TerraTech is by no means bad, and there's a lot to like and have fun with in it. The car creation aspect is wonderfully creative, and it's a lot of fun building up the car (or weird shambling monstrosity) of your dreams. A lot of effort went into this creation element, but it seems like nothing else was thought out in nearly as much detail. Creation is every bit as enjoyable as you think, but this never really gets around to having anything interesting to do with it. This emptiness, and a somewhat shoddy control scheme, are going to keep this just shy of great. But if you are just looking to get creative (and don't mind getting stuck in a rock every once in a while), TerraTech is a great way to kill some time.

Looking just at the root of this, it's a pretty awesome package of cool art, past stories, character skills, and so on. The problem comes ultimately from the format that, on some level, the game is a 'pay to win,' or at least a soft 'pay to play,' as players are fundamentally limited in how much progress they can make in a single day. The wall you hit limits what actually might have been an extremely cool single player experience.

Picross S3 definitely improved since its predecessor Picross S2. Especially the newly added colour picross mode is a lot of fun to play and makes a real difference in the gameplay experience. This entry offers more variability, making it easier to play longer and harder to get bored. However, it still has a variety of flaws that could be tended to in the future.

Part dungeon crawler, part economy sim, Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian has a lot going on without being too complicated. The graphics and overworld controls land somewhere between nostalgic for PS2-era JRPGs and perhaps underwhelming for a modern game, but more attention has been placed on characters and enemies, which pop with energy and are given extra life by enthusiastic actors. The story and characters have a charm that reflects the laid-back but never underwhelming gameplay, which offers many different subsystems or metagames players can often choose how much or how little to focus on. Performing alchemy is a minigame itself, as is running the shop, and combining it all means The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian offers hours of content, carried by charming characters who have believable motives, often driven by their own care for each other, and making this a no-brainer for anyone who wants a dense JRPG they can pour hours into on the go.

For those who enjoyed the original TT Isle of Man, the sequel Ride on the Edge 2 raises the stakes with an improved career mode that delivers a more immersive experience. Sign with a manufacturer to get access to their livery, then proceed to unlock perks and part upgrades to enhance the performance of those bikes with each successive race. Newcomers can easily pick up and learn the ropes while making good progress on the stat sheets thanks to the arcade-like controls that don't make the racing experience too complicated, unlike the more realistic sim racer. However, beyond the career mode, there is a basic online mode to further gain some racing experience. While this isn't the premium two-wheeled racer on consoles, it is a step in the right direction for Kylotonn.

Ultimately, this DLC accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do. It presents more variables to consider. This not only spices up the average play-through, it also allows for more flexibility in determining that perfect level of difficulty. Just be aware that the full breadth of features requires a significant time investment. It's the whole "you get out of it what you put into it" adage. The rival colonies can seem a bit trivial, especially if one is never put into a position where they might have to deal with them. Expecting the player to invest hundreds of hours and pursue the toughest scenarios might be asking a lot, but if they're really enjoying the base game, then Surviving Mars: Space Race is worth looking into.

Despite a few questionable design choices, Pocky & Rocky Reshrined delivers a thrilling and satisfying experience. The blend of nostalgia and modern polish makes every stage a visual and mechanical extravaganza. New characters and stages keep replays fresh, while the core gameplay loop of dodging, shooting, and surviving remains as addictive as ever. It’s not quite as refined as it could be, and the difficulty spikes and locked modes may alienate newcomers. However, for those who relish a challenge and adore retro shooters with a unique cultural twist, this is a worthy revival of a beloved classic.

Everybody’s Golf: Hot Shots is the best golfing game on Nintendo Switch, supported by fantastic gameplay that sticks to genre conventions, and a plethora of customisation options and content to experience. Unfortunately, the vast majority of this content is locked behind a poorly-paced single-player experience that forces players to repeat the same holes with the same characters over and over again, all presented with a passable but technically poor presentation.

