This is a warm, funny, moving visual novel, with a delightful cast of characters to get to know and potentially fall in love with, dressed up in a loving celebration of arcade history.

Death Come True is, ultimately, a story of romanticism set against a pragmatic realism. This review will make a lot more sense after you've actually played the game, and I'm certainly hoping that there will be people that jump on here down the track to discuss their interpretation of events with me. If Danganronpa argued that Kodaka is one of the genuine thinkers around video game narrative, Death Come True has solidified it, and while this is a much more modest and experimental work in scope to that visual novel series, it's still inspired stuff and it does have a haunting quality that will remain with me for quite some time to come.

QV is another puzzle-shaped feather in the eShop’s cap. Its brainteasers successfully balance accessibility with sophistication. Its vibrant art style and subdued soundtrack evoke pensiveness. However, it’s the small cast of characters and playful comedy that truly solidify it as exceptional. I wish the developers doubled down on these low-key moments since they breathe new life and context into the underlying puzzle game. Even so, QV is an adventure I won’t soon forget.

Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate was excellent on PlayStation Vita, and it remains excellent on Nintendo Switch. There are a lot of roguelikes available on this console at this point, but there's something about the classical elegance and adherence to genre tradition that makes Shiren the Wanderer appealing. It's a little like how some people still love the sound and experience of vinyl records, really. You're not going to be blown away by innovation with this game, but you may well find yourself in love with its sincerity and near-perfect refinement.

When Evil Genius 2 gets it right, it gets it spectacularly right, and if you’re the type that can bury your brain into resource management while laughing at the deliberately cliched and over-the-top style of the game, you’ll have plenty of moments of fun taking over the world, one carved-out-of-mountain-rock room at at time. However, there’s still some rough edges here, and some game balancing that could have made it even more engaging, both for those who adore resource management and those who might just like the challenge of taking over the world with the help of a few shiny new doomsday devices.

If you do like Space Harrier and similar, and you're familiar enough with the Neptunia series to know the characters and enemies without needing to have them introduced to you, then Top Nep is a short burst of nostalgic-themed fun. It's also a decent game to introduce people to the genre, thanks to the modest difficulty option, while eventually scaling to something more challenging to give the genre faithful something to sink their teeth into. I have very few issues with Top Nep as an arcade action throwback. My issue is that, as a Neptunia fan, the less-than-lip service paid to the property left the overall experience feeling humourless and soulless. For all the faults and missteps of Neptunia over the years that is something I never thought I would be saying about a game in the series.

Varney Lake was, at its heart, exactly what I expected it to be: a mystery story, a horror story, and a coming-of-age story all rolled into one neat package. There’s even some surprises in there. Playing Mothmen 1966 first was definitely useful for referencing characters, but it’s not absolutely necessary to play it first. The developer did a wonderful job at creating an immersive experience while confined to the visual standard it set for itself. I’m eagerly awaiting the final title in the series: Bahnsen Knights is about a cult. I’m also awaiting further news on the recently-announced Pixel Pulp physical edition for Nintendo Switch, which I will definitely be adding to my collection.

For all its warts, though, it’s also a genuinely interesting and intense mind puzzle. I have no doubt that Metro Quester will not sell as well as Kemco’s usual by-the-number SNES-era JRPG clones. It isn’t as instantly accessible or familiar. But if Kemco published more games like this it would be a publisher to respect and pay closer attention to. These kinds of quirky, different, and memorable experiences are what we need to see more of.

There is a new Tokyo Xanadu on the way, ten years after this first one was released. Whether you’re playing this for the first time, or taking the opportunity to refresh yourself before enjoying the new one, you won’t regret spending time with this new localisation.

The long and short of it is that Worms Armageddon is a classic, both within the Worms series and multiplayer gaming in general. While today it might seem a little barebones in terms of content, and the online multiplayer features are far too limited for a game that relies entirely on the multiplayer experience, as far as the playability goes it’s still off the charts, and one of the best games you can treat yourself to.

I suspect that because I refuse to pay $500 for a digital dress, my interest in Infinity Nikki will disappear the moment I miss out on getting a particularly attractive costume from one of the limited events. But then I’d be better off just waiting for a Nikki figure to come out with my favourite dress on it instead anyway. I can see myself becoming a big-time collector of Nikki figures, and I love the character and what Nikki represents outside of the monetisation. However, the monetisation is inexcusable, even by the standard of exploitative gatcha games. No video game about collecting dresses is worth more than it would cost to buy the actual dresses in the real world. What’s more, when you let the monetisation undermine everything that the creative side of the game is aiming to achieve and suck the joy out of the fundamental mechanics, you’ve just broken your project.

Escha & Logy actually works as a first point of call for the series. There’s very little assumed knowledge brought over from the first game in the Dusk series (Ayesha), and the systems and mechanics are more user-friendly and accessible.

Fate/Extella Link is a delight. It takes beloved characters from a beloved anime franchise, and then appropriates the Koei Tecmo Warriors gameplay structure with such style and panache that Koei should be taking some notes itself. If only the developers hadn't gone with the ham-fisted sci-fi elements. Fate doesn't need that stuff.

A really quite brilliant game. There is fan service in there, and some people will look at that and the anime trappings and not be able to move past it, but underneath this exterior lies a heart that is in many ways the precise opposite of what you might be expecting. It's almost - dare I say it - feminist in the critique it provides over the way that women are treated in this fairy tale world.

