Nour: Play With Your Food is worth experiencing if you love food, art, and interactive apps. While the Switch version isn’t the best way to experience it, Nour still feels best on a portable, and I hope it does well enough to get more DLC or even a physical release. We don’t see many releases like this in gaming, but games like Nour and Townscaper are the perfect compliment to more-involved RPGs and story-driven games.

I wouldn’t call Splintered Fate a must-have in general, but TMNT fans will probably enjoy this twist on the usual fare. The multiplayer is well-implemented, and it’s good to see that important TMNT element wasn’t passed over despite this being the kind of game that is usually played solo. Those without an affinity for the Turtles can find better roguelite games to play on the Switch, but with this being such an intensely competitive genre on the platform it’s to the credit of Splintered Fate that it can manage to keep pace at all. Not bad.

Even for fans of the property, Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash feels like it emphasizes the wrong things at great expense. I think a great job has been done here in terms of serving the look, sound, and world of Umamusume, and the wide array of unlockables might be enough to keep those dedicated to the horse-girls interested for a while. But it fades far too fast, and if you’re lacking that attachment to start with, you’re probably going get tired of this well before the final furlong.

Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn is another solid effort from Tengo Project, and in some ways is the most substantial improvement over its predecessor of any of their releases yet. Whether or not you should pick it up is really going to depend on how you feel about that original game, because the core is still very much in line with that NES title. Those without any prior experience will find an enjoyable but not essential action game here, one that very much subscribes to an 8-bit design sensibility.

As a newcomer to Natsume’s new Harvest Moon games but a fan of all the recent Story of Seasons and other life simulation games, Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home ended up being worth playing, but it needs a few updates and features to be truly essential at full price. I have no issues with developers wanting to charge premium prices on mobile, but Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home lacking basic features like cloud saves and controller support definitely makes it harder to recommend alongside a few other design issues. If the developers continue working on this, it will be one of the best in the genre on mobile, and I’m glad to see them take a chance on a premium mobile life simulation game because that is very rare.

Mika and the Witch’s Mountain wears its inspiration on its sleeve, and it is so dedicated to its core gameplay mechanic that it can wear a little thin before the game is up. It also suffers from some performance issues on the Switch. With all that said, I can’t say I didn’t have some fun zipping around on my broom, delivering packages to a bunch of quirky characters. This is one of those games where if you think the concept sounds good, you’ll probably like what you get well enough.

There’s a certain nostalgic charm to Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. There is a particular flavor to games from the PlayStation 2/GameCube/Xbox generation of consoles, and this game is absolutely steeped in it despite the nips and tucks made by Aspyr in the porting process. And it’s really in that capacity that I can most confidently recommend it, when I think about it. Are you in the mood to time travel back to 2002 and play a thoroughly rough-edged yet genuinely earnest action game? Here you go. If on the other hand you lack that proclivity, this might be a bit too much Jank-o Fett for you.

Visions of Mana has higher highs but also lower lows than Trials of Mana, but it is a game I’m glad I got to experience by the end. If you enjoyed Trials of Mana and games like Tales of Arise specifically on the gameplay side, Visions of Mana is worth your time. I just wish the movement and PC port were better. In its current state, it is excellent to have a modern Mana game and Visions of Mana delivered on that front. Just don’t expect it to reach the highs of Secret of Mana. While it is rated Steam Deck Playable by Valve, I recommend playing it on PS5 rather than Steam Deck with how bare-bones the PC port is in its current state.

Star Trader is an interesting piece of gaming history, showing a developer working outside of the lane we usually associate them with. Unfortunately, what joy could be had from poking at this curio is severely dampened by the fact that there is a ton of Japanese text in here that most Western players won’t be able to read. You might still get something out of messing around with it, but it’s hard to recommend it with much vigor.

I think if you are okay with a pure grind, Elrentaros Wanderings might not turn you off the way it did me. But if you have even the slightest allergy to excessive banality, then this game is likely to have you heading for the hills. Its few good ideas are squandered by watering down the broth too much, stretching far too little content far too far. Not without any merit, but thoroughly disappointing.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Isekai Chronicles is probably best enjoyed by those who love the property, but even they’ll find it a somewhat meager meal. The two new stories are interesting, and for a while it’s fun to see these characters in action and build up the Federation. Unfortunately, the gameplay itself never really expands out the way it needs to, so unless you’re in the mood for a whole lot of repetition you might find yourself getting bored fast.

If you’re interested in exploring retro gaming to find decent games that got lost in the shuffle of history, I have a hunch JALECOlle is going to be a good series for you. Yokai Club certainly helps sell the concept, as it’s a title we didn’t see outside of Japan back in the day, gussied up and presented with care. Is it great? No, it’s very much a middle of the line affair. But there’s enough to like here that those with a curious mind and a bit of patience should enjoy a playthrough or two.

