The graphics, the driving mechanics, the tracks, the vehicles, and the play time in Asphalt 9: Legends are all very good. The game is fun to play and challenging enough to keep the player engaged. However, the micro-transactions and some frame-rate issues do interfere with the overall experience.

Shadow Corridor is a fun Japanese horror game. Perfect for Halloween and any late-night sessions alone or with a group of friends. The controls are smooth and easy to pick up, the jump scares are very effective, and the music elevates everything within this game. My main concern is the replayability the game promotes isn’t as strong as I initially hoped, but that doesn’t impact the overall experience too much.

Hell Pie has the beginnings of an entertaining game with a silly sense of humour and classic platformer action, which has sadly been scuppered on the Switch by a glitch that crashes the game as soon as you hit the second level.

RemiLore is a fast-paced satisfying rogue-lite game with randomized level maps, fun hack-and-slash moves, and smooth controls. If the save mechanic was better, this would be a top-notch game.

The very core of Epistory – Typing Chronicles is centered around words and story. The narrative and visuals carry over well to the Switch, but the typing combat gimmick requires the cumbersome use of an external keyboard or the built-in adaptation to Joy-Con controls. It’s a fun, clever game, but one that’s best experienced on the computer.

Overall, Aka is a solid attempt at the life sims genre, with it truly hitting the mark of being casual and cozy rather than being like the others within the same genre that are more-so grindy time and resource management games.

If you’re a die-hard South Park fan looking for a humorous game to play with friends, South Park: Snow Day could be a good choice for a short, mildly fun experience. However, if you’re seeking a lengthy, more enthralling adventure like the previous South Park titles, this game will fall short of your expectations.

Dragon Quest II is a classic RPG and one of the first in this long-running series. It’s fun, despite its simplicity and some grinding, however it suffers from some choppy graphics due to being a port of a port.

Whilst I can’t justify anyone purchasing this title, there was effort put in at least… The developer’s pride for an Advance Wars style game shined through, which I can appreciate. It has its issues whether it be a cluttered user interface, bad graphics, and similar environments, which can make it easy to overlook this title, and I can’t say you’d be missing much. If you are an Advance Wars fan, you might want to try looking elsewhere, that is, if you can’t overlook these points of concern (a good starting place might be Chucklefish’s latest hit – Wargroove).

While there are absolutely zero excuses for the missing multiplayer, I suspect Turok 2 might still draw a bit of a nostalgic audience on Nintendo Switch. Having a smoother, fogless experience (no $30 Expansion Pak needed) with modern touches like gyroscopic controls and a wealth of player options does help. But this game is uneven and dated, and it shows. Add in the cut multiplayer – I can’t stress that enough – and it makes Turok 2 just a so-so release on the Nintendo Switch.

I get that this is more like an interactive story than an actual game. But I’d like some more interaction and less story. The reality of Evans’s life is just a little too close to home for me, but this would be a good learning experience for someone trying to understand depression and other mental health issues.

Sentinels of Freedom is a turn-based strategy RPG where creating your own hero is enjoyable. However, the fun mechanics only last so long since this is just one chapter of the story.

The Long Gate bills itself as “…a challenging and elaborate puzzle game with puzzles based on real world physics and circuits.” If any of those words frighten you, stay away, as its elaborate level setup and first-person point of view complicate things even further. But if you’re within its target audience, it could be one of the most rewarding logic puzzle games you’ve played in quite some time.

I see Papetura having a broad appeal to both fans of cinematic puzzle platformers and graphic adventures. It doesn’t overstay its welcome, yet it feels fully realized. It grew on me, and I suspect I’m not alone. With attractive visuals, a captivating world, and more, this game is well worth your attention.

Super Crazy Rhythm Castle is a chaotic mix of gaming tasks and music styles that will continue to surprise and delight players throughout…provided the required rhythm precision doesn’t turn them away first. Definitely don’t try it alone, and make sure your co-op partners—either locally or online—are fully up to speed as you progress.

Full Metal Schoolgirl offers a sharp, satirical look at corporate life. It’s humorous throughout, but the roguelike, action-oriented gameplay does become redundant. I’d rather my time slogging be spent in an actual office I’m meant to survive, not a virtual one I’m meant to destroy.

Rose and Camellia Collection offers a glimpse into an intriguing yet tragically under-developed world that has moments of great humour, but teases a much better game than it is. It is brief, inconsistent, and relies on its one unique (and undeniably fun) mechanic far too much to feel complete.

Riverbond coaxes you in with its charming feel and aesthetically pleasing voxel graphics, only to thrust you into a monotonous hack ‘n’ slash. With the plethora of other games that have interesting art styles and incredible looks, it is hard to let the gameplay here slide, even with its comedic relief and destructible environments as a backer.

Endless Ocean Luminous continues the relaxing series, changing a few things but keeping the core mechanics in place. It’s easy to lose yourself in this environment, though newcomers like myself might enjoy it moreso. I genuinely enjoyed my time in the water and will continue diving for some time to come.

My first impression of the Writhe wasn’t the greatest; after playing several rounds on each level, I started to enjoy it more. While it certainly lacks content, what is there is solid. However, the asking price of $9.99 is a little steep for the content available as of now.

If you are looking for a stealth game of any sort, or are considering getting into Assassin’s Creed, this game is a must buy. Despite the few issues like unnoticeable graphical improvements and a slow beginning, Assassin’s Creed III Remastered features solid gameplay and a story underneath its surface that more than quantifies the investment. The sheer amount of things to do will lead to you investing hundreds of hours into this game.

With more polish on the audio, the levels, and the enemies, Metal Mind would stand a better chance against all of the other big indie rouge-lites and rouge-likes. Unfortunately, the game just isn’t there yet.

Zombie Driver is everything you’d expect from a game called Zombie Driver – zombies and driving and guts splattered all over your screen. Its great.

Cannibal Cuisine is a game I had my doubts about. Within a few levels, I was enjoying my time playing as long as players can swallow the idea of cannibalism for their next game night.

Claybook is admittedly ambitious. It’s also quite a nice looking and unique game, with commendable user features. Yet it struggled to command my attention, lacking elements to maintain interest beyond a few minutes at a time. The community creations do help here to an extent, but the overall experience needs to be tightened, and perhaps reigned in a bit.

As open-world action RPGs go, Biomutant has some appeal. And if you’re into it, there’s a good level of replayability with the skills balance and hero-type selections. Most players, however, are likely to lose interest before reaching the end.

Liberated tells a poignant story through a beautifully drawn series of comics that seamlessly integrates simple but captivating gameplay.

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics doesn’t do much to stand out from other turn-based tactics games, but it treats both the genre and the show—and therefore the fans of each—with the respect they deserve.