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.