Minor setbacks aside, this is a very fun Mario Kart game in its own right. Not quite the feature-rich experience that Mario Kart 8 is, but a very fun, very clever game nonetheless. It’s delightful and will certainly be fun for all ages and a great party game for whenever you feel comfortable having parties again. There’s even a driving assist mode for very young (or, uh, very old) players which will help them navigate courses without having to do much more than accelerate and reverse.

Samurai Shodown is very much true to its gaming lineage and works a lot better on the Switch than you would expect. So if you like quick paced fighting games with lots of vicious bladed weaponry and a surprising amount of tactics, then this is definitely worth a look.

Overall, Earth Defense Force: World Brothers is a fun remix of the Earth Defense Force formula. Not only is the art style almost entirely adorable, but the way the gameplay has been split across your team members keeps the game fresh and fun.

GTS lacks overall depth, but it is saved from being a complete failure by its stellar visuals, fun and realistic driving experience. I know how much work goes into producing a major-budget title like GTS, so I would never use the word lazy when describing the effort of the development team...However, this game comes off as an underdeveloped title that is being made to look more legitimate by the history of the series.

Ultimately, I recommend the game purely based on its fun factor. Some people may say it's too linear, but in an age of overly large open-world games, a bit of linearity is a breath of fresh air. I love moving from one mission to the next, using creative ways to kill my enemies but not having to worry about exhausting a bunch of checkpoints across a sprawling map. On the other hand, at $59.99 on console and $49.99 on PC I simply can't recommend you buy it at full price. This should be half that, at most, and should include the Duke Nukem DLC regardless of pre-order. I give the game a Hold on my Buy/Hold/Sell scale. Wait for a sale. One should come along soon enough.

Overall though The Legend of Steel Empire is a solid release and visually updates a classic steampunk shmup that pretty much everyone loves. Even if you never played the original, this is still a lot of fun and perfectly suited to something like the Switch.

The replay value is high if you’re a diehard Transformers fan, or merely a fan of Platinum’s established brand of lighting-fast combat. If you’re neither of these things, the $50 price tag may seem high for the content that’s on offer. That doesn’t change the fact that Transformers: Devastation is the best Transformers game I’ve ever played.

It’s nothing revolutionary, and the writing hasn’t improved from the base game much, but it’s a solid entry and it’s fun to have Moxxi leading supported by the returning character.

The only question with Berserk or Die is whether or not it’ll be able to establish the longevity Vampire Survivors has with regular updates and fresh ideas. But for four dollars, even if it doesn’t manage that, it’s money well spent.

Overall, Actraiser Renaissance stays true to the original game, while building it out even further and keeping the essence of what made it so special intact. If you never played the original Actraiser, then you are definitely in for a treat as it’s not every day you don the mantle of the Lord of Light and defy the will of Tanzra.

Overall, this is the same game from 2011 that felt very dated and awkward but is now available on the Switch. The narrative premise is also delivered in a way that makes very little sense and is visually pretentious, to the point of being overly jarring. If you really want to play a stylish action game with a fixed camera and Biblical narrative influences, then just pick up the original Devil May Cry, it plays a lot better.

Overall, the Famicom Detective Club games are interesting gaming curiosities from an older era of gaming. If you are more of a Nintendo historian, then you will find these games fascinating. For everyone else though, they are an acquired taste.

Castlevania Requiem is an excellent collection of two very important as well as very different Castlevania games. If you have enjoyed the recent Netflix series and don’t know much about the games it is based off, then this is probably the perfect collection to get to grips with the saga.

Overall, this is yet another great Irem Collection, and much like the first and second releases, this third instalment is excellent. However, its star attraction is the adorable Mr. Heli, which is still just as fun to play as when I played it in the arcades as a kid.

Overall, I really enjoyed playing Attack on Titan. Being able to traverse the environment and fluidly take out giants felt great. While there are some glitches and it could get repetitive for some, I can still happily recommend this to any curiously minded gamer and doubly so if you are an Attack on Titan fan.

Overall, Sonic Origins is an excellent collection of games to introduce newer players to what made Sonic the Hedgehog so interesting and unique. However, after Sonic Mania it does feel a bit of a step down with the reduced difficulty.

There’s plenty of mystery and betrayal and a good, fun, and fairly brisk story that will leave you wanting more—even if the end isn’t really a massive cliff-hanger or anything (like some Telltale episodes are.)

NH4 is still fun to play, but there just isn't enough newness here to make upgrading to this version a necessity. If you own, love and still play NH3, I'm not sure you'll find NH4 a must-have for your collection.

Overall, the Famicom Detective Club games are interesting gaming curiosities from an older era of gaming. If you are more of a Nintendo historian, then you will find these games fascinating. For everyone else though, they are an acquired taste.

Outriders has surpassed my expectations in almost every way. Months ago, I figured this would be another looter flop, but now, it’s one of the best current entries in the genre, and even with no “live service roadmap” at hand, it’s clear you could potentially extract hundreds of hours from it regardless. I plan to do just that.

While NBA Live 19 is a definite improvement over NBA Live 18, it still has a lot of the same issues that have bogged down the series in the past. On the bright side, Live has risen to a respectable level, and it can be a fun game, with flaws that hurt the realism. On a whole, it is too inconsistent to be considered elite. This was a year where the franchise expected to make a huge leap from doormat to contender, but it still falls short of the postseason.

Overall, R-Type Final 2 is a significant improvement over R-Type Final and has decently solid level design throughout. As R-Type games go though, R-Type Final 2 does not live up to the masterful R-Type Delta. That said, it is still a proper R-Type game and a well-crafted shmup. So blast off and have fun destroying the Bydo Empire all over again.

Overall, SD Gundam Battle Alliance is a solid mecha game and one that shows how far Artdink has come since their PlayStation Portable days. It’s also a very accessible game in terms of its controls and combat, which the cute approach only helps to accentuate.

Let’s try a metaphor and imagine games as drinks. Fallout 4 is a fine wine, aged, complex, and evolving, likely better with a bit of wait. Bloodborne is a single malt Scotch — dense, overwhelming and rarified. Destiny might be a well made cocktail — a bit trendy, probably too expensive, but eminently satisfying and possessed of a certain technical skill. Just Cause 3 is a Miller High Life. It might not tick those other boxes of quality that those other drinks manage, but damn if I’d have it any other way.

If ever there was a game that could be boosted by an instant replay feature, it's NBA Playgrounds 2. There are times when you pull off a completely over-the-top slam, and having the option to watch it over from different angles would be fun.

Overall, while there are faults with the game’s multiplayer, this is still a good Sonic the Hedgehog game. If you stick with the singleplayer on your own, you will definitely have fun with it. However, I do hope the next 2D Sonic game is one that uses pixel art in the same manner as Sonic Mania.

The control issues are dwarfed by all the good in Yooka-Laylee, this modern day throwback that seems tailormade to yank at nostalgia strings.

If you’re looking to capture that feeling of playing in a beautifully-realized Star Wars sandbox, albeit one lacking variety and depth, EA DICE nails it. If you’re looking for a shooter stacked with substance, engrossing character progression, and endlessly addictive gameplay to sink your teeth into for the months ahead, Star Wars Battlefront misses the mark.