Scribblenauts Showdown is a cookiecutter attempt at bringing back a lost franchise. While the party aspect isn't absolutely terrible, its bland nature made me shrug every time. And sure, the game tries to tie it in to the Scribblenauts franchise, but it misfires to an almost comical degree. This would be more funny if it didn't involve games I used to really love.

Paper Wars certainly does suffer from a lack of originality. That might not be what it is going for though. It’s a cheap, cute, tower defense game, in a fairly crowded genre. It has decent visuals that are appreciated, but outside of that, I say, throw it back in the recycling bin.

Guilt Battle Arena is a colorful 2D couch-combat game that always keeps its antics feeling fresh and entertaining. The art style and sense of humor is reminiscent of games such as Castle Crashers. Even with minor flaws, I do see Guilt Battle Arena as a fantastic game to pop in with your friends and to see who is the greatest hero in the universe.

Midnight deserves praise for bringing innovative and challenging level design to the golf genre. Deluxe makes the package feel more complete, although I would like to see more than just new levels. Some additional polish in terms of the controls and the freezing would be something to be desired in an update. Nevertheless, Midnight Deluxe shouldn’t be ignored as a solid puzzler with levels that will stump you for quite a while.

Outlast 2 does little to elevate it beyond the original Outlast. What results is a well put together, but ultimately predictable, and even generic horror experience. At times the story stumbles into masterpiece territory, but then quickly course corrects back into a generic evil cult plotline.

A few frustrating moments aside, I generally enjoyed my time with The Alliance Alive.

Its unassuming look might make you skim over it in the eShop, but it’s hard not to recommend you give Spy Chameleon a chance. This is a game greater than the sum of its parts, and the fun to be had here is absolutely worth the price of admission and overlooking its small blemishes.

Toki Tori 2+ follows the mold set by great efforts of the genre such as Braid and The Lost Vikings. Unlike the frequent changes George Lucas made to the original Star Wars trilogy, it's commendable that Two Tribes has listened to criticism and continued to implement improvements. Anyone who enjoys a challenge and likes games where you can temporarily travel in bubbles should give Toki Tori 2+ a look.

Last Day of June is mostly quite good. It’s a story-driven game with one of the best-told stories I’ve seen in some time, and it offers an emotional edge that’s likely going to leave you with a lot of feelings by the time you reach the credits. The gameplay, however, is passable at best and annoyingly repetitive at worst, and while it didn’t fully keep me from wanting to reach the end, it added a somewhat frustrating slog to get there.

Gekido Kintato’s Revenge is a curio in its position as a Game Boy Advance game brought to a modern home console. The update is totally fine - the sprite graphics look great, the music is good - but the gameplay is an artifact of older days. That’s fine if you just want to sit down for a challenging beat-’em-up with a friend, but if you’re looking for something modern and fresh, Gekido isn’t that. It’s just an alright retro remake.

This is the same Pirate’s Curse we’ve been playing since 2014. Back then, I called it one of my favorite 3DS games and I maintain that opinion today. Get it in whatever form is most convenient for you (but seriously the 3D effect is ridiculous).

Input latency and levels that are too long without the ability to save keep Castle of Heart from being as fun as it ought to be. That being said, it’s certainly not a bad experience. It is quite nice to look at no matter how you play. If you can overcome the controller lag, Castle of Heart can quench the thirst for classic action platforming among diehard genre fans. For more casual players, mileage may vary.

My personal frustration with Clustertruck shouldn’t take away from the game. Landfall and tinyBuild made a good game, even if there were times that I thought they’d owe me either a Switch or a TV. And I had plenty of occasions in which I nailed a tricky series of jumps or managed to overcome a tough level and felt amazing. The run eventually comes, and if you can tolerate not knowing when that is, Clustertruck could be for you.

Superola and the Lost Burgers is disappointing. It has and initial appeal based on its inspiration but fails in the execution. I would run away from this game as fast as you can.

Slayaway Camp is a smart, well-crafted puzzle game that transcends its niche trappings in such a way that even if horror movies aren’t your bag, you should still keep an eye out on this excellent game.

While cool concepts and ideas are awash throughout Swim Out, the dawdling pace of the 100+ puzzles drowns the more novel ideas. This is, for better or worse, an alright puzzle game that just happens to be in a sea of better ones. Good for a laidback romp, but not for much else.

All told, The Long Reach could have used some more time in the oven. It presents issues that seem readily solvable—lighting, object highlighting, proof reading—but in its current form, the game is frustrating and not particularly enjoyable. Maybe some of the problems can be patched out, but until that happens, I can’t recommend The Long Reach despite its intriguing storyline.

The supernatural elements in the game had me interested right away, but the interface issues and the tone of the narration kept pulling me out of the experience.

You might lose motivation in the long run, but it is a tasty treat for the few hours it lasts.

World Conqueror X is a fun and challenging war game that is somewhat marred by a lack of proper tutorials and explanations. Riding out any early frustration will allow you to uncover a worthwhile strategy title that has many hours of content, albeit with not too much variation in gameplay.

The Switch, as a portable console, is great for this game. It’s always nice to have an infectious zombie on hand to pass the time when out and about. And though the gameplay itself is repetitive, it's a solid game with its tactical challenges and a great design.

Bleed 2 is a very accurately named game. In many ways it could be seen as a level pack for its predecessor, but the few small changes in the design all help to make it a better experience. These kinds of short, creative games are perfect for the eShop, and if we see Bleed 3 at some point I wouldn’t hesitate to pick it up.

While Danmaku Unlimited 3 is not the most polished game of its kind, it is a very satisfying experience. The unique mechanics and multiple difficulty options combined with compelling reasons to keep playing and improving make for a game with a wider appeal than most other titles in the bullet hell genre. Danmaku Unlimited 3 successfully creates the tense feeling of a screen filled with bullets, without excessively punishing failure.

Kirby Star Allies is good, at times enjoyable even. It’s lacking in the single-player experience, though, especially compared to Kirby’s recent outings on Nintendo 3DS. The multiplayer is fun, but the focus on it might leave some fans in the cold. As someone who enjoys everything Kirby, I was left somewhat flat until the end of the campaign and the post-game. On my second run with friends, I did see the true potential of the game.

I like some aspects of The Trail, such as the calm setting and the sense of fulfillment when finally crafting that recipe that you had been working on forever. But the negatives -- the framerate, controls, and uninteresting story -- do hamper the experience. They are manageable, and The Trail isn’t necessarily a bad game. It has its moments, but technical limitations do put a damper on things.

Layers of Fear may at first glance fit into the often derided walking simulator subgenre, but its impressive design makes it a much deeper and more memorable experience than one would initially expect. It represents an effective Switch port and even goes out of its way to include a motion control option. In the Switch’s growing library of horror titles, Layers of Fear has positioned itself as a powerful front runner.

Steredenn Binary Stars might look like a generic shoot-’em-up on the surface, but it offers quite a bit to be excited about. I found the wonderful selection of weapons and multiphase bosses an absolute delight despite the relentless difficulty. While the all or nothing nature will be more than enough to turn some people off, for those who welcome it will without a doubt find themselves proclaiming, just one more run.

Although Magical Drop III isn’t at the top of the Switch’s tier list of puzzle games - Puyo Puyo Tetris and Ironcast are fighting for that spot - it’s still a high-tier product. Even if you’ll want to punch that stupid raven after losing for the 35th time, you’ll want to try again. The Neo Geo wasn’t really known for puzzle games, but this is the best that system had to offer.