NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: We here at GameTyrant have been absolutely bombarded with so many products and games this year already. We will be rolling out select quick reviews to let our audience know about products, games, and DLC that may have slipped under their radar. We appreciate the amazing support from all publishers and developers out there! The Switch 2 continues to be home to so many incredible titles with more on the way.
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales
Square Enix's Team Asano has delivered something special with The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, bringing the beloved HD-2D art style into real-time action gameplay for the very first time. The result feels like a beautiful fusion of classic top-down Zelda adventures and the Ys series, wrapped in those gorgeous layered pixel art visuals that made Octopath Traveler such a standout.
The combat is intuitive and rewarding, with seven weapon types and a deep Magicite customization system that lets you tailor your playstyle. The time-spanning story across four ages is emotionally engaging, and the partnership between Elliot and his fairy companion Faie adds both charm and strategic depth to exploration and puzzle-solving. Boss encounters in particular are consistently excellent, and the sense of adventure is infectious from start to finish.
Where The Adventures of Elliot could improve is in its enemy variety, which becomes noticeably repetitive as you travel across the different time periods. The overworld doesn't change as dramatically between eras as you might hope, which can make backtracking feel like retreading familiar ground rather than witnessing a world transform over a millennium. The early hours also lean heavily on dialogue and exposition before the gameplay truly opens up. A more memorable soundtrack would have elevated the experience further, as the music, while pleasant, doesn't quite reach the heights you'd expect from a Square Enix RPG. Some players have also reported occasional frame drops in handheld mode during busier combat encounters, so a performance patch would be welcome. Either way though, this is an amazing handheld adventure!
Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition
Devil May Cry 5 remains one of the greatest character action games ever made, and this Switch 2 port is nothing short of impressive. Capcom has delivered a rock-solid 60fps experience that never falters, which is absolutely essential for a game built around precise, combo-heavy combat. Playing as Nero, Dante, and V offers three wildly different playstyles, and the depth of the combat system means you can replay missions endlessly while still discovering new ways to rack up those coveted SSS rankings.
The Devil Hunter Edition bundles in Vergil as a playable character, alternate costumes, bonus weapons, a jukebox mode featuring music from across the entire series, and even the entertaining live-action development cutscenes. Visually, the RE Engine continues to work wonders, and the game looks remarkably sharp and clean on Switch 2 in both docked and handheld modes.
The main caveat is that this isn't the full Special Edition that PS5 and Xbox Series owners received. Turbo Mode and the beloved Legendary Dark Knight Mode, which flooded arenas with massive waves of enemies, are absent here due to hardware limitations.. Even so, if you've never played Devil May Cry 5, there are very few action games on any platform that can match this level of quality.
The Drifter
The Drifter is a revelation for point-and-click adventure fans and newcomers alike. Developed by Australian studio Powerhoof, this sci-fi noir thriller follows Mick Carter, a down-on-his-luck vagrant who returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral only to find himself caught up in a conspiracy involving mysterious soldiers, murder, and time loops. The writing is paced like a great thriller novel, with each of the nine chapters ending on a cliffhanger that makes it nearly impossible to stop playing. Adrian Vaughan's voice performance as Mick is superb, bringing a gruff authenticity to the character, and the pixel art is gorgeous, evoking the best of classic LucasArts adventures while feeling distinctly modern.
The Switch 2 version is arguably the best way to play, with a brilliant twin-stick control scheme that makes the genre feel natural on a controller, plus full Joy-Con mouse support for purists. In docked mode, the game even runs at 4K and 120fps.
The only real stumble is that the radial interaction menu can get cluttered when multiple points of interest are close together, occasionally leading to frustrating mis-clicks when you're trying to select a specific item. These are minor blemishes on what is otherwise one of the most polished, tightly crafted, and genuinely gripping adventure games to come along in years.
Observer: System Redux
Observer: System Redux is a cyberpunk psychological horror gem that deserves far more attention than it typically receives. Developed by Bloober Team, the studio behind the acclaimed Silent Hill 2 remake which we absolutely love. The atmosphere is extraordinary, dripping with Blade Runner-inspired neon noir and unsettling body horror that creates a world you can practically feel closing in around you. The narrative is tight and compelling across its eight-to-ten hour runtime, and the Switch 2 version delivers sharp visuals with steady performance in both docked and handheld modes. The Joy-Con mouse controls offer a satisfying and precise way to interact with the richly detailed cyberpunk environments, and the HDR support in handheld mode makes the game's deep blacks and neon highlights look particularly striking.
There are some minor compromises to be aware of. Advanced visual features like ray-tracing found in the PS5 and PC versions are understandably absent, and occasional stutters can occur when transitioning between different areas of the map. Interactive elements in the environment can sometimes be small and finicky to target, which is slightly frustrating during investigation sequences regardless of your control method. The game's slow-burn pacing and heavy emphasis on narrative and exploration over action also means it won't be for everyone, so know going in that this is a moody, atmospheric experience rather than an action-packed thrill ride. For those who appreciate strong world-building and sci-fi storytelling, though, Observer: System Redux on Switch 2 is a hidden gem well worth seeking out.
