It’s rare to see a game in this genre – or any genre, really – that defies easy classification, so in a world where everyone wants to be the next Slay the Spire or Balatro, it’s fun to see something try (and mostly succeed) at doing its own thing.
As a technical achievement, there aren’t many games that surpass The Last of Us Part II Remastered. For better and for worse, it’s everything that’s come to define modern Sony games – and it runs just fine on PC, which is an undeniable plus.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy Catto’s Post Office. It’s one of the most good-natured games I’ve played in recent memory, and even if it was over almost as soon as it started, it’s still an extremely pleasant way to pass half an hour.
While there’s certainly no shortage of retro-tinged 3D platformers that have very identifiable influences, I don’t think I’ve played one yet that evokes the past without being tied to it the way 1000 Deaths does. For that reason – and also the reason that it’s pretty good – it’s very much worth your time.
Calling Spy Drops a clone could potentially give the impression that it’s a well-made copy of a PS1-era classic. This is not the case: it feels more like someone tried to copy a game that was made nearly 30 years ago, but wasn’t talented enough to pull it off. It has a lot of the same features, but none of the quality that made MGS so beloved.
The key to enjoying Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is to think of it not as an open-ended sandbox, there for you to discover all kinds of secrets, but as an intricate diorama, just waiting for you to set things into motion. You may not get the same kind of satisfaction of figuring out inventive ways to solve problems, but you will get to look at a game that’s simply beautiful – and all things considered, it’s a fair trade.
Even if it doesn’t perform perfectly, and even if it’s not all that different from the original game just because it has an “S” in its name, we’re still talking about a game that’s taken the Monster Hunter formula and added enough wrinkles here and there that it’s more than just a clone. It makes for a fine time if you want to take down some monsters, either solo or with up to three Switch 2-owning friends, and all things considered, that’s a perfectly fine thing for a game to be.
Tales of the Shire is nothing if not low stakes and low stress. But it also makes for an extremely dull experience if you want even the slightest bit more than that, which makes it very hard to recommend.
Maybe the most impressive thing about Clutchtime is that you don’t need to be a basketball fan to enjoy the game. I’m sure that would help, but really, as long as you like deckbuilders, you should definitely give this one a chance to see how broad and varied the genre can be.
If you’re a fan of word games, you need to play Birdigo.
It’s hard to say, though, that the Frenzy and Tag Team modes totally justify the cost of buying the Switch 2 edition of Super Mario Party Jamboree. It’s still a great game – probably the best Mario Party game ever – and you’ll have a blast with the core game whether you’re playing it on Switch 1 or Switch 2, but the $20 upgrade pack that is Jamboree TV is nowhere near as essential.
Patapon 1 + 2 Replay may be throwbacks to another time, but their gameplay is pretty timeless, and whether you played them the first time around or not, it’s a good time to go back (or go for the first time) and lose yourself in the rhythm.
Eternal Strands isn’t a game to pick up if you’re after an entirely original experience. However, if you want something that captures its influences well and does a good job of imitating them…in that case, you might just be in luck, because that describes it perfectly.
I feel like I should temper my praise of Donkey Kong Bananza, but at the same time, if I did, I’d be lying. This is one of the most enjoyable games I’ve played in a long time. If you’ve been holding out on buying a Switch 2, this is the game that should make you buy one: it really is that phenomenal.
You might look at Oceanhorn: Chronos Dungeon and see the top-down view and pixel graphics and think that the franchise has taken a turn for the very retro, looking to the very earliest Zelda games for inspiration. And while that’s sort of correct – it’s definitely got more of a retro flavour than either of the previous Oceanhorn games – at the same time, it’s also totally wrong. Oceanhorn: Chronos Dungeon looks like any number of dungeon crawlers from decades ago – and that’s its biggest problem.
It’s easy to forgive a little jank, though, when the overall package is this impressive. Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is an epic RPG that aims high and that, much more often than not, succeeds in what it sets out to do.
You’ll be left wondering why Beyond the Ice Palace 2 exists in the first place. You’ve absolutely played plenty of games like this before, and there’s nothing this game has that you can’t find done better elsewhere.
It may be influenced by a whole host of games from 25 years ago, but it never borrows from any of them so blatantly that it just feels like you’re playing a clone or a lesser version of a much better game. It’s its own game, with its own identity, and that’s enough to set it apart.
It runs well and it looks great, and it gives hope that, at least for the next little while, Switch 2 ports won’t require you to make a few allowances for subpar performance.
It may not feel original, but The Precinct knows how to take that familiar beats and give you room to uphold law and order/cause chaos to your heart’s content.