It's a collection of nonograms, which play well on Switch. However, factor in that there are so many of them, that they're presented in an engaging and interesting way, and you're rewarded with something meaningful for every single puzzle completed, and Hatsune Miku Logic Paint S is well elevated beyond being "just" well-made nonograms. The Picross titles on Switch offer well-made nonograms. Logic Paint S is so, so much more than that.

The real strength of Gray Dawn lies far from its decent controls, its ability to run economically on a PC whilst looking amazing, and its employment of psychological horror tropes to get your heart rate up. The proof is all in the Christianity-flavoured pudding. I have never played any other game quite like this which uses all the trappings of religion in a way that subverts our everyday conceptions of it.

I love this game. I really, truly love it. It’s the realisation of a genuine fantasy, and, as I said at the start of the review, this is the kind of completely immersive experience that is exclusive to VR that makes for the most compelling argument for the technology.

Of course, that’s easier said than done, and Disney Crossy Road adds a whole lot to the package to make it a much more comprehensive game.

Groove Coaster, to me, isn't a game about precision and perfection, like most rhythm games. It's a game about letting your senses get overwhelmed, and enjoying the music through sight and touch as much as by hearing it; the "game" is just one means of bringing that about. More than anything else, Groove Coaster is a game about losing yourself in the music, and that's something it achieves perfectly.

This is a very rewarding game, with something like 30 different endings to experience, depending on how well you play, and more side quests, optional missions and challenges and places to explore than most other JRPGs out there.

I haven’t played a visual novel that goes about its thing with quite so much glee in quite a long time. Comedy’s always hard to get right, especially when there’s an underlying subversive quality to it, but Cupid Parasite never falters. It tells a great story in there among the humour and backs it up with an impeccable style and verve. This is one of Otomate’s finest.

This is a genuinely well-written, complex, literary-quality mystery horror story that will teach you something about Japanese ghost storytelling traditions and does an exceptional job of highlighting one of the country’s more interesting, if less-visited, locations. It’s filled with intelligently structured and rewarding puzzles, and the gorgeous art really makes the atmosphere sing. I’m so very impressed that Square Enix has seen the value of these visual novels, and happy that they’ve been such creative successes. With any luck, this one is also enough of a creative success to earn a third, because there are a lot of ghost stories right across Japan that this series could go places.

Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Future Tone is the holy grail of an already illustrious franchise. For existing fans of the virtual idol, this isn’t just some greatest hits album. Plenty of formerly arcade-exclusive tracks are available on console for the first time. Newcomers, meanwhile, are positively spoiled for choice and couldn't ask for a better time to start the franchise.

For a game that I think this is this essential, and this important, there's only one score I can really give it.

Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Future Tone is the holy grail of an already illustrious franchise. For existing fans of the virtual idol, this isn’t just some greatest hits album. Plenty of formerly arcade-exclusive tracks are available on console for the first time. Newcomers, meanwhile, are positively spoiled for choice and couldn't ask for a better time to start the franchise.

The fact is that as a fan of Chu Chu Rocket, I am continually disappointed that there isn’t more done with that kind of puzzler, and Tempopo more than scratched the itch. This has been my favourite puzzle game in years.

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.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is the perfect Legend of Zelda game. Where Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom took the series in new directions, to the point that they're barely related to what came before them, Zelda’s first outing as a protagonist feels like it fits seamlessly in with the traditions of Ocarina of Time, Link’s Awakening and Link to the Past. Not only that, but Nintendo has built a gameplay system that is more whimsical and creative than any of those previous titles, making this a more complete and fully realised vision of what the series has always wanted to be. I desperately hope that this wasn’t just a one-off experiment, and The Legend of Link is here to stay.

Taken on its own, this may be one of the most important games created in terms of historical significance, and in blending life events, narrative and cultural immersion, captures the essential truth of the human experience.

Octopath Traveler is a beautiful game that somehow never gets tired. It has a labyrinthine plot that bravely attempts to give eight characters the same scope and development as eight sole protagonists would get in lesser games. It’s also a game that bravely makes the story all about those characters, with the world, harsh as it can be, almost secondary to the insular unit and their individual arcs. That sheer ambition is all the more impressive because Octopath Traveller uses sprites. Little 2D characters made up of even littler squares. People need to play this game if only to realise that not everything spectacular needs to be photo-real.

