Blackwind is as utilitarian as a bank statement and painfully middle-of-the-road. It's tough to recommend that you play this game because we can scarcely remember anything notable about it from our own playthrough. Yet at the same time, it doesn't actually do anything egregiously wrong to make it instantly destined for the garbage bin. If you're looking for an entirely unremarkable and unoriginal sci-fi themed hack 'n' slash, Blackwind certainly ticks those boxes. Unfortunately, if you're looking for a meaningful way to spend your limited time and hard-earned money, this ain't it. We won't go so far as to say that you should definitely give Blackwind a pass, but we'd understand entirely if you did.
Monster Harvest is a good example of why great ideas also need to be followed up with great execution. There's nothing wrong with the idea of a farm sim with monster-catching elements, but Monster Harvest does a rough job of convincing you of that. The monster RPG content is so poorly done that it might as well have not been implemented at all, as it clearly took focus away from the decent farm sim portion of the gameplay. Amazingly, the farm sim gameplay still redeems this enough that it's not a complete dumpster fire, but we'd only give this the barest of recommendations to anybody looking for another entry in the genre. Take our word for it, you're much better off just starting over with a new farm in Stardew Valley, or picking up Rune Factory 4.
World's End Club has some good ideas and a lot of heart, but it ultimately doesn't come together as anything particularly notable. Though World's End Club looks and sounds great, the monotonous platforming sections and hit-and-miss storytelling really drag the overall experience down. We'd give this game a light recommendation to fans of visual novels, but otherwise you're better served playing the various better visual novels and puzzle platformers already on Switch. This is the very definition of 'okay'.
Pathway is a competent game. Just competent. Definitely not great, maybe not even good, but certainly competent. It's blend of randomized storytelling and XCOM-style combat is well done, but it doesn't prove to remain consistently entertaining in the long run. Those of you who are absolutely starved for this kind of game may want to cautiously investigate. Otherwise, just pick up the XCOM 2 Collection or Mario + Rabbids for a much more enjoyable take on the genre.
Though its gameplay can be entertaining enough in short bursts and its art looks nice, SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off proves to be a disappointing take on the beloved IP. Shallow gameplay, performance issues, and weird controls make for an experience that's simply 'ok' at best. Considering that you can also access a version of this game on your phone for free, we can't fully recommend that you spring for this one. There are much worse things you could buy off the eShop, but SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off simply doesn't offer enough value for its asking price.
Is Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend for you? Well, that really depends on one huge factor. Did you play these games as a kid? If so, then this compilation may be worth the punt for a nice trip down memory lane. If you don't fall into that camp, however, it's difficult to recommend picking this up. These three games are simply okay when at their best, and rather disappointing when at their worst. The hard truth is that both your time and money are much better spent on the mountain of new or old RPGs you can buy for the Switch. There are worse games out there, but there are much better ones, too, and Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend really only has value as a curiosity or nostalgic piece.
It's difficult to land on a fitting score for Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light. On one hand, historical context is vital and you can't expect too much out of a thirty-year-old game. On the other hand, granting a generous score to a title as fundamentally flawed as this would be dishonest; by modern standards, it's really not a good game anymore. Considering the low cost of entry and the inclusion of new features, we'd say it's probably worth a look for long time Fire Emblem fans who are curious how it all began. If you don't fall into that category, we'd encourage you to look into more modern games for your strategy gaming fix.
It's difficult to score a release such as Ben 10: Power Trip!, as it belongs to a unique class of games that are known for being half-baked and it's primarily marketed towards children. As far as tie-in games go, Ben 10: Power Trip! is pretty decent. The character variety makes for some nicely varied control styles, while the open-world design allows for a strong gameplay loop centred around chasing quest. That said, Ben 10: Power Trip! also has several glaring flaws – like shallow gameplay and poor performance – that really sink its image. If your child happens to be a fan of the show, Ben 10: Power Trip! has enough redeeming qualities to be worth the punt, but we'd advise everyone else to take a pass.
