Witcheye is a quirky platformer with an innovative movement system, and it's well worth playing if you're after a fresh, bite-size handheld-focused experience. Removed from its mobile context, however, it doesn't quite have the necessary tactile appeal to overcome the game's relative lack of depth. Fun as it is, this is one mobile port that doesn't feel perfectly at home on Switch.
A highly original puzzle-platformer with a compelling body-manipulation mechanic at its heart. Helheim Hassle's particular sense of humour and occasionally fiddly controls might make you bristle from time to time, but you'll keep plugging away thanks to its inspired mechanics and varied challenges.
Fans of clever puzzles and masterfully told dark fairytales will delight in Creaks. Bursting with atmosphere and quirky style, Amanita's latest is full of clever puzzles and wordless storytelling. Its distinctive flavour won't be to everyone's taste, but this is an impeccably told fairytale that will also give your brain a thorough workout.
All in all, the fun and challenge that's undoubtedly present in Rez Plz dies a death of a thousand irritating cuts. A resurrection isn't entirely out of the question, but it'll require a couple of hefty updates to jolt it into life.
Infini is a deeply unusual spatial puzzler with an ingenious portal mechanic. Its rough, abstract art style and psychedelic storytelling won't be for everyone - or even for most people - but it deserves to be played and savoured as a genuine attempt to do something new.
An interesting combination of kingdom management and point-and-click adventuring that doesn't always form into a cohesive whole. Yes, Your Grace has a flavour all of its own, though, and you'll genuinely come to care for the royal family at its core.
Overall, Table Top Racing: World Tour - Nitro Edition does the whole dinky toy car racing thing much better and feels like a much more solid and cohesive experience. Although, Super Toy Cars 2 could teach TTR a thing or two about engaging handling. Of course, both games fall well short or Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, and Team Sonic Racing. If you need another dose of fantastical arcade racing in your life, just pick up the one or two of those three that you don't own.
Indiecalypse just isn't any fun to play. Maybe the very act of making these gaming parodies play so badly is a deep meta joke in and of itself. In which case, you got us. But we think the real joke is on the person who drops good money on this game.
Even with all that accepted, we suspect many will bounce off Fly Punch Boom due to its frenetic pace. It's genuinely difficult to keep up with all the button prompts, especially as they're constantly changing their orientation on the screen. There's no anchor or reference point for your eye to fall back to, which can leave you floundering. But if you really stick at it and warm to its zany tone, you'll discover a bracingly fresh and empowering couch multiplayer brawler.
Sparsely laid out, mechanically simplistic, and generally a bit of a bore to play, PONG Quest fails to do anything meaningful with this most neglected of gaming properties. The adventuring element is paper-thin, and even the game of bat-and-ball at the heart of its battle system feels flat and lifeless. As always with Pong, local multiplayer is your best bet for fun, but there's little that's fresh about that.
An exquisite bike racer-cum-trials game with tight controls, varied courses, and uniquely zen-like presentation. At once calming and demanding, Lonely Mountains: Downhill looks and feels like no other game on the eShop. Barring one or two disappointing technical issues, it's an absolute freewheeling delight.
Super Pixel Racers offers a simplified brand of top-down arcade racing, with an intriguing handling model that's simultaneously casual and highly demanding. It might not be the richest, deepest or most rewarding game of its type on Switch, but it's a worthwhile experience for those looking for some solo and local multiplayer arcade kicks.
Billion Road makes an intriguing pitch: to combine Monopoly and Pokémon into a family-friendly digital board game. With its bright presentation, varied mechanics, and endless barrage of distractions and rewards, it could be perfect for young families looking for some wholesome couch time. However, there's a critical lack of strategic substance underpinning it all, while the presence of a virtual guiding hand tilting the odds robs the game of the emotional extremes that the true classics manage to evoke.
It's the kind of undemanding, uplifting experience many of us could use right now.
Shinsekai: Into The Depths is a bracingly fresh Metroidvania with a memorable underwater setting and compelling movement mechanics. If you're after a platformer that values exploration and navigation over arcade action – and that isn't afraid to try something a little different with the format – then we wholeheartedly recommend dipping your toes into Shinsekai's exotic waters.
Enter The Gungeon die-hards will be instantly familiar with the weird and wonderful world presented by Exit The Gungeon, but they might be taken aback by the shift in gameplay. This is a finely honed action-platformer that adds a new dimension to the blasting and dodge rolling. It's not always a flawless transition, and this is a significantly less rich and rewarding experience than the original. But those after a retro-tinged arcade challenge should by all means lock and load.
Neon City Riders promises an epic open-world action-adventure set in a vibrant '80s sci-fi world, but its action and writing are far too flat and clunky to back up its initial promise. It looks and sounds a treat in places, but lacklustre execution makes for a punishing, repetitive and confounding experience. Pull away that admittedly amazing pixel-heavy packaging and you've got a game that fails to make a lasting impression in any meaningful manner.
Stela is a platform-puzzler that's quite clearly been made in Inside's (and indeed Limbo’s) image. It's a serviceable approximation of Playdead's work, with a beautifully strange world and even a couple of neat ideas of its own. But it fails to immerse you in its world in quite the same way courtesy of some unfortunate flat spots.
Overpass is an awkward, ornery racing game that stubbornly refuses to indulge your need for speed and instant gratification.
The simple fact that it provides such a pristine bite-sized example of the format is impressive enough.