Gal*Gun: Double Peace was excellent on its original release on PlayStation 4, and it’s excellent here. People will no doubt write this up as shallow and crass titillation, just as they did with the first release, but then shallow commentary isn’t exactly uncommon where anime and fan service is involved. The game is satire and it is therefore a commentary. You don’t have to like it, but that doesn’t change what it is. Without a doubt, Gal*Gun will unsettle some people, and that’s fine – the game’s just not for you, and you don’t have to buy it – but if you do find these kinds of games interesting, and have somehow missed out on the series to date, now you can jump in with the best in the series, on the console best suited to it.

Mario Party 10 isn't a classic game, and it certainly does have any meat or lasting value to it beyond being the most casual of party games that you pop out for a quick bash once in a while. But that Amiibo integration is pure gold, and short of Square Enix following up on the Wii's Fortune Street (or Boom Street, depending on where you live), this will be the best digital board game released on the Wii U during its life.

This is a game that offers such poignant and relevant social commentary, and after many years of being either PC-exclusive, or released in a very watered down fashion on game consoles, it’s great to see that this great experiment in giving us the tools to play around with humanity is finally on console in a full and unabridged way.

What Need for Speed has done spectacularly is put the focus on the car. In every opportunity possible the game showcases these machines, almost fetishising them. And that’s great, but in achieving this, Need for Speed has left behind what makes players stay for these games. Not matter how great my car is, if I’m not driving down interesting streets, or being able to compete in diverse challenges, then slowly the thrill of the car will fade.

If you’re not well-acquainted with Compile Heart’s shenanigans and you don’t have a vested interest in the franchise, then the Switch version is perhaps not the most seamless introduction to the universe of Furies and Fang.

The humour tries a little too hard at points, but generally speaking, there's a genuinely great spirit to the game, and with the addition of multiplayer, you'd be hard pressed to find a more enjoyable brawler on the Nintendo Switch.

If you come at Lethal League looking for a smart, well-designed, quirky, deep, creative fighting game that cuts right to the core of what makes the genre so exciting, you’ll find it in spades.

What Tiny Metal, as a clone of Advance Wars, does unfortunately abstract things too far, to the point where there’s no real strategic depth left.

Memory of God has created a poignant experience featuring a character type that is rarely explored in the medium. The game’s esoteric story and tedious mechanics might look bad on the surface, but they contribute effectively to the game’s unique tone – and the ending is sure to be something you’ll remember for a long time.

Working with a clearly limited budget, Tamsoft has focused on delivering a tight action-combat system, while also relying on the fan service of both Senran Kagura and Hyperdimension Neptunia to see it through. It’s a good couple of hours of genuine fun, with the requisite bath scenes, humour and familiar characters to meet and fight. You can’t help but think that both properties could have grown to become more than this, but taking as it is, it’s still entertaining nonsense, with a heavy emphasis on the “entertaining”. I play enough serious games that require deep analysis, this kind of thing is my ideal break time between them.

Fans of the series looking for new songs to dance to will no doubt enjoy what is still a technically solid and fun game, but with so little new to offer other than modes that basically dress up the same core content in new modes, I worry that fan reception may begin to dry up.

Home Sweet Home isn't a classic that transcends its genre roots, but the developers behind the game show that they understand how fear works, how to build tension, how pacing should work in a good horror game, and how to create some shocking imagery. I wanted more of the promised delve into Thai ghost stories, but overall, as a genre fan I found this an engrossing enough diversion.

I wouldn't spend money on it because it's a shallow grind hiding under some very pretty character design. In other words, it's great, but only at a cost of nothing.

This Is The Police aims to be something of a higher production values take on Papers, Please. For the most part it succeeds, and certainly Lindsay loved in, as you can see from her perfectly fair take on the game. But truth be told the simulation/ strategy gameplay isn't that involved, so what I was left with was the narrative storytelling, and while every moral conundrum gave me real pause to think, too often I thought my emotions were being exploited and toyed with by a game that was going to play out the same way regardless. That in itself is worth talking about in the context of a conversation around determinism, but I was still left feeling a little cheated, truth be told.

