Even though an RPG lover since an early age, the thought of a stripped down, bare bones experience raised a lot of questions. The answer, however, is that Voice of Cards: The Beasts of Burden is an absolute treat on a handheld console. Easy to pick up and bash out for a quick half hour but still allowing you to fall in love with a beautiful world and its cast of characters as well as retaining every factor that makes an RPG great. There is certainly no burden giving this one your time.

Ultimately, this is a strong twin-shooter that might be a little too confident in how much people will enjoy replaying older stages on a higher difficulty.

Ideally, players should try to experience Surviving Mars on the PC, but the Xbox One version is a fine substitute. In any case, they are treated to a very impressive simulator that rewards expert resource-management. The emphasis on automated drones helps to streamline all of the menial tasks, leaving players plenty of time to focus on constructing the perfect colony. Of course, the game features a steep learning curve, but there's always something new to learn.

Super Mario Party Jamboree Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV shakes up the Mario Party formula with additional mini-games, enjoyable camera support and the return of team play. The good is undermined, however, by splitting the game between the untouched original release and the improved Jamboree TV portion. It is a shame as Jamboree TV could be the definitive release with better considered UX. As a result of this, it comes down to whether you feel the additional mini-games and modes are worth the upgrade price or if the feature-packed original release will suffice.

Story of Seasons is a very run of the mill farming sim. It doesn't elevate the genre and it is a very long and tedious endeavour.

WayForward take advantage of capitalising on all of DS' limitations and have created a title that has genuine affection and impact.

Thankfully, a few of the early bugs were ironed out of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, and subsequent season passes have patched up modes and maps that were lacking. The campaign is genuinely intriguing but may not appeal to those who just want to run and gun. Zombies and Multiplayer modes are plentiful and there should be something for everyone to thoroughly enjoy. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War should be used as the poster child for PlayStation 5's DualSense controller which has been put to full use for an immersive experience. Casual players will be somewhat put off by the sheer storage space required to fully experience everything that is on offer, especially given that SSD capacity is this generation's gold dust, but Call of Duty die-hards will most likely overlook this.

Necrobarista: Final Pour is a going to bring a lot of new fans to the visual novel genre once it's fascinating concept is made known to the mainstream. If this is a first experience, it's a great introduction and one that will set the benchmark for others. The story is engaging and looks great on the Switch, and any chance to explore is rewarded with world building insights that frame the main plot. Don't expect any earth-shattering revelations, but instead cosy up for a very human tale with a relaxing narrative and engaging characters. Except Ashley. She sucks.

Withering Rooms boasts a surprising amount of content, rivalling some AAA titles. Players will encounter a variety of outfits, weapons, enemies, and challenging boss battles, offering a high value proposition. For fans of Bloodborne seeking a 2D action RPG with a focus on witchcraft, Withering Rooms provides a compelling experience despite its uneven rogue-lite mechanics.

For long-time fans, Super Robot Wars Y is probably...maybe...hopefully a buffet of nostalgia. The thrill of assembling a dream team of mechs and watching them interact, however briefly, is pretty darn cool if an afficionado of the genre. As a standalone product? It never rises above its crossover gimmick and is far from a solid recommendation for those in love with tactical games. Oh, and the price tag is ridiculous.

Madison is a great VR horror game. With a constant biting tension and excellent puzzle design, utilising the camera mechanic throughout, players should be thrilled. It is highly recommended for the install base of PS VR2 owners who are into horror content. Bring a spare pair of underwear and strap in for some very cool spooks.

Hyrule Warriors is an outstanding crossover of The Legend of Zelda and Dynasty Warriors with addictive gameplay, a slick presentation, and a lot of content.

The fact that a game with this style of presentation works so well to make you feel uncomfortable and creep you out is a testament to how well written and designed it is. It would have been easy to put too much of one thing or another in it so that the subtle balance of it all would be lost and this adventure feel like a complete mess, but that's not the case. It's a truly disturbing story that demands using your imagination to perceive this as more than a bunch of huge pixels on a screen, and this involvement is part of what makes the cake lift at the end of the day, and that is a genuine tour de force. That's not to say that it's perfect, as some things are not always executed brilliantly, and yet, in the end, the atmosphere and immersion are not spoiled by such little shortcomings, and the experience ultimately still comes highly recommended.

The premise is simple: shoot stuff, run towards the finishing line, and do these as fast as possible, with a meter acting both as a timer, and a health bar. It's simple, yet very effective at getting you immersed and addicted, however, while, the frenzy of Post Void is definitely thrilling, the visual "noise" can get in the way of your score-chasing fun. Some small changes here and there, as well as tiny bit of additional content, could definitely turn this into a much bigger recommendation. Otherworldly fingers crossed...

Deadcraft offers a stimulating farming and harvesting mechanic that keeps the gameplay engaging, despite the easier difficulty level. It targets those who prefer a darker, more punk-nihilistic aesthetic compared to the lighter, cuter style of series like Rune Factory. It runs very well on Nintendo Switch, and while the visuals may not be as polished as a AAA title, Deadcraft makes up for it with its unique style and creative gameplay.

