Away: Journey to the Unexpected is a thoroughly abnormal game that triumphs when its oddities all click. When you’re rolling out there switching between your little boy, robot bounty hunter, and drunk wizard and blazing through battles against colorful foes, it’s excellent, but when the repetitive areas and roguelite malaise starts to creep in, it falters. If all works out, by the time you hit that point, you’ll be rolling the credits.

For now, I’ll recommend Odallus to those itching for the atmosphere of early Castlevania games and those relishing a good dose of difficulty. More casual fans may want to look elsewhere.

With Oniken, what you see is what you get, and your first impression of the game is probably spot on. If you miss your friendly, Tecmo ninja man, you might want to give this one a look. For everyone else, leave this one in 20XX.

Even with its many flaws, the superb voice acting and serviceable story were still an entertaining playthrough. A linear horror-mystery thriller is a bit niche, but if that’s what you’re into, Observer is a title still worth picking up. If nothing else, it gives us a glimpse of what the Switch is capable of, and it will hopefully be the beginning of a trend of pushing the handheld to its limits.

The spirit of it is wonderful, but if you want to check the series out, I’d more recommend you wait for the sequel to come out in March.

Robothorium is a terrific Switch title if you’re looking for that casual dungeon-crawler that you can play in cruise control. It’s not overly difficult, and the dungeons are all pretty similar, but once you start a battle, it provides that comforting feeling of familiarity. It may seem like a number of games that have come before it, but the developers clearly know the recipe that made those titles so enjoyable and have come up with an experience worth feasting on.

When Ski Lifts Go Wrong is one of the better bridge building games on Nintendo Switch. While I am quite disappointed that you can't share any challenges online, the content that is there is super enjoyable. The more than 30 levels are easily replayable multiple times, and it is fun to play around with the Sandbox Mode. What helps is that the controls feel built with a controller mind, instead of just trying to add in a less inferior scheme. Overall, Hugecalf Studios created a game I will gladly tinker with once in a while, which is an accomplishment in my book.

Battery Jam is an addictive local multiplayer title with colorful visuals and a polished presentation. But as enjoyable as the gameplay is, it’s difficult to recommend it over other multiplayer titles when the amount of content here feels so paltry and limited. The lack of online multiplayer would be easier to excuse if local multiplayer had a little more meat to it. With that said, it’s still a very competently made indie game that’s fun to play in short bursts. Just don’t expect too much depth from the gameplay.

It has a lot of challenge in it, and is extremely simple to jump into. If you’re looking to fill an itch for a simple puzzle game, check this one out.

The concept of JCB Pioneer: Mars, in isolation, is potentially interesting. The Switch version, however, presents so many obstacles to gameplay that I feel comfortable calling it unplayable. The release of games like this and ARK: Survival Evolved draw into question the existence of Nintendo’s quality control. Products like this are an embarrassment to Nintendo’s digital offerings.

Some elements of these mystery dungeon-type games will always be inscrutable, but Tangledeep does the best job I’ve seen at making it playable for everyone. The Switch version might not be ideal thanks to the clumsy interface, but it’s worth figuring it out because underneath the difficulty and few crusty layers lies a beautiful game with a ton of enjoyable RPG variety.

Like Wario’s 2018 escapade, Nexus delights and relishes in its history, putting together the biggest amount of raw content in series history. However, if you’re very well versed in that line of games, some of the callbacks might come off as repetitive. For me, Nexus’ references were joyful; my memory of the past games flooded back to me as I went through the onslaught of dungeons.

With multiple ways to achieve victory and countless strategies to employ, Thea: The Awakening is designed to occupy your time for countless hours. A single playthrough can last hundreds of turns but once you’ve earned a victory, it will simply unlock new quests and options. The complexity leads to all sorts of different ways you can enjoy your time but also creates a gigantic barrier to entry. Without watching a YouTube video of a playthrough being completed and explained on the fly I may have just given up, which would have been a shame because Thea is a fantastic title worth spending the time to figure out.

Despite a few hiccups, HoPiKo is still an incredible game. It’s a pure test of mechanical skill set to a breathtaking chiptune soundtrack, and while that may not be for everyone it is absolutely for me. Playing each level over and over until I had mastered the quickest path through it was insanely fun, and I can see myself coming back to this one to beat my best times again and again.

I respect the idea behind Everything, and I’m glad that developer David O’Reilly decided to try something experimental with an interactive medium. I can appreciate a game that hides meaning beneath its surface, but Everything doesn’t have a surface-level story for that meaning to hide under. Alan Watts’ philosophy lectures are intriguing, but it’s not very interesting getting from one lecture to the next. I was never able to be engaged or immersed in the world. Despite being a game about how all things are related, I found the silly, empty experience of Everything very unrelatable.