Very much an insider's parody of a type of anime that only the most dedicated (and therefore, likely aware) fans of anime in the first place. For that niche Punch Line is pitch-perfect.

Adventure Time: Finn & Jake Investigations is eventually a Sherlock Holmes game with an Adventure Time skin and dialect (Algabraic!”), but that is quite okay by me. The finnicky issues that arose did little to take away from how whimsical the game is. The story? Great. The graphics? Great? The sound? Mathematical!

Talisman is a classic board game, and deserves respect for that. It’s also eminently playable to this day, and very easy to pick up and play; it’s a genuinely good game for lazy Sundays with friends. But it’s also not the perfect game, nor is this port the perfect port. And sadly that means that Talisman on PlayStation 4 won’t win over a new generation of fans to the game.

For those who are on the fence, Naruto to Boruto Shinobi Striker isn’t as convincing as it thinks it might be.

With a very short completion time and no replay value there really isn’t much to keep you playing and whilst the lack of challenge may be appealing to those looking for a short game to pick up and play it becomes tedious very quickly.

Who knows if this one will find the audience that it deserves. Unfortunately, it's one of those indies that appears just derivative enough to overlook, especially when, for many people, Wargroove has been all the Advance Wars action they've needed over the past year. But Warborn has its own merits. It's a sharper and more dynamic tactics strategy game, and what initially seems like limitations with a small number of units and game modes proves to be this game's great strength by allowing it to deliver the kind of balance that even the best tactics games struggle with.

It's certainly casual compared to the Football Manager games, but thanks to its adorable presentation and its ability to make you truly care about the fortunes of your little soccer players and team, this is the equivalent of a pulp fiction page turner; it's not necessarily fulfilling, but it's truly entertaining and impossible to put down.

I'm not the world's biggest fan of shooters, but I have a soft spot for Serious Sam. It's partly because it exists to make fun of the rest of the genre, and do so in a colourful, easy-going way such that it's the equivalent of a Sunday morning cartoon. It's also all-action, but in the right way. I find more realistic shooters stressful when I'm being swamped from all sides, but Serious Sam does such a great job with the power fantasy that you'll look at a screen filled with 100 ugly beasties... and wish they had brought friends. I enjoyed getting re-acquainted with Serious Sam earlier in the year with the collection. With Serious Sam 4 I have a game that should have done better on the PlayStation 5 hardware, but is a new favourite shooter anyway.

I wasn’t really playing Hyakki Castle for the “gameplay” so much as the opportunity to run through a gauntlet of stunningly-rendered yokai, and the game really scratched that itch. This is the first game for Asakusa Studios, and with it, the team has announced itself as a real talent, and a group of artists and coders with a real understanding on how to meld Japanese tradition with very modern gameplay.

This is one of those games which you could buy on a portable device and enjoy far more because of that.

Single-player isn't what Kirby Fighters 2 is about. Nor is it about the relatively serious tone of online multiplayer. Kirby Fighters 2 is a rare gem in that it's a local multiplayer-orientated game that, in 2020, was not developed by a small studio working on a micro-budget. This game, to me, is a reminder of the dozens upon dozens of hours I would play Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64 with family and friends, at a time before anyone cared about a "meta-game" or the tiered rankings of dozens upon dozens of characters. Kirby Fighters 2 gets the party fighting game genre right back to the most simple of basics, and it's adorable in the process. That's a win-win.

I can see what they were going for with Park Beyond, and they did get achingly close to it, but right now, and at least in its console variant, it’s not quite a recommended game without a little bug stomping and AI fine tuning. Also an option to switch on total bastard mode, so I can be the truly evil park operator of my dreams wouldn’t go astray, Limbic Entertainment. Just a thought, you understand.