It's definitely a good thing that Blade of Darkness exists, therefore its 2021 update is more than welcome, despite the fact that it is an extremely conservative remaster that hasn't really "fixed" the game. Flaws put aside, though, this is not one of those titles that belong in the past and are best left there to collect dust. It's not a title to recommend to just anyone, especially to those with an aversion to its heavy "retro" sensibilities, but those who can get past the clunky and slightly unreliable controls, and stomach the occasionally repetitive gameplay, will immediately get immersed to the strong atmosphere of this Conan the Barbarian-meets-Dark Souls fantasy land of sword and sorcery. And death. Plenty, and plenty of bloody death.

TNT Racers: Nitro Machines Edition is an enjoyable and extremely chaotic racing game.

Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection is a double-edged Dragon Sword. On one hand, it's hard to overlook the omission of both Black titles. On the other hand, the Sigma duology and Razor's Edge make for a compelling, if at times uneven, action trilogy. What the first Sigma loses from puzzles, platforming, and exploration, it makes up for with streamlined set pieces that highlight combat above all else. Sigma 2 lacks almost all the style that defined Ninja Gaiden II, but it's undeniably a smoother experience that challenges a different set of skills than its predecessor. Razor's Edge is the clear weak link of the bunch on a design level, but the mechanics are incredibly fun to experiment with. It may not be the ideal compilation for hardcore franchise fans, but Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection is a great entrypoint for new fans and a solid trilogy in its own right.

With only a few levels on offer, each lasting only a few minutes, it would be easy to conclude that Nano Assault Neo is a total rip-off. Deeper observation, however, reveals a quite addictive experience that will have fans of the genre coming back for more, trying to complete every single one of the downright insane challenges it throws their way, as well as attempting to climb atop the online leader-boards to become the best player in the world... or perhaps aiming for the more reasonable goal of becoming the best Nano Assault player among their friends.

Little Nightmares II delivers a terrible experience. Terrible has retained the connotation of something bad, but it can also mean inspiring fear, dread, and awe. It's clear that's what Tarsier Studios was going for: an experience in delving through a terrible darkness. That experience is not terrifying, not scary, but creeping disquiet. An unsettling experience. Best of all, though, that experience is memorable. Those who have the opportunity to experience this best version should do so. The world and its presentation are huge highlights, and this gives a shine of polish to enhance that. It's just a shame it clocks in at such a short runtime, and leaves so many questions left unanswered. Even heading back to see it all still offers a short playtime. The world of Little Nightmares deserves a third entry to explain it all. Hopefully, one day it will get one.

The acting is fantastic throughout, and the set-up, whilst not too original, is still engaging enough to hold attention. The lack of fast-forward to skip through already viewed scenes is a downfall, though, and some glitches experienced during review in terms of the number of endings recorded hold this back slightly, but otherwise this is a highly enjoyable interactive experience.

NEO: The World Ends with You is a good RPG in its own right, but it does not live up to its predecessor's legacy. Combat eventually opens up to become chaotically fun and the series' sense of style is as fresh as ever, but the story leaves a lot to be desired. Beyond spotty pacing at times, the script lacks the strong character focus that defined the original. There's too much focus on world building and epic plotting instead of the intimacy that made TWEWY compelling to begin with. The fact that Final Remix's A New Day epilogue plays such a foundational role in the narrative doesn't exactly help matters either. NEO: The World Ends with You has a frantic battle system that only gets better, but the story is sure to disappoint.

Ruffy and the Riverside is an unbelievably fun and imaginative 3D adventure-puzzler. In some ways, it feels like it could have been a third Tomba! game due to its playful visual style that goes against the grain. Not everything works as intended, and it could use an extra pass of polish, but pound for pound, this is one of the more ingenious 3D platformers out there. If the developers can iron out some of the irregularities, Ruffy and the Riverside could be all it can be.

Slow, methodical, and deliberate, Happy Birthdays is at times frustrating, but only because it's genuinely engaging premise demands an attention to detail and level of care. Its biggest fault is that much of the experience occurs at the player rather than with the player. With that said, watching evolution occur on a grand scale through one simple action is an impressive and exciting feat.

