Ruffy and the Riverside is a whimsical platformer that blends clever puzzle mechanics with charming storytelling. While its unique element-swapping feature brings refreshing gameplay twists, occasional pacing issues and vague objectives slightly hinder the experience. A visually delightful and inventive indie gem.

Winter’s Wish: Spirits of Edo has its ups and downs with the story, but it uses its fictional elements well. However, its systems are lacking quality-of-life features that would improve the user experience. Regardless, the translation does a terrific job of relaying the more complex terms into an understandable format for the English audience, making it an enjoyable starting point for those wishing to get into more historical fiction with the help of some handsome men.

Homura Hime is a thrilling action title that pairs weighty, expressive combat with a surprisingly heartfelt narrative about exorcists battling corrupted archdemons. Its combo-driven melee system, flexible Blessed Shots, and high-pressure enemy mechanics create some of the most engaging fights in the genre, while strong level design and meaningful progression keep the momentum steady.

Dosa Divas is a heartfelt, food-themed RPG that blends turn-based combat with light cooking mechanics, delivering a charming story about family and reconciliation. While its personality and emotional core shine through, the experience is held back by limited combat depth, a short runtime, and noticeable padding in its final stretch. It feels more like a promising proof of concept than a fully realized RPG, offering just enough substance to engage but not enough to leave a lasting impact.

Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior is a fresh take on tactical hack-and-slash, blending simple yet clever combat with a rich, well-voiced narrative. The game's unique system, where you team up with past versions of yourself, adds a cool twist to battles, pushing you to think ahead and strategize. While the fights are thrilling and addictive, they can sometimes feel a bit repetitive. The world is beautifully built, packed with lore and ancient civilization vibes, but the exploration is pretty straightforward. Overall, Lysfanga doesn't hit every note perfectly, but its innovative combat and solid storytelling make it a solid pick for those after something new in the strategy realm.

Windjammers 2 is a welcome modern interpretation of a timeless classic. It may not reinvent the wheel, but thanks to stylistic visuals and some new gameplay systems, this is a game you’re going to want to add to your multiplayer rotation, even if you happen to be still playing the original Windjammers.

Flat Eye is an entertaining management simulator that is easy to play and has a high skill ceiling. But it’s also a highly relevant game making a statement about the logical endpoint of capitalism and the everyday exploitation of the vulnerable as the world itself dies around those who can have the power to fix it but choose not to. If this game ever stops being relevant, we’ll be in a much better place. Aren’t video games cool?

Plants Vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville opens the door for Switch users wanting to get into the competitive shooter genre. Still, everything is fairly standard here, which is best when experienced in short bursts. The hardware limitations creep up every once in a while, but overall this is a worthy port of a charming competitive shooter.

Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher is a great crossover spinoff for fans of Monster Rancher as well as fans of Ultraman. If you’re new to the Monster Rancher franchise, it’s an excellent opportunity to get into the franchise itself. Although players will be met with difficulty spikes here and again, it can be solved by some grinding with your monster.

In theory, a co-op, loot-based isometric RPG like The Ascent has the potential of being a great cyberpunk-themed experience to play with a group of friends. The world-building is appealing visually and aurally, but it’s ultimately unsatisfying and often unrewarding during exploration. The lack of replayability, broken cooperative play, bugs, and unbalanced artificial enemy difficulty make it tough to appreciate its positive elements. It’s sad to say that The Ascent is another over-hyped cyberpunk game that is all fluff and no substance.

Darius Cozmic Collection is a piece of history for shmup fans. The collection includes a full catalog of the series that allows you to experience some titles that weren’t easily accessible before this release. While I wish there was more history featured in the collection, it was a blast playing these games again, or for the first time.

Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac is a lovingly rebuilt platformer that expands on the original’s charm with tighter controls, smoother visuals, and a surprising layer of polish that wasn’t expected but absolutely welcomed. It’s not a revolutionary revival, but it’s a sincere, joyously nostalgic romp that doesn’t overstay its welcome and actually dares to experiment a bit along the way.

Sonic Colors Ultimate‘s gameplay loop is enjoyable and boasts high replayability. However, the Tails Save implementation, boss battles, and some Wisp power utilization slow this speedy adventure down to a crawl. It’s undeniably fun, but never trips up the moment you find your pace. Here’s to looking forward to new Sonic adventures in the future...Yes, that was a plea for a new Sonic Adventures.

RPG Time: The Legend of Wright is a game that has already had a difficult time finding an audience on the Xbox. That can partially be blamed on the deluge of titles coming on Game Pass, but having now played it, I would also say that it’s a game unable to make it clear who it’s supposed to be for. There will absolutely be a niche community that bands around it for its charm and the genuine fun that can be had if you can manage to become immersed in it. It’s a unique and at times, genuinely charming and imaginative experience. But I think that many children will likely be turned away by an excess of dialogue and many adults by an excess of hand-holding. It leaves me torn between singing its praises and being frustrated by its shortcomings.

