John Rairdin

“But at the same time a poorly implemented alternate weapon system and badly paced checkpoints prevent Neon Inferno from ever quite hitting the heights it deserves to hit. That being said even with those occasional missteps it is hard not to get caught up in everything Neon Inferno has to offer. This is a beautiful throwback to some of the best of the 16-bit era that achieves something entirely original.”

“House Fighters: Total Mess is a great concept, but it just never quite executes on it as well as it should. The single player campaign is the only mode and only took me an hour or two to complete. Now and then some more interesting level design will peek through but for the most part this is a forgettable shooter wrapped in a very charming shell that ends just when it is starting to get interesting.”

“Level design comes with the occasionally odd difficulty spike in places, but in general provides a satisfying shoot-em-up experience. It doesn't really push any boundaries in the gameplay department but handles the basics well. On very rare occasions the gameplay takes second seat to the visuals but most of the time they work together to create an memorable and enthralling journey.”

“The whole experience is buttery smooth and pretty snappy. This is a unique rail-shooter with a lot of legitimately new ideas that I've never seen elsewhere. There are some mild colorblindness issues to be aware of if that is relevant to you, and now and then progression feels a little padded, but it is hard to complain too much when Candy Rangers is doing so many new things and doing them well.”

“The Switch 2 version itself runs great outside of a rare technical hitch. Last but not least, they credit the entire original design team. The biggest negative I can give to Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac is that it makes it very hard to go back to the original.”

“Progression also feels a little flat. Each individual level is well made but I rarely felt like they were getting harder or more complex as I went. This is a solid and well made first-person-shooter, if not a revolutionary one.”

“I was always equally as excited to reach the next challenge as I was to unfold a little more of the story. There are moments that very genuinely hit and caused me to simply pause for a moment and absorb the storytelling. The world it creates is enchanting and against all odds holds up almost flawlessly on Switch. This is the level of narrative adventure that even with a few blemishes, I can't help but fall in love with.”

“It rarely gives you moments to form any specific attachments to its characters. The world certainly has some cool setpieces accompanied by a soaring soundtrack, but at the end of the day I struggled to care. There is still a well crafted world and some interesting mechanics at play, but the storytelling causes it to fall short of the genre greats.”

“Even a CRT filter would do wonders for translating the visuals at a higher definition. But given that the previous best way to play this on a home console was to dig out a Nintendo 64 or put up with compromised versions on Playstation or Saturn, this is still certainly an improvement overall. Hopefully down the road we can get the rest of the Heretic/Hexen series as well.”

“The constantly changing level variety and natural drive to 100% each area had me absolutely hooked. Now and then the platforming or level design would slow things down, but never enough to prevent me from pushing through to see what was next. Misc. A Tiny Tale is an easy early pick for my personal indie of the year lineup.”

“On a technical level it does exactly what it sets out to do and does it very well. The game itself remains an important release that would lead directly into iconic titles like Bioshock and thus makes for a fascinating historical curiosity. But it is important that you approach System Shock 2 from the right perspective, keeping in mind its ambition at the time of its original release.”

“The learning curve, even with a reasonably well handled tutorial, can be steep. This is only exacerbated by often-times awkward controls, though other elements of this port are very well done. This isn't going to be a game for everyone, and it's almost certainly better played on a PC, but if you're looking for a city builder that you can sink endless hours into on your Switch or Switch 2, Against the Storm is among the best options out there.”

“While I have some minor critiques of the image scaling implementation, the technical package overall is excellent. The Switch 2 has certainly come out of the gate as a racing powerhouse but don't let Mario Kart World take all your attention. Fast Fusion is another great entry in this sci-fi racing series.”

“The Switch version specifically doesn't really come with any compromises, offering the highest possible image quality and frame rate available on the platform. Croc is still a very simple platformer and obviously the original game design has not been changed, but it is presented here with a level of respect and admiration that only its original developer and avid fans could provide. Even if you don't particularly like Croc, it's hard not to recommend this excellent package.”

“While progression can stutter somewhat along the way if you can't quite figure out exactly what it is the game wants you to do, the vast majority of your adventure is fun and endearing. While combat lets down the experience somewhat it can generally be powered through with efficient use of your bonsai tree. The rest of Omega 6 The Triangle Stars is a wonderfully stylized adventure that is certainly worth taking.”

“But an oftentimes inscrutable, poorly told story is unlikely to win over any new fans. I'll also note that in Japan, all content that featured the cast of the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross was contained to a separate DLC. Currently that DLC is not available in this release, and seems unlikely to become so in the future, due to licensing issues. Still I'll take what I can get, and it is great to see this series making an appearance at all.”

“Moons of Darsalon has some rough edges, but its charm and level design is usually enough to shine through. This is a game that builds upon a lot of old ideas, but manages to make them feel incredibly fresh. While it can trip over itself now and then, the end result is a memorable and fun puzzle experience that feels truly out of time.”

“Achilles: Legends Untold is a functional isometric souls-like that plays well enough and has plenty of territory to explore but falls short in its Switch port. It isn't completely unenjoyable by any means and mechanically it is quite solid. But ultimately through the combination of a rough Switch port, poor voice acting, and a general struggle to do anything that stands out, it winds up being a forgettable journey.”

“It is definitely at its best the more human players you have, as empty slots ultimately just become extra characters for your party to manage in addition to their own. The UI is a little clunky and can take some getting used to. But Worlds of Aria is ultimately a charming adventure that bridges the gap excellently between tabletop RPG and party game.”

“The Switch version comes with a few minor hiccups, but not enough to sour the experience. What you're left with is an incredible adventure full of beautiful worlds, fun puzzles, and witty writing. Broken Reality is one of those games that is just fun to spend time in.”