My gaming acumen recognizes Rakuen: Deluxe Edition as a high-quality release that checks most of the right boxes. At the same time, this is a title I simply never want to play again and am anxious to forget. Its heavy-handed final act is unpleasantly predictable, making a game that felt fresh feel paradoxically clichéd. People grieve differently, and many will meld with this finished product. But I’m left saying it’s a good game that’s not for me: too bitter without enough sweetness to offset it.

When it’s firing on all cylinders, Bayonetta 3 serves as a confident reminder of why we’ve been looking forward to its release for so long. Unfortunately, the number of misfires can’t be overlooked, making this easily the least enjoyable game in the series.

While certainly an interesting game, Metro 2033 won’t be for every first-person shooter fan. However, if you enjoy a more thought provoking, story-driven adventure you’ll most likely enjoy yourself. With all of the game’s DLC included, there’s a good amount of content to keep you busy.

Sumire is a visual novel adventure that should appeal to anyone who has experienced loss or just ever felt disconnected from the world. It’s perhaps over too quickly for the price, but it’s an enjoyable, fulfilling adventure while it lasts.

The latest, though not greatest from Digital Eclipse (due to some lapses in storytelling), Llamasoft The Jeff Minter Story, still offers a good experience. For a certain demographic of gamers, it could be a nostalgic-filled romp. Those with an appreciation for gaming history will be entertained, even if the shortage of content makes this package feel more like a volume 1.

With Shin Megami Tensei V, Atlus has done a solid job of updating the series over to the Nintendo Switch. The new gameplay elements are mostly welcome, and press turn combat and demon fusing elements are better than ever. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the story, which never even begins to get interesting.

Filament is a clever puzzle game that will challenge even the most ardent fans of the genre. The relaxing atmosphere helps to ease the frustration, but the complexity of later levels may put off casual gamers.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection is one of the best retro gaming collections to come out in years. Obviously the developers absolutely loved the series, because every single moment of this collection is bursting with Ninja Turtle love. From including some of the best home console and arcade games, to including the most in-depth behind-the-scenes look at the games, The Cowabunga Collection sets the new standard for how retro collections should be. While the collection includes a few less than stellar games you should probably avoid, there are 8 great games to jump in to and have a great time. These are some of the best games to appear on a Nintendo (or Sega) console in the past and a great way to revisit these classics again today on Nintendo Switch.

Chicken Police – Paint it RED! combines the storytelling of a visual novel with the puzzle-solving of a point-and-click adventure to create a decidedly different gaming experience. The slick, cinema noir style and distinctive anthropomorphic presentation do enough to cover up any shortcomings that would otherwise dissuade you from seeing this case through to its exciting end.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, while still good fun overall, is a letdown, both as paid DLC and a standalone release. The upgrade pack, though inexpensive, is underwhelming and of questionable value, with most additions feeling minor and unpolished. And if you somehow missed the original game, you’d best have a strong answer to the question “Why start now?”

Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless is a difficult SRPG to push through if you have no previous experience with the series. But you’ve got to start somewhere, right? And once you get into the flow of it, you may find yourself losing a month or two to the game’s unique elements, tricky systems, and joyful charms.

The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow is a short but sweet point-and-click horror adventure that uses the setting, style and folklore of Victorian Britain to immerse you in a distinctly creepy plot.

If crafting is your thing, you probably won’t be disappointed with Atelier Mysterious Trilogy Deluxe Pack. In the end, I still enjoy this series as a JRPG fan, even though there are grind issues.

That Terraria continues to receive ports to new systems is a testament to the game’s playability. It continues to attract new fans while prompting long-time players to double- and even triple-dip. I don’t think you need the Switch version if you’re already set up on your other gaming system(s) of preference (especially at the current price). If the Switch is your only option, however, it’s good enough for us to offer a recommendation. Let’s just hope the developers manage to dig up and build couch co-op before night falls again.