Nintendo’s had a bumper year, so I’ll forgive it for some filler (especially when there’s also the Super Mario RPG remake on the way yet). WarioWare: Move It! achieves what it sets out to by providing players with a bunch of microgames that use the Joy-Cons and motion control in an inventive and silly manner. You’ll enjoy the boundless creativity in coming up with so many microgame ideas. In addition, you’ll enjoy the colour and humour at first. And then, about an hour later, you’ll be done with it for good.

You’re going to have fun with this game. For the criticisms I list above, I do think that Tango Gameworks has, with guidance from Bethesda (no doubt), created a refined and highly playable open-world game. It’s one that ticks all the boxes and does so in such a way that’s hard to actively fault. Yet, it's also so frustrating. The hints of what the developers wanted it to be are there. They wanted to make a Noh-inspired, yurei-and-yokai drenched blend of Shinto, Buddhism and neon-modern Japan. That would have been incredible. Sadly that didn't happen. Instead, I was left with the impression that I’d just played a Ubisoft Goes To Tokyo farce, and that left me feeling very deflated indeed.

If you are the type that engages in video games for the quick thrill, then Pillars will probably drive you crazy and you should stir away. However, if you are fine with the other extreme, do not mind lack of arcade style challenges and are willing to take your time, then Pillars offers the depth and the learning experience that mere mortal books cannot deliver. Speaking for myself, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience Pillars had provided me with for that very reason.

Platforming is tight and varied, and the plot matches the lighthearted tone of the rest of the game. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is a spirited little game, and by far the best 2D platformer on the PlayStation 4 to date.

Ittle Dew 2 has many good things going for it, but I am wondering whether Ittle might thrive more now if she sets off on her raft, unencumbered by trying to be part of another franchise's tradition, to discover a new land all her own.

The Little Acre exemplifies every reason indie point-and-click adventure games can still do more than hold a candle to the AAA shoot-em-ups with more brawn than brains and beauty combined. The story of a young single dad with a missing father and a rather rambunctious daughter touched my heart in ways I forgot video games could, and every time I had to put the controller down I yearned to just boot the console again and enter the phenomenal world The Little Acre takes place in.

Jurassic World Evolution claims a victory of sorts in being the best "big-budget" simulator currently available on Nintendo Switch, though it cruised through there on the back of the port of Cities: Skylines being less than ideal. The fact that the game has a deep library of DLC built into the package certainly boosts its value, and when the only other options are the indies like Project Highrise or ports of the old Rollercoaster Tycoon titles, it's nice to have an option like Evolution for on-the-go play, though I am hoping that the port of Tropico 6 - a much more complex and detail-orientated simulator - proves to be the big one for the console. Jurassic World Evolution is enjoyable, but a little too simple to hit the peaks of the genre.

Having too much of a good thing is the possibly the most forgivable flaw that hit too many games, and Patapon has the pick-up-and-play vibe going for it, meaning that you can always take a break from it if it starts to become draining. The only other issue with Patapon 2 is that the rhythms will get stuck deep into your brain, and it takes ages to push them out. And then you'll load up the game again and it'll be stuck all over again. It's just that charming, bright, and catchy.

For all the games’ narrative themes of consciousness-probing, identity-subsuming science, the reordering of the psychic self for a greater application of the flesh, I needed to look no further than my own pathological gameplay in its honour. The rage quits, the restarts, the late nights, the infinitesimal adjustments to my thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth attempts, all part of my drive to survive to the end, no matter how many hours of hell it took.

It’s immersive and exciting, and for each battle you really feel like a commander in charge of an army fighting for your country against an enemy which threatens your freedom. Witching Hour Studios have a resounding success on its hands, and no fan of strategy should pass this one up.

Rive is excellently made, and I had a great time flying through space alongside Roughshot. It’s clear that the developers behind it were passionate about making the best experience possible. Rive holds its ground among the best 2D shooters available on PSN – it’s a title which I would readily recommend to anyone with a free afternoon and an affinity for twitch gameplay.

The thing is, Eurojank RPGs are always better than their big blockbuster counterparts, because they’re what the developers really want to make. I don’t think an Elder Scrolls could be made with the grimdark purity of Tainted Grail. Look at what happened when EA put the blockbuster sheen over Dragon Age, which itself once indulged in dark fantasy. I personally don’t think King Arthur is as dark as game developers continue to, but I certainly appreciate that the developers of this game committed to that and actually delivered it. There’s a real heart and soul to this project, and Poland has produced yet another developer that is well worth keeping an eye on.

Total War: Rome was the really big breakout moment for the series, and as a bona fide classic, the remaster makes sense - even if it is just for the sake of nostalgia. I don't think the strategy genre necessarily lends itself to modernisation when the thing that needs moderising the most would have taken Rome Remastered and turned it into Total War: Rome 3, but if you remember what it's like to enjoy older strategy games like Rome, the remaster is going to be quite the rush.

That gorgeous big screen makes for an incredible display of the game's endless winter, and if you're in the mood for the big television experience, you need only dock the console once you're back at home. The added benefit is that the game doesn't tax the Switch's battery anywhere near as badly as games like Zelda does, and I've been able to use the game to make train trips absolutely bearable with a good pair of headphones, for both the trip and the return.