It’s best to think of Brave Dungeon -The Meaning of Justice- as a bundle of three games from one series, each with their own stories and distinct mechanics. All three of them are fairly enjoyable as long as you’re not looking for something too deep or difficult. With cute characters, gameplay that doesn’t throw out a whole lot of obstacles to just zoning out, and just enough to chew on to keep things from getting boring, this package is every inch the follow-up to Brave Dungeon you would expect it to be.

In its current state, Super Meat Boy Forever is best on mobile, but the iOS version at least needs a bit more work. Despite the issues, I’ve loved most of what Super Meat Boy Forever has to offer, and it is hard to argue against it being worth the very low asking price right now. It took nearly a decade to hit the platform following its original announcement, but Super Meat Boy Forever for mobile is here, and the wait has been worth it.

If you like platformers, particularly the precision type, you’ll probably have a really good time with Panic Porcupine. Sure, it’s resting its hat on another game, but it’s doing so deliberately and with a wink. The controls are good, the physics are familiar, and the level designs are superb. It has all the hallmarks of a pretty great indie platformer, and I’m going to go ahead and conclude that it is exactly one of them.

DNF Duel: Who’s Next is an enjoyable one-on-one fighter that does its IP proud. While I wouldn’t recommend it over the likes of Dragon Ball FighterZ or Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, it serves as another solid entry in the genre on Switch. Those who have the option to play it on another platform would probably be better to do so, particularly if they mean to play online. The delay-based netcode and slightly muddy visuals are enough to make this version the clear lesser choice unless portability is a make-or-break feature for you. Still, taken on its own merits, this Switch version is not a bad game at all.

I think some people out there are going to really connect with God of Rock and love it to pieces, but I regretfully won’t be one of them. Even after spending a lot of time with the game I couldn’t get comfortable with it, and playing on the handheld screen with the tiny note board is just not a fun time. I think a lot of effort and thought went into this experimental game design, especially towards making it a satisfying multiplayer game, and it shows. But in the end, I don’t think the developer was able to make this recipe come together.

While the lack of voice acting is something that really disappointed me with how good other aspects are, I still recommend The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story to anyone looking for a quality action RPG with great music and lovely pixel art. As someone who loves Moonlighter, I hope Digital Sun keeps delivering on games like it and The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story going forward.

It is rare for me to pre-order the limited edition of a game I’ve gotten for review 2 minutes into playing it for the first time, but here we are. Coffee Talk Episode 2 isn’t a huge change or upgrade from the original, but it didn’t need to be one. It is an easy recommendation if you enjoy relaxing games, coffee, and want to brew up some for interesting characters. I hope we get more from this world in a few years in a potential third entry. For now, it is time to mix dri.. I mean brew coffee and change lives.

Apart from its entertaining four-player simultaneous multiplayer, Dogfight is the very picture of an average side-scrolling shooter. The mechanics are fine, the presentation is fine, the bosses are fine. The stages are a bit boring in how they unfold, it’s a bit too easy even when playing by yourself, and the game on the whole is over really quickly. Neither a bad game nor a particularly good one, and in a genre this packed I’m not sure that’s a great place to be. Unless you’re really married to the multiplayer idea, there just isn’t enough spice in this sausage to help it stand out against its competitors.

It’s understandable why Sherlock Holmes The Awakened isn’t as polished as some of developer Frogwares’ previous Sherlock Holmes releases on Switch, but the poor performance and various rough edges add up to make this a weak version of a decent enough mystery adventure. The horror aspects don’t land very well, but figuring out the what, where, and how of each case is still quite satisfying. Mystery fans may well be able to put up with its issues, but they’d be well-advised to grab it on another platform if possible.

Capcom has done right by the Mega Man Battle Network games with this collection for the most part. If you have happy memories of these games, you’ll likely be happy to revisit them again. The extras are welcome, though I think Capcom could have gone further here with things like save states or the ability to turn off random encounters. It’s great to see some of the lesser-tapped veins of the Blue Bomber’s history get a reissue, and you really can’t argue with the value in terms of how much there is to play here. Worth the pick-up for fans of Mega Man or RPGs alike.

Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance is a good port of a decent game from an era before we knew the blessings of even Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man. It can’t compete in most little ways and even a lot of big ways. But there is a purity to it, being from that era. It isn’t trying to sell you gems at every turn. It has no DLC or any intentions of such. No unlockable skins or guest characters. You can log in every day and you will have nothing extra to show for it. Here is the game. Here is the adventure. Here is the ending. Thank you for your ten dollars (Er, um, five dollars if you happen to catch its very-soon-after-release sale price–Ed). That’s kind of lovely, even if there are a lot of parts of it that aren’t. It might be the tonic you’re looking for right now, because we frankly don’t see a lot of things like this on mobile anymore.

I’m very glad that Codebrew Games didn’t go all in with the social and life simulation elements here. Pocket City 2 is the perfect example of building on what people loved in the original game while adding a ton of optional quality content. I didn’t realize how much I’d end up just exploring my own city until I played Pocket City 2. It isn’t a super deep experience like the hardcore builders on PC, but that’s exactly what makes it good. This is a relaxing game that can be tweaked to your liking in terms of difficulty. As of this writing, I’ll be surprised if Pocket City 2 isn’t in our top 3 for the best iOS game of the year, and we are just in April. It isn’t often I end up gifting a game to multiple people a few hours in, but Pocket City 2 is that good.

