Star Wars: Galactic Racer is one of the strongest racing games released in the past few years. While it stumbles a bit in the story due to its weak villain, it more than makes up for it with charming side characters, both new and old. From fantastic in-depth customization to the jaw-dropping visuals and music and incredibly strong gameplay, this is easily the new gold standard for Star Wars racers.
Captain Tsubasa 2: World Fighters is a game full of potential; it has some fantastic gameplay that is quickly dragged down by its charming but overstuffed story, relentless cutscenes, and unneeded custom character. If you're able to get past that, you'll find a fun arcade-like soccer game that wears its style proudly. If a future third game can work out some of the issues seen here, it could easily make for one of the best anime sports games.
Asdivine Knot is a decent-at-best mobile game that has potential to be a good game, as it has a decent combat system and an interesting upgrade mechanic. However, it's filled with boring characters, a barren world, and microtransactions that may have worked when it was a free game that had ads to break up the action. But as a ported release that's competing with other games to get my attention, spend your money elsewhere.
Obakeidoro 2: Chase & Seek, while being a charming survival game, lacks a lot of what I find fun in other games in the genre. The game suffers from a lack of real content, with only a few real maps, disappointing gameplay as a survivor, and an overall bland experience. I'm sure a child would find more enjoyment out of this, as it's catered more to that audience. But as someone who's played other asymmetrical games, this is nothing to write home about.
It had been a long time since I’d played a game I couldn’t put down, and Denshattack! immediately became one of those games. Its gorgeous art style, charming characters, incredible music, and fantastic gameplay made it an unforgettable experience. There are only a few things I wish had been improved, such as some minor gameplay issues and the limited train customization options. Otherwise, it was a blast to play and has been one of my favorite experiences on the Switch 2 so far.
Moonlight Peaks is a great farming simulator that takes what many love about the genre and only makes it better with its charming world, fantastic characters, and unique spell system. While it does slightly stumble in certain areas with a desire for more quality-of-life features, this is a great game worth checking out.
Dark Scrolls is a good side-scrolling roguelike adventure filled with fun characters, fantastic art style, and a unique star system that makes the game stand out from others. However, the lack of difficulty and lack of true path changes bring down this solid adventure.
Little Nightmares II Enhanced Edition is a fantastic puzzle-heavy horror game that oozes a charming ambiance that just pulls you into its dark world. Unfortunately, minor issues such as platforming, combat, the lackluster offerings of the new Nintendo Switch 2 port, and underutilizing the mechanics of each chapter slightly bring down what is a solid experience.
Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes is a fantastic blend of both rougelite and RTS gameplay. Developers Alt Shift made a game that is packed to the brim with content, while at the same time not feeling too overwhelming. Suffering only slightly from the difficulty, this is an experience worth jumping into.
World Heroes Perfect is a fantastic time that blends the quick, high-paced action with the game's original artwork. However, the game falls short in small areas like the sluggish menu, lack of customization, and bland new art style that falls short of the original. It's not a perfect experience, but it is close to one.
Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss had me interested near the start with a unique premise and interesting deduction-based puzzle solving. Eventually, though, the tedious puzzles, lack of any real horror, and forgettable plot made me dread playing through it. By the time the credits rolled, I felt empty instead of satisfied.
I was enthralled by the strong start of Regions of Ruin: Runegate. It has fantastic storytelling and solid gameplay, but the mediocre combat and halfhearted ending brought down a promising game. I really wanted to enjoy this one, but in the end, I was left feeling much more confused than content.
KuloNiku: Bowl Up! is a charming cooking game blending anime-inspired 2D art with 3D visuals, offering fun gameplay and memorable characters. Its one real weakness is difficulty, as cooking challenges are forgiving to a fault, but this is nowhere near enough to dull what's otherwise a genuinely enjoyable experience.
Last Man Sitting has the bones of a fantastic action roguelike, which cannot be understated. I lost track of time during my playthrough plenty of times, but unfortunately, boss encounters, weapon design, and certain mechanics fall short. I had a great time with many parts of Last Man Sitting, but when the clock struck zero and the final stage ended, I was left wanting much more.
I went into DAMON and BABY with almost no experience in twin-stick shooters, but it ended up being a genuinely fun and charming surprise that kept me coming back. While the story and some mechanics feel undercooked, and losing progress can be frustrating, the combat, customization, and overall journey easily carry the experience. It’s not perfect, but it left me smiling by the end and excited to see where Arc System Works goes next.
Apopia: Sugar Coated Tale is a charming yet surprisingly dark adventure well worth experiencing. While the gameplay occasionally slips with backtracking, Mai's journey is one I'm very glad to have experienced.
Code Vein II is a fantastic soulslike on paper, with the strong story and gameplay being where the game shines the most. Unfortunately, the game suffers from a terrible frame rate, very little to do outside of combat, and needless padding. When it was all over I was glad to put the game away, and left to wonder what could've been.
Morsels is a charming rouglite with addictive gameplay, fantastic music, and fun creatures to find and control. Unfortunately, some issues began to compile, and it prevented me from fully appreciating the full picture.