There is a lot of potential here and despite the glitches and bugs I encountered, Metallic Child is worth getting if you’re a fan of action games and are after something new on Nintendo Switch. After a few updates addressing these issues, Studio HG’s newest release will be an essential for fans of action games and roguelites.

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.

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.

Depending on how the changes and hopeful improvements pan out, this could be a game worth revisiting down the road, though it's certainly an interesting pickup for roguelike fans as it is.

I think it's a game best experienced in portable format these days, but even with that in mind, it's still really only for those looking for a return to the most simple of times.

I think Kukoos: Lost Pets gets enough right that if you enjoyed games like Super Mario 3D World and are looking for another multiplayer platformer, you should give it a look. As a solo affair, it’s a bit of a harder sell. It’s certainly on the good side of the line, but with all of its technical problems and the heavy competition in this space it’s hard to be too enthusiastic about it. Probably best enjoyed on another platform, but it’s enjoyable enough on Switch.

Granny Smith is a fun, high-speed platformer. It's nice to take a break from the endless types and still keep up the inertia that goes with them.

The highs of Space Age are really high, and I appreciate the ambition and the beauty. But this game is disappointingly flawed; not irredeemably so, but I felt a bit let down after my high expectations.

Doomsday Clicker is not really what I'd call essential, and hardly the apex of the clicker genre, which already has a tenuous relationship with the concept of gameplay to begin with. But, it's amusing with great music, and had me checking in and blowing up the world in comical ways for at least a few days.

It may not be the most memorable game on the market, but it certainly holds its own as an intriguing endless runner with a unique blend of all guns blazing platforming mayhem.

In its current state, I’d only recommend Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical on Switch if you want to play it on a portable and don’t have a Steam Deck. If you want to play on your TV or monitor, consider getting it on another platform for a much better experience. It doesn’t feel polished on Nintendo’s handheld right now, and that holds this otherwise excellent but flawed experience back.

The lack of brawler variety, combined with the shortfalls in controls simply outweigh the potential merits of robot collection and power-up exploration.

The mini-games in the iPad version will have same device multiplayer for up to four players, which should make for some hectic fun in between solving puzzles. Until that time though, the iPhone version of Bumps is a blast, and is recommended if you're looking a new puzzler with some unique ideas.

I can’t say that Samurai Maiden doesn’t do what it seems to have set out to do: have a cute schoolgirl and her cute ninja friends slice and dice weird creatures to save the world while also sharing smooches. It doesn’t drop the ball on its gameplay elements, but all of that is clearly in service to the cheeky premise. If you like the basic idea of the game, I think you’ll find it does what it needs to in order to avoid disappointing you. If the concept doesn’t grab you, there is nothing here that will change your mind.

The one spot I'd criticize are the visuals in particular. While the particle stuff on the explosions are great, I think the art comes off as a little flat.

As long as you go in with your expectations in check forTons of Bullets -- as it has literally no surprises for you in store -- you probably won't walk away disappointed. You'll stumble into re-used ideas like teleporter pads, straight-forward boss fights, and vehicles, but you'll have fun doing it. Hopefully the idea well hasn't run dry, and the teams responsible can pick up right where they left off for a sequel.

There are two groups of players that should quickly fall in love with Call of Duty: Heroes. Obviously, series fans will enjoy the fan service that Heroes has, but I think fans of Clash-style PvP combat will also be intrigued enough with the heroes aspect to want to check it out.

Any platformer fan - retro or no - might just find this one worth some space on their home screen.

You can see the games that influenced Togges in its design in a lot of places, but as a whole work it is certainly its own thing. It has a lot of interesting ideas, and it gives the player a lot of agency in how they want to achieve their goals. It’s also very cute. That said, its hefty levels are probably too big for their own good, making for a very overwhelming experience that is probably going to turn some players off. You probably know yourself how you would feel about that kind of set-up, so if you think you’re fine with it, you’ll probably be won over by Togges‘ charms.

The mini-games could have had a little more variety, depth, and/or difficulty, but the plot and presentation is the focus here and it's great.

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.

Overall, Mosaic is a game you should try for yourself. Its story, although a bit short and predictable, is appealing, relatable and rewarding in the end. However, the experience of the game might not be enough to tolerate the bad controls and monotonous gameplay.

