This iteration of Monster Hunter Stories received a lovely visual upgrade and it delivers a fun-filled and emotional story with supremely rewarding monster hunting at the forefront. I'm very happy that we can now play it on modern consoles. 🐱
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a classic RPG with a perfect blend of turn-based combat and adventuring complete with a rewarding unlockable abilities system that encourages you to explore every nook and cranny. Plus, its updated graphics, hilarious humour, and welcome gameplay improvements make it more accessible than ever. 🚪
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is an incredibly enjoyable RPG and it brought back great memories of the Suikoden series. Collecting the heroes and having them join you in battle while you build your base and protect the land is just as fun as it was decades ago. 🏰
I was pleasantly surprised with how much fun the mellow journey within Ikonei Island: An Earthlock Adventure is. Once I picked it up, I found myself not wanting to put it down as it rewards you for almost everything you do and it has a long list of activities and items to keep you busy. Hopefully, the developers iron out the glitches soon as this cosy game is certainly something special. 🏝️
If you're a fan of Persona or RPGs in general, you'll definitely have some fun with Persona 3 Reload but don't expect it to reach the heights of the latest game in the series. 🏫
I'm obsessed with this remastered collection of the first 3 Tomb Raider games as it does an amazing job of bringing the action-adventure classics back to life with a big graphical overhaul while maintaining absolutely everything that make the games so much fun.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink has a lot of character and is a great contribution to action RPGs. Genre fans looking for something new will enjoy this tale, especially its epic boss fights and interactive landscapes to explore; well, if you can get over the initial hurdles, of course. ⚔️
If you've ever thought that operating a guard post sounds like a mundane job then check out Lil' Guardsman where every person you admit or deny has a big impact on the fate of the city. This hilariously silly indie has heart, making the most tedious of jobs entertaining. 💂
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy contains an awesome collection of some of the most varied and bizarre cases in the whole franchise complete with bonuses for diehard fans and plenty of quality-of-life improvements. This is a collection that mystery fans cannot miss!
Another Code: Recollection is laidback storytelling with likeable characters, the odd puzzle, and a little sci-fi sprinkled in for good measure. I'm glad that I got to play through these lesser-known adventure games all of these years after their initial release although they certainly don't do much to stand out from the crowd. 💧
Coral Island is a carefree island farming sim with a lot of charm set in a vibrant world. It borrows quite heavily from similar games yet it also manages to forge its own identity and throw in a bunch of fresh concepts, too. 🏝️
Tales of Arise - Beyond the Dawn explores life after the main story. However, it does so without adding anything substantial and the story feels rushed which makes this DLC hard to recommend even for fans of the main game (which is, in fact, awesome). ⚔️
Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express is an impressively entertaining and unique spin on the classic mystery story even if our moustachioed hero, Hercule Poirot, is more serious than I'd like him to be. 🔎
Detective Pikachu Returns is definitely adorable in this Switch debut although the required deduction skills to solve its cases remain at an incredibly low bar to clear which made it hard to hold my attention for very long.
Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos is a surprising return to what made the earlier titles special and it feels like Natsume is putting some much-needed attention into fleshing-out the series. With its focus on exploration and a huge world to traverse, tons of items to find, and a variety of animals to nurture as well as solid farming, mining, and fishing; there's a lot of fun to be had with this instalment.
Paleo Pines is a cute sim that focuses more on collecting and exploring than it does farming and its large selection of dinos to befriend are totes adorbs. Amassing a collection of dino pals is rewarding and a lot of things are done well but it just doesn't do enough to keep players hooked like similar games do. Here's hoping the developers take what works and really run with them in their next game.
Silent Hope is a challenging dungeon crawler with familiar sights from Rune Factory sprinkled in and there's definitely some fun to be had for those looking for a more action-packed adventure that's set in the same universe. However, the unbalanced heroes and mandatory grinding will certainly put off many players.
Fae Farm is one fun farming sim with tons to keep you busy for many in-game months as well as a large world to explore beyond the farm. The only thing it's missing is a substantial family system so pick it up if you're more into the farming and adventuring side of things.
Rune Factory 3 Special is an attractive upgrade to the DS original and I had fun exploring its dungeons, upgrading my tools, farming, and wooing my future wife. However, its issues with inventory management, lack of gender and marriage options, and a rather limited set of dungeons make it a middling (but still good) Rune Factory game overall.
Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot: The London Case is another enjoyable mystery with great gameplay and a complex storyline that'll keep you guessing. I'm definitely looking forward to Blazing Griffin continuing to improve the series and seeing what they come up with next.