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There's a chance Crush Your Enemies' toilet humour and machismo gags won't be for everyone - in fact, if you're easily offended this definitely isn't for you - but beyond its irreverence lies another successful attempt to transform the often complex RTS into a digestible format. The game's seemingly unnatural difficulty spikes can get a little tiresome, especially when you're overwhelmed so quickly, but with plenty of nuance stemming from its simple mechanics (and a really catchy little soundtrack), you'll soon find yourself managing your barbarian horde like a true chieftain.
All told, Salt and Sanctuary is just about what you'd expect it to be: it's more or less a 2D Dark Souls, but with a little more emphasis on less. Salt and Sanctuary does an admirable job of hitting all the right beats that it needs to provide a challenging and fun action adventure that will no doubt provide a solid bang for your buck, but it doesn't do a whole lot to stand on its own two legs; this is a game that can only thrive on the scraps generated by the overwhelming popularity of a much better game series. We'd give this one a recommendation to any Dark Souls fans - this is a decent way of capturing that game's spirit - but those who've never been interested won't find much new here to entice them.
On the whole, Iconoclasts is a memorable, thought-provoking, and enjoyable take on the Metroidvania genre which manages to stick out from the crowd with its chipper presentation and deeper storytelling style. Couple those elements with some of the best 16-bit spritework we've seen and a killer lineup of awesome boss encounters, and you've got another must-have for the Switch library. It may have been eight years in the making, but this one has certainly been worth the wait; don't miss out on this one.
Mixing the shapely looks of Thomas Was Alone with the speed of 10 Second Run Returns and the brutal difficulty of Super Meat Boy, Flat Heroes fits the Nintendo Switch like a glove. If you're playing solo you've got a solid (and lengthy) Campaign as well as bot support for its mini-games, but it's the electric excitement of the game's local multiplayer mode where Flat Heroes right-angled, platforming madness makes the biggest impact. Don't be a square - get this in your digital collection right now.
Cycle 28 disguises itself as a solid arcade shooter with minimalist aesthetics but slowly reveals itself to be something far beyond that. It successfully manages to engulf the player in the mystery that led to the player character's current predicament and entices you to seek the truth, find answers to questions you didn't know existed and attempt to break the cycle and… who knows, maybe freedom and a happy conclusion? We rarely get to play video games where each 'Game Over' offers the possibility to solve a mystery, so we kept coming back to it again and again - and so will you.
There's a lot to like about Tanzia. It's an indie game that's set its ambitions high, boasting DNA from action-RPGs, 3D platformers and more. It's very much a throwback to a time when those genres were very different beasts, but it's a love letter riddled with many of the problems modern iterations have shed. However, if you can look past the fact it often looks and plays like an HD remaster, you'll find some creative monster designs and a fantastical world bursting with heartfelt charm.
WarioWare Gold is proof that there's life yet in the venerable 3DS line of handhelds. The microgames on offer are some of the series' best, and the fully-voiced cutscenes in the Story mode are hilarious. Challenge mode will give you plenty of reason to come back and the unlockable souvenirs are our favourite in the series to date. We would have loved to have seen this on Switch as well, but it's clear this game was designed for the 3DS from the ground up. With its absurdist humour, wonderful voice acting (courtesy of Charles Martinet, naturally), immensely satisfying gameplay and stern challenges - many of which will make even the most seasoned players' palms sweat - WarioWare offers something for everyone. If this does turn out to be the 3DS' swansong, then it's going out on a high.
A certain historical perspective and a touch of nostalgia will go a long way to helping you appreciate Titan Quest and its quirks. That core loop of killing satyrs in four hits before finding rare loot that destroys them in one is as compelling as it ever was. Disappointing visual glitches and the occasional crash give the impression that everything is held together with nothing more than sticky tape and a prayer, but it was never enough to stop us playing. Handheld mode is a massive boon for any RPG and, as long as you're not expecting miracles, this Switch port delivers the core experience well enough to warrant investigation.