If you're looking for something that's not as stressful as other platformers but still attempts to provide some semblance of a challenge, you could do a whole lot worse than Egz.

If you've enjoyed Super Meat Boy on any of the platforms it's available on, and have been looking for something similar for iOS, League of Evil is totally worth your dollar.

Fans of Adventure Time or anyone looking for a bit of a different runner should check this one out.

As it stands, it will still offer you an interesting gaming experience but one that will feel slightly on the short and unremarkable side.

A flawed but admirable port of a game that fundamentally isn't touch-friendly. If you're still on the fence, just know that this game requires commitment. There's gold here, but Baldur's Gate keeps its treasure for the dedicated and does not tolerate dabblers.

With a few tweaks and added support for leaderboards, the mobile version of Fortix would be a much stronger package.

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.

Well, I wasn't as impressed with Give No Shelter as I was with In Too Deep partly because the writers removed most of the horror-related themes and replaced them with the usual walker jump-scares (and even those were on the limited side). Add to that how we didn't get much character development and, instead, had characters do silly things (sillier than usual), and you can understand how the episode didn't have the gravity and complexity of In Too Deep.

Final Fantasy II Pixel Remaster is a lovely remake of a game that people tend to either love or hate. Its strongest element is arguably its story, and that’s why I feel it’s hurt so much by cutting the excellent extra content added in the Game Boy Advance version. With that in mind, I think it’s best to stick with the old version of the game if you already own it and it still works. This new version is more modern in its presentation and UI, and ultimately it will be the one that survives. It’s also the only one you can buy now, so if you want to play Final Fantasy II it’s this or nothing. I enjoy the game, but you will need to be willing to put up with its eccentricities if you seek to do the same.

The graphics in Alice in Wonderland are a rich, cell-shaded affair that bring out the child-like madness of Wonderland beautifully.

Piclings is still a lot of fun based solely on the ability to create your own levels. This novelty alone means I'll be playing the game for a good long while until I run out of funny ideas for levels.

If the premise appeals to you, download it and give it half an hour. At that point, if you're jazzed and really rockin' it, you've just made a friend. On the other hand, if you're feeling irritable or frustrated at that point, you should just delete the game and move on.

In its current state, I’d recommend picking up Hokko Life on another platform over Nintendo Switch if you have the option. The long load times and performance issues even in early parts hold it back. The developers have said that they are still working on the game and bringing more to it, and Hokko Life has the potential to be much better on Switch. Right now, I can only recommend it with the caveat about technical issues and assuming you like the aesthetic. I enjoyed my time with this blend of elements from Animal Crossing and Story of Seasons.

If you own an iOS or iPadOS device, I’d only recommend Football Manager 2024 Mobile if you do not have or will not subscribe to Apple Arcade. It is more streamlined and a great intro to Football Manager 2024, but isn’t representative of the full game like the other versions are. I hope Football Manager Mobile gets closer to Touch next year, or that we eventually get to a point where the same game is scaled differently across platforms. Football Manager 2024 Mobile is only worth your time if you already have a Netflix subscription. If you don’t, focus on playing the other versions of the game.

It's still not the prettiest game around, but it's not the ugliest either, and overall Ghosts 'n Goblins Gold Knights II is a huge improvement over the first thanks to the overhauled performance and controls.

Sigma is a brilliant looking match 3 game of top notch quality.

With a few tweaks, Vampire Rush could easily be the best action tower defense game in the App Store. As it stands now, it's still a solid and enjoyable first effort that's worth checking out, just be prepared to deal with more than a few frustrating moments.

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.

Process of Elimination tries something new with its unusual mystery-solving mechanics, and I appreciate that even if I don’t think it really came together as well as I’d hoped it would. The story is really good even if it can be predictable at times, mostly thanks to its interesting cast of characters. Indeed, I sometimes found myself wishing it was more of a straightforward adventure game as the strategy segments sometimes work against the flow of the story. Still, there’s a lot here to like for fans of high-stakes whodunnits.

