Considering that I'm not always the best at going out and playing new games, this has been a pretty new year for me. I've played eight new games and while some where maybe a little more up my alley than others, all of them had something to recommend them. They're all Switch games because I really need to get off my butt and do something about my poor old PC.
I've sorted all eight new games into rough categories based on how much I liked them.
The Alright
Mario Strikers Battle League
With some updates, this might be better than it was when I played it. It's a well put together game, and in multi-player it might be great to play, but playing single player was just boring.
Rune Factory 5
Given how great Stardew Valley is, the question feels like "can a studio make a farming sim game with that much quality?" Rune Factory 5 is a pretty strong indication that no, they can't. At a very high level there's some fun to be had here, but honestly the low production quality makes it pretty hard to really have fun with. The game has technical problems and design problems and world building problems and story telling problems. It hasn't felt like a game that would reward playing too much, but it's pretty and good hearted.
The Good
Nintendo Switch Sports
If you have the time to play and want to move, this is a nice modern version of Wii sports. It has a very Wii, fun, cozy vibe (you get to play volleyball in a bookstore), and it does a lot to get you up and moving. We played once or twice and never really got back to it which is why it ends up as "Good" in my estimation.
The Very Good
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
There's a lot to really like in Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. I think it's a fantastic sequel and moving tactics games off of the grid works really well the way they've implemented it. My only complaint, such as it is, is that there hasn't really been a reason to pick one team over another and to upgrade any character one way over another. I haven't played as much as I might have, so that might not be a real problem as you go later in the game.
Triangle Strategy
As I've said in my monthly updates. This game is slow. Overall I think it's a wonderful modern tactics game, but I can be in and out of a mission in Tactics Ogre in 15 minutes and here it's way longer. You have to jump through multiple cut scenes for every story mission. The story is really well written, the art is beautiful and the mechanics are great and inovative. Overall it should a great or excellent game, but it just feels like a wonderful concrete block in my life.
The Great
Tactics Ogre: Reborn
I'm probably *slightly* overselling Tactics Ogre: Reborn, just becuase it's my current obsession as I write this, but it hits all of the things I love in a tactics game and something about it has just felt really, really satisfying. It also has all the trappings of Ogre Battle which I love, possibly without reason. I barely remember the PSP version of Tactics Ogre, but this seems to have all of the ease of use of a modern game, and it moves so much faster than Triangle Strategy.
Tunic
Tunic has been great. It's stylish and charming and the dynamic of putting together a 8-bit era manual is really really cool. My partner and I have been playing through it together and for the most part it's been an absolute gem. My only complaint is that either the combat is tuned really hard or I just suck at it. It might be a side effect of being the person who does the controls and wanting it to be fun for the puzzle solver, but it really kicked me out of the game when the second boss completely stomped me.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
I really do love XBC 3, especially the characters. The mechanics are very good and the story is very good, but at the end of the day I spent as long as I did playing it because of how much I love the main six. I think, honestly, the game would have been better with even more focus on them and less on the big plot. As I've said before the Eunie and Sena Show really sold me on the game and it elevates the rest of an already great game.
