Ib is an unsettling, creepy, and incredible experience on Nintendo Switch. It has excellent music, great art, and an amazing narrative through its multiple endings. If you enjoy exploration, horror, and 2D adventure games, you need to play this.

Gnosia is an ambitious game and one that I definitely am glad to have experienced over the last week. While the repetition and localisation issues hold it back, Gnosia is well worth experiencing. Blending the best of visual novels with a werewolf style game and bringing in skills and stats is not an easy task. Doing so while making me care about the characters and universe across dozens of hours is what makes Gnosia a game I can recommend to those looking for new ways to experience a narrative.

My issues with Persona 3 Portable itself aside, the new PC port is excellent. It scales across different hardware well, runs well and looks good on Steam Deck, and arrives without the issues P4G had at launch on PC. It is disappointing that after all these years Persona 3's arrival on modern platforms isn't a complete remake, but it is hard to argue with the value P3P provides at its low asking price right now.

If you enjoy JRPGs, you owe it to yourself to play Live A Live. Despite being a remake of a decades old game, Live A Live feels fresh and will surprise you with its interesting combat, gorgeous visuals, unique structure, and superlative soundtrack. It is a strong contender for the best JRPG in years.

The Kids We Were on Nintendo Switch is an excellent voxel-styled adventure game with memorable characters and an emotional story. If you enjoyed games like To the Moon and Sumire, you will love The Kids We Were.

Cotton Reboot does a fantastic job of bringing Cotton and cute 'em ups to a new generation of players with its excellent gameplay, gorgeous visuals, and great soundtrack.

Rune Factory 4 Special is an excellent remaster of a Nintendo 3DS classic that has a few visual improvements on PC compared to the console versions. While the conversion has some interface issues that will hopefully be addressed in future patches, it is still worth your time with its budget price with DLC included from the get go.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax on Nintendo Switch is a fantastic portable version of the game, but one that lacks a few online features compared to the PS4 version. It also doesn't look as good as the PS4 version when played docked. Despite that, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is one of the best fighting games available on Nintendo's hybrid system.

Dragon Quest Treasures on Switch felt like a long-lost 3DS gem that had all the charm from an older Dragon Quest game, but one that was let down by some technical issues. On Steam Deck, it is much smoother and a better experience overall. If you already played it, there isn't anything new here, but I'm glad Dragon Quest Treasures on PC is such a great experience out of the box on Steam Deck.

Persona 3 Portable on Nintendo Switch is an excellent conversion of one of Atlus' best PSP games. While it still has the flaws present in the original Persona 3 Portable release, I'm glad to see Atlus make this more accessible, and it is an easy recommendation thanks to the low asking price on Nintendo Switch. Hopefully Atlus does a physical release for Persona 3 Portable on Switch in the future.

Overall, Trails of Cold Steel IV is a great portable experience but a subpar one docked. Having experienced Trails of Cold Steel I and II originally on PS Vita before replaying them on PS4, I'm glad that fans of portable gaming can now play the entire Trails of Cold Steel saga on the go. Trails of Cold Steel IV brings Falcom's massive JRPG to a portable for the first time offering a great experience when played in handheld mode and it is easily one of the best JRPGs on the system.

Drainus from Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth developer Team Ladybug is an essential shoot 'em up with its superb gameplay, excellent visuals, and replay value. It is accessible to newcomers and truly shines on Steam Deck. Hopefully online leaderboards get added in a future update because this is one of the best games of the year so far.

Just like Persona 5 Strikers, Omega Force using their expertise with combat in the Musou games to build over with Fate/Samurai Remnant has resulted in a fantastic action RPG that is perfect for newcomers to Fate. This is a great gateway game, and one of Omega Force's best in recent years despite the few issues.

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is the perfect JRPG for Monster Hunter fans and those looking to dive into a memorable adventure with gorgeous visuals on Nintendo Switch.

Pocky and Rocky Reshrined for Nintendo Switch is an absolutely brilliant run and gun shooter that is one of the best Nintendo Switch releases of the year. It feels great to play and looks excellent on the Nintendo Switch OLED screen, but I am disappointed that co-op is not unlocked from the start.

Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is a very good action RPG with gorgeous visuals and a great soundtrack, but it is held back by unstable performance and visual cutbacks.

Like a Dragon: Ishin sees the historical adventure spin-off from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio finally released in the West, and the wait has been worth it despite some technical issues. The story, characters, and superlative voice acting make this an easy recommendation if you're a fan of the series.

Atelier Ryza 2 is essential if you enjoy relaxing JRPGs and the perfect game to get into the Atelier series with thanks to its gorgeous visuals, brilliant music, fun combat, and great characters.

It has always been hard to get people to play Corpse Party with the definitive version being only on Nintendo 3DS. Thankfully, that isn't a problem anymore and Xseed Games has made it easier than ever to play one of the best horror experiences of all time through this Corpse Party (2021) release which is an essential for fans of the genre on Nintendo Switch.

The original Fire Emblem Warriors was my favorite musou game. I say was, because Three Hopes has finally dethroned it with its amazing blend of Three Houses characters and Omega Forces' tried and tested formula. This isn't just a great musou experience, but a great Fire Emblem game.

Fire Emblem Engage is one of Nintendo's best games in years, and a much more polished release than Fire Emblem: Three Houses which I loved. While it suffers in its story compared to recent releases, it is still an essential for tactical RPG fans. It also happens to be a gorgeous game that shines on the OLED Switch display.

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon from PlatinumGames is a game I almost skipped thanks to the demo. Thankfully, I gave it another shot and ended up loving almost everything it has to offer from sublime music, gorgeous art, excellent voice acting, and the interesting gameplay. Everything comes together brilliantly in a storybook-inspired action adventure that is yet another win for the Nintendo Switch and a contender for the best game of 2023.

Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream on Nintendo Switch is an excellent version of one of the best Atelier games. The future of Atelier on Nintendo Switch has been looking brighter with each new entry, and Atelier Sophie 2 raises the bar(rel) further.

Ys IX: Monstrum Nox is an excellent action RPG from Falcom, but I can only recommend this PS5 version to newcomers. Having played it on literally every console and PC platform now, I still adore most of Ys IX, but NIS America should've done more for the PS5 port. If you own the PS4 version, just play that. You aren't missing much here.

Despite its flaws, Ys IX: Monstrum Nox is an excellent action RPG and one that most Ys fans will adore.

Saviors of Sapphire Wings and Stranger of Sword City Revisited is an essential for DRPG fans. Even if you played the original Stranger of Sword City, the enhancements and additions make Stranger of Sword City Revisited worth your time and having Saviors of Sapphire Wings together with it for less than the price of a full-priced game makes this bundle an easy recommendation. While it lacks the accessibility options newer Etrian Odyssey games have, Saviors of Sapphire Wings and Stranger of Sword City Revisited are excellent DRPGs with gorgeous art, amazing music, and a ton of quality content for fans of the genre.

In its current state, Breakers Collection has improved over its launch version with updates, but it might be a hard sell for many at its asking price. I liked it enough on Switch and PS5 both offline and online to buy it on Steam so that I can also play it on Steam Deck. While I wasn’t familiar with QUByte’s releases before Breakers Collection, this release has made me a fan, and I hope to see the developer tackle more games likes this in the future.

Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection on PC and Steam Deck is one of Capcom's best collections despite the few issues in its current state. Even for newcomers, this is an easy recommendation.