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With its gorgeous visual aesthetic and downtempo pace, it’s the kind of game you want to play wrapped up in your blankets with the lights low. This bedtime story doesn’t shy away from darker subjects and star-crossed developments — it wears them proudly, making the game stand out amongst its contemporaries.
The World Ends With You: Final Remix makes for one of the most unique Switch experiences by its very nature. Best played in handheld with touch inputs, it shows the versatility of the system and brings back a fan favorite franchise with a fresh layer of HD paint.
Thanks to the combat and the customization, I know I'll be coming back to Daemon X Machina — at least for short bursts — for a long time to come, especially when I'm in the mood to blow up giant robots with a laser sword.
River City Girls might not have the surest footing, but it still hits hard and looks cute doing it.
Overall, Castle Crashers is a colorful, creative beat 'em up with a lot of charm, and it feels right at home on Switch.
I’d recommend this one mostly to arcade aficionados or those curious about the characters they’ve seen in the Vs. series or other Capcom crossovers. The modern conveniences are nice and the museum is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the history of these games, but these are still arcade ports through and through. Just like the Beat ‘Em Up Bundle, not every entry is equal here. More power to fans of older iterations and obscurities, and here’s hoping once again that Darkstalkers isn’t dead.
At first glance, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga might seem like just another LEGO release treading the same ground already covered by other entries in the series, but as soon as you start to play it’s immediately apparent that this game is a huge upgrade to the LEGO formula. When all is said and done, The Skywalker Saga is a delight to play either at home or on the go on Nintendo Switch, provided you can look past a few minor technical compromises.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is a fantastic get for Switch owners. It’s one of my favorites from Arc System Works’ library thanks to its roster and sprite work, and has Atlus’ dedication to these characters and their stories’ just as much a part of the full experience. This isn’t the best way to meet Yu Narukami, but I’d encourage anyone that already reached out to the truth not to miss out on P4AU during this comeback.
Though pieces of its are familiar and taken from long standing genres, in uniting them with the series’ panache and pixels we get something unique to pick up and play again and again. Though I might be content to set it aside for now, that fine tuned gameplay and infectious soundtrack have made sure I won’t be gone for long.
Even with those shortcomings for the new addition, I’d still recommend Danganronpa Decadence just on the strength of the series itself. If you’ve ever been curious and passed on their PS Vita debuts outside of Japan, I’d encourage grabbing at least one of the main entries to see what makes them so beloved by their fans. Hopefully whenever the next school year begins, the Switch will remain another home for all this delightful despair.
Really, that’s the question at the core of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl’s identity. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a necessary game, as it doesn’t change things up in a meaningful way. With Legends on the horizon, it might be tempting to skip it all together. What it is is a very familiar and self contained game. With all the interconnectedness of Pokémon GO, Sword and Shield, and Pokémon Home; it’s nice to have something that feels removed and “complete” on its own. That might take a little cognitive adjustment on what “complete” means when it comes to Pokémon, but for me personally I never felt like BDSP was missing anything essential.
It takes a stroke of genius to make a game as codified in the collective unconsciousness as Tetris unique again, and yet here we are. It doesn’t reinvent the squares nor does it rest comfortably within the expected. Instead, it becomes something that’s more suited to modern expectations and sensory enjoyment. I urge you to approach Tetris Effect: Connected not with an open mind but instead an empty one, letting it take the lead and trusting we’re all in its good hands together.
For my money, WarioWare: Get It Together! works as a continuation of the series but doesn’t push it forward in a truly meaningful way. Some of the faults of the previous release are still present, leading me to think they might be here to stay with the current direction. Still, after years of experimentation and a fresher style since Gold, it’s nice to see the team’s still got it where it counts – the microgames, and the weird wonderfulness that Wario and his team can bring.
What it never stops being, though, is interesting. A blend of unapologetic and bittersweet were the lasting flavors, and even if I didn’t savor every moment that brought me to the end it was a refreshingly unique break from reality.
But even if a couple aspects are off, it’s frankly remarkable how well this murder mystery holds up over two decades later.
Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is a beautifully faithful remaster of one of Sega’s first landmark console titles, and it’s a very solid way of experiencing that slice of gaming history.
My time with Cozy Grove has been very enjoyable despite some performance issues. Play sessions are short, sweet, and slightly structured, which really helps me feel like I’m allowed to enjoy the game at my own pace. Other games are hard to get back into if you let them sit for a while, but Cozy Grove will be waiting there to let you pick up right where you left off. The aesthetic of the entire game is right up my alley too, being slightly spooky with a dash of charm and humor, and I’m very glad it is releasing on Nintendo Switch.
This is a finely made game, to be sure, and is fun to play and control. It’s just that until the end it’s a lot of what I’ve played before. It may not be reinventing the wheel, but Cyber Shadow still makes a damn fine one. If you want a definitive example of 8-bit action, look no further.
If you’re into its visual style and addictive, puzzling experiences then Grindstone stands with the best of ‘em.
One of my biggest takeaways from the Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythmic Adventure Pack is how it would be a perfect entry point to traditional Japanese RPGs. The core concepts are there – a top-down explorable world, treasure chests, party management, skills, dungeon puzzles, EXP… But the fine minutiae that might put off newcomers is practically absent – simply being good at rhythm games is more valuable than figuring out the best combination of stats and abilities.