Forestrike is a new fighting game on the Nintendo Switch, and it’s not your typical fighting game. Instead of rushing in and mashing buttons, it wants you to slow down and think. You play as, well… Yu; a skilled martial artist who has the ability of foresight, letting you test strategies repeatedly before actually attempting them.

The way it works is simple; you can either practice a level as many times as you’d like, or take it on for real. Practicing lets you experiment and find the perfect sequence of moves without dying. It’s a pretty cool concept that makes the combat feel more like a puzzle.

Combat is still challenging, even with the practice option. Most encounters throw multiple enemies at you, each with different behaviors and attacks. Some charge, some hang back and shoot, and some do a little bit of everything. As you progress, you’ll also unlock new techniques and abilities from martial artist masters, and between fights you can pick perks from cards to tweak your strategy. I usually lean offensive, but you can mix and match to find what works best. Getting the timing right and landing combos feels incredibly satisfying once everything clicks.

The cards themselves aren’t part of the fights, they’re rewards you get for completing battles. After clearing a fight, you’re presented with three cards, each granting a new technique or a small, permanent boost. You pick one, and it becomes part of your loadout for the next encounter. But if you fail, you restart and lose everything you gained, so foresight and practice really matter.

Forestrike looks and sounds great for what it is. The stylized visuals are smooth and easy to read. Enemies move clearly, and the animations make fights feel lively. The soundtrack is energetic without being annoying, and the sound effects make every hit feel satisfying. It’s simple and fits the martial arts vibe perfectly.

Overall, Forestrike is a fun and satisfying fighting game. The foresight mechanic makes each encounter feel unique, and the combination of practice, strategy, and careful timing keeps the gameplay rewarding. It can be challenging, but in a good way, and experimenting with moves and cards adds a lot of variety. If you enjoy martial arts, or just want to try something a little different on the Switch, Forestrike is definitely worth checking out.

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Reus 2 is a god game that’s all about building planets and seeing how civilizations react to the world you create for them. Instead of controlling people directly, you shape the land itself using giant beings, then sit back and watch how things play out. It’s a slower, more thoughtful kind of strategy game. You play as these giant god-like beings that shape the land instead of directly controlling people. You’re placing forests, mountains, oceans, animals, and resources, and then watching little civilizations try to make sense of it all. Sometimes they thrive. Sometimes they don’t. And most of the time when they don’t, it’s because of a choice you made without realizing how much it would affect their little world. What I like most about Reus 2 is that it doesn’t feel like it’s nagging at you to play it “correctly.” There’s a lot of experimentation, a lot of “oh, that didn’t work at all,” and then going back in with a better plan. It’s not stressful, it’s not fast, and it doesn’t feel like it’s trying to punish you for learning. That makes it really easy to relax with, especially if you’re burned out on games that want you locked in all the time. That said, this is definitely a thinking game. You’re not smashing buttons or reacting quickly to anything. You’re placing things, watching patterns form, and slowly understanding how all the systems connect. When it clicks, it feels great. When it doesn’t, it can feel a little confusing because the game doesn’t always explain why something went wrong. You kind of have to piece it together on your own. This was a little frustrating at first and I will admit I did have to look up a tutorial. But once you get the hang of things it’s actually kind of fun. Visually, I really like it. It’s clean, colorful, and easy to read at a glance, which matters when you’re staring at planets for long stretches of time. The music stays in the background and doesn’t get annoying, which I appreciate, because this is the kind of game where loud or dramatic music would completely kill the vibe. The controls in the Nintendo Switch version are where I have mixed feelings. The game clearly wasn’t built with a controller as the main focus, and you feel that. Menus can be a bit clunky, text can be smaller than it should be, and sometimes doing something simple takes more steps than it needs to. It’s not unplayable by any means, but there were moments where I thought, “This would be way smoother with a mouse.” I also wouldn’t recommend this to someone who wants action or instant gratification. If you need explosions, combat, or constant feedback, this probably isn’t going to hold your attention. Reus 2 is slow on purpose, and that’s either going to be exactly what you want or something you bounce off of pretty quickly. For me, though, it worked. I like games that let me think, mess up, and try again without acting like I failed some kind of skill test. Reus 2 feels more like tending to something than beating it, and that’s not something you see a lot of anymore. It’s not perfect on Switch, and I won’t pretend the controls didn’t annoy me at times. But if you’re into chill strategy games, god/sandbox-style games, or anything where watching systems interact and grow is half the fun, Reus 2 is worth your time. Just go into it knowing it’s more about patience and curiosity than excitement.

