If you absolutely can't wait until Bloodlines 2 for your next Vampire: The Masquerade fix, Coteries of New York is a decent enough way to fill the time.

At £8.99, it’s not asking for much money, but it’s certainly asking for too much of a player’s time with the excessive and repetitive grinding.

Spend a few hours winding down with its carefree sandbox or just listen to the ever catchy folksy music, and it’s just the antidote you need after a bad day, a bad year, or hell, a bad decade.

There’s nothing really different here; no new game modes or anything like that. It’s more of the same, so if you liked what you saw first time round, then it’s very likely you’ll enjoy this too.

A fun, but simplified take on the turn-based strategy genre, think "baby's first XCOM" and you're on the right lines. Its flaws are obvious but easily overlooked for newcomers to the genre. If you're a die-hard strategy fan, consider giving Narcos: Rise of the Cartels a pass, it won't have much to offer you.

Easy enough for newcomers to just pick up and play, and providing just enough fun and familiar challenge for veterans of the genre.

I’m definitely going to keep Must Dash Amigos installed on my Switch, but I can’t see myself taking it out unless I have a group of friends looking to come over and enjoy some crazy, tequila-induced races with me.

Playtonic has absolutely smashed it with Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair. It builds on the team’s experience with platformers and manages to improve on its predecessor in every way. One of the best platformers I’ve played in years.

Taking the series in an entirely new direction, Darksiders Genesis manages to stay true to the prior games whilst delivering in a totally different genre. A fun game let down by grindy character progression.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a great Star Wars game that’s true to the lore of the universe. As a first step for the series into the soulslike genre it feels natural, though it also offers a more hardcore game mode for those that want a real challenge.

I think this is a game that for those liking the overall concept and ideas will be very enjoyable. For anyone not interested in mentally keeping track of things and simply moving counters around on a map, not so much.

It’s a fine line when creating a sequel to such a classic game. Go too modern and you alienate your classic player base, but go too retro and it doesn’t appeal to the new generation of gamers. Taito has got the balance spot on here though, and created a Bubble Bobble for 2019 that feels completely right, but without being mere fanservice. It’s a brilliant game that all Switch owners ought to get in my opinion.

A tremendous game that really pushes the boundaries. Both an excellent educational resource, and a superb time sink. This would be a perfect-scoring title if it wasn’t for a few too many bugs and stability issues, but I still recommend it incredibly highly.

As usual, I find myself wanting to like games which just straight up annoy the shit out of me. There are some nice ideas here but I just got too frustrated after a while trying to get past sections which were just so much trickier than others, and required a lot of swapping of powers, and pulling off what amounted to combos of moves I just couldn’t swing with.

It resembles more of a remaster of a last-generation videogame than a current-gen title. The story can be cool towards the end for Terminator fans as you see how the first two movies began, but it's not worth the boring gameplay, mediocre visuals, and uninteresting characters.

Woven is not a fun game, but it’s certainly a nice story. There are concepts —particularly the body-swapping mechanic— that could have been enjoyable with the right execution, but this game doesn’t even come close to pulling them off.

Bee Simulator is a somewhat enjoyable game but suffers greatly from horrible flight controls and overly sensitive inputs. Younger children may find it to be an enjoyable game and be able to ignore the overacting of the voice actors. However, it is a game that is educational in teaching players about the world of the honeybee and their importance to nature.

Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout bring plenty of changes to the series that make it an enjoyable experience for long time fans and newcomers alike.

The patch system is fun to mess around with as well, but it can help with the tediousness and make you feel weak because of the randomized nature. The final fight was the best part of the forgettable journey, but if you don’t have the right patches, Geodia will be doomed.

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is a great introduction to the MechWarrior series and is primarily a PvE game. Players can expect to be rocking to an awesome soundtrack as they destroy their enemies on the battlefields.

A really fun game for young boys and girls that range from four to eight years old and for any Ryan fan that is out there.

A direct continuation of a classic series that acts like it’s still the early 2000s, for better or worse! For returning fans this is precisely what you wanted. It’s possible for newcomers to enjoy but you should probably play the originals first.

If you’re a Switch owner, there are better mech games, and there are better fighting games. Override is a game best overlooked.

As a fighting game, there is almost no aspect of Skullgirls Second Encore that isn’t an absolute joy to play, and the Switch's portability only enhances those qualities. Fans of fighting games will find so much to love in Skullgirls, but the game won’t create any zealous converts out of those who loathe the conventions of the fighting game genre.

It’s not going to make anybody who didn’t already like the game go out and buy it, but it adds to what was already a pretty addictive game. In short, it’s the kind of thing that you’ll like if you like this kind of thing.

A perfect continuation of what Bugbear has done previously with the Flatout series. They may no longer hold the license to that IP, but they definitely still have the spirit of it. This is a perfect blend of customisation and carnage, with something for everyone. I can’t recommend it enough, and it deserves to be just as popular as the games that came before it.

