In broad terms, I can understand why Mario Kart 8 might be hard to justify for some players. It's a re-release of a game Nintendo put out three years ago, and that Nintendo fans (who make up a large portion of the Switch audience) probably already played. That said, this is a fantastic addition to the Switch library, not just as a great game but as one that benefits from the system's core features. It adds the requisite new content and fixes the one large oversight of the original. Mario Kart 8 was already one of the best in the series. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is even better.
An homage to the full breadth of Mega Man X's history shows that some parts of its legacy have aged much better than others.
An homage to the full breadth of Mega Man X's history shows that some parts of its legacy have aged much better than others.
The classic Castlevania homage is back, and it brings Bloodstained's delightful sense of weirdness with it.
Evergate is a sweet-natured fable that plumbs the depths of its inventive mechanics with precision and grace.
Wario goes back to his roots with a great character platforming-inspired take on the microgames concept.
Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon combines familiar tile-matching puzzle mechanics with rogue-lite elements to make one of the best puzzlers in years.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a significant reimagining of what makes a Pokemon game, with an exciting level of flexibility that's only slightly hampered by a slow early-game grind.
Triangle Strategy strips away some classic genre norms while adding extra nuances of its own and a stellar, if sometimes indulgent, story.
Shovel Knight Dig takes everything that was fantastic about the retro platformer and recontextualizes it into a roguelike that's hard to put down.
Lego Bricktales is a remarkable approximation of actually playing with Lego bricks, thanks to a variety of clever physics-based building challenges.
The newest expansion to Dead Cells is an action-packed homage that injects Castlevania flavor into Dead Cells' familiar roguelike structure.
The licensed racer from 2K and Visual Concepts is a delightful combination of open-world and kart racers, with tons of Lego customization to boot.
Pepper Grinder is a brief but frenzied platformer that finds myriad ways to build around its inventive central hook.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare drops its pretense of modern conflict and jumps into full sci-fi futurism, much to the series' benefit.
Bastion certainly wasn't a fluke. Transistor cements Supergiant Games as one of the sharpest, most stylish, and unique small developers. Though some of its flourishes aren't quite as fresh the second time around, Transistor speaks with a unique creative identity, mostly successfully refreshes solid RPG mechanics, and tells a poignant story worth experiencing.
Rainbow Curse is a little on the short side, but that also means it doesn't overstay its welcome. At seven worlds consisting of four stages apiece, it can be finished relatively quickly. It feels like a nicely complete package regardless, especially when you factor in challenge stages, collectibles like Elline's diary, and the multitude of hard-to-reach treasure chests.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection has a handful of quirks and legacy issues, but those don't diminish the achievement. It's a stellar collection of some of the best games of the last few generations, with options galore and clever ideas like Playlists to breathe new life into old content. It's a must-have for Halo fans, and may rightly serve as a satisfying introduction for newcomers.
It's the rebellious teenager of the Insomniac library. It doesn't always work the way you want it to, and sometimes it's trying entirely too hard, but Sunset Overdrive is ultimately a good kid when you meet it on its own terms.
Mario Kart 8 shows a playful spirit, refinement, and attention to detail that has been missing in the last few entries.