Spider-Man 2 is as dumb as a bag of bricks, but that’s the norm for blockbusters. What it gets right is emotionally manipulating players to become invested in it, backing that up with one of the slickest combat systems we’ve ever seen… and then giving us two entirely different characters to enjoy that with. It is a true spectacle and while I wish that we, as a community, demanded better from narratives in video games, I couldn’t help but have fun with this one once I shut my brain off and just embraced it for the silly thing that it is.

Superficial elements aside, Pike & Shot is a rock-solid simulation of an era of military conflict that is ignored by most developers and publishers.

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

Hello Kitty Island Adventure is one of those games that could only come from Japanese culture. There aren’t many other cultures that see an inherent spirit and soul in a mascot, and to most of the rest of us, mascots are tools to use for branding and marketing, or otherwise become famous because of their association with a product like a film or a game (hello Mario and Mickey Mouse). It’s rare that a mascot IS the product. But that’s what has happened with Hello Kitty. Before today, most Kitty games came across as a cheap effort to extract more cash from that lucrative product, but Hello Kitty Island Adventure is different. This is a genuinely worthwhile use of your time, and the fact that it’s “free” but also free of microtransactions, thanks to being an Apple Arcade title, makes it all the sweeter.

It's a brilliantly made example of golf and delight to play on every level. It's just a game that's also asking for a lot of patience at the rate of progress it offers.

Despite being limited in scope and the very definition of a cult game, Deception IV: Blood Ties is a darkly comic and entertaining game.

The art is some of the prettiest I have seen in a game in a long time. It might not be the most innovative game out there, but given it comes from a small indie team, it does achieve what it sets out to do admirably.

Torchlight II is a cleverly designed game which is decidedly good at what it does – even if it is following a fundamentally flawed design philosophy. Its gameplay is compulsive and honestly a little bit vapid: the incessant grind and push forward is neither intellectually stimulating nor conducive to big, memorable moments. My time through Torchlight II is really just a blur of primary colours and explosions of gibs. If that’s what you need, and you’re able to look past the very deliberate shortcomings, then this will be a game that you will find hard to put down.

Giraffe and Annika is the first outing for Atelier Mimina, and as a statement of intent, it shows us a developer that we should be paying attention to. Perhaps Giraffe and Annika is a touch on the short side for its own good, and perhaps there was a better way to build the world and adventure up than making players spend time in a fairly mundane "open world," but between the evocative characters, rich aesthetics and wholesome sense of humour, this game is a joy to play. And that is what's actually important here.

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.

The best books, movies and video games try to make you feel something, and to that end Event[0] is an interesting experiment and a worthwhile experience that stands out as very unique game despite its humble roots.

Fantastic. The Vorpal system is a clever twist on the format, adding a neat extra layer of strategy to the game, but it's the cast that really makes Under Night In-Birth stand out. There's so much love and creativity gone into the roster, and that, more than anything else, will make or break a fighting game.

Fire Emblem Echoes offers some really neat ideas for how the series could progress onto the Nintendo Switch now. Free roaming dungeons just has to become a thing. But the series has moved on from the kind of narratives that it used to tell, and just like Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon on the Nintendo DS was quickly forgotten within the context of the series, I don’t think people, a decade from now, will still be talking about Fire Emblem Echoes. It’s a game for the here-and-now, made to give the 3DS one of its last hoorahs with a major franchise before all of Nintendo’s developers move fully to the Switch.

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

The puzzles are a fun twist on the pre-existing formula, the temple backdrop is an interesting setting and the new monsters are a welcome challenge.

It's a clever mix of sentimentality and satire, structured in a way that's quite unusual for JRPGs. With most games in the genre, the end boss is the goal and triumph. The Longest Five Minutes is a love letter to the genre that wants you to remember that you're meant to enjoy the journey in a JRPG, too, and I certainly walked away from this game with a renewed appreciation for the spirit of adventure in these games itself.

At the very least, Four Sided Fantasy is a welcome addition to the flourishing pool of indie puzzle platformers, and is yet more proof that there’s still plenty of life left in the genre.

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

If you’re a fan of shooters and relish the challenge, Enter the Gungeon is absolutely at the top of its genre. This is a game with meaningful, complementary mechanics and a tight gameplay loop which will have you playing for days.

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

Serious Sam remains the perfect foil to all the self-serious and often toxic shooters that we see today. All three games (and the two DLC expansions) that are contained in this collection are pure, unmitigated fun, and there's not a single (admittedly high-quality) rendition of Ronald Reagan across any of them. Not coincidentally, while I've already deleted that CoD off my hard drive, the Serious Sam Collection will stay on my Switch for quite some time to come. In short bursts - particularly on the commute after a hard day's work - there's nothing more cathartic.

Vampire: The Masquerade Swansong is nonetheless a good attempt to capture the mechanical essence and purpose of the pen-and-paper game. The developers could have made a stat-heavy action thing, or followed a bunch of other games and thrown players into a generic open-world that barely resembles or is relevant to the base material. They didn’t, and the game is better for it. Swansong comes across as a timid vampire story – the kind of thing a first-time game master might right for a first-time tabletop group, but timid as it might be, you are left under no illusions that you’re playing a game of Vampire: The Masquerade.

The real joy to be had with Poly Bridge is to do with getting away with the cheapest bridge one can get away with. Inevitably, this approach will lead to many a car spectacularly plunging to the depths (not to mention collapsed bridges). The contrast between the horrific events and the happy colourful graphics, mixed as they are with an easy going cheerful soundtrack, is the source of magic that is Poly Bridge. Truly one of the best gaming experiences on mobile.

There’s a place for this kind of game, though, and thanks to the great sense of humour, Maglam Lord remains a delight from start right through to its end. It’s a kind of comfort food that operates within the expectations of the genre, and so, while someone who is not familiar with JRPGs will find it all confounding, if you do appreciate the nuances and of the genre it’s going to entertain you a great deal.

The Just Dance franchise hasn’t grown a lot since its heyday, but it doesn’t need to. Most of the songs included are a lot of fun to dance to, even if pop music isn’t your thing. The gashapon reward system offers an incentive to keep dancing without making it feel like rewards are constantly out of reach. Grab a friend and clear the lounge-room, because it’s time to get addicted to dancing all over again.

If you're new to Zen Pinball 2, then this DLC pack won't be the most appealing, as it is more likely that the Star Wars and Marvel themed tables will be more attractive. But, once you've got all of those, these two tables do add even more value to the package.

Its focus on the dust and dirt of mercenary life in Greece instead of the clinical chairs of Abstergo is highly rewarding, and it manages to encourage interest in the rich history of the world without needing to lecture.

It's a pity that everyone that doesn't have a VR headset will miss out, because Déraciné is really quite remarkable.