Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk DX seems to be a decent entry point into the world of Atelier, and its crafting system hides a depth that will satiate more meticulous players. The main story does take a back seat to the character interactions and exploration of the world, but I had some fun seeing Ayesha’s journey (nearly) to completion.

It is clear that there was ambition behind Lumini’s development. A living, breathing world, combined with an effective soundtrack was certainly impressive, but the boring gameplay and abundance of performance issues ruin any sort of enjoyment of the game. If you are looking for a game that scratches that Journey or Pikmin itch, there are many stronger and more interesting options on the Switch eShop.

As someone with a casual interest in the Puzzle and Dragons series, I’ll probably re-roll the 3DS version of Z if I want to get a fix of it. It’s neat that they brought the core game to the Switch, but I doubt anyone who’s put an extensive amount of time (or, Naga forbid, money) into the mobile version won’t have an incentive to make the jump. This is likely why my online requests keep timing out: there’s not really a market here. And that’s sad.

In general, Lydia is an interesting game with a well put together setting and an art style you probably won’t soon forget, but overall it’s just sort of a slightly underwhelming experience. Over the course of its 45 to 60-minute runtime, you will experience what is obviously a deeply personal story for the creators, leading to a choice that I honestly found very well done in the end. It’s a story of abuse and neglect and how somebody so small is forced to deal with it, and while the gameplay is nothing to write home about, it’s definitely a narrative that will probably stick with me even if just for a little while.

To The Moon is a masterclass in storytelling and creating emotional impact. The beautiful soundtrack imbues Johnny’s memories with tension and melancholy, but there is some tonal dissonance, especially during the first half of the game, that’s hard to reconcile. The gameplay itself does little to justify its existence, but it doesn’t detract in a major way from how potent the narrative is and how overwhelming the conclusion is.

The bright and bubbly romp doesn’t last all that long⁠—there are 16 stages and four boss battles ⁠—but that also ensures Super Crush KO doesn’t outstay its welcome while encouraging some potentially tense high score battles. This is a rad game to start off 2020 with, and I hope the endearing optimism found in Vertex Pop’s second Switch game is a harbinger of the year to come.

SELF is a story that I wanted to engross myself in more than anything. I felt for this child and wanted to do everything I could to help them. The game had me hooked in that way, but unfortunately, it squandered that enthusiasm away through some questionable storytelling devices and lackluster mini game sections. As purely a story experience, this is one I can recommend, if you can get through the broken-up design choice, but for those looking for anything else outside of a sorrowful and sinister puzzler, this is probably one you can leave behind.

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore remains one of the best Role Playing Games I've ever played. Everything from the characters to the battles has its own specific purpose, making for one meaningful adventure.

Shoot-’em-up enthusiasts will be fairly pleased, but this feels like a missed opportunity to really celebrate these six games and where they came from. Psikyo Alpha certainly doesn’t shoot for the stars, and you might already own some of these games, but its stellar gameplay is still out of this world.

The four levels can be completed in an hour or two, and there isn’t really any reason to come back once you’ve done so. Fortunately, the music is mostly pleasant and the jumping feels tight. More platforming variety, like special abilities, and incentives, like hidden or hard-to-reach collectables would have been a welcome addition, but as it is I would only recommend 140 to the genre-fan who has to play every single game out there.

All in all, this is a game that is trying to set itself apart from the classic conventions of the genres it is placed in, and while it is an interesting experience, I think it follows too many of those old-school mechanics that were made to eat up your coins, not give you a pleasant time.

I enjoyed my playthrough of The Adventures Of Elena Temple: Definitive Edition. While fans of the original release will appreciate the newly-added dungeons, newcomers, especially old-school platformer lovers, will find this edition well worth their time.

There are threads of interesting ideas weaved within, but largely don’t compliment each other or get sewn into a more cohesive larger picture. Stuff like the swapping of allies in battle could have been more compelling or the diverse move set could have been more effective in a better game, but this is not that better game.

Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training for Nintendo Switch is a fine offering for the system. The game focuses on the principles of the Nintendo DS outings, and does so with grace. I think it is a shame that more games were not included in the total package. The new parts of the experience were rather good, but it would've been better if most of it was new. Still, I can't deny having a good time with challenging myself at the same mixture of minigames. Besides that, playing Brain Training is a great start to the day. It allows me to mentally reset, try some hard-hitting challenges and get on with my day. For now and then, the Nintendo Switch version is rather ideally made.

