The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie, ultimately, doesn’t feel like the most required game in the series. Despite pushing the world and its characters forward into a new direction, its scope is a bit too large at times. The gameplay remains as sharp as ever and the Reverie Corridor is a fun new addition, but it would have benefited more from a tighter story about C and his group.

If you are looking for a short, gentle and surprisingly thoughtful game to relax you for a few hours on a lazy Sunday afternoon, this is a superb choice. Smushi Come Home is a charming little adventure with a big heart that sadly may be over a little too soon.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is rather niche, though with a hardcore cult following. But with its updated looks and wider availability, hopefully it will emerge into the spotlight and dance its way into people’s hearts.

For a text-heavy and narrative-focused game, Harmony: The Fall of Reverie is one in which the story is actually the weakest point. The game could have been shorter, because the latter half of the story kind of falls apart. (It’s already not a very long game though.) The writing style is plenty melodramatic and poetic, but it feels far too heavy-handed and can round to alienating. It wants me to feel something so bad, but it never gives me the chance to form these emotional ties to the plot or characters. Sometimes the metaphors don’t work, aiming for deep and landing somewhere in strange. Though I can see the various team members’ individual passion shine through in the game’s components, a tighter vision would have saved this particular reverie’s heart.

Final Fantasy XVI is without question a great game, but after about 45 hours with it, I can't help but think it often isn't great at being a Final Fantasy game.

I’ve got to tell you, Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life feels like a game that arrived right when I needed it most. This is a game about redefining what matters to you. First, it’s about settling into a new community and forming bonds with your new neighbors. One of them being romantic. Then it’s about supporting your growing family both emotionally and via working hard on the farm. As time passes, you get to see how that influences things. It’s like you are building a life while farming, rather than working a farm and taking “you” time to be social when you can.

Amnesia: The Bunker exists for one purpose and one purpose only: to terrify you. It isn’t here to be groundbreaking, it isn’t here to flip any scripts, it’s just here to instill fear. And it does an incredible job of that. The stage is set from the second you’re left to your own devices, and it only gets worse as you progress. It’s the kind of game that makes you want to put on a pair of nice headphones and turn off the lights to immerse yourself, then make you regret that decision for all the right reasons. There’s definitely room to improve on certain things, particularly when it comes to the story and controls, but it’s a very solid game that any horror fan should play. If you’re looking for something that’ll scare you, you will absolutely find it here.

Ultimately, the System Shock remake doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it doesn’t need to. The original game already revolutionized the shooter and immersive sim genre back in 1994. Nightdive Studios’ take gives one of the most influential games ever made a fresh coat of paint, tweaking the formula and pacing subtly while adding some quality of live improvements. For those that were too intimidated by the original, this is a fantastic way of playing it. While the few, but substantial, differences might be divisive among returning fans, the System Shock remake does a great job of informing new players of why the game was so impressive in 1994 and proves that it remains impressive in 2023.

Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 is an impressive achievement, building in some nice new elements on top of the solid foundation set by the first game. It only makes some minor tweaks, but these add some fun new elements, useful tools, and great tension, all while letting you deepen your bond with this lovable crew. Just prepare to have your heart broken unless you’re an incredible tactician.

It’s a shame that the experience of actually playing Bunhouse feels so off, because it’s a cute game with a lovely, laid back atmosphere and it’s a clear labour of love from Reky Studios. It’s just that for all the charm points and rabbits in hats, the simple things can bring you right out of the experience. Fighting unwieldy controls, a molasses slow camera, and unclear visuals makes the game often frustrating to play, rather than the relaxing experience that was intended.

It’s a game that seems like it’s for hardcore The Lord of the Rings fans, considering its playable character and the lack of recent releases for the franchise, but even diehard fans couldn’t enjoy this unexpected journey.

Despite its occasional flaws, I liked Convergence a lot. It may not be the game that gets me into League of Legends, but it did provide a great introduction to the world and its cast. It’s a solid platformer, combining satisfying movement and combat with a surprisingly heartfelt story.

Loop8 squanders its goodwill. This is a game Marvelous and SIEG Games clearly want to be poignant and important. However, its frustratingly obtuse, the pacing is problematic, and it wears out its welcome with tedious interactions. I love the concept and the idea of wandering around Ashihara. Some characters are memorable too! But after a few loops and constant Musasa intrusions, I was tempted to let the Kegai win if it would shut that squirrel up.

The Etrian Odyssey games have always been a triumph, and Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is the sort of loving proof of concept to convince Switch and PC owners that yes, it’s still just as good on a platform that doesn’t feature two screens. Etrian Odyssey I, II, and III remain fantastic, challenging, and engaging games that will drive players to explore. Even better is that the auto-mapping and difficulty options increase the ease of entry, making them even more appealing. It’s wonderful to see all three games again, and I hope this is a precursor to a seventh installment.

Diablo IV introduces one of the most integral characters from its expansive catalogue of lore to weave a tapestry about choice, parenthood, while transitioning the series into something more resembling a live service game.

