Can you have some fun with Adventure Academia? Sure. It’s not that there isn’t anything here to like. But it gels together so badly and is such a troublesome game to play that I really can’t recommend it. I’m happy to see Class of Heroes is still alive in some form, but I hope the next time it pops its head up we get something better than this.

Split/Second isn't a must have but may appeal to those looking for a different and far more arcade-y racing experience.

Despite the nice improvements to the visuals, Jet Set Radio seems relegated to that pile of console ports that lose something due to the controls. True, the game is undoubtedly playable, but no where near as playable as it would be with an actual controller.

Affliction amounts to an impressive faux VR tech demo that, while impressive and fairly priced, probably won't hold your attention for long.

As it stands, Call of Mini Zombies 2 offers too much of a grind with too little of an incentive to keep playing. When (if?) multiplayer finally debuts, Zombies 2 might have enough to be worth a download. However, for now, there's just not enough there except for the most diehard of fans.

Give It Up! is a few updates away from being a very solid game.

The presentation has been juiced up a bit here, but there are also some technical issues that weren’t in the mobile version. It’s not a bad game, mind you. It’s completely average. But I can’t imagine any world where buying this would serve you better than grabbing any of the dozen or so Atelier games that offer a much better experience.

There are plenty of games out there that respect my time and money, and this isn't one of them.

Bounder's World is a worthy addition to the tilt-controlled action genre. There aren't any particularly innovative aspects to it, but the gameplay works and there's certainly enough content to keep you coming back. And besides, that anthropomorphic tennis ball is pretty damn cute.

At the moment, it still feels more like a proof of concept than a full-fledged experience, but as a quick and free distraction it works well.

If you enjoy this sort of experience, you will probably lose occasional hours to the game. If not, you will probably lose interest after the first three games. It's all rather binary.

Guardian Cross has little beyond the illustrious name of it's developer going for it.

It’s certainly worth a shot if you’re interested, but keep your expectations in check.

This game has gorgeous art and an awesome soundtrack. I love the whole setting and theme, too. I’m sorry to say that those are the only nice things I have to say about Orangeblood. The story is barely there and not all that interesting when it decides to pop up. The dialogue is dreadful. In terms of mechanics, the game is all over the place. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a gun early on that will carry you through the whole game. If you’re unlucky, you’ll be spending a lot of time banging your head against the wall. The game can be cleared in under ten hours, but I’d be surprised if many people feel like it’s worth giving it even that much time. Nice to look at and listen to, but a game needs a lot more than that to get by.

The farming side of things is a little better than the RPG side of things, but there are so many games on the Switch that offer a more satisfying experience, it’s hard to recommend this one. Add in a bevy of bugs, and this lands firmly in the so-so bucket.

Where's My Water? 2 definitely needs a few improvements if it wants to reach the quality of its predecessors, most notably a strong pull-back on its aggressive IAPs.

There’s a fun wrestling game at the core of AEW: Fight Forever. Probably the best licensed one in a couple of decades. I greatly look forward to seeing where this franchise goes in the future. I can’t say I didn’t get some enjoyment out of this Switch version, even. But the technical performance here really is below-par, and not just in the usual ways we’ve come to expect on the platform. Hopefully some updates can get things running the way they should, but I can’t guess at the future. I can only see how things are right now, and my advice would be to seek this one out on another platform if you can.

Until that system or something else suitable is incorporated in Samurai Shodown II though, you have a very pretty piece of videogame history that is probably best left to one of its re-releases on a console with physical controls, or if you have the cash, a real Neo Geo console.

Basically, it seems if you can get past the disappointing performance, long time Ridge Racer fans can still have fun with the drift-heavy racing style the game offers.

The music is really soothing as well and will get you in the mood of the game. It fits a puzzler well and will make you relax as you lay back and use your logic side of the brain to figure the solutions to rooms' layouts. The game is truly worth checking out for anyone in the mood to think a bit, relax, and enjoy a soothing gameplay experience that works perfectly on the touchscreen.

With all the comparisons and nods to Super Mario Bros., mobile gamers might wonder if The Other Brothers is their platformer's Mario. I wouldn't go that far, but 3D Attack's long-awaited entry in the house that Mario built is charming, humorous, and most importantly, feels darn good in motion. Give it time to grow and I foresee it getting even better.

