The Nintendo Switch has been blessed with a number of good single-player card games at this point. Whether it's Shadowverse, Lord of the Rings, or The Witcher spinoff, Thronebreaker, players have plenty of deep, rich, highly strategic card games to choose between. Cards of the Dead, meanwhile, is about as engaging as Solitaire. Sure, I've played a game or two of Solitaire in my time when I'm that utterly bored, but that was when I was on a work computer and relying on pre-installed games, or on a boat with nothing but a pack of cards. If you've got Cards of the Dead on your Switch, you've also got a thousand alternatives for single-player games, and most of them are more worthwhile than this.

Dungeon Encounters is deceptive engaging. What seems at first to be a no-frills dungeon crawler, sliced back to its very minimum eventually reveals itself to be quite the clever little project. It provides the very basic foundation needed for a JRPG, and then gets out of the way, letting the player write their own story and fill in the metaphoric (and literal) blanks in their own way. That makes it an oddly cathartic experience.

Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water is so deeply Japanese that you’ll come away from it learning a bit about the wonderful horror storytelling tradition that the culture has. While some might find themselves at odds with a game that is so steadfastly traditional about how a horror game should play (especially on the back of the very modern Resident Evil: Village this year), if you go in with an open mind, understanding the cultural context that has lead to the game turning out this way, then you’re going to find it to be a really remarkable and enlightening bit of art. It’s not unlike going to an art gallery for a yurei exhibition, really.

Although the game is fun to look at, and to think about, it rarely lives up to its lofty ambitions once it’s in motion. Combat is thankfully sparse enough that players get pushed towards their next objective briskly. Although enemies aren’t always fun to fight, they do look cool, and their bullet patterns are always an impressive spectacle. And while I came in expecting a 3D bullet-hell action RPG, what I got instead was an interesting sci-fi world to explore. It’s a pleasant surprise to see that a world this rich and complex came from a studio this small. Origamihero Games is a developer with huge ambition and a lot of promise, so I’d be keen to see the team iterating on ideas from this game and continuing to polish their craft.

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.

When we think about this Halloween season and all the horror games that celebrate it, we rarely think about a dungeon crawler. After all, the 'crawler doesn't feature visceral action or jump scares. It's all too turn-based for that. But, of course, horror can be much more than jump scares and visceral action, and Undernauts demonstrates that beautifully. Strong atmosphere, challenging combat and Experience Inc.'s mastery of the genre combine to create something that is nearly impossible to put down.

In flicking back through my notes on House of Ashes, I find that I have been more negative on it in this review than I remember feeling from my time playing it. It is a highly enjoyable experience and hard to put down. It might not be as spooky as I’d like from a horror game, and it might not play the way I think it should given the type of horror the developers were aiming for, but ultimately, holding the lives of a bunch of delinquent characters in my hands and deliberately letting them fall to their proverbial (or perhaps literal) deaths will never fail to be a (ghoulishly) good time.

Ultra Age is a middle of the pack action thing that has the basic mechanics of the genre down, but doesn’t do anything to stand out, and it has some real balancing issues. but struggles to balance difficulty progression as well as pushing boundaries in the genre. Unfortunately for the developers, this is one genre in which we are spoiled for choice, both in terms of finding challenging games to enjoy, and complex, thought-provoking experiences.

There is no doubt that The Caligula Effect 2 is a niche within a niche, and the fact that the second game so closely follows the first just confirms that the developers are comfortable with that. While it might not click with everyone, it's worth trying, because if you do like your games a bit thoughtful and arty, then this is going to be one of the highlights of the year.

This is going to sound like a backhanded compliment, but it's not intended as such: Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles could have been so much worse. An anime that has become this celebrated was always going to deserve more than a copy/paste paint-by-numbers arena brawler, and the team at CyberConnect2 have done well with what I'm sure were significant limitations. There's respect there, and an understanding that Demon Slayer is more than a mindless series of fights, even if the gameplay system creaks with age and having been used for far too many other anime tie-ins. Mind you, if nothing else, being able to tear demons a new one with Nezuko has been something I've been looking forward to from day one with this anime, and if nothing else, CyberConnect2 delivered that.

Bunhouse is meditative and sweet. It's the kind of game that you can boot up and play for a couple of minutes or hours, depending on how much you need to de-stress, and in so many ways it parallels the joy of having actual rabbits as pets. They might not be the loudest or most boisterous buddies, but their stoic warmth fills the home with wholesome goodness. Ultimately, rabbits are wonderful, and Bunhouse does them justice.

The Eternal Cylinder is quite sad yet somehow there is a delight in finding in the smaller moments: finding an egg and evolving are especially happy moments. It is complex yet simple, running from the big bad thing that constantly looms like the Sword of Damocles is easy enough, but exploring to find the way ahead isn't always completely straightforward. The opposite emotions make the game feel deeply fulfilling. It's not quite like anything else I've ever experienced, and I feel like it will haunt me (in the best way possible) for quite some time to come.

I'm all for short games, and if a game really caught my attention I'd be more than happy to pay the equivalent of many coffees for an hour or two's play. My issue is when the game's so truncated in its brevity that it can't deliver on its promise. If Toree 2 is indeed a nostalgic love letter to the platformers of yesteryear, then the developers should have understood what made those titles cohesive, character-driven experiences. Toree 2's simply too limited and thin to deliver atmosphere, character, or a cohesive 3D platformer experience. As the saying goes: fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I'm not making the mistake of giving this developer the benefit of the doubt this time around.

