As someone who played a ton of Need for Speed II SE back in the day and loved Need for Speed Underground, I’m glad to finally have experienced a modern game in the series that has been a joy to play. Even as the first current-generation only entry in the series, Need for Speed Unbound is a joy to play on Steam Deck. It might’ve released too close to the holidays for most, but if you enjoyed older Need for Speed games, you need to grab this one.

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.

Dragon Quest Treasures is an enjoyable action-RPG with an interesting treasure-hunting gimmick that is boosted by how it uses elements of the series. It’s perhaps a little on the easy side, and there are aspects of the game that feel thinner than I would prefer. Still, I think it’s a solid choice for fans of Dragon Quest or younger players who are dipping their toes into the action-RPG genre. It’s a bit of a trifle, but it’s a well-made one that sits well in the proverbial stomach.

In a lot of ways, Vampire Survivors: Legacy of the Moonspell reminds me of the Dead Cells paid DLC where each pack offers a ton of value, but a lot of the players are just happy to throw more support to the developers for more free and paid content. If you enjoyed Vampire Survivors, the Legacy of the Moonspell DLC is an essential. The new map is massively awesome, and I can’t wait for the superb new songs to be added to the soundtrack. If this is the direction poncle takes with future paid content, I’m ready to keep gifting friends the game and its DLC across platforms.

When you’re out zipping around on the water and flinging yourself about like an ocean-bound Spider-Man, the sheer glee is palpable. Indeed, the game could have been twice as long and I doubt I would have tired of that core gameplay. Alas, it finishes up fairly quickly. A grand time while it lasts, though.

If you enjoy beat-em-ups, particularly the ones from the late 00s/early 10s era like Scott Pilgrim or Castle Crashers, you’ll probably enjoy what Jitsu Squad has to offer. It’s a bit short on technique and I do wish the unlockable tag team mode was simply there from the start. Four players to go with the four characters would have been nice as well. But it gets a lot more right than it gets wrong, and its big, silly energy is hard to deny.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Overall, Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song is a fantastic re-do of a game that had lots of room for improvement, and this mobile port is top-shelf. SaGa fans will eat it up, and even if you’ve played the original you may want to check this out for its new content and additions. There are certainly some awkward carry-overs from its PlayStation 2 origins, like the lack of a player-controlled camera, and that may chafe some. It’s also a SaGa game through and through, and that’s either going to have you jumping with joy or running for the hills. I leave it up to you to make that final decision, but I know which side of the line I’m standing on. [Provisional Score = 80]

It feels surreal to see Vampire Survivors have such a great version on iOS and Android already. I kept thinking it might release on Nintendo Switch and eventually PlayStation following the Xbox and PC versions before coming to mobile. Not only is it worth downloading, but it is completely free. Hopefully the mobile version eventually catches up with the PC and Xbox versions so we get DLC and updates at the same time. Until then, I’m getting back to trying to reach where I am on Steam Deck on my iPhone from the start, and having an absolute blast with Vampire Survivors again.

If you’re after a more-relaxed and romantic slice-of-life story with some comedy sprinkled in, Lover Pretend is an otome game for you. This is definitely one of Aksys Games’ more interesting otome releases, and I hope there’s more to come from the cast and story in a potential fandisc or sequel. We need more slice-of-life and comedy in otome 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.

Once the camera and movement controls are improved, Wobbledogs Console Edition will be an easier recommendation. Right now, it does a lot right, but falters in some key areas. I’ve enjoyed booting it up as a break from other story-driven games, and hope to see it supported for the near future. Animal Uprising and Auroch Digital have done a good job with this conversion, but some touchscreen support would alleviate a lot of my issues with the camera and controls.

If you have access to an iPad, I’d definitely recommend subscribing to Apple Arcade for Football Manager 2023 Touch. It is excellent there and one of the best recent releases on the service. Having now tested Football Manager 2023 Touch across all available platforms, the Switch version is one I’d recommend if you want to play it on the go, but don’t have an iPad. I’m not a fan of the controls on the iPhone despite being glad that SEGA brought over this version to the smaller screen for the first time here.

While Swordship has a good premise and an attractive presentation, it’s ultimately a little too thin for the asking price. I think there’s something to the dodge, dip, dive, and dodge gameplay that is at the core of the experience, you’ll likely get your fill of it within an evening or two. Games of this sort really rely on variety to keep creating fun situations run after run, and Swordship falls a bit short in that regard. Cool only carries you so far in the end.

