If you’re after a puzzle game that you can chill with, Doomsday Vault might just fit the bill. Even better, it has a green message – us humans need to shape up, or this is what might actually become of our Earth. It’s just a shame that the controls can be a little annoying at times. Also, there’s not a massive amount of game for the asking price – unless you really want to be at the top of those challenge leaderboards.

There’s not much to Evil Diary – it’s simple to a fault – but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t somewhat enjoy it while it lasted. It’s less than an hour of action, but shooting your way through apocalyptic enemies is always fun – and it turns out sawing through them as a duck with a chainsaw is even better.

Despite the lack of originality on display, each mode is quite a bit of fun. Bringing a few friends over and throwing on a game of Blade Ballet is far from a bad idea. Actually, I dare say it would be a fine choice.

Ultimately, Ninja or Die: Shadow of the Sun is a stylish and unique roguelite, and for some players the originality it exhibits will be enough to win them over. There’s no getting over the fact that it feels messy at times, though, and that repetition can set in if you sit down to play it for a considerable period of time. Still, anyone after a challenge that involves a lot of jumping may want to check this out.

Treasures of the Aegean is a unique game, blending rewarding exploration, energetic parkour and thoughtful puzzles. It’s also refreshingly devoid of combat. It’s just a shame that the controls aren’t a bit tighter, and the overall game a little more polished. It’s also questionable if the time loop mechanic does the game any favours; with such a sprawling map, it can be frustrating starting in a different place each time and having your progress in various puzzles reset. Ultimately, some players will get a great deal of enjoyment out of Treasures of the Aegean, but many will find it scrappy and repetitive.

Nova Strike isn’t a bad game by any means, but it doesn’t do enough to make it stick in your mind like the best of the genre. The roguelike elements are nice, but there simply needs to be more variety and unpredictability to make the focus on them truly worthwhile. And so what you’re left with is a shoot ’em up that too quickly looks and feels generic, with little reason to keep playing once you’ve bested what it has to offer.

There are no secrets and nothing cool to find, just a frustrating design mechanic of incessantly backtracking through areas you have already completed.

Mainly thanks to its dull combat and floaty controls, Giga Wrecker Alt. isn’t the game it could have been. There’s a great story waiting to be unravelled if you have the patience to work through the game’s issues, but a few hours in, it really will become a slog. Giga Wrecker Alt. is a unique game, for sure, but uniqueness alone doesn’t make something good. The basics have to be there first, and in this case, they’re just not.

Graphically, Digger Dan DX is nothing to write home about. It looks nice enough but was definitely designed with the 2DS in mind. The audio is pretty lacklustre too; there’s certainly nothing memorable, so headphones won’t really be required here. The important part as always though is the gameplay, and Digger Dan does mostly get this right.

If you have an abundance of patience, a high degree of skill and the tenacity to not be defeated, then Slain: Back from Hell is likely to give you hours of fun. For most though, it’s just going to be the cause of extreme levels of anger and frustration.

Liberated: Enhanced Edition is to be commended for trying to do something a bit different. It’s just a shame that the gameplay here isn’t a little deeper and more polished. But ultimately, it’s not really the focus of the experience: that’s the story. If you’re a sucker for tales that draw you into dark, dystopian worlds, chances are you’ll still get a considerable amount of enjoyment out of it.

But at the moment, some frustrating issues mean only the most patient players might see it through, even through it’s not particularly long. Exploring a bleak parallel world is intriguing for sure, but when the controls feel like they’re fighting against you and the save system is overly punishing, much of your drive to proceed is lost.

Its inability to show you the agency you may or may not possess robs the experience of the satisfaction it so desperately wants to give you on its final scene.

Charon’s Staircase doesn’t exactly redefine the horror genre. It looks a bit rough, and its tried-and-tested gameplay doesn’t break any moulds. But the majority of its puzzles will keep you hooked, its story is interesting, and it absolutely nails creating a tense, horrifying atmosphere. That alone makes this a spooky adventure worth stepping into.

Radiantflux: Hyperfractal is an odd package with a solid, but not great, arcade game locked inside.

There’s some good to be found in Mortal Shell; its world is interesting and generally well designed, it looks lovely, and some of its boss fights really are exhilarating. But there are just so many aspects of it that will leave you frustrated, underwhelmed or disappointed. It’s a shorter, more focused Souls-like experience that demands you go toe-to-toe with your aggressors, but its combat and surrounding systems just aren’t good enough for you to feel wholly fulfilled by it all. It’ll no doubt have its fans, but Mortal Shell could have been so much better with more polish and some tweaks here and there.

There’s no doubting that The Silver Case 2425 is a stylish affair, with two unique and mature stories to sink your teeth into. It’s just a shame that it’s sometimes so dull, with unnecessary scenes that don’t really add anything to the story, and dialogue that is at times nonsensical and others impenetrable. If you have enough patience, you’ll likely find yourself eventually rewarded by The Silver Case 2425, but for many it won’t be worth the arduous slog. In any case, thanks to the portability of Switch, this is perhaps the best way to enjoy this duo of crime-fuelled visual novels.

For all its imperfections, Cozy Grove is enjoyable enough, even if it does start to get monotonous after a little while. Its limited daily playtime is suited better to a mobile device, but even on console there’s something nice about having somewhere to visit for a short while each day. There does need to be more to keep players occupied outside of a handful of quests, though. And performance is an issue that really needs to be addressed. Don’t expect a replacement for Animal Crossing, but Cozy Grove will raise a smile or two.

UFO Robot Grendizer: The Feast of the Wolves isn’t a bad game – not at all. But it doesn’t do anything that genuinely impresses. It’s a bog-standard action game for the most part, buoyed by some pretty fun shoot ’em sections that add some nice variety. And it’s further hampered by some technical issues that will hopefully be ironed out post-launch. In any case, fans of the show should get some kicks out of it, and newcomers might have some fun unraveling its story in an interactive fashion.

The presentation of The Magic Circle is simple but striking… I would be lying if I said it wasn’t one of the cleverest uses of a retro aesthetic I’ve ever seen.

You’ve got to temper your expectations for a title like The Uncertain: Light at the End. It might not be particularly innovative or revolutionary, but what it does deliver is a pleasantly surprising short adventure. It may be a little rough around the edges, but it’s graphically competent, and its excellently-designed world leaves you wishing there was more. The story pacing may be all over the place, and the abrupt ending comes too soon, but it’s enjoyable enough while it lasts.

There's definitely fun to be had with Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Party Dash, whether it's via playing its minigames with others, or getting stuck into the unlockable Golshi's Grand Adventure 2. There are some issues, however, and there's just not enough content here to warrant the price tag.

Air Twister isn’t a bad game – far from it – but it does nothing to genuinely impress. It looks quite nice, has a love-it-or-hate-it soundtrack, and a wide variety of modes, but the core gameplay here is disappointingly basic. So, while fans of the genre might get some enjoyment out of it, it’s hard to recommend on the whole.

Solstice Chronicles: MIA is an enjoyable experience. Most of the gameplay is engaging, and when you’re using all its mechanics and systems as intended, it’s fun and gels well.

The post apocalyptic world of Diluvion has a steampunk mixed with sci-fi feel to it, and the story reflects that too. I just wish there was less travelling from A to B, or a busier, more detailed landscape to explore along the way.

All in all, