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Youropa is a special puzzle game that manages to do enough memorable things to keep you interested and invested. Smart puzzle designs make the game a fun challenge to complete, along with clever new abilities you unlock as you play. The big miss here is its painting mechanic, which it describes as an important aspect, but rarely ever uses the feature. Youropa offers plenty of variety to keep you playing throughout its adventure.
The Dark Prophecy is a fun little point-and-click adventure. All the puzzles make enough sense, and you can finish the whole thing in under an hour. It teases further parts of the story, and this certainly feels like the first chapter of what will hopefully be a longer tale.
At its surface, Gunslingers & Zombies is a run-of-the-mill tactical RPG with some performance issues. In spite of these concerns, the end result is still a fairly enjoyable experience for fans of the genre.
Blending fun territories and weapons with easily accessible features, a variety of gameplay modes and a solid solo offering, this installment makes for the kind of game that does the Splatoon name proud.
Beacon Pines is an engaging choose-your-own-adventure story with a variety of characters, excellent graphics and score, and overall narrative about a town in peril combine to create a wonderfully addictive game.
Foretales has a lot of moving parts to this card-based game. The narrative-driven mechanic allows the players freedom to select which path to choose and how to play their hand is a fascinating, albeit risky, take on the genre. However, it works. You'll enjoy your time with the game if you approach Foretales as a strategy game rather than a deck-builder.
No Place for Bravery-an action/adventure RPG from Ysbryd Games and Glitch Factory-does have some issues; the retro graphics aren't the best, and they still produce some frame rate problems. The intriguing (mature) story and interesting environments, however, result in a good title worth checking out.
Penko Park is an adventure game that combines creepy and cute. You visit an abandoned wildlife park where you must get photos of the creatures who live there. The game is super fun and comforting, providing a great way to help pass some free time.
Both games included fun graphics and pixelated characters. The music was fun, and the voice acting was excellent. However, they needed more variety in the gameplay.
Severed Steel is a rapid-pace first-person shooter that demands quick reflexes and creative thinking to blast your way through the minions of a nefarious mega-corporation wreaking havoc in a dark future.
Arcade Paradise-a mashup business sim / retro arcade throwback-is one of those indie gems you look forward to telling other people about. If you're a fan of the '80s laser and chrome aesthetic, put on your puffy jacket and download it today.
Cat Maze is an entertaining romp into a magical world of potions and animals. Initial frustrations paved the way for an enjoyable adventure, with plenty to discover and a fulfilling story.
Overall, Hokko Life is a bland shell that wants to ride the coattails of Animal Crossing without doing anything to stand out or be unique. The game could be more polished, with lag and weird choices in camera zooms, though not outright terrible enough to get mad at. While the visuals don't look bad, the music is forgettable. An average game at best, its $19.99 launch price means I can't really recommend it.
Bear and Breakfast stands out as one of my favorite games of the year. Its visual style is instantly appealing and its gameplay feels nearly flawless. It's a chill game that wants you to feel relaxed while micromanaging your own bed and breakfast locations. The game has a wonderful reward system and there's a ton of things to unlock to keep you playing for hours on end. The game on Nintendo Switch is extremely well done, despite a control scheme that requires a bit of practice to get used to. Bear and Breakfast feels right at home on the platform sitting next to the likes of Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley. Bear and Breakfast managed to be so wonderful that it jumped to the top of my game-of-the-year contender list. Do yourself a favor, go and buy this game. It's an absolutely wonderful title that must be played for a bear-y good time (I'm sorry, I couldn't resist).
The Legend of Heroes: Trails From Zero takes us back to the formation of the SSS, an organization Switch gamers will know from the Trails of Cold Steel games. It also takes us back to a relatively simpler system that's perfectly sized for JRPG adventuring on the go.
Circus Electrique is unlike any other RPG. Genre fans who like deep stat management will find a lot to like here. The mix of circus management and combat makes for a unique experience, although the management aspect does disrupt the flow. The game's strength is in its storytelling and how well the voice acting and art compliment the narrative. The preferred way to play this game is on the TV, as in handheld mode, it's difficult to read the text or see the different icons for the characters.
Though not the flashiest, After Wave: Downfall is a pretty good release for fans of the shooter genre. While it has a dated look, the water theme and enemy diversity make it a somewhat unique game that I'd recommend for co-op players. While tackling it solo is less enjoyable, there's more than enough to keep you busy here, and you'll have to play for quite a while before you unlock everything.
SpiderHeck is a ton of fun. It’s fast and chaotic and is an excellent choice if you’ve nothing to play and want a both visually stunning and unique brawler for the Nintendo Switch. It’s a heck more fun when you’re up against a friend beside you, but the single player mode is more than enough to sharpen your skills and put up an enjoyable challenge.
Gerda: A Flame in Winter is an interactive novel featuring well-written dialogue and varied pathways, coupled with simple RPG elements. Much like a good book, this is one game that's hard to put down.
If you are really into the Blade Runner franchise and can put up with the shortcomings, I suppose you can get some enjoyment from Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition. Everyone else should take a pass on this remastered adventure game. Maybe if the studio comes out with a "More Enhanced" edition, with plenty more fixes in place, it may be worth another look.