary goal in playing video games is to overcome challenges. But let me serve as a cautionary tale for those who want other things out of video games. If this game is for you, then it is absolutely incredible. Sadly, with its high difficulty and demandingly complex puzzles, it is most certainly not for me.

When we didn’t have many options for baseball games on Switch, I put way more time into RBI Baseball than would be considered sane. But with the arcade realm owned by the two Super Mega Baseball games and the Arcade Archives, and the best in the business arriving next year, RBI Baseball is probably going to end up as a talking head on a team’s postgame show.

All in all, Alder’s Blood has all the right parts. Gameplay is solid, with an interesting story, and a variety of mechanics that keep things interesting. However, the difficulty being tied so closely to RNG-based wind means sometimes it really blows to try and finish up a quest. Matching that with inconsistent AI and you have an overall package that falls a tad short of the high expectations. A few minor changes could make this a really special variation on the Bloodborne formula.

Overall Ganbare! Soccer Strikers isn’t the tactical soccer experience I was hoping for. There are many soccer games out there, with some fantastic characterization and design choices. I would forgive the visual style and lack of options if the strategy gameplay was fulfilling enough. But honestly, there is only a surface level of strategic options here that will keep players engaged for a long time. If you are picking this title up, be sure to play it with a friend to have some fun with it in the local multiplayer modes. But if you are looking for either a good soccer or a good RTS game, you unfortunately will not find it here.

Rolling credits on Sky Racket left me feeling a little ambivalent. It’s a decidedly enjoyable experience from beginning to end, and it feels like an excellent co-op game if you have a partner to join you. That said, it’s definitely on the shorter side, and having more stages before the boss fights would have made getting to them more rewarding. The variety present here is great, but I can’t help but feel like this main course is leaving me a little hungry. If you don’t mind running through stages multiple times to achieve all of the objectives, or you’re looking for a fresh and compact co-op game, Sky Racket is certainly worth a look. The amount of content and the controls do leave something to be desired, though.