Abram Buehner
Saddled by amateurish design, unskilled gunplay, and technical issues, Morphies Law fails as an online shooter. The game does have a great core concept and aesthetic, but it just falls short at every step. Not even its robust offline mode and customization system can prop up a shooter too flawed to receive even a feeble recommendation.
Russian Subway Dogs is an incredibly unique arcade-style title that excels in short bursts. With a wonderfully zany presentation and great mission diversity, there is little else like this game. Its score-chasing, shawarma-munching action is diluted somewhat by its stunted game flow and superfluous unlockables, but neither flaw results in Russian Subway Dogs being anything short of good.
Developed with genuine Sega Genesis tools, Tanglewood is the epitome of retro throwbacks. Outside of that novelty, Tanglewood succeeds through its intuitive puzzle design, constant drip of new mechanics, and varied locations. While the general lack of music and slow introduction do detract from the game, the sum of its parts is a genuinely great 2D platformer worthy of your time.
WarioWare Gold is an off-the-wall title bursting with content and creativity. The 300+ microgames and myriad side modes will keep you coming back to this game time and time again, even with its lacking multiplayer and padded unlockables. WarioWare Gold is easily the best game Nintendo has released in 2018 so far, and a great addition to any 3DS owner's library.
At its heart, Megaton Rainfall is a solid superhero score-chaser that understands the freedom of flight, and empowers the player with a myriad of interesting abilities. Random difficulty spikes and a painfully generic design do hold this game back from being the best that the genre has to offer, though. On top of that, Megaton Rainfall, specifically on Switch, falls victim to a series of unacceptable technical issues which both mitigate Megaton Rainfall's strengths, and aggravate its weaknesses. In its current state, it is impossible for me to recommend this game.
The Banner Saga 2 is a stunningly animated game that sets a new standard for both presentation and narrative outside of the AAA sphere. The game does stumble with a poorly designed combat UI, and a claustrophobic battle system that doesn't offer much breathing room for different strategies. While monotonous, combat is serviceable, and doesn't greatly detract from what is otherwise a defining narrative tale.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is fundamentally strong with a solid core idea and great level design, but doesn't succeed beyond that. A more cohesive atmosphere, extra camera options, and deliberate mechanical progression could've made the experience far more satisfying. The conversion to the Switch brings along its own problems as well, making it hard to call this version definitive. As it stands, the game is a fun but forgettable adventure.
As such, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is a hard game to recommend.
Overall, Octo Expansion is an absolute steal. At $20, you're getting a very creative and engaging campaign that expands the world of Splatoon 2 with diverse gameplay, although a small portion of these levels feels like monotonous filler. Luckily, the ability to skip them mitigates this issue, but does little to assuage the fact that the majority of the bosses are rehashes. If you were hesitant to jump in due to the price tag, don't be: Squidkids will find plenty of enjoyment on the Deepsea Metro.
While it does have flaws, the sum of Songbringer's parts is an easily recommendable title for fans of the genre.