From its excellent writing, music, and presentation to its intense and satisfying core gameplay, Neon White is one of the most exciting things we've played all year, and it's a game we can't see ourselves putting down for a long time as we try to best our previous times. It successfully brings together elements from apparently disparate genres in new and exciting ways and seems poised to become the next great speedrunning title. It's one that action game fans and Switch owners in general won't want to miss.
A good quality compilation of some of Capcom's more overlooked fighting games, although there are a few filler titles and some unfortunate omissions.
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course is more Cuphead - for better or worse. Those put off by the original's difficulty may find the experience easier to swallow due to the excellent inclusion of Ms Chalice. But the game still has the same brand of punishing gameplay we're used to from the original. The expansion adds some of the most inventive bosses Studio MDHR has ever come up with, backed up with that amazing animation and music which has never looked or sounded better.
A great chiptune soundtrack courtesy of Tsuyomi caps things off; it perfectly encapsulates that quiet, isolated feeling, while knowing the perfect time to ramp things up. While the game doesn’t last long (clocking in at around two hours), it uses every second wisely and never outstays its welcome, even if you are left wanting a bit more.
The game runs near-flawlessly on Switch aside from a few levels near the end (that being said, you’ll be in slo-mo for the majority of the game anyway). However, the two biggest issues with the game rear their heads here. Games like this typically have near instantaneous restarts to ensure the action is always moving. Severed Steel’s load times aren't obnoxiously long by any means, but just long enough to add to the frustration of losses. The other (and biggest) issue is the complete lack of gyro-aiming, which — especially for a game this fast-paced — feels like a large oversight. But still, we’re talking about a game where you can throw your gun at someone, slo-mo, dive over their head, steal another from their back pocket, then blast them with it. Which is pretty rad.
Fall Guys' brand of chaotic fun is still great all of these years later, and the free-to-play Switch release is no different, assuming you can ignore your opponents' choppy frame rate. While there are some disappointing elements linked to cross-progression, those ultimately won't matter if this is your first time entering the Blunderdome. Some moments of lag and frame rate quirks aside, the Switch version offers a solid way to play if you're looking for some barmy 60-bean battling and the barrier to entry has never been lower.
Spidersaurs is a fun ride while it lasts, as well as a strong love letter to Contra, all delivered with WayForward's signature style. While it is very short and suffers from some minor issues following its transfer from Apple Arcade to consoles, it's still a good time and a strong purchase for anyone itching for some classic run-and-gun action.
Although we may sound quite negative when discussing the game, FIST: Forged In Shadow Torch really is worth playing; it just has so much potential that it doesn't quite reach. It rides on the cusp of greatness so often, while not quite making it over the hurdle. We can't wait to play a sequel because if it was iterated on, FIST could be something really special. Sadly, due to the technical issues associated with this Switch version such as the unbearably long load times, it's let down even further. Overall, a promising foundation that we hope leads to better things in the future.
Redout 2 more satisfying the longer you stick with it. It’s hard to recommend if you’re looking for something to pick up and play, though, and — especially on Switch — the lack of local multiplayer is a real disappointment.
Bright Memory: Infinite is a short but could-be-much-sweeter shooter, and a hard one to recommend. It's glitchy, it has an incoherent story that ends abruptly, the AI is inconsistent, and the whole thing is over in just about two hours. And yet, in spite of all of that, we still had fun due to its strong core gameplay and frankly, ridiculous story and setpiece moments. For a game made by just one person, it has a really solid foundation and some impressive production values despite the glitches. However, it desperately needs further iteration to be worthy of recommendation for anyone outside of a select few.
Roller Champions has potential; the core gimmick and gameplay are both lots of fun and it's satisfying blasting your enemy across the court with a dropkick as they're about to score three points against you. However, it lacks in pretty much every other department and there's just not enough content in here to satisfy anyone. Add in the performance and blurry visual issues on Switch, and we can't really recommend the game on Nintendo's console in its current state. It is free-to-play, so it's worth a try if anything we've mentioned sounds interesting, but unless some serious updates are made to this version, you're definitely best off playing it on a different platform if at all possible.