As a game, Pinball Quest is just mediocre in my books. It’s interesting to be sure, but the physics make things really annoying. Still, it’s nice to see games like this given a shot at capturing a new audience with rereleases like this. City Connection has done a good job with this wrapper and its suite of features, even if it’s not the prettiest thing around. If you have an interest in this game or have happy memories of it, this is a good way to explore it. Just keep in mind that the featured game is one with plenty of rough edges, so if you want a sick game of pinball you may want to look to Zen Studios instead.

Mars 2120 is definitely ambitious in many ways, but I wish that ambition extended to its design. For all the effort put into the production values, the game itself never quite shakes off the feeling of being the Dollar Store Metroid. A bit more polish for its fundamentals and maybe one or two interesting twists might have made this something special, but as it stands I think it utterly fails to make a case for itself against its many strong competitors in the Metroidvania genre.

Aero The Acro-Bat isn’t exactly a must-play 16-bit game, but the added features in this rerelease help curb some of its more annoying aspects. For better or worse, it is fully symbolic of its era, and the inclusion of some cool extras help place its context in the history of gaming. If you’re interested in trying out a rather challenging and sometimes very clever 2D platformer, you might want to give Aero a look. Just be prepared to die more often than a rookie Elden Ring player with a broken controller.

Mists of Noyah is in such a buggy state that I can only hope the developers are going to swing back around and fix things up. Even if that happens, however, the game is still a long way from achieving the potential it reaches for. Enjoyable in the moment but tedious over the long haul, this is the kind of game that needed a lot more polish and testing before it was ready for prime time. Perhaps it will get hammered into shape after release, but what’s here now is rather disappointing.

The fundamental problem with this release is that SVC Chaos isn’t a very good game. The Code Mystics have done their usual reliable job with bringing the game to Switch, and it’s certainly an interesting game to poke at if you haven’t played it before. But when the nuts and bolts of a fighting game are as busted, imbalanced, and frankly unfinished as they are here, there’s only so much fun you’re going to get out of actually playing it. If you’re okay with that, then by all means. It’s as good as it’s going to be.

While I don’t think there’s really a lot of merit in turning this into a continuing series, Those Games 2 shows that there was at least enough gas in the tank for one more. Much like the first Those Games, you’ll come for the amusing concept and stay for the well-devised challenge of the later stages. Support for both button and touch controls is quite welcome, too. If you’ve wanted to take a swing at heating the king without rewarding those huckster marketers, this is worth picking up.

We’re not exactly starving for choice when it comes to Metroidvania-style games on Steam, and nothing Noreya: The Gold Project does should push it to the front of your wish list. Indeed, there are a lot of obvious flaws here that pull the adventure down. At the same time, it hits the basics well and there are a few really interesting elements that, when combined with the strong atmosphere, might just hook you.

SPY×ANYA: Operation Memories is a game for a specific kind of SPYxFAMILY fan, and even if you fit the bill, I’d recommend waiting on a discount for this one. It is good to see more casual anime games like SPY×ANYA: Operation Memories from Bandai Namco Entertainment for sure. Just keep in mind that you will only get the most out of SPY×ANYA: Operation Memories if you play it slowly over time soaking in the vibes daily rather than going through it in a single weekend where it will feel very repetitive.

If you’re into the idea of some slightly more approachable shoot ’em ups from the past, you might want to look into Over Horizon X Steel Empire. While it’s really just two distinct games, the two versions of Steel Empire differ from each other enough that I think you’re getting a decent value here. I really wish ININ and Ratalaika would do more to make these releases feel like they aren’t just dropping off the assembly line into a decent emulation wrapper, but if you’re only here for the games you’ll be well-served with this set.

I really wanted to like Hot Lap Racing, because the Switch could really use more good racers. While I can’t say that I never hated it, because sometimes I did, I think overall it’s decent enough. I could see this developer going on to really good things in the future by building on this foundation. But in the end, I think it doesn’t quite succeed in its goal to ride the line between sim and arcade-style racing. The two contrasting tastes are not mixed in a pleasing way here, and when you throw in some performance issues it makes for a racer I can only lightly recommend.

Busway Islands – Puzzle is a relatively gentle puzzle game that can occupy you for an afternoon or evening. It doesn’t have much new to offer, but what’s here is done well enough to not get in the way of itself. Not something I would rush out and recommend, but if you’re in the mood for some light entertainment, this isn’t a bad choice.

Popful Mail is a really great game that has disappeared between the Ys and Trails sofa cushions at Falcom, and this PC-8801 original shows just how much it got right immediately. Unfortunately, with so much untranslated text in the game, it’s going to be a flavor few reading this will be able to fully enjoy. Would-be historians might enjoy poking at it anyway, but it could be so much more.

