Sean Anthony
With three titles of great quality being redesigned to be beautiful even by today's standards, the Spyro Reignited Trilogy burns bright. Little touches such as a unique design for every Elder Dragon, an attention to detail in the aesthetics of the levels, and a dynamic music system breathe life into what was already a lively collection. Spyro is back, and his games are exactly as good as you remember.
Jackbox Party Pack 5 delivers on another great set of party games. You Don't Know Jack returns better than ever, Mad Verse City has the potential to create plenty of laughs, Zeeple Dome is a successful experiment, and Patently Stupid mixes drawings and prompts in the most clever way yet. Even though Split the Room may be the least exciting of the bunch, it has its own charms and feels more like a "worst of the best" rather than anything less than good.
Mega Man is back in his best entry in over a decade. The controls are tight, the quality of life changes such as button mapping Rush Coil, Rush Jet, and sliding are more than welcome, and the Double Gear system becomes second nature quickly. While the main game may seem short, and a lack of fan-favorite characters is disappointing, Mega Man 11 shines in everything it does include. This truly is the triumphant return of the Blue Bomber.
Star Control: Origins successfully grasps the perfect balance of serious and silly while making an engaging universe that's fun to explore. The voice acting is wonderful, the script is brilliant, and the fleet battles are short, sweet, and exciting. With an in-depth crafting system, a living universe, and a multitude of choices that subtly affect the story, Star Control: Origins soars.
Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 isn't just a collection of faithful ports on new hardware, it's a mix of some of the best Mega Man games with plenty of love and goodies. The addition of medals is a great way to encourage players to fully explore every title, and X Challenge is fun, if not disorganized at times. For players new to the Mega Man X series, this is where to begin.
20XX isn't just a good Mega Man X clone, it's an insanely fun and addictive roguelike with plenty of personality and possibilities. Each run is different from the last, and each death feels fair and justified. I'm confident that 20XX will only become better over time and be a shining example of how to do platformer-based roguelikes.
The Lion's Song is a beautiful narrative-focused game if you get passed the sluggish cursor and the slow character movement. Each episode contains its own beautiful story which are woven together to form a satisfying conclusion. Any fans of the art scene in the early 20th century or anyone hungry for a good narrative should definitely board the train on this one.
West of Loathing understands the stylistic charm that a unique aesthetic can provide and that stick figures are still, at the heart of everything, rad as heck. While the combat system is lacking, hilarious storytelling and a dynamic world make up a wonderful stroll through the western-styled landscapes.
Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection changes how we view game collections by making the match making experience streamlined instead of having us go to each game individually. The museum has an incredible amount of care put into it with even the concept art of the first game available to look through. Digital Eclipse has outdone themselves with an incredibly humbling anniversary collection.
Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 and 2 contain a great set of games. The Switch version is the definitive version of the first Legacy Collection with Legacy Collection 2 following along in its shadow. Rewind is a great feature, while armor mode is lacking any sparkle. If you're going to pick up this collection, digitally is definitely the better offer.
Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 and 2 contain a great set of games. The Switch version is the definitive version of the first Legacy Collection with Legacy Collection 2 following along in its shadow. Rewind is a great feature, while armor mode is lacking any sparkle. If you're going to pick up this collection, digitally is definitely the better offer.
Intrigue allows players to choose from 20 governments each with their own perks, special events that can reward unique ships or even destroy one of your planets, and is primarily a positive game changer for Galactic Civilizations III. Commonwealth are a neat idea, but sadly end up becoming more of a nuisance than an ally.
While levels may feel stale later on and combat could be better, The Adventure Pals is still a solid platformer with tight controls and an incredibly imaginative and humorous world that is more than worth checking out for its price.
Kirby Star Allies is a fun entry in the traditional Kirby series. The co-op is fun, the CPU controlled helpers are competent, and the new abilities are a blast to use. Sadly, the length of the game and the lack of difficulty-scaling for bosses in multiplayer make it just shy of living up to its fullest potential.
Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Plus performs well on Switch, with only a few fits of noticeable slowdown while in handheld mode. The Plus 2P mode is a nice addition, but sadly lacks the content available in the main game. If you're looking for a fun and quick distraction for a few minutes every once in a while, this game may be right up your alley.
Dragon Ball FighterZ is a near-perfect fighting game that appeals to casual players without alienating veteran fighters. The dramatic finishes are a nice touch, the story is amusing and lengthy, if not repetitive at times, the visuals are beautiful, and there is enough content to satisfy any Dragon Ball fan itching for a good fight.
Kirby Battle Royale has a great premise, but squanders almost all of its potential. There is simply too little content to justify its price point and everything can be completed in just a few hours. Online is lacking, as players are limited to only playing with strangers in ranked and can only play with friends if they do so locally. Despite being one of the only Kirby games without his famous inhale ability, Kirby Battle Royale kind of sucks.
Monopoly for Nintendo Switch works for being a Monopoly game, but is ultimately a gimped port of a several year old game with features such as My Monopoly missing and questionable design choices such as not being able to mix and match house rules. If you're looking for Monopoly on the go, it may be better to wait for a price drop.
Snipperclips Plus completes a fantastic cooperative puzzle game. The additional games are a blast, stamp mode is a fun distraction, the new levels are fun with creative ideas, and the ability to play as random shapes breathes more life into an already lively batch of brainteasers.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is a competent port on the Nintendo Switch. While it has obvious stutter in the online lobby and the framerate doesn't match that of its rivaling consoles, being able to play in handheld mode with little difference in quality is a plus and will help you tackle the game's expansive list of content from anywhere.