Bud Spencer & Terence Hill - Slaps And Beans is a love letter to the career of both Italian actors and arcade side-scrolling brawlers. If you find yourself in either camp, this is a highly recommended option. If you happen to be on both groups, this is truly a no-brainer – even the relatively high price is more than justified by the quality and quantity of content that will keep you smiling, at least while the ride lasts. It's a shame Bud Spencer passed away back in 2016 – we believe he would get a kick out of seeing this game in action, bringing the duo's trademark slapstick comedy into a whole new medium and generation. Kindly slap us some beans, please.
If you're a fan of the original, you'll likely enjoy the minor tweaks and upgrades on offer, but don't dive in expecting a 'remaster'. You get couch co-op and a healthy framerate, although it doesn't look great on a TV and the original's excellent English voiceover is AWOL. Despite modest enhancements, the 3DS origins of this six-year-old game are plain to see, which may put off newcomers. It's a solid hack-and-slash experience, as it always was – we just wish it did more to earn that 'EX' addendum.
While Nintendo Switch doesn't have many real-time strategy games to its name at the moment, Element could well be the flashpoint that finally shows just how well the genre can work when reinterpreted in the right way.
If you're planning a get together for some mindless fun with three friends who are seeking quick rounds of colourful, straightforward and light co-op dungeon crawling action, NoReload Heroes is a sharing platter that can be devoured in just a few bites, but will still leave you wanting more.
Go Vacation presents a world full of games and activities that feel consistently average, with common flaws across the board making each game similarly dull, tiresome, and not worth the asking price. The game's setting itself provides a welcome break from this, though, with an impressive amount of things to see and do at your own leisure injecting a much-needed dose of fun into the proceedings. Strangely, this is a multiplayer sports game that probably suits those looking for decent single-player exploration the most.
Overall, Spheroids can be best described as a game that's uninspired and unimportant at its best and a back alley dumpster fire at its worst.
Almost impossible to categorise yet utterly compelling as a result, Hand of Fate 2 brings a new and unique RPG experience to Nintendo Switch. There's just so much to enjoy here; the rewarding premise of its deck-building, the endless depth of its questing, the simple pleasure of its combat. It's taken a little while to make the transition to Switch, but the wait has been worth it; this is a mobile port that's practically indistinguishable from the version you can play elsewhere. Do yourself a favour and get this fantasy romp in your digital library right now.
Guts and Glory is a really fun little indie that's burst out of the gates and onto Nintendo Switch, but the porting process has taken its toll. The basic rinse and repeat nature of its challenges and the madcap bloodbath of its physics are a laugh-out-loud combination while they last, but without the long-term appeal of the map editor and its library of user-generated content, the Switch version suffers as a result.
If you find Ecco the Dolphin a bit dull, Hungry Shark World is an ideal antidote – what it lacks in finesse it makes up for with vicious energy. The gated content is doled out a little slowly, but the base gameplay is fast and satisfying, if a little repetitive. However, it's the interminable loading screens that truly destroy the pace and hamper the arcade-style fun, making this one hard to recommend.
There are already a number of Hi-Score chasers on Switch, but Arcade Archives Sky Skipper has gained attention because it's such a rare title.
It's difficult not to be a little disappointed in Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2, although Capcom deserves credit for doing the best it could to polish up the weaker games in the series. At the end of the day, putting lipstick on a pig can only do so much, and these games unfortunately don't hold up quite as well as the first four entries in the series. Even so, X5 and X6 are pretty good, and though X7 is a hot mess of confused design, X8 has plenty of fun moments. If you liked the first four games in the series, you'll probably enjoy these four enough to justify the price, but bear in mind that this is easily the most skippable of the two collections.
All told, Mega Man X Legacy Collection is a fantastic re-release of several must-play gaming classics, presenting them as authentically as possible while still including a few modern features on top that help to improve the overall experience and keep it from feeling antiquated. Throw in the new X Challenge mode and an enormous archive of museum content and this stands as the definitive way to play the Mega Man X games in the modern era. Four fantastic games, a bevy of extra content, and the ability to play at home or on the go make this one an easy recommendation.