I found South of Midnight to be a very enjoyable game that has a lot of value to it. Hazel is a strong protagonist, and the folklore monsters and their backstories take center stage as truly masterful storytelling. Boss fights and traversal keep things fun outside of cutscenes, but the fights with haints were tiring, at best.
Haste: Broken Worlds is a game that thrives on its gameplay feel, even if there isn’t much outside of its main missions that might catch you. Zoe and the rest of the cast might not have caught my imagination from a story standpoint, but knowing I can return to this game at any time to get new procedurally generated levels is the highest selling point for this game. Listening to the music as you speed through courses with tons of obstacles thrown at you is a high octane rush that I wish I could get more of in video games.
Everhood 2 is an indie game that I can see a very niche group of people enjoying heavily. The music for the most part was really good, and I enjoyed the battling for what it was. Walking around these worlds being completely lost was not enjoyable to me. I would be interested to see how many ways this game branches off for players to have unique runs. I don’t think I have it in me to try another run through a campaign, but if it’s heavily tailored towards giving everyone a unique experience, that is definitely commendable.
Luck Be a Landlord may be entirely luck based, but it forces you to think carefully about the bets you make on it. The simple nature of it makes it something you can play for just a few minutes or get engrossed in for quite a bit longer. Learning the symbols and how they interact together is very rewarding when you get it to work properly and I appreciate learning when it is best to keep a symbol and when you should get rid of it or skip it all together.
Super Mario Party Jamboree is a very fun time and a blast to play with friends, family, or strangers online. The series had a rough run for a while, but the Switch has proven there is a lot of value left in these board games and minigames. The jamboree buddy system feels a little too strong for the benefits it gives you, but it doesn’t nearly take away the enjoyment you will have playing a chaotic game where the wildest things can happen on any turn. Super Mario Party Jamboree is just about the most complete package in the series.
Squirrel with a Gun is a chaotic time that is always looking to place your rodent in the most insane positions to make them look like an action movie star. It is quite janky at times and can wear on you fast, so we don’t necessarily recommend trying to knock all of its content out at once, but for a side game that you can go to when you need a break from everything else, Squirrel with a Gun is worthy of your time.
Crossy Road Castle is a fun time on console, especially with friends. The cooperative grind to get through as many rooms as possible will keep you coming back for more, but that’s about all this game offers. Overall, the content well here is very shallow, but the water it does have tastes very good.
Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland is a title that I came away from my first playthrough very frustrated. I found it far too easy to take damage, and while I love the HD art style, there were many times the levels just didn’t feel good to get through. Switching to the 8-bit style to find missing tokens was a little better because the janky gameplay matched the old graphic style. It’s not something that typically felt great, but it was more manageable.
Exhausted Man is not really a game that'll wake you up at all. It begins feeling very samey fast and, outside of planning where to place items before a level each time, there's not much of a strategy to be had. While it has a unique play style, there are plenty of other everyday-life indie games we think should be played before this.
Overall, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD would be a great buy for someone who never played the original. If you did play the 3DS version, I’m not sure there’s much else to bring you back other than chasing some nostalgia. $60 is a bit much for a 3DS remaster, but it looks and runs well both in docked and handheld mode, and Luigi is animated brilliantly. Don’t go in expecting a genre-defining experience, and you might get a lot of value hunting ghosts through these halls. Its 3DS background might hold it back from being the best of the series, but being just behind Luigi’s Mansion 3 isn’t something to scoff at.
Grounded is the perfect survival game to jump into with friends. It tests you constantly, but isn't too hard to the point that you want to turn it off. Now that the game has come to PlayStation in addition to other platforms, it's more approachable than ever and a high recommendation for anyone looking for a different kind of experience than the usual.
Trepang2 is a very fun shooter that sometimes loses its focus and wants to be a Swiss army knife that does everything. It aims to be a run-and-gun military game that's also a stealthy horror title at the same time. It’s good to try and mix in variety, but the only tool we want to use is the one that makes us feel like an unstoppable killing machine.
Tenebris Pictura doesn't ever supplant itself as a game you feel you must see all the way through. The world and puzzles may intrigue you, but the combat made me continually want to walk away from the game.
While the Game Gear games in Sonic Origins Plus don’t look, sound, or play great, the problem comes down to these games not being that good originally — not that they're bad ports. Buy Sonic Origins Plus for the Genesis games and to play as Amy, but don't expect the Game Gear games to run away with your heart.
Disney Speedstorm is a fun game that we're glad to see has quite a bit of quality to it. There are some reservations about how well the free-to-play monetisation will work as we move forward, but looking just at the game itself, it's not a bad time. There is room for this title to become very popular, especially if the right additions are made. At the very least, this can become a fun game for friends. If you're a Disney fan, it's a good way to mash together some of your favorite old movies and battle it out on the racetrack.
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe is a remaster where the spotlight should be on the new content added rather than the main game at play. If you are a hardcore Kirby fan, you will find enjoyment in the entire package, but I think most people will find more fun and enjoy the new experience in the Magolor Epilogue and playing the small mini-games in Merry Magoland. The main story is good, but doesn’t give a memorable experience compared to the other content. It’s a good package for Kirby enthusiasts and children, but if I wanted the best Kirby experience on Switch, I think I’d replay Forgotten Land instead.
Hi-Fi Rush is a testament to how developers with a pedigree in making a particular game can still create something different but still exceptional, if given the proper resources.
Sonic Frontiers is undoubtedly an exciting development for one of gaming’s icons. Running around the open zones never gets old, and if the developers can fill out the combat a little more, they could have a dual-punch threat in a future game that will really be great.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is a game that will quickly lose your attention over a weekend unless you are a diehard fan of the franchise and have a group of friends that are the same. It’s another example of how hard it can be to make an equally fun and engaging asymmetrical multiplayer game.
When I am playing Overwatch 2, I am having the time of my life. When I’m not playing, I am wishing I was playing Overwatch 2.