One can clearly see the ambition in The Beast Inside, but the developer's lack of experience means it doesn't actually reach those heights.

Baldur’s Gate has been left intact and is allowed to shine as a gaming classic. New players needn’t be scared away, with a small amount of patience even D&D beginners will find a rewarding experience here.

It’s certainly not a game for those looking for a more relaxing trip through mythical Japanese inspired locales, but whoever decides to stick with Sekiro through its hardships are bound to experience one of the most rewarding and memorable titles of the year.

A somewhat disappointing expansion for a fantastic strategy game. It adds enough strategic options and variety to combat that If you are already invested in BattleTech then you’ll get a lot of enjoyment from what’s in here.

Like comfort food for fans who’ve loved the Underground/Most Wanted games from back in the day. The day and night system is addictive, the cars feel great and distinct, the visuals are fantastic (especially at night) and the old-school customization is back and better than ever.

Although it is barebones in some departments, the meat of Domiverse is so tasty and satisfying that I’m likely to keep coming back for more.

Some sound and physics shenanigans don’t stop this from being a fun, if occasionally frustrating, game that goes towards redeeming CI Games for the previous game’s missteps.

Death Stranding might be the most unique AAA game of the generation, with an addictive core gameplay loop that manages to combine a new concept with tried-and-true design philosophies, and a story that - while messy - has a sweet emotional core that’s likely to stick with players long after the credits roll.

Like a sober night in the town with drunken friends, it starts off amusing enough, but it wears out its welcome after a while becoming tiring and grating, and towards the end.

Obsidian could have easily fallen into the trap of creating a straight up Fallout clone, but the various planets in the Halcyon solar system and the types of quest available provides a good amount of variety, with excellent splashings of humour and moral dilemmas. It’s not breaking new ground, but it struts its stuff very well.

Link's Awakening is a joyous adventure and a treat for the eyes, marred by some minor performance hiccups. It's truly a shame that this title is following up the most ambitious entry in the series' history and feels disappointingly small in comparison.

Dusk Diver is a beautiful, fun and flawed experience that fails to provide bang for its buck. If you’re a die-hard fan of this style of beat-em-up you may be able to look past the game’s lack of content.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare almost brings the franchise back to its roots with a meaningful campaign that includes memorable characters and a horrifying depiction of war, but falls short when it comes to the traditional multiplayer. New modes like Gunfight and Realism are highlights and the core game still feels as good as ever, but it won’t save you from getting continuously spawn camped.

While it’s welcome to see one of Sega’s most original IPs return to modern consoles, Banana Blitz HD is far from the series at its best and one that purists will find wanting.

I couldn’t help but feel that the greatest time manipulation Aeternoblade II succeeds at was the 15 hours I wasted playing it.

Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince is a very fun game but the puzzles and combat can be very simple and straightforward. However, this is made up for with amazing graphics and music as well as fun voice acting.

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes Complete Edition might be a limited experience with repetitive gameplay, but long time series fans will find plenty to enjoy in the narrative.

A neat automation game that’s well built with plenty of depth to keep you going for quite some time, and this is only “Phase 1”. The programming aspect is similar to that of the Scratch programming language, and can teach basic programming principles with its visual code builder and “follow me” initial recording of the robots.

A unique and interesting take on the RTS, adding a grand scale feel to proceedings whilst managing to not feel overwhelming. Seeing hundreds of units scurrying around never gets old. Heartily recommend to strategy fans.

MediEvil is about as faithful as a remake can be. While some of its systems may feel archaic by today's standards, for fans of the original, it's still well worth making a return trip to Gallowmere, if only to see how beautiful it all looks now.

Despite having a battle system that, while interesting, can feel at odds with the rest of the game’s tone, Little Town Hero is a delightful, small-scale adventure that will calm and charm you with its serene setting, fun characters and joyful presentation.

Sadly, what little fun there is to be had with Monkey King: Hero Is Back is constantly ruined with poor level design, repetitive encounters and annoying sound design.

Felix the Reaper is a challenging puzzle game that is supposed to be a romantic comedy about life and death, but for some reason leaves the romance and some of the comedy aspects out of almost the entire game.

Newcomers to the series are very much recommended to plump for this collection, it’s got everything you need and the story is excellent. Otherwise, it’s probably not worth shelling out to buy everything again.

The reduced visual quality doesn’t stop The Witcher 3 on Switch from being an astonishing technical marvel from Saber Interactive. It remains one of the finest open-world games of this generation, especially if you favour rich storytelling over systems and mechanics, which you can now take with you.

If you're a fan of the previous titles, go ahead and buy Iron Rain, you're not going to be disappointed by this one. If you're not a rabid fan of giant bugs, give it a miss or pick it up in a sale. It's a giggle after all if a little frustrating.

