When it's good, Crowns and Pawns: Kingdom of Deceit is really good. This love letter to Broken Sword and Gabriel Knight-style point-and-click adventures looks great, explores a part of world history that has rarely been touched, and offers plenty of great puzzle-solving that will make you feel like a modern Indiana Jones (or Robert Langdon). At its worse it fails to immerse players into its world, or seems keen on annoying players through puzzles that will test one's patience. Thankfully, while Tag of Joy's creation is very rough around the edges, it mostly leans towards the fun side of the scale.

Life is Strange: Double Exposure offers up some delightfully engrossing story beats and it's easy to get wrapped up in the mystery of the tale. There's a lot to like here with Max's character development feeling fulfilling and the potential for this arc to spawn an even wider tale if the twist at the end is anything to go by. Generally speaking, the performances of the cast are all of a high quality. Where Double Exposure somewhat loses its focus is during the final chapter or two, when the plot seems to fully lean into the supernatural beyond the interesting character development. Some general technical issues with dialogue and graphics also unfortunately result in a frustrating sense of being stripped out of the immersion. Overall, for fans of the series and those who just like a good adventure tale, Double Exposure is worth enjoying.

Over the years, Outlast has aged well thanks to its production design and ultra-violent spectacle. The simple act of hide-and-seek is still engaging and the adventure's length does not overstay its welcome, something that hurt the overly long sequel. Mount Massive Asylum is a memorable and grisly place and the wide cast of maniacs to meet in the core game and DLC chapter leave a lasting impression. This is a very linear horror game that is heavily scripted and is elevated thanks to the imaginative scenario. There are tons of weapon-less horror games these days and more often than not they tend to be more annoying than scary. Outlast is one of the few that just barely gets by without irritating too much. Perhaps it's because of the brevity and pacing of the game that keeps things tense and exciting so its more obvious shortcomings become much less apparent.

There may not be a lot of choices on Nintendo Switch for those who want to jump into a worthwhile pool experience, however Pure Pool is the one to get for those who are keen. As good as it gets with a pool-based digital experience on the handheld, with plenty of offline and online content to make this easily worth the money. Plus, with how quick and easily the game boots up and loads up different matches, Pure Pool never involves having to wait around - which is the difference between a real-life pool game that can last for a while or this digital version where games can be wrapped in 360 seconds or less. Career mode does offer a lot of tasks for people to dig into for replayability's sake, though it would've been nicer if there was a deeper layer of progression beyond just cosmetics.

It is easy to dismiss Lil Tanks prematurely because of how simple and shallow it looks as a game. This is, however, what gaming used to be back in the good ol' days, and this is one of few modern retro games that truly captures the feeling of simplicity and pure action many of those games delivered, with no frills. While certainly not for everyone, those who are looking for a classic old school shoot 'em up will find this scratches that itch.

Sonic Mania's Encore pack gets away with having not much to offer because of its almost irresistible price. Super fans will lap this up in an instant, appreciating the addition of two new characters with unique abilities and slightly adjusted zones to put them to use in, but this isn't enough to entice the less hardcore Sonic Mania owner. Completely fresh zones would have really changed that. Guess that's a job for Sonic Mania 2.

Without having the drum to test out, it is difficult to tell if Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum Session! is an inferior game without it, but it is still most definitely a fun rhythm title in its own right with the regular controller. With only a few note types - and, therefore, buttons - to remember, this is simple to pick up, and the support options make it highly accessible to rhythm casuals. The higher difficulties and plentiful options to add handicaps allow experts to test themselves freely, too. For a very Japanese themed rhythm game that is chock-full of tracks, Drum Session! is well worth a beat.

While the combative elements leave much to be desired, Mage's Initiation to pay tribute to the old Sierra titles of yore without failing to craft an identity of its own alongside the homage. D'arc's initiation is almost too simple for its own good, serving as a prologue of sorts to a grander adventure, yet so much focus placed solely on a single story beat is exactly what allows the narrative to lend impact to any given moment. The plot itself may never get too exciting, but active world building, endearing visuals, and focused puzzles ensure that in Mage's Initiation: Reign of the Elements there is seldom a dull moment in D'arc's journey.

The Council is off to a really good start with Episode 1: The Mad Ones, with an occultism/conspiracy-heavy story that is as mysterious as it is engrossing, and a RPG skill system that works well in unison with the more traditional elements of narrative-driven gameplay. It's a rough diamond, for sure, but at least it is one that provides a fresh look on the genre, making it easy to get hungry for the next chapter.

It isn't without its flaws in some of the duff games, but is a well-rounded package to consider for Wii U.

That said, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games is still the party game to play with friends and family this Christmas.

Those looking for the quintessential stealth experience, will not find it in Aragami: Shadow Edition. That being said, this is definitely an enjoyable, and unique take on the genre, albeit, one that's a bit light on content and depth.

