Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate truly is the ultimate Monster Hunter package. It's missing the quality of life improvements, openness, and spectacular visuals found in Monster Hunter World, but what it's not lacking is content and varied gameplay which can be seen as the best in the series. This action-rpg is no hack & slash. It's depth is engaging. Over 14 weapon types means 14 distinct fighting styles. Tons to craft, collect and sights to see. The 93 bosses are unique in both design and their patterns which provides a fresh experience every time you meet a new one. The game is fine solo, but if you grab a few buddies and get to work, it's one of the best times. Just stay away from fighting on the edges of areas. Happy Hunting!
Salt and Sanctuary is purely a Dark Souls clone for the 2D style of gaming. It's not a carbon copy, but it offers rewarding combat and exploration. With an open-ended world and varied enemies & bosses, a decent character progression system, secrets to find, numerous weapon types and a grim atmosphere, it's easy to be sucked in and master being a better fight than you were since your last death. This isn't a game about impossibility, but rather adapting and honing your skills. For that alone, Salt and Sanctuary is one of the best 2D action-RPG's available.
Okami HD is a fantastic 40 hour journey into Japanese folklore with a stunning art direction and clever gameplay. Although it is heavily influenced by The Legend of Zelda series, it manages to take that formula for a spin and in many regards does it even better. The writing and cast of characters certainly make the narrative experience a joy. Even better is Okami HD makes use of every Nintendo Switch feature. With 3 different control schemes it can be a new way to play; many would consider the touchscreen feature as the best way to play. HD rumble was care for and feels great. It's certainly worth your bang for the buck with its shiny new additions. A premium game on the eShop for $19.99? More than worth it.
Flipping Death offers up to 10 hours of gameplay, has brilliant setups to that gameplay, animated fluidly and is voiced by a wonderful cast. It takes the overall flow of Stick It To The Man! and improves on it in every way, allowing more things to see and people to engage with, and engage as. The writing is just as good as ever and there's extra collectables. Zoink Games managed to do even better than their previous offering, which is saying a lot. As with Stick It To The Man!, Flipping Death is a puzzle-platformer with an identity that stands out from the rest and is a nice accomplishment for Zoink Games to have under the belt. I eagerly await the 3rd game in this series.
Pool Panic's level of weird creativeness and silly humor is commendable. Not knowing what you'll see around each corner of the map and within the levels themselves is a huge factor in its enjoyment. The "pool" aspect is not as good as it could be and there are some control issues hampering the enjoyment which get in the way of your proficiency or getting the best score, but the levels presented almost make you not care. Over 100 levels and weird scenarios to put yourself in, regardless of a couple of flaws, puts Pool Panic in a league of its own.
Mega Man X lovers should rejoice when it comes to nailing down how the game feels because 20XX absolutely nails it. The tight controls and platforming feel great. Adding to that the various upgrading and online play, there's plenty of fun to be had here. Taking your Switch anywhere and X'ing through a different stage each time is kinda cool. It's too bad there's not much of a story and while the procedurally-generated levels offer limitless replay value, predictable layouts with only 4 themes wears out the novelty. If you're in it simply for the endlessness of it and fantastic controls, then you're in for a good time.
Anyone who isn't into fantasy card games, but have thought about trying them should give Hand of Fate 2 a look. There's a compelling narrative and many added RPG elements which should tickle the everyday RPG fan in general. The combat is good, albeit repetitive. The stories on your journey will keep you engaged. The Dealer makes you feel like you're never alone. The newly earned cards always feel surprising to see what's next in your story and there's enough variety in-between to never make it feel stale. Hand of Fate 2 brings the tabletop feel to completion and fully immerses you in its atmosphere. You'll be shouting at times, and they will be for different reasons, both excited and enraged; and that's part of the addiction. It's alright to be addicted.
Pode takes the cooperative experience from Snipperclips and puts it into 3d environments, yet is warmer and even cuter. The Norwegian-influenced art direction is pleasant to see come to life via pop-up book aesthetic. The puzzles are creative and remain a suitable challenge for all players. There is no negativity to be found in the game and the wonderful audiovisual aspect drives that notion home. Good vibes all around.
SpiritSphere DX is a retro callback, both visually & audibly, and feels like a lost gem from an old era. It takes any old tennis match and uses magic to spice things up, resulting in matches to play out in a multitude of ways. It's straight up a great local multiplayer game and one that's great for playing in the backseat of road trips if there's only one Nintendo Switch around. Plus it's $10 which isn't too shabby, either. Still, with no online functionality and being a game that is best with friends, the single player doesn't add much replayability. However, if you got the peeps around and Mario Tennis Aces is a stretch to your budget, this should be a good fix.
