Russell Archey
Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games isn't all that bad, but it's not great either. The controls for a lot of the events are iffy at best, but there are events that are still enjoyable, especially the Dream Events. This is one where I'd check out the demo or rent it first to see if you like it before plunking down $50 for it.
Cloudbuilt is in no way a bad game, but it does have its flaws; the worst of which are the controls and difficulty curve. If you can get past those, though, you'll find a fairly decent and fun game in a genre that doesn't see a lot of entries. If speed running is your thing, definitely give this one a shot.
Shadow Puppeteer is an enjoyable game—if you can get past a few frustrations. The platforming is tedious at times, with you controlling both the boy and his shadow, though figuring out how to get through each area isn't all that difficult. Sadly, the game is somewhat short, only taking a few hours to get through. But if you're playing with someone, it can make for a fun afternoon.
Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm looks and feels like a Legend of Zelda game, which is good. But comparing it to the Zelda series might lead to disappointment whereas, on its own, it's mostly enjoyable. If you're looking for a Zelda-like experience, Oceanhorn 2 should help fulfill that void for a while, as long as you give it some time to do so.
Torchlight III is an enjoyable game but is also a bit more simplified than the previous entry in the series. While the Relic system brings some new ways to customize your character, the lack of a regular flowing of skill trees and spending stat points makes it seem like you can't quite customize your character as much as you'd like with stats being tied into your gear. The new fort system is nice but I really only found myself using it to stash gear I wanted to keep and to swap out pets. Overall while I did enjoy my time with Torchlight III, it felt like a downgrade from Torchlight II and fans of the series might want to wait a bit before picking this one up.
Braveland Trilogy is a fairly solid set of games, simplistic as they may be. You can adjust the difficulty during the game so you can make it as easy or as difficult as you wish at any time. While it would have been nice if the games were at least a bit more complex, keep in mind that these are ports of mobile games so the simplicity makes sense here. Even still, if you want a complex strategy game, you might want to look elsewhere but if you're okay with simple, Braveland Trilogy is worth checking out.
Antigraviator can be pretty challenging for those not familiar with anti-gravity racing games such as F-Zero. There aren't a lot of upgrades for your vehicle and requiring credits to attempt later leagues can be a bit detrimental as you might have to replay the first league multiple times just to grind credits. The traps are also not really my cup of tea and I could do without those personally. Beyond that though, Antigraviator is a solid game, but it's not for everyone.
If you like these kinds of games it's still worth checking out.
Namco Museum is a nice way to bring so classic arcade titles to the Switch, but they're mostly not anything we haven't seen on past platforms.
Quarantine leaves a bit to be desired with only six scenarios and three difficulties as well as its lack of multiplayer, but that doesn't mean it's a bad game. It's definitely challenging on the higher difficulties as the viruses start out a little stronger. However, if you're looking for a good challenge, Quarantine can definitely give it to you, plus the custom scenarios on the Steam Workshop will help keep things fresh…or at least as fresh as they can be with the same gameplay.
Rynn’s Adventure: Trouble in the Enchanted Forest can be fun if you can get past the game’s short comings. For a platformer with some Mega Man-esque elements, the controls can feel weird at first and the attacking takes some getting used to. If you can get past that, the game can be pretty fun as long as you’re not one to get frustrated too easily by precision platforming.
Tomodachi Life isn't for everyone, but it's still a fun game that can also be enjoyed in short bursts when pressed for time. While the main goal of the game is to basically keep your residents happy, it's a slight disappointment that you can't control their actions directly. I feel bad for a Mii who was shot down after asking for a relationship as I can't do a whole lot for them, but there's still enough to do in the game to keep things interesting.
Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon is a fun game, but it still has its frustrating moments. The tutorials seem to drag on forever, the leveling system is kind of imbalanced, and the difficulty can go from normal to frustrating depending on who you encounter where. However, if you can get past those shortcomings you'll find a pretty fun game and a fairly solid entry into the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series.
Mega Man Legacy Collection on the 3DS is a great collection of games and extras, but players who already have the Virtual Console games might be hard pressed to spend $30 on 54 challenges that have little replayability without any online functionality and leaderboards.
Harold is one of those games where if you don't like steep difficulty curves, you'll likely want to stay away from it. If you can get past that though, Harold does provide a pretty good challenge even in the early going and really tests your reflexes as the races get harder and you have to multitask even more obstacles.
Rainbow Cotton is a fun arcade-style shooter, but it has a couple of flaws. While the game plays pretty well and I did enjoy my time with it, the lack of any information on even the basics of the game's mechanics as well as it sometimes being hard to see what Cotton's shooting at can make the game a bit more difficult than it should be, even on the easiest of difficulty settings. It's still an enjoyable game, but a few additions could have made it even better.
Assault Suit Leynos 2: Saturn Tribute can be a bit rough at times, mainly due to its high difficulty, especially if you're unfamiliar with this type of game. There's plenty of customization you can do with your mech between missions and this version's extra options help tone the difficulty down a bit, but this isn't necessarily going to be a game you'll master out of the gate. However, once you put some time into understanding everything you can do and how you should take each mission, Assault Suit Leynos 2: Saturn Tribute becomes a lot more enjoyable, but it's difficulty may take you a while to get to that point.
Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel is a bit of a rough outing for those who didn't play it back on the Super NES and Genesis, but the port makes it a lot more accessible. The extra features menu looks a bit plain and could have been done better (especially the instruction manual), and if you plan to play without utilizing save states or the rewind feature you'll be in for a rough time. If you're looking for a good challenge and don't want to shell out a bunch of money for a physical copy of the originals, six dollars makes it more than worth it to pick this one up.
DROS is a fun game but it can be a bit too easy at times. That combined with there not being much reason outside of in-game lore to get all of the optional goals might turn some people off. However, the stages aren't incredibly long and the game is one that can be enjoyed in spurts, plus it can be a challenge to collect everything there is to find, allowing for some fair replay value.
Kudzu is a fun outing inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening but it's not perfect. While the adventuring and puzzle solving are well done, the combat can be a bit clunky between the weird knockback when you get hit, the hitboxes themselves being a bit inconsistent when sprites overlap, and the enemies resetting to their spawn points when you pause, including some bosses. Still, Kudzu is definitely worth checking out on the Switch if you're a fan of these kinds of games.