In the past when I have reviewed these games I have generally come down on the “yeah they are flawed and stale but if you’re a big fan of the product it’s worth checking this new one out”. I genuinely felt like last year’s game was turning a corner for the franchise. Unfortunately the only corner they turned was the corner of the ring and they “turned” it into an unescapable hellmouth where your character clips through the geometry around the stairs. This game is bad- very bad. Even if you’re a huge WWE fan you shouldn’t play it. 2K should take a year off, scrap this engine, and start over from scratch.

Overall, Legrand Legacy is a decent game. It’s never overly difficult and the look and feel of it really does come off like a classic JRPG from yesteryear, for better or for worse. It works, and even if it does get tiresome in spots, the story and lore are engaging enough to keep RPG fans afloat, but keep in mind, you’re going to have to change your mind set a bit before taking this one on. If you can turn your brain back a few years to the early 2000’s you may find yourself an enjoyable RPG.

Despite the hardware limitations and a handful of odd design choices, Astral Chain is one of the best new IPs to hit in recent years and one deserving the attention of every Switch owner.

All in all it’s hard to argue with the value you’re getting in this package. For $50 you get two of the best western RPG’s of all time, along with all of their additional content and the new arena modes. We’re talking hundreds of hours of classic Bioware goodness for just less than the price of a new game off the shelf. I think this package is perfect for gamers who’ve never experienced these games before and want to see what all the fuss is about (and where many RPG staples they see in modern games originated). While I wish the control scheme was more perfectly implemented and that the performance were consistently fantastic, those things don’t overwhelm my opinion that this is a package worth having for any fan of western RPG’s or classic gaming.

These games are always a guilty pleasure and this debut on Switch certainly fits the bill. The addition of the 2D events is by far the highlight of this package. I just wish there were more of them. I love that these games drop every couple of years and deliver almost every time. Anyone looking for yet another great Switch game to play with friends, this is another great addition to the library.

This package is worth the price of admission for Planescape Torment alone. It’s a true classic of the genre and something that every western RPG fan should play at least once. Icewind Dale makes for a worthy counterbalance to the package overall and is certainly worth your time if you’re a fan of the Infinity Engine games, particularly if you enjoy the combat. All in all, I can definitely recommend this package for fans of this genre.

Trine 4 really brings the series back to its roots. It was great jumping back in feeling like I never missed a beat. I knew when to conjure boxes and the physics for the puzzle work just like you expect them to. It reminds me of a 2D Breath of the Wild even though Frozenbyte really paved the way for this type of game years before. It has just been a long time since we got a traditional Trine. I still want to forget the third game ever happened. Trine 4 is the proper sequel to the series and really reinvigorates my love for it. I still highly recommend playing with friends though as that is where it truly stands out.

Death Stranding is a weird game that I could not stop thinking about while reviewing it. It has plenty of sluggishness to it. Sometimes I never wanted to play it again, but once that back half hit I was enthralled. There were times I couldn’t wait to play it. I spent over 50 hours in this game and eventually I want to spend more. Kojima and his team have crafted something that truly feels unique, for better or worse. It is hard to compare it to anything else, but that doesn’t always mean it was fun. Not everyone will adore this game, but I guarantee no one will ever be able to forget it either.

There is not an Ice Age movie out right now, and I have to ask does anyone have nostalgia for the series? Are kids still interested in Ice Age? I asked for this game because it looked like a decent platformer and I guess I got that. Clearly someone cared enough to make this, and I did enjoy my time with it. It just feels half cooked in a lot of its design. I want to say it took me no more than 5 hours to collect most of the collectables and finish the game, and at $40 for something of this quality and length I can’t recommend it. It’s a mistimed, mispriced decent game, and right decent isn’t enough.

In summation, Stranded Sails feels like a lot of potentially interesting combinations of systems and ideas that, in execution, is just too shallow and tedious to be all that much fun. The game certainly feels like it knew it didn’t have enough substance to stretch for their desired run time and thus slowed down and over-repeated the same loops to last longer. That’s really the only excuse I can think of as to some of the decisions made here. The shame of it is with some additional polish and deeper ideas the concept of a farming/exploration/action RPG can work very well, as we’ve seen with several other recent games. In this case though I can’t really recommend the game to anyone other than potentially younger players looking for a first entry into this style of game or huge fans of the farming/exploration genre who are desperate for something else to play.

Despite my complaints I still love Monkey Ball and I hope that if Banana Blitz HD does well that SEGA thinks about remastering Step & Roll, 3D, or Banana Splitz for current consoles. I am just too deeply attached to certain aspects of the series that I’m very critical. At $40 anyone with any love of Monkey Ball would be doing themselves a disservice not picking up a way better version of a game that was hindered by motion control.

I love this game. Playtonic definitely made something special here. It’s going to be hard to look at other platformers without wondering why they didn’t ape more of the concepts from The Impossible Lair. Not to mention the soundtrack by Grant Kirkhope and David Wise – which is probably one of my favorite soundtracks of the year. While I hope they give the 3D platformer another fair shake, I will be more than happy if Playtonic does more sidescrolling platformers in the future because The Impossible Lair is impossibly good.

