What it all boils down to is that Knightin’+ struggled to keep me engaged. The lack of an overworld of any type makes it ultimately forgettable. For $5.99, you’ll get a strictly average title.

Although I still get a kick out of seeing these Neo Geo Pocket Color games on the Nintendo Switch, some fare better than others. THE LAST BLADE: Beyond the Destiny is my last choice. The combat’s a little too sluggish, the presentation a little too uneven, and the overall package a little too dated. I’d check out one of the prior NGPC releases instead.

While the concept of an open world beat ‘em up set in high-school sounds interesting, the way it was executed is far from perfect. Furthermore, the entire world feels meaningless, as there is no way to easily tell what time your classes begin, and where they are. It is also difficult to know where each building is in the world because The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa lacks a map/compass feature. If you are looking for a unique beat ‘em up, and are willing to manage it’s user experience issues, then this is a perfect game for you.

It just doesn’t stand out to me as a “must buy.” I will say that there was a patch for some of the bugs in the game, but it could use a little more fine-tuning, in my opinion. YesterMorrow is nowhere near the worst game I’ve ever played, but it’s nowhere near the best.

Witch & Hero 2 has a great formula. Simplicity throughout, understandable mechanics, and a quick, in-and-out gameplay loop. However, the title lacks in nearly every department across the board, with some mechanics standing at odds with one another, and gameplay that doesn’t hold up long-term.

One Last Breath is an ambitious game set in an artfully creepy world, with some great ideas in its foundation that unfortunately don’t shine through as well as they could in its mechanics or storytelling.

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.

Virtuous Western is a quick, easy puzzle game with an 8-bit cowboy aesthetic and a speed run mode, but not much else to make it stand out from the wealth of similar games.

There’s not much to say about REPLICA. It plays closer to a proof of concept than a full-fledged game. It is only $4.99, but that might even be high for a game I beat (multiple times) in under two hours. It was painless, except for the pain that came from seeing potential unfulfilled. Maybe a sequel can make things better.

Robot Squad Simulator has some potential, but it feels a bit flat for a release which goes for about $15. It is interesting to pilot some ROVs, and it touches the whole hero-of-the-day theme, but there are some real issues that prevent fun gameplay. You can upgrade your bots a bit and there is the whole get-better-and-progress-through-levels thing, but it needs some refinement before I’d recommend it.

Leftovers KO! showcases some very fun art of foodstuffs dealing with a fierce blow. It’s a fine little time-killer, but otherwise doesn’t have much going for it to make it stand out from the crowd of other novelty fighting games.

Proficient Paddles: Deluxe doesn’t have much to it. The gameplay is fun for a little while but doesn’t hold my attention for too long. While I got used to the controls, it was frustrating in the beginning making the game just okay to me.

My time with Braveland Trilogy was enjoyable however it still felt like there could have been a lot more done to add variety to the games. At the asking price of $14.99, it feels like a lot to spend on a so-so title, even if it breaks down to about $5.00 a game. It wasn’t a terrible experience but when Braveland had something going for it, not enough focus seemed to be placed into it.

Surprisingly, the online play works well, and it is cool to have a portable version of ARK for playing on the go. But would I recommend it on Nintendo Switch? $49.99 is…pricey for the quality. It’s worth it if you have no other way to play ARK, but only if it goes on sale. ARK: Ultimate Survivor Edition itself is a very good, if not great, game, but this port is more mediocre than the best it can be. While I like playing it on Switch as an existing fan, I’m not sure I would if I was new to the game.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is an imaginative reinvention of the iconic Pokemon adventure, with a heart wrenching story and a real sense of soul, which is let down by sloppy mechanics, half-fulfilled ideas and disappointingly common cut corners.

Gleamlight is a simple 2D platformer with a pretty premise but not a lot of substance to back it up.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is an imaginative reinvention of the iconic Pokemon adventure, with a heart wrenching story and a real sense of soul, which is let down by sloppy mechanics, half-fulfilled ideas and disappointingly common cut corners.

Otherworldly is just a little underwhelming and short for the price. I recommend waiting for a discount if this looks like a game you would be interested in.

If Legend of the Skyfish drops to its app price of $3.99 I’d have an easier time recommending it for its good-looking presentation and fishing pole approach to combat. But even then, my recommendation would be limited to those looking for a straightforward game and willing to tolerate the muffled music and repetition.

Ski Sniper is fun enough for some shooting practice with a funny premise, but it doesn’t have a whole lot of meat to it.

Thunder Paw is a charming platformer that’s short but not so sweet. The gameplay doesn’t hold up compared to the cute pixel art and fun music.

While it might not be to the level of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but Chocobo GP definitely earns its spot as a must-play on the platform IF the microtransaction system was removed. Square Enix has come out and said they are listening to fan feedback and will try to tone the system down. However at the time of this review, Square Enix has not pushed through that update. This makes it tricky to recommend Chocobo GP at this exact moment. There’s a lot of fun to be had and I genuinely would continue playing this game. Yet I would strongly caution those interested in the title to hold out until the microtransaction system is fixed. By then progression will be as it should be and actually reward you for playing. Until then, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe just got new content…

Pinball enthusiasts will, presumably, find Safari Pinball acceptable for the cheap price. That’s not much of a ringing endorsement, though. The glitches annoy, and I still maintain that these budget tables would work much better as part of a bundle.

There’s some fun to be had with An Airport for Aliens Currently Run by Dogs. But the high price destroys any chance of a recommendation from me. Bump the score up a point if there’s a heavy sale.

Niffelheim had plenty of good things going for it, without room for mistakes it kind of killed the flow of the game. With plenty of other good crafting action-adventure RPG games on the Switch, Niffelheim just failed to hold my attention.

Unfortunately, the good parts of Foodtruck Arena are mostly outweighed by the plain and unoriginal nature of the game itself and the sloppy controls. I was hoping for a spicy sportster, but ended up with a bland-mobile.

When we remember that Gothic was one of the earliest truly open-world 3D concept games, we can at least give a nod of appreciation for the pioneering effort. With the time that has passed, Gothic Classic is mostly a reminder of how far we have come with game design and system capabilities.

I had fun with PAC-MAN Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs when I first started playing. However, the longer I played, the more bored I got.