If it had a better interface and localisation, THE Card Battle: Eternal Destiny would be an easy game to recommend to people who don't usually play card games, as the mechanics are simple, elegant, and not too bothered with the hardcore deck building that is such a barrier to entry for so many people. Call it a "gateway drug" if you like, with the fan service being the hook. Unfortunately, Eternal Destiny also does everything that it can to be uninviting to newcomers. There's a decent casual game in there. Just be prepared to work to enjoy it.

I left Metroid Dread feeling quite conflicted about it. On the one hand, I do think it is fundamentally well designed, and the main gameplay element - the robot stalkers - are woven into the Metroid formula beautifully. On the other hand, that Metroid formula is getting long in the tooth and Dread doesn't do nearly enough to revitalise it. Dread is fine. It's not just nearly memorable enough for a game that fans have been waiting so many years for now.

I'm all for retro compilations giving players the option of making games more accessible, so players can set their own experience. Rewind features in old arcade shooters and platformers are great. But imagine if a retro re-release of Castlevania (or whatever) made it impossible to fall down a gap or get killed by a boss by automatically rewinding the mistake. Now imagine they gave players no way of turning that off? To deny people an inherent, defining quality of a game in favour of something that fundamentally changes the experience, without completely redesigning the game so that the new experience makes sense... Nah, it hurts this to say because I love Monkey Ball, but this is all terribe decision-making by everyone involved.

Actraiser Renaissance, however, is a remake that should have simply stuck to the basics that made Actraiser great. Instead, what you get are moments of greatness broken up by far too many moments of mediocrity.

In theory, a Bubble Bobble game with Mario Maker tossed in should be occupying my every waking moment, whether I'm busy playing it, or working out smart new ways to build sequences of levels to play through with family and friends. Instead, what Bubble Bobble 4 Friends: The Baron's Workshop represents is far more of a lazy cash-in title. Bubble Bobble, needless to say, deserves far better than that. I do still love Bubble Bobble with my very heart and soul. But sometimes, love hurts.

Ultimately, to quote myself, "it's hard not to expect more from adaptations now. Unfortunately, the minimum effort that went into Deathtrap Dungeon (and now Fighting Fantasy Legends) is still disappointing. I'm not sure what possessed the team to dust off a five-year-old release for Switch when, as far as I can tell, no one was really asking for it. I guess there might be some marginal value there for a tiny few people, but I really do mean tiny few. Especially with Tin Man Games's take on Firetop Mountain also on Switch.

Lost in Random isn't a terribly long game. Even if you do keep the battles long by maintaining normal difficulty you can knock it off in around a dozen hours or so of gameplay time. By that stage, you probably won't find the combat as charming as you did when you first started, but you'll still want to see it to its conclusion, because the narrative and humour are so particularly strong.

Those gripes aside, this is one of the most feature-rich, complex, aesthetically interesting and different dungeon crawlers, and the perfect cumulation of everything the little series has built up to. As an added bonus, players can also enjoy a full visual novel that Idea Factory has just thrown in there, as fan service, for these characters. The irony is that the "fan service" bonus has less sex-themed material than the base project is not lost on me, but if you enjoy the characters from the main game, then this little bonus adds a nice texture to the overall package. The background art and re-drawn character sprites (into school uniforms, since this VN is a school-themed tie in) is all gorgeous, too.

As a game it sucks, and I'm being blunt about that because I don't think it matters. To me, a great work of art is one that encourages reflection, has an emotional resonance, and has a strong message and lesson to share. Set against that criteria, The Plane Effect might not be a great game, but it is a superb work of art. That is so much more important to me.

I don't have much to say about Death Stranding that I didn't already say back in 2019. The game remains the excellent and unique piece of art that it is. The "Director's Cut" stuff is an absolute bust and I'm disappointed that such cynical "blockbusterisms" have been applied to Kojima's work in particular. However, this is more than outweighed by the utterly different tone that eminates from the game, now that it comes across as reflective rather than prophetic. It might be sobering, but it's worth musing over.

Olympia Soirée really is a distinctive and interesting visual novel, however. The Shinto themes and elements give it an entirely Japanese aesthetic and tone, and that's supported with just the most gorgeous soundtrack, filled with traditional instruments. The art and setting for the game are both impeccible, and while Olympia Soirée will put some players off with its harder, darker edges, this is ultimately a game that has something to say. Yes, sure, that means it's not always the feel-good romance that you might have been expecting from the screenshots... but wouldn't you rather a game that got you thinking? I know I do.

I’m glad that I played SkateBIRD, and it hurts that I’ve had to give it this score. I firmly believe that as games are an art form, game developers should be trying things, even if they don’t ultimately succeed. SkateBIRD is a brilliant idea and it takes a big, heaving swing at it. Sadly, though, it’s a strikeout. However, with that being said, if the developers get another innings, I would play a SkateBIRD 2 without a moment's hesitation, and I would fully expect that the developers would deliver having had this experience.

On the surface, Sheltered 2 looks great. The formula: take the original title and add factions. Easy, right? It seems easy enough until the pages and pages of information pop-ups appear, expecting players to remember everything immediately or else get stuck. I'd describe it as a cognitive nightmare. Back at the beginning of this review, I wondered if adding factions is enough to change the middle reviews that Sheltered received. In my case, it does not. It's fun enough in a sim/management way, but the post-apocalyptic thing has been repeated what feels like infinitely and lacks originality, and factions just complicate the game to the point there's no more room in my brain for information to remain there. There is very little to become emotionally attached to. The result? A middling review.