The core action is still exciting and dynamic, with a layered combo system that ensures it's never quite a button masher. Throw in the series' infamously hyperbolic and satirical sexualisation, and you're still left with a good time. There are games that do genuine sexiness better, and there aren't many out there that have the wild, unbound entertainment value of Senran Kagura.

Played in short bursts, Legend of Legacy is a stunning-looking JRPG for the genre’s nostalgic. The clean, functional turn-based combat, combined with straightforward objectives and smooth flow through the adventure make this one best played in short bursts so the lack of narrative can’t drag on the all the other positives in the experience. Play it on those terms, however, and its charms will never fade.

This might mean that VR games never fit in with the current expectations of non-VR games, but when they’re stuff like Dexed, I don’t mind in the slightest. This is a game that focuses on immersion, and immersive it is. Simple gameplay loops give players a reason to keep coming back and playing more, but what will stay with you for far longer is just how beautiful it all is.

There is a lot that you can potentially get out of Gear.Club 3, especially if you enjoy time trial challenges, where you’ll get a lot out of the large number of tracks and online leaderboards. Collecting all the cars and then playing around with them is a lot of fun, and ideal for pick-up-and-play sessions. It might not be a must play, but it’s one of those games that you’ll likely find yourself spending more time with than you realise.

Challenging, rewarding, gorgeous and culturally authentic, GetsuFumaDen is one of the most enjoyable roguelikes I’ve played. Mechanically it doesn’t do much to challenge or reinvent the formula, but it streamlines it beautifully. Meanwhile, it offers a vivid and detailed, classical take on Japanese art styles and the Hyakki Yagyō storytelling tradition. As a starting point for learning more about both these things, you couldn’t ask for something more inspired.

Sisters VS Sisters is in many ways a return to form in everything that matters to it. The satire is sharp and relevant. The characters are entertaining and endearing, and despite the sheer number of Neptunia games that have been released by now, Sisters VS Sisters finds a way to meaningfully contribute to and build on what has come before.

I know it's a tough gig being a game developer when hours played is a key metric and the pundits bleat on about content rather than things that are actually important, like thematic intensity or narrative depth. Taking something that could have been something special and diluting it to give those pundits something to throw onto their backlog isn't going to help video games develop as an art form, though. The Red Lantern upset me more than most; most games aren't made by people with the vaguest understanding of art. The Red Lantern, however, clearly is the concept of artists and the vision is compelling. Next time they should try delivering a game that supports the vision, rather than what they think will boost the Metacritic score.

Tharsis is an incredibly meaningful game that has picked a woefully inadequate format to express an innately intelligent idea.

I love the way Mario & Sonic at the Rio Olympic Games is presented. It’s a truly gorgeous game and matches with every expectation that I have for the atmosphere and aesthetics of the Rio Games. But this is an Olympics cash-in game, which means most events boil down to minigames, rather than fully-fleshed out games dedicated to a particular sport. A good half the events in here are games I would buy if they were built further into stand-alone takes on the sport, but in a package like this I’m basically done with them after playing them a couple of times each.

If by some chance you missed this game before and enjoyed other tactics game, or you're just looking to take on real people to see how good your strategy really is, then it's easy to recommend nabbing the update.

Smash Cat Heroes is a decent little game that packs multiple challenges. It might not be a classic game that will be remembered in the years to come, but it's good fun.

Some people won’t like Yuki’s Silent Quest because of the need to replay levels constantly to complete objectives. It does get tiring but feels like you have achieved something when you finish a level. In terms of gameplay, it’s a solid game. It looks great and plays great. Downloading it will not be a mistake. It’s just disappointing that it feels like fallen ever so short of being a classic mobile game.

The biggest problem is that there is no button control alternative to gamepad gyro movement. The game is very playable with these controls, as well as being responsive and sensitive enough to make the quick moves that you'll need to make without being too twitchy, but some kind of button alternative would have been nice nonetheless.

The 3DS isn't the kind of device I would have expected to see such an intense, in-depth simulation game. A-Train 3D is by far the most complex, in-depth and involved game you'll find on Nintendo's handheld, and while it's a very niche title, it's also a very good one that perfectly executes on all of its many systems.

