But even with a couple of missteps, I’m still scoring Crow Country highly. The story engrosses, and the puzzles challenge without being too ridiculous. The game is long enough to be rewarding but not so long as to make replay intimidating. And the retro horror may even make you jump a couple of times, in teen-rated fashion. The Snipperclips devs have done considerably good work here, and anyone who predicted otherwise can eat crow.

Those with no interest in the Japanese idol industry may be alienated by how deeply Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE: Encore digs into it (I’m sure I missed a lot of jokes), but I can’t imagine there are Nintendo gamers out there who aren’t interested in Japanese entertainment. Don’t seek this one out specifically as a Fire Emblem game, but fans of Persona, Shin Megami Tensei, or JRPGs in general should love it.

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.

Aviary Attorney: Definitive Edition is very replayable, with many branching dialogue chains and three different endings. Its 19th-century world and characters are too charming to not want to see again.

If you’ve never heard of Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams, that’s no reason to ignore Cotton Reboot! You need not be a retro gamer to appreciate this shoot ’em up’s excellent arcade/action gameplay, you just need to be a fan of cute, upbeat fun.

Overall, Tevi is a beautiful-looking side-scrolling metroidvania with bullet hell and RPG elements. A heavy load of dialogue slows things down initially, but there’s a deep game hiding beneath the surface with satisfying action and gameplay.

Capcom delivers an aesthetically pleasing world that’s fun to explore in Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection. Whether riding your monster, scaling cliffs, swimming, or digging, the game offers variety that keeps you busily exploring. The plot and some gameplay systems can feel slower-paced at times. But a likable cast and entertaining side quests bring balance.

Darkest Dungeon II provides an extremely challenging, roguelike adventure for fans turn-based combat games. The difficulty will turn away some players, but those who stick with it will be rewarded by fun gameplay and a compelling story set in an astoundingly designed world.

Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile translates its ’70s setting into a fun audio-visual package. The mysterious characters (fully voiced) are well-developed, giving the game a page-turning quality. You’ll want to see them reach their conclusions, no matter the outcome. A few well-meaning but ultimately unfortunate choices knock the game down from great to just good, and I suspect this will fare less positively with Christie purists, given some of the liberties. But I think most players will get their money’s worth at $39.99, and the game’s replay value only sweetens the deal. The overall experience delivers an uneven, albeit high-quality, memorable mystery adventure.

The Legend of Tianding is a beautiful sidescrolling beat ’em up that deserves to receive more attention than it’s getting. Its comic book art style carries through from the story to the gameplay. The action is fast-paced, the level designs well thought out, and the boss battles are challenging but fun. If you’re a fan of kung fu movies, you need to add The Legend of Tianding to your library.

Wunderling is a challenging and fun puzzle platformer. With smooth controls and unique level designs, it’s hard not to say, “one more try.”

To do today: get up, brush teeth, follow strange dream about a deer and head off to the cursed castle to see what happens. Sounds like a plan, so what could possibly go wrong? Well, we all know the answer to that question, don’t we? In Operencia, you take off on a journey of exploration, adventure, and heroic deeds—not to mention monsters and mayhem. If you enjoy turn based RPGs, this one is worth checking out.

Might & Magic – Clash of Heroes: Definitive Edition’s nearly perfect combination of puzzle and RPG elements make for engrossing gameplay that’s only occasionally hampered by frustration with the components that involve random luck. Whether this is your first playthrough or a double (or even triple) dip, it’s not to be missed.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak takes a while to get moving, but is otherwise as J as JRPGs can get. A new cast of characters and the new settings make it more accessible than previous Trails releases on the Switch, and gameplay tweaks will please those who don’t enjoy the grind of turn-based combat and complex party management.

Fly TOGETHER! is a chaotic puzzle game to play with friends in various ways. The controls are responsive, but the game gets repetitive after a little while.

As a whole, the Nintendo Switch version of Sifu is very good. The action fighting game has a reliable theme, good visual elements, interesting combat with smooth mechanics, a decent challenge level with a multitude of controls/moves, and a solid story.

I had a blast from my day to day activities and my time spent with it didn’t feel like nearly enough. I will be playing this long after reviewing it. Rune Factory enthusiasts, as well as newcomers, should certainly give this a go.

Overall, STORY OF SEASONS: Grand Bazaar is a faithful remake with great music and fun gameplay. This Nintendo Switch 2 Edition addresses stuttering seen on the original Switch when things are too busy on screen, and the framerate improvements make the game run much better and smoother. It’s like going from a DVD to Blu-ray, albeit at $10 more, as it’s priced at $59.99 on Switch 2. I’d still recommend this game (on either platform) to all STORY OF SEASONS fans, and highly recommend it to fans of Harvest Moon DS: Grand Bazaar, as it is a well-done remake that carries the spirit of the original.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV is massive. It’s massively fun and massively rewarding. Fans of JRPGs can get delightfully lost in its deep story, its numerous characters, and its battle system that provides a ridiculous amount of options for customization. Just make sure you’ve played Trails of Cold Steel III (and have at least read up on I and II).

When compared with the plentiful amount of action-RPGs already on the Nintendo Switch Torchlight II can seem like a bit of an afterthought. But while its story has a poor endgame, it offers a cute aesthetic with plenty of charm. Panic Button has done a great job once again with porting, and those new to the genre will find plenty to entertain at a fair price.

With over 100 levels to battle through, plenty of loot to collect, numerous bosses to take down and even some prisoners to rescue, Barbearian will keep even the most seasoned of adventurers very busy and highly entertained for quite some time. Besides, who doesn’t like hacking at sword-wielding skeletons?

Although the improv gameplay of What the Dub?! is somewhat basic and repetitive, it presents numerous opportunities for MST3K-style hilarity. You don’t need to be a fan of movies to enjoy this party game; you just need to be quick-witted (or have funny friends).

Okinawa Rush is a fun albeit repetitive game whose nonstop fighting action shows why the SNES era was so great. Fantastic retro vibes in terms of music, too.

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.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma’s greatest accomplishment is its ability to pile so many gameplay elements into one big adventure, and to make all of them feel integral and organic. Whether you’re farming, fighting, exploring, or romancing, every task—like the game itself—feels like it’s worth completing.

For fans of Mega Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, and a host of platforming classics, it’s hard not to recommend Berserk Boy. The plot may not turn heads, but the fluid controls and presentation should. Will this game make you “Go Berserk?” Perhaps. Here’s hoping for an 8-bit demake to follow.

BAKERU is a light-hearted action game that’s as vibrant and boisterous as the festival you’re tasked with quelling. The combat can feel repetitive across the game’s 50+ levels, but there’s enough to learn and do to keep players pushing ahead in this rollicking adventure through fairy tale Japan.