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Only time will tell if Vampire Crawlers will meet a similar level of success as the game it spun out of, but I think, at the very least, that it should be of interest to anyone who enjoyed Vampire Survivors. Despite being in a completely different genre, you can feel the shared design sensibility in every aspect of the game. It’s incredibly easy to lose hours upon hours in its garish warmth, with the credits likely to be the only thing that stops you once it has pulled you in. This Nintendo Switch 2 version is a fine way to enjoy the game, especially if you’re looking to enjoy it on the go. Don’t come to it looking for anything too hardcore, though. It knows its audience, and it’s playing its melody for them more than anyone else.

I think Pokémon Champions has some potential, despite its many shortcomings at the moment. It’s carried by the excellent Pokémon battle system, to be sure. As the number of Pokémon available to use increases and the game gets more filled out, this could eventually grow into the true competitive scene that Pokémon could use. I at least appreciate that the current monetization method limits what you can spend and largely avoids potential pay-to-win problems. Still, there’s no denying that this feels somewhat undercooked, both technically and in terms of what’s actually included here. Hopefully Pokemon Champions can, over time, grind its way to living up to its name.

Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta is a slightly spiffed-up version of a game that is very much of its time and place in the history of the series. While it’s not the best Ys game you can play on the Switch, or even the second-best, going on a journey with Adol rarely shortchanges the player on thrills. Those using a Switch 2 will find this to be a particularly comfortable handheld experience, but there’s a satisfying quality to it wherever or however you choose to play it.

As a port, Overwatch on Nintendo Switch 2 is an easy recommendation for portable play as a companion to playing on another system. It feels quite lacking when played docked, though, with it not including the field of view slider or 120 frames per second options found on the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions, let alone running at a much lower resolution than those consoles. Given it took almost a year following the console’s launch, I expected a bit better, but I’m glad to have it in a much better state for handheld play at least.

Goofy, endlessly surprising and genuinely laugh‑out‑loud funny, the world could use far more games like Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream. I’m ecstatic that its chaotic silliness is back in our lives, and you won’t touch another game this year that works this hard to make you smile. This is Nintendo at its quirkiest, and you can feel the team’s enthusiasm shine through in every bizarre moment. It’s simply unmissable.

While I had my doubts early on as to whether or not Pragmata was going to stay interesting all the way through, the game ultimately more than went beyond my expectations. It’s nice to see Capcom apply its considerable skill and craftsmanship to a fully new franchise, and the results are excellent. It’s gorgeous, packed with ideas, plays like a dream, and has a story that will take you on an absolutely wild ride from start to finish. I’ll never argue with having another top-notch science-fiction game on the platform, either. If you’re on the hunt for another great action game for your Switch 2, don’t let Pragmata slip under your radar. Do it for Diana.

While you may not love every game in Taito Milestones 4, if you even enjoy half of them you’re beating the odds versus buying them as individual Arcade Archives releases. More than that, I think the value in a curated set like this is that it might lead you to games you wouldn’t have singled out on your own. Grab it for the hits you know, but make sure to try out the other included games. There are surprisingly few duds in the Taito arcade library, so you’re likely to have some fun with any given title from the publisher as long as you have a little patience. This collection demonstrates that quite well.

Quite simply, if you like word games and you loved Balatro, then Beyond Words is pretty much a no-brainer since… well, it’s essentially Balatro Scrabble Edition. While it might lack the same momentum and flow as the 2024 hit and prove especially tough if you’re not too hot with word crafting (like this guy), it doesn’t detract from what is an addictive and enjoyable roguelike with a twist.

All of this ultimately falls into the “nice to have” bucket rather than the “essential” one. If you loved the base game and want a little more juice to squeeze from it, you’ll likely be satisfied with what you get from SEGA Villains. On the other hand, if you’re expecting a full-on expansion, you’re not really getting that here. It’s a good excuse to fire the game up again, and I will say that what’s here pays homage to the respective franchises quite well. You get some excellent new boss encounters, some new stages to traverse, and even get some new moves and looks for your trouble. I do wish the stages were a little more fully-realized, and it’s disappointing that the only Sonic stage is reserved for the climactic boss battle. SEGA Villains isn’t all it could be, but it’s enough.

Marvel MaXimum Collection is an odd assortment, but it’s a refreshingly honest one. You’ve got a couple of good Marvel games, a couple of decent ones, and a couple of dubious ones. You get a number of ports that add extra flavor, and even the worst of the bunch are much more playable thanks to save states and the rewind feature. I had a really good time playing through every game on here, even if I had to cheat a lot to get through some of them. Even if you don’t have any interest in the more troubled games in the set, you might want to consider it for the arcade games alone.