I hope Nexomon continues to perform well and grow from here. The developers really do have an opportunity to take what they've done across the first two titles and build it into "the alternative Pokémon", especially considering that both Yokai Watch and Dragon Quest Monsters seem to be on the wane. Nexomon isn't quite the game that its (console) predecessor is, but it's still a warm, comfortable, and amusing experience, and while it can be frustrating at times to try and catch all 300+ monsters on offer, they're so ultra-cute that you'll do it - and love it - anyway.

If you exclusively follow the main narrative then you’ll find that in Lost Judgment, Ryu Ga Gatoku Studio has delivered something every bit as compelling and interesting as anything Raymond Chandler ever wrote. The central crime story is a riveting and often uncomfortably poignant reflection on society (and Japan’s legal system). If, on the other hand, you’re more interested in more Yakuza-style zany side-styles and a deep collection of highly playable mini-games, the Lost Judgment has you covered there, too. I can’t see how anyone could fail to love this game.

Deathloop is a game that takes the ideas driving the immersive sim genre to new heights. Purists may take issue with the way it breaks from some of the genre's traditions, but what it offers instead is something unlike anything else out there: a cleverly implemented time loop system that feeds into everything else, and opens the doors to a whole lot of new opportunities for the creative problem solving that sits at the heart of these games. That it does it all with a sense of style and confidence that few other games can match is icing on the cake.

There's still a game in there that can delight, but it is a lot of work to align yourself with the vision now.

Dice Legacy does have some interesting ideas under its belt, and I’m excited to keep exploring the various strategies and play styles that its robust tech tree has in store. I find the experience quite taxing with how much improvisation and compromise it demands, so I’m saving it for a time where I’m in the mood for careful, organised play. If the idea of a strategy game with an unusual twist piques your interest, Dice Legacy is a great game to pick up – on PC. As enjoyable as the game is, the poor optimisation means Switch owners would do well to look elsewhere.

Monster Train does indeed deserve to be noticed; it's the epitome of something that is better than it looks. Underneath that blandly homogenised aesthetic and equally bland promise of yet more roguelike lies a game that offers players some deep, invigorating, challenging and rewarding turn-based strategy. You may well find this one very difficult to put down.

The developers have done everything they can with HIX, and what they've done is fine. This is a perfectly adequate, competent, enjoyable puzzler that, like the best of the genre, takes a simple concept and gets you thinking as you play. Not thinking too hard, since this is meant to be relaxing and calming, but thinking just enough to feel smart at figuring out the solutions. The execution is a little bland and 101, though, and that means, just like the $2 puzzle book, you're not going to remember having ever played it a year from now. As to whether that's worth the price of admission when there are so many other high-quality games being released on the Switch... well, that one depends on how much you enjoy time-wasting puzzle books, really.

A game that heavily borrows genre trappings of other, more successful games, in order to push the Doctor Who narrative in a way that won’t be palatable to anyone except the most core of fans. It’s impressive how much effort went into developing this game, judging from the graphics assets, extensive writing, and voice acting, but it’s all in service of familiar and tedious game mechanics and a divisive story. It doesn’t reach the lofty heights of “Blink”, and like the Weeping Angels themselves, it’s an artifice best left ignored.

Tales of Arise is magnificent. The writing is rich and evocative, and the developers took on a major creative challenge with the themes that they decided to tackle… and did a superb job. The combat system is sharp and offers plenty of complexity, while being accessible to Tales newcomers or people just looking to experience the story. The art and aesthetics are breathtaking, and about the only issue there is a lack of a photo mode so that I could make the most of it (what the hell, Bandai Namco?). I may not have been the world’s biggest fan of the Tales series previously, but this game has immediately become one of my favourite JRPGs of all time.

You know if you're the target market for it or not just by looking at it. If you are, then aside from some cumbersome controls and a generally generic approach to the genre, Moonshades is a perfectly decent effort that will scratch an itch. If you're a more peripheral fan of the 'crawler, or new to it all, I'd recommend something like Operencia or Hyakki Castle first. Both of those titles are far more vivid and creative efforts. Without a long history in 'crawlers yourself, unfortunately, Moonshades will likely be befuddling.

My original mental conclusion to The Mysteries of Ranko Togawa: Murder on the Marine Express was that it was perfectly average. But honestly, after reading my notes I disagree with myself: it's actually kind of subpar. No character growth and a predicable (mystery!) story make for a rather bland experience. I mean, it was okay, I guess, but that's the closest to a superlative I can use to describe the game. It's a good thing it only took me just under three hours to play, or I'd have given up at that point regardless of completing the game or not. It's the first in a series, and only time will tell if things will look up from here.

The inconsistency of these two underground classics might make the compilation facade seem like a wasted opportunity, but being realistic here, both of the two titles in the Prinny Presents NIS Classics Vol. 1 would not have got a release without being bundled together in this gimmick. Whether you have fond memories of having played either, or simply never had the chance to previously, you'll find quickly that both games represent a creative energy that we rarely see these days, and in both cases the experimentation largely works. You're not likely to see anything like these two again, so don't miss the opportunity.

For an homage to a game from the 80's, faithfully recreating a gameplay system that was invented 40 years ago, Pretty Girls Panic! feels like a modern, funky game. The anime aesthetic is gorgeous and current, although the developers really should have done something about the quality of the sprites, and the fussy outlines from the relatively low resolution of those sprites are unforgivable given that they are the entire hook behind the game. There are also not that many stages, but with that said Pretty Girls Panic! also has plenty of replay value and an excellent leaderboard system for such a minimal price. Most compelling of all, though, is the fact that the game is an uncomplicated and well-done take on Qix. Qix is the kind of game that doesn't need developers to mess around with it, and to the great credit of Pretty Girls Panic!'s developer, they've let the base game stand for itself.