Despite its few peculiarities and performance issues, Cities: Skylines II successfully upholds the legacy of its predecessor and raises the bar for the city-building genre. Whether you’re a seasoned city planner or a newcomer ready to embark on an urban adventure, Skylines II offers endless possibilities and countless hours of creative enjoyment.

Children of Silentown is a grand adventure. The world had me in a constant state of suspense, and the characters constantly surprised me. Even with the occasional logic issues found in certain puzzles that lost me, I found fun in the overall design. The characters and locations were charming and memorable, despite the eerie nature of the art style. Children of Silentown is well worth your time if you are a fan of Adventure games.

Ariana and the Elder Codex is a surprising standout in the 2D action and metroidvania space, delivering fast, fluid combat and a highly customizable build system that keeps encounters engaging throughout. Its story and characters are more compelling than expected, with strong dialogue and an endearing protagonist, while the structured progression across codex worlds maintains a satisfying sense of momentum. Although limited enemy variety and a slightly short runtime hold it back from true genre dominance, the overall experience is polished, rewarding, and consistently enjoyable, marking it as one of Compile Heart’s most impressive releases in years.

Dungeon Defenders: Awakened is an accumulation of the feedback and skills that this developer has received throughout the series. The gameloop of stopping hordes of enemies in their tracks just works, but if you’re a fan of the series, then you’ll be getting more of the same with this entry. Still, this is the most balanced and prettiest entry to date and a hell of a good time with friends. For that, I’m eager to see how the title grows post-launch.

TOKOYO: The Tower of Perpetuity is a game worth having on your Switch digital library, simply because of its pick-up and play appeal, and also because it offers an experience that literally renews itself on a daily basis. Also, this is far from a solitary roguelike experience, as you’ll be part of an active community, one where everyone takes on an entirely new journey together each day.

Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth is an amazing Metroidvania. The environments, enemies, and clever use of magic and weapons go beyond influences as the developers truly make this adventure their own. The lack of weapon differentiation is mended by the use of elements and low-impact puzzles, but the short runtime and low difficulty may leave you wanting more.

Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir succeeds at being a modern remake of what once was a lost piece of Nintendo history. Alongside its prequel, it’s a memorable revival of a true trailblazer in console adventure games. The storyline is well written, featuring layers of mystery and speculation that are worth investigating, and the polished visual style makes the classic adventure relevant to modern genre fans.

Lamentum is equal parts frightening and enticing, serving up a scintillating world filled with Lovecraftian horrors and remnants of old school Resident Evil and Silent Hill. It is a must-play for any fans of the genre looking for challenging gameplay, deep mythos, and an alluring narrative.

The Switch version of Life is Strange 2 is not the best version of this adventure. However, this doesn’t make it a terrible choice. The experience is serviceable on both handheld and docked modes, and while the models lack graphically, as the game progresses, shadows and dirt make them look more natural. Unfortunately, players won’t find anything new or impressive with this port. Regardless, I recommend this version to those who haven’t played it before or are looking for a new title to play while on the go, proving that a tale of two brothers is excellent no matter what version players decide to play.

Silent Hope is an action RPG that will likely be overlooked due to the sheer quantity and quality of 2023’s video game releases. Still, if you’re yearning for a more low-stakes adventure that manages to remain fulfilling across brief play sessions, then this title is an ideal pick-up. The engaging progression systems, weight-filled combat, and addictive, varied gameplay loop make Silent Hope a delightful adventure.

So, my scoring may seem at odds with what I’ve said, but that should also demonstrate just how lackluster and dull I found the combat system, coupled with the unpolished models and environments. Still, if you can get past its faults and perhaps enjoy it, Harvestella provides a memorable, varied JRPG experience that boasts standout characters, an intriguing narrative, and one of Square Enix’s best soundtracks in years.

Trinity Trigger provides the essentials for a fulfilling JRPG experience. While the conclusion feels a bit rushed, with quests and character interactions losing their staying power, the adventure still manages to grab you. The area design and methods of progression add a significant amount of thought to making this title an addictive one. In all honesty, Trinity Trigger really does feel like a spiritual successor to Secret of Mana, meaning fans of that classic should give this modern outing a shot.

One Piece Odyssey is ultimately a story of friendship, a central theme of the series shown through the eyes of a new character to pass judgment and to understand why the bonds of this crew are so strong. While this adventure might retell past quests, there are enough subtle changes to spark some real emotion. Still, the low difficulty and reliance on auto-battle will leave hardcore JRPG fans disinteresting. However, the exploration and numerous ways to dump dozens of hours into this experience make this a One Piece adventure for everyone.

Rainbow Six Extraction can be fun in a casual setting, but it caters mainly to the hardcore tactical shooter fanbase. This isn't a bad thing because it's fun as hell. Everything you do in a match is rewarded with a constant stream of in-game items and new areas, but this is only after a few hours of finding your bearings in zones and understanding mission types and operators. However, after that, the game opens up exceptionally well, with so much promise to continue with additional content and ways to strategize with friends.