Rhythm Fighter finds a good home on Switch as it melds together music and mayhem for short bursts of gameplay. The sheer variety with all of its characters, randomness, and potential systems make it a perfect fit for the handheld. Still, the gameloop isn’t as addictive as I could have hoped for, with some mechanics not leaving a lasting impression.

Fantasy Tavern Sextet Vol.2 continues that adventure and won’t leave any significant impact on you after the credits roll. The scenarios are becoming repetitive, but the character development and world-building make this one of the more palatable eroge available. If you aren’t reading for the story, though, I’d definitely wait for the PC version.

Lily of the Hollow: Resurrection might be better experienced in its native language. The grammatical errors render it almost impossible to follow as you spend more time compensating for the errors than paying attention to the plot. It’s still visually a pleasing visual novel, but one that won’t leave any meaningful impact.

Hitman 3 builds on the structure of its predecessors but doesn't recycle old mechanics. Its creative sandbox systems encourage multiple playthroughs with possible outcomes only limited by your imagination. Returning fans will get the most of this narrative as it ties up a few loose ends but doesn't totally stick the landing. It's absolutely brilliant in execution, though, as you replay missions for different results providing the most robust experience to those who spend the most time playing.

As a free-to-play mobile game, Illusion Connect checks all the right boxes for a quality gacha experience. There’s no pay-to-win systems that I can see and no shortage of content in sight for new scenarios and characters. If you’re trying to spend a lot of time in a mobile RPG, this is one game that you should check out.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game – Complete Edition is a reunion for some and a brand new experience for others. However, no matter when you play this game, you are guaranteed to have a great time. The beat ’em systems are a product of their time, but they still fit in with modern genre entries. This is a game best played over an evening with a group of friends, no matter if you have a relationship with the franchise or not. Here’s to another 10 years of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game.

Abyss of the Sacrifice is a strange game because it’s got so many elements I absolutely adore. It’s a story-heavy experience with multiple protagonists and a unique setting but manages to constantly interrupt progression and not take advantage of its own systems. The puzzles are fun, but they were integrated only to hinder the overall pacing. You’ll probably have more fun if you want cute girls starring in a puzzle game instead of thinking about its other elements.

Fatal Fury: First Contact may not make you a fan of the NeoGeo Pocket fighters due to its lack of additional content, but there is a rather enjoyable fighter for those looking for a nostalgia trip. The animations and pixel designs are gorgeous, but I couldn’t help but want more to do.

I’d typically say this is a good title for a lonely night, but Riddle Joker’s sheer length, as well as the quality of (most of) the story routes, actually makes this a solid visual novel regardless of how lonely you are. The title excels through its visual style, cute sequences, and some precious heroines.

Don’t let its presentation fool you, Omori is an adventure into some dark themes of loss, growing up, and fear of change. These are easily relatable elements uniquely projected to players through its expert story presentation and character writing. You feel yourself immersed in this world and with these people to the point where you want so bad to see their adventure through until the end. Luckily for us, this is one experience that you can’t easily grow out of.

Neoverse doesn’t have a reason why these women jump through portals to fight monsters, but who cares with a deckbuilding roguelike system this addictive. Its high difficulty will force you to stay on your toes, but there’s enough here to keep playing for hours. Still, if you can’t get past the lack of narrative, uninspired rewards, and design, then you might want to play something else.

Amairo Chocolate doesn’t break the mold with daily life romance. It also doesn’t capitalize on its animal girl premise even after setting up a pretty good foundation for why they exist. It’s all just too surface level, and the slow pacing will turn anyone who is not completely in love with these characters. Still, they sure are cute, so that might be enough to ask them out for coffee.

Fxxx Me Royally!! is a fun read if you’re looking for a low-key romance with a protagonist who isn’t afraid to be horny on main. Considering the premise, some aspects feel a bit timid; but perhaps that makes the game approachable to a broader audience, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Super Meat Boy Forever is clearly a lovingly designed sequel to the original hard as nails platformer. It takes on a new genre but still retains some familiar beats to keep players coming back for more. It might not be the sequel some fans were waiting for, but on its own, it’s an addictingly well-designed platformer for a modest price.

I Walk Among Zombies Vol. 0 is a short visual novel experience that explorers some of the smaller stories that didn’t make it into the full game. They are often fun and lighthearted, but I wish they carried more weight. As of now, Tokiko’s route might be the best reason to play through it. It’s a must if you want more stories from this series, but you won’t be missing out on much if you don’t play it.

