Elden Ring Nightreign is another triumph for From Software, where jolly co-op greatly enhances the experience - a worthy spin-off to Elden Ring that's unmissable for fans and newcomers.
Super Mario Party Jamboree is a solid, fun-filled, wholesome party game that's stacked to the brim with content - it's Mario Party at its finest and an essential play with friends and family.
Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero is simply more Budokai Tenkaichi: blazingly fast fights, a massive roster and powerhouse visuals all make for an entertaining, must-play Dragon Ball game.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom blends puzzle-solving, platforming and combat with brilliant creativity in a game that feels both nostalgic and wholly innovative for the franchise.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is an accessible Soulslike with stylish, visceral combat and gameplay, though janky animations and a confusing story hold it back from reaching greatness.
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a throwback to Capcom's daring PS2 days in all the best ways - a fast, strategic and challenging action-RTS that blends genres to great effect.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door finally gets the modern upgrade it deserves on the Switch, packed with the same charm, inventive gameplay and enjoyable storytelling that you remember.
Ultimately Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection is a collection that will appeal to fans. Newcomers who want to try out some of these classic games should rather wait for a sale because paying full price for this collection of games will leave a sour taste in their mouths. Especially since this is a very barebones package with barely any additional features. Some concept artwork or developer commentary would have been nice to have or even some more options to change the screen size and level of CRT filter applied would have been appreciated. Grab the Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection only if you’re a diehard fan or you want to experience the two Sega titles.
TEVI is a solid action-adventure platformer bullet hell button bashing metroidvania-like game. It features a tonne of customization via the Sigil system and a lot of fast-paced action. The game isn’t as open as it should be and is rather linear instead but that doesn’t mean that it’s bad. It’s definitely worth picking up and playing through and chances are that you’ll have a blast in doing so. CreSpirit have done a great job here and I hope to see them developing even better titles in the future!
Overall The Last Faith is a fine addition to the Soulslike genre. It blends the Castlevania essence into the Dark Souls formula and the result is a game that works remarkably well. This kind of game isn’t exactly groundbreakingly new but it will scratch the itch gamers who love the genre might have. If you’re a fan of Blasphemous, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night or Hollow Knight, you’ll most likely enjoy The Last Faith even though it is a bit unrefined and rough around the edges.
Overall Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story is an excellent single player game. It’s over in around 8 hours or slightly more depending on your playstyle and speed. There is a tad bit extra longevity for completionists who will have to reload specific chapters to get all the collectible murals and lore entries. This is a game that I can highly recommend. Riot Forge and Tequila Works have created an instant classic and a worthy addition to the League of Legends franchise series of games.
Crymachina is a charming JRPG title that has quite a lot of polish. It’s certainly a step above some of the other FuRyu Corporation titles out there. Yes, there’s a layer of jank to the game but it’s remarkably enjoyable. The cast of characters are all likeable and grow on you as you play and there’s enough humour mixed in too to keep things fresh despite the dark themes present in the game. Give this game a try if you’re a fan of JRPGs with simplistic battle systems and a focus on storytelling. Chances are you will really enjoy it! Crymachina therefore gets a solid recommendation from me.
Overall The Legend of Nayuta Boundless Trails is an extremely solid JRPG adventure with a rather simplistic battle and combat system. There’s quite a bit of puzzle platforming that happens throughout the game but the fast-paced combat where you effectively hack and slash your way through waves of enemies feels extremely satisfying.
Rune Factory 3 Special is a solid remaster of an older Rune Factory title from the Nintendo DS years. It’s been modernized and the core gameplay loop of farming, crafting and dungeon crawling holds up very well. In fact, this same core gameplay look features in a lot of games these days with Cult of the Lamb springing to mind immediately.
Silent Hope is a very enjoyable roguelike title with a cute Chibi anime aesthetic that would honestly be perfectly suited for the Nintendo Switch. Playing the game on Steam made me wish I had a Steam Deck to play this title on. It’s great to pick up and play in short bursts as you do a quick run through a dungeon, return back to your base camp and put some stuff to craft before venturing out again.
The Invincible is a great game that more people should play. The storytelling delves into the philosophical at numerous points and it’s a game that will stay with you for a long time to come. It may be a bit frustrating to deal with the slow movement and the lack of actual fast-paced action gameplay but if you’re into slow-burn storytelling, this game will appeal to you.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is pure, unadulterated fun and one of the best games on Nintendo Switch - a true wonder of game design that lives up to its name.
Sonic Superstars tries to revitalise the platforming golden era of the franchise to mixed results - fun at times with equal amounts of frustration holding it back.
Sonic Origins banks too much on nostalgia. The games are functional and are enjoyable as always but the glitches introduced to Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles with regards to Tails are annoying. Sonic 3’s soundtrack being changed so drastically feels incredibly disappointing too.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is the game Pokemon fans have been waiting for - for a long time now. It introduces so many quality of life improvements, streamlines gameplay and exploration and has great storytelling with an addictive gameplay loop involving capturing and discovering more Pokemon.