There are dozens and dozens of different elemental monsters to discover, and that’s half the joy of the game. The other half is the bright charm and personality of Alchemic Jousts. It’s not the deepest strategy game you’ll ever play, but it’s one of the most charming that you’ll see for some time to come.

Hopefully, in the not too distant future, THQ Nordic will see fit to bring out a new de Blob game that takes the core idea of what makes de Blob an enjoyable time, and builds upon it by modernising the more archaic elements of the game.

As a fan of Lovecraft's blend of horror, I love what Achtung! offers - enough so that I've been more than willing to play through the occasional frustration of those virtual dice rolls to keep pushing on.

Really, it plays so close to the Mystery Dungeon tradition that, as a rabid fan of Shiren, Chocobo Dungeon and the others, I was always going to enjoy this. That dungeon crawling side of the game does make up the bulk of the experience and the otherwise pleasant presentation does make Omega Labyrinth a premium example of its particular genre. It's just a pity that it doesn't do more to make something of that fan service and really justify the controversy that it attracted.

I will say, however, that Samurai Shodown! 2 is the slightly weaker of the three Neo Geo Pocket Color titles we have on the Switch right now. It's purely a result of the hardware limitations inhibiting the aesthetics rather than the way it plays though. Samurai Shodown was always about the ambient mood, with very careful use of music and exquisite implementation of weapons-based violence and bloodletting. That mood just can't translate to the limited hardware, and so while the game is perfectly playable and enjoyable, it doesn't maintain the atmosphere quite as well as the other two.

I'm left with the exact same impression with Shadows of New York as I was with Coteries of New York from earlier this year. This development team has talent, writes a quality visual novel, understands the aesthetics and tone of Vampire: The Masquerade, and you get the feeling that they can achieve some incredible things with the property. To get there, though, they need to graduate from writing a pen-and-paper RPG to something more literary, because unfortunately for them, in deciding to joust with exceptionally complex, challenging subjects like they have with Shadows of New York, they're being unseated far too often by a lack of insight and complex analysis, leaving their work feeling a touch too shallow for its own good.

But it’s just not a great game and it doesn’t bring anything new or interesting to the genre. A character that we could get behind, some interesting level quirks, or some humour would have been enough. Instead, all Super Kiwi 64 trades on is the fact that it’s a nostalgic platformer for people that have fond memories of Banjo-Kazooie and are really that desperate for something new in that very specific genre to play. And people that don’t mind a vastly inferior experience just for that moment of nostalgic rush.

Catan – Console Edition is a perfectly fine adaptation of a hugely popular board game. The developers have done their best to make it work for both online and offline play, and present it gorgeously. I just wish that another, equally talented developer, took Twilight Struggle, or the Game of Thrones board game, or any of a few hundred other incredible board games and adapted those instead.

It is way, way better than Bubble Bobble 4 Friends, and it could be great for you if you like your games on the とても難しい side, or if you don’t already have a copy of the still excellent Bubble Symphony to hand. If you’re after that classic Bubble Bobble gameplay, however, the original is still the best.

There's a significant improvement to the visual engine over last year's game, and while it's still not the most beautiful racing title out there, the improvements in the engine have allowed F1 2015 to offer a greater sensation of speed, and that is at core what a racing game engine should be about.

Working with a clearly limited budget, Tamsoft has focused on delivering a tight action-combat system, while also relying on the fan service of both Senran Kagura and Hyperdimension Neptunia to see it through. It’s a good couple of hours of genuine fun, with the requisite bath scenes, humour and familiar characters to meet and fight. You can’t help but think that both properties could have grown to become more than this, but taking as it is, it’s still entertaining nonsense, with a heavy emphasis on the “entertaining”. I play enough serious games that require deep analysis, this kind of thing is my ideal break time between them.

It’s a game about what could have been, both from the protagonist’s perspective and also from the player’s point of view. The Crow’s Eye shone when it came to dealing with suspense and psychological distress. I only wish that it’d played more to its strengths in the end.