Daisy Mae's Alien Buffet is a fun survival shooter with tons of weapons and a cool atmosphere to it.

My only real complaint about the title is that, when next-move hints are enabled, they appear after just five seconds of idle time.

If you already played Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep the Board! on Switch, there isn’t anything of note here to warrant a double dip barring improved visuals and performance. If you don’t own it yet, I would recommend the Steam Deck version for the best portable experience, and also think the team did a good job of translating the game to more powerful hardware on PS5 and PC. Hopefully Steam Remote Play Together support is added in the future.

Fightback is a game that will let you have some fun, but for only less than ten minutes at a time, and only if your character's stats and gear are up to date

Omium is as much fun as you make it, as the idea behind the game is that players take turns playing as each side to see how long they can survive.

High Flyer Death Defyer had the makings of an excellent game, particularly with its nice graphic style, story and core gameplay. Unfortunately, these features don't mean much when the controls are this frustrating.

It does do an amazing job of exploiting its aesthetic, and it’s worth picking up purely because of that.

It's really a shame because outside of this frustrating facet of the game's story mode (as well as the pop-up) Dream Chaser isn't that bad of an endless runner. As it stands, genre fans will probably still find it worth checking out, if anything for its style and story mode. For everyone else, it's probably worth a pass.

Those who love first-person dungeon crawlers should check it out, though. It's no Grimrock, but I think there's plenty of room in the pool for decent efforts along with that giant.

My first impression of this game was how pretty it was. It’s got a nice sense of style to it, and I love the odd creatures that inhabit this world. My second impression involved getting stuck in a piece of the environment and having to reset the game. My third impression of the game is that while it’s relatively short it somehow manages to wear out all of its tricks well before it ends, and alternates between being boring and irritating in its back half. That first bug wasn’t the only one to rear its head either. There’s something worth getting into here, but there’s just too much dragging the overall experience down.

Now, I’m not going to say this is a must-have, and there are better twin-stick shooters on the Switch to be sure. But for your eight bucks, you get a rather robust bit of B-movie (maybe D-movie) action with decent atmosphere and solid shooting gameplay. It can be a little grindy if you want to upgrade everything, but with added modes (including a very enjoyable local co-op mode for up to four players) and interesting environments to explore, even the act of grinding isn’t so bad. I had a better time with Splatter – Zombiecalypse Now than I was expecting to, and that’s always a lovely surprise.

Paper Cut Mansion has a good sense of style and I love the premise, but it just doesn’t work well as a roguelite-style game. It’s too obvious when the puzzles start repeating, and they quickly do, and the whole thing gets a little too rote before long. At the same time, the procedural generation keeps the design from being as tight as it could have been if it were hand-made. It’s a game that is very much at odds with itself, and that comes through clearly in the gameplay.

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.

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.

Dwarf Quest mostly succeeds at being a breezy, casual Roguelike, but it isn't very long (about as long as a single complete playthrough of 100 Rogues) and it feels like the first chapter of a longer story (the game's website promises a final confrontation with an undead wizard that is nowhere to be seen).

As mentioned earlier, it doesn’t quite reach the lofty heights of the best in the genre, but it doesn’t have to be in order to be enjoyable.

Lords of the Fallen is simply a sub-par clone in a genre that requires perfect execution to be worth playing.

The presentation is nice, and it’s fun to see what kind of minigames will pop up at first. The bowling is functional and simple enough to enjoy for players of a variety of skill levels, and the game is indeed most enjoyable when played with a partner. Those flying solo will likely find there’s just not enough on the bone here. Even with unlockable characters and a variety of dialogues, Date Night Bowling starts to feel a little tired after a few games. There are no grand stories or longer goals to reach towards, making this game best suited for the occasional romp with a like-minded player.

If you're a fan of Mortal Kombat then you'll likely get enough enjoyment out of this version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 to justify the purchase, but if you're looking for a comparable fighting experience to the iOS version of Street Fighter IV then you may want to hold off and see how this game evolves over time.

For all its charm and cleverness, Party Wave falls on the wrong side of the line between originality and accessibility. There's promise and style to be found here, but not nearly enough entertainment.

For the price, this game is a pretty safe purchase for any fan of Duke or action games.

