I’m not the biggest fan of The Immortal, but I know it has its fans and they should be pleased with this release. The two versions of the game have many differences, so having both of them included here is nice. You get a standard set of options for each game, including save states and video options. The emulation is good, though NES and Genesis emulation isn’t exactly the most challenging of feats at this stage. Those without any existing attachment to The Immortal will want to tread carefully, as the game certainly shows its age. Those who have happy memories of dying, dying, and dying some more in this game back in the day should grab this set immediately, though.

While not the most unique of affairs, Milli & Greg offers a reasonably substantial and enjoyable slice of platforming fun for a very competitive price. You get plenty of well-designed levels to play through, solid enough controls, and a decent presentation. If you enjoy your challenging single-screen platformers, you’ll probably have a fine time with Milli & Greg.

You’ll have a particularly good time if you can get some friends to play through it with you, though it never quite takes wing the way you might hope. It’s no Left 4 Dead, but as that series has yet to make its way to the Switch, I suppose it doesn’t have to be. It just needs to offer some enjoyable multiplayer undead carnage, and I suppose it handles that well enough.

While I would have liked to have seen a couple more boards, the amount on offer here is quite substantial in all other regards. Just keep in mind that this is indeed a throwback, so those looking for a more novel take on Mario Party will probably want to look into Super Mario Party instead.

There are a few bugs present, and some of the settings don’t work at the moment. The game also lacks any language options for the in-game text beyond the original Japanese, though a patch is apparently on the way that will add the usual set of languages. It’s an okay version of an okay game, but not much more than that.

DUSK is an amazingly authentic ode to the old kings of the genre, and it’s as fiendishly fun as it is filled with carnage. This Switch port is virtually flawless, allowing you to enjoy this game in a pure, uncompromised form. I’m always skeptical of recommendations about this sort of game, as I often find they don’t quite measure up in one way or another. DUSK? It had me from hello and kept me all the way through to the bitter end. Then I started it up all over again just to have another ride on this ridiculous roller coaster.

Dungeon Encounters is not going to be for everyone. It’s not even going to be for most. But if you relish the idea of a challenging, no-frills dungeon crawl with a familiar yet slightly novel battle system, a game that cuts the genre right down to its gameplay skivvies? This is it. I can’t imagine a better realization of such an objective, no matter how niche a target it may be. Maybe if it had better music. Just be warned that the game may well bring you closer to spiking your controller than you’ve been in a while.

When Animal Crossing: New Horizons released around the time people were going into lockdowns across the globe, a lot of people praised the way it helped people. Unpacking is exactly that for me right now with so many long games and deadlines. It has been a perfect game to dip into as a break from longer and more stressful games. While the gameplay might be too simple for some, Unpacking has managed to make something as mundane as arranging furniture and items be a lot of fun. It also helps that Unpacking on Nintendo Switch makes great use of the system’s features.

The writing is sharp, the situations are amusing, and there’s a certain primal appeal to saying no to people. There are multiple endings, so although each playthrough is rather brisk, there’s quite a lot to see here. If you like the concept, you’ll probably like Negative Nancy.

There are tons of new power-ups, a new mission mode that tasks you to complete various challenges, local co-op play for all modes, and online leaderboards for just about everything. You also have a new ability that you can charge up that allows you to take out a bunch of enemies at once. The vector-like stylings of the Recharged line are a perfect fit for Black Widow, too. It’s the best Recharged game so far, and an enjoyable twin-stick shooter in its own right.

The action is quite familiar to anyone who has played a few games of this genre before, and the game suffers from a few pacing issues that are made worse by how straightforward it tends to be mechanically. Still, that does little to diminish how excellent the game is overall. The strength of its main characters and the desire to see just what is coming next makes Eastward a very tough game to put down.

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water should please fans of the franchise who missed out on the game due to its previous Wii U-exclusive status, but not everyone is going to be pleased with some of its clunkier elements. While you aren’t helpless enough to make the game as terrifying as it could be, it’s certainly an unsettling and fascinating experience with plenty to offer those who want a hearty meal of fear on their Nintendo Switch system.

If you find you can’t get into dungeon RPGs, Undernauts probably won’t change your mind. But it is a very good game, one that will likely please the taste buds of most dungeon-delving enthusiasts.

If you’re craving an Etrian Odyssey-like experience on Nintendo Switch and like the aesthetic in Mary Skelter Finale, you will have a lot of fun with it. While it doesn’t push the envelope like Mary Skelter 2 did compared to the original, Mary Skelter Finale is a competent and quality DRPG for Nintendo Switch. It also helps that the Western release has a lot of free DLC available further building on the characters. This is easily one of Compile Heart’s best games.

