Detective Dotson would be a neat pixel-art screensaver that depicts the vibrantly coloured, densely populated world that is India. As an actual interactive experience? It’s a boring fetch quest and mini-game heavy kind of mess hiding behind a pretty face.

When in full flow, Star Overdrive gives a great sense of speed and fun from its hoverboard dynamic. It's unfortunate, then, that any reason for the exploration is missing, with similar bland puzzling and the same rinse and repeat scavenging mechanic. With the exception of some fun boss battles and hoverboard mechanics, this one doesn't stick the landing.

A visual treat in search of better gameplay, Itorah is an action-platformer that wears a metroidvania skin. The eight or so hours needed to reach the end of this journey are boring, the main heroine feels clunky to control, and the frame rate will make you nauseous. The strongest moments here will come from admiring still frames, not playing through them.

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.

Without riding the simulated jet ski model, much of the novelty and magic is lost. Aqua Jet's strongest assets are its audio/visual presentation and the exciting sense of speed when racing on chunky, pixelated waves. Like most arcade games, it doesn't translate to a great home console experience. It's cool to have an option to play Aqua Jet at all, and preserving it is commendable, yet it's not complete without its alluring cabinet. It may look and run better than Wave Race 64, but sometimes that isn't enough for lasting appeal.

Tiny Bookshop is faultless in its execution and a title that is really surprising in how enjoyable and addictive it is. Fun for a quick pick-up-and-play and also to while away the hours as the nights draw in. With a strong sense of community and a feeling of real purpose in your place within the little village of Bookstonbury-by-the-Sea (still a terrible name), this is sure to be a bestseller.

Rougelite attempts are divisive by nature, but if you are the kind of player who enjoys this absolutely fine, then you will have a blast here. It also showcases the best parts of Donkey Kong Bananza in small pick-up-and-play chunks. The itching feeling that the location should have been included in the base game rarely goes away, however, especially with very little to do outside of Emerald Rush mode and the rich price tag. One for completionists only.

At the surface, Randomax looks like a quite promising title, and in many regards, it might sound too good to be true. Well, in this case, it is. "Rogue-lite" here is just a fancy word for a basic durability system similar to what can be found in just about any sandbox title, and a simplified reskin of a decade-old genre feature. In addition, the gameplay is flat, and the screen is often cluttered to the point of being inconvenient. It is a somewhat fun romp, yet not that much more.

Munch Mobile won't connect with gamers due to its repetitive gameplay loop of driving and grabbing food/fuel, which lacks the depth, progression, or visual flair. Its steep difficulty, clunky joystick-based controls, and minimalist graphics and audio feel outdated compared to the polished visuals and responsive mechanics of its contemporaries like Spy Hunter or Pole Position. Slapping googly eyes on a car with big cartoon hands popping out the sides is also a poor excuse for an anthropomorphised car.

Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac is an incredible upgrade, both over the original Pac-Man World 2 and Pac-Man World: Re-Pac. As a remake, it does everything fans would want, adding new features to the game and making tweaks to improve the parts of the original that were flawed. It improves the presentation across the board and almost doubles the content of the game, ensuring returning fans also have something new to enjoy. It’s only let-down by mediocre and generic boss battles that feel like a chore to get through, an obstacle between the fun platforming challenges.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 Plus is a great remake of a remake that gets everything right and knows exactly what knobs to turn to make the perfect experience for newcomers and veterans alike, letting players do the same thanks to the remake system. While the comedy is spot on and the gameplay loop feels amazing and addictive, some random glitches cause game crashes, and the lack of an auto-save system as its accomplice prevents Re;Birth1 Plus from reaching its full potential as the perfect entry point for newcomers to the franchise. If able to see past these issues, though, this is where to start if looking to get into the vast Neptuniaverse.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2: Sisters Generation is a time capsule of the otaku culture of its time, and an important puzzle piece to understand the evolution of the Neptunia franchise. It took what worked with the previous game and refined it, also daring to change up the story by switching the protagonist - a move that would breathe new life into the entire series moving forward, which has become well-known for twisting a well-known formula by adding something new in each entry. That said, some jokes will come across as outdated to a modern audience, although the core of the franchise is there, and a lot of the comedy still feels spot on, especially for those who were there during the era when this title was released. It is a game that is strongly recommended to revisit for long-time fans, and to be experienced at least once by newcomers, as it is a massive part of the DNA of the Neptuniaverse.

Just like with…pretty much every instalment so far, Just Dance 2026 Edition can be described as more of the same - but it’s the good kind of same. It doesn’t reinvent the franchise (and doesn’t really have to) but it keeps the dance floor alive and booming, with the unpredictability of the new Party Mode being this year’s highlight.

Persona 3 Reload is a great remake, with improved graphics and cutscenes, new gameplay mechanics and fantastic sound. It is disappointing that the game runs only at 30fps on Switch 2, and that there is a quite a bit of stuttering at certain points. However, none of these issues are game breaking, and overall, Persona 3 Reload retells a great story on a modern console. It is definitely worth picking up and playing.