Ys has a long and respected history. Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA is only carrying the torch of what came before. There's so much to love about this game from its characters, the environments, the enemy designs and the juicy combat system. You can expect the usual JRPG goodness such as typical anime tropes, silly dialogue, humorous moments and dramatic events. The soundtrack is no slouch, either. It's great. There is performance issues and the localization is far from perfect, but Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA at its core and every unique thing it offers makes for a jolly time. If this is your only way of playing the game, then you need this JRPG in your library immediately.
The Fall is the first game of a trilogy where the subject of artificial intelligence - what it means and its consequences - are a heavy focus of. Over The Moon excels in this department. For a point & click genre with shooting, they've done the job quite well providing a believable atmosphere and notable plot surprises. It's a pretty short game, but it is sweet. It's worth seeking out its playtime for those interested getting into this series. If you enjoy The Fall, you'll want its sequel as well.
Smoke and Sacrifice is fantastic. It's not often where a game comes along and uniquely pieces together elements quite well both visually and from a gameplay standpoint in a genre not occupying much of the gaming scene at the moment. It's beautiful and fun to play. Dozens of hours can be had. There are clever ideas implemented such as how the crafting system is handled. Both character progression and enemies are rightfully balanced. There's a lot to take away from Smoke and Sacrifice when it comes to what we should expect in the future. The only slight issue players have to deal with is the inventory, but if you can handle that then the rest is pure excellence.
Simply put: Happy Birthdays is an oyster of joy. Seeing images or trailers of this game does not do it justice. One may think it's a mere child's game just from the cover, but it's suitable for all ages and the surprising amount of depth can only be experienced personally. This might be a sleeper hit, but it deserves more recognition. Yasuhiro Wada along the help of his development teams created another clever and fantastic jewel of a game. If terrain editing, creating a living ecosystem and collecting is up your alley then don't overlook Happy Birthdays.
Earthlock can be summed up as the JRPG to get for anyone needing to get their fill of a classic formula while being fresh at the same time. Everything about the game is pretty well-done and if one didn't know an indie developer was behind its creation, one might think that it came from a widely popular studio instead. Occasionally the writing comes off flat and more could be done to be emotionally attached to some of the characters, but the gameplay, visuals and music are great! It can be a grind, but it also won't leave your mind. Bring on the remaining games in this trilogy.
Players familiar with titles such as Odin Sphere or Valkyrie Profile will probably be curious about this one. Fallen Legion: Rise To Glory offers faster real-time action with tactical choices needing to be made. There's some depth to the battle system which at first glance may look a bit hack & slash, although it's anything but. Proper execution of your actions matter. The art and sound holds its own. The game is fun to play. The story is so-so. The game needed more time to be balanced, but fans of action-rpg's that offer a unique system not commonly found will certainly enjoy bursts of this. Each version can take 5-10 hours depending on the player's style, so a total of 20 hours can be found.
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is like The Elder Scrolls for the most casual player all the way to The Legend of Zelda to its charming world design. While it can be compared to an open-world Harvest Moon, it's very much its own identity. There's plenty of deep rewards for those who live for that stuff. The sense of discovery kept me engaged the whole time. I wanted to collect everything not because I was forced to, but because I wanted to. Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles evokes the feeling of that time of innocence while being a kid roaming grassy fields and stuffing your backpack with everything you can find and knowing that even simple sticks & stones were treasures because they were yours. Then you mastered their uses and felt like the best adventurer ever.
Death Road To Canada is a nice modern throwback to The Oregon Trail with a morbid twist. It can get challenging and the action/exploring gameplay is fun and intense. It's a great co-op game for sure, if you're prepared for unfair RNG and repeating it until you've actually won. Still, the replay value is there and there's plenty of fun moments and unlockables.
Layers of Fear: Legacy isn't your typical horror game with weaponry or with the means of survival from enemies. Instead, it takes a more artistic direction, technically, and manages to feel compelling from start to finish. The gameplay itself isn't too deep, but the narrative and atmosphere are top notch. Simply put, this is a great experience for anyone looking for eerie undertones without the baggage of item management and the stress of time.
Fans of shoot-'em-ups will find a fun game here. The polished controls and action that keeps going with little breaks is a good pick-up & play experience. The arcade gameplay mechanics and slight elements of a plane simulator offers a better take than the usual standard. It's only hindrance is the lack of variety from mission-to-mission, mode-to-mode.
A roguelike Bomberman experience that brings its own flavor set in a Zelda style overworld with bosses and replayability. It has a nice style and the randomization to the gameplay will keep things fresh. There's also local multiplayer which fleshes this package out a bit more. Anyone not comfortable with a gameplay focused on challenging you might be turned away, but for those who enjoy learning to become better and earn new upgrades will find plenty here for them. There's a lot to like here. I'm excited to see what else Mode4 will bring to the table.