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I didn’t expect a simple game like Love, Ghostie to keep my attention as long as it did. The only matchmaking I’ve ever done was in Harvest Moon or The Sims. In Love, Ghostie you play as a little ghost who’s trying to help a bunch of oddball housemates fall in love. That’s it. No combat, no stress, no timers ticking down, just matchmaking and getting to know the residents that come and go from the manor.

When you start out, you go through a short tutorial explaining exactly how things work in this “afterlife dating game”. A cute girl ghost will explain the ins and outs to you. She will also be checking in on you every three days to go over your progress and allow you to upgrade your house, along with a couple other things. The premise is simple enough; the residents cannot see you, but you can do things to increase their relationships, give them gifts, and set up dates or outings for them to go on. And somehow, the residents never question how these things are happening or who is doing it.

 

Love, Ghostie is set up in a way that does not allow you to do everything at once. Each day, Ghostie starts out with four action points. Every action you complete will cost you one action point. For example, there are random items placed throughout the house each day, and “stealing” an item will cost you one action point. If you take the item and gift it to one of your housemates, it will cost you an action point. Setting up dates and things like that will also cost you action points. You get the picture. When you are able to upgrade your manor, you can increase the action points that you’re able to use each day, as well as a few other things.

It might sound confusing, but it’s a very easy game to get the hang of once you start playing. I actually found myself getting invested in these characters’ stories and their personalities. You will learn things about them that will help you figure out who they are compatible with and if they would be a good match/couple. There are no wrong answers, but there are definitely residents who are more compatible with others and ones who you can blatantly tell would not be good together. An example of this would be the emo giraffe and the bougie frog characters. While they’re not technically a great match, they can still be friends and develop a relationship. It really all depends on what you want.

Most of the characters are likable, but there were a few that I didn’t care for, mostly just because they were harder to please or got upset over silly things. You’ll be able to read the dialogue and see some cutscenes as their relationships develop overtime. If you set up a date, at the end of that day you will get to view the date in a cute little Ghost movie theater. Some of them go well, some of them don’t. You want them to go well, but the mismatched couples who go on dates they hate are always the funnest to watch.

The game is pretty cute overall, in a storybook kind of way. It’s simple, colorful, and charming. Each of the 12 residents feel like they came straight out of a weird cartoon you’d watch at 3am, with a mix of shy, bold, messy, and fancy personalities. They’re easy to grow attached to, and watching their relationships change feels rewarding in an odd, satisfying way.

The gameplay is pretty addictive at first. Each day, you get a few action points. You can give gifts, send characters on dates, or decorate the manor. Items and people have little “tags” (like fancy, adventurous, lazy), and matching those helps build relationships faster. Once I got the hang of that system, I found myself wanting to see every possible pairing just to watch how different personalities clicked.

That said, Love, Ghostie does hit a ceiling in depth. Once you understand how to match personalities, the gameplay can start to feel repetitive. Dialogue sometimes recycles between different couples, and the simplicity that makes the game so approachable can also make it predictable after a while. It’s an easy game to play in short bursts before bed or while chilling on the couch.

Love, Ghostie is a heartwarming and gentle game about love, acceptance, and connection all filtered through the eyes of a ghost with a big heart. It’s ideal for fans of cozy sims like Spiritfarer, Stardew Valley’s relationship aspects, or Animal Crossing. It’s not long or complex, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s a relaxing experience that lingers in its simplicity. The kind of game you play when you want to smile and unwind.

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