Kitaria Fables is a warm, genuine delight. It’s not trying to tell you something deep about the world. Nor is it looking to spark debates over hard modes or subversion. It’s not aiming to challenge, belittle, insult or offend. The game’s just there to give people of all ages a chance to go on fun little quests together, as adorable little animals, with a garden of veggie delights to look forward to coming back to. It might just be the sweetest and most innocent Rune Factory or Harvest Moon I’ve come across, and that’s really saying something, since this entire "genre", such as it is, is entirely built up around wholesomeness.

Interestingly, this game participated in the Japan Media Arts Festival back in 2019 which, as far as I can tell, is quite well recognised across the broad scope of Japanese arts. It doesn't surprise me that it earned some attention there though. Nostalgic Train is an art work first, and a game you play second. Beyond even the "walking simulator" quality, this game reflects on the Japanese experience of summer in a meaningful and deeply resonant way. It might be surprising that this got a localisation, but it's a welcome one. Especially for people that are interested in learning something meaningful about Japan.

Credit must go to Nintendo for supporting this project, though. Yes, it might be the “safest” game that Goichi Suda has produced in quite some time, and the energy is just not the same when he’s retreading old ideas rather than creating something new. But then Goichi Suda on a flat day is still more creative than 99 per cent of the auteurs out there, and No More Heroes III is still big, colourful, bold and filled with surrealistic humour. With the energy dialled right up to the maximum, it’s hard not to love something this brash.

King’s Bounty II is excellent, and much like The Witcher 3, having this thing on the Switch, portable, and playable wherever is very much worth dealing with the drop in visual fidelity. Hugely expansive in scope, and deeply traditional as a fantasy RPG, for fans of fantasy RPGs, King’s Bounty II is a rough gem in so many ways, and the lack of budget compared to what the big guns can achieve is evident at every step. Ultimately, however, that tactical combat system is impossible to put down.

Tormented Souls isn't trying to be a necessarily accessible horror game. It embraces the retro heroes of the genre, and throws challenging puzzles and combat at players. More than that, though, the game has a nasty, hard edge, and ends up sitting at the loud and extreme end of the horror genre. If you enjoy your cathartic horror experiences, however (as I do), then you'll love the gauntlet of pain and torn flesh that this one throws at you.

Twelve Minutes is slow-burning, despite being about such a short time loop, but it will seep into your mind and refuse to leave. I actually dreamed in a time loop last night, which has literally never happened to me before. The concept is solid enough to stand on its own among dozens of other popular time loop media (television, film, games... it is everywhere). The intrigue and deeply flawed characters are enough to keep one invested for hours, and even worth putting up with irritating console controls.

I actually feel terrible that I haven’t enjoyed WitchSpring3 more. In isolation it has a lot going for it – I love pastel aesthetics, I love cute witches. I love the CG art. I really love alchemy JRPGs. Unfortunately, WitchSpring3 is a little too obviously a “mobile JRPG best practices” game, so a lot of its potential is let down by less-than-enthusiastic storytelling and a mechanical approach to gameplay systems that left me feeling very cold.

Curious Expedition 2 might not be too much of a step up from its predecessor, but then it also didn’t need to be. The original was already an excellent foundation in the way that it provided players with a challenging roguelike focused on exploring exotic lands and discovering incredible wonders. Now, with Curious Expedition 2, not only is that gameplay fine-tuned and refined, but the art matches the wonderous beauty that your characters are meant to be witnessing.

Despite these criticisms, there’s a lot to like about Fort Triumph. XCOM is a good thing, and Heroes of Might & Magic is a good thing. Mashing those two good things together in a way that does justice to them both is a noble effort by the developers, and the presence of skirmish mode does mean that the poorly conceived narrative can be ignored. You’ll bounce off Fort Triumph quickly enough, but it’s a good time while it lasts.

Someone I know summed up the game perfectly: this seems like the kind of game Tina Belcher (a character in Bob's Burgers) would write. And I am fully here for it. I am head-over-heels for six weapons, something I never thought I would say. The narrative, the gameplay, the music, the animation – it's all wonderful. Any complaint I have lies in the fact I am greedy and want more. Thankfully, more is on the way!

I’m really happy to see Cygames take the console adaptation of Shadowverse seriously and, rather than try and shovel a free-to-play thing on players, use this as an opportunity to broaden the appeal of Shadowverse, give the card game itself some context, and give fans the same kind of joy that they took out of Pokémon TCG all those years ago. With taut mechanics, a fun, light-hearted narrative, excellent production values and an almost obscene level of depth Shadowverse: Champions Battle is a genuinely impressive effort, and the best digital card game currently available on the Switch.

I was hoping for more from Zengeon. “Chinese Diablo” or “Hades but Asian” are keywords that should have translated into one of my favourite games of the year. Unfortunately, while the effort on the part of the developers is clear for all to see, and the aesthetics are there, Zengeon otherwise struggles to meet the highs of its peers. It is a perfectly workable game, and I could easily see a better-resourced sequel from this team delivering, but as it stands, this is a touch too shallow and mundane for its own good.