Ultimately, Princess Maker 2 Regeneration is a slightly spiffed-up reissue of a game originally released on Japanese computers more than three decades ago, and it often feels like it. Without a manual, it would have been nice if the game itself had some additions to teach the players how this rather complex game functions, but as-is I think newcomers are going to struggle trying to understand what they need to do. Those who persevere will find a game that is just as unique and oddly compelling now as it was back in 1993.

Cyber Citizen Shockman Zero is the most orthodox entry in the series, and while some might lament the loss of the quirkiness that is probably the main tie that binds the first three games, sometimes you just want a plain old ordinary platformer that doesn’t drop any serious balls. And that’s more or less what you get here. If you only pick up one game from this series, this is the one I would recommend.

In its current state, #BLUD is worth your time, but a few combat issues hold it back from being truly great. The designs, animations, and writing are definitely highlights, and I found myself pleased with #BLUD after playing it on both Switch and Steam Deck. I hope the few hitching issues can be resolved though. #BLUD runs a lot better than I expected on Switch, and feels right at home on the system.

Aside from that admittedly major issue, Metal Slug Attack Reloaded is a fine enough example of its genre. The sprites look great, which you would expect given the source, and there are a ton of different units to collect. The controls are easy enough to use, and it sits nicely in that zone where it has enough going on to engage you but not so much as to require your full attention. If you want a game to play while you watch some TV shows on your streaming service of choice, this will do the job. It’s just a shame that the difficulty spikes make the game come across like it still wants to shake you down, despite not having any way to do that.

While I respect Topple Zip‘s unusual design, the PC-8801 probably wasn’t the best platform to realize it. This release is up to the usual standards of the EGGCONSOLE line in terms of the wrapper’s options and extras, and there’s almost no language barrier to worry about either. But the game itself just isn’t very fun to play, so it’s really just one for people who enjoy poking at ancient oddities.

If you’re a huge fan of the old Sprint games or their many clones, I think you’ll probably enjoy NeoSprint. It does what it needs to, and it’s rather faithful to the core principles of the games that came before it. It’s also filled to the brim with things to do, and if you love to play “Spot the Atari References" then you can look forward to finding a lot to point at. For those without any real attachment to the series or publisher, this is an approachable casual racing game that could probably use a touch more complexity in its mechanics.

KINGDOM HEARTS HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is not the best of the three KINGDOM HEARTS games releasing on Steam this week in terms of pure value, but it is still great for fans and worth playing if you’re going through the games one by one. It plays great out of the box on Steam Deck thankfully, but I don’t recommend buying this one on its own. I would recommend getting it through the combined bundle with all KINGDOM HEARTS releases right now.

I’m in two minds about Assassin’s Creed Mirage on iPhone 15 Pro right now. It is a great game and Ubisoft put in a lot of work into making it feel good to play with touch controls, but the performance issues hold it back right now. Since Assassin’s Creed Mirage is available as a free to try game, I recommend giving it a shot, but make sure you play until you get to experience some combat so you can properly judge how it will run on your own device. Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a great entry in the series, and it is worth your time even if you are a newer fan to experience a modern take on classic Assassin’s Creed.

Sorcerian is a good game, albeit one very much of its era. The problem is that like all EGGCONSOLE releases, nothing has been translated in-game from the original Japanese version. Given how much text is involved with this game and how important it is to completing the game’s quests, that’s going to be a hard deal-breaker for many. If you can read Japanese, by all means – the game is enjoyable, and the quality of the wrapper here is as good as other the other releases in the EGGCONSOLE line-up. Everyone else should give this one a pass.

Railbreak provides an alternative to the House of the Dead Remake for fans of that series on Switch. It offers a decent amount of content, and the core action has a nice feel to it whether you’re playing alone or with a friend. The presentation is where it struggles, and it feels like it might be a bit much for the hardware. I also feel like playing with the sticks is a bit of a pain, but you can obviously only use touch controls when playing solo. If you want a quick hit of zombie-gunning fun, this will do.

Broken Roads has improved quite a bit since I played it in early April, but still needs a bit more work to be an easy recommendation. In its current state, I can recommend it, but it is a few updates away from being something special. It definitely needs a demo because I can’t imagine many people will give it a shot at its current asking price given the launch reception.

Rider’s Spirits is one of those retro re-releases that feels like filler. It’s not very good, it’s not very bad, and there isn’t much of interest to it beyond the fact that we haven’t seen it localized before. If you’ve got a special hankering for a 16-bit racer that you haven’t played before, then you might enjoy this well enough to make it worth the pick-up. Most people will be better served running through Super Mario Kart one more time, however.

Hauntii is an amazing game that needs some more work on Nintendo Switch. The technical issues hold it back, but it is still worth your time and money. I recommend playing it on another platform if you have that option though. If you are ok with some performance issues, it feels right at home on Switch in handheld mode.