I have never encountered a more beautiful, entrancing and sublime gaming experience.

If you are already into the series then it is likely you will already know whether or not you’re getting this game. If you are not, I wouldn’t recommend you start here unless you like hours of frustrating dialogue with no pay off.

It’s hard to truly dislike a game that tries to meld pre-existing ideas into something new, and this is true with Indivisible. However, it’s also hard to truly enjoy a game that doesn’t fully succeed in any of its key areas, and unfortunately this also applies to Indivisible.

A fun if wildly unpolished title that deviates from the series established identity. Some solid stealth mechanics and great feeling gunplay offset the often broken feeling the rest of the game suffers from.

Pagan Online makes an attempt to dovetail two different genres—the ARPG and the MOBA—with mixed results. While the different heroes each have interesting abilities and character designs, the game is bogged down by an unfortunate series of grindy, free-to-play mechanics inexplicably built into a buy-to-play game.

The Surge 2 is a sequel done right. With fluid combat, creative level design, and solid performance you would be hard pressed to not enjoy this title.

The most compelling plot and potential twist the series has had to date with fun missions and a return to perhaps the most iconic location in the series’ history. The moon is definitely haunted but it’s a lot of fun hunting those ghosts!

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw is a fun and addicting space combat game with an amazing soundtrack. However, controls can be really weird without a game controller and playing it for the first time is very daunting unless one watches a 40 minutes long introductory/tutorial video.

The story is forgettable because of its generic nature and the visuals aren’t incredible, but Police Stories is about the tactical gameplay and having to make those split-second decisions as a police officer would. You’ll have a newfound respect for your local law enforcement once you realize how life and death their jobs can be.

A murder mystery that is masterfully told to keep your eyes on the screen until the very end. The visuals are lacking when it comes to the environments, but you quickly forget about them when you discover what plot twist is introduced next.

A fitting return to form for the GRiD franchise, especially given the five year gap since Autosport. Doesn’t take itself too seriously, so it’s a title anyone can pick up and play. Would be just as at home in an arcade cabinet as it is in the console under your TV or on your PC.

All in all, Rebel Cops is a blast to play, and feels like a great modification to the This Is The Police formula. Everything feels right, the management is fun and challenging, the story is interesting enough, and there are no bugs or glitches that I have run into thus far.

Despite Minoria not being in my typical realm of games, I was pleasantly surprised by its entertainment value. The attention to detail was terrific, especially in the background. I appreciated the challenge my mind had in combat, especially when facing the bosses. I would greatly recommend it for gamers looking for voyages of this fashion.

Gears 5 feels like a desperate attempt by The Coalition at trying to carve out a new identity for the series, but the execution feels half-hearted. The pseudo open-world skiff exploration is enjoyable early on, but the uninspired objectives end up making it feel dull after a while.

By taking the best bits of a few different genres, Gunfire Games has come up with an exceptional formula here, and brought us the surprise hit of the year. Sure, it’ll take you a while to “git gud”, but it actually feels like it’s worth the practice.

Untitled Goose Game is a short and sweet village sandbox of chaos, with probably the most laughs you’ll have in a videogame this year. Goose tier.

It's not golf, and it's all the better for it. A fun 7-8 hours that will entertain, much like a golf-themed WarioWare.

Lovely Planet 2: April Skies is – for lack of a better word – lovely. Everything about it is cute, simple and a nice change of pace from all the overly violent games I’ve been playing recently. It feels great to play and it can get challenging towards the end, but nothing that had me scratching my head or annoyed with difficulty. I loved pastel colours for the visual style and happy inducing music because it puts me in a relaxing place, and for that reason, it’s a game I may return to in the future.

Final Fantasy VIII is still a great game and if you’re playing it for the first time, I’d suggest getting this version. If you already have an earlier release however then it’s hard to justify the cost. A few graphical tweaks and some blurring isn’t worth the money for me: I could get a similar effect by taking off my glasses before playing and save myself 16 quid in the process. A poor remaster of a great game.

This was yet another game that on the surface appeared to be highly playable. I just could not overlook the simple missteps and lack of story, no matter how mystifying the visuals were. This game is another prime example of a developer overlooking the minute in favor of glamour.

I would certainly recommend this game to fans of the early Resident Evil games but if you aren’t a fan of those games I could see it getting old fast, as most of the “nostalgia” of the game consists of dated mechanics in combat and puzzle solving.

A strong return for the series with enough changes to make combat feel fresh and exciting, some great new characters and an awesome soundtrack. A fun time from start to finish.

A very well-made, entertaining throwback shooter with some useful quality of life improvements, but nothing you didn't see 20 years ago.

A competent entry to the WRC series by Kylotonn Games, and the handling model has improved a lot since their previous outing, however, the title is let down by some oddities and bugs that can sometimes make gameplay more effort than it needs be. Choose this if you want a decent rally experience, without the harrowing difficulty that DiRT Rally will put your way.

