Belmont’s Curse brings Castlevania back to its Metroidvania roots, with satisfying exploration, a versatile whip and abilities that make revisiting old areas worthwhile. Clumsy controls, uneven difficulty and an underdeveloped lead character hold it back, but the fundamentals are strong enough to make this a welcome return.
Running a restaurant with the One Piece crew proves to be an addictive management loop, with expeditions, character relationships and pixel art giving Grand Gourmet plenty of personality. Clumsy menus and localisation errors spoil the experience in places, but there's a satisfying business to build here.
HD-2D gives Final Fantasy Resonance the old-school charm I’ve wanted to see from the series, while its Vision system and stagger-based combat add welcome depth to familiar turn-based battles. The story is fairly forgettable, but the adventure itself makes a convincing case for more classic-style Final Fantasy games.
The real-time combat and darker story still make Tales of Eternia a worthwhile RPG, and its generous quality-of-life options make revisiting it far less of a grind.
Toy Story 3 Complete Edition remains one of the better movie tie-in games, with an enjoyable campaign and a Toy Box mode that gives you plenty of reasons to stick around. Restored platform-exclusive content and smooth performance on Switch 2 make this a welcome return for a game that still holds up.
Dark Arisen improves many aspects that originally held Dragon's Dogma 2 back. The new region is delightful to explore, the story has more depth, progression feels meaningful, and the game performs better overall. This is the version of Dragon's Dogma 2 that should have been released from the start.
Dynasty Warriors 3 Complete Edition Remastered preserves the exhilarating scale and accessible combat that define the Musou formula. A diverse roster, strategic battlefield management, and substantial content keep the action engaging, while its familiar Three Kingdoms story and relatively simple systems offer little freshness beyond the satisfying spectacle.
Trails in the Sky: 2nd Chapter expands its predecessor with richer world-building, stronger character development, and deeper combat customisation. Its hybrid battle system remains engaging, but frequent backtracking, lengthy cutscenes, and repetitive dungeon layouts occasionally undermine the pacing. Even so, it delivers a substantial and satisfying continuation.
Hot Wheels Infinite Rush delivers responsive arcade racing, extensive car variety, and useful creative tools, but its open world lacks scale and meaningful activities. The toy-like presentation fits the brand, yet the shift away from the previous games' track-focused structure feels less compelling, leaving a competent but unexceptional racer.
All's Justice deepens the arena-fighter formula with layered Quirk combos, dynamic gauges, and satisfying counterplay, but it's built strictly for the faithful. The standout is the Switch 2 port itself: the visuals and performance translate to handheld with barely any compromise.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty remains a satisfying, parry-driven action RPG with deep combat and substantial content, but its Switch 2 port compromises visual quality too heavily for its performance targets. The 60 FPS mode looks rough, while 30 FPS offers a cleaner image, making this a functional rather than impressive conversion.
Captain Tsubasa 2 improves on its predecessor with entertaining anime football and an expansive roster, but its slow Story Mode, repetitive presentation, bland custom protagonist, and limited multiplayer undermine the experience. Faithful manga integration and abundant unlockables make it worthwhile for dedicated fans, though newcomers may find its pacing exhausting.
Man of Honor delivers a concise, well-written prequel story with strong character chemistry and satisfying Mafia fan service. Its limited campaign and frustrating stealth keep the expansion modest in scope, but expanded Free Ride activities and new weapons add welcome value for returning players.
REANIMAL: The Prisoner preserves Tarsier's atmospheric horror and effective co-op design, but its brief runtime and episodic cliffhanger make it feel more like a narrative setup than a complete expansion. The environmental storytelling remains compelling, though limited puzzles and replay value weaken its overall impact.
PAW Patrol: Dino World delivers an accessible, kid-friendly adventure that makes good use of its dinosaur theme and simple co-op play. However, repetitive minigames, barebones side content, basic visuals, and erratic camera controls limit its appeal beyond its young target audience.
Beast of Reincarnation delivers rewarding combat, memorable boss encounters, and imaginative world-building, but its slow narrative, inconsistent technical performance, and unrefined camera and lock-on systems undermine an otherwise promising action RPG. Its ambition is evident, even if the execution falls short.
Splatoon Raiders successfully reinvents the series with rewarding cooperative gameplay, satisfying progression, and excellent performance. Repetitive environments, limited incentive to experiment with its broader toolkit, and a weak narrative prevent it from reaching the creativity and variety of the mainline games.
Endless Ragnarok delivers a robust, content-heavy expansion packed with impressive endgame modes and thrilling summon combat that expands the action-RPG's best ideas. While handheld play on Nintendo Switch 2 looks fantastic, inconsistent frame pacing, a locked 30 FPS, and heavy narrative gating leave this rich expansion feeling alienating to newcomers and visually compromise its portable premiere.
This charming reboot successfully modernises the franchise's iconic style with impressive 3D visuals while preserving its accessible, character-driven arcade gameplay. However, the lack of direct control during fielding makes defence feel like a chore, and the lack of polish at launch, along with the absence of online multiplayer, prevents this nostalgic return from truly hitting a home run.
Sword Art Online: Echoes of Aincrad successfully shakes up the formula with an engaging, flexible action-RPG combat system and rewarding partner mechanics. Unfortunately, severe pacing issues, a lifeless custom protagonist completely overshadowed by Kirito, restrictive invisible walls, and heavily recycled enemy designs relegate this barebones spin-off to a tedious, budget-strained slog.