Those without pre-existing attachments are probably going to feel a bit lost here, and it’s hard to recommend the games to that sort of person as a result. That said, if you are a fan of this manga/anime, I think you’ll enjoy what’s on offer here. It’s all pretty modest in scope, but the characters are served well enough to satisfy. I think those who weren’t pleased with the canon ending of the series will find some additional joy here as you can choose a different path for our hapless hero. Not an especially ambitious or intriguing take on the genre, but good enough.

Those without pre-existing attachments are probably going to feel a bit lost here, and it’s hard to recommend the games to that sort of person as a result. That said, if you are a fan of this manga/anime, I think you’ll enjoy what’s on offer here. It’s all pretty modest in scope, but the characters are served well enough to satisfy. I think those who weren’t pleased with the canon ending of the series will find some additional joy here as you can choose a different path for our hapless hero. Not an especially ambitious or intriguing take on the genre, but good enough.

There’s a half-decent game buried somewhere in Arcadia: Colony, but the unreliable controls and overall bad feel of the fundamental mechanics make it hard to find. If you’re incredibly patient and find the idea of a character-swapping Metroidvania particularly appealing, you might enjoy it more than I did. Nevertheless, I find this difficult to recommend.

I’ll certainly give Inti-Creates some credit here. Umbraclaw is trying some things outside of the developer’s usual wheelhouse, and they are interesting things. It almost gets there, but it ultimately feels caught between being some kind of roguelite and being a more linear action game. I also think the way the difficulty works here is a bit too manipulative in a way that doesn’t feel good. With all that said, Umbraclaw is still a nice-looking game that is very playable, and even if it fails trying something I will at least commend it for trying.

When I first played this year’s Alone in the Dark re-imagining, I thought it was a very good but flawed experience. After this week’s massive update, I’m glad I waited a bit longer to do my review because it is now in a much better state, and is worth your time even if you never played the original. Just be aware of the visual cutbacks needed to get this running on Steam Deck. I liked it enough to get it on PS5 for a replay.

This is becoming a pattern with EGGCONSOLE releases, but Golvellius is a cool game and it’s nice to see this MSX2 version made more accessible to players around the world. Unfortunately, the fact that the game in question hasn’t been localized from its original Japanese form means that a lot of folks who might otherwise enjoy playing the game will find themselves frustrated at not being able to make progress. If you’re feeling adventurous and patient, it’s worth the trip.

Library of Ruina is an incredible, challenging, and long experience with fantastic characters and sublime music on Steam. The console versions have a lovely art and music gallery included with a superb new Japanese voiceover option, but the interface quirks and Switch-specific issues make it hard to recommend easily right now even after two patches. If you have a Steam Deck, play Library of Ruina with the trackpad on that for the current best portable experience.

PO’ed: Definitive Edition is just what it says it is. If you’re going to play the game in any form, this is the best way to do it. Nightdive doesn’t miss often with its KEX Engine reissues, after all. But do you really want to play PO’ed? That’s the difficult question. Even in its era, it wasn’t exactly a barn-burner of a first-person shooter. It’s a very bizarre, unique game, and if that’s your jam then by all means give it a go. Hardly essential reading, but I’m sure someone out there is thrilled to see it.

Idea Factory and Compile Heart have a little lemonade stand that works for them here, and I’m not going to knock them for it. Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution is yet another Neptunia game, and it doesn’t have much going on that we didn’t see in the last couple of action-RPGs in the series. The story is amusing if you’re into meta-humor, and while the whole thing feels like it was made on a meager budget, it’s fine for what it is. This Switch version is more solid than some of the other Neptunia ports on the platform, so if you’re a Neptunia fan looking to take this game on the go, here it is.

As long as you know what you’re getting into, I think you’ll find Musashi vs Cthulhu to be a decent little time-waster. It does what it sets out to do well enough, and although it gets repetitive in a hurry, I think it’s fine for the small snack price it’s selling for.

Qualia is a visual novel that can’t seem to settle on what it wants to be. A sweet little romance with a quirky premise? A piece of science fiction? An excuse for lewd scenes that have been cut from this version? At times it is all of these things, but it fails to nail down any of them to the degree that I would have preferred. It’s not entirely without its charms, but Qualia ultimately doesn’t live up to its potential in any regard.

I think Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes does a good job of carrying out its goal of giving Suikoden fans a new game with a similar sort of appeal. There are some pacing issues here, and its commitment to the bit means those without the necessary nostalgia might feel a little annoyed at times, but overall this is an enjoyable RPG that hits some notes these ears of mine haven’t heard in a while. Unfortunately, this Switch version suffers from too many technical issues to recommend with any real vigor. Play this game, but I wouldn’t play it here unless you really have no other option.

Hatsune Miku – The Planet Of Wonder And Fragments Of Wishes is a game I recommend on a big discount if you like Miku. I try to play just about every Hatsune Miku game I can across platforms, and Hatsune Miku – The Planet Of Wonder And Fragments Of Wishes would’ve been easier to recommend if it cost about half of what it does and didn’t have a constant scrolling issue. As a short adventure game for Miku fans, it gets the job done, but the asking price makes it a non starter right now.

