Despite the early confusion, The Serpent Rogue is a great pick for fans of craft-intensive games like Valheim. The focus on exploration will appeal to open-world RPG gamers, as well as those who like strong stories with dark or spooky themes. The game's crafting system is well-balanced, and the ability to learn about crafting ingredients adds an extra level of immersion that benefits the main character's role as an alchemist. While The Serpent Rogue may not be great as an entry-level crafting game, it is a fantastic and beautifully crafted fantasy adventure that is enjoyable and challenging from the second players embark on their journey.
Demeo is perfect for scratching a dungeon-crawling itch and is great for those who want to connect with friends in a tabletop setting, but don't have the time for a full campaign. With patches to fix glitches and balance difficulty, Demeo will be a great option for anyone wanting a short, action-packed adventure with friends.
Rune Factory 5 is a good fit for longtime fans of the Rune Factory series and could be a fun way for slice-of-life gamers to combine enjoyable combat with the relaxation of farming.
The journey through the story of Triangle Strategy is a captivating experience, especially for those who enjoy high-stakes fantasy plotlines with political intrigue and well-rounded characters. While it will likely appeal to those who enjoy choice-based games and narratively rich worlds, it may not be the best pick for Square Enix fans who like the fast-paced combat of recent Final Fantasy games, or who prefer open-world and exploration driven gameplay. Triangle Strategy creates an experience where players must think and choose actions carefully, and where decisions matter. This focus makes it an excellent choice for those who prefer a good story over hack-and-slash battles and aimless combat.
The game does an excellent job of pushing boundaries while staying true to what has kept Pokémon popular for over two decades and is an eye-opening glimpse at what Game Freak could do in future games of the series.
While less carefree than simulation titles like Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley, the casual pacing and nonchalant nature of the main character make Wytchwood a great pick for relaxing exploration-style games. It is also a great choice for those who enjoy crafting and survival games, but prefer to have questlines to follow instead of self-governed gameplay. While the 2D art style is fun and reminiscent of storybook illustrations, this game is likely not the best pick for younger players due to questlines dealing with horror elements, as well as graphic depictions of animal death when using traps and lures. However, fans of twisted fairytales and creepy magical plotlines will likely find Wytchwood an enjoyable and spine-tingling experience.
Grow: Song of the Evertree is like a storybook.
The modern dance visuals and the addition of popular songs in Just Dance 2022 will likely appeal to longtime fans of the game; however, those who are new to the series may want to opt for a version a few years older, and purchase the Just Dance Unlimited subscription instead, to save money and learn gameplay with songs that have easier dance moves. While unlikely at this time, the option to permanently purchase past songs as DLC would be a big benefit for Just Dance 2022, allowing players to pay a one-time fee for their favorite songs, rather than a monthly steep monthly cost for songs that may not get played.
Moonglow Bay is a good game for those who want a fishing-heavy simulation game with a cute story. That said, the game would benefit from some large updates to improve minigame controls and shopkeeping mechanics, creating a more intuitive experience for players. As it stands now, it's difficult to recommend outside of the very niche audience described, and while it has good ideas, its execution makes broader appeal an impossibility.
Colors Live is a great fit for new digital artists, offering a taste of features present in bigger applications, but at a reasonable price. While the SonarPen would benefit from several design improvements like a Bluetooth option or a longer, slimmer cable, the pressure-sensitive stylus is a great addition to a non-traditional drawing surface. However, for those who are used to drawing on the iPad or a Wacom tablet, the lack of options could feel limiting, making it a less useful and enjoyable addition to a portable digital studio.
Sheltered 2 is a great pick for fans of hardcore survival simulation games, or those who enjoy post-apocalyptic survival titles with emotional weight. The complex combination of social elements and individual character needs, mixed with the survival genre mechanics of exploration, crafting, and base-building, create a brutal survival setting. However, due to the number of elements players will be juggling, those who prefer single-character survival titles may find Sheltered 2's gameplay to be overwhelming. Despite this, Sheltered 2 offers a rewarding challenge for fans of apocalyptic survival games and is a nice change from survival titles focused on combat and base looting.
Residual is great for a quick survival experience, with less in-depth gameplay than other survival titles. Those who like Minecraft's Vanilla mode will likely enjoy the unique worlds, goal-oriented exploration, and resources collection. However, gamers looking for a complex survival experience like Terraria or Valheim may find the lack of standard survival mechanics frustrating and limiting while exploring.
Despite the need for quality-of-life improvements, Kitaria Fables will likely appeal to fans of the RPG genre for its cute story, engaging graphics, and diverse mechanics. However, fans of farming simulation titles may want to wait until patches have been implemented to make the feature more beneficial to the overall gameplay.
Hoa takes players on a magical puzzle adventure.
Despite being widely empty of content outside the main storyline, WitchSpring3 [Re:Fine] costs 39.99 USD on the Nintendo Store at time of writing. With gameplay more in line with mobile-app game expectations, those who enjoy in-depth JRPG titles may be frustrated with the lack of exploration, storyline, and graphic quality. However, for those wanting a simple experience that is easy to set down, WitchSpring3 [Re:Fine] might be a good fit. With a drop in price and a patch to improve translations and add content that takes advantage of the Nintendo Switch's capabilities, WitchSpring3 [Re:Fine] would be a more enjoyable experience for those interested in trying it out.
While there is room for growth in Doomsday Vault, currently it offers a variety of good challenges with engaging gameplay. The puzzles are great for players of any age, and those who enjoy relaxing, exploration experiences like Abzu or Monument Valley will likely find the atmosphere of Doomsday Vault a great way to escape at the end of the day. With a few updates to improve replayability, Doomsday Vault could become a great choice for those who enjoy puzzle-style gameplay, and remains solid for those interested in the genre as it currently stands.
Tribes of Midgard offers players engaging survival mechanics with unique design choices that make gameplay a rewarding experience. With a few expansions to the base building options, Tribes of Midgard would be a well-rounded and unique option for survival-style gameplay.
While Pokémon Unite offers a new way for fans to enjoy Pokémon battles together, the frustrating limitations created to encourage microtransactions make gameplay less about having fun and more about completing missions for currency. While it may appeal to fans of mobile app-style games with a similar structure, those who want the ability to experience everything Pokémon Unite has to offer without spending money will need to sink a large amount of time into grinding before having the means to truly access most features. With improvements to the ability to earn currency and a better item level system tied to use in battle instead of paid upgrades, Pokémon Unite would be a more enjoyable experience for players.
Because of the way choices affect the outcome of the story, Mythic Ocean is highly replayable. This narrative-style game is excellent for fans of immersive visual novels, or those who enjoy the risk of choices impacting gameplay. Mythic Ocean is a high-stakes game without the need for combat or skill-trees to help players become invested in the world, and despite the issues with controls, is an engaging and magical adventure.
Journey through the jungles.