The Smurfs - Dreams is a delightful platformer and a fantastic pickup for anyone who loves Mario 3D Land or 3D World. This is very much inspired by it on a surface level, but with more rhythm to its platforming action. It's a trickier game than one might expect given the license, which has usually been used in simpler, less-challenging games. It plays nicely across the board and doesn't have a lot of flaws in its gameplay beyond having a set formula that changes up based on the weapons you have access to in the stage itself and a soundtrack that's hit or miss.
Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown offers up a lot of fun both on the track and in its simulated world. A lot of work was put in to make Hong Kong Island feel like a realistic place with far more exploration than one is used to in a racing game. Some of those elements don't hit perfectly, but the on-track performance is what counts the most and Solar Crown largely succeeds there. Races are fun and even on-foot exploration offers up something that helps Solar Crown stand out. Unfortunately, the online-only component of things complicates far more of the experience than it benefits and causes odd problems to occur that makes it tough to fully recommend Solar Crown.
Hot Lap Racing succeeds far more than it fails as a more serious racing game on the Switch. It's hurt a framerate-wise by the hardware, but still manages to control nicely with digital inputs being recognized on either controllers with purely digital inputs or analog. Controlling the cars feels natural and that plays into the harder-than-usual difficulty that makes the player get better to excel and doesn't offer as many options as other modern-day racers to ease the burden. Veteran racing fans will probably appreciate that approach to an extent, while the inclusion of many kinds of driving challenges evoked more of the fun of Project Gotham Racing than the more laborious classic Gran Turismo license tests. It's a flawed, but fun racing excursion on the Switch and offers far more racing variety than its contemporaries in the Gear Club Unlimited series.
Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution is a solid new entry in the long-running franchise that excels in some ways and falls short in others. The combat is fast-paced, but does get draining due to the repetitious dungeon structure and lack of auto-battle as a feature. Fortunately, the strong voice acting serves as a motivator to keep going as does seeing where the amusing story will go. Visually, it retains the core look of the PS Vita-rooted series, just with a cleaner look across the board when compared to the older portable hardware. Thankfully, the framerate doesn't falter on the PS5 and the game as a whole is a solid recommendation to those who enjoy the franchise already -- and is a solid starting point for those looking to get into it since the gameplay is in-line with other entries, just more fine-tuned.
Freedom Planet 2 takes everything that worked about the original's quick pace and diverse playable cast and improves upon it. The samey-feeling character play has been completely revamped allowing every playthrough to feel different, while keeping enough familiar elements across each character to make each runthrough rewarding. The gameplay has been tightened up while the blend of story mixed in with gameplay has been improved in terms of pacing and acting. The graphics have remained outstainding, but received a visual overhaul in terms of detail level that nicely improves upon the first.
WWE 2K24 is a flawed pro-wrestling game, but it's still the best overall gameplay experience in the Visual Concepts era. The showcase mode is among the best in series history and the in-ring action hasn't felt this good since WWE 2K19. In some ways, this is the best-playing game in the WWE 2K series thanks to the addition of so many different interactive attacks and the addition of super finishers and more move slots makes for more exciting matches across every mode. If you've been itching for a new WWE game, this is a worthy pick-up and a fantastic successor to prior entries.
The Top Racer Collection features a lot of the same core gameplay across its four titles, but each of them excels at what it does. Those craving something new in the arcade racing realm who missed out on the series in its 16-bit heyday should check this out. Anyone who loved Outrun or has enjoyed Horizon Chase Turbo or '80s Overdrive as more modern homages to this franchise will have a blast with each entry. It's fascinating to have all of the early games in one collection and see the evolution from the earliest entries into the later ones, with new Crossroads content making it easy to hope for a new full-on Top Racer game down the line.
Ufouria 2 is a fantastic pickup for anyone seeking something different in their side-scrolling action-platformers. It feels like a game rooted in the past with a modern coat of paint and modern quality-of-life improvements and in that light, it's a wonderful experience. Having a feltcraft world offers something no other game has and each of the different playable characters results in an experience that makes replaying stages seem more exciting than it otherwise would.
Tomb Raider I-III Remastered finds itself in a tough spot because what it aims to do is replicate the original trilogy with all of its content on modern hardware and it does it well. The biggest problem it faces is that the new coat of paint is largely just that -- the core gameplay is still rooted in early 3D jankiness and feels awkward to play now -- and in some ways, it's harder to wrap your mind around it now since no control scheme offered up feelings as natural as anything featured in a Tomb Raider game since the PS2 days onward. The new visuals look good in theory, but have odd clipping problems in motion and the animations being rooted in the PS1 games hurts the modern-day wrapper as well. It very much feels like a lot of effort went into making this feel authentic to the originals -- but to a fault.
Anomaly Agent is a riot from beginning to end. It challenges you gradually and features a tough, but fair approach to fast-paced action-platforming and combat. Having fluidity in movement allows the gameplay flow to be smooth from each kind of action the player engages in and no stages ever outstay their welcome. Having different kinds of combat and platforming on display from area to area helps keep things fresh too. Visually, it accomplishes its goal of evoking the '80s while still featuring lighting effects that weren't possible in the era while the soundtrack offers a satisfying blend of synth and rock to change the mood up whenever it's needed. Anyone seeking fast-paced thrills should check out Anomaly Agent.
Cuisineer is a must-play for anyone in the mood for a top-tier dungeon-crawler. The core combat has a lot of variety thanks to its weapon selection and upgrade paths while the dungeons themselves make every repeat playthrough feel different. The only caveat to the combat is the lack of baked-in turbo, but that's far from a deal-breaker when the game has so much variety with the restaurant management portion of things taking you on an adventure that doesn't require a ton of button mashing. Cuisineer is a rewarding game to play that looks and sounds great and should be a gem for anyone who loves dungeon-crawlers or who wants to get into them because as a gateway game, I can see it being a hit to those who love simulation games as well thanks to the restaurant management.
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 takes everything that worked about the original and expands upon it. The core racing action is improved across the board with more kinds of races to partake in and a more in-depth story mode to keep things moving forward. There's always a goal to attain with XP gaining new vehicles and parts and every race feels like it serves a greater purpose. It controls like a dream, looks gorgeous and offers a satisfying, fast-paced racing experience for all who seek one. Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 is among the best licensed racers of the past decade and a must-play for racing fans.
Silent Hope is an outstanding dungeon crawler and one of the few on the market that are easy to recommend for players either burned by prior games or who are completely new to the genre.
The Crew Motorfest is easily the best entry in the series to date and serves as a new launching point for the franchise.
Rhapsody: The Marl Kingdom Chronicles is a must-buy for anyone seeking an RPG experience that makes it easy to see the beauty in the world around you.
WrestleQuest does an excellent job at combining pro wrestling legends with a turn-based combat system that takes the best kind of cues from Nintendo's more-interactive Mario RPGs over the years.
Atelier Marie Remake is an outstanding re-imagining that takes everything that worked about the original game while modernizing and creating a better-flowing experience.
Overall, AEW: Fight Forever is a fantastic pickup for fans of the company who want to experience many of its roster in video game form for the first time, but it does lack the polish of not only past and present WWE games, but other Yuke's titles as well.
As a whole, Cyber Citizen Shockman is an excellent side-scrolling platformer that has a few signs of its age, but the core gameplay is timeless.
Other than having vague missions at times to get to story-essential races, LEGO 2K Drive is an incredible time.