Stray won't challenge you, frustrate you, or take up too much of your time. Perhaps that's why we enjoyed it so much. It plays like an open-world point-and-click paired with largely on-rails action sequences. Some minor gripes and expected disparities between the Switch port and versions elsewhere aside, as we sauntered around its post-apocalyptic environments on all fours, Stray did an impeccable job of making us want to talk to everyone and explore everything it had to offer – and we had an appetite for more once it was all over. To us, that's the mark of a compelling adventure.
Slay The Princess: The Pristine Cut is an inverted fairy tale that shatters conventions and questions heroism, opting to pull you into a narrative odyssey that leans into metaphysical themes more than it initially lets on. While its presentation is distinct and superbly executed, extended play sessions can't help but feel somewhat repetitive due to its recurrent structure. That said, there's no denying the depth and breadth of storytelling on offer.
Among the slate of retro horror offerings, Faith: The Unholy Trinity sets itself apart with its distinct visual style and masterful presentation. While boss encounters can be gruelling and lead to frustration, that never diminished our desire to progress the story to its conclusion. With an abundance of lore to collect and multiple endings for each of its three chapters, all the replayability on offer makes it a perfect game to fire up around Halloween.
Gimmick! 2 is an easy recommendation for fans of retro platformers and a no-brainer for lovers of the original. Its cutesy, feel-good vibes belie a trove of super-tough but cleverly crafted challenges that are surmountable with practice, precision, and patience. What's clear is the absolute reverence that developer Bitwave Games has for the source material. Dispel any notion of this being a retro cash grab; this is the sequel that the underappreciated and ahead-of-its-time NES classic has always deserved.
Bare Butt Boxing delivers short bursts of frantic and accessible fun with some clear room for improvement. Playing against real people will certainly elevate the experience, seeing how rudderless the game's CPU fighters are. But given how simplistically it controls and the sparse game modes on offer, we can't see it having the staying power to be anything more than a game night palate cleanser between rounds of more established, better party games.
At its core, NeoSprint is fun to pick up and play and managed to leave us itching for 'one more race', making it a good recommendation for retro arcade racing fans and Atari enthusiasts. That said, we feel the asking price is a tad steep given the omission of online play options, particularly when stacked against free-to-play retro racing competition like F-Zero 99. But if you're sold on its well-crafted campaign and solid track-building elements, there's plenty to enjoy here.
Overmorrow has its share of satisfying eureka moments and is a compelling concept. While there is a genuine purity of intent behind its development, it would benefit greatly from more fine-tuning and playtesting. If its numerous bugs and issues are eventually ironed out, and quality-of-life improvements added, it would indeed be a journey worth taking for players interested in its premise – but be prepared for moments of frustration along the way.
We would only ever recommend Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs to Pac-Man diehards at its launch price point. In fact, given the fate of its Pac-Man 99 forebear, we would be hesitant to open our wallets for it at all, because we doubt it will have much longevity if it isn't eventually made free-to-play. Though it introduces a cool idea or two, multiplayer Pac-Man was done better by its predecessors and, as it stands, its price tag is tough to justify.
Developer Shared Memory's stated goal is "to craft complete experiences that will be playable long after the world loses its internet connection," and screen after screen, Animal Well excels in delighting your eyes and giving your brain something to stew on. It's a riposte against a culture of post-launch updates in favour of a meticulously crafted, singular vision with potentially years' worth of discoveries baked in. By all indications, Animal Well delivers on that long-term promise and does so with a one-of-a-kind elegance.
Lunar Lander Beyond is a solid recommendation for fans of the lander sim genre. It performs well on the Switch with no discernible frame rate issues and looks great. But as it stands, its missions too often feel abbreviated at around three to six minutes and too tightly sandwiched between narrative. The issue is not its gameplay mechanics, but the strictures of its campaign structure. It's a problem the developers could solve by staying the course and creating a mode focused squarely on what made the original compelling: flying, landing, and scoring better than everyone else.
NES enthusiasts, parents looking for an approachable retro game for their kids, and anyone with nostalgic sentiments toward Felix the Cat will find something to enjoy here – all the better if it's on sale. This relatively sparse package boasts little else than two versions of the same hour-long, three-decade-old game, making it hard to justify at its full price point.