On the narrative end, Vaporum is more than engaging enough. Surprisingly well-performed audio logs litter the halls, telling the story of our clockwork tower. On the visual side, the halls are dimly lit and filled with clunking robots and steam spouting pipes. Nothing revolutionary, but it's a pretty good steampunk fantasy world.
Ghost Giant isn't revolutionary. It feels like a VR advancement of a classic PC point-and-click adventure game, albeit one with a great look, phenomenal sound design, and a story I'm not ashamed to admit had me choking up a bit toward the end. You won't be blown away by the immersion here, but it's fun to interact with the dollhouse-like sets and just sort of goof around. Like a lot of VR titles, Ghost Giant is a shorter experience, but it's a solid one that tells a charming story in a vibrant and colorful world.
One Piece: World Seeker tells a surprisingly well-realized story that fans of the series are sure to enjoy, but only if they can make it through repetitive and frustrating gameplay. The talented voice cast and bright, popping visuals are a treat, but it does little to revolutionize the open-world adventure genre. If you aren't a fan of the source material, World Seeker is hard to recommend, but lovers of the Straw Hat pirates will find an enjoyable story buried under a lot of mundane gameplay.
Legrand Legacy: Tale of the Fatebound is what it claims to be: a role-playing game that feels old, for better or for worse. It won't wow you with storytelling or world-building, but the combat is serviceable, if not remarkably challenging. If you're a fan of old-school Japanese role-playing games, you'll find something to enjoy here. Just know that you're in for a game that, much like it claims to, feels dated.
The world of Portia is full of promise but the time investment it requires makes it tough to recommend as is. A significant cut in crafting times across the board could go a long way toward making things feel more rewarding.
Mutant Year Zero seems like the natural evolution for tactics games. The real-time aspects make things move faster and add a unique layer of tension. On the story end of things, it manages to keep you interested until the linear campaign finishes up. You won't find a groundbreaking narrative but it doesn't overstay its welcome, and the characters are just charming enough to keep you invested.
I can't help but wish they had done the work to make this updated version a bit more approachable via updated tutorials, but for those looking for that classic tale of a group of teenagers out to murder god, you'll find comfort in Resonance of Fate 4K/HD Edition.
My Memory of Us is a joy to play. It's a well-crafted game that is clearly made by a team equipped to tackle such a heavy subject matter. Even without directly showing any Nazi symbols, the story is heart-wrenching and manages to pay tribute to the sacrifice of those who fought against them.
The Messenger is without a doubt one of the best indies available on the Switch right now. It has a lot of competition with the sudden sea of metroidvania games available, but its stunning look, fantastic soundtrack, and clever writing coupled with the amazing gameplay put it a step above the rest. When I walk away from a game every night only wanting to play more, there's little to complain about.
Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion might be appealing to a younger audience that wants an RPG without too many advance systems to over-complicate things, but if you're looking for a deep role-playing game set within the land of Ooo, you'll be sorely disappointed. On top of that, all of the performance issues with the Switch version make it incredibly difficult to recommend.
In a year with more than a few solid platformers, Semblance still manages to stand out.
Antigraviator feels great to play and has a style that will be familiar to players of F-Zero and Wipeout, but its attempts to differentiate itself like the trap mechanic don't add much to the overall package. It does, however, hit the mark where it counts. The track design is solid, the sense of speed is great, and controls are tight and feel familiar for anyone who's played a racing game. I'll be sure to get some more time in via the online mode and the occasional night in when I manage to coax my friends into stopping over.
As a fan of 3D platformers, I wanted to like this game. But in its current state, I find it very hard to recommend and I'm not sure performance fixes would make it all that much better.
I love the look of City of Brass and its combat system, but after only about three hours I felt like I'd seen all it had to offer. It's a great way to kill an afternoon, I just wish it would give me a reason to keep coming back.
Ghost of a Tale is a gorgeous, fun adventure that can occasionally be bogged down by frustrating and repetitive mechanics and it's come a long way since entering Early Access in 2016. It doesn't quite fill the stealth game hole that Thief left me with, but I hope we haven't seen the last of Tilo.
Vermintide 2 is an improvement over its predecessor with more beautifully designed sprawling levels, more varied enemy types, an addicting loot system, and a whole lot of character skills to try out. The sequel is at its best when it's creating tense moments, even if it can quickly get a little bit overwhelming. I also apologize to all of those I left to die in matchmaking.
Sprint Vector definitely does more right than it does wrong and its unique form of movement in VR is something I think we'll see used by other developers going forward. It had me wanting a Mirror's Edge VR, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.
Tesla vs Lovecraft doesn't reinvent the twin-stick shooter genre, but it's a hell of a lot of fun and has its own weird and distinct style. I only wish there were a bit more substance to the cutscenes and a few more story missions packed in for good measure. But if you like fighting off large waves of monsters, you'll get a lot of fun out of its endless mode.
If I'm being honest, Blossom Tales might be a bit heavy-handed in its homage to the Zelda games of the past, but it brings a certain charm and fun to the Switch library. It also makes for a pretty good substitute as long as I still can't play A Link to the Past on my Switch.
Humble Hearts has another fun little game on its hands with Never Stop Sneakin'. It's far from perfect and lacks the variety in level and boss design that would make me want to keep coming back, but the fast run-based gameplay is addictive as hell, and I do love those blocky polygon character models.