Telling Lies easily falls into the category of my top-three FMV titles, the others being Her Story and The Shapeshifting Detective. Its downright genius use of a computer interface allows a remarkably in-depth narrative to shine. The difficulty level means you'll spend hours upon hours in front of your screen... but quite frankly, the time passes as though it were minutes. It's a deep rabbit hole, but worth the trip regardless.

Not every Atari game stands up today as a playable masterpiece, and that’s just fine. Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration provides just about the best contextually driven system for playing and appreciating classic retro games that I’ve ever hit, and it’s an absolute must-have for any gamer of any age. I mean, Tempest 2000 is worth the price of admission alone, but along the way, you’ll learn a lot about gaming history, gaming development and even the weird and wonderful deals and dodgy antics that Atari got up to in its golden age.

Given that the only issue with Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is that the JRPG elements are superficial and unnecessary for the game (while not actually undermining the underlying rhythm game action), it’s hard not to see the effort as a monumentally successful project. With nearly 400 music tracks out of the box, excellent underlying rhythm game mechanics and, of course, the music being so good, this is a game that’s going to last even the most casual Final Fantasy fan for months. And then there’s the DLC with music from games outside of the Final Fantasy series to look forward to. That’s only going to add even more to the biggest value game on Switch.

Just like Trails of Cold Steel before it, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II is an excellent game, and a fitting second act after the first game’s exquisite setup. I can’t recommend it highly enough – just make sure you play Cold Steel first, otherwise you’ll miss so much of what this game has to offer.

If you hadn't played the Nioh games previously - perhaps concerned over their difficulty - then don't let it miss you the second time. They are difficult, but that was essential in setting the desperate, nightmare tone and atmosphere. One other key takeaway that I've had from replaying both games for the remaster is this: what nearly made me quit the first time around has become comfortable now. The learning curve is glacially slow, but you do actually "learn" how to play these games, and there's a real sense of reward that comes from pushing through. Now, if you have played these title already, the upgrade isn't anything to write home about but, then again, perhaps you just want two brilliant games on your PlayStation 5. It's not like either Nioh is going to age poorly; you're going to want to revisit them at some point. You may as well play the best version.

Shenmue 3 won't disappoint fans of the first two. But that's almost secondary to the real story here. Shenmue 3's real strength is in the way that it suggests a different way of looking at the very storytelling of videogames. It challenges the idea that a game's value is in it aspiring to be "cinema", and it provides a pretty compelling argument for the alternative, too. On a personal note, as a fan of both theatre and Shenmue, this game is effortlessly my pick of what has been a very good 2019 for the creative side of videogames.

But, like I've said, those nifty puzzles are just the jumping-off point for what makes this such a remarkable, memorable experience. A clever game of unloading boxes would have been enough to make Unpacking worth playing, but it's the way it weaves its beautiful story through those puzzles that makes it truly sublime.

It's time to broaden the horizons, but in the meantime, Half-Genie Hero Ultimate Edition is as good as platformers get on the Nintendo Switch.

It’s intended to be the final piece of the BoxBoy! puzzle, and it’s going out on the highest note possible.

Blues and Bullets is without a doubt the most true, and also most effective, crime noir game we have to date, with a masterful understanding of the themes and visual motifs that comprise a noir tale, and an understanding on how to work within those without being clichéd or trite.

I have had such a wonderful time with Pokémon Violet and Scarlet. None of the issues that I have with these games are anything but the most mild and forgivable irritations. Meanwhile, the promise of a big but blissfully uncomplicated world, filled with adventure and monsters to collect, brought me right back to what drew me into the whole Pokémon franchise in the first place. Is Scarlet and Violet a technical mess? Sure. Do I care? Not in the slightest. I’m here for the pokémon. Not to count frames.

There have been only a few strategy games on consoles in recent years, and none have had the depth conveyed by Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence. The unique historical setting only further cements this title as one of my favourites on the PlayStation 4 to date.