Thankfully, even if it’s a little weird and limited in some respects, Travis Strikes Again is a fun game that makes me excited for the future of the series.

Onimusha Warlords made the jump to Switch almost entirely intact. If you loved the original and want the chance to go back to it, you won’t be disappointed. The old control scheme is still available on the D-pad, and every cutscene is kept exactly as it was before, voice acting and all. With the only changes being an excellently redone soundtrack, this port is the perfect way to relive your memories of the Playstation 2 classic. However, if you’ve never played Onimusha, this port’s only real value is as a simple way to experience a piece of history. Over the course of 18 years, other games have improved on everything that once made Onimusha great.

Because there are so many entries in the platformer genre, a game really has to do something special to stand out from the crowd. Octahedron uses an alluring presentation, a bumping soundtrack, and excellent gameplay to position itself as one of the first Nindies darlings of the year. The final stages of the game are an absolute trip, and for much of my time with it I simply could not put Octahedron down. A free demo on the eShop leaves no excuse for ignoring this one. You don’t need to get dressed up or shell out for expensive drinks to feel like you’re at the club. Just play Octahedron.

Hello Neighbor: Hide and Seek is a one-trick pony that had a game built around the premise of drawing a reaction out of the player via jump scares, which it does very well. If the levels and puzzles were more focused and honed-in, there could be a logical and interesting foundation for an experiential dread and tension. Forget moving out of the neighborhood, I’d suggest moving to the next county over.

Even with some forgettable aspects, Revenge of the Bird King gives a lot of bang for its buck. The retro style is, on the whole, well done, the music is great, and it is an overall enjoyable platforming experience.

In the end having extra modes beyond the main game do nothing to help Nippon Marathon remain a fun time for more than a few hours at most. It would be impressive as a final project for a college course and is still good for a few laughs at a party, but those fleeting good times are not enough for me to recommend this game.

The remake stays faithful to the game released nearly a decade ago but gives a facelift to the visuals and music, putting fresh paint on a classic. Bowser Jr’s Journey is a nice addition, but might prove to be a bit too passive and at times too uninspired for many to see it the entire way through.

I applaud Bury me, my Love for shedding light on the horrific and traumatic situation faced by refugees as they leave their lives behind in search of safety and salvation. As a narrative experience, it tells a meaningful and powerful tale, but the form and delivery on Switch simply don’t lend themselves to being player-friendly or engaging.

Double Cross is almost great. With all the different ways to use the proton slinger in this game, I definitely had a blast progressing through the levels. Unfortunately, the investigation and combat sections make for such dull interruptions that at least a third of your time spent as an agent of R.I.F.T. will be a forgettable slog.

I had a good couple of hours of Pang Adventures, mostly because I find the concept enjoyable. It’s a quick romp that only has legs if you get really into the co-op or leaderboards. If you miss Buster Bros. or just want a quick hit of arcade action, this Switch release is worth popping through. Just don’t expect anything more than a good old-fashioned Pang time.

Not everyone will have the same aversion to the combat style utilized in Mages of Mystralia, but on a personal level I felt that it overshadowed the rest of the experience. To get the most out of the gameplay the focus will need to be on the spell crafting, a unique and clever mechanic the developer deserves praise for. If you have a higher tolerance for cheap deaths than I do, it’s possible you could enjoy this action-adventure title much more than I did.

The package is totally fine, and outside of Peachette leading to one of the most disturbing memes in recent Nintendo memory, the new character’s addition is welcome. Aside from that, the only benefits of this release is that it can be truly played portably and it’s on a console a lot more people own.

Overall, I’m mostly impressed with the Arcade Archives wrapper as it lets players customize the experience or compete online. Donkey Kong Jr. itself is fun but much more challenging than the original Donkey Kong. I don’t think the sequel is as good, but it manages to differentiate itself which is nice and keeps the experience and strategies fresh while managing to maintain an air of familiarity.

Rock Boshers DX throws its hat into the already crowded twin-stick shooter ring, but it does a nice job of presenting something different. Instead of relying on fast-paced bullet hell antics, it presents a more methodical and thoughtful approach to level and enemy design. This does become frustrating, however, as some stages can have difficulty spikes towards the end, making it a chore to go through the motions just to get back to where you were. Fortunately, this isn’t the norm and more often than not I found the clever level design to be a true treat.