Wreckfest is at its best when you don't take it too seriously. It features a great handling model that's sufficiently deep and rewarding to master. The wild and dirty races tend to be quite enjoyable too. Of course, the chaos can sometimes become frustrating. There are few things worse than getting knocked off the track at the last possible moment. It's even more agonizing when it's not entirely your fault. Those who persevere, despite the occasional bout of unfairness, will get a lot of mileage out of this.

It is reassuring to see a mobile game simply being a fully fledged game, and not a microtransaction-ridden free-to-play mess. Trust Feral to come up with the goods in this handheld Hitman: Absolution port because it has transitioned very well to the touch screen format. It isn’t without problems when played this way, but the range of customisation options is a welcome surprise that means most players can have a good time sneaking around and causing chaos. Try to hook up a gamepad for the best experience, but be prepared to dedicate yourself to each level, as the unfortunate save system demands it.

A number of issues with Blue Reflection quickly present themselves, such as some screen-tearing witnessed in the visual stakes and a questionable focus on the level of fan service wedged into the adventure, yet underneath these opinion-splitting matters there is an extremely enjoyable, memorable, and rather uncommon Japanese RPG adventure that will certainly leave an impression for the duration of the journey, as well as for a while after playing it.

Tournament of Legends is a good game, but there are a few niggles in the default controls, and it hasn't exactly got much depth to it.

The original Front Mission games were hard to get into, and when the third game came around, it marked a shift to make them user friendly. Front Mission 3: Remake is very faithful to its source material and improves a few gameplay mechanics subtly, which makes it a smoother experience. It's not the best strategy RPG since the RNG and the small party size can seem restrictive, and it also isn't the best remake, but it is the best Front Mission game so far.

Ultimately Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain is a fun game and does everything it says on the package. Unfortunately there is always a limit to games of this type, which explains its budget price tag for a physical release. While the multiplayer is fun to pick up and play with friends and family, it does not last very long with fifteen games in total. It is a game that need to be repeatedly played to try and beat the high score which can be fun for short bursts, but not something that will stay in the brain for a long time.

Minor scrolling stutters aside, Thimbleweed Park plays just as well on Switch as on any other platform, with the advantage this time of being both portable where touch controls rule supreme and playable on the bigger screen like its peers. A missed opportunity lies in the lack of pointer controls to which the Joy Con would have lent themselves pretty well, but it still offers no less than the other versions. Rather more than those, in fact, making this version arguably the best one anyone could want.

Yakuza 3’s most ardent fans will find much to be disappointed about with this highly anticipated remake of a game that deserved better. It is difficult to ignore the wealth of cut content, and the Dark Ties side story fails to make up for it. Yakuza Kiwami 3 is still Yakuza, though, and for anyone that hasn’t played the game since the PS3 days – or at all – it will more than satisfy. There are few series that so successfully manage to mesh the serious with the outrageous, but Yakuza pulls it off every time. While much has been lost, plenty has been improved, making for a far smoother version of Yakuza 3 with incredibly fun combat. If Switch 2 is your only means of experiencing the game, don’t pass it up.

For the most part Affogato melds the multiple genres it includes well, delivering an enjoyable and unique experience. Unique does come at a cost for appealing to a mass market however, with some potentially struggling with its concepts and aims. Much like Coffee itself, its not for everyone, but those who do try it, will rave about what the rest are missing.

On one hand there are 4 great games in Sonic Origins, all are well cherished by Sonic fans, and are games that are considered some of the best in the Sonic franchise. Players might not even notice some of the glitches if they have never played Sonic, some long-time veterans might not even encounter them, but then on the other hand, these games, which have been out on the market for 25 years or more, cost a premium price with so many bugs and glitches present. Anniversary mode, Story mode and Mission mode will certainly be a refreshing change of pace for those that have completed these games dozens of times and it's fun while it lasts, but the package falls short by not including more than previous collections.

Without Escape is the perfect dish for those hungry for classic 1990s puzzle adventures like Zork, Myst, et al. It does not over-complicate matters by bogging players down with convoluted puzzles, instead focusing on streamlining the experience and delivering a haunting setting that will stick in the mind long after completion. Hopefully now this has been polished to perfection, Bumpy Trail will work on a successor.