Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series does a great job of grouping two beloved but not well known games together in a package that works well on Nintendo Switch. The games have a charming visual style and a gameplay simplicity that I greatly appreciate. That said the game does have some unforgiving late game platforming that randomly pops up for no reason, some annoying voice over work, and a lackluster celebration for, you know, what's supposed to be a series milestone. There's enough fun to be had with Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series to recommend this game to anyone who enjoys 2D platformers or someone who's looking to rediscover two classic games deserving more attention. Hopefully, this will lead to Klonoa seeing either a new game or the Game Boy Advance games being remade.
Redout 2 is a blast play for long-time F-Zero fans. Its blisteringly fast gameplay and brutal difficulty make it feel right at home with some of F-Zero's more recent outings. The game demands precision, insanely fast reflexes, and the willingness to fail and try again. Redout 2 does this with just the right level of frustration, but also rewards and entices you back for more. It's definitely not for newcomers to the F-Zero-like genre, as it's easy to get frustrated and consistently lose races. It also doesn't help that this Nintendo Switch version currently has a few visual and gameplay hiccups; they don't ruin the experience but ultimately hinder it a bit. Regardless, Redout 2 on Nintendo Switch is a must-play for F-Zero fans.
Mega Man Battle & Fighters feels right at home besides its console, mainline counterparts. The controls are super tight, the visuals are extremely pretty, and the boss battles are equally challenging but rewarding. Mega Man fans will feel right at home with this set of fighting games. That said, the localization is completely non-existent, making it pretty much impossible to understand anything in the game (including menu navigation). Deal breaking? No, but keep Google Translate open at all times. For people who aren't fans of the Mega Man formula, Mega Man Battle & Fighters doesn't do anything different that might pull you in. It's a Mega Man-style game through and through, so if that isn't your thing, you might want to look elsewhere.
Kirby's Dream Buffet does enough things right to be a great experience both solo or against friends and family. The super colorful and attractive dessert stages are a blast to play on and the main gameplay concept is easy to grasp but hard to master. There's plenty of rewards to unlock , so don't worry about running out of things to try to get. While not the easiest Kirby game you can play and a few mini-games completely missing the mark, Kirby's Dream Buffet is an absolute delight. For $15, there's no reason to miss out.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection is one of the best retro gaming collections to come out in years. Obviously the developers absolutely loved the series, because every single moment of this collection is bursting with Ninja Turtle love. From including some of the best home console and arcade games, to including the most in-depth behind-the-scenes look at the games, The Cowabunga Collection sets the new standard for how retro collections should be. While the collection includes a few less than stellar games you should probably avoid, there are 8 great games to jump in to and have a great time. These are some of the best games to appear on a Nintendo (or Sega) console in the past and a great way to revisit these classics again today on Nintendo Switch.
Bear and Breakfast stands out as one of my favorite games of the year. Its visual style is instantly appealing and its gameplay feels nearly flawless. It's a chill game that wants you to feel relaxed while micromanaging your own bed and breakfast locations. The game has a wonderful reward system and there's a ton of things to unlock to keep you playing for hours on end. The game on Nintendo Switch is extremely well done, despite a control scheme that requires a bit of practice to get used to. Bear and Breakfast feels right at home on the platform sitting next to the likes of Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley. Bear and Breakfast managed to be so wonderful that it jumped to the top of my game-of-the-year contender list. Do yourself a favor, go and buy this game. It's an absolutely wonderful title that must be played for a bear-y good time (I'm sorry, I couldn't resist).
Youropa is a special puzzle game that manages to do enough memorable things to keep you interested and invested. Smart puzzle designs make the game a fun challenge to complete, along with clever new abilities you unlock as you play. The big miss here is its painting mechanic, which it describes as an important aspect, but rarely ever uses the feature. Youropa offers plenty of variety to keep you playing throughout its adventure.
Dorfromantik is a unique puzzle game that people looking for a chill experience should check out. Yes, it has some weird control scheme decisions that take away from the fun, relaxed experience. That said, Dorfomantik does what every good puzzle game should do: offers smart simplicity. It's a simple to understand but increasingly challenging game that people must check out. It's a relaxing game for people looking for a chill experience and honestly, it's a refreshing change people should enjoy.
Fault StP Lightkravte is a visually impressive visual novel with some nice, well-written story elements. Your enjoyment is going to completely depend on your familiarity with the Fault series. While it tries to be welcoming to newcomers, it's obvious that various story and character elements are calling back to a previous entry in the series, which goes over the head of newcomers. Fault StP Lightkravte isn't a bad game by any means, but it definitely isn't going to be the visual novel that gets you into the genre.
Jurassic World: Aftermath Collection is a decent experience for those looking for a horror-like game of cat and mouse set in the Jurassic Park universe. It does a decent job building tension with its gameplay, its surprisingly competent raptor AI, and its unique ability to switch up the puzzles. That said, deaths can feel quite cheap, especially when the game has you die for reasons you can't understand (I'm telling you, I was completely under that desk before that raptor came in!). It also drags on a bit too long and doesn't change things up nearly enough, making the experience become quite predictable. Jurassic World: Aftermath Collection provides you with some fun but ultimately a mixed time.
