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Penny-Punching Princess brings an interesting slant to the brawler genre, one that sadly can become fiddly and repetitive over time. As a fairly expensive eShop title (physical release plans were scrapped at the last minute), it’s difficult to recommend a purchase here, given what you could get for your money instead. Penny-Punching Princess is certainly not a bad game, but it’s not a great one either. One to look for in the sales then, where your calculator allows.
Aperion Cyberstorm is an average shooter at best which does little to keep your attention for very long. The level design is uninspiring and the visual experience is somewhat flat. When you compare it directly to a game like Geometry Wars, the whole experience is lacking and is something very difficult to recommend. Whilst great shooters keep you coming back over and over to best your high score, you'll find yourself looking forward to finishing Aperion Cyberstorm just so you can put it down.
Mecho Tales is a beautiful game that takes homage from classic platform games such as Mega Man, sadly its dull gameplay doesn't quite match the effort put into the designs of the characters and worlds leaving a mediocre adventure in its wake.
Platforming fun for all the family, Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is one of the Switch's better takes on the genre. Its storytelling feels like a Disney Pixar movie, so if your youngster has had a Switch for Christmas, it shouldn't take much to get them on board.
Vostok Inc. takes the cookie clicker genre, often played with a fleeting attention span, and spins it into an experience that you can't put down. The amount of different spinning plates to consider when constructing your capitalist, galactic empire is a challenge that is only made more satisfying by the pleasing music, graphics and varying space combat. It's a great game.
Blossom Tales takes much of it's rule book straight from A Link to the Past and manages to adapt relatively well. Whilst the game lacks some of the polish and charm of it's inspiration, it doesn't stop the game from being good in it's own right.
This isn’t “authentic” pinball, but it isn’t trying to be. Pinball FX3 embraces that it is video game pinball and is more enjoyable as a result. And isn’t pinball about getting high scores and having a good time anyway?
A lack of multiplayer at release detracts from how brilliant (and essential) Tiny Metal could have been, but it's the next best thing to Advance Wars that's currently available on the Nintendo Switch. Fans of that and/or turn-based strategy games will find something worthwhile here, despite that not so tiny price.
Romancing Saga 2 is a game very much trapped in the early 90s, while it’s great to see a title translated into English after all this time, it’s a shame that it’s one that offers very little fun or entertainment.
Resident Evil Revelations 2 takes everything from the first game and improves upon it. Although I am torn between which location I prefer (Cruise Ship vs Island facility) I feel that this sequel has benefitted from being developed for consoles. The Revelations spinoff series has produced arguably two of the best Resident Evil games since Resident Evil 4 on the Gamecube, and now we can finally experience them both together on a Nintendo console!
If you're after a strong example of a 2D platformer with depth and challenge, you won't find it here. The Deer God may look pretty, but it's a pitiful experience that deserves no place on the Switch eShop.
Bleed is a good, solid platformer which offers a good chunk of replayability, and there's a lot of challenge on offer in the higher difficulties. It won't last you long though - its seven levels will take just over an hour.
No game is perfect, but Enter the Gungeon is currently the pinnacle of Switch indie titles. It displays beautiful pixelated visuals, addictive twin-stick gameplay and outrageous rewards around every corner. A must buy!
The Next Penelope provides a great mixture of Shmup and Racing gameplay which contains its fair share of challenges. It can often become overly challenging at times and this - coupled with a lack of control mapping - means a great game falls just shy of being essential.
Embers of Mirrim offers some solid, clever and challenging platform action. If only it had a more gripping story, or something else which drew you into the characters it might have been a bit more memorable.
Yodanji manages to take Japanese Folklore monsters and turn them into a dull turn-based rogue-like. The random nature of the game completely undermines any interesting ideas and, unfortunately, the whole experience ends up falling a little flat as a result.
Let down only by slowdown, The Sexy Brutale is a load of fun. It's got that Scooby-Doo-like magic to it, that sense of achievement when you solve the puzzles and save the day. Atmosphere is good, music is good, as is innovation - without the slowdown, it would be perfect.
Syberia is the first in a trilogy of puzzle / adventure games. It delivers a Victorian charm backed up with great music and images with a simplistic puzzle-solving approach. Though I'd like to recommend it, the price of the game means that you’re better off looking on other platforms.
Despite the very pleasing sound and visuals, Slain is just too unforgiving to be as fun as it should be. I'm glad I've finished it, because those damned flying enemies swooping down on my are giving me nightmares.
Plantera Deluxe is a 2D side scrolling clicker that will put you on an addictive chilling loop of gardening. Better played as a handheld experience, it may keep you entertained for some time, as long as you keep caring for the carrot on a stick.