Gigantic: Rampage Edition with cross platform play and with how well it plays on Steam Deck is worth your time if you have people to play with despite the few issues I have with certain aspects of the experience. I worry for the online population, but this is a solid base at a low asking price. I just hope some sort of story mode can be added as future DLC or in an update.

If you enjoy rail shooters or Cotton a lot, you’ll probably find enough in Rainbow Cotton to enjoy to make it worth your while. It’s as good as it can be, given the source material. That’s really the catch here; this is an excellent version of a deeply flawed game, and despite its fixes and improvements it’s not really enough to save it from being the worst shooter in the Cotton series. Not entirely without its charms, but not a game I can muster much enthusiasm for either.

Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep the Board! has a lot of potential, but it is lacking for online play right now. If you have folks to play with locally and like the IP, this will be a good purchase. The team at CyberConnect2 did a great job translating Demon Slayer to this setting, but I hope there’s more added through the year and the online is improved.

Given how rarely Falcom seems to let the original Wanderers out versus Oath in Felghana, it’s nice to have a chance to play this game again. It’s grindy and there are parts that don’t quite work, but that Ys flow that runs through just about all of the games is present and accounted for. This release only offers Japanese language support in-game, so make sure you know what you’re getting into if you decide to pick it up. If you’re okay with that, then this is worth the spin.

It’s unfortunate that a niche series has finally made a return after so many years in a market that should be more receptive to its charms, only to make some big changes that significantly weaken the overall package. There’s still something to Endless Ocean Luminous, things you can’t find in this exact form anywhere else, but the loss of a properly designed world to explore and the sometimes tedious nature of the tasks it requires of you make this a difficult game to recommend with much vigor.

In its current state with the visual issue caveat, I recommend TopSpin 2K25 if you really like tennis. It could’ve been better, but I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve put into it. I’m not sure if this will become a yearly series for 2K, but I’m glad to see TopSpin return. I look forward to seeing what future updates bring for the game.

Cyber Citizen Shockman 3 closes out this quirky trilogy on as high of a note as it can muster, and one that I suppose is appropriate given what came before. I think it’s the smoothest game of the three to play, but it’s a bit irritating that it more or less pushes out the interesting elements of the first two games in favor of a very plain design. Still, there’s just enough of that early 90s CD vibe here to carry what is otherwise a rather bland side-scrolling action game. If you’ve played the first two, you might as well see it through with this one.

Get the requisite people in place for the four-player local multiplayer, and Armed and Gelatinous is pretty fun. It gets a little repetitive after a short while, but as long as you play it in managed bursts there are good times to be had here. I feel like the core concept isn’t quite as balanced as it should be, but growing to be a giant blob with guns sticking out of every bit of your bloated body is enjoyable enough that you might not care. Popping another player who has hit that size and stealing all their artillery is definitely a good feeling. There’s something to this game, even if it doesn’t quite stick together the way one might hope.

A certain type of player is going to love Class of Heroes 1 & 2: Complete Edition, but it’s important to keep in mind what these games are and aren’t. They’re fundamentally not all that different from their original PSP incarnations, and the new localizations aren’t great. Beginners will want to proceed with caution, as despite the colorful look and school theme these are extremely unforgiving experiences. If you feel like modern dungeon crawlers aren’t nasty enough or just miss the friction of the classic Wizardry games, this is going to be right up your alley.

Dadish 3D takes the series into the third dimension with a surprising level of competency, and while it isn’t without its flaws it’s a really strong little 3D platformer for those looking for one. “Little" is a key point here, as it feels very pick-up-and-play thanks to its concise, well-paced stages. There are some growing pains here to be sure, particularly with the camera and gauging distances, but I have faith Dadish will overcome them in future installments.

If you are a fan of the arcade game and just want to play it at home, then yes, Wrath of the Mutants is a full win. Buy it, be happy. For everyone else, it’s impossible to deny the fact that both Shredder’s Revenge and the Cowabunga Collection are available on the Switch at comparable prices and offer considerably better takes on this exact concept. Indeed, given how many exceptional beat-em-ups there are on the platform, it’s very hard to recommend this one. It’s okay, but “okay" doesn’t really cut it at this stage.

Lunar Lander Beyond is… fine. I wish I could say it’s more than that, or that it has the capacity to do more than preach to the Atari choir, but I don’t think it’s quite there. Some of its attempts to add some complexity to the concept don’t really click, and while the graphics and sound are pretty good, it feels like the core gameplay can’t fully live up to the level of ambition seen in other aspects. Still, if you have the requisite fondness for Atari and/or thrust-based spaceship games, you’ll likely enjoy your time with this well enough.