It is unfortunate that the last Atelier on Nintendo Switch before Switch 2 launches has so many issues. There is great strength in the Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land character personalities, stories and design, yet the world is either environmentally rich or totally empty with little in it to see and do. By the time the credits roll, Yumia is loved enough to replay for the story's sake, as well as enjoy the New Game Plus extra bosses to fight and clear everything 100% for completionists. Nonetheless, it is not an Atelier game that fully showcases why the series is so beloved. Perhaps if there is a sequel it will solve all the bugs that so heavily affect gameplay.

Paper Mario: Color Splash is a complete joy aesthetically, looking and sounding fantastic, complemented by some very amusing script work. At its core, though, whilst attempting to mix things up as much as it can in order to keep the action fresh, its battle system grows tiresome very quickly, dragging the enjoyment factor down several notches.

Wulverblade is a welcomed addition to an already impressively broad catalogue of titles on Nintendo Switch. It's exactly these types of games that make the Switch so appealing, giving it a varied selection of superb smaller titles on top of the big blockbusters. Challenging, nostalgia-filled, brutal, and fun - it is an arcade classic in a brand new form for all the '80s and '90s gamers out there.

Marvelous have absolutely succeeded in making Rune Factory 3 Special endearing to newer fans despite some obvious differences compared with the newer Rune Factory titles. It remains a great blend of RPG farming and fighting, the latter can be focused on for farming aficionados, holding off main story progression until it is desired. The comprehensive post-game content that is not conditional on various requirements only adds to the experience. Let's hope Rune Factory 1 and 2 receive similar treatments in the future!

Forgotton Anne is a charming little adventure, with an interesting, and good-looking, hand painted world that's fun to live on for the eight or so hours that this will last. Unfortunately, the story never really manages to become as emotional and engrossing as it thinks it is, and the rest of the experience, the actual jumping and puzzle-solving, feels more like useless baggage.

All three games available in Darius Cozmic Collection Arcade, in all of their included versions, are well worth playing for any fan of shoot 'em ups out there. Those are the best ports anyone could hope for, and there is nothing wrong with them in their own right. The fact that running them on a home arcade cabinet is practically impossible because of the multi-monitor nature of the first two games included, makes this collection very desirable indeed for the sake of preservation alone. The price of admission, however, is pretty steep if one considers that only three games are truly included - no matter how great they are, and that the first neither has aged particularly well, nor is comfortable to play on modern 16:9 displays.

Who knew that arranging gems and collecting cards could be so cool! Anthem#9 is a stylish hybrid of puzzle mechanics and deckbuilding that manages to stand out in an oversaturated market. Combat is highly tactical and fast paced, and it’s super satisfying when abilities are chained together to cancel enemy attacks and trigger long combo streaks. It suffers a tiny bit in terms of balance and a lot more in replay value, yet its slick presentation and rewarding gameplay make it a fun, challenging experience overall.

Even one amongst the games included is very enjoyable to play through, and having two in the package makes it that much better. Despite the huge battles of so many characters, it actually goes quick and, gives a much more chaotic yet satisfying experience rather than the "perfect" style Fire Emblem requires to play. This lacks many newer conventions, like managing relationships, as an example, and feels somewhat aged, but despite all this, it is still fun to play. The bundle is just so polished, that it's hard not to recommend.

XType Plus is the essence of the Wii U eShop's potential for quick, cheap and accessible games, wrapped up in a tightly controlled and satisfying game with endless potential for replayability.

Amnesia Collection on Switch may lack the slick polish and fidelity of the PlayStation 4, but at the very least, The Dark Descent survived mostly intact, and is still an excellent version of the scariest game ever made. It is too bad that the other entries in the collection are not quite up to the Frictional Games' standard of quality, but even in their own merits they are decent compared to most other first-person horror titles on Switch. A Machine For Pigs, being the least restraint and absurd, makes it hard to take it seriously, but does have some qualities that make it an amusing guilty pleasure. At the very least it never bores.

A Hat in Time is a delightful 3D platformer, with tight controls, some of the best humour seen in the genre to date and compelling scenarios driving the collectathon aspect of the game. It doesn't revolutionise anything in the presentation department, with rather low polygon models and scenery, but that doesn't take anything away from the enjoyment to be had on any platform it has been released on so far. On Switch, it is held back by some low-res textures and a resolution of only 720p in docked mode, but it does fare better overall in portable mode. Then, still specific to this Switch version is occasional stutter and long load times giving it a rough looking varnish that could perhaps still get ironed out through a patch.

Max and the Magic Marker is yet another considerable addition to the Wii's download library, and a great start for new developers Press Play.

Floor Kids starts as a breath of fresh air for the rhythm genre, and a blessing for those who wanted a break-dancing title on Nintendo Switch, which, for people's information, is not really such an abundant group. It feels and looks quite good… but that's all there is to say about it, as its replay value is so low that it's impossible to recommend it to anyone but unique indie game aficionados.