The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is more than just a fun co-op diversion from the large-scale solo adventures this series is known for. The challenging, intricate puzzles are great chaotic fun in local multiplayer or for a one-time run through in single-player. Limited communication tools make it difficult to play with adventurers online, but everywhere else it's a success.
Abzu takes the graceful feel of movement and subtle push toward discovery that I've enjoyed in similar exploration games like Journey and Flower and builds a refreshing-yet-simple underwater adventure around it. The colorful settings, beautiful soundtrack, and basic controls made it a great experience that constantly piqued my interest, even if it never challenged me to master it other than deciphering its cryptic environmental clues. Instead, Abzu relishes in giving you freedom to simply enjoy exploring the fascinating deep blue sea.
Tomodachi Life offers a great kind of humor: it's just fun to laugh at yourself and your friends in absurd situations. Nintendo gets a lot out of mileage out of this Sims-like concept, but still manages to find ways to make it simple, accessible, and entertaining. The stiff, robotic voices could use improvement, but the effect of hearing the Miis speak is still novel in it's own way. The easy-breezy pace makes it ideal for short bursts of play, and it leaves me eager to check in on my town early and often.
Xenoblade Chronicles X is a massive RPG with enough surface area, sub quests, and customization to keep you busy for many hours. The presentation can feel stiff and awkward at times, but the satisfying loop of combat and customization makes exploring the vast world of Mira a fun and rewarding experience.
It might not look like much, but BoxBoy is one of the cleverest puzzle platformers I've ever played. The constant variety gave me dozens of uses for Qbby's simple-to-learn self-replicating abilities. Coupled with great pacing and level designs that encourage and reward experimentation, I just couldn't put it down until I'd cleared the 18-world campaign and put some time into the delightful side challenges.
Resident Evil does a good job of updating the look and feel of a classic survival horror game for a new audience.
Monster Hunter Generations hits the core tenets of what makes this series great. Great gear drives the lust for the hunt even on the small scale, but the big, spectacular fights ultimately matter the most. Generations’ tweaked combat adds just the right tools to make slaying epic boss monsters a fun activity that’s just as fun online or off. Playable companions help shake up the gathering game without taking away resources, and its fun to play as a wackier character. Generations only falters during slower moments spent on fetch quests and in wrangling through menus before the hunt.
Graceful Explosion Machine builds an intense, addictive shoot-em-up around a satisfying weapon-juggling system and smart enemies. The Switch’s HD Rumble adds a unique feeling to every explosion in this colorful shooter, and earning a good spot on the leaderboard is an intense challenge thanks to dense swarms of enemies. But even when a pesky foe slapped down my scoring run, I always had the urge to jump back into these crowded corridors and try again.
Geometry Wars 3: Dimension is a fun twin-stick shooter that's easy for anyone to pick up and play.
Code Name STEAM is a strange hybrid of turn-based tactics and action, but its simple mechanics create plenty of head-scratching decisions in single or multiplayer. Carefully selecting my squad and positioning them for maximum effect on the battlefield is tense and satisfying, even when I end up watching my goofy team crumble under a brutal counter attack.
Yoshi’s New Island’s inconsistent art and tacked-on new ideas are all layered on top of the same strong platforming and level design that made the original great. This deep understanding of pacing and flow helps Yoshi’s latest adventure stand out as the best iteration on Yoshi since the SNES original. Even if I wanted to play with the sound turned off.
Star Fox Guard is a fun action-tower defense game about managing different perspectives to put out fires as you use your resources to grow an awesome arsenal of robot-busting turrets. Its graphics are plain considering Nintendo’s artistic pedigree, but it’s still an elegant little game that can get a whole room of friends working together.
Transformers Devastation's nostalgia-fueled fisticuffs are a fun way to revisit the classic TV show. Sophisticated combo-based combat delivers a fast and furious barrage of action, but the gear and perks systems left me wondering why they were there at all in a game all about over-the-top boss fights and robot dinosaur beatdowns.
Star Fox Zero's fun stages and impressive boss fight give me lot of reasons to jump back in and play them over and over, and especially enjoyed them in co-op until I got a hang of juggling two screens myself. I've played 15 hours and I still haven't found everything. Learning to use the unintuitive controls is a difficult barrier to entry, though it comes with a payoff if you can stick with it.
The core idea behind Super Mario Maker is the ability to create, play, and share your creation, but the 3DS drops the ball on the last part of that credo. It’s worth noting that designing stages is as easy at it is convenient on the portable 3DS, but not having a larger platform to showcase unique creations will left me wondering what the point is. It’s still an excellent way to play a bottomless pit of classic-style 2D Mario, though, and that makes it worth keeping in your pocket.
Slithering up simple structures in Snake Pass is one of the most mechanically satisfying video game ideas I’ve ever experience, and it effectively creates a sensation that feels the way maneuvering like a snake might. The camera and checkpoint systems aren’t great, but the concept still managed to hook me for the five hours it took wrap up the campaign. And in the end, I wanted to go back and replay stages to round up all the collectibles I missed.
Hyrule Warriors brings the worlds of Zelda and Dynasty Warriors closer together in a fun, repetitive action game.
Resident Evil Zero HD Remaster has the look and feel of a modern game, but its real problems started in 2002 and were never solved. It's a forgettable entry in an outstanding series that just doesn't measure up because of its story problems, overwhelming inventory management, and horrible predictability. Reanimating this limp corpse of a survival game in high definition only brings back the disappointment I felt when I played it the first time.
Rigs: Mechanized Combat League brings fast, intense multiplayer action to the PlayStation VR, but with a few notable caveats. While there was enough variety in the mechs to keep me playing through a full season of matches, the sub-par visuals distract, and big matchmaking issues made online wait times unbearable. It’s fun to play with friends, but try to take it for a spin before committing, if only to make sure your stomach can actually handle it.
Mr. Shifty is an okay brawler that uses a stylish warping ability as a cool way to get the drop on unsuspecting foes. While it's fun to smack down security goons with quick melee skills, the horrible framerate of the final act will test your patience. If you do endure and manage to drop the final boss, Mr. Shifty doesn't present enough reasons to replay it.