Pokemon Picross is a fun and interesting way of playing Picross, but I can see how some elements might turn a player off to the game. If you opt to not spend any money, the experience can get rather boring as you can only do so much at a time before you have to wait a while to continue. Still, the fact that you can get close to a third of the way through the game at no cost makes it worth at least checking it out, but I feel that things could have been done better.
Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale is a nice blend of RPG and farming simulation. While it can be a bit on the easy side at times, it didn't get to the point where I was getting bored or felt it was too easy. The occasional difficulty spike with bosses can be frustrating, but nothing too bad.If you enjoyed previous games in the PopoloCrois series and don't mind a little Harvest Moon mixed in, this one's worth picking up.
Corpse Party is a pretty good mix of a visual novel and survival-horror games. While the gameplay itself can get a little dull at times as you wander the halls of the school and try to interact with just about everything, the story is rather enjoyable and unique. Wear some headphones and turn out the lights to complete the experience.
Football Manager 2017 is an excellent soccer management simulation game for the bigger soccer fans, but causal fans or those who only watch a game here or there might find things a bit complex. That’s not a bad thing as the game is pretty deep in what you can do and manage at any point, but it can be a bit intimidating you don’t usually play any other soccer video games where you have to do just the basic management functions for your team. If you’re unsure, definitely check out the demo first.
The tables in the Pinball FX3 Bethesda Pack are all pretty solid, though they can get complicated at times, namely the Skyrim and Fallout tables. While those two contain RPG-style elements to them to match up to their original video game counterparts, the Doom table is more of a traditional pinball table, though all three do have missions and quests to complete. Overall, eleven dollars for these three tables is a pretty good deal, especially given how complex Fallout and Skyrim can be.
Portal Knights on the Switch is a really enjoyable game outside of a few minor nitpicks. It can be a tad frustrating to have to constantly mine materials for new gear in the very early going. But much like Minecraft, a lot of the game is mining and exploring. If you take your time and enjoy every aspect of the game, you'll likely enjoy Portal Knights a lot more than if you just try to rush through each randomly generated island.
Poochy and Yoshi's Woolly World is a nice port of the Wii U version, though anyone with the Wii U version might not find enough to warrant picking up this one. The difficulty is easy for veteran gamers but could be challenging for younger players. That doesn't, however, stop it from being a fun and casual game that will remind you of Yoshi's more classic outings.
Story of Seasons: A Trio of Towns can start off a bit slow, but it picks up rather quickly after the first week or two. Between raising crops and livestock, improving friendships, and starting relationships, there’s no shortage of things to do and the game will help make sure you know how to do it all. Newcomers to the series and veterans alike should enjoy this entry in the long-running franchise.
Although not playing the original, The Escapists 2 is still an enjoyable game, especially if you don't have a lot of time on your hands as it can be played in spurts with how the game and save mechanics work, each day lasting around fifteen minutes. However, the first prison you play through might take a while to escape if you're not familiar with how the game works. Though the tutorial level does help out a bit, there were still some things I didn't know about that would have made things a lot easier my first time playing.
When I first looked at Miitopia I honestly thought it was going to be an incredibly simple RPG meant for a younger audience. While the game is simple and somewhat intended for younger players, it still has a look and feel that almost anyone can enjoy regardless of age or experience level. While sometimes too easy and simple, Miitopia is still a lot of fun and worth checking out.
Subsurface Circular has an engaging story with compelling characters that really makes you think about how you'll meet your objectives. While the game is short, clocking in at around two hours, the story itself is enjoyable enough that you really don't mind the short length. For six dollars, Subsurface Circular is worth checking out for the story alone.
As someone who is terrible at the main series, I really enjoyed Monster Hunter Stories, even if it is a bit easy early on. The more traditional RPG-style of gameplay is a radical departure from what the core games are like, but that doesn't mean it's not worth your time. If you can put aside the fact that this plays rather differently than the past games, you'll find an enjoyable experience for new and returning fans alike.
It had been a while since I last played a Raiden game and Raiden V: Director's Cut was pretty enjoyable after reacquainting myself with the series, my eyesight issues aside. The fact you can beat the game on any difficulty can seem a tad off putting, but this is actually a good concept for newer players so they can experience the story then increase the difficulty when they start to improve so they can get a better ending. That combined with the boss challenges give quite a bit of replayability to the game and being able to take things a stage at a time makes it great to play in short bursts. Overall a pretty good entry for the series.
Pit People is one of those games that I enjoyed despite being terrible at the genre. While the game can be simple compared to other games in the genre, the combination of the easy to pick up gameplay and the graphics and humor that The Behemoth is known for makes this a game worth checking out regardless of whether you've played other tactical RPGs or if this is your first one. Plus, who doesn't want to hear a giant space bear taunt you throughout the game?
Dead in Vinland is a nice mix of RPG, simulation, and exploration elements. With nearly a dozen party members to recruit, multiple tasks to assign people to, and many different ways to interact with the island's inhabitants, there are multiple ways to go about playing the game and every decision you make will matter in the end.
Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection is a great celebration of Street Fighter's history. While I'd rather have seen Street Fighter IV as opposed to five versions of Street Fighter II, I can't really complain about having twelve games in one collection, though only four are playable online. I'm not too fond of the "random game" mechanic for lobby battles and I'm glad it doesn't extend to the other multiplayer modes, and the Switch's Joy-Cons are probably the least desirable way to play a fighting game of any kind. Beyond that though, if you're a fan of Street Fighter you'll likely want to pick this one up.
Pode is a fun and relaxing puzzle game that starts out simple and becomes more complex as the game progresses and you gain new abilities. While the game is meant for co-op play, it plays just as well single-player, though you will have to constantly swap between Glo and Bulder. Having a second player can also help with solving puzzles as you have a second person helping you out, but alone or with a friend, with its enjoyable art style and relaxing atmosphere, Pode is a puzzle game worth checking out.
For someone with little Soul Calibur experience before now, I feel that Soul Calibur VI can be a pretty good starting point for someone to the series. The tutorial in Mission Mode will help you learn the basics and you can always look up more advanced moves and techniques for any character at almost any time. Add in the Mission and Story modes and there's a lot to do beyond just fighting several random CPU opponents and calling it a day.
Damsel is a fun arcade-style platformer/shooter/speedrunner/whatever genre you want to call it. The comic-style motif is a nice concept that I haven't seen for a long time and the gameplay is pretty fluid. The darkness of the stages and the similarities between the three game modes kind of bring the game down a little, but it's still an enjoyable outing for the Nintendo Switch.
Everspace took me a while to warm up to, but once I changed my control layout and started getting better at the dogfighting aspects, the game became a lot more fun. Between finding resources to survive and picking my fights with nearby outlaws or running away so I could live to fight another sector, Everspace never really feels like the same run twice, and that's definitely a good thing.