In the end, it all boils down to the player. If you are looking for a great RPG to sink your teeth into, The Witcher 3 is an automatic recommend. What is not an automatic recommend is if you already own an Xbox One, PlayStation 4, or a PC that can run games well. If you do have one of those, get this game there. It looks way better and can easily be found on the cheap for $20 at any given sale. This version of the game is really only for the Switch only owners or the players really looking for a portable version of The Witcher 3. Sure, there are some of them out there and I can’t recommend this game enough, but just keep in mind, it does have that visual downgrade that can be a hard pill to swallow for some. If you can look past that, you end up with one of the best games to release in the past decade.

It seems like Breakpoint saw the Assassin’s Creeds, the Far Cry’s, and The Divisions and decided it wanted to incorporate that into its own game. The issue is that throwing everything and the kitchen sink into the game isn’t going to make it great. They have a decent frame for Breakpoint and the feel of it is fine, but when trying to navigate the world or even the menus gives you a headache, it may be time to take a step back and think on what you need to do to make it better. The only way to play this game is with co-op friends. Single player people should avoid this one. You will be bored and frustrated within two hours. Even with some friends the issues will become bothersome, but at least you’ll have someone to complain with.

I’m not saying this is a no effort port, but that the effort put in and the price they are asking for a game that is six years old seem disconnected. Right now there are plenty of great RPGs available that are new and with a price tag so high it’s hard to suggest the old game rather than the new one. I can only recommend this to people who have never played it or the hardest of hardcore Ni No Kuni fans because otherwise just wait for a sale to play this one again.

On the surface WRC 8 would look like a game made for rally fans, but it misses the mark by miles and with there being so many other fantastic rally and racing games already out there to choose from, I can only recommend that you go looking elsewhere.

Grid is a decent reboot. Sure, it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that some may expect and the number of tracks are a bit lackluster, but what it is missing is made up for with great handling cars and a fun race gameplay. People looking for a good racer have found one here even with the issues it may have.

A Knight’s Quest has moments of brilliance. I wanted to love it a lot more than I did. I feel like this template could truly be something special to fill a void these other consoles have without a proper Zelda clone. Still, it finds ways to annoy me at every turn. Fix the exploration, backtracking, and mechanical glitches and it could be something special. As it is now it is just another title that will get lost in the sea of games hitting this time of year.

I loved this game when I first played the demo a year ago. I am glad players can finally get their hands on it, and truly this is not a game to be missed. It combines two genres perfectly and ends up creating the surprise hit of the year. It will be on my mind when game of the year rolls around and I recommend everyone giving it a look. I know the game world is swamped with releases this year, but this is one experience you do not want to miss.

The Surge 2 has some really satisfying moments. It’s worth an investment based on the wealth of customisation options available, solid progression and genuinely fun combat. These innovations go some way to making up for the lack engrossing story or meaningful characters. However, the overriding sense is that the positive traits of Surge 2 often feel suffocated, mainly by a lack of visual and narrative investment in the world that surrounds its core mechanics.

For a budget priced remaster, it’s still a fun time, especially if you’re a fan of the Ghostbusters. The talent behind the game and story is decent enough even if the jokes aren’t as good as the original film. The gameplay loop can feel outdated, and the missing co-op mode stings, but the promise of it coming for free is still there. I still enjoyed my time with the game and people who have never experienced it, or haven’t seen it in a long time, will still find some enjoyment out of it, and you’re not breaking the bank while you do pick it up.

Galaxy Champions T.V. may not be original or fresh, but it does get most things right and adds enough to make the game more compelling and does a fantastic job of updating a classic game. I had hours of fun with this game and the fact that it costs just $6.99 means that you’ll get plenty of bang for your buck.

After a long, grueling wait, the Legend of Heroes makes its triumphant return and I am more than happy to report that the wait has been worth it as Cold Steel III delivers on all fronts with improved visual fidelity, performance and a slew of meaningful new mechanics. Led by a cast of unforgettable characters and an intriguing story arc that will have you begging for more when the credits roll.

Oninaki is my favorite Tokyo RPG Factory game to date, with its gorgeous art style and melodic music and its more appealing storyline. It may be far from perfect, but it is certainly worth a look if you fancy a slightly different take on a well-established genre.

I think GreedFall may be the sleeper hit of the year. It’s an RPG that captures the best parts of BioWare’s works while adding in their own gameplay elements and a unique setting. The side stories are given just as much importance as the main quests. The world is large despite not being one large open world experience. Combat is the perfect blend of real time action and turn based decision making. After playing Bound by Flame earlier this year I had little expectation for GreedFall. I am happy I was wrong to doubt Spiders, because it is one of my favorite games of the year.

Contra: Rogue Corps is a game a lot of people would consider Konami to make. After seemingly wanting to exit the business even with a string of classic IP, this game feels like it was made for the sake of releasing a new Contra in 2019. It has good ideas hampered with poor implementation. It is not fun to play and that is its biggest crime. I wanted to love Rogue Corps. I tried to love Rogue Corps. I simply cannot find any fun to be had with the latest in this beloved franchise.

Fight ‘N Rage is a fantastic beat ‘em up. It has simple controls, good mechanics, and a lot of diversity to go along with it. Fans of this genre should not hesitate to pick this one up and even if you only play solo, you’ll still have a fun time with it.

Link’s Awakening is yet another outstanding addition to the Switch library. Anyone who says that Nintendo isn’t killing it with first-party games this year is delusional. They seem to pump out a classic almost monthly. Being able to revisit one of the most obscure and delightful Zelda games from the past is just another reason why the Switch is so magical. I cannot recommend this title enough. It transcends history and feels like a game that would pass as a current title.