SnakeRace is a game between you and the environment. There are no enemies, weapons, or any sort of action-oriented gameplay. As such, not everyone will be interested in taking it for a spin. However, if you're looking for a simple, fast-paced game that doesn't pretend to be more than what it is, I'd recommend checking out SnakeRace.

As a virtual pet, it’s cute, unique, and meets expectations. It will take about 3 days for Cthulhu to reach adolescence and about 6 days to reach adulthood, so at the very least, you can enjoy this diversion for a little under a week and move on.

If you’re in the mood for a Metroidvania-style game that leans a bit more into the action than the exploration, Alice Escaped! gets the job done well enough. It can get a bit tedious if you want to see it all the way through to the true ending, and the amount of tricks up the game’s sleeve doesn’t match the run time it’s trying to pull off. Still, the cute presentation, zippy gameplay, and intriguing mid-game twist mean this isn’t a total write-off by any measure. One for those who aren’t exhausted with the genre, but if you’re looking for a game with something new to offer, this isn’t it.

Kami 2 is a gorgeous puzzle game packed with challenging content, but it allows its sense of style to get in the way of a smooth experience for the player. It's fine that the game throws out difficult and complex puzzles, but the game seemingly goes out of its way to make the process of solving those challenges as tedious as possible. Between its generous pay model, stunning presentation, and heaps of puzzles to solve, Kami 2 is probably worth taking at least a few swings at. It's at least a few folds away from the gameplay living up to the slick visual designs, however, and there are clearly some kinks to work out with the online modes.

First Samurai and Second Samurai aren’t exactly the best games in the world, but they’re reasonably fun once you get the hang of how they work. QUByte’s package also isn’t exactly the best in the world, but it serves well enough here if you just want to play the games. I do like playing classic games I’ve never tried before, and more’s the better if they don’t suck. The Samurai Collection doesn’t suck.

It’s a fun game to play, but it gets repetitive after a while because very little changes from session to session. There just aren’t very many variables in play in Void Prison, and the ones that are here feel a little more random than I’d prefer. You can be doing everything right only to have an enemy pop in next to where you are standing and bounce you out without any recourse. Void Prison is best enjoyed as a little snack here and there, a few sessions at a time. In that capacity, it certainly earns its meager keep.

The game is cute and its fun lasts about as long as a pack of gum's flavor, so, maybe it's a blessing that it's so gosh-darned hard.

About as testing as a coloring book, to be sure, but not without its enjoyment.

Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom makes some improvements on the first game and tells a reasonably engaging story involving everyone’s favorite robot cat from the future. It does what you would expect a Story of Seasons game to do, but it doesn’t do a whole lot more than that. We’ve already seen the trick of adding Doraemon and his wacky inventions to this kind of game, so it feels less fresh this time around. At the same time, it doesn’t significantly mess anything up either. While it’s lacking somewhat in inspiration, farming fans who need a reliable fix will find enough to enjoy here.

This isn't as substantial as the developer's other works, but the game still plays well and does what it sets out to. Its scope is small but if you're fine with that, you'll have a good time with this one.

I wouldn't sit down and play Don't Fall In the Hole for hours at a time, but in short spurts it's a great game to enjoy in a dorm room or with your family. The iPad doesn't have enough same-screen experiences in my opinion, and thankfully Don't Fall adds to the ever-increasing stable of family gaming.

While I feel like all of MOSS’s Raiden games fall along a similar line of quality, the fourth and fifth games certainly feel like they take more risks and aren’t afraid to be their own things. Raiden III for better or worse is a game that feels so busy trying not to mess up that it forgot to do anything interesting. This new release adds in some cool features and extras to make it worth hopping in the Fighting Thunder one more time, even if all but the most ardent of Raiden fans would be better off picking up one of the later entries in the series.