Twin Hawk is an 1989-released vertical scrolling shmup from Toaplan that has an alternate World War II setting. This one is a bit different to Toaplan’s usual shmup settings with its visuals and the real star is the music of the package aside from the gameplay of course. Overall, I did enjoy my time with Twin Hawk, but I hope the sound emulation can be improved a bit because having heard Twin Hawk’s music before playing it, the end result here is a bit lacking. Aside from that, I recommend this release, and love how well it plays on Steam Deck. It definitely made me interested in the Evercade version if I ever decide to get one of those.

Hydlide II isn’t the greatest of games even by the standards of its own series, and those coming to it with no nostalgia, nearly four decades later, are probably not going to have a very good time with it. The relatively low amount of text means the language barrier isn’t as big of an issue here as it is in some other EGGCONSOLE releases, so you probably could play through it if you have a mind to. But I doubt many but the most stubborn and dogged of gaming historians are going to try to do that.

Ikki Unite is a game with two faces. If you play it in the form I assume it was intended by heading online, it has a powerful identity of its own despite being clearly inspired by Vampire Survivors. If you play alone, you’ll find a very challenging game that isn’t quite as fun as the game it draws inspiration from. You can tell the developers really considered how to make this game feel like Ikki despite hopping on to a popular genre-of-the-moment. I’d recommend this to fans of this kind of game, provided they’re okay with playing online. After all, the rebellion that slays together, stays together.

Being able to access your shared worlds across platforms is nice, but for a game that offers cross play and has Microsoft account linking, I really wish it was full cross progression and cross play like you’d expect from a modern game with online components. I can see myself coming back to Grounded to play with friends online, but I’m leaning towards playing it more on PS5 with the faster load times, better performance, and more.

A Tale of Paper: Refolded takes a decent enough swing at the cinematic puzzle platformer genre, but this Switch version is probably the worst way to play it. From the usual technical issues that often come with an Unreal Engine game to a bevy of bugs that lead to a frustrating amount of resets, A Tale of Paper‘s numerous issues pile up to make it hard to recommend in this form. Those who are interested in the premise would do well to try it out on other platforms instead.

This is about as straight forward a take on Sokoban-style puzzles as you can get. There’s a cute theme here where you’re an alien pushing livestock into your tractor beam instead of being a guy pushing crates into designated squares, but that’s really the only distinctive feature of the game. Oh, and you can unlock hats. From an audiovisual standpoint, it comes off like the five-dollar game that it is, but the actual gameplay does what it has to. If you’re a Sokoban fiend that needs another fix, this will tide you over. Others are unlikely to find much charm in it.

Being limited to only two players keeps Ready, Steady, Ship! from being the next party fix for Overcooked fans, but there’s enough enjoyment to be had here that those who don’t mind the smaller player count will find it worth their while to check out. It’s a little awkward and glitchy, but that’s really only a problem if you’re shooting for the best performance in each stage. Otherwise, it’s an added bit of tomfoolery in a game that only benefits from such things.

Keeping the legacy of Flash games alive is important, and in that sense I’m glad Rose & Camellia Collection exists. But its slight nature and clumsy controls make it hard to recommend with much vigor despite its charming presentation. Apart from adding some standard button controls I can’t imagine someone making a better Rose & Camellia collection than this, so if you loved the series on your computer back in the day by all means go for it. Otherwise, I’m not sure there’s enough here to chew on at the price it’s commanding.

Sometimes a game doesn’t have to do anything too fancy to satisfy, and that’s more or less where I’m at with Mimi the Cat. It’s a fairly straightforward take on the Sokoban-style crate-pusher puzzle game. Mimi’s trying to reach her scratcher in each stage, and you need to guide her there. This will often involve pushing boxes around and stacking them so that Mimi can cross gaps or climb up to where her scratcher is, and there are a few stage gimmicks sprinkled in to keep things fresh along the way. It’s not doing anything new and it comes off as very low-budget, but if you enjoy these kinds of puzzles it will scratch the itch.

If you love Legacy of the Wizard for the NES and are curious about trying a slightly remixed version of it, then EGGCONSOLE Dragon Slayer IV is something you’ll want to check out. If you’re fully new to the game, I’d probably recommend the Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2 set instead. The NES version included there is just as good as this one if not better, and you get more games to go with it. With that said, this isn’t a bad version by any means, and the language barrier is rather minimal by the standards of these releases. An odd game to be sure, but not one that is impossible to love.

There’s a lot to like in Terra Memoria, especially in the game’s outstanding presentation. It’s clear its creators are fans of the RPG genre, and the foundation is here for something really great. Unfortunately, after a solid start the game doesn’t really build on things very well. Characters are paper-thin, the combat system quickly stagnates, and it all starts to feel like you’re just going through the motions. There’s enough gas in the tank here for me to recommend it to fans of the genre, though.