The massive improvement from one installment to the next is highly noticeable. It still lacks variety in its maps. The jump Remorphed makes from the original version makes it not only playable, but a game you can sink your teeth into, as it is a well-rounded shooter gameplay experience.

The entire pinball premise for the gameplay is excellently done, feels great and with it having a learning curve makes it all the more fun to figure out and master.

As it is now, Astral Chain is a great action game with a few blemishes. It might not be perfect, but it should be a high priority for any Switch owners, and fans of the action genre as a whole.

It’s got a few rough edges, but nothing too unbearable. It’s definitely worth getting your paws on this one and I’d recommend it bear claws I had an ursome experience playing it. One fur the wishlist of anybody who wants a good point-and-click to paws the time.

In all, Bloober Team has done a great job of capturing the feel and ethos of the film series. With some unique and interesting mechanics, a solid story, and a cute pupper in a lead role, it adds up to something really quite good. A few issues stop it from being perfect, but it certainly does justice to a film that’s held dear to many.

Faultlessly stylish but also frustrating in its execution, River City Girls is nonetheless a refreshingly vibrant brawler but best played with a friend.

A difficult, interesting journey through deep space that constantly has you making interesting decisions. The complexity isn’t always a good thing but there is a ton of replay value here.

A fun if simplistic third person shooter with quirky, entertaining characters and an over the top charm that makes up for the repetitive gameplay. Let down by a sloppy localisation and some stiff controls but still a good time.

If you’re a fan of pinball and have a Switch, then it’s a must-purchase. Big fans of Star Wars will probably get a kick out of it too with all of the tables focussed on one aspect of the franchise or another.

If you loved Party Hard 2 and wanted more characters and more madness, than this is the DLC for you. I mean, you get to be a dog or a frog man... where exactly can you go wrong?

A very unique game about the evolution of man that isn’t afraid to drop you in the world and make you figure out everything for yourself, which may turn some people off immediately.

This game is simple and easily kills time. There is a charm to the retro, old arcade machine gameplay. In the current landscape of visually stunning, it is nice to go back in time to videogame roots and just play a plain game with basic controls. For a break from the intensity, Mekabolt is a good breather, especially at the value of the low price it is selling for.

Its gender depictions might not have aged like fine wine, but there’s still nothing quite like Catherine: Full Body. Whether you play it as an anime visual novel, a nightmarish puzzle or bizarre fighting game, it’s a richer experience all-round.

It has the weirdness of Alan Wake/Max Payne in the story, the crazy action-packed combat of Quantum Break all while letting you explore this bizarre, beautiful building with so many secrets to uncover.

It’s one of those games that’s alright for a couple of hours if you can get it at a deep discount. Otherwise, it’s just too frustrating to recommend.

There aren't any new game modes and Kerbal Space Program doesn’t really do story content or multiplayer so nothing to see there, and on the surface (pun intended) it could be argued that you don’t get great value for fifteen quid, given the relative cost of the base game. That said, if you love Kerbal Space Program and this helps you sink a few more weekends into it, then you’re probably still getting better value then buying more loot boxes for Generic AAA-Shooter number 75.

If you enjoy long track races, and want a new challenge, ETRC is almost certainly that. However, if that’s not your thing, there is nothing this game does that will lure you over.

How you feel about Atelier Lulua ~The Scion of Arland~ will be largely influenced by which parts of JRPGs you like most. If you are drawn mainly to an engaging story and the interaction between characters, you’ll probably enjoy it. If you’re a fan of lots of combat and fast paced action, it might not be your cup of mana. If, like me, you enjoy tweaking stats and finding the best combinations of items to maximise your characters, then you will love it. I spent more time crafting than anything else and I loved it. It took me back to the days of spending an hour in the menus of Final Fantasy VII, trying to find the perfect materia combinations and for that reason, I loved it.

This is an excellent baseball simulation game. It has incredible detail and an endless assortment of statistics. The only complaint is the in-game viewing, as its graphics lack when watching the pitch and the ball being put in play. Outside of that, the experience is phenomenal and as real as it gets. Highly recommended for anyone that enjoys managing sports and taking a whirlwind through baseball’s historic pastime.

Overall involvement of the game is enjoyable and entertaining. It will test even the best of gamers, as balance is key. It gets docked points for its faults that cannot be ignored, also for its lack of bypass ability when getting stuck on levels. Worth sampling, especially if the food industry interests you.

A trigger warning in game form - without any trigger warnings. Had a lot of potential, but unfortunately misses the mark.

A fun VR title, only really marred by the relative niche status of virtual reality at present meaning player counts are low. A renewed single-player aspect of the game and the continued updates could mean this becomes one of VR’s sleeper hits.