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.

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.

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.

Action roguelikes are a tough genre to screw up, yet Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree manages to do that. From lacklustre in-run upgrades, to permanent progression that is boring, to perhaps the biggest problem of how utterly dry combat is, it drops the ball in many locations. The better parts, such as the banter and voice acting, are not enough to carry the woefully lacking core gameplay.

The gameplay is very standard Little Nightmares fare, and it plays it very safe. Giving the duo weapons isn't as game changing as it seems and rarely comes into play. Returning fans will notice that this entry is only four chapters long; that's two fewer than the norm for these games. The promise of two additional chapters via a season pass is a mistake since the franchise is very story-based and tends to be condensed. The core experience is very short and most won't feel like they will get their money's worth with such a meagre offering and a vague promise that more content will come sometime next year, but without knowing what it will be. The base package is a little longer than the first game, but not as long or well-paced as the amazing sequel. Marketing material for the season pass promises that future additional chapters won't be necessary, but then, why even bother? It's a bad trap that makes Little Nightmares III feel incomplete.

Game Freak once again attempts to do something different with a series that's fast approaching its 30th anniversary. Pokémon Legends: Z-A puts a refreshed battle system front and centre, offering faster, real-time combat at its core. The change may not be for everyone; especially long-time fans who remain loyal to the classic turn-based formula. It’s a shame that some aspects, like NPC interactions, haven’t evolved to the same degree and there can be some repetition in traversing the Z-A world. Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels like a well-earned holiday for the series, where there's opportunity to try something new and explore. The adorable critters truly do thrive in Lumiose City and that's ultimately the heart of what drives a Pokémon adventure.

Not much tweaking was necessary when bringing back this classic, but the addition of high-quality voice acting elevates Final Fantasy Tactics to another level entirely, with a narrative that engages from beginning to end. Coupled with some of the finest character customisation in the series, this is an essential play for fans that have fallen out of love with Final Fantasy following the latest numbered entries.

Islanders: New Shores is a wholesome experience that offers much depth for those who want it. No matter what mode or how much effort, the player ends up with a beautiful island full of charming little buildings, each placed with care. After a while, new islands feel like empty canvases, ready to be painted on with lovely tiny buildings. There is something exciting about preparing a spot for a building and then seeing the points rake in. Designing a city may never have been so fun, relaxing and pretty.

In Silent Hill f the F stands for fantastic. This unique story takes a daring stance and presents a thrilling psychological horror adventure. Gameplay hits that traditional Silent Hill design language, while also supporting a fast, difficult and interesting combat system, with puzzles in the world that require real mind bending. With multiple endings to achieve, its relatively short runtime is perfectly pitched for multiple plays. A slightly rough-edged horror gem.

The one-track, one-car options may seem weak, but spending over an hour trying to master drifting and making incremental improvements with every try is enthralling. The buttery smooth gameplay and bright visuals have kept Ridge Racer timeless, and while it lacks all the cool features and Reiko isn't around, it's hard not to be impressed by such an early 3D racing game that had such a confident vision for itself that still stays challenging with infinite credits.

Air Combat 22's biggest claim to fame is its fluidity and timeless visuals. The core mechanics are serviceable, but there isn't enough to keep it engaging past one playthrough. Without the cockpit cabinet and the booming chaos of a '90s arcade screaming in the background, there is less novelty and charm. Playing Arcade Archives: Air Combat 22 on a Nintendo Switch 2 is not the same as it would be on an original unit, but even if it were, the core experience is spread thinly, emphasising that the game was a shallow, cheap thrill.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a real triumph when it comes to kart racing and more than holds its own against the hedgehog’s main rival from Nintendo. The CrossWorlds mechanic introduces a strategic play that keeps things fresh, and the dozens of tracks do a sterling job in really providing a challenge, which also looks and sounds great. While there is maybe a bit too much grinding in order to unlock the many rewards on offer for dedicated players, even those who only want to casually commit to Sonic Racing will still get plenty of fun playing in both single-player and online, especially with a whole roadmap of additional tracks and racers being rolled out in the months ahead. Mario Kart World is an excellent game, but so too is Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds.

Gee Bee's austere visuals looked cheap next to emerging colour games in 1970s arcades. With only three-to-five-minute games with no escalation or features, after a few plays, the loop becomes mind numbing. Its core is so basic that not even modern features can do much to elevate its plainness. Most people play video games to beat boredom. Gee Bee is for people who crave monotony.

The Touryst Deluxe is a compact adventure that captures the spirit of a holiday getaway. Shin’en Multimedia has crafted a series of voxel islands that feel like miniature dioramas, each filled with puzzles, playful distractions, and a relaxed atmosphere. The deluxe edition introduces a new island and extra activities, while Switch 2 hardware elevates the experience with crisp 4K visuals, HDR lighting, and fluid performance. It is not a game driven by narrative or combat, but by curiosity and discovery. Players who enjoy atmosphere, variety, and freedom will find it enchanting. The Touryst Deluxe is a reminder that small, carefully made adventures can leave a lasting impression.