The Sundew has an incredible world and a rather complicated story, but it feels like it’s rushing the entire time. When the end of the game comes, it feels too sudden and lacking in satisfaction. It holds its end on the gameplay front, but it’s quite ordinary in that regard. But the story and setting are the brightest lights in this game, and the brevity simply doesn’t allow either of them to shine.

There’s a lot of emotion in the game’s couple of hours, and I think its appeal entirely hinges on whether or not the situation and the struggles the characters face resonate with you. Personally, I couldn’t relate with a lot of it, but I could at least appreciate its sincerity. If nothing else, it’s a well-made window into a difficult time in the lives of two people.

If you’re just here for the excellent action stages, you can just do the minimum for the music bits and it will be fine. On the other hand, if you like the musical end of things, you’ll likely be satisfied with the audio and music-making portions of the game. Monomals is a clever little game, and that’s as true on the Switch as it was on Apple Arcade.

If you love Into the Breach, you’ll want to give this a look. It has a similar vibe, and even if it doesn’t hold up in the long term quite as well, you’ll still get plenty of fun out of it.

The story nudges this one just above being a thoroughly average RPG. It explores some interesting topics and themes that I haven’t seen many other games attempt to address. By contrast, the gameplay is so average it could have fallen out of a kit. I suppose the key thing is that it’s not bad to play, so if you have room on your plate for an RPG with bland mechanics but a good plot, you’ll want to check out The Caligula Effect 2. Just make sure you either play the first game or read up on its story and characters before you dive in.

Sadly, the nasty input lag that permeates the three games in this set does its whammy here, too. This is an intensely challenging game that already had a bit more lag than it should have on the Saturn, and the extra helping thrown on top of this Saturn Tribute takes a must-have down to a solid maybe.

Unfortunately, the massive amounts of input lag leave the game feeling unresponsive, which adds a layer of frustration that Cotton 2 certainly didn’t need. It doesn’t make the game unplayable by any means, but it hurts the playability whenever the action gets hot. There aren’t many options for playing this game at a reasonable price, so I don’t blame anyone for choosing this one. I just wish the emulation had been better handled.

The games are fun and this collection is appreciated in principle, but it’s hard to recommend in its current state.

Mon Amour isn’t the most complicated or lengthy of games, but it has more depth and heft to it than you would initially assume. If you enjoy score chasing, you’ll especially find a lot to chew on here. Like a classic arcade game of old, it takes simple mechanics and gives you enough to do with them that there ends up being a wide range of scoring possibilities. Take that and wrap it all up in the usual quirky Onion Games charm, and you’ve got a real winner.

Techland not only ported Dying Light to Switch well, but also added touchscreen support for menus and motion controls. In terms of features, this is one of the best big game conversions I’ve seen for Switch and it would be great if we actually saw more publishers and developers put in this much of an effort into their ports. While the Nintendo Switch version isn’t as good as other platforms in almost every way on a technical level, it is absolutely worth getting if you’ve wanted to experience the game and want it portable or only have a Nintendo Switch.

I can see some people getting bored of this very quickly considering there isn’t any in-game goal or progression barring what you build and want to see yourself. After seeing so many screenshots of gorgeous things my friends made, I’m glad to finally have a perfect version of Townscaper on my iPhone and iPad. While iCloud sync would’ve been great to have, there is a workaround and everything else in this conversion is exactly what I wanted. If you held off on getting Townscaper on PC or Nintendo Switch, the iOS version is definitely worth it. If you already own it elsewhere, you will likely enjoy it a lot more on iOS thanks to the added control options and ease of access.

It’s easy to pick up, but the puzzles get quite tricky as you go. Nothing we haven’t seen before, but it’s well-made and wrapped up in an attractive presentation.

If you’re on the hunt for another crafting/survival game and dig low-fi vibes, you might want to give Nira a look. A mysterious talking totem pole dishes out quests to complete, and you have to go forth and do whatever needs to be done in order to gain experience and level up. The game is played from a top-down perspective where you explore procedurally generated islands. Gather resources, battle enemies, and craft to your heart’s content. It seems very simple at first, but it ends up being surprisingly complex. As an affordable alternative to the likes of Terraria and Minecraft, I think it has a place.

Whether you want to experience a heretofore hard-to-obtain classic or just like quality shoot-em-ups, Gleylancer is an excellent choice. Ratalaika has done a nice job providing quality emulation and a strong suite of features for this release, and the new modern mode really does provide a distinct feel from the included original. It’s well-worth picking up, providing an excellent value relative to other retro re-releases on the Switch.