Journey to Kreisia is a breezy JRPG that clearly shows its 10-year-old mobile origins. It brings nothing new to the genre, but it’s confident in what it’s trying to be and checks the right boxes with a wink and a nudge.

My time with Nicky Home Alone Golf Ball was filled with mixed feelings. While I enjoyed my time playing it, for the most part, the control issues did cause some frustration. For the asking price of .99-cents, it is hard not to say don’t buy it despite the frustration it still can be a fun game.ds

Despite not reaching its full potential, I still found some entertainment in Arcade Spirits. By ignoring the romantic aspects, I was able to play it as someone with an appreciation of the heyday of arcades. The charming setting made for a promising launching point, the audio is excellent, and the story (with smart pop-culture nods and humor) has page-turning qualities to some extent.

Overall, Narcos: Rise of the Cartels offers some unique strategy mechanics to help distract you from the game’s slow nature.

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.

Papertris is solid for its budget price. While I would’ve liked more options (and a consistent challenge), it’s a game built off classics. Local and online leaderboards help, too.

Avenging Spirit is a lesser-known ’90s arcade game with a unique “possession” angle that helps distinguish it from the excess of retro platformers available on the Switch. It’s worth a playthrough, especially if you’re unfamiliar with its charms.

Germs is enjoyable with a few players in short bursts. The user interface is well-designed and there are plenty of options, plus its just plain fun being a cute germ battling in a body for supremacy. On the downside, there’s just not enough to entertain you for long periods, and the lack of a dedicated single-player experience is unfortunate.

Hot Lap Racing is a decent racer in a genre that’s underrepresented on the Switch. It has its issues, but if you can make it through those, it provides enjoyment to burn rubber on the go.

Grime Definitive Edition is a fascinating action-platforming experience that I can’t recommend experiencing on the Switch. Its unique visual and narrative presentations will compel genre fans to the end, but the game would surely be better enjoyed without Switch performance problems dragging it down.

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.

River City Girls 2 almost ticks all the boxes: fun gameplay mixed with anime-style aesthetics and a humorous story. The jarring loading screens between each playable area annoyingly slow the pacing. It’s enjoyable, it’s just not as smooth as it should be.

Brotherhood United is an entertaining beat ‘em up at a budget price. It might not be perfect, but there’s just the right amount of run-and-gun action to keep genre fans entertained.

This “cozy RPG adventure” was clearly picked before it ripened. As such, it’s not as easy to recommend as it should be, with its many positives (music) clouded by sizable blemishes. Expect imagination and irritation, often in equal measure. Maliki: Poison of the Past has plenty of good ideas, but needs a patch to grow to its full potential.

Overall, The Hand of Merlin is a tactical game that plays well if you can look past the long loading times and user interface issues. While it initially put me off with its complicated menus, the decent visuals and engaging battles are fun once you get the hang of them. It’s possibly a tad on the expensive side, but fans of turn-based strategies will likely find some subtle enjoyment here.

As the first Mario Golf series game on a home console in almost 20 years, my expectations were high. While I smile seeing my favorite plumber tee off, Mario Golf: Super Rush admittedly lacks some polish I’d expect from Nintendo-published software. It’s also heavily focused on gimmicks, though standard golf presents a fun simulation-lite alternative to PGA Tour. But, the overall package is mixed and not “content-packed” as advertised, at least for solo players. Like Mario Tennis before it, some tweaks, additional content, and a sale would make this a wiser purchase.

With a mixed trio of tables, Williams Pinball Volume 8 offers an uneven package. Black Knight 2000 is peak ’80s fun, but for $14.99, you’re hoping for every table to be of comparable entertainment. Earthshaker’s big claim to fame is HD Rumble, while Banzai Run is a “growing pains” table—empty and struggling to run on Switch. Wishlist this pack for a future sale, or stick with Pinball FX3.

Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? is exactly what you expect it to be – a carbon copy of the television show it is based on. With that, you get a simple and not particularly challenging trivia game that is accessible to the whole family. Sadly, it’s let down by the slow pacing, annoying character hosts, and performance issues mentioned. Hopefully, the latter can be sorted sooner rather than later!

If you really like platformers, Jello can provide a bit of a unique challenge with the level layout and more so with the non-standard movement controls. I had a bit of a hard time getting into it, but if you’re fine with grinding a level until you can run it quickly, and you like getting your name on a leaderboard, then there is some fun to be had with this game.

Goblin Slayer -Another Adventurer- Nightmare Feast will not be enough to win people over to SRPGs or to the game’s source material. But if you’re already a fan of either (or both), it does more than enough to keep you entertained throughout.

Lyrica comes together quite well in presentation and gameplay, but it’s going to have a limited audience by design. The theme—although interesting—doesn’t lend itself to the type of frenetic fun conveyed through most other rhythm games. Also, rhythm games on the Switch require portable play and (ideally) a pair of headphones, limiting their accessibility. If you’re used to that, Lyrica is a unique entry in the genre. If not, there are others out there that will likely hold your attention longer and at a lower price point.

Cash Cow DX certainly looks and sounds like it would’ve fit right in with your favorite ’80s arcade games, but you’d have either needed crazy skills or a bag full of quarters to play it for long. The game’s immediate difficulty will turn away a good portion of its target audience.

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.

Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars will keep strategy gamers busy for a while, so you get decent value for money. I think the experience would be much more enjoyable with some well-aimed tutorial, movement, and UI refinements. Hopefully, we will get some improvements with the next installment, as I’m looking forward to seeing where this story can go.

At $24.99, I think Staxel’s priced a bit high, and I’d wait for a sale. But multiplayer can be lots of fun, playing with friends both locally and online. If you find the premise and presentation appealing, Staxel’s a cute, chill, but familiar title. It’s a game that can bore or relax depending on your thoughts about Minecraft and farming/new-guy-in-town simulators like Harvest Moon.

Hero Concept’s additions help to break up the inherent monotony of Space Invaders, but Doughlings: Invasion is still a game that’s fun for short bursts only. That’s not a deal killer, of course, just something to consider before buying.

If you’re the type who likes to relax with the calming sites and sounds of an ocean life documentary, Beyond Blue will allow you to get more interactive with it. The educational and narrative moments don’t fully gel with the undersea exploration, and the visuals get murky on the Switch, but that won’t matter when you’re exploring these deep, safe waters.

Tamashii is one of the most disturbing experiences I have ever had. With intense horror and gore-laden imagery, this is a title that will stay with me for a while. Even with all the positives with the setting and art style, at the end of the day, this game is a poor platformer, with pretty solid puzzles to work through.