Altogether, Crimson Spires was a surprise. “Otome VN with vampires” is – and I say this with all the love in the world for both otome and the gothic – something so utterly trope-y that I had no interest in playing it. Even after reading Matt C’s review on this very website, I had no interest in it. Given that (other Matt) is the only person on Metacritic with a review of it, I suspect that many other people were put off with how blandly common the elevator pitch is. But then you start playing it and it really gets its teeth into you (sorry, I almost got to the end of the review, but I just couldn’t resist a pun). Superb characterisation, a richly woven tapestry of mystery and the smouldering sexiness of it all combine to make Crimson Spires noteworthy. There’s even a reason to buy it on Switch if you owned the PC release, since this version includes a new game plus mode with even more content to bite down on.

Toodee and Topdee could have been something truly essential if the developers had have funnelled the creative energy that they put into the puzzles and mechanics into some other areas of game design, too. Unfortunately, the game doesn't have the personality, aesthetics or energy to stand toe-to-toe with the big guns. But the puzzles themselves show a confident understanding of good design and creativity. Ultimately that is the most important thing for a puzzle game, so hopefully, the developers get the chance to revisit what they've done here with a slightly broader vision. This team clearly has talent in spades.

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.

As the PR reads "the official version of one of the best board games!" I think that's a bit of a bold claim. It's certainly an official version, but it's not one of the best games that I've played this week, let alone of all time. I honestly don't see the appeal in Rails to Riches. It's a competent enough game, but it's far too standard for Eurogames to be mechanically interesting, and the videogame adaptation is presented blandly. In addition, the Switch port suffers from a cheap and unintuitive interface, brought over with too little thought from the PC original. If you really love your board games, then this is perfectly fine, but it's less "one of the best board games" as it is "just another one of a huge library of options that you may, occasionally, be in the mood for."

112 Operator is ultimately a niche game let down by some bad design choices on the Switch. While the premise is interesting, the UI immersive and the gameplay compelling, the control options and confusing visuals on the Switch make it hard to stay focused. This is a game best played on a workstation with no distractions, and that’s about as far away from the Switch’s capabilities as one could imagine. If you’re the kind of player who can stomach the game’s flaws and dry moments, you’d still be better off to try it on another platform.

Idol Manager really needs a console release - the scope and design of the game makes it perfect for the Nintendo Switch in particular - but in the meantime, I can see myself spending a lot of time playing this on the PC. I'm not the world's biggest fan of idols (at least, idols that aren't digital and with aquamarine twintail hair), but I do find the culture behind them fascinating to study. Idol Manager is a far more thoughtful take on all of this than I was expecting, and consequently, I've found the whole thing to be fascinating.

Everything else about NEO is sublime, though. Once the introductory ten hours are pushed through and the game starts proper, it’s an efficient burst of energy and excitement, with one of the best soundtracks you’ll ever find in a game, one of the most explosive, dynamic combat systems you’ve played in a JRPG, and a colourful, energetic, and exciting celebration of Japanese youth culture and Shibuya itself. No doubt this will be the final roll of the dice for TWEWY as a franchise, and hopefully, it has done enough here to graduate from cult status.

You don't need to have played any other Phoenix Wright games to enjoy The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. It is related to the broader franchise (Ryūnosuke is the ancestor to Phoenix), but it's a completely separate adventure. The historical context makes Ryūnosuke's adventure particularly compelling, but even if you're just looking to let that wash over you and be entertained, there's enough humour and style to The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles that the only real problem with it is that it outstays its welcome by just a little too much.

You've got to hand it to eastasiasoft for finding and bringing these fun little fanservicey games to the Switch. Delicious! Pretty Girls Mahjong Solitaire - I mean, Bishoujo Battle Majong Solitaire! - brings the fan service in spades, but it also plays a really good game of Mahjong Solitaire, and while the Switch has plenty of Mahjong Solitare titles already, none of the others have the pin-up aesthetic going for them. For just a couple of dollars, you can't go wrong here.

Bustafellows is part crime caper and part otome romance, and those are common enough things, but it's the quality of the writing and the strong thematic core that helps to set this one apart. It might be perhaps a little too long for its own good, and so some of the impact of it is softened via desensitisation, but even then, there's no real lull in the storytelling, and it's one of those rare lengthy games that isn't simply throwing content at players. The best crime fiction stories are page-turners, filled with excitement and drama. Bustafellows adds several proverbial tonnes of charm, humour and panache into the mix, and thanks to all of that, it is one of the most dynamic and exciting visual novels you can find.

Samurai Warriors has been one of the most precious things to me for years now. Not only have I loved the games themselves, but they've led me to another passion in Japanese history, and given me ideas for things to do while travelling across Japan that I would never have had otherwise. As it turns out, travelling to old battleground sites and Sengoku-era castles really is a great tourism activity. Samurai Warriors 3 was the start of all that and, with Samurai Warriors 5, Koei Tecmo has produced its finest effort yet. I would be incredibly surprised if this doesn't inspire a lot of people to go out and learn more about one of the most fascinating periods of warfare, contested by some of the most fascinating individuals that the world has ever seen.

As confusing as it is that this game happened at all, I loved having the chance to play it. Akiba's Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed might look like a game that should have stayed on the PSP, but the satire and humour is there, the grainy rendition of Akihabara is still enough to make this homesick otaku miss Japan, and the action remains on the right side of simple and entertaining that you can enjoy it while it lasts. Akiba's Trip isn't going to win GOTY awards, but I sure enjoyed collecting a big pile of skirts.

