Initially I was worried that Layton sans the titular professor would be a problem. In the end that wasn't where the issues lay with Layton's Mystery Journey. I'm certainly on board with Katrielle taking over and having the kind of long career that her father did, but Level-5 does need to get some fresh new puzzle-designers in, because with this game they dropped the ball too frequently for a series of this calibre.

SpellForce 3 is a great addition to the series. With an engaging storyline, interesting characters and gameplay mechanics it manages to straddle the line between genuine RPG and RTS better than most other attempts, which generally end up strongly weighted one way or another.

The tracks themselves are spot on, and playing through the cockpit view, it’s easy to get an appreciation on how challenging some of them really are.

I can’t help but feel Rockstar’s classic videogame nasty, Manhunt, was a better attempt at critiquing the voyeuristic quality of reality television. It pre-dated reality TV as a genre, so it’s not explicitly about the subject, but the savage grimness in the way it turned snuff film production into entertainment certainly had something harrowingly poignant to say about what we, as people, will find entertaining to watch. The Crush House, meanwhile, is bright and fruity, and the sinister element that is meant to carry the subversion seems to be something more akin to something like “tee hee, we know this is a bit problematic, but we sure love reality TV anyway.” It makes sense that this is where the developers would land. We all know that reality TV should be critiqued even as we all have at least one example of it that we can’t help but watch. The developers have also made a genuinely entertaining game out of it. It would be ridiculous to criticise candy for being good at being candy. I think I’m just surprised that it didn’t have more substance because it seemed like it had all the potential in the world to be a grand dessert.

Another Code: Recollections is a “memory” that should be valued and now, thanks to this release, will avoid “fading” for some years to come yet. You can argue that it highlights fundamental weaknesses in puzzle and adventure games, where developers feel such an urgent need to make sure players don’t get stuck (and subsequently give up on the game) that they ensure the game basically plays itself. Recollections is certainly an easier experience than the games it is a remake of. But the real value of Cing’s cult masterpieces has been the stories they’ve told and the evocative and rich ambience of the storytelling environment, and the remake, here, builds on those qualities in a remarkable fashion.

This new release of Gals' Fighters is, of course, a game with a very specific audience. You've got to really love your fighting games to get much long term value out of it. And yet, for something so "retro", Gals' Fighters feels incredibly modern, with few of the quirks and design flaws of yesteryear that you generally expect going in to an "old" game. Rather, this feels like something produced by a team that deliberately limited themselves as a creative challenge. You may not get long play sessions over extended periods of time from this one, but as a curiosity, it is fascinating... and so much cheaper on Nintendo Switch than trying to track down a physical copy for your actual Neo Geo Pocket Color.

As a character-driven bit of Final Fantasy fanservice, Chocobo Mystery Dungeon Every Buddy nails the bright, bubbly charm and joy of a good, humble JRPG. It’s the small moments where you get to simple appreciate Chocobo for the adorable character that he is that it’s at its best, and accompanied by the comfortably familiar and accessible dungeon crawling that it has, this is a relaxing, pleasant, joyful game, and I hope it sells brilliantly, so Square Enix can realise that this is one mascot that shouldn’t be put on ice.

It certainly offers a unique story in the realm of video games. Fans of the genre will certainly get a kick out of the game, others may just be intrigued enough by the story to try it out. But will it stand out as a classic in the genre when we're getting so many of them at the moment? Probably not.

There wasn't a moment of Romancing SaGa 3 that I did not love.

The whole point of transgression is to shock you out of complacency and that isn't always comfortable. The obvious example there is any transgressive artwork that offends people since that has clearly made them uncomfortable. The Eternal Castle isn't ever offensive, but it will certainly make you uncomfortable. Instead of relying on something as relatively mundane as causing offence, the developers have instead done everything to challenge the senses and everything we understand about video games. Right down to the very idea that a game's value can be found in completing it. I'll never finish The Eternal Castle, and I think that that is simply magic. I truly love that the game is so utterly and completely happy to do that to me.

People who have played other Star Ocean titles will get a kick out of some of the names and locations being crossed over from those entries. Each Star Ocean title is distinct and self contained, and there's no particular order that you need to play them through, but there's a cohesiveness across key locations and names that establishes this series, infrequent as it is, as being one in which titles are tied to one another. Even if it is a simple case of name dropping time gates and the like at times.

While Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot doesn’t really do anything new “overall”, it’s still an amazing time because of the way that everything has been put together. Those new to the series and long time fans alike have plenty to find and enjoy, as the pacing is just right to both let you relive some of the iconic fights of the series, and just live a little with your favourite characters.

A genuine classic game, and there is no denying that it is a supremely well-balanced, challenging and deeply engaging example of turn-based strategy. For all the promise of being a "HD" version, it's not exactly what I would call an update.