Dauntless is a great game dragged down by a subpar presentation. The loading and framerate could really use some work, with the hub town feeling like a slideshow now and again. Once you get hunting, however, Dauntless really comes into its own. The pure focus on hunting and looting monsters feels amazing, with fun missions and even better weapons. It thrives and pushes you constantly to completion, and slowly moves that completion goal further down the pipeline. As a free-to-play title, it is absolutely one of the nicer ones and makes for a great time with your friends.

StarBlox Inc. is a neat game, but with a big problem when it comes to explaining things. The game's tutorial drags and for gaming novices, the mechanics and strategy will really not come naturally. There are many little things that you need to keep in mind to give you the edge in battle. Once you get the hang of the proceedings, though, it can become a highly competitive experience with each side fighting for total domination. The battle and puzzle combo is quite an adorable one that runs quite well on Nintendo Switch.

The game’s ability to capture a strong dose of the original Alien film’s atmosphere helps create a wonderfully immersive experience. As long as you understand that this is a survival game where brute force will simply lead to a quick death, it’s highly recommended.

Princess Maker might be a series worth keeping an eye on, but Go! Go! Princess is one to avoid. The only positives are aspects it lifts from the mainline games, yet they’re poorly implemented here. This digital board game works best as a solo experience, but if you’re playing it that way, you might as well just get Princess Maker 3.

Princess Maker is a tough series to get into. The horrible translation is enough of a barrier to entry on its own, but the total lack of tutorials to explain the complexity of the different stats only serves to make the game very difficult for newcomers. If you manage to get over that steep learning curve, there’s a surprisingly deep simulation game waiting on the other side, but it is a tough sell with a mediocre localization of one of the more middling entries to the series. Hopefully Princess Maker 2 Refine will eventually come to Switch with a better localization, since I can hardly imagine enjoying Faery Tales Come True if I didn’t already have experience with its predecessor.

Ashen is not awful, and I think that any hardcore Souls fans who just can’t get enough of this style of combat will enjoy it. The open world adds a new layer to the Soulsborne format that succeeds more than it fails, but it comes at the cost of weakening a core pillar of the genre. The result is a passable experience, and in a genre that’s quickly becoming as crowded as this one, passable just won’t cut it for anyone but the most hardcore of fans.

All three of these tables are enjoyable, so I can heartily recommend this collection if you’re a fan of real pinball tables or previous Williams Collections.

YU-NO is a monumentally impressive piece of the genre’s history that finds ways to impress even today, but perhaps it’s best not to load a jewel placed back in the 90s and travel back to a time when “sex sells” was the core tenant of the visual novel framework.

Overall, Invisigun stands tall as one of the most unique multiplayer experiences available on the Nintendo Switch. Featuring a variety of multiplayer and single player modes, there’s plenty of value being offered in this tiny package. For the past two decades, Nintendo has tried to make the case that dual screens – DS, 3DS, Wii U, GCN/GBA connectivity – were necessary to create unique multiplayer experiences. But Invisigun: Reloaded makes a convincing argument that innovative multiplayer experiences can still be created with only a single screen.

It's absolutely jam-packed with features and if you're someone who already has Shovel Knight, it's a heck of a free addition. As a solitary game, it's a much harder sell. Like you said, it's more of a curio or bonus than something that could stand solely on its own.

The port appears to be faithful to the original 2018 game, so if you enjoyed your time with that, London is yours to explore on the go. But I would be hesitant to recommend this game to most people, especially to those who expect a Life Is Strange-like experience from Dontnod. That being said, if a stale combat experience wouldn’t distract you from a strong narrative or if you are especially fascinated by the vampire aesthetic and its attached dilemmas, Vampyr might just be worth sinking your teeth into on Nintendo Switch.

Gensou Skydrift feels more like the fan game it actually is than I hoped. The references to Mario Kart: Double Dash are warranted, but it lacks the polish and finesse of that GameCube classic. If anything, Gensou Skydrift shows how far Mario Kart has come, because this might as well be a port of a game from 2003.

Animated cut-scenes and even more variety in terms of the on-screen visuals would help make this an easier recommendation, but as it is the audience might be limited. I prefer my visual novel type games to have more variety, like the Ace Attorney games, but those who fancy Steins;Gate will very likely enjoy My Darling's Embrace.