I can definitely see Realteach VR returning to the world of Quantum Revenge in the future and building on the foundation they've already set. Although battling the evil Rokuseya was a blast while it lasted, I'd love to see some of the cast get fleshed out in the sequel, and see some brasher and more bold mech designs. If you're still the type of person who's rooting for a Zoids reboot you'll probably have a great time here, but otherwise you can likely hang on for more updates and improvements -- some of which the developer has already acquiesced.

I think Switch owners have gotten used to dealing with performance issues. It regrettably comes with the territory, even when it doesn’t seem like it should be a problem. If you think you can push past some “worse than Metal Slug 2" slowdown, random bits of stuttering action, audio issues, and lengthy load times, Shootas, Blood & Teef is fun. You have a nice variety of weapons, the levels are fun to navigate, and the shooting is tense and satisfying. But if you have access to another platform, you may want to pursue it there instead. This Switch version just isn’t up to snuff.

The game you can buy today is a solid one in its own right, even if only for its unique, rhythmic combat.

Sure, the game feels a little more rough than other Kairosoft titles, but underneath those quirks is vintage Kairosoft.

The course design changes enough that you'll likely never get bored and the puzzling aspects make for an entertaining experience -- it's just too bad the golf part of it seems to be getting in the way of what has always made Worms interesting -- screwing around and aimlessly taking the chaotic approach.

This is the only way to get a good, deep, baseball simulator on mobile, and it is a good way to get a taste of what it might be like in comparison to a full-fledged game. If it's your first time, I'm sorry about the rest of your life that you will no longer have because you're stuck managing a bases loaded, one-out situation in an August 2023 game. It could be the most value you get out of a $4.99 game. If the little annoyances got to be too much in earlier years, well, unfortunately, many of them are still here. But whether you can see the forest for the trees is a question you'll have to consider for yourself.

Just like how things went with the arcade original, Gravitar: Recharged sometimes feels at odds with some of the baggage it has to carry. In this case, it’s the baggage of being part of the Recharged line, where players will probably be trained to expect quick, arcade-style action with a focus on beating mini-challenges and racking up high scores. Gravitar: Recharged isn’t really that kind of game, though it incorporates many of those elements. Instead this is something you hunker down with and try to pick your way through, one aggravating death after another. Not for everyone, but if you’re looking for something with arcade roots but home game teeth, it might be up your alley.

This is a big value for the price, but I wish the developer had put more thought into making the levels and gods feel different from one another. I have my custom strategy down to a such a science, I could topple towers in my sleep.

Friendly, straightforward and furiously adorable, Clay's Reverie is a lot of fun.

While the game's content doesn't yet measure up to other more padded entries in the App Store, what it does offer will keep you entertained, and for a fair asking price.

If you're the kind of person who likes puzzle games with a difficulty level easily disguised as "brutal", and you've got an ear for music, Pixel Quartet is a game that you simply must try.

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.

For the low price of "free," and a respectable approach towards microtransactions, Sheep Happens is a solid download for any runner fan. While it may not push the genre forward in general, it offers up a ton of character, a lot of smiles, and a solid foundation.

In the end, how much you enjoy this game will be particularly subjective, depending on what you look for in an adventure game. If you’re OK with a slower pace, a slower start, and some ludicrous puzzles, or if you’re willing to tolerate them to enjoy a beautiful world with gorgeous, top notch art and music, you’ll find The Whispered World worthwhile.

Toaplan’s 1985 classic vertical shmup Tiger Heli feels great to play in this release from Bitwave, but the sound pitch is a bit off even now. It has gotten updated as recently as a few hours ago from this writing, but it still doesn’t sound exactly like the prior release I’ve played on Switch. Barring that, I have no real complaints with this specific version of Tiger Heli. It delivers a responsive version of the game with a super fast boot up on Steam Deck.

Assuming you aren’t too obsessed with the end-game or social aspects (and you don’t have an irrational hatred for freemium games) Boom Beach continues the showing seen in Clash of Clans. Whether it has enough staying power as its spiritual predecessor will depend greatly on the inevitable tweaks to the core gameplay. Meanwhile, it’s worth a shot.