Sophie Hiner
Blanc provides a short but charming co-op adventure experience as you (and hopefully a friend) help a wolf and a deer find their families and assist other animals along the way. The black and white, hand-drawn style enhances the touching story of this unlikely pair coming together to help one another.
Chasing Static is a psychological horror game in which you play a character who stumbles upon a failed research facility. These always mean trouble, this time caused by a surrounding energy field that can make a person slowly lose their mind. Recovering the equipment to fix the field and discovering what happened won't take the player more than a few hours, but it's a mostly fun, constantly creepy time while it lasts.
Kukoos: Lost Pets is a 3D platformer in which you enter different universes to save pets that have gone rogue. In these universes, you have to tackle obstacles and puzzles to collect enough "fwendly" plants and coins, and to save enough pets. This game is made for anyone, and is exciting and fun.
Wobbledogs is a pet simulator in which you raise out-of-the-ordinary dogs. You care for them by feeding and playing with them. You can decorate their pens, and you can also breed them to create whatever breed you wish. It's a good game for those who would like to just sit back and relax, and maybe create the weirdest pets imaginable.
A Little to the Left is a cute puzzle game in which you organize everyday household items. There's even a cat who shows up every once in a while, which is always nice (even if he's always making a bigger mess for you to clean). With a very cozy and relaxing vibe, this game is perfect for those who like to wind down and play something easy, but also a bit challenging.
Create over 300,000 hybrid animals, make moral choices, and run and design your own zoo all in one game. A best-of-best-worlds mix of creativity and business management, Let's Build a Zoo provides a lot to do, a ton of people to meet, and a crazy number of animals to adopt/splice.
Penko Park is an adventure game that combines creepy and cute. You visit an abandoned wildlife park where you must get photos of the creatures who live there. The game is super fun and comforting, providing a great way to help pass some free time.
Two Point Campus is a management sim in which you create and maintain college campuses. Its joint focus on business and provides a fun challenge as you create a great learning environment where your students and staff can thrive.
Time on Frog Island is a puzzle game in which you trade items with villagers to repair your ship and head home. With no real dialogue or map, finding these items is entirely up to your exploration skills. With a touching story and a cute art style, this game is definitely one you can sit down and enjoy for a few hours.
Best Month Ever is a touching adventure game about a mother trying to set her son up with a good life as she faces a terminal illness. The game tackles serious subjects such as racism, sexism, and violence, and the choices you make along the way will affect Mitch and shape the man he grows up to be.
Cat Cafe Manager is a cafe management sim in which you adopt cats and run your very own store. Serve your customers, build bonds with your regulars, adopt your choice of cats, and just generally enjoy life in a cute and friendly town.
The Cruel King and the Great Hero is a heartwarming adventure game told in a children's storybook style. Follow Yuu on her quest to become a great hero, just like her father. Whether she's helping the monsters in her kingdom, doing good deeds for those around her, or fighting enemies to keep her kingdom safe, her tale is always charming and fun.
A Musical Story is a short rhythm game that stands out with genuinely good original music, a touching story, and amazing visuals. If you're a fan of music, art, or all things creative, this game is certainly right up your alley.
Summertime Madness is a short, yet challenging adventure puzzler with a great story and amazing visuals that create a very unique aesthetic. Whether you pick it up for the gameplay, the artwork or both, you won't want to put it down until the summertime (or the madness) ends.
Playing as a young girl named Maya, Ever Forward takes you through a series of puzzles to tell one person's story within a global pandemic. Challenging, fun, and interesting, this adventure puzzle game is worth the playthrough.
Kathy Rain is a '90s-inspired point-and-click adventure game that follows a college student on her journey of discovering her hometown secrets. Dealing with supernatural elements and old family secrets, the game provides plenty of fun puzzles and interesting characters to captivate fans of retro adventures.
Considering the limitations of the Switch's small screen and physical setup, Colors Live offers a pretty good range of tools and functionality for a low-cost painting game. It doesn't have the capabilities serious artists will want, but its accessibility and daily challenges provide a fun way to get some drawing practice in and stay creative.
Kitaria Fables is an incredibly fun RPG that combines the exploration and fighting style of Zelda with the farming and village gameplay of Stardew Valley and the cute animal characters of Animal Crossing. I played this for hours at a time, unable to put it down.
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is a wonderful package that will provide plenty of laughs and thrills for fans of mysteries, adventures, and visual novels. The situations and scenes make a successful leap to the big screen, and there are enough new gameplay elements to engage longtime fans without making them miss their favorite characters from previous Ace Attorney games.
With no alternative endings (again, there are no decisions to make, so no way to split off the narrative), it's one-and-done with the visual novel Cross the Moon. But it's priced accordingly, and should be an interesting read for fans of mysteries and the supernatural.