Streets of Rage 4 is even better than part 2

Streets of Rage 2 is the ultimate beat-'em-up. It's the perfect brawler where you engage in street fights to ultimately defeat evil. In terms of sound and gameplay, Streets of Rage II, which dates back to 1992, is unbeatable. That is, until Streets of Rage 4 finally arrived, more than 26 years after the excellent part 3.

Expectations were high. Streets of Rage 4 lives up to those expectations. This is partly because the developers looked at the previous games with great respect and learned from them. The game was created with understanding and passion. This time with hand-drawn graphics that truly pop off the screen. But this time again with Yuzo Koshiro's familiar techno, consisting of remixes of existing tracks and a completely new soundtrack that perfectly complements the previous games. Should nostalgia still have you longing for a return? The soundtracks from the first two games are also available.

Streets of Rage 4 features ten levels packed with detail, displayed at 1080p and 60 frames per second. Fighting has never been so beautiful and fluid. Fighters Axel, Blaze, and Adam are back to kick some ass, sporting a fresh coat of paint and new moves. New characters have also been added, and they're also fantastic to play: Cherry and Floyd. As always, you can use special attacks in a limited way. Each special also costs some health. This ensures you don't just mash buttons, but have to make tactical choices about your actions.

Developer LizardCube is known as the team that does justice to old SEGA games. They did it with Wonderboy, Shinobi, and now also with Streets of Rage. This brawler feels and breathes Streets of Rage, and that's the highest compliment the game can receive.

The wait for this game is worth it. It took a whopping eight years between its announcement and release. Many gamers had already forgotten about it. Speaking of the past... Back in the day, you had so-called Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games where you had to move units across a field, explore it, and defeat enemies with your units. Pikmin is an RTS, and we have far too few of those these days. When an RTS is also cute and exceptionally good, we're happy.

When you start the story mode, you begin with Olimar, a familiar character from previous installments. Olimar is on a reconnaissance mission in a house. In this mission, you learn how to use the controls and control Olimar's dog. That dog is one of the best additions to the fourth installment. Once you've mastered the controls, you're ready for the real thing. Olimar needs to be rescued from the planet. A rescue team arrives, but unfortunately, the mission goes horribly wrong. Before the rescue team lands on the planet, their spaceship crashes. So it's time to save not just Olimar, but an entire team. You start as one of the team members and begin your introduction to the Pikmin. That's the core of this game: having your Pikmin perform tasks as efficiently as possible against the opponent... the mysterious aliens who, strangely enough, look a lot like you and also deploy Pikmin.

Pikmin is a feast of familiarity. How do I get those grapes, why is there a rubber duck in the way, and how do I get to that treasure? The caves are also back, and there you'll find truly important things like new Pikmin species and missing crew members.

As a follow-up to the third installment, Nintendo has added several features to make the game even more accessible, such as the helper dog Oatchi. This makes this installment the most accessible and easy to get into of all four.

Steamworld Dig, we're really digging this game

Steamworld is a collection of games with a unique character. Steamworld Dig focuses on digging, discovering treasures, and exchanging them for upgrades to progress. Your character, Dorothy, is a steam-powered robot. Rusty, who we know from previous Steamworld games, is nowhere to be seen. Enough reason for Dorothy to go exploring.

In this game, you'll spend most of your time digging and searching for resources, but the world also begs to be dug. Without digging, there are no paths, and without paths, you often won't get very far. And you don't dig with your shovel, but with your trusty pickaxe. With it, you chip away at the stones one by one. If you come across beautiful gems along the way, you can take them. You can sell them at the top and exchange them for upgrades for you and your equipment. Think of better resistance to enemies through good armor. Another even more valuable aspect is the cogs. These provide the real upgrades needed to progress. Think of being able to walk on lava, for example. If you die, you lose some of your gems and can try again. In many of these types of games, levels are randomly generated, just like in Steam World Dig 1. Steam World Dig 2 doesn't. This tightens the gameplay, as developers and designers have managed to map out a fixed route that you largely have to explore. The leap in quality is therefore immediately apparent.

