While the aesthetics and music are fantastic, limp-wristed gunplay and hordes of tanky enemies make HYPERGUN a familiar and frustrating experience.
With none of the quality-of-life improvements of the original collection and scarce new features, Mega Man X Legacy Collection can feel like a bit of a let-down, and warrants close consideration from newcomers looking for a little accessibility.
Mothergunship is a marvelous blend of roguelite randomness and self-serve zaniness, with a short but sweet campaign to kick it all off. All this presented with some of the best production values I've seen from a small-studio game. If you like what you see, you can rest assured that Mothergunship delivers.
With some smart alterations to the base game provided free of charge, and brand new ways to play both the original and new remixed stages, Sonic Mania Plus is a fantastic encore to one of the best platformers in recent years.
Overwhelm has something interesting going on under the hood with its enemy evolution system, but it doesn't hold up its end of the bargain when it comes to providing rewarding gameplay and a fun challenge.
Just Shapes & Beats is an audio-visual masterpiece, and I give serious kudos to the talented artists and designers who blended their crafts in such a tight display. With a staggering variety of options for gameplay, fun party modes, and a thoroughly catchy tracklist, developer Berzerk has delivered a standout rhythm title.
When blazing along smashing everything in sight or assisting others in a rare team-based racer, Onrush is an absolute blast to play. I wish it handled its "stampede" a little more cleanly when managing respawns and had enough content to truly justify its price point, but we can only hope future updates and community management will lend it the hand it deserves in building a committed playerbase.
Vampyr competently displays an understanding of combat, dialogue, and narrative choice, but it never rises above mediocrity, and is an utter failure on a technical level. The aesthetic of the world is the best thing on display, but beyond it lies a derivative title that fails to leave a lasting impression.
If you're a Switch owner with a penchant for arcade games or shoot-em-ups, this is an easy recommendation. Just be sure to put on your learning pants if you're a newcomer: Ikaruga is a difficult beast to wrangle.
Don't be fooled by its mask of whimsy, Runner3 is a brutally difficult game that pushes its simplistic mechanics to their breaking point. While a little rough around the edges, it's a title deserving of commendation for standing at the front of the pack in a world saturated with games of its kind.
For many it will come down to how much you enjoy Dragon's Crown Pro's combat, and how much of its repetition you can stomach. It doesn't take long to see everything the game has to offer, but the allure of the grind and the near-perfect loot system might keep some players coming back for much longer than anticipated.
The Swords of Ditto is a charming RPG let down by its fumbled roguelite mechanics. A single playthrough can be an absolute blast, but its answer to victory can leave the experience feeling hollow.
Ubisoft have cherry-picked everything that has made the Far Cry series successful, and distilled it into a single, laser-focused package. Far Cry 5 probably isn't going to blow anyone's mind, but it provides a continuously fun experience that avoids the repetition and formulaic nature of past titles.
There are better narrative-driven games, and there are better co-op games, but I find myself hard pressed to think of one that does both as gracefully as A Way Out. While let down by its writing, it's worth your time if you're looking for an adventure that can only be shared with someone else.
Vermintide 2 delights in its violence, a state of constant balance that makes the player feel overwhelmed but in control. With a myriad of classes to choose from and an excellent variety of loot, it shines in ways that have yet to be explored by others in the genre.
For those willing to master its systems, Vagante is a game that will delight in its intricacy and depth. Some may be put off by the awkward combat and sinister traps, but I'm confident that the already strong community will grow in time, sharing tips and suffering together for the foreseeable future.
Bayonetta 1+2 are spectacular entries in the hack-and-slash genre, and playing them on the go is a surreal experience that vastly diversifies the Switch's library. Rewarding skillful play with gorgeous, satisfying action while being thematically engrossing, these games are a breath of fresh air, even today.
Monster Hunter: World is a balancing act of accessibility and classic appeal. Novice fans will enjoy the reasonable streamlining and fluid combat, while veterans will relish in the seemingly endless challenges set aside for high ranked players. Whatever 2018 brings, I'll be playing this game for a long, long time.
Okami has once again proven itself to be a timeless experience, effortlessly transporting the player into its world and delivering visuals that rival even today's most ambitious titles.
DOOM suffers some undeniable downgrades in graphical fidelity on Switch, which anyone could've predicted. It's when these downgrades effect enjoyment of the game, however, that one starts to wonder if it was all worth it.