Joe Burcin
Although you may find other games that could fulfill INK's purpose, INK's music, art direction, and spastic gameplay do enough to create a small world of originality that I'd personally like to see a sequel to.
Fox n Forests delivers on all angles for anyone who's been in love with the new renaissance of retro platforming games. The beautiful artwork, exploration, and combat makes this a game that Nintendo Switch owners should welcome with open arms.
My first hour of diving into Garage was extremely promising, but as time went on the honeymoon phase quickly began to fade. Tearing apart zombies and snagging new weapons from a top-down perspective made me feel like I was preparing myself for a recipe of DOOM mixed with an adventure feel from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. In that sense, the game serves its purpose, but Garage ends up being just another average take on the overly saturated slew of apocalyptic zombie survival games we've seen over the last decade with an added touch of a twin-stick shooter.
Overall, this is a pick-up and go type of addition for the Nintendo Switch. It's available on other platforms, but most gamers will find it's best on the go. Strong artwork, mechanics, and cleanliness of the title make it extremely polished, but the lack of depth made it hard for me to want to put any more than a couple hours into Rogue Aces.
The unforgiving difficulty of Bombslinger can almost feel as punishing as a Dark Souls title at times and may turn some players off, but any veteran of that series and rogue-like genres will absolutely fall in love with Bombslinger. The grind-y arcade style of the gameplay combined with its nostalgic art-style, unique game design and personality make for a nice Indie gem. Each run felt fresh and the grind to customize my load-outs for future runs made this game an absolute blast to come back to, especially for quick bursts on the go.
Overall, Toki Tori is an exceptional and welcomed addition to the Nintendo Switch. There's tons of charm within its playful art style, colorful soundtrack, and its mix of puzzle solving and platforming is a perfect introduction for beginners and seasoned gamers alike.
The overall experience I had with I, Zombie was a lackluster one. The gameplay was great mechanically, but the art, sound, and challenge were lacking anything that made this experience a memorable one. There were only a couple stages where I felt a challenge, and those few puzzles didn't give me a sense of accomplishment that was strong enough to make me want to stick around.
Overall, Dragon Quest Builder's gameplay plays to the strengths of the Nintendo Switch's intended purposes. There are countless hours to be had here, and players with extra creativity will find reasons to come back even after the land of Alefgard has been restored.