The campaign is fun, but it really has nowhere to go but through the same paths again and again. And the multiplayer—the multiplayer has so much potential, but it's crippled by the lack of online competitors.

When you're not fighting the controls, Ghost Toasters is an incredibly fun take on the Super Crate Box formula, with tons of content packed in to boot.

When all is said and done, I still think YesSir is a pretty decent artillery-style shooter.

Runner aficionados will find little to keep them hooked in a playing field full of meatier options.

Overall a nice and original puzzle game that should appeal to fans of jigsaw or tangram-like games.

In fairness, the asking price ameliorates most of those nitpicks. A distinctive blend of strategy and puzzle-solving flows through Shadow Vamp's blood. Sometimes it just takes a fair amount of flicking and slapping to find the vein.

If you don't think you'll mind the nasty difficulty or just intend on cheating your way through it using free read anyway, you'll find Bloodbones to be a meaty, interesting quest that feels a bit different in tone and pacing from any of the other Tin Man Fighting Fantasy releases so far. I suspect few will have the patience to see everything it has to offer, unfortunately.

Flaws aside, LostStar Tactics is one of a too-small list of games strategy lovers really ought to have on their devices. It isn't perfect, but it improves on Tactical Warrior in ways that should make it accessible to a much larger audience.

When it comes down to it, Andro Dunos 2 is a faithful ode to a particular era of shooters that is a few options and features away from being all it can be. It’s perhaps a bit too faithful, as it can feel a little bit pedestrian at times. The mechanics are easy enough to pick up for newcomers, but require just enough strategy to apply to give more skilled players something to chew on. The lack of online leaderboards takes some of the wind out of the score attack sails, and the disappointingly minimal display options fall below expectations. Still, fans of the original and shoot-em-up fans should find enough to chew on here.

I'm not the biggest platformer fan in the world, but I'm in love with this one anyway. Though I could have done with a few more collectibles and a deeper story, there's not much to complain about here.

Overall, Chuck Gnome combines a fun flinging mechanic with stellar visuals, and players are enjoying the game in our forums as well. If you're on the fence, give the lite version a try first. Content is fairly limited in the free version, but it will give you an excellent idea of how much you like the flinging mechanic the game hinges on.

I've actually had a surprising amount of fun with Truckers Delight. Mobigame did a great job of nailing the feel of endless retro racing games, and the difficulty ramps up nicely requiring quite a bit of concentration as you dart between oncoming cars in your 18 wheeler.

How 2 Escape really just has one trick up its sleeve, but it’s a good enough one. If you have someone who is willing to play along with you as your “man in the chair" and can tolerate a few poor puzzle designs and some rough writing, you’ll likely find this to be a distinctive and reasonably enjoyable escape adventure.

Overall, Loud House: Outta Control is a good mini-game, but it’s a tougher fit as an Apple Arcade game. As a mini-game from the App Store, this is a good game to play and to kill time with. It looks and feels great when playing, and provides a challenging yet fun experience. As an Apple Arcade game though, Outta Control lacks an engaging story, complex and fun gameplay, and other characteristics that other Apple Arcade games have already given us. In a world with awesome and creative games like Jenny LeClue or Sayonara Wild Hearts, Outta Control seems outta place.

Archipelagos' unique combination of strategy with an element of encroaching menace should have similar appeal to a certain set today as it did back in 1989.

The game's middle section may stumble about, but its climax is deft: the identity of "Moai"'s volcano-deity antagonist is a perfect marriage of Steve Purcell's surrealist vision and his acknowledgment that Sam & Max fans need to feel that each episode is connected for the series to work.

Don't Be Squared looks gorgeous, sports a great animation style, and is very fun to play, but it has a tendency to gate a lot of that fun behind walls to push people into IAP. As long as you have the fortitude to deal with all of those ploys, you'll have a good enough time.

Blackmoor is sometimes funny, sometimes surprisingly deep, sometimes intensely frustrating, and sometimes kind of dull.

With fun gameplay and a ton of content in a polished package for only $0.99, it comes highly recommended.

Cover Orange 2 is more than a little unambitious, but the original game is certainly solid enough to weather a sequel that plays it safe.

