If you're in the mood for an engaging, endearing, and cute farming game, Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar should tickle your pickle with aplomb. It might not have the depth of other farming sims, but it's fantastic to control, and the well-written (and voiced) characters alongside the many tasks and calendar packed with events to occupy your time, make you feel like part of a bustling little community. I fell in love with Zephyr Town, and thanks to the satisfying gameplay and intricately connected web of rewards, I can't see myself putting it down any time soon.
Developer SoFun has crafted an endearing and occasionally hilarious world full of mystery, which even after credits roll feels poised for bigger things. However, at launch, the game feels noticeably slow and the visuals seem compromised on Switch, which brings borderline sluggishness occasionally into frustrating territory. By no means a dealbreaker, and not necessarily a barrier to the dozens of hours of fun gameplay you can find, but we hope to hear of some updates that make exploring Smokestack Mountain as enjoyable as it should be.
8-Bit Adventures 2 is an exquisitely crafted RPG epic that any fan of classic (and we mean classic) RPGs will appreciate for its adherence to the conventions of games of the era. With gorgeous pixel art, a satisfying battle style with as much challenge as variety, and a story that both honours and subverts RPG tropes, there's so much to love. However, it doesn't always respect your time and the lack of some modern conveniences - auto-battle, an auto-scroll for dialogue, any real way to point you towards your goal or remind you of the story so far - could make this a journey that many get lost on before reaching the end.