Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions is still a fantastic RPG fourteen years later. The Bowser's Minions side story is an enjoyable, if occasionally tedious, diversion. But the main quest is better than ever with the same addictive combat, laugh-out-loud story, and a few modern polishes to the gameplay.
Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Plus takes an already fiendishly addictive arcade game and adds a fantastic multiplayer mode. At $20 it's an impulse buy for any Switch owner.
Packed with clever story surprises and dynamic, richly-constructed gameplay, The Messenger is both a tribute to and affectionate pastiche of 8 and 16-bit game design, storytelling and nostalgia. It belongs in every Switch owner's eShop library.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has FromSoftware's typical brutal difficulty, but honestly that's beside the point. What matters is the thoughtful, precision-based combat, smart use of stealth, and a skill tree that's trimmed of fat. This game shows what you can do with game design if you dispense with the extraneous and focus on strong core mechanics. It's a punishing, rewarding, and beautiful experience.
Ape Out is that rare mix of great art, sound and game design. It's a short but addictive experience with challenging, satisfying gameplay and an audiovisual style that instantly grabs your senses and doesn't let go.
Feral Interactive has ported Alien: Isolation to Switch with no cut corners. Simply put, this game is a timeless horror masterpiece that ratchets up the dread and doesn't let up, and it looks and plays amazingly on Switch. Don't pass it up.
Regardless of your feelings on the first two Metro games—which are quite good in their own right—this is a masterful portable collection handled with an expert hand by the games' original developers.
DOOM Eternal is gorgeous to behold, a technological tour-de-force and an exciting new chapter in the Doom narrative, but it's not quite as fun to play as DOOM 2016. The problem is not that DOOM Eternal is too hard, rather it is too hard unless you play by its specific rules, which, for all its mechanical complexity, makes its combat chess less freeform and satisfying than its predecessors.
The BioShock trilogy is still three masterpieces that demand attention. While the first game hasn't aged particularly well, the sequel never got the recognition it deserved, and the third game is ultimately pretty disappointing, but they're still all worth another playthrough. The Switch port is masterfully done, smooth and crisp, and a great way to experience these games for the first time or revisit them.
Resident Evil 4 is still one of the best games ever made, but less-than-ideal mouse and keyboard controls and a barely noticeable texture upgrade keep this PC port from being the ultimate version of this masterpiece that it could have been.
Broforce finally explodes into its final release. The old-school difficulty might shock more casual indie players, but the pitch-black absurdist humor and deep, dynamic gameplay will keep you coming back for more.
An addictive mix of strategy, RPG, exploration and storytelling, Halcyon 6 is slow to start but should satisfy anyone craving a deep, retro-affectionate science fiction adventure.
Serious Sam: Bogus Detour does a fantastic job of distilling the Serious Sam formula down into a twin-stick shooter. While there are a couple hitches along the way, the game is a surprisingly robust package and a lot of quality content for a great price.
Doom on Nintendo Switch is visually pared back compared to other versions, but it's still fast, addictive and gorgeous. Seeing it run on a portable is truly a sight to behold. Nintendo fans should not pass this one up.
Skyrim on Switch is the same excellent game it's always been. It doesn't support mods but the fact that such a massive, engrossing game is now portable is justification alone for another purchase.
Observation spins a chilling and seductive science fiction tale of suspense and mystery, juxtaposed against strong adventure gameplay and stellar production values.
Saints Row The Third is the same riotous good time it's always been, except now you can take it anywhere. Some performance issues hold the experience back, but with any luck the instability will get patched out.
Layers of Fear 2 is an abstract, slow burn psychological thriller that strings you along with increasingly skilled and disturbing imagery, then leaves you shaking and looking over your shoulder.
Who says you can never go home again? Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral town takes an already great game in the storied franchise and throws it into HD, with a hefty bushel of new content along for the ride. Whether you're a nostalgic veteran like me or a greenhorn just starting out, Mineral Town is a worthy addition to your Switch library.
Carrion is a fascinating reversal of the typical Metroidvania. Playing as a hungry, tentacle abomination is fast, fluid and unnerving. My only complaint is that there is no mapping function, which can make progression a chore.