While Final Fantasy VII Rebirth certainly pushes the Nintendo Switch 2 to its absolute limits, resulting in some occasionally questionable textures and infrequent frame rate dips, this is absolutely the most impressive port to the Nintendo Switch 2 from a sheer scope perspective. While other recent ports like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle have shown that the system can compete with more focused adventures, the bustling world of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is simply mind-boggling when you have it all sitting within a tablet in the palm of your hands.
What I will say about Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is that it’s much more memorable than many of its previous entries. I remember playing through Yoshi’s Crafted World fondly, but after the credits rolled, I found myself struggling to remember any memorable moments. Finding new creatures and discovering the many different ways you can engage with them leads to plenty of memorable ‘a-ha’ moments, and that’s what it’s all about. It also helps to give the Yoshi series a profound point of difference among Nintendo’s slew of other platformer franchises, so I’m all for the multi-coloured dinosaurs exploring the avenue of gameplay.
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is filled with a sea of wild scenarios hindered only by one’s imagination – it's just a shame that it can often take so long to get to its most magical moments. The island motif is certainly a nice touch, providing the player with the autonomy to mould the space to fit the scenes in their minds. But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows on an island paradise; due to certain decisions likely decided on during meetings with Nintendo’s legal and marketing departments, Living the Dream often fails to recapture the magic of previous entries.
Pragmata is a poignant game that tells a heartwarming story wrapped up in a science fiction horror action game. And while that could have described a handful of past games, Pragmata’s hacking mechanic sets it apart from its previous competitors. As the credits rolled, I found myself itching to go again, and that’s a huge compliment from me as I rarely play games more than once. And yet, while I enjoyed my time with it from start to finish, its minor annoyances keep it from being a 10, and the performance for the admittedly impressive Nintendo Switch 2 port then keeps it from being a 9. And while an 8 is a great score in a review, it is perhaps the most optimistic 8 I’ve ever written.
Dragon Quest VII was always thought to be a very interesting choice to be remade in 2026, considering it recently got the treatment on Nintendo 3DS 10 years prior. While I’m personally glad it did, seeing how I lost my 3DS copy all those years back and finally got to finish it, it also seems like a strange decision considering there are other entries that are currently more deserving. But nonetheless, Square Enix have done a fantastic job with it and have fixed (as much as they could) many annoyances the original and the 3DS remakes were heavily criticised for. This is, by far, the definitive version of Dragon Quest VII.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on Nintendo Switch 2 gives me hope for future third-party releases on the system. While it understandably doesn’t hit the same high bar as the PS5 and Steam versions, the difference is leagues better than many high-fidelity ports that made their way to the original Nintendo Switch. At this stage, I’m very curious to see how the sequel Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will perform when it inevitably launches on Nintendo Switch 2.
If my primary criticisms are nothing but lacklustre hub worlds and potential motion sickness that comes from standard performance one can expect for a Nintendo Switch 1 port, it goes to show how wonderful Viewfinder truly is. The primary selling point is so clear and apparent from the get-go, making Viewfinder a wonderfully charming and ingenious puzzle game for the ages.
Goodnight Universe is a masterclass in storytelling that had me gripped from start to finish. While you have plenty to do with your telekinetic powers, the core crux of the game is in its storytelling, being a prime example where the gameplay is simply a tool to move the story along. I generally tend to be one for gameplay over story, but when done right (like here, for example), it reaffirms why I love this medium of entertainment so much.
Kirby Air Riders attempts to scratch an itch that wasn’t much there in the first place. It’s technically sound and has that Sakurai auteurship that Super Smash Bros. and Kid Icarus: Uprising fans will be familiar with, but that spark doesn’t quite execute itself well enough here. If anything, a lot of it feels a bit shoehorned in. But is it fun? Yeah, absolutely! You’ll have a good time with Kirby Air Riders and with the amount of content here, you’ll be getting your money’s worth, that’s for sure!
Aside from the art, there’s nothing particularly memorable about Winter Burrow. Whenever I came across something new, I would think to myself, “Oh, it’s like this game… but on a surface level”. It brings nothing to the survival genre, and if it wasn’t for its art, I don’t think we’d be talking about it as much as people are.
I said it before and I’ll say it again: my hat goes off to the teams behind this remake, considering the source material they had to work with. It’s a remake done right in almost every sense of the word, staying true to the original but bringing it to modern audiences with modern expectations. But just because the remake aspect is pulled off with such perfection and grace, that doesn’t necessarily fix all of the issues that came with design sentiments almost four decades ago. For those looking to get into the series but who are less familiar with old-school RPG fundamentals, you may be left wondering what’s so special about these games; but if you’re curious about their roots (warts and all), then Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is truly a superb remake.
It's Super Mario Galaxy 1+2 with more; how can you not sing its praises to the stars above? Sure, the price tag hurts and not all control methods are optimal, but it's Super Mario Galaxy 1+2! These games are museum-worthy and will likely go down in history as some of the greatest games ever made, so there's no way I could give this collection any less than a perfect 10.
Indie games have come such a long way since 2008 and it's wonderful to look back at an early pioneer of the space and marvel at what it managed to achieve. Even after everything that has come since, I can still play OFF and enjoy a zany, often unsettling, game front to back, and its short runtime of approximately 4-5 hours means it doesn't overstay its welcome. For anyone looking to jump in for the first time blind like I did, you'll easily be able to appreciate what kind of an impact it had on the indie game scene's trajectory, paving the way for the likes of Undertale, OMORI and many other minimalist RPGs. But as a game to enjoy in a vacuum in 2025, it may leave a little to be desired.
Despite its convolution with the integration of the Upgrade Pack, at the end of the day, Super Mario Party Jamboree is arguably the best Mario Party entry ever, and the Upgrade Pack is exactly that, an Upgrade Pack that adds more. The base game is still here completely untouched, and now we have more; what could go wrong?! Well, Nintendo said, "Hold my beer," and made some odd omissions and convoluted integration choices. It's a wonderful expansion pack, but not without some growing pains.
Time Flies is such a quirky afternoon killer that sticks its landing better than the Flies whose life timers hit zero. Its dark humour without dialogue and minimalist design captures so much with so little, and it had me enamoured for most of my playthrough. I do wish there was more here to sink my teeth into, despite that being part of its charm. Oh well, much like the average life of a fly itself, it's not designed to be a long adventure.
Donkey Kong Bananza is such a near-perfect game that hits so many marks with precision and gusto. It boasts the Nintendo game philosophy we’ve come to expect from the core development team. While I have some slight niggling complaints, there’s no doubt that Donkey Kong Bananza will be remembered fondly for decades to come, joining the same conversations that often feature the likes of Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
While I'm baffled at the lack of an upgrade path for previous owners of Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, it doesn't take away from the fact that Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S is a fantastic puzzle game that blends two classic puzzle games in one. Not only that, but the additions are mostly complementary to a base product that was already bursting at the seams with content. However, considering the base version has been discounted as low as AU$10.99, you'd be better off simply buying that and then buying this new version when it's inevitably discounted in a couple of years time.