I hope the team works on fixing the issues and expanding on progression, because I want more from this world. Right now Infinite Guitars feels like playing an electric guitar with rusted strings. Despite being down on on Infinite Guitars in its current state, I’d definitely buy the soundtrack on vinyl and an artbook. Those aspects are lovely. It is just a shame that it was released with the story and some mechanics in this state with technical issues.

While it does have a few annoying sections, Subway Midnight is definitely worth experiencing if the aesthetic appeals to you. Just be warned that there are some sections that hold it back a bit. The striking use of color and rumble also makes it a great fit for the OLED screen on Switch. In fact, having experienced it on PC and Switch, Subway Midnight shines in handheld mode with a pair of good headphones.

Cannon Dancer is a fun action game for the short time it lasts, offering the extra dose of Strider thrills that you may have never known existed. It’s great to see it available on home consoles at long last. The problem is that it’s priced like a celebration, but the bare bones way it’s presented feels like anything but. With the same old Ratalaika emulation front-end and no extra materials or even any context for the game, it feels like the publisher has thrown a decent burger patty between two slices of Wonderbread and is charging the price of a steak. Really hard to recommend to any but the dedicated fans.

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.

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.

Vampire Survivors: Tides of Foscari with its fantasy focus, new characters, weapons, and lovely stage is an easy recommendation for any fan of the game. The base game was already too cheap for what it offers, and these DLC packs are a nice way to enhance the core experience while getting more to do for those who have been hitting 100% with prior content drops. I still hope 2023 sees the game get cross platform saves to let me go from Steam Deck to Xbox Series X to iOS and back. Right now, Vampire Survivors: Tides of Foscari is essential for everyone playing the game. Grab that Academy Badge and jump in.

Curse of the Sea Rats has a nice presentation and I like the multiplayer support, a rare sight in a game like this. Unfortunately, the dreadful controls knock this game on its tail before it even gets up to speed. Slow, fussy, and prone to losing out to animation priorities, the very act of moving your character around and attacking feels unpleasant. Even if you stick with it long enough to get used to all of that, the game that awaits you is a decidedly average entry into its genre. Let this one sink with the ship.

Melon Journey has charm to burn, with interesting, odd characters to interact with and a well-realized setting to explore. The writing is sharp and the soundtrack is great, both of which help draw you into the story. The actual plot leaves a bit to be desired, and it really doesn’t do enough to bring players new to the world up to speed. Normally I would find myself recommending it anyway, but at the time of this review the game is incredibly crash-happy. There’s something worth experiencing here, but you’ll want to wait for a few updates before diving in because at the moment it’s really hard to deal with.

Road 96: Mile 0 is best taken as a prequel to Road 96 than a sequel to Lost in Harmony, but it’s interesting to see these worlds connect and find out what came after and before the last time we saw its main characters. Performance issues and a clumsy user interface really hurt this Switch version’s playability, dragging the experience down somewhat. This is a trip worth taking, but the Switch may not be the best car for this road.

I’d imagine there are some challenges in getting a game of this age running nicely on modern hardware, but as it is right now it just isn’t fun to play the game this way. Perhaps it can be patched into shape, but for now I’d recommend checking this series out on mobile instead. The puzzles are absolutely worth playing, and it’s neat to check out all the little details in each environment. But this Switch version sometimes feels like it’s fighting you with its laggy nature more than it is with its challenges, so it’s hard for me to recommend with much vigor at the moment.

Rakuen: Deluxe Edition has a few different things to offer, with the titular Rakuen being the star of the show. It’s a bittersweet, deeply emotional story set in a rich, well-realized setting and it’s absolutely unforgettable. The visuals may be simple but they more than serve the purpose, and the soundtrack is outstanding. The other included items in this package are more like nice bonuses, but they are certainly quite welcome. If you enjoy a good yarn, grab a box of tissues and settle in with this over an evening or two.

While I doubt Lunark will go down in history as one of the all-timers of cinematic platforming, it’s well-made enough that anyone who likes this underserved niche should check it out. The presentation is on point, the story and setting are intriguing, and the mechanics feel like a close cousin to Flashback. This flavor of game isn’t going to be for everyone, especially those lacking warm and fuzzies for the specific era it’s paying homage to, but the target it’s aimed at is going to have a blast with it.

Some RTS fans are going to find GrimGrimoire a little too tedious at times even with the great new features, while those looking to enjoy the excellent visuals and solid time loop yarn will have to come to grips with the strategic elements. Still, I think there’s a lot here worth digging into. I like to think the audience is more receptive to things like this than it was in the late 00s, and that perhaps GrimGrimoire will get its due at long last.

The only aspect that might put some off, is in how Sid Meier’s Railroads isn’t as deep as many other games in the genre. Barring that, Sid Meier’s Railroads is an easy recommendation for everyone even remotely interested in train management and simulation games.

Xiaomei and the Flame Dragon’s Fist isn’t going to come for Streets of Rage 4‘s crown anytime soon, but it’s not really trying to do that. It speaks to a particular point in beat-em-up history that doesn’t see a whole ton of love these days, and anyone with nostalgia for those games will have a big smile on their face while playing it.

If you already played Norn9: Var Commons on PS Vita, I don’t think this is worth grabbing at full price, especially since it costs more than the PS Vita original did back in 2015. If you skipped it, Norn9: Var Commons on Nintendo Switch is the best version not only for its features, but also its localization. This is definitely a nice way to get Switch players into Norn9 while we are waiting for Norn9: Last Era.