Of course, Red White Yellow is a micro-scale project by a developer, being sold at a minimal price. It feels almost cruel to be critical of it, but this game does have flaws that undermine its very premise, and while it's a technically proficient little puzzler, there's already a much better-realised effort that pitches in this space, called Akihabara: Feel The Rhythm. That is, of course, if you're not going to simply buy Lumines.

Death’s Door is a tremendously well-designed game, with superb production values and a tight core gameplay loop. I was immersed and impressed the whole way through, ready to rise to any challenge the game would throw at me, because I was so in love with its design and its world. You don’t have to be a fan of Zelda-style games to see the appeal of this one: Death’s Door is simply the tried and true fundamentals of game design, refined and polished to the ultimate degree.

I really hope the other platforms that Cris Tales has been released on have better performance, because those loading times alone take something special, and unfortunately undermine it. This is one of those rare times to me where technical issue really do mess with the experience, disrupting the carefully-structured panic and pulling players away from the breathtaking art. There's still a lot to love about Cris Tales, and the vision is beautiful and evocative. But we are in 2021 and battles in an JRPG shouldn't require a loading screen. No matter how beautiful and heartfelt they are.

Risk System is something of a connoisseur’s shoot-em-up, with intelligently designed enemies and bosses that reward careful practice and precise movements. The demanding level of difficulty might cause some initial frustrations, but a determined attitude and a calculated approach to risk will help players emerge victoriously. After a few hours of playing, I was able to effortlessly take down bosses that I’d previously thought of as impossible, and that’s always a great feeling to have.

The Zelda series has moved through a number of different narrative genres and thematic cores over the years. Some are dark or abstract. Others aim to be more high fantasy or whimsical. Some are grand adventures while others are more focused. Skyward Sword has always sat a little apart from the others, because while all other Zelda games give the impression that you're experiencing current events through your Link-avatar, Skyward Sword instead leaves the impression that you're witnessing the retelling of a great legend of antiquity. As such there's a primeval quality to it that informs its beautiful aesthetic and gives it a wonderful and different sense of adventure. I might have issues with the motion controls (let alone the sub-standard effort that Nintendo made to implement button controls), but nothing can detract from the core quality of this wonderful adventure.

Port Royale 4 is a wonderful game, and the compromises that were made to bring it to Nintendo Switch are minor and easy to overlook. This is the kind of simulator that you can end up spending hundreds of hours with, and as one of the rare genres that aren't over-represented on the console, this is an excellent first port of call for genre fans looking for some on-the-go thinkies.

There's not really much else I can add to those two reviews for this Nintendo Switch release, but Goichi Suda and NISA bringing these two visual novel classics together to the Nintendo Switch is a good thing. Both are magnificent examples of what can be done to give games a literary quality, and going forward, no study of crime fiction or noir could be complete without considering The Silver Case up there with the likes of The Big Sleep or Chinatown. Japan actually has a very deep tradition in noir storytelling, and this is an excellent introduction to it.

I had a great time with Boomerang X. The action is tight and it always feels like an expression of skill whenever a level is successfully beaten. The surreal fantasy setting also matches the game’s tone perfectly, providing moments of surprise and wonder with each new level. The simplicity in DANG!’s design really works in their favour – it provides an excellent degree of challenge with unique, memorable mechanics and no wasted time. It’s a masterclass in fast-paced, precision-based 3D action.

Heart of the Woods is a beautiful and romantic visual novel, with a wonderfully winding plot and brilliant set of characters. Without giving anything away, the first hour or two isn't indicative of the rest of the game, and once you push through that slow, senseless start, something beautiful, sweet, and, yes, a little sexy shines through the paranormal, gothic and mystery elements.

I went into this expecting little more than a second-tier spinoff from the “real” Monster Hunter, and I’ve walked away with it being one of my favourite JRPGs of the year, in a year that has included Bravely Default, NieR, Atelier Ryza 2, and Scarlet Nexus. That is some incredible company to be in.

Doki Doki Literature Club (and this Plus version) is both a homage and a challenge. It’s a homage in the way it delightfully plays with the dating visual novel genre – sure, it ends up subverting that to horrific effect, but there’s such glee in how it does that that hugely entertaining. On the other hand, it’s also a challenge – a suggestion that the genre can be a bit more reflective, look for ways to approach things differently, and that there is a lot that this genre can do with characterisation and relationship dynamics. The director has been outspoken that the initial seed of Doki Doki Literature Club from his “love/hate” relationship with anime and VNs. There’s much more of the love in there, I think, but developers making games in this genre should certainly play this game to encourage them to think about the structure of their own work from a different angle.

The biggest problem Cross The Moon will face is getting people to pick it up. "A game aligned with French New Wave values and auteur theory with a surrealistic noir narrative and art photography aesthetics" is hardly a bullet point that a PR or marketing agent would want to try selling. I actually was given a copy on PC back when it released last year and put it aside because it was just too esoteric to immediately grab my attention. It's just too easy to find something "safer" to play than something that looks like it could very easily turn out to be trite. I'm glad that, on a whim, I purchased and gave it a go on Nintendo Switch, because once you give it a go, it rewards the risk you took on playing it. Cross The Moon has a lot going on and all of it is quite brilliant.

For anyone who came to Mario Golf to play golf, Super Rush is greatly lacking. I'll be willing to grit my teeth and buy the DLC if that's what it takes to get this game up to par, but Nintendo's going to need to at least double the number of courses to get it there, and at the time of writing there only seem to be four new courses on the roadmap (though they are, at least, going to be free). It's still not going to be enough to return Mario Golf to that pedestal that it once had on the N64 and Game Boy Color.