Moonglow Bay has a lot of good aspects to it that unfortunately are balanced against some balancing and pacing issues. All of this is overshadowed by the game’s buggy, unpolished state here on the Switch. Between framerate issues, crashes, collision mess-ups, and other bizarre bugs, it’s hard to properly get into the world the game is trying to build. I’m hoping the game can improve with some updates, because there is something here that compelled me when the problems weren’t pushing me away.

While Tengoku Struggle shows the usual high production values and polish seen in Idea Factory’s other visual novels, I found the story here just wasn’t quite up to the usual output we see from the developer. There’s some good in it, and the best route is certainly worth experiencing if the premise has intrigued you. The writer’s tendency to try to shock the reader in cheap ways gets a little out of hand here, and some of the romances really aren’t sold well. A decent effort, but given the generally high-quality output of Idea Factory in this genre, Tengoku Struggle has some difficulty making its mark.

StoryBlocks: The King would probably be a decent time on a platform where you can use the mouse controls it was clearly designed for. Over here on Switch, more care needed to be taken to make the game comfortable to play on a controller. Nothing the game does is especially worth the agitation of merely trying to perform the basic functions of the gameplay. Shame, as it seems like it would otherwise be an enjoyable, chill puzzler.

No Umbrellas Allowed is a great game that is let down by interface issues and performance issues on Nintendo Switch. The font size forced me to play it entirely on the monitor I have on my desk when docked on Nintendo Switch and the constant hitching gave me motion sickness. I hope these can be resolved because No Umbrellas Allowed is a game I recommend, but with big caveats on Switch.

Considering the pedigree and potential here, it’s hard not to be a little disappointed in PuzzMiX. It’s little more than a Gunvolt-themed copy of Suika Game, and one that plays worse than the game it has patterned itself after. The basic joy of merging smaller things into bigger things remains, and the price is certainly hard to argue with. Still, with little to offer beyond what Suika Game does, there’s no reason to recommend this over its source of inspiration beyond the theme and soundtrack.

I ended up liking Expeditions: A MudRunner Game a lot, and keep going back to it almost daily. This is definitely going to be a game I have installed on both Switch and Steam Deck for the foreseeable future to play as a break from other releases. If you have the option to play on a current generation platform, I’d recommend getting Expeditions: A MudRunner Game there. The team has done a good job in bringing this full game to Switch despite its visual compromises. If the performance in handheld mode can be improved, this will be an easier game to recommend on Switch.

In its current state, Krimson desperately needs some accessibility options when it comes to the screen shake effect. I love the gameplay, level design, aesthetic, and music, but the aforementioned screen shake and clarity issues in some situations hold it back from being an easy recommendation. It also suffers from noticeable input lag and some unstable performance on Switch. I hope these can be addressed because Krimson deserves better. Right now, I’d recommend trying the demo on Steam to get a taste of the game before buying it.

In a lot of ways, playing Open Roads felt like I just experienced a bigger budget and more ambitious take on Gone Home that forgot what made me love that game in the first place. I wish the narrative struck the same chord with me, but it just felt haphazard in some areas. I don’t want to be too harsh on the game because I did like many things and enjoyed the overall experience, but it made me wish for more after all these years.

I actually really enjoyed playing through Xak here, but unless you’re able to understand Japanese I’d strongly caution against picking this release up. You can enjoy poking at it a bit using the included bookmarks, but actually playing the game requires understanding the text. Only the boldest of adventurers, equipped with Japanese dictionaries and/or translation software, need apply. I hope D4Enterprise can figure out a better solution for this kind of thing going forward, but I suspect this is just how it’s going to be.

One Last Breath has some good qualities, but they’re counter-balanced by pacing issues, dull puzzle designs, and an overall excess of vagueness. There is some optional content to help extend things, but it ends up feeling like a chore to complete. Some of the sights and sounds are worth experiencing, but I found myself bored with this game at least as often as I found myself entertained.

If you’re looking for an official way to play the NES Felix the Cat, this is certainly the most affordable way to do so. It’s a pricy cart in the aftermarket, so having it widely available again along with its Game Boy counterpart is welcome. The game itself is a pleasing romp, albeit not much more than that. Still, I can’t help but wish there were some extras here. Every game has a story behind its creation, and telling this one would have helped make the package more special. Alas, we just get the game and a couple variants of it in a plain brown bag. Not bad, but it could have been so much better.

For some fans of the original, Not Tonight 2 might feel erratic in some ways, but I enjoyed it almost as much as the original on Switch. I recommend it to fans of the original and those who enjoy Papers Please. It just needs some performance improvements in certain areas.

Crypt Stalker offers up some decent, cheap, Castlevania-like thrills. You get a solid bang for your gaming buck, with plenty of stages to fight through and a few interesting extra modes to enjoy. Sadly, the lack of in-game button mapping coupled with a reversed default layout for jumping and attacking can make this game very hard to enjoy if you’re a few decades invested into the usual button assignments. Hopefully the publisher sees fit to update this with an option to reassign the controls.

