All-Star Fruit Racing

Also known as: N/A

Developer: 3DClouds

All-Star Fruit Racing is an all-female racing game. Why? I’d love to drive in a car throwing giant blueberries at people and I’m a guy. Why can’t I be included? This game is sexist!!!...Well, it kind of is, just not in that way. Honestly, when a game is marketed towards female gamers, it’s like it’s gotta either be a dress-up game or it’s gotta involve food. I know plenty of lady folk that like games like the Legend of Zelda and such. Good games don’t need a gender-focused gimmick to lure in a female audience. Anyway, now that I’ve gotten off my soapbox, All-Star Fruit Racing really isn’t that bad. I honestly expected that this game would wind up on the bottom end of the big ol’ list…or top end, since it counts down…you know what I mean…but, this really isn’t a bad game. Nobody will confuse it as being Mario Kart, mind you, and some of the tracks feel kind of bland design-wise, but for the most part, the racing is mildly fun and the visuals aren’t too shabby, either. Overall, it’s a passable racing game on the Switch, and any fan of racing games may find some mild enjoyment here if they give it a chance.

Review added: 11/28/2020

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Also known as: Atsumare Doubutsu no Mori (Japan), Moyeobwayo Dongmul-ui Sup (South Korea)

Developer: Nintendo

Animal Crossing: New Horizons tackles one of the criticisms I’ve heard about the series over the years – there’s no real goals. Granted, the goals found in New Horizons are small, just daily tasks that you get rewarded in Nook Miles (a new currency to go with Bells) for doing, but apparently it was enough to get friends of mine, who never played much of an Animal Crossing game in the past, to get hooked this time around. Along with new tasks, the crafting fad in modern video games makes its debut in New Horizons as well. While crafting is kind of neat at first, I found myself longing for the previous games in the series when my equipment wouldn’t break…though, the vast increase in inventory space (done for holding crafting materials, I assume) is a very welcome addition. New Horizons includes plenty of improvements, like improved personalities and behaviors of the animal residents, tweaked controls, and the most gorgeous graphics seen in the franchise to date…Unfortunately, it also feels like it takes a step back in several ways from New Leaf on the 3DS, in my opinion. I love New Horizons, and I’m nearly in triple-digit hours for time spent with the game as I write this, but if I was on a deserted island like in this game, and I could only bring one Animal Crossing game with me, I’d be bringing New Leaf instead.

Review added: 07/26/2020

Antarctica 88

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Euphoria Games

I generally like horror games, even when done poorly…and Antarctica 88 is done very poorly. From the terrible controls (specifically when on a snowmobile) to the game-ending glitches, this game is just a mess. When I first started playing, I found myself thinking, "Y'know…this game isn't THAT bad." But by the end, I wished that this game had a physical copy so I could toss it in a garbage disposal. Not only did I encounter glitches with me getting stuck in walls, but I also couldn't figure out how to advance at one point, and wound up watching a YouTube video out of frustration to see what I missed…turns out I didn't miss anything. The game missed giving me a cutscene to advance the story. As a result, I had to start all the way from the beginning again in hopes that the game would actually behave on my second attempt through. Thankfully it did, but the fact that I had to do that to begin with was completely unacceptable. That said, this game does do one thing that I liked - day and night in the game changes in real time. If you play during the day, then the game takes place during the day. If you play at night, it takes place during the night. I didn't really see any real difference between night and day except it's easier to see during the day, but I still thought it was a neat idea…unfortunately, it was a single neat idea smothered by a bunch of bad content. I wanted to like Antarctica 88, I really did, but it's just too buggy and awkward for me to really recommend this to anyone.

Review added: 09/21/2022

Asphalt 9: Legends

Also known as: Asphalt Legends Unite (Renamed later)

Developer: Gameloft

Asphalt 9: Legends is, as of this writing, the latest game in the Asphalt franchise. The Asphalt games, for those who have never played one, are generally stunning graphically, and are usually fun short-term, but lack much substance to really keep you coming back for more. This game is no exception to that rule. Available on the Switch for free (like many smart phone games, it has in-game purchases that you can make), Asphalt 9 is an okay game to download if you want some arcade-style racing every now and then without you having to spend a dime. However, this isn’t exactly a deep racing game and the main thing to remember is that this is free-to-play. In other words, don’t be surprised if levels suddenly get too difficult to win without needing to upgrade your cars. If you don’t have the supplies to upgrade your cars, your options are to grind races until you’re bored, or throw money at the game to “possibly” get what you need, since it’s up to chance. Some racing fanatics may love this game…I liked it enough to spend a few days playing it, but I never felt like I enjoyed it enough where I felt like I would have been willing to throw any money at the game. If you want a free game to pass time, Asphalt 9 does the trick, but there are better racers available if you really want to zoom around a racetrack on the go.

Review added: 02/02/2020