Sonic Frontiers takes a huge gamble on changing up its entire gameplay presentation and the open-zone approach mostly works. It's a blast running around in these open zones discovering all there is to offer. There's also plenty of variety in the side quests and minigames, although you won't truly love the throwbacks unless you're a long-time Sonic player. That said, Sonic Frontiers suffers from being glitchy, where you run into graphical issues at nearly every section. It also suffers from major pop-in issues, with noticeably fuzzy visuals and downgraded graphics from other hardware counterparts. It's also a weird game, even by Sonic standards. There's still a lot of fun to be had in Sonic Frontiers and I recommend checking it out.
Trash Sailors has its fun moments and extremely unique art style to help visually stand out. Plus, like every co-op game in this genre, it can be quite hilarious to play with friends as chaos ensues and everyone is yelling at each other to do tasks. Yet a key gameplay aspect of Trash Sailors is completely broken. The combat doesn't work and isn't fun, despite it being so integral to the gameplay. Add the fact that it's unplayable in single player mode and you've got a very mixed experience that may not be worth your time. Until these issues get fixed and combat is completely overhauled, Trash Sailors may be more trash than treasure. Especially when much better co-op experiences exist on the Nintendo Switch.
Space Tail comes across as an forgettably mediocre game. While its art direction and strong story start seem to lead to a potential great adventure, the game mechanics you use are fundamentally broken or just boring. This makes the entire experience feel dragged out and not fun. It's a game that I played for this review and ultimately will never go back to. While it is by no means a bad game, Space Tail is a game I can't recommend for people. There are plenty of better games on Nintendo Switch for you to check out.
Orbital Bullet is a fine rougelike run 'n gun game that can be fun for a few hours. Its circular stage design and rougelike randomness offer a wide ranging experience every time you play. That rougelike element will ultimately be the make-or-break for anyone's enjoyment of the game. In my experience, it's usually more unfair to you when you start a run, giving you the worst weapons, stages and enemies to fight. It also does nothing new that a few dozen other games haven't done before. Orbital Bullet can best be described as an average experience designed for those who truly love roguelike games.
Retro Goal is a solid game that does simple soccer well. It's got a simple control scheme (thanks to its simple gameplay) and offers a surprisingly in-depth management element. Its simplicity is the only negative I can bring out, as you experience everything the game offense incredibly quickly. Your long-lasting enjoyment of this game will likely depend on your love of soccer. If you're like me and aren't a big soccer fan there are a few hours of fun to be found in Retro Goal.
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is a fun game fans of the 3D platforming genre should check out. It's easily one of the best licensed games to come out in a number of years. Visually, the game looks like an episode of the TV show, with super vibrant colors and worlds that are full of life. There's also the great humor found within the game, reminiscent of the early seasons of SpongeBob when the jokes felt clever. That said, it's not without its faults. Ultimately, the puzzles and combat-two major areas of gameplay throughout Cosmic Shake-aren't great. The puzzles are incredibly simplistic and never change as the game goes on, and the combat just feels off throughout the entire game. Neither thing is a game breaking element, but they do take away from a fun experience. In the end, if you're a fan of 3D platformers or fan of SpongeBob SquarePants, there's enough fun to be had in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake that you should check out.
Metroid Prime Remastered is an amazing return of Metroid Prime and one of the best video games released for Nintendo Switch. Its masterful remaster takes an already amazing game and enhances every detail for modern audiences. Its amazing graphics, improved environmental and character details, smooth gameplay presentation and modern control scheme make Metroid Prime Remastered perfect for anyone wanting to get into the series or longtime fans looking to get back into its high point. There's really nothing bad to be said about Metroid Prime Remastered. It's one of the best remastered games Nintendo's ever done and at $40, it's an absolute steal for the high quality experience you're going to get. Don't hesitate for a moment, go out and buy Metroid Prime Remastered.
While there's a relaxing tone to putting bikes together and I'm sure someone absolutely obsessed with motorcycles and motorcycle repairs could be intrigued by the title, Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021 is such a broken, poorly optimized experience to find much fun in. I spent most of my time incredibly angry at the controls that constantly fought me and the ridiculous loading times to get into those controls. There are a lot of really great experiences to play on Nintendo Switch but Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021 isn't one of them.
Tiny Troopers Global Ops is a fine and simplistic twin stick shooter. It's a far more enjoyable experience with friends than playing on your own. That said, it doesn't do anything really special to make the experience standout. Its short overall length, even shorter missions and lack of replayability makes Tiny Troopers Global Ops a mixed bag to recommend.
Ib is a surprising experience people should check out if they want a pixel-art title with an extremely creepy atmosphere. Ib makes you feel uncomfortable around every corner and builds tension whenever you go near any painting. The puzzles, the main "meat and potatoes" of Ib are also quite clever, even if a few of them lose the cleverness for a trial-and-error approach. That said, Ib is an extremely short game that feels like it was made for a specific audience. If you hear pixel-art, horror-like titles and are excited by the sound of Ib, you may enjoy Ib. If those words don't immediately get you intrigued, then you might be best to look somewhere else for your next game.