Dungeon Drafters is a decent roguelite game with some enjoyable card mechanics and an above-average level of polish. For players who aren’t too concerned about gameplay balance, there’s a lot to like here. Unfortunately, a few design decisions feel like they’re at odds with the deck customization gimmick that runs at the core of the game and keep it from being all it probably could be. This wouldn’t be my first choice in the genre on the Switch by any means, but if you chew this kind of game up and spit it out then it will keep you happy for a little while.

If you’re willing to take on the not inconsiderable task of playing through an action-RPG in Japanese, Ys II is a lot of fun. The music is excellent, and it’s surprisingly playable for a game of its time and place. That said, the language barrier is once again very real with this release, and that means that despite this being an enjoyable game and likely the only release of Ys II we’re likely to see on Switch, I can only give it a light recommendation.

It’s nothing fancy, but if you’re in the mood for a simple yet engaging puzzle game, Match Village might be what you’re after. It suffers from having very little identity of its own and it gets a bit repetitive once you’ve worked out the basic flow, but I’d imagine at this price point people are willing to accept a game that will only provide a temporary and quickly forgotten engagement.

I agree with the sentiment of Limited Run Games on Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties: Definitive Edition. We shouldn’t only preserve and make accessible the good games from gaming history. The bad stuff has its place too, at least in the context of the medium as an art form. But this is also a product, and taken in that context I have a really hard time recommending this. The game itself is as awful as advertised, and while there has been a good effort made here to provide a lot of extra material, I didn’t come away from this with any real insight into how this whole mess happened or even really why we should care about it specifically. There’s probably a story here, but it’s one this release doesn’t do a good job of telling.

Contra: Operation Galuga is a really good run-and-gun action game, one worthy of the name it bears even if it feels somewhat crushed under it at times. I think it’s a Contra game that Contra fans will enjoy, and we don’t see those all that often anymore. The biggest problems here are specific to this version, with an inconsistent framerate that never gets as high as you would like and input lag that makes an already tough game harder in the worst possible way. If all you have is a Switch, there is still some enjoyment to be had here, but those with literally any other option should probably exercise it.

The presence of an English option in the game itself makes Hydlide3 a little easier to recommend than some of the other RPGs in the EGGCONSOLE line, but this is still a near forty year old game that feels every inch of it. Fans of gaming history will enjoy poking at it and checking out the included scans and such, but most are going to find it enormously difficult to get into, let alone seeing it through to its conclusion. Still, it’s nice to see more of these classic Japanese computer games made widely available.

Tamarak Trail has a solid presentation, and the mechanics are sturdy enough to hold your interest for a few hours. The UI is a little fussy, but the bigger issue here is that the combat-heavy nature of the game and the way the battles play out mean you’ll probably fall back on a few reliable tactics. Some games in this genre can be replayed nearly endlessly, but Tamarak Trail petered out after a few runs for me. I think if you’re really fond of the deckbuilding roguelite genre, you’ll have enough fun with what this game offers despite there being many better choices for this sort of affair.

I certainly didn’t have a bad time going through A Void Hope. It has a lot of things going for it, from the slick presentation to the strong atmosphere to the decent puzzles. At the same time, the toothless challenge, sometimes-clumsy platforming set-ups, and less-than-satisfying story progression and resolution manage to hold back the game from being as great as it could be. I think it’s worth playing if you like the look of it, but I can’t see many people revisiting it after the initial four or five hour playthrough.

So is Tenement decent? Yes, I think I can say that. There’s certainly a bit of fun to be had here, but battling bots gets tiresome after a while. The missions do their best to keep you engaged and I can enjoy a nice unlock-fest as much as the next person, but what the game is truly crying out for is online multiplayer. I think a lot of effort went into making what’s here as good as it can be, but it feels like it’s in service to a core experience that runs out of gas before it runs out of content.

Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story could’ve been a much better experience had it seen a bit more polish and tweaking in some of its mechanics and structure. There’s a lovely base here to build on, but there are a few too many things holding it back from being an easy recommendation, and the technical issues on Switch don’t help. It is however a good pick up and play experience and is approachable even by complete newcomers to the universe.

I ended up enjoying Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League a lot more than I expected, but it definitely has issues relating to variety and in some technical aspects. I also wish it ran better on Steam Deck. If you enjoyed the likes of Crackdown 3 and Sunset Overdrive, you will find things to like here, but it still is a hard sell at its current asking price. Hopefully the team continues to improve it through updates.

If you want a good 2D action game in the vein of classic Castlevania, Lords of Exile will likely scratch that itch for you nicely. It plays well, offers a solid yet reasonable level of difficulty, and has some cool boss fights. The presentation is also pleasing, particularly the soundtrack. With all that said, this path is starting too feel a little too well-trodden, and Lords of Exile is in sore need of some kind of spice. A fully competent ode to the classics, but one that never quite escapes that definition.