Code Shifter is basically a playable version of an unenthusiastic sigh. There is platforming. There is fighting. There is a story. Each of these things is there, but all of them feel underdeveloped or underutilized in their own way, and never really come together all that well.
The Grandia games deserve a much better remastering treatment than they’ve been given here, but Grandia HD Collection is nonetheless a respectable release.
Given the high standard of gameplay that Inti Creates has shown in many other titles it's released over the last several years, it's hard not to be disappointed by Dragon: Marked for Death.
Away: Journey to the Unexpected is the sort of game that's disappointing because of how good it could have been if more thought had been invested into certain systems. There's a good game buried in here somewhere, but it's so mired in confusing or irritating game design elements that it becomes incredibly difficult to recommend. If you're really into roguelikes and want to try out an okay one in first-person, Away: Journey to the Unexpected is perhaps worth a punt, but even then, we'd highly suggest that you take a pass. There are far better roguelikes available on the eShop for a comparable price; you're sure to get much more out of those.
We’d give this one a very light recommendation; if you’re an RPG nut and you have the mettle to get through the more frustrating entries of the genre, this is the game for you. If not, we’d recommend you take a pass
All told, Tiny Hands Adventure manages to provide an okay platforming experience, but not one that we'd particularly recommend you jump for. The current price puts it in the same ballpark as plenty of other much more polished platformers on the eShop, and considering the forgettable presentation and uneven level design, there's not much here that's worth your time. You could do much worse than Tiny Hands Adventure, but you could also do much, much better - especially on Switch.
Venture Kid is the sort of game that understands how blatantly it borrows from previous genre luminaries yet makes no effort at even attempting to surpass them; this is very much a ‘what you see is what you get’ sort of experience.
Overall, Hive Jump is a disappointing game in light of the attention and buzz it once attracted. There are the bones of an interesting concept here, but it never seems to come together quite right once everything gets rolling. Repetitive gameplay, disappointing performance and ho-hum presentation make this a game that's 'ok' at best. We'd recommend this one only to players who are eager for a co-op action shooter for their Wii U. It does what it says on the tin, just don't expect to come away from this one wowed by the experience.
Overall, Ninja Usagimaru: The Mysterious Karakuri Castle comes off as a very middling experience. When the difficulty isn't wildly ratcheted up, the puzzles can be quite fun to solve, and the presentation is quite charming. Unfortunately, you'll probably be spending a large portion of your time with this game on a handful of levels that present a disproportionately high difficulty that prevent you from playing the rest of the game. We'd give this game a recommendation, but only to those of you who are very patient in your approach to puzzle games.
Blast Ball very much feels like a game that's still in development. The ball physics feel off, there's not a whole lot of content and it feels half-baked. When viewed as a standalone piece of software it's not exceptional in any way, though it's still worth a shot as a free download. It'll also feature within Federation Force (with the servers switching to that full game in North America), and it seems likely to serve as a shallow diversion that you'll no doubt find yourself coming back to now and then. We'd recommend you pick up Blast Ball in its free incarnation (which is permanent in Europe but not North America) as it's an entertaining mini-game that offers up some mindless fun, but it's not necessarily the best advert for Federation Force.
Ultimately, AVOIDER is a game where you'll get what you pay for; no more, no less. While the gameplay is relatively fun at first, it quickly gets tired when you realize it's a one-trick pony that doesn't have anything more to show you. For such a cheap price it's difficult to expect too much more from this kind of game, but it still feels like this could've used some polishing before being pushed out. We'd give this a general recommendation, but just bear in mind that your mileage will vary greatly.
All told, Teslapunk is a very middling game. It has tight enough controls and fun shmup gameplay that has the potential to entertain for hours, but there's a lingering sense that this is a game too content to ride on the coattails of its superior predecessors, and it does so at the cost of forging its own identity. What we're left with is a game that's perfectly functional, but forgettable in nearly every way. If you really like shmup games and want to own a new one for the Wii U in particular, this may be worth a punt, but we'd otherwise recommend you take a pass.