Once the performance issues are addressed and some tweaks are made to the actual soccer during matches, Soccer Story will be an easy recommendation on Nintendo Switch. If you’d rather not wait, you are better off playing it on Steam Deck right now. Having tested it on Switch, Steam Deck, and Xbox Series X over the last few weeks, the Switch version definitely needs more optimization. Right now, I enjoy the open world and exploration aspects of the game a lot more than the actual soccer. There is a lot of potential here, but Soccer Story is a few updates away from being a great experience.

To sum this whole review up, it all comes down to whether or not you have a controller. If you do, then getting this excellent version of the game for such a low price is a steal. If you don't, it's not the most expensive curiosity, but that's all it is for all but the most dedicated and patient.

Nadir has some good ideas and it certainly pulls its weight in terms of its presentation, but a number of gameplay issues and technical problems end up tossing this one into the limbo between heaven and hell. There’s certainly the seed of something very cool here, but whether or not the developers will be able to nurture it into reaching its full potential is a gamble you may not want to take up.

If you’re willing to put up with its flaws, there are things to like about The Library of Babel. The story is interesting, the world is fascinating to immerse yourself in, and the puzzles are pretty solid. But it can’t be ignored that a significant part of the game is its stealth platforming, and it’s the one aspect of the game that really leaves something to be desired. It makes demands of the player that its mechanics are ill-equipped to live up to, and it makes me wish it would have just stuck to what it did well.

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.

In between all of this, crammed between the good and the bad, nestled between the occasional guilty crystal expenditure, that's where the magic happens.

A solid representation of the original game that stands as a well done, albeit somewhat abbreviated (no online play, for example), version of the recent console release.

The jumping still feels a bit floaty and the controls are not as responsive as they should be. But you do get acclimated to how it plays and with Glowdot's track record I have no doubt that the gameplay will be refined even further. What Rogue Runner really is, though, is a labor of love from both the developer and the community, and for that reason alone it is worth having a look at.

As a fan of this series, I've gotten used to being disappointed in recent years. Still, I expected better from Ratchet & Clank: Before the Nexus.

The awkward controls, annoying mission design, and a sense of humor that tries way too hard all add up to a game that would be tough to love even without any technical issues. And I’m afraid to say that there are plenty of those to go around. Good concept, but that only takes you so far.

There are far better titles than this one, some even published by Gameloft itself.

What really hurts this one is in its performance in this Switch version. The system struggles to keep the game running smoothly, which hurts the impact of the visuals. There’s a decent enough game here, but one that is perhaps best enjoyed on another platform.

Ratalaika did a fine enough job bringing Cyber Citizen Shockman to the Switch, and it’s neat to have it in English after all this time. If you’re already sold on the game itself, worry not – it has been done proper justice. I just personally don’t find the game to be all that enjoyable, even taking its age into account. I know it has its fans, but I’m not one of them. Still, if you want to dive into an era of gaming that doesn’t pop up all that often these days, this will certainly take you there.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a product that gives you a quite shallow city brawler game where more focus has gone into presentation, and freemium mechanics than providing a great time for the player.

Monsters Invade: Oz is a joy to play. However, play is too restricted by the current IAP system. Waste your gold on adding monsters to your party too early, instead of upgrading attributes, and you will find it difficult to survive in battle.

Glo Flo is a bit too casual for its own good. If you like puzzle games but generally find them frustrating, this could be a great little time waster. But if you're looking for a mind-bending challenge, you probably won't find one here.

Marvel Run Jump Smash is far from the most sophisticated and addictive runner in the App Store, but comic-book fans looking for a colorful, fast-paced, and challenging experience should suit up.

Combine the game itself feeling somewhat undercooked in terms of modes and features and the atrocious technical performance, and you have a rather bitter pill for any Switch-owning Dynasty Warriors fans that choose to swallow it. I won’t say you can’t mine some enjoyment out of this version of the game, but you’re going to have to be more forgiving than you’ve had to be with any prior Warriors game on the platform.

Here goes: It’s not great. It’s packed with all the free-to-play nonsense you all hate, the gameplay is pretty bland, and nothing you do seems to matter in any way.