Its noir aesthetic and cryptography-heavy puzzle mechanics do make it a rather niche title, but it's one that will please those who play it even though its brevity and occasionally clunky

If you were looking for a Professor Layton game, I regret to say you won't find anything like it here. If, however, you liked Ace Attorney and want something along similar lines, this is probably of interest to you. Be forewarned, it's not nearly as challenging, robust, or manically enjoyable as that series, but it serves the appetite well enough.

I have no problem with encouraging players to spend some cash on premium items that are not necessary for normal gameplay. The restrictions in Spice Invaders do not fit that example, especially since all these design choices are solely made to encourage folks to spend money (rather than designs that encourage fun).

Minor issues aside, I had a ton of fun with Graveyard Shift.

Eden: The Game is a special type of project that won't appeal to everyone. If you're looking to feel a rush pretty much at all times, battling danger left and right while you build your new utopia, directly interacting with other hostile players, look elsewhere. Everyone else will find a little bit of respite, even if the overall system could stand for a few upgrades and new scenarios down the line.

Gorilla Gondola is a quality release, with responsive controls, good graphics and energetic music. The gameplay feels fresh and there's definitely skill involved with bouncing the gondola through the tight spots.

The Gods: Rebellion does a decent job recreating the character action experience on iOS in nearly every aspect save controls. If you have more patience than me (or are simply used to iOS character action titles) by all means check out Rebellion as it offers a lot in its other elements.

It starts off fairly slow but escalates quickly into a tactical nightmare, which is either a good or a bad thing depending on your view of puzzlers.

One of those games with a decent gameplay formula that could have been so much more.

Mountain Biker does a lot of things pretty well, and I’m always on the lookout for something that attempts to evolve (however slightly) on the Tiny Wings up/down hill mechanics. Unfortunately, despite having an interesting tap-and-tilt control scheme and a fitting theme, the game never fully grabbed me.

The Monty Mole Collection should please some of the largely underserved fans of classic microcomputer platforms. It’s a bit threadbare in some ways, but there are enough features here to enjoy this bag of Monty games as best as they can be in the here and now. I wish there was more in the way of extra materials, but I suppose they can’t all be Gold Masters. It’s also unfortunate that this falls just shy of being a full set of Monty games. In the end, what’s here is worth the asking price as long as you’re cool with platformers of this vintage.

Golf Putt Pro offers a perfect way to kill a few minutes of free time during your day. There's global leaderboards for the top 100 scores in all but the 18 Holes mode, and Twitter and Facebook support for every mode.

Thus, I think that Size DOES Matter winds up being a game I enjoyed playing more than I enjoyed how it is structured, but it ain't bad as an arcade survival game with music.

Load it up, go mental with a machine gun during your coffee break, turn it off and forget. Sounds like pretty good escapism to me.

In its current state, Dragon Quest Builders is a fantastic game, but one I can only recommend with some big caveats and if you will stick to playing it on a modern iPhone. If you care about cloud saves, it isn’t here. Controller support is basically absent as well. If you’re considering it on a newer iPhone, it is amazing. On iPad, for some reason it runs a lot worse than I expected even on my iPad Pro (2020) and feels almost as bad as the Switch version does on an older iPad Pro with inconsistent performance. Square Enix has done a fantastic job with the touch controls and the new quality of life features making this the best version of the game on paper, but the power consumption issues need addressing.

Despite its alien-like setting and curious environment, Biosis tells a story that just about everybody can relate to.

Aside from the lack of multiplayer or A.I., this game has room for improvement. I ran into severe performance issues on a couple tracks, seriously limiting my ability to race on them. I also ran out of new parts much too quickly. The customization is the coolest part of this game, so Fabrication Games should have gone nuts with it.

Even with its overall lack of originality, control issues, and occasionally dull encounter design, Mercenaries Saga 2 follows the notes well enough that it should be of interest to fans of Final Fantasy Tactics.

Touken Ranbu Warriors looks good, runs well, and its core gameplay offers the solid action the Warriors franchise is well-known for. Care has been taken to ensure the game can by enjoyed by as many fans of the Touken Ranbu franchise as possible, and that makes it a great fit for anyone with an interest in the IP. It’s also not a bad choice for those who want to get into a Warriors game but have found previous releases to be a little too complicated. Aiming for that target may cost the interest of more experienced fans of this style of game, but it’s not like there aren’t plenty of options for them already.