Dragon Marked for Death is a frustrating experience because there are some good ideas buried behind some poor decisions. Level design always feels like it’s tuned for more than one player even in the solo experience, which is disheartening, especially after working through a big quest to only fall short and have to start back at the beginning. Coupled with some other minor annoyances and it’s easy to get irritated. Fortunately, playing online with friends runs lag free and helps to alleviate some of the issues that crop up in solo mode, but ultimately proves to be a mediocre Action-RPG.

After years of hearing how cool Downwell is, it’s great to see just how fantastic it really is. It’s a straightforward, no-nonsense masterclass in design where it’s super easy to sit down with the intention of playing for five minutes and walk away a dozen runs and more than an hour later. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some gun boots to fire off so I can get to the bottom of this well.

Overall, Samsara manages to be a clever puzzle game with mechanics that are easy to wrap your head around and some genuinely challenging puzzles that are sure to keep you entertained. Whether you’re on the hunt for a new brain teaser or simply looking for something to play for a few minutes on break at work, Samsara is probably a game you should put on your list. Disappointing sound design aside, I found that the experience was fun both on my own and alongside friends as they tried to help me solve a particularly difficult level. It’s not perfect, but for what it is and what it’s trying to be the game does find some success.

Gabbuchi has its issues, primarily due to the character’s floaty jump and frustrating hitbox, but the puzzles nearly break through the problems thanks to their thoughtful challenge and clever design. It falls short of the engrossing majesty of similar puzzlers, but I hope h.a.n.d. makes more interesting games such as this. It’d be nice to see what they’ve learned after years of working with other company’s creations.

Where Picross is like the local pizza place that really cares about giving you the best slice around, Pic-a-Pix Pieces is more like the college food court that you only eat at when you’re in between classes and short on time. It’s still good, and I still recommend it, but there are other people out there putting a lot more time and effort into making this exact product.

Necrosphere Deluxe is a game that I want to like a lot more, and it starts off promising, but the innovative controls aren’t worth the hassle that they bring. It would be test enough if you could run, dash, and rocket boost up using separate button inputs, but I found myself fighting the control scheme more than the actual obstacles in the game. Terry’s Dream is a nice bit of ultra-challenging side content, but it’s only for the bravest of players as your progress isn’t saved like it is in the base game. Given the two-button controls, it would have been nice to at least be able to map the buttons in a specific way. As it is, only masochists need apply for this one. I’m ready to tap out.

Wargroove offers a robust and content-laden package that turn-based strategy fans will adore. Because of the sheer number of customization options and modes, newcomers and more casual fans will find a lot to love here, too.

What has the potential to be a fun roguelike shoot-’em-up is ultimately held back by its uninspired gameplay. The framework surrounding the core game mechanic is great, with different characters, great artwork (albeit recycled some), and various ships with upgrades. Lazy Galaxy: Rebel Story just doesn’t have the substance to keep players coming back. If you’re searching for a shooter with a hook of quick feel-good entertainment, you may want to look elsewhere.

With fun levels, Solar Flux is definitely a good physics-based puzzle game if you are taking it on the go. With scoring based on how much fuel or shield you use, the game encourages you to play levels over to perfect your strategy. Unfortunately, the Joy-Con controls made things frustrating making me not want to play on the TV. Solar Flux does have some bright spots that certainly make it a game worth playing.

The Shrouded Isle knows exactly what it wants to be, making the end result a little tough for everyone to get into. It captured me for a while though, as I tried to go through many runs to learn the ins and outs of these villagers as I planned out my sacrifices strategically to keep them all in the dark of the true machinations of my charlatan cult leader’s goals.

What I appreciated most about My Memory of Us was the positive overtone and message of the power of friendship during the worst of times. It takes courage to tell a story that mirrors the holocaust, and developer Juggler Games does a fine job of highlighting the hope and determination of two friends fighting against all odds.

Momodora is incredible in many ways, and I feel like I can’t recommend it enough. It’s also disappointing in many ways, and I feel like I don’t want to recommend it at all. The act of moving around through the Kingdom of Karst is so well-tuned that I had a lot of fun running through hallways smacking monsters with a leaf. Unfortunately, at the end of the day Karst just wasn’t a very interesting place in which to spend time, and I felt myself wishing for a bit more substance. There is undoubtedly something special going on in Momodora, but sadly I never felt like I was playing anything more than an introduction to a larger game that doesn’t actually exist.

The 2nd Williams pack has officially created a pinball fanatic out of me. If none of this is news to you and you just want a recommendation on whether the pack is worth it, I wholeheartedly say yes, though with one caveat. I don’t have much interest in going back to play The Party Zone or Black Rose; my affection for this pack is solely for Attack From Mars.