The universe of Genesis is vibrant, with distant systems lighting the ship with a beautiful sci-fi glow, and the aliens representing a full intriguing gamut from cockroach-like beasts through to humanoid aliens. This is the kind of game that people who dream of crafting their own space exploration stories, without being dragged through any particular forced narrative, will absolutely love.

This isn't an especially memorable game, doesn't utilise the capabilities of the Wii U to any meaningful degree, and is nothing more than a brief diversion on the way to something more.

SingStar used to be a tremendously fun party game way back on the PlayStation 2, and I still have some fond memories of the PlayStation 3 incarnations. SingStar was a beast, but the lack of backwards functionality, latency issues and a rather generic song list is no way to “celebrate” what made SingStar so great back in the day.

Those who love cutesy platformers and are willing to cast cynicism aside will be well served, but just like the green dino himself, may find themselves with an insatiable appetite for something more sustaining by the game's end.

Martyr succeeds in giving players an action RPG experience that manages to combine the action of a 'Diablo clone' with the Warhammer 40K license. It has a great skills system that's tied to the equipment you use, rather than just the experience level, and that makes playing around with the copious amounts of loot that you'll be earning very enjoyable. If only the execution of the game were as consistent and reliable as the design, and if only the developers had have put more effort into the optimisation for console.

This is a game for genre fans only (and by that I do mean fans of both visual novels and tactics RPGs). For those people the game will slowly but surely hook its charms in until they come to see it as something quite brilliant for all its flaws.

The story is beautifully haunting, with flawed characters yet a deep undercurrent of pure, unadulterated love. It is about taking time for emotions to ebb and flow before moving from one scene to another. About understanding what motivates a person’s actions. About life and death and every incredible or miserable memorable moment. On a personal level, Fragments of Him has reminded me to be kind and empathetic, and love with my whole heart; my life has been made better through the experience.

Despite being a cheap downloadable title, I feel like the developers could have done so much more with this mini-game, such as trying some different rhythm notations to mix up the gameplay.

I found myself utterly captivated by this game, which takes so many creative risks in the name of its vision. The limited “story” in favour of a deeper narrative working on a more subtle level, downbeat and muted visuals, and graceful rather than visceral combat are all things that are lauded in video games, however appropriate to the experience that the developer is crafting. But this team stuck with the vision, and we should be thankful for that. If you do enjoy the likes of theatre, opera, and ballet, then Valkyrie Elysium belongs to the incredibly small group of titles that share a similarity to those art forms, and that’s more than a nice to have, it’s the kind of art we need to see more developers experimenting with.

When everything's working smoothly, Titan Quest is a very enjoyable game. It doesn't push any boundaries (it's more than a decade old now, after all), but it runs the classic Diablo formula well, with plenty of depth for character builds and a stunning world to explore.

For my part I really appreciate what Idea Factory has achieved with this game, and, while the theme is quite dark, it’s presented in that same bright and cheerful, satirical space that we’re so used to with this developer/ publisher that it’s charming and irreverent. It’s always nice to play games like that.

Now, the argument over game length is one that's endlessly debated, and I'm firmly in the camp that says that fun is fun, and I certainly had fun revisiting the world of my onigiri-chomping namesake for a brief while. I could certainly see plenty of others finding it less compelling, however, because beyond the visuals, so very little has changed in 35 years. Yikes. 35 years. Presumably, Prince Alex is now King Alex of Radaxian by now. I'd better get back to my throne. Dammit, did I just say that out loud?

As a new franchise, Fairy Fencer F is off to a heck of a start. It channels the sense of fun that the Hyperdimension Neptunia series is well known for, with cleaner and more refined production values and a touch of restraint (for the most part) to the storytelling that should see it appeal to a broader audience.

The game itself isn't an especially memorable one, but for fans of the anime, this version at least does them justice.

One thing is certain about the Sniper Ghost Warriors series: CI Games is slowly bringing this franchise, kicking and screaming as it is, into a niche of its own.