Clearly inspired by the newest Tron movie, Lightbike 2 looks far from boring.

There is a lot of potential in the idea alone, so if GameLab can deliver the second episode and the arena mode before upping the price, they might have something truly interesting on their hands as long as they're not scared to make the puzzles a bit more challenging and the shooting parts a bit more sparse.

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.

With so much content, story, replayability and generally fun gameplay this game would benefit massively from just a little bit of love from the developer to tighten up a few weak spots.

Code Mystics has handled this version of Biomotor Unitron with its usual level of quality. All the same features, all of the same flaws, but overall the best official way to play this game. This is a simple, straightforward RPG in most respects, with an interesting customization system to keep you engaged. In modern times it may be too limited and grindy for some, but if you like the idea of slowly cobbling together a killer mech to take the top spot, Biomotor Unitron may be of interest to you.

Dungeons Of Chaos isn't going to be for everyone, but anyone with fond memories of CRPGs from the 1980s should at least give the Lite version a shot.

With a running time of about fifteen to twenty minutes, Windosill is a bit of a tough sell despite how high-quality everything here is. It ends too abruptly, and my immediate reaction at finishing it was to wonder if that was really all there was to it? Unfortunately, it is. I don’t want to be too harsh on the game for that, but it’s something to keep in mind if you’re considering it.

A stylized shooter that feels very well implemented, delivers real challenge, supports all iOS devices natively, and costs $0.99.

Still, with plenty to see, lots of replay value through the many paths you can take, some wonderful illustrations by Gary Chalk, and an intriguing new world, you could do a lot worse in the genre than Gun Dogs

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.

The main problems in Twelve Minutes are to do with how annoying it gets experiencing the loops after a certain point. Powering through multiple loops and repetition for an amazing story would be fine, but Twelve Minutes falters even in its narrative. The finale and most of the endings here had some very off the rails twists that I didn’t expect. These will make or break your overall experience. This isn’t like Danganronpa V3 either, but genuinely confusing in some ways depending on what ending you get. I’d only recommend playing Twelve Minutes on Nintendo Switch once it gets discounted. This is sadly one of the few Annapurna Interactive games that didn’t blow me away like most of the publisher’s catalog.

9 Years of Shadows is a well-made Metroidvania that gets most things right. The presentation is excellent, the map design is solid, the boss battles are exciting, and the setting and story are intriguing. It doesn’t have any particularly new ideas, but it executes on the familiar ones well. It’s just unfortunate that technical issues and bugs drag down the overall experience on Switch. Make sure to check this game out somewhere, but this Switch version should probably be your last choice for doing so.

Epic Ninja Game is a rough game in a lot of ways, from the odd way wall-jumping works to the stiff animations and strange difficulty spikes, but it is a considerably more fun game than I was expecting at first glance.

In its current state, it feels a bit lacking for its asking price on Nintendo Switch considering you don’t really get more than what the Apple Arcade version offers. If you don’t have Apple Arcade and want a puzzler you can keep coming back to (with hopefully future content updates), Doomsday Vault will serve you well.

On its sketch-book visuals alone, Roll Back Home accomplishes that and is worth checking out.

I really like how retro-ized the whole game is, and how the graphics and interface are designed to look just like a cocktail table arcade machine.

Mister Frog! is very pretty, with responsive controls and pleasantly old-timey music. This is a game that you and even a very young child might be able to share, trading turns and comparing scores. It's not terribly ambitious, certainly no One Tap Hero, but it does well within the limited scope it sets for itself.

PowerWash Simulator’s Back to the Future Special Pack feels like a missed opportunity. It isn’t bad by any means, but just should’ve done more with the Back to the Future property. While the SpongeBob DLC felt a bit overpriced, it did enough to justify a full price purchase. The PowerWash Simulator Back to the Future Special Pack feels less worth the asking price comparatively even as a huge fan of both PowerWash Simulator and Back to the Future. If you, like me, love the game, paying $8 for more levels isn’t hard to justify, but this is definitely the weakest DLC pack overall for the game.