Molemen Must Die! is a pretty solid action title, especially given its low price. Certainly it is a shallow game, but at a price point of three dollars, it's not hard to get your money's worth out of it. If you like a good laugh at the expense of an overly sensitive man who wants to build a wall... erm, drop a bomb, then you will likely get a chuckle out of the premise here. However, other than a few bits of background signage and the wordless introduction that quickly plays out at the start of each game, the political tongue-in-cheek is quickly forgotten in favour of the frantic action.

It’s a shame that the plot turns what could have been an interesting, critical title into one that’s simply yet another serviceable AAA game for mass consumption. Did Ubisoft have something interesting to say about extremism and violence? Probably not, but maybe embracing parallels with current events would have made this production seem less like a backyard rodeo.

Hopefully the story can use its established foundation and these moments of emotional investment to drive the story forward as House Forrester attempts to survive the challenges circling in around them.

Those who love cutesy platformers and are willing to cast cynicism aside will be well served, but just like the green dino himself, may find themselves with an insatiable appetite for something more sustaining by the game's end.

Magic 2015 is still the best way to bring a new player to this old game and the deck building is a great deal of fun, but those who have played the last couple of releases may feel somewhat underwhelmed by this iteration.

Moco Moco Friends is geared firmly toward young children, but the magical girl aesthetics and witty script allow it to transcend an otherwise middling JRPG. It wouldn’t have hurt to take a couple more cues from the collect-and-battle RPG greats and, with a sequel, Moco Moco Friends could be elevated substantially. As is, there’s something to be said for the pure, clean fun Moco delivers in spades.

Biomutant's concept of a colourful post-apocalyptic kung-fu adventure is an intriguing one, and when all the pieces come together, it can be a riveting ride. The world is rich and exciting to explore, with plenty of hidden secrets to find and an important, convincing environmental message tied into it and a lot of freedom in how you build your character. But poor pacing holds back the narrative potential, and for all its open-endedness, a lack of finesse in the combat system leaves Biomutant feeling messy and awkward instead of hitting those stylish action high notes it's shooting for.

Risk is a touch limited and is a digital version of a game that has aged badly, though this version of the' game is more comprehensive than the Ubisoft Monopoly game.

Overcooked does feel like a glorified mobile game, of that there’s no doubt. Short, sharp levels, a sharp challenge in trying to get perfect scores on each level, and highly sanitized, cheerful, graphics that are as inoffensive as they are carefully constructed, all ensure that the first thing you’ll think when playing is that you might as well be playing it on iPad. But the production values, coupled with the genuinely entertaining multiplayer, help to make this one of the better “casual” games you’ll play this year.

I can’t help but feel that B-Project: Ryuusei*Fantasia would have benefitted from an approach more like Jack Jeanne, with its “Princess Maker”-like daily management of activities to train the group, but as a straight-up visual novel, this checks all the boxes with colour and panache. It’s a good addition to the B-Project project by Mages, and good on PQube for localising something with as narrow interest in the West as this.

Peggle 2 is an addicting game packed with silly fun that anyone can manage.

For Christie nuts, The Raven is one of the better attempts to do her style of detective mystery that Christie herself wasn't involved in. It's well performed and convincing, and the age of the game is hardly a concern because, dated as it looks at times, the appeal of this one has to do more about the cerebral. It's all about the storytelling, in other words, and that side of things is spot on.

Ultimately, Wanderlust succeeds in being an inspirational work about the power of travel.

Football Manager has always been for a specific type of person, and one who enjoys a blurring of the lines between legitimate work, and entertainment. Football Manager 2018 Touch brings that effectively enough to the Nintendo Switch, and while it's not a game that's going to turn too many heads or win awards, anyone who likes their really cerebral experiences will love spending hours trying to eke the most out of the favourite football team.

The developers have done everything they can with HIX, and what they've done is fine. This is a perfectly adequate, competent, enjoyable puzzler that, like the best of the genre, takes a simple concept and gets you thinking as you play. Not thinking too hard, since this is meant to be relaxing and calming, but thinking just enough to feel smart at figuring out the solutions. The execution is a little bland and 101, though, and that means, just like the $2 puzzle book, you're not going to remember having ever played it a year from now. As to whether that's worth the price of admission when there are so many other high-quality games being released on the Switch... well, that one depends on how much you enjoy time-wasting puzzle books, really.

