The Shrouded Isle is so razor-focused on its darkly original theme that it comes across as quite brave. This isn’t a necessarily uplifting or relaxing game. Nor is it particularly rewarding. It is, however, genuinely clever with how it works within an established genre, and it’s uncompromising in its vision. We need more games that are willing to do that.

You've just got to persevere with Battle Brothers to really appreciate it, and it really is the epitome of the saying "it's a marathon, rather than a sprint". Once you've overcome the horrible excuse for a "tutorial" and onboarding process, you've then got to deal with some really repetitive quest design and an astronomically unforgivable difficulty curve. But, slowly, the game starts to open up, and before you know it, you realise that you're really enjoying this thing. It's expansive, it's complex, it's nuanced and it puts complete control over the story and quest in your hands. It's everything good about Mount & Blade, but in a more compact, turn-based format. It's no wonder the game has become a beloved hit on Steam, with fans pouring hundreds - if not thousands - of hours into it. It's not quite the same experience on Switch, and yet I can't see a scenario where I tear myself away from it, now I've pushed through its various walls. A truly fascinating example of a game that's just worth the effort.

With its focus on storytelling and historical authenticity, Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence - Ascension almost has educational value. You’ll get a good overview of the overall shape of Japan through the Sengoku period, as well as a solid idea of the impact that major battles and events had on everyone else alive at the time. This game, like its predecessor, is very niche and very serious, but it’s a very worthy and very intelligent complement to last year’s Nobunaga’s Ambition.

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is an incredible achievement, and the latest in a growing body of games that really push the bounds of what the medium can do. It is, at its heart, a game about stories, and the incredible power that they have, brought to life in the most beautiful way possible.

For all the beauty and the brains behind Expeditions: Viking, the one gripe of mine that chips away at its score is the bugginess.

Borealys saw a winning formula, gave it a little glitter, and came up with something that plays well to both young and old audiences without relying on any gimmicks. My only regret is that in playing so much to its narrative strength, it left a lot of environmental world-building and magic-mastering hidden in the background when those well-designed elements deserved so much more than that.

Persona 5 Tactica is an excellent addition to the overall Persona 5 property. What at first looks like a cheerfully whimsical bonus spinoff ends up being something that adds to the core themes of the base game, and is impressive in the way it does that. It also backs up with some of the sharpest “fast tactics” play we’ve seen in the genre. I just wish the concept and theme were written better, and I honestly never thought I would say that of a Persona title.

Street Fighter V looks and plays exactly like how you'd expect any instalment in the series to, but there's something unfinished about it, something that makes you feel the series has taken a giant step backward.

Teslagrad is a sound platforming title with enough puzzle elements backing it to keep the game interesting. These hooks are needed, because the story itself is effective but undercooked with the lack of any text or dialogue. Difficult, and even sometimes unfair, boss battles and checkpoints diminish what is otherwise an excellent game. I thoroughly enjoyed working through the levels and discovering hidden items along the way.

At one point above I described battles as a "love story to the past,” and that statement is at the core of all that Saturday Morning RPG is.

The presentation in general is great, and the challenge level is oddly compelling. This is a difficult game to put down.

It constantly reminds you that you’re not playing Portal by highlighting all the ways that it falls short of Valve’s beloved puzzler. ChromaGun came at the king, and it missed.

Go into this game with an open mind, and allow the game’s pleasant charm, sweet characters and storytelling, and light, graceful approach to JRPG action to wash over you, and you may just find yourself as in love with the utterly refreshing and pure experience that Atelier Lydie & Suelle has to offer you.

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.

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 wasn’t expecting to enjoy Ash of Gods: The Way anywhere near as much as I did. What could have been a big step backward from the bold and ambitious effort of the original Ash of Gods has instead become one of the most genuine efforts to push the burgeoning “deckbuilding card game” genre forward.

The true value of Toukiden, and now Kiwami, is the sheer respect and love for Japanese heritage that drips through its atmosphere.

I hope it’s a game that others embrace as a stepping stone towards understanding a history and culture that too many are too eager to dismiss as “weird” or different.

This is a game which taught me to love the feeling of being lost, and I’m sure it’s one I will return to for a long time.

Between the various modes, the online options, the huge cast of unlockable and upgradeable characters, you will not lack for things to do.

Adventures of Pip is a solid platformer with a clever little gameplay mechanic, but ultimately doesn't do all that much with it. That being said, away from the mechanics, it was also good to see one of these retro-themed platformers do something more with the art style than simply have it as window-dressing. Adventures of Pip actually turns pixels into part of the gameplay, and that's neat.

Even with all of its Halloween charm, Costume Quest 2’s greatest strength is that it knows its limits. It's a short experience, and it's to it benefit as it never feels bloated. It’s the quintessential bite-sized RPG, wrapped in all the Halloween charm you could ever hope for.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 is in an odd spot where only diehard comic book fans will really appreciate all of its references, but those that already care about these characters will want to see them interact in more meaningful ways. Instead of giving players an interesting original story, it’s just yet another by-the-numbers LEGO title that will leave players occasionally laughing between bouts of frustration between its dull combat and often counterintuitive puzzles. Ultimately, this is one brick that doesn’t have to be collected.

A surprising mix of old and new, which has managed to once again rekindle my excitement for both the genre and the developer. It may stumble every so often, but Dying Light is still the most fun I’ve had in a while.

The sheer precision that Superbeat offers, whether you’re using the touch screen or buttons to play, allows the developers to really ramp up the challenge, but do so fairly. The way each track is scored also perfectly fits with the music theme, and so each track feels different to play. And, consequently, each player is going to find tracks outside of their comfort zone difficult to get a feel for. I can nail that Latin American track, but damn I’m terrible at sludge metal. So, yes, Superbeat is superb, but as a result of my desire to avoid a number of tracks like the plague, there's not as much in there as I might have otherwise liked.

By the end of Spirit of Sanada you’ll have learned something, enjoyed the prettiest Warriors game to date, and seen just how far Koei Tecmo’s been able to take this series, so that it’s no longer purely an action game. With Spirit of Sanada, we see a future for the Warriors franchise where every battle and event is given context and purpose, and it’s a far deeper and more rounded experience for that.

Journey to the Savage Planet ticks all the right boxes. It gets its core play loops right, and it respects the player's time - you'll clock it at 15 or so hours if you're not too concerned with collecting everything along the way. I had a good time in both single player and co-op, and for something that is so foreign to the kind of games I usually play, that this one hooked me in speaks to its X-factor. For all the good, however, the game's a complete misfire as a narrative experience.

This is a game that knows it’s nothing more than light-hearted fun, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Sure, it can feel a little too cheesy to be palatable at times, but the developers have cooked up a perfectly satisfying meal for the enjoyment of you, your great-grandchildren, and your great-great-grandchildren after them.