Parkasaurus can get tiresome, especially when playing this Switch port. It won’t grab hybrid players who aren’t already genre fans. But an instructive campaign mode, combined with a sandbox mode, means plenty of content is here, ultimately making for a decent (though certainly not great) game.

Ib is a surprising experience people should check out if they want a pixel-art title with an extremely creepy atmosphere. Ib makes you feel uncomfortable around every corner and builds tension whenever you go near any painting. The puzzles, the main “meat and potatoes” of Ib are also quite clever, even if a few of them lose the cleverness for a trial-and-error approach. That said, Ib is an extremely short game that feels like it was made for a specific audience. If you hear pixel-art, horror-like titles and are excited by the sound of Ib, you may enjoy Ib. If those words don’t immediately get you intrigued, then you might be best to look somewhere else for your next game.

I still enjoyed this game for the way it offered some youthful nostalgia. It delivers a definite challenge. But LA-MULANA 2 is cut from the same cloth and does very little that’s different from the first. While that doesn’t make the game bad, it does make it frustrating.

While hardly the most exciting package, Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics is big on quantity. Unfortunately, the quality can’t always match, with multiplayer restrictions and online lag being among the most sizable concerns. Solo Players probably won’t find this one long-lasting, but families will fare better. Even if this won’t be your first choice for gatherings, a decent time should still ensue.

Is this 22-year-old game worth your time? Absolutely. There’s a reason why it’s being re-released for cutting-edge systems, and if you’re willing to engage with its idiosyncrasies, old-school mechanics and graphics, and interface oddities, there’s a frankly wonderful story that will grab you while also allowing you to understand how many other games it has influenced.

Paradise Killer offers more style than substance, but that’s not necessarily a fault. It’s a choice. The game’s unique characters and story are open throughout gameplay and beyond completion, tasking you with solving a gory murder through low-pressure investigations and…well, hoping you were right.

If you’re looking for something that’s creepy without being violent are gory, the puzzle game Smile for Me is for you. It effectively uses its low-fi graphics and video to create a point-and-click adventure that unnerves you without resorting to jump scares and violence.

The visuals and roguelike elements of World of Horror combine to create a wholly unique experience for Switch users. The gameplay loop does become repetitive rather quickly, but the short gaming sessions and changing relationship between events make this a successful and scary diversion from the norm.

Despite its pitfalls, Dicefolk was one of the more fun roguelikes I’ve played. It successfully tantalized me with the idea that this might be the time that I managed to pull a team together, after crushing me again and again.

Catherine: Full Body is a fun and unique puzzle game with a story that is fine if you don’t interrogate it too closely.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon bends and cracks under the weight of what it must carry as we begin the final chapters of this massive story. But its components—familiar and new—hold up well enough to entertain those who have followed the series so far.

Vitamin Connection is pretty much a unique concept, so if you’re looking for a game that’s hard to compare to others, this one should be near the top of your wishlist. Just keep in mind that, much like actual vitamins, this game is best in small doses. Also, if you’re a solo player, be mindful that backtracking and encountering difficulty spikes through maze-like bodies is best when tackled as a pair.

Revolgear Zero goes beyond the token shoot’ em up in many ways. Its weapon system has depth, and what it lacks in length, it makes up for in replayability. It’s a fun game to play solo, and even more fun in co-op. I’ll keep an eye on Bikkuri Software and hope their next Nintendo release will have its glitches ironed out.

A Little Golf Journey oversells its “stunning” courses and struggles to stay fresh with a mostly safe approach, regardless of plot attempts. It’s the sort of game that did enough to make me want to keep going for a few hours, but not enough to finish, let alone 100% it. Lacking diversity, both aesthetically and gameplay-wise, it pales when compared to many other Switch golf titles. But, even with a subpar camera, the secrets are quite a bit of fun. Assuredly not $19.99 fun, though. The content is there, but the enjoyment and polish aren’t as much. Wishlist this one for a sale while you browse other relaxing games on the eShop, and wait for an improved follow-up.