Koei Tecmo has done a remarkable job of telling the many stories of the many people that make Romance of the Three Kingdoms such a compelling book and period of history, and the beautiful cinematic consistency makes it the most perfect realisation of everything Koei Tecmo has been aiming for with this series over many years now.

Properly articulating what Birthdays means to me is difficult. It is the embodiment of the pure joy of gaming, where I can sit down and simply immerse myself within this space without feeling pressure or tension. There’s nothing to “win,” but everything to enjoy while, at the same time, the game is pointing out, in its very innocent and heartfelt way, a very simple but so important environmental message. To Yasuhiro Wada, the environment itself has always been the real protagonist of his games, and Birthdays The Beginning is the ultimate realisation of that philosophy.

Overall it's hard to recommend this game as it feels unpolished and very repetitive.

Nippon Ichi has provided yet another reason to keep the PlayStation 3 active under the television.

Anyone who has fond memories of playing Dungeon Keeper will find War for the Overworld to be a nostalgia trip. It’s not as advanced as it could be at a technical level, but further fixes and updates could lead to an improved experience.

It's an improvement, but only a slight one in most ways. For people who haven't played it, however, Abyss Odyssey is one of the more underrated games in recent memory, and for people who believe in the concept of world games, it's essential.

For fans of the Blair Witch franchise, this game is an interesting vignette which fleshes out the universe a little more. But for those looking for a horror game filled with good scares, this is probably one to pass on.

While Gundam Reborn won’t be remembered as one of the finest Warriors games, it is nonetheless a genuine attempt to do right by the Gundam fans out there, and I can’t see said fans being disappointed by this package.

It's a horribly generic platformer that tries hard to be some kind of homage to the genre's greats, and ends up being a pale imitation of them all. Sure it's cheap as chips on the Nintendo 3DS, but that doesn't mean its worth the time investment.

I really like Gear.Club, though it is overly simple as far as “serious racers” go, while also lacking the personality and spirit that makes an arcade game soar. It’s a game that’s hampered by being on the Switch – a console that’s not really mechanically built to enable serious racers. At the same time it benefits from being on the Switch, where there isn't any real competition just yet.

Dusk Diver is a noble idea. After all, it's clearly inspired by the likes of Persona, and there aren't many better sources of inspiration out there. I'm also right on board with the setting. Having never been to Ximending, I was quite keen to see what it's like through the lens of this game. I didn't get to do that, though, because the game failed to capture the characteristics or community of the district. It was another hub-style location for another anime game. Throw in a functional, but hardly boundary-pushing combat system, and you're left with something that works, but at this particular time of year, a workmanlike experience is just going to drown under the weight of all the other really good stuff being released, sadly.

The result is a game that is genuinely unique. Classy in tone and hugely interesting in design, this is a game that is worth supporting simply on that basis; there's some elements that don't work as well as they should, but then that's the consequence of experimentation. What is important is that the game is deeply playable, very creative, and hugely entertaining as a result.

Perhaps the most appropriate way to describe the Toy Soldiers HD experience in 2023 is “quaint”. Essentially, you’re playing a defunct and superseded genre, blended with ancient action mechanics, more than 10 years old. There has been no meaningful effort to do much more than upscale the visuals. Therefore, what you’ve got here is something that has its charms, but is archaic on every level. Toy Soldiers was never good enough to be a “classic”, so you don’t even get to enjoy the retro nostalgia that comes from early-era PS3/Xbox 360 games now. It’s just dated.

A limited game that fails to do justice to its source material. That’s not to say that the game has no value, because it is decent fun in multiplayer for short sessions, but lacking the atmosphere and narrative as it is, as well as any kind of balance to make it viable for single player play, means it’s one that is going to be forgotten within months.

That the developers really struggled to explore the concept in any meaningful depth is disappointing, but nonetheless, Shadow of the Beast is ultimately worthwhile.