You can have a great concept, nice visuals, and plenty of novelty, but it’s all for naught if the game doesn’t feel good to play. Unfortunately, SkateBIRD has a lot of issues in that regard. The physics lack weight, which I can forgive to an extent because they are birds. The ridiculous camera is harder to get past. Anytime you’re near pretty much any object, the camera has a tendency to start going haywire, making it hard to point yourself in the direction you want to go and really easy to fall off of raised surfaces. Your birdie boarder also falls off its board at the drop of a hat, and between that and the camera you can end up in some very frustrating situations. All of the charm in the world isn’t enough to save this one.

I can really only recommend Everybody 1-2-Switch! to those who regularly entertain large groups of friends who aren’t averse to playing games. Even then, there are so many better party games to play, with Nintendo itself offering several that are better than this. Not even a wacky horse head guy can save it, and I didn’t think I would ever say that about anything.

While there are a few positives to it, such as nicer graphics, speedier play, the fever mechanic, and the idea of a time-based endless mode, it's ultimately an inferior game to its already-questionable predecessor.

There's an embarrassment of riches for anyone looking to have some fun with this genre on the platform, leaving little room for half-hearted efforts like this one.

Fallen could potentially become a great franchise as more episodes are delivered, but a few things, especially the jumpy camera angle changes and poorly translated dialogue, could stand to be improved.

Overall, TNA Wrestling Impact seems to have a lot of potential, but ultimately fails in overall execution, which seems to be par for the course for most wrestling games– Especially in the mobile world.

I find the original board game a bit shallow and this video game version is no different, but it’s a decent enough game to play with younger kids.

Minecraft: Pocket Edition could potentially be an awesome thing someday. Until that day comes, though, it is best purchased by the curious, the affluent and the hardcore fan.

Hard to recommend, especially as your first foray in to the Rayman universe.

If you enjoyed Akiba’s Trip Undead & Undressed a lot and want more, Akiba’s Trip Hellbound & Debriefed is worth checking out at a discount. In its current state, it suffers from feeling too much like the PSP game it is based on, and with the technical issues on Nintendo Switch. While I did enjoy it more on PC, the PSP roots are still there and it just feels like more should’ve been done to bring the original Akiba’s Trip to a modern audience. If you’re new to Akiba’s Trip, I definitely recommend Undead & Undressed instead of this if the premise appeals to you.

It's unfortunate and surprising that such a beloved franchise received such poor treatment.

In theory, it should be awesome, but in practice nothing works like it should. Legends is a sloppy, unimaginative game that isn't ready for primetime.

Tomb Raider 2 is a great game, probably the best of Core's Tomb Raider titles. From a technical standpoint, this is an excellent port, and it includes all of the official content ever released for the game.

I can’t praise Bounty Arms for much more than visuals because it’s apparent these graphics where what was most important to this game. Unfortunately, that leaves me only recommending it to those of you who love showing off how good a game can look on your iPhone. If you’re that kind of person: enjoy the show. To everyone else: avoid this game. It rests with mediocrity on nearly all fronts, barely granting it a recommendation.

If you have an MFi controller, I'd give it a thumbs-up, as long as you can put up with a lack of accuracy in the drawing sections. Otherwise, with the drawing issues and the control problems, it's hard to recommend Drawn To Life with much enthusiasm in its current state.

I appreciate that Everdream Valley zigged where I expected it to zag, and there are times when I think it almost gets what it’s going for. There’s certainly something here that a person could grab on to if they’re in the right frame of mind. But there are just so many bits of the game that feel half-baked or not properly thought-out, and the technical issues are frequent and unpleasant. It might eventually get updated into something worth punting on, but for now I’d give it a wide berth.

After spending more time with the international release over the last week, it seems safe to take a pass on this game.

Curiosity isn't even a game: it's a child's toy, stripped of depth and without an ounce of respect for its audience's intelligence.

It all adds up to a game that is frustrating for all the wrong reasons. It’s not unplayable, and it’s fair to say the Souls series has suffered its own share of technical issues over the years, but it’s awfully hard to recommend Hellpoint in this particular state.

Zombie High Dive holds the reins too tightly for me to sit back and enjoy the simple physics game this could have been.