Street Fighter 6 is a fighting game for everyone. With control schemes that will let you do cool things simply by mashing the buttons, a sprawling single player mode, and a character creation system that allows you to cobble together whatever moveset you like, it feels like something designed to give you whatever you want out of a fighting game.

I’m genuinely disappointed. Star Trek seems perfect for a narrative-heavy adventure game, and Star Trek Resurgence’s bugs, design, and QTEs keep people from getting properly invested. I don’t regret my time with the game, and I did enjoy the tale it told. However it’s executed in such a sloppy fashion and littered with issues that draws a player’s attention away from what matters.

Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord was a great time. The gameplay was very entertaining, every battle felt like a fair challenge and I ended up taking on almost every quest both for the rewards and just for the sheer fun of it. The story has its ups and downs but nothing that made me abandon the game completely, on the contrary, it felt the high points mattered the most. And finally, the characters made it all worthwhile, it was refreshing to follow the adventures of friends that don’t feel heroic in a standard way, yet still completely endearing all the time.

Pocket Mirror: GoldenerTraum is a beautiful blast to the past that hearkens back to the glory days of the indie RPG Maker scene. What makes it shine is in its cast of colorful characters and its heartwarming message. Though I commented that its vagueness is detrimental to emotionally connecting with the story, it does linger with you as you ponder upon its meaning. Video games are art, and Pocket Mirror: GoldenerTraum is one of those games that can prove it.

There are certain NIS America games that sometimes end up a bit forgotten compared to other titles, like Cladun or The Guided Fate Paradox, and I really hope Monster Menu: The Scavenger’s Cookbook isn’t one of them. There are some elements that feel like they aren’t quite there yet, like pacing or effect application, but what’s here feels really different and innovative. I enjoyed my time with it way more than I expected to, and I would really love to see what could be done in a sequel.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an absolutely massive adventure, just like its predecessor Breath of the Wild. However, it isn’t as though we’re retreading familiar paths or going through an expansion of the existing game. Rather, it does feel entirely new, with its new creative elements adding more freedom while still offering a bit more structure when it comes to visiting Temples and following its story. The technical elements and execution mean that it could be welcoming to all audiences and gameplay styles, and it’s a prime example of what sorts of heights the Nintendo Switch can hit.

Being a free game with a small roster and beginner-friendly slant, I can see Idol Showdown being a great entry point into fighting games for Hololive VTuber fans. If fighting game veterans, attracted by the allure of rollback netcode, end up endeared to the characters, then the game could serve as a nice gateway between the two communities. Those outside those camps may find its appeal limited, but such is the nature of games targeted at such a specific crossover of audiences. Despite that, Idol Showdown is a worthy addition to the growing list of Hololive fan-games that stand on their own merits.

Winter’s Wish: Spirit of Edo is one of those Switch otome games that covers a lot of different topics well. Do you like period pieces? It’s got that. Enjoy stories with supernatural elements? Each route features blightfall hazards to overcome. There for the romance? I really recommend going through Yoichi’s route! Due to playing so many routes one after another, the sense of progression felt a bit similar to me, but I think someone playing it in a more measured way as intended would have a good time.

Darkest Dungeon II expands on the series in a way that brings a new kind of freshness to the core experience. Those looking for something identical to the first game may feel disappointed with how progression tracks, or a lack of a more diverse roster of characters. That said, it is bound to keep you entertained for hours on end, and has plenty of new mechanics to engage in that allow for more experimentation and min-maxing.

Ultimately, whether Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is for you will depend on how much you liked the first game. As much as it builds on the first game in terms of size and scope, it doesn’t feel like it’s going in any new direction. It’s more of what was good about the last game, a second helping of a meal you already know you like. That’s not to damn it with faint praise, it’s an enjoyable game with a lot of content, but there’s no new angle that the previous game didn’t cover already. Add to that the technical instability and it’s hard to recommend this over Fallen Order unless you’ve already beaten that and want more.

As Redfall lacks any actual depth in terms of narrative or gameplay loop, it’s a hard game to recommend. But who knows, maybe six months to a year down the line, it could be a completely different and more engaging game. That’s just the time we live in.

Still, it’s not the easiest game to recommend even if this is the best and easiest to play version. If you want to ruin friendships, Mario Party is the better option. Yes, there will be hurt feelings, but at least everyone will have a good time while it happens. With Dokapon Kingdom: Connect, the pacing and other elements mean it’ll feel like all four people are trudging through a mile-long pit of quicksand in many modes. There’s an audience for this niche game, for sure, but know going in that it is a lot.

Arcana of Paradise: The Tower feels like the concept is sound. A roguelike deck builder with more puzzles to it and possibly caring for your current and future party members is a novel idea. However, even with the real-time element forcing you to act quickly, it doesn’t feel like this is a critical affair. There’s a lack of tension that keeps it from feeling like an achievement when you do well, and the recurring events means you’re rarely surprised and already prepared for most things headed your way.