Digging is also an exciting part, as you have to maintain your water supply and your health. In many cases, you have no idea what you'll encounter in terms of opposition, and you're constantly hoping that a new waypoint will be discovered so that this part of the mine is familiar. Steamworld Dig 2 offers an addictive mix of digging, puzzles, and exploration, combined with a beautifully designed world, a captivating story, and a satisfying sense of progression. You can be incredibly creative, as you often have to create the paths yourself. This allows you to solve puzzles completely differently than other players. In the mines, you'll also find mini-caves containing some serious brainteasers, often yielding valuable rewards. There's always a corner in this game where you're not quite sure how to get there. These places get you thinking... and that's what makes this game so wonderfully good.

The ultimate party game

Mario Party has "Party" in its name for a reason. This game is essentially a digital board game. You roll dice and walk across a board. Landing on certain spaces rewards, penalties, or triggers a minigame. These minigames are the reason you keep playing, and they almost always cause chaos for the players and on the board. The goal is to collect stars, and the one with the most stars wins. At the end, bonus stars are awarded that can turn the entire game upside down. This keeps the suspense going until the very end, and luck plays a significant role.

In terms of game boards, you can choose from five. They all originate from the Nintendo 64 original, but have been extensively remastered and each has its own theme. The minigames are undoubtedly the best in the series. There are 100 available, and they are almost all classics. The fun part is that each minigame controls differently, and sometimes you start a minigame with excitement, only to discover that you're incredibly bad at it. That sounds annoying, but it's not. The controls are often so simple that anyone can join in. Some require skill, others require you to press a button as quickly as possible, perform a sporting activity, or memorize things well. With 100 games, there are always minigames in which you'll score well.

Each board has a certain completion time, but you can be sure to be entertained for at least an hour per round. A true party game where the game itself is the party. Everyone will love it!

Luigi must embark on an adventure to save his brother. Luigi Mansion 3 certainly starts off cheerfully. The Bros. family goes on a wonderful vacation to a luxury hotel. However, upon entering, a lot becomes amiss. It's haunted, and everyone except Luigi is trapped in a painting. Time to fight the ghosts for the third time, this time with an even better vacuum cleaner from Professor E. Gadd. In this hotel, you'll navigate fifteen floors of challenges and crazy situations. Each floor is unique, and you'll sometimes wonder why they call it a floor. You'll encounter themes ranging from film studios to pyramids. The hotel naturally has various rooms, each containing various types of ghosts. You can vacuum them up with your vacuum cleaner, purifying the hotel and saving your friends.

The graphics are stunning and among the best on the Nintendo Switch. The use of lighting is particularly beautiful. Each environment has a theme, so to speak, and these are beautifully designed and detailed. Luigi's expressions are hilarious and add a special touch to the game. All the animations are incredibly smooth and top-notch. The music perfectly matches the atmosphere and is spooky, with the accompanying tunes. Plus, we have Luigi, and he hums nervously.

The controls are intuitive, but it does take some getting used to. You're given that time, and as you go, you'll gradually learn how to paralyze and suck up ghosts more easily. The game gradually adds more options. In terms of options, the real expansion begins with Gooigi. He's Luigi's slimy doppelganger, and because of his appearance, he can much more easily overcome certain limitations that Luigi can't. Think of walking through spikes and fitting into certain pipes. By switching between these characters, you get a lot of interesting possibilities that are necessary for progression.

That vacuum cleaner Luigi gets is very necessary. You use him to solve puzzles. Think of vacuuming curtains, moving air in fans, pulling up carpets, and so on. Besides a theme, each floor also has a gimmick that focuses on the game's controls and mechanics. Both the ghosts and the bosses have personalities, making you feel like you're in Scooby-Doo. Bosses require careful observation, and direct attacks are almost never successful. Timing and pattern recognition are crucial in defeating the boss.

Luigi's Mansion 3 is charming. Luigi's character shines as a cowardly yet courageous hero. The hero he doesn't really want to be in a fantasy world. It's clear in every detail that Nintendo has made every effort to make Luigi Mansion a top franchise.

Playing together
Luigi Mansion 3 has found the perfect way to play together. Scarescraper is a multiplayer mode where you visit random floors and fight the ghosts together. Screampark is a competition with minigames, perfect for parties, for example.

Luigi Mansion has made huge strides as a franchise and deserves a high spot on the list of best games for the Nintendo Switch.