There’s also the problem of the game’s lore, which has signs of potential but is lacking in its execution.

Dark Witch Story: COMBAT is, ultimately, more grinding. I found this one more disappointing than Brave Dungeon because the combat is so random that you don’t quite get the same sense of progression. If you’re looking for a strategic TCG game on the Switch, this will just make you sad.

Chaos;Child is a smart crime fiction/ science fiction mix that might be a little too subtle for its own good. It’s a demanding game, not because it’s difficult or has gamey elements, but rather because it asks for complete focus and imagination from its players. Thankfully, with a core theme that is both poignant and fundamentally interesting, this is a game that I’ve been more than willing to make that commitment to.

The best way to experience the game is to play it yourself in one three hour sitting, without distractions or prior information. It gives the same experience as a really good movie, one which you really become attached to the characters and are invested in their personalities for the entire time. There are some scary moments to keep things interesting, but I would recommend this one for those who want a more psychological, emotional game which challenges the way they see the world. Red Lantern have proved themselves to be masters of both narrative and game design, and nothing would make me happier than for the whole world to come and appreciate the unique Taiwanese flavour that Detention brings to the indie game scene.

Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle is ambitious. This is a development team as indie as indie comes taking a demanding gameplay perspective and trying to do something demanding with it; create a fast, free-flowing, hardcore action game. Sadly it does miss the mark on this one. There’s skill involved in getting good at Kobuto, however, clumsy, limited mechanics, and a general lack of variety, presentational standards, or energy and excitement really let it down. I would have taken a simple, direct sequel to Bullet Ballet instead.

FIFA 18 is not the video game manifestation of the beautiful game I would have liked it to be, but as general entertainment, it is still pretty good. It is the equivalent of watching a silly comedy: anyone can do it for hours and hours, and although they won’t come out better people for it they will not feel like they completely wasted their time. Yours truly likes FIFA 18’s tactical leanings in particular, but I don’t think real life football needs to worry about the virtual outdoing the real yet. At least not till FIFA’s 2018 World Cup edition.

It lacks the charm and wit of Danganronpa, but Zero Time Dilemma, like its prequels, is still valuable, smart, and stimulating. Its presentation really badly hurts it, but once you push past that distaste, what you’re left with is an intense, engaging and intelligent narrative with some thoughtful and well-designed puzzle rooms to sort through.

This is a game with undeniable soul and an incredible amount of shine considering its budget. There’s very little that A Hat in Time can’t do as a classic platformer, and it really throws itself into creating a cute and cohesive universe for you to explore.

The story is beautifully haunting, with flawed characters yet a deep undercurrent of pure, unadulterated love. It is about taking time for emotions to ebb and flow before moving from one scene to another. About understanding what motivates a person’s actions. About life and death and every incredible or miserable memorable moment. On a personal level, Fragments of Him has reminded me to be kind and empathetic, and love with my whole heart; my life has been made better through the experience.

Deemo is a very gentle game. Its minimalist aesthetic aims to connect with players emotionally rather than intellectually or physically, and the end effect is akin to sitting down at a piano and playing a favourite song; but not for the benefit of an audience, and not as an examination or other test of musical skill. Sometimes people play music purely for the joy of music, and that’s what Deemo succeeds in tapping into. Sometimes, just sometimes, people play music simply for the joy of it.

Superstar Saga is still a great adventure on the 3DS. It’s not in the range of Metroid: Samus Returns in terms of recreating a classic from the ground up, but it may be enough to satisfy fans of the series that may have been turned off by recent, weaker efforts such as Dream Team and Paper Jam.

So it’s deliberately bad, then. And as a bit of irony, it’s so utterly delightful for that. I’d never recommend that someone looking for a genuine MMO or MMO-like experience actually play this - you’ve got Final Fantasy XIV for that - but for silly, ridiculous, self-deprecating humour, backed by gorgeous character and environment art, and a fast, fluid, and genuinely entertaining combat system, I’ve had such a good time with Cyberdimension Neptunia that I can’t help but love it.

Culdcept Saga is, with or without dice, absolutely brilliant, and the kind of game I can see myself playing for a very long time into the future. It successfully takes a couple of different approaches to traditional board and card games, and fuses them into something that you can spend a lot of time learning to master, and feeling really good about yourself as you do.

The boss battles remain a highlight and almost enough of a reason to play the game in itself, but the rest of the game structured around them is so pedestrian and bland that keeping motivation in this one is perhaps the greatest challenge of them all.

Unapologetic in its nature as a crossover game, and I can respect that. However, as someone who only really enjoyed one of the franchises, it was a hard sell.

Ultimately, Hidden Dragon: Legend is a fairly average beat-em-up/platformer, but its sky-high production values and sheer love of spectacle is sure to delight players.

It’s odd that the fighting game about pokemon would turn out to be one of the better examples of a competitive fighting game, but the balance and mechanics of the game are just that; you’ll have a bit of fun with it if you play it casually, but the more seriously you take it, the greater the longevity that you’ll get out of it.

If you can handle the uncomfortable controls, you’ll be able to immerse yourself in some good old platformer shooting fun.

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite gets things right where they matter most. Combat is entertaining and the addition of the Infinity Stones is a fresh and welcome addition. I also appreciate the diversity in how characters play and a storyline that does a serviceable job weaving two very disparate universes together. Visually Infinite misses the mark more often than not however, and the roster misses several opportunities in what gave me the impression that Marvel is more interested in promoting their current movies than catering to their overall fan base.

The story at the heart of it all is one of the most moving and heartfelt tales I’ve ever seen in a game, and that’s a huge achievement. The best part is that Mel Kishida is just getting started—if this is his directorial debut, I can’t wait to see what the future has in store.

Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash was a blast. Quick paced arena combat supported by a well designed card based system and multiple storylines to follow, this has to have been my favorite entry yet and with the quality online competition modes online modes there’s more than enough replayability to keep going for quite some time.

Few games in the world are as multilayered in their appeal as Senko no Ronde 2. It’s positively exceptional, melding a fighting game into a 2D shooter then using that as the basis for a visual novel. That story goes on to become the fabric of every mecha fan’s dreams, featuring the best tropes of space operas along alongside more substantial commentary. It’s a pleasant reminder that story-driven games don’t need to rely on the RPG format.

A handful of technical hiccups mixed with an aggressive monetisation strategy could very well leave a questionable taste in peoples' mouths.

If the network was more stable and the game played more to its strengths around one-on-one combat, this would be a game I’d recommend in a heartbeat. It’s still well worth a look even with those flaws, but I can’t help but imagine what could have been.

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.

With stellar gameplay, wonderful art and a superb soundtrack, Rayman Legends is one of the best platformer games ever released, hands down.

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony takes things to another level entirely.

With Resident Evil 7: Biohazard suggesting that the main entry games are again pivoting in a new direction, Capcom's re-rerelease of Revelations may be its way of showing fans that it's also committed to the "classic" Resident Evil formula with this side series. While the visuals have aged considerably in the short timeframe, the classic Resident Evil gameplay and feel is still there, complete with a bonkers B-grade storyline. I’d dare say that most Resident Evil fans have possibly found a way to have played this already, and there is really no incentive to come back for another round.