Mia and the Dragon Princess doesn’t really stand out amongst the crowd of interactive films; I doubt I’ll remember it in the same way as I remember The Complex, for example. It was an enjoyable time, enough for me to play through to try and get different endings a handful of times. Despite the broken spot in the story tree, it was a welcome addition to the gameplay experience. The acting was good, though some characters seemed unnecessary. One branch of the story felt complete, the others were definitely just dead ends and generally not terribly interesting. Is the game worth playing? Sure. Does it belong in the FMV hall of fame? I don’t think so.

There's a lot to like about Fishing Star World Tour. It's a lightweight, highly accessible, and charming little arcade-like take on fishing, and while it's never going to top anyone's list of favourite games, it's the kind of mindlessly relaxing thing that's useful to have on the console for those times where you really do just want to chill.

Western Press is a tiny game and it even requests its audience to “lower your expectations”, but it still manages to do a lot of things right.

I went into QUALIA expecting it to be a fairly run-of-the-mill big boob fanservice game. And in some regards it is. It’s not really breaking new ground on how these stories are told. On the other hand, the subject of the game is inherently interesting and highly topical, and while the presentation is very familiar, it’s exactly what the target audience likes to see. It’s also an impressive example of how to build a visual novel on a minimal budget without needing to make concessions to the goals of the project. The android at the heart of QUALIA might not be my idea of the ideal love robot, but I certainly enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about her here.

Gal Metal is a unique experience that combines cute high school girls, galactic adventures, evil aliens and metal music together in one unmissable experience. The characters all stand alone in their own right and the story line is engaging with a few plot twists mixed in which has you wondering as to what will happen next. The game took about five hours to complete however mastering the rhythms and besting those difficult scores aided in my eagerness to replay levels factor and kept me coming back for more.

Overall, C.A.R.D.S RPG: The Misty Battlefield is a brilliant idea and, mechanically, it’s executed well. But it’s also hard to shake the impression that this is just the first iteration of the idea and that a sequel, while unlikely, would be all the developer needed to really elevate this concept to become something special. As it is, though, it’s a very fine time waster, and, personally, my favourite application of the Slay The Spire style of deckbuilding roguelike yet.

GRIP is an enjoyable racing game that is constantly hampered by bare-bones presentation. The core driving is a lot of fun, but when races and battles aren’t presented in a fun manner then it relies on the gameplay to be constantly engaging. The gravity mechanics are certainly cool to see, but they aren’t exactly innovative or game changing enough to overcome the shortcomings after the initial allure wears off.

Chronicles of Teddy is a pretty cool game. The reward of discovery is well worth the trip, and with some tweaks here and there, Chronicles of Teddy could have been one of the best releases of 2016. As it stands, it is still a gorgeous title worthy of your time.

Everybody’s Golf sticks firmly to the fairway, though it swings a little too wildly too often and dumps itself in the bunker at times too. The grind is real, and though it's enjoyable enough, it's also a game that's quickly going to become hostile to newbies, and that's a problem when so much of the experience relies on the online play.

It’s a game that is very clearly made for the fans, mainly those who have played the previous games. The puzzles, the writing, the acting, and the humor is all ripped straight from the 90’s, and if you’re fixated on modern gaming sensibilities, you probably won’t last ten minutes in Tex’s world. But for those who have been waiting for the return of the world’s greatest PI, look no further. Tesla Effect is a love letter to a genre that is all but gone.

Transformers: Battlegrounds did the right thing in eschewing the Hollywood "mature" efforts and the games that tried to piggyback along with those to give us a true Saturday morning cartoon aesthetic. It was also right to go with a turn-based tactics game, rather than yet another action effort. What this game does is add to the Transformers property and demonstrate that it can be more versatile than the folks in suits have been pushing for over quite some time now. It's certainly not the "XCOM clone" for people that come to XCOM for the nuanced tactical strategy, but it's a nice, light little game and, for someone like me who grew up loving Transformers, only to watch the series be driven into the ground in recent years, it's nice to have something nostalgic to some very fond memories that I had as a kid.

Despite its unyielding dedication for all things realistic, I rather enjoyed the demanding style of play The Golf Club prides itself on, even during the first few hours, where the game will either draw you in or turn you off completely.

Crime Opera's grand ambitions aren't limited to one game. This is the first of six (yes, six) titles that the developer has envisioned as a series. Having played this first chapter, I will be looking forward to the next one. It is a pity that the developer didn't consider presentation and aesthetics more closely for a game that is quite serious in tone and theme, but the narrative value of this game is excellent, distinctive, and original, and ultimately, for a visual novel, that's the first-and-foremost goal.