DeVuego

It's oozing with style and succeeds in driving home the lunacy of a kickflipping train home with a well thought-out arsenal of tricks and enough variety to make this on-rails sonata a pleasing tune of a video game. In some ways, this might be my favorite 3D Sonic game. In other ways, it's a sequel to Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam. The comparisons can carry on, but Denshattack endures beyond it because it doesn't neatly fit a specific comparison or stereotype. Denshattack is Denshattack.

Super Soccer Blast is a top-shelf multiplayer sports game on Switch thanks to the great controls, smart design, and ease of play. The single-player content might be a little lacking, but overall, this is a well-crafted sports game. Honestly, it’s not a surprise given Unfinished Pixel’s track record with the fundamentally sound Super Volley Blast and Super Tennis Blast. I look forward to their next entry in their Super Sports Blast series that hopefully tackles hockey or American football.

Summer in Mara has the workings of a breathtaking and chill farming adventure that feels like it should be perfect for the summer, especially now. Instead thanks to everything from fetch quest repetition to a muddled interface, it’s more of a wistful addition to the Switch library. The pleasant vibe of Koa’s undiscovered world can’t carry the whole game despite the best of intentions. If tweaks and improvements can clean up some of the menus, Summer in Mara could be better, but I worry even that won’t make the repetition more enjoyable.

I admire Solo: Islands of the Heart for its ambition, but virtually every aspect of the game falls short of the noble goals of making an introspective puzzle game centered on love and relationships. The narrative is limited and mildly antagonistic, the block puzzle gameplay transforms into a disaster once the magic staff is introduced, and the serenity of the islands and graphics are dragged down by a middling port to Switch. If you really want someone to question your decisions on love, go see a therapist. This isn’t the game for that.

Much like Super Volley Blast, Super Tennis Blast is a very enjoyable arcade sports game that is a notch above comparable modern fare. It’s still a little rough around the edges, but with strong multiplayer fundamentals and an engaging career mode, this is a tennis game that deserves a place on the Switch next to Mario Tennis Aces.

Going into Metroid: Samus Returns, I was hopeful and optimistic. But given the past decade of Metroid, it was hard to not be a skeptic. After beating Metroid: Samus Returns, my skepticism washed away, mostly thanks to the fact that this 3DS game pays a loving homage to the greatness of past entries while adding enough new elements to feel like a fresh and wonderful modern experience. With their powers combined, Nintendo and MercurySteam basically struck gold with this game. Samus Returns is a dynamite entry in the fabled series and deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Metroid: Zero Mission and Super Metroid. If you’ve been waiting for a new 2D Metroid game from Nintendo for more than a decade, you owe it to yourself to play this game.

There is potential in Roving Rogue with its unique narrative presentation and teleporting platforming ideas, but it’s squandered by a middling execution. With a glut of superior platformers out there, this is a Wii U eShop game worth passing over.