In effect, Legend of Mana is less interested in being a JRPG as it is a story of immersion. You’re given these truly beautiful, art gallery-worthy environments to explore, these eclectic, memorable characters to interact with, and a narrative that is broken up into a series of vignettes that keeps the overall game feeling vibrant and energetic. Perhaps the best comparison I can draw with Legend of Mana is to that of the most beautiful picture book version of Aesop’s Fables you could imagine. Without being religiously heavy-handed, this game has a way of sharing wonderful little stories of morality and humour, and it’s certainly going to be rolling around in my head for some time to come entirely because of the quality of those stories.

I just didn’t expect it could be this bad. Dark Alliance is a functionally broken product. When enemies simply ignore you as you carve their health down to zero, when there’s so little to the game that that’s all you’re doing, and when the multiplayer experience is only superior because it’s a chance to share the misery with someone else, some passable graphics and one neat checkpointing system aren't anywhere near enough to redeem this game. This is the poorest handling of a license since Superman 64.

As an existing fan of Disgaea, this new one is, despite the incredible focus on big numbers, more of the same, and that is fine by me. The extended level cap is hugely indulgent and entirely unnecessary to the tactics JRPG format, but at the same time it's part of Disgaea's inherent self-awareness and genre-transgressive humour. It very much wants you to see it as a silly indulgence. Couple that with the genuinely funny, satirical script and the rich tactical core that, once you peel back the excess is as compelling as always, and Disgaea 6 shows that the developers at Nippon Ichi still know how to get a player both deeply invested and laughing along with the thing. I want to say that I don’t think there’s much more that can be done with Disgaea. To me it seems that the hyperbolic potential of the series must have peaked now. But then I thought that exact same thing after Disgaea 5 and this new entry has certainly corrected me on that count.

Of course, it would be unfair to expect Empire of Angels IV to be an equivalent experience to Disgaea, and I don’t. Empire of Angels’ strengths are its streamlined tactics engine and its fan service, and the game delivers both of those with exceptional proficiency. It’s just a pity that the localisation stops me from enjoying the characters as much as I think I might have otherwise – everything sense I have tells me that in its native language Empire of Angels IV would be quite the out-there good time. As it is, though, the game's just lucky that it's gorgeous enough and plays so nicely that it got its hooks into me anyway.

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?

Scarlet Nexus is one of the most interesting new JRPGs that we’ve seen in a while from a big publisher. Combining a beautifully elegant, but also visceral combat system with rich and evocative theme, and hugely entertaining characters, this game is available on the previous generation, I know, bit in design and execution it’s very much the perfect new-generation experience.

As I’ve said a few times in this review so far, Arc System Works are masters of the genre, and Guilty Gear Strive is a showcase of that mastery. It might not be the most comprehensive fighting game out there, and I do think the developers have made a mistake in giving up on drawing new players into the franchise with a story mode that assumes you’ve been playing Guilty Gear for years. However, those quibbles melt away the instant you get into the action itself. There’s no other word to describe it: it’s sublime.

Anyhow, I digress. To come back to where I talk about the grift. The grift here is that each of these titles offer platinum trophies that can be "earned" with no effort required whatsoever. You'll sit through a laboured and completely ineffective 10-20 minute sermon on nonsense, play it through a couple of times to meet all its conditions, and then you'll get your trophy. I don't know if anyone still actually cares about those things, but as pathetic as it is as selling point for a pathetic series of games, it actually works. If these games didn't annoy me so much I'd be making a joke about how Sony's allowing hardcore Christian content onto the same platform where they've turned into puritans over anime boobs.

Anyhow, I digress. To come back to where I talk about the grift. The grift here is that each of these titles offer platinum trophies that can be "earned" with no effort required whatsoever. You'll sit through a laboured and completely ineffective 10-20 minute sermon on nonsense, play it through a couple of times to meet all its conditions, and then you'll get your trophy. I don't know if anyone still actually cares about those things, but as pathetic as it is as selling point for a pathetic series of games, it actually works. If these games didn't annoy me so much I'd be making a joke about how Sony's allowing hardcore Christian content onto the same platform where they've turned into puritans over anime boobs.

Anyhow, I digress. To come back to where I talk about the grift. The grift here is that each of these titles offer platinum trophies that can be "earned" with no effort required whatsoever. You'll sit through a laboured and completely ineffective 10-20 minute sermon on nonsense, play it through a couple of times to meet all its conditions, and then you'll get your trophy. I don't know if anyone still actually cares about those things, but as pathetic as it is as selling point for a pathetic series of games, it actually works. If these games didn't annoy me so much I'd be making a joke about how Sony's allowing hardcore Christian content onto the same platform where they've turned into puritans over anime boobs.

Anyhow, I digress. To come back to where I talk about the grift. The grift here is that each of these titles offer platinum trophies that can be "earned" with no effort required whatsoever. You'll sit through a laboured and completely ineffective 10-20 minute sermon on nonsense, play it through a couple of times to meet all its conditions, and then you'll get your trophy. I don't know if anyone still actually cares about those things, but as pathetic as it is as selling point for a pathetic series of games, it actually works. If these games didn't annoy me so much I'd be making a joke about how Sony's allowing hardcore Christian content onto the same platform where they've turned into puritans over anime boobs.