As top-down racers go, it’s okay. Not great, but it’s functional. There are lots of races, and some interesting multiplayer features for those with local buddies to play with. The extra data afforded by the CD format wasn’t exactly put to stellar use, and the presentation is rather unimpressive on the whole. Adding some awkward-to-use weapons to the Super Spring format doesn’t do a ton for the experience, and this is nowhere near other contemporary racers like R.C. Pro-Am or Rock ‘n Roll Racing. Not the most striking of starts for Ratalaika’s foray into the PC Engine library. Let’s hope better things await.

There is significantly more interactivity this time around, but at its core the game is still a Sega CD style FMV game, which means interactivity is limited to some puzzles and other touch-based mini-games. Unfortunately, these puzzles and mini-games really aren't much fun.

With some tweaks to the controls and interface, and perhaps some sort of filter for what kind of keywords are utilized, then Tweet Land could end up being something pretty special. It feels like it's just a couple notches off of being something great, and I hope it gets there someday.

When Wartales is behaving itself, it’s an enjoyable game. I’d love to lose hours to it. Maybe someday, after more patches, I’ll be able to. I hope this review is eventually useless. But the reality is that this game is on sale right now at a fairly high price, and it’s fundamentally broken worse than just about any other Switch release I’ve seen. Was it worth shadow-dropping a game in this kind of state? Do not buy Wartales on Switch until it’s properly fixed. It’s a waste of your money and of your time.

It just isn't very much fun.

Maybe it's just a case of irrational expectations, but I was a bit disappointed in the overall package of Kotomon. It feels less like a music/rhythm adventure and more of a simplified platformer with frustrating controls and little in terms of variety.

For now, it's hard to recommend Sonic Runners to any but the most patient of fans. You're going to have to use a metaphoric machete to chop away at all of the dense jungle getting between you and the fun running action, but if you can look past all of that, you'll find something worth sinking your teeth into.

With its complete lack of narrative, boring mission structure, antiquated visuals, spotty controls and monotonous gameplay, I don't know who would want to play this, much less eventually spend money within it.

With enough practice, some people may warm up to the style of multiplayer battling in Resident Evil Mercenaries VS, but with so many far superior online multiplayer experiences on iOS already it doesn't seem worth the effort.

I guess if shallow stealth games are OK with you, you'll find this one to be a worthy entry to the app store. This is definitely not the iOS version of Riddick that rivals any of the franchises previous efforts, fair warning. In my opinion: your options for a more entertaining stealth game, on the App Store, are numerous.

2013: Infected Wars is a meal cooked ten years ago, frozen and reheated five times over, and served on a plate made out of a laserdisc copy of Uwe Boll's Along in the Dark. You can keep your "console quality graphics and sound." Just give me some inspiration.

The photography element is the best part of the game, and even though you don’t get a whole lot of specific feedback on your shots, it’s entertaining to try to take shots that will get a lot of virtual social media attention. A great game? No, but not without its charms.

On paper, the looping concept and setting could’ve worked well, but it feels like there was a disconnect between the people working on the in-game combat and dialogue systems with the rest of the game. Loop8: Summer of Gods is one of the biggest disappointments of 2023. It had so much potential, and I hope this idea is revisited in the future, but I cannot recommend it right now unless you’re ok with boring gameplay that feels more like a chore than anything. The great art, music, and voice acting sadly isn’t enough to elevate this to something I can recommend at full price. It should’ve been better.

I’ve long since come around on the idea that the games in a collection must be great for it to be worthwhile, but in situations like Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection there just isn’t enough here to explain to players why these games are worth having out there again. I mean, yes. There is value in simply getting old licensed games out again in any form. But if you go to all the trouble of doing that, I’d love to see the extra mile gone to explain the context and history of these games. The changes and minor emulation hiccups are understandable and easily forgiven, but these games would benefit greatly from something better than the no-frills, brown paper bag approach we’ve got here.

Tap Titans is a fascinating deconstruction of RPGs, and it's something that perhaps fits my tastes to a comical T.

It's a competent port though too, with no noticeable technical issues, and the new Splatter Rush Mode adds a nice new twist to the gameplay. If you can deal with the less than ideal controls then you'll find yourself having a pretty good time with this version of Splatterhouse. However, if you've never played Splatterhouse before, I doubt this version will impress you.

For fans of the original, this is an automatic buy, and for anyone else who still enjoys an occasional round of DOOM on the go, Rise of the Triad is a nice alternative that may well be worth a look.