Flaws in the combat really hold Hunter’s Legacy back from being one of the better indie Metroidvania titles. It does feature solid platforming and an interesting world that make it worth picking up. If you like cats and can deal with some cheap deaths then this is definitely a game worth playing.

Fitness Boxing is a fine selection of exercises. With a ton of courses to get through, you will be hard pressed to not find a skill level that suits you. As you go along, it is easy to take the next numbered version in a series and deal with the increased difficulty. The controls aren't the most accurate, but easily a cut above Just Dance. That being said, the music is easily my least favorite part of the game. Considering you have to time the moves with the songs, I am very surprised by the music choices. It left me with only a handful of songs I really cared about using, which will be the thing that eventually gets me to move on. Until then though, Fitness Boxing serves its purpose very admirably.

Even with its flaws, Omensight: Definitive Edition is a perfect hidden gem you’ll find on the eShop. If you’re looking to immerse yourself in a fantastic story coupled with a sublime art style and music—and a few odd design choices—I’d absolutely recommend giving this one a go. With reports of devs patching the game to remove some of the previously mentioned issues, there’s no reason for you to not have this game on your Switch.

Xenon Valkyrie is at odds with its own design. Exploring the stages is fun, but all that fun starts to melt away when you realize just how little freedom you have to experiment with different character builds. The level up system is simply is not balanced enough to match the rest of the game’s mechanics. It’s just too frustrating to play Xenon Valkyrie. While you can probably figure out the exact way to optimize characters in order to beat bosses with ease, I can’t really see a reason you’d want to.

From the voice acting to the music, you can tell this game was made for fans. I’ve never seen the show, so for me some of the humor fell flat and I clicked through excessive dialogue. But those were minor flaws as far as the story goes. And fans of the show will probably appreciate the humor more than I could. All in all, this game is well made for its audience.

Aaero is a beautiful game that runs great both docked and handheld. Performance always felt ultra smooth, which is a must for this type of game. The stylized low-poly environments are diverse without ever being too distracting. Only in one song did I have trouble separating obstacles from the background, and after a couple attempts things clicked. As I’ve said you’re mileage with the music will vary but it fits the visual design very well, and the whole thing feels very polished. Whether you never left the rhythm genre or are looking for a way back in, Aaero is a thrilling title that’s likely even better if you enjoy the music.

Cake Laboratory is a simple concept, with delightful treats inside. The colors and animation are great to pull younger kids in, and the higher levels require some skilled coordination that will tempt older players to try and beat. While the vibe is pretty similar to a mobile game, the extra bonus of making your cakes adds a fun twist. It’s easy enough for kids to enjoy, with enough harder challenges that an adult won’t be bored. And for the price, it’s a pretty solid game. Plus, you get to live out your fantasy of making all the cakes, and that’s like, a universal desire we all have right?

The biggest indictment I can charge is how egregious the stuttering, slowdown, and persistent loading times between choosing each task is

Beholder will certainly capture your attention for quite a while with its dark premise and complex relationships. Keep in mind, though, some of the controls don’t work as intuitively as you’d expect, and some of the actions you have to do can be a bore. If you can see past that, this is a fantastically-designed management-sim with layers of art and complexity.

I can certainly appreciate the value of seeing where video games got their start, but we have come so far that nostalgia and preservation are really the only selling points of this collection.

Venture Towns doesn’t feature any bugs, it does what it sets out to do, and ultimately you could build a city in this game. But the lack of options, the weird way it guides your development, the strange economics, and the unimaginably slow gameplay mean you wouldn’t want to.

Donut County is incredibly endearing, but it ends too soon.

Questionable design choices and lack of gameplay explanations detract from the overall satisfaction. After spending time with Battle Princess Madelyn, I’m left with one lasting impression: I really want to replay Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts.

This gameplay loop really works for me, and while I sometimes wish I wasn’t doing so much backtracking, it’s not a big enough deal that I’m dissuaded from playing. If you, too, like this kind of loop, I think you’ll get a kick out of Sundered.