Farm Frenzy Refreshed is by no means perfect. Indeed, it sits on the wrong side of the "casual gaming" spectrum whereby it becomes a grind for the sake of keeping players playing. And yet... I continue to enjoy Farm Frenzy, have done so for nearly a decade (if not longer now), and Refreshed has given me a rush of that all over again on the PlayStation.

I don’t know if SHING! will find its desired audience. The control scheme and deviations from genre standards leave a sour first impression, and it’s not helped by the vapid quality of the story and writing. The game is filled with schlocky Shadow Warrior style jokes at the expense of the Far East setting (fake-Asian words which sound like English swear words!), and bloody violence despite the immature Saturday-morning-cartoon simplicity. If a game is crass, it needs to have other qualities to redeem it, and SHING! unfortunately fails to justify its shortcomings. I can respect the desire to experiment and to break from tradition, but this game doesn’t do enough to be worth the investment.

My concerns with DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power sit with it as a property. I know this is a wildly controversial thing to say, but I don't really believe that Marvel and DC are appropriate for children. If the hundreds of implied and explicit deaths per movie or show weren't enough to convince you of that, then the inherent moral lessons from these properties should because there's a lot more there to digest, interpret and come to terms with than people generally think about. Making all that baggage cute, as DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power does, might make it palatable to a young audience, but it still needs to be questioned. That being said, at least it's not Call of Duty, which way too many people buy for their kids, and as I said at the start, both Nintendo and the developer deserve a lot of credit for producing a game specifically designed for young girls that isn't an egregious example of shovelware. This thing plays well and is fully featured, and that is a sadly uncommon thing for this demographic.

The thing that often stops people short with game development is that the programming side of things can be intimidating. To this day the logic and process of software development throws me into a spin every time I look at it... and I do create games. They might be visual novels, sure, but they're games. I've always felt like I should know more about programming, but I just can't do it. Game Builder Garage might be pitched at a younger audience - and I can genuinely see Nintendo selling a bunch of Switches to schools for use in the younger grades as an introduction to the all-important education space - but the systematic clarity with which the tutorials of Game Builder Garage are arranged, and then the ease of use and accessibility of the software to play around with afterwards, makes it the best introduction to programming that I've come across, for anyone of any age.

With two artifacts that belong in the video game hall of fame, and one curiosity that highlights Itagaki’s genius by showing what happened when he wasn’t involved in Ninja Gaiden, this collection stands the test of time. So many modern action video games are either self-serious or desperately eager to make sure you laugh when they tell you to. It’s weird, given how bloodthirsty the Ninja Gaiden series is, but the laconic, droll approach that they take to everything they do almost comes across as subtle and classy these days, and I’ve loved revisiting that.

Though I love the concept and presentation of Wing of Darkness, it falls a little short of being an instant indie classic like Sumire was. Wing of Darkness has the right attitude when it comes to depicting the impact of war. It has impeccable presentation and art direction. The gameplay systems are enjoyable and, for the most part, well-executed. Almost everything about Wing of Darkness is spot-on, but it just falls short of making us care enough that the poignant themes and evocative narrative can really hit home. Perhaps this developer will make enough revenue from this to take a second spin at it, and I would play that in a heartbeat, because I am totally certain that the limitations of Wing of Darkness has nothing to do with the developer's talent, ideas, and ambition.

Neptunia ReVerse is clearly a "first-run effort" by Idea Factory to take the tools of the PlayStation 5 and see what they can do with them. It's perhaps a less ambitious effort than what Idea Factory made as its launch on PlayStation 4 (Omega Quintet), but putting that aside, this is a genuinely good game, worth the time of any JRPG fan, and by its very nature the perfect introduction to the entire series for new players with the new console. The additions that have been made here make it even more complete and also worth a replay for the Neptunia faithful. And if nothing else having an excuse to watch Neptune and the other girls run around in swimwear costumes for a few hours is always worth the investment.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a superb blockbuster game that hits its brief perfectly. It shows a meticulous eye for detail, throws one brilliant action set piece after another at the player, and is the best showcase yet for the PlayStation 5 hardware. Sure, it's as shallow as a pool of water on Venus, but I've no doubt people coming to this game are simply looking for a vividly entertaining product, and that's exactly what they'll get.

Everyday Today's MENU for EMIYA Family is such a beautiful, wholesome, heart-warming thing. It so effectively celebrates a quality of Japanese culture that goes so much deeper than "raw fish" (you have no idea how many people STILL ask me "what can you even eat over there?!?" when they discover that I have a seafood allergy), and it also highlights just how potent the Fate property has become, that this most tangential of tangent spinoff series could end up with something so perfectly pleasant to play. Also. Rin is just so freaking pretty.

We do need more games that go out there and bravely tell stories of deities, cultures and heroes that people wouldn't be aware existed. Aluna is brave in that not only does it do that, but it even goes as far asto make a very dry joke about how obsessed the entire industry is with telling the same stories over and over again. Unfortunately, while Aluna is blessed with some gorgeous art, a brilliant protagonist, and a wonderful setting, it squanders so much of what it does by being an incredibly safe Diablo clone in execution. Aside from a few technical issues with the Switch, Aluna is a perfectly competent and focused Diablo clone, but the game and creative energy behind it promise more which, to our great disappointment, the developers have failed to deliver.

I was concerned that D3 Publisher and the development teams behind EDF were losing sight of the purity of vision behind what they were doing. Iron Rain painted a bleak vision of the future of the series. Thankfully, the developers themselves seem to have realised what a misstep Iron Rain was, and the team at Yukes has pivoted a full 180 degrees with World Brothers. This game is just such great fun.