Hard West is a great example of a turn-based tactical strategy game that blends both the Old West and the supernatural together seamlessly. Though it’s fairly derivative of games that we’ve already played, the intriguing way that the narrative plays itself out makes it worth a look, even for veterans.

Thea: The Awakening makes for something of a grim, low-power 4X strategy game that works extremely well with its particularities. Proper planning can only take a God so far as adaptability and luck plays a major role with random events that could very well lay waste to everything. While that's not necessarily always good fun, what it does do remarkably well in building the tense atmosphere that is quite unique for the genre.

Azure Reflections has plenty of challenge to offer the hardcore bullet hell fiends, but with its relative approachability and level of polish, it's also a great introduction to the world of Touhou shooters.

Whereas the original Nidhogg was a wickedly fast and immediately loveable party game, Nidhogg 2 pushes the boundaries and arrives with mixed results. Its design choices inject some more strategy to the run-and-stab gameplay, but the increased complexity and love-it-or-hate-it art style makes it a harder game to recommend for casual players.

Ultimately, I’m probably expecting a bit much for a three-hour visual novel, based on a pen-and-paper tabletop game, to engage with a subject on a meaningful and nuanced level. The developers have succeeded in doing the Werewolf: The Apocalypse property justice, and the game’s presentation is distinct, interesting, and often brilliant. However, there are so many high quality visual novels that do have the thematic depth and quality, and are written in such a way that they don’t come across as condescending. Heck, there’s another werewolf story that does all of the above on the Nintendo Switch in Raging Loop, but does it better, so there's a direct alternative available. That being said, I’d love for this developer to get another shot at the Werewolf: The Apocalypse property, and for them to handle the writing with that little bit more maturity that would elevate it and make it something special.

These gripes aside – and I realise that I’ve griped a lot in this review – Pokémon Pearl remains an excellent game, and the remake is of a very high quality. I’ve been able to reunite with Piplup, relive a very fondly-remembered adventure, and while there have been some tweaks that I’ve been less than amused by, on balance the developers have retained the qualities that made that game such a fondly remembered one.

Cladun is limited, in the sense that it’s a game with an incredibly basic gameplay loop, and little beyond that to keep the attention of players. With that being said, it’s a game that stuck a big ol’ smile on my face, and that wasn’t just because I had Hatsune Miku shooting off hearts in all directions. Cladun is, at core, a lot of fun, and manages to take the most basic of gameplay loops that you could imagine in a video game, and make something eminently worthy out of it.

Infinity 2.0 shows that the franchise is on the right track, and it might just wind up on top.

First Light works because it trims off the fat, leaving behind an engaging story and breakneck gameplay that will appeal both to returning patrons and first-time customers.

Temtem’s disappointing, because it promised to be so much. In a genre that has been so utterly dominated by one particular property, and then lightyears back to the nearest rival, here was a game that seemed like it had the ambition and scope to actually rival Game Freak’s giant on its home turf. Unfortunately the result is more akin to the more egregious MMOs – a waste of time that exists to be a waste of time.

Mario Strikers might come across as limited to some people, especially those that are only really going to get stuck into the single-player game. However, as a multiplayer experience, and whether you’re going to play locally or online, this thing excels in every way. It’s accessible, but also had a learning curve that more serious people will love. It’s laugh-out-loud hilarious for party sessions, while also having the feature set that it needs to get entire clubs to form around it. I can easily see this joining Smash Bros., Splatoon and Mario Kart as a standard part of any multiplayer rotation on the Switch. Most of all, though, this is a Mario Sports title that hasn’t lost the identity of the sport itself after implementing power-ups and Mario character specials. In this way, it stands apart from the Mario Tennis and Golf titles, and that’s a good thing.

Immortal Redneck is a blast of a game in a genre that we don’t see enough of. It’s not the first roguelike FPS that we’ve seen on PlayStation 4, and I wouldn’t say it’s the best, either. It does, however, have an exceptional aesthetic, clever level design, clean action, a decent difficulty curve, and plenty of longevity. A very worthy action game indeed.

In the end the problem with the Fairune Collection comes from the fact the series is a short lived one and yet it still took its time to find its stride. The most recent game, Fairune 2, should have been the foundation and the first title, but as it is, it's the only one that feels complete, with the rest of this collection being more akin to proof of concepts or tech demos.

A game that is acutely aware of the great titles that it draws inspiration from, even it falls a little short in its well-meaning execution.

Don’t let the small character roster fool you – Waku Waku 7 was one of the best fighting games on the Neo Geo, and western Switch owners are lucky to have the chance to try this one out. The game’s pastel colour scheme and gently paced gameplay is a breath of fresh air compared to the tournament minded design of King of Fighters or World Heroes Perfect. Fans of fighting games would be giving themselves a disservice to overlook Waku Waku 7.