Although the story in the adventure puzzle game Frank and Drake takes a while to get going, it does eventually draw you in. There are several, non-linear paths to complete the game, allowing you to play through several times and explore all the options and elements. And the unique, rotoscoped animation looks great through each time.
Fitness Circuit offers a convenient, flexible, and thorough way to get in some guided exercise. The visuals look like an anime adventure, the audio is well done, and the controls are easy to use. Kudos to the developers, as Fitness Circuit is an easy recommendation for your Switch library.
Ray'z Arcade Chronology does what it should as a shmup. Lots of things shoot at you and you shoot at lots of things as you learn the required patterns. There's desperation and frustration to overcome as you deal with the copious dying. And it all leads to the thrill of finally taking out the boss. While not every aspect of the game is stellar for what it contributes, this is a fun collection that's worthy of a spot in your Switch library.
With all of the various areas to explore, skills to expand, weapons to collect, and so on, there is quite a lot of play time to be had in this action RPG. All things considered (including the asking price of only $17.99), Lost Epic is a very good game.
Murtop is an '80s arcade throwback that will challenge your reactions and sense of timing in a whimsical (bordering on endearingly silly) world. It is sometimes frustrating working through a level to get things just right, but that's the nature of the game. It's a good dose of idle time fun for almost all ages.
The price may be a bit high for a cartoonish card game, but Pirates Outlaws is fun and light-hearted. Better, it has good playability and re-playability with its numerous locations and different heroes to engage in epic battles.
The horror adventure game, Bramble: The Mountain King, effectively contrasts terrifying imagery with the pastoral scenery of its Nordic setting. Horror isn't generally my thing, but the compelling story and captivating music were more than enough to carry me through this dark tale.
The tactical RPG Redemption Reapers doesn't have any serious issues, but it does suffer from the little death of a thousand paper cuts. With a few minor adjustments, this could be a really good game. As it stands, it's just an OK game with a very good soundtrack.
GrimGrimoire OnceMore offers tower defense and RTS fans a level of learning and resource management that engages without ever hitting overload. It's not my favorite tower defense game, but the quality artwork, interesting story, and solid gameplay should have genre fans (and fans of the original version) pleased with its Switch release.
Demolish & Build Classic takes you on a tour of the "exciting" world of construction contracting. The big problem is that the world of construction and contracting is more of a mundane job with a lot of hard work and very little excitement. Performance issues and a disheartening beginning lead to lots of work and little fun. But if you can get past that, you do get to drive bulldozers, cranes, and the like.
As an action/adventure game, Helvetii falls just a bit short on some elements of gameplay and storytelling. However, it's still a solid entry with very appealing looks, sounds, and mechanics.
Akka Arrh is a great arcade throwback with some cool, vintage vibes. The cost of the game at the time this review was published is a bit more than I might jump at, but the action and trippy visuals will keep you busy testing your arcade skills for a while.
The jump-scares in the WWI-themed survival horror sim Trenches are enough to elicit a little adrenaline, even though you know they are coming. There's also a little replay value because the clues will be scattered randomly at the start of a new game. Even so, the theme and objective can be limiting; there is not really much to do beyond finding things, and there's not much to experience except tension.
Considering the visuals, gameplay, replayability, and online options, Toy Soldiers HD is very well done and fun to play. Figuring out how to best use your units is almost as much fun as enacting a campaign in your childhood sandbox.
Taking all the elements of visuals, variety of characters (with more available via DLC), attacks, environments, replayability, single and multiplayer modes, and overall challenge, Rumble Fish 2 is a good 2D fighter to have ready to go.
The platform and theme are simple, but Swordship is not easy. Its take on shmups is unique, its visuals are interesting and its story is just enough to inspire the whole "be the hero" ethos. If you like dodge-em games this one is a good addition to your game library.
As a whole, the Nintendo Switch version of Sifu is very good. The action fighting game has a reliable theme, good visual elements, interesting combat with smooth mechanics, a decent challenge level with a multitude of controls/moves, and a solid story.
Trifox is a fun action platformer that allows you to choose the type of character you play as. Although there are a couple of concerns with floaty physics and a rigid camera, but they are outweighed by fun fights, clever puzzles, and vibrant visuals.
The retro point-and-click adventure game, Unusual Findings, is full of puzzles, colorful characters, sometimes odd conversation, and aliens-what more could you ask for? Our heroes share some witty banter, get into all sorts of trouble, and get to save the world, if they are successful.
No Place for Bravery-an action/adventure RPG from Ysbryd Games and Glitch Factory-does have some issues; the retro graphics aren't the best, and they still produce some frame rate problems. The intriguing (mature) story and interesting environments, however, result in a good title worth checking out.