It is a shame that Master Reboot seems to nail the atmosphere so well, because the story, puzzle and to a lesser degree visual elements, just do not come together to create a fully realised and enjoyable package.

The gameplay isn't enough to carry the simple story and Vesta shouldn't be played in anticipation of the engrossing dystopian tale that it initially promises.

Accompanying this storytelling is a delightful tap-tap-tap sound as dialogue is spoken, as though the story is being typed out on a keyboard as the player reads along.

Without the kind of narrative depth that has me cracking out the history books (as I did with Hakuoki) or heading over to the philosophy section of the library (Danganronpa), Tokyo Twilight ends up being a little too simple and teen anime for its own good. That being said, it's harmless fun, and with an enormously creative and enjoyable combat system, as well as plenty of content, it's still a very worthwhile game.

It saddens me to say that League of Evil is just a simple platformer game and not much more. On a platform which doesn’t have a port of Super Meat Boy, League of Evil fills its niche serviceably – but it’s not a glowing example of its genre and it’s not something I can recommend easily unless you absolutely must have a platformer on your system. And even then you've got Shantae and Shovel Knight sitting there waiting to be played instead.

The Crew 2 really isn’t all that engaging. Sure, The Crew 2 can be recommended as an arcade game that controls well for casual racing fans, but those updates are going to have to be really good in order to give this title longevity.

It's a niche game, as all Slitherine projects are, but the publisher does have a deep understanding of what makes for a quality, deep, strategy game, and it has applied the same expertise to the tactics sub-genre with impressive results.

Fans of the Saints Row series will enjoy the expanded scope of Gat Out Of Hell and the new world. Everyone else may want to instead stick with Saints Row IV, which has been re-released on current consoles, before venturing into the underworld with the expansion.

My suspicion is that Dragon Star Varnir will be remembered as one of Idea Factory’s greatest. There are some corners cut with the gameplay, and the Switch port isn’t ideal, but the concept, theming, art and narrative are all so different that this stands as one of the more interesting and narratively innovative take on the Grimm brothers tradition.

Farming Simulator remains an excellent experience. It’s educational, in that you’ll walk away with it with an appreciation for what farmers go through so you can eat. At the same time, once you are familiar with its systems and loops, it becomes laid back and almost meditative for the way you’ll go about what is mechanically a repetitive grind, but aesthetically and thematically a rewarding loop that keeps you both engaged and stress-free. Farming Simulator continues to appear like it should be a mess of paradoxes, yet in action, it just works.

Despite the issues with balance, juvenile moments in the writing, and the occasional bug that suggested the ambition of the game slightly overextended its budget, Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet is the best video game entry in this particular franchise.

Management games are, of course, incredibly niche, but as SEGA's Football Manager series has proven, there's a lot of potential in there for these games to also be utterly life-consuming. Is Franchise Hockey Manager 3 up to that standard? No quite, but it's on the right path.

There's something compelling about building up a farming empire. If nothing else, the developers are doing genuinely good work in highlighting a job that we should all be much more aware of. We don't survive without our farmers, after all.

If you are a roguelike fan, then this is a lovely, charming, colourful and traditional take on the genre, and it's the first really good example of that on the Nintendo Switch to date. For that reason alone it's the superior version of one of the more fundamentally enjoyable roguelikes I've played in quite a few years now.

It is a testament to Suda's forward thinking that all these years later The Silver Case manages to succeed in its storytelling. This is especially true in terms of the way it builds quirky characters and a quality hardboiled detective plot. The Silver Case takes a little time to find its footing, but it finishes more strongly than it begins, and is a real treat for genre fans.

The Franz Kafka Game is an interesting attempt at representing Kafka’s narrative style in an interactive medium. It’s not always going to be fun to play, but it’s a memorable experience which relies upon witty writing and clever design rather than technology or rewards systems. This is a game which is often confusing and unintuitive, but it gets away with it under the guise of being true to its source material. If you’re in a pensive mood and want to play something that’ll make you think, The Franz Kafka game will gently help you let go of reality and embrace the absurd.