Noel the Mortal Fate is all about impact. It’s a revenge melodrama that wants to keep the player on the edge of their seat, eating all the plot twists and caring about how the characters end up. This may not be the whole story, but it still manages to provide a wildly emotional ride even through limited visuals.

Pretty Princess Party is, at its core, an incredibly casual game. It’s a low-stakes and low-effort title that lets the player use their creative potential should they decide to get involved. If you’re a parent looking for a safe title for kids to play to explore their skills and reaction times, this is a solid pick. Otherwise, I don’t really know who’s going to play this game. On a more positive note, It’s got fewer bugs than Cyberpunk 2077.

In the end, Meteor World Actor offers a well-defined atmosphere with worldbuilding on a level that matches some of the best in the genre. Sadly, the character routes are underwhelming, but that doesn’t compromise everything it has to offer leading up to the conclusion. I’d love to see a proper continuation of the tale of these fascinating characters who live in a city eternally covered by the darkness of the night.

Cyberpunk 2077 is an expansive and entertaining journey, but one that feels like it comes with a ton of caveats. Exploring Night City and seeing all it offers can be a blast but is usually accompanied by some glitches along the way. Combat, while not revolutionary, is still very satisfying and never gets old. There is a great game here, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like it lives up to its full potential with its performance issues. With some more patches, I’m sure most of my complaints can be solved, but as it stands, Cyberpunk 2077 feels like it could have used a lot more work.

It all just falls short of what could otherwise be a decent, engaging adventure. I just did not find myself having fun with the combative scenarios. That, coupled with the weak performance, brings the title down a good number of notches. The title is fairly short but is also priced rather modestly. If you are mildly curious, feel free to pick it up. If you can stomach some of this title’s frail aspects, you can find yourself enjoying a beautiful, hearty adventure.

Fantasy Tavern Sextet: Vol.1 New World Days is a decent romantic comedy that doesn’t force you to play as a protagonist with a one-track mind. There’s some depth, but not much as the choices don’t matter, and you’ll probably forget about any emotional beats once the romance kicks in. Still, I’m looking forward to the next volumes to see where this fantasy goes.

Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend is a great piece of retro RPG history made readily available for modern gamers. The added options add a layer of accessibility lacking in the series, but it still retains its minimalistic design and leaves progression in the player’s hands. Bottom line, this is an amazing collection for RPG fans, and you won’t be disappointed spending an afternoon pretending your switch is a Game Boy and going on an adventure.

Mercenaries Blaze: Dawn of the Twin Dragons is a great entry in this SRPG series that takes retro systems and adds modern elements to make it stand proudly next to the greats. Its story doesn’t stick, but it also attempts to tackle some significantly difficult topics. Thankfully, the battle systems and accessibility options are sound and make this game a joy to experience.

I Walk Among Zombies Vol. 3 caps off this trilogy with some of the best pacing the series offers. The main protagonists’ character growth shines, with only a few stumbles leading up to the conclusion. The art work and writing fuel the deadly themes for a genuinely captivating read. This entry alone is reason enough to play through the previous titles, which continually delivers a unique and thrilling narrative.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light provides a look back at the humble beginnings of this SRPG series that continues to find new fans to this day. It shows its age in systems and visuals, but the added options to speed up the experience and save anywhere makes it accessible for non-seasoned retro gamers. This is a game that I’m glad made it to this generation, at least to preserve its official western release.

Tanuki Justice is an enjoyable and welcome retro release, one that recaptures the magic of ninja action games like Shinobi and Ninja Gaiden while adding some bullet hell shenanigans to provide a different type of challenge. There are some mechanical imperfections and omissions which do hamper the intended fast-paced ninja action. Still, the experience as a whole tends to shine through thanks to its vibrant presentation and strong level design.

As a VR experience, Spice & Wolf VR2 offers some of the best character animations that I’ve seen. However, it does not deliver significant content to justify its price, even by marketing itself as a VR anime. The limited environments and lack of interaction was a huge missed opportunity to making this a better experience overall. Oh well, here’s to hoping Spice & Wolf VR3 is better.

All things considered, Slave Princess Sarah is a decent and highly playable homage to the Game Boy classic Final Fantasy Adventure. It executes solid albeit dated gameplay mechanics in a game world that is methodically designed with swift pacing and features some really cool boss battles. However, most squeamish players will probably need to look past a lot of uncomfortable content and material to get to the genuine gameplay substance. As it stands, this one is largely for the intended subculture, and even the Game Boy novelty wears off rather quickly.