Rad Rodgers is a love letter to games from an older time, and manages to succeed in delivering a violent and satisfying 2D shooting experience. Unfortunately, unpolished platforming and a short length keep it from being a must play, especially considering the plethora of alternatives out there. The humour may not be for everybody, but for gamers looking for a blast from the past, Rad Rodgers is a rollicking and violent nostalgia trip to a simpler time.

The Journey Down: Chapter One limits itself to simply laying down the premise of a promising narrative but, unfortunately, limits itself to just that and is altogether over fairly quickly. It does nothing else wrong in terms of gameplay or presentation, though, even if the choice of character art is a bit out of left field and hard to adjust to, at first. Player interactions with the humorous plot and colourful cast of NPCs are what build the sympathy towards Bwana, the protagonist, and his companions.

Credit should be given to Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin for trying something different, and nobody could argue that it certainly is that. With a distinct lack of the plot and character polish, players approaching this as an RPG can easily overlook this. With such excellent combat options and a real sense of fun throughout, though, it more than stands alongside its peers in both the role-playing and Souls-like genres. Why it looks so bad, that's a mystery in itself…

Pokémon Quest proves to be a pleasant piece of gaming that is best enjoyed while doing something else, like watching TV or during short trips on public transport, due to the short nature of the experience and limited amount of free play time offered by the base software.

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is not a big improvement over Kingmaker, but it is an improvement, nonetheless. Some of its elements are exceptional, like the overwhelming variety in classes, skills, and "paths," or the general epic aura it has, while some other parts sit somewhere between decent and good, like the story (which is a bit too stereotypical), the Crusade portion of the gameplay (which is a buggy chore), and the actual role-playing, which, while fine and all, won't be enough for those spoiled by other modern classics of the genre. Despite some its flaws, it is undoubtedly very entertaining, and highly recommended, as it will surely satisfy your hunger for a good RPG.

Croteam has yet to surpass its first two Serious Sam games, with Serious Sam 4 basically being one more entry; one that is great fun, but far from an evolution of the series. The flaws are aplenty, although they are rarely very serious (pun not intended), making this fourthquel more disappointing than bad - because, make no mistake, this is very good. Sure, it's not the best Serious Sam game… but still a Serious Sam game. Fans of serious action will understand.

Fans of adventure games will get a big laugh out of Lair of the Clockwork God. Sadly, the platforming half of the experience is mediocre and unpolished. The experiment of Size Five Games is mostly a success with managing to find a careful balance of platforming and puzzles, but the team needed to refine the experience with tighter quality control. The writing and humour elevate this from being average, to being worth a look towards anyone who enjoys the adventure genre.

As far as visual novels go, Oppaidious Summer Trouble! doesn't reinvent the wheel - and that's because it doesn't want to.

If an experienced fan of rogue-likes, there is a lot to enjoy in this package. Well written text creates a fascinating world worth exploring, and each port offers fresh stories that really flesh out the overall experience. Add to this the new Zubmariner expansion, and it's easy to get lost in the lore and spectacle of it all. Its greatest strength however is also its greatest weakness. Without a real commitment to the genre, and a willingness to embrace the text-soaked ports and islands, sinking in a sea of information overload is inevitable. With simple combat and navigation being the only outlet from the narrative, settle in for a quiet, but ultimately rewarding journey.

If gameplay is all that is of importance, Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition remains one of the finest examples outside of a Lucasarts' title, bringing together a great story and interesting mechanics. If you want the whole package however, it may be best to look elsewhere for a definitive version. The Nintendo Switch of course does have that major advantage of gaming on the go and on a smaller screen, it may just look that little bit more appealing.

Metal Slug 7 is an extremely solid entry in the Metal Slug series.

The mixture of varying styles throughout the entire Bit.Trip Saga package is enough to keep fans of rhythm games content thanks to it proving to be far more than a run-of-the-mill music-based product, instead being a wonderful combination of great tunes and intriguing genre-splicing.

With a dialogue-skill tree system, there is enough reasons to replay these episodes using different approaches to generate new endings or forks in the story, though the inability to skip cut-scenes makes this a grind. However, this is a great start from Big Bad Wolf, and the wait for future episodes is made a lot harder due to how engrossing this story is.

Unfortunately, a few extremely-frustrating problems combined with linear progression and repetitive gameplay means that the more sophisticated gamers amongst you won’t find much more than a few hours worth of enjoyment before you move on, never to return.

Below is a niche title if there ever was one. Beautiful, haunting, and downright demanding of the player, it's a game of little victories. Explore mode is only moderately easier, but it does make this a bit easier to grasp for those who aren't particularly adept at dungeon crawlers. However, the price of death feels too steep, and it's hard to recommend Below to anyone who isn't a diehard fan of the genre. It's very good, but definitely not a good first dungeon crawler.

Final Fantasy IX is an absolute must-buy and must-experience classic JRPG that deserved a home on a Nintendo console, and should have had one a long time ago. It starts off as the best and last proper throwback to older Final Fantasy titles of the late '80s and early '90s, but with all the enhancements that the technology of the day could afford, but also doesn't know whether to be Final Fantasy VII and VIII, or classic Final Fantasy towards the end, but overall, it is a magical experience to behold.