If you’re a hardcore Metroidvania fan who is hungry for something new and don’t mind a challenge, you’ll get what you need from Astronite. If you think it looks charming or something about its premise hits you right, you probably won’t regret the purchase. But I can’t really recommend Astronite with much vigor to the general player who is getting a little weary of this sort of affair.

If you enjoy monster catching or even just mechanically rich RPGs, it’s hard to find a game that delivers as much content at such a scale of quality as Siralim Ultimate. It’s a testament to this series that every time a new installment comes out, I end up sinking at least a couple hundred hours into it despite having done that with every previous one. Those looking for snappy dialogue or a novel story probably won’t get what they are after with Siralim Ultimate, but otherwise this is a must-have for RPG lovers.

You get about five or six hours of fun here, and while Intrepid Izzy may not keep pace visually I think it hangs well mechanically with similar games in the genre. It controls well, the suits add some fun gimmicks to play with, and the level designs are generally enjoyable to make your way through. The boss battles can be a little annoying, dragging on a little longer than needed, but combat is rather good overall. If you enjoy the Monster World or Shantae games, you might want to give this one a spin.

As remakes go, Front Mission 1st: Remake gets the job done and not much more. Its cleaner visuals oddly make the thing look cheaper than the original at times, but the fundamental gameplay mechanics and story are both as sound as they ever were and generally carry the whole affair. This is a game that probably could have benefited from some bigger changes, but if all you’re looking for is a straight remake and don’t mind the new look, here you go.

Overall, Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered is a fantastic re-do of a game that had lots of room for improvement. SaGa fans will eat it up, and even if you’ve played the original you may want to check this out for its new content and additions. The look of the game may turn some off, and there are certainly some awkward carry-overs from its PlayStation 2 origins. It’s also a SaGa game through and through, and that’s either going to have you jumping with joy or running for the hills. Only two left now before they have to make a new one, right?

Like a donut, Donut Dodo is a small, sweet confection that you’ll likely chew through in a few bites. But the delicious taste will having you reaching back into the box for another, and you’ll likely come back for more here and there as you go about your other business. Given the highly reasonable price point, this arcade game-that-wasn’t is a more than fair pick-up for those pining for the quarter-munching days of the 80s.

If you like logic puzzles, you’ll probably have a good time with Railbound. It’s a very focused game, but it has enough twists to keep things fresh through its rather generous amount of stages. The striking comic-style art and the little sounds of everything clacking together when you get it right only add to the game’s considerable amount of personality. All in all, a rather lovely little game that is nice to sit down with and puzzle out when you’ve got a spare hour or two.

The Knight Witch is a very well-made game that takes two very different genres and binds them together with a fair bit of success. You really have to be into both Metroidvania-style games and bullet-hell shooters to get into this one, but if you can check off both of those boxes without much thought, then this is a slam-dunk pick-up. It’s not the lengthiest of games, but it’s certainly quite satisfying thanks to its solid gameplay and charming presentation.

Rogue Legacy 2 sometimes feels a bit too familiar, but it’s a better, more well-rounded game than its predecessor in a wide variety of ways. There are so many top-notch games of this sort on the Nintendo Switch already that you may not immediately be drawn to this game due to it lacking any flashy new feature, but those who give it a chance will find a degree of substance that even the first game was lacking.

Sid Meier once famously said that games are a series of interesting decisions. I think it’s that inherent push-and-pull that made The Oregon Trail a fascinating game then, and it continues to make it one here in its latest form. The game can certainly wear thin if you play too much of it, and the framework of its design sometimes betrays its fifty-year-old origins. But in the end this is a game about making hard choices without clearly correct answers. It’s as compelling as it ever was, and Gameloft has done a good job of updating the right parts of it to make it more palatable to modern tastes.

I really wish this game didn’t come in as hot as it did. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet represent an excellent new vision of what a Pokemon adventure can be, and it says a lot for how many good new ideas are in here that I still found the game incredibly enjoyable despite the severe technical problems. I understand schedules must be kept. Well, the schedule was kept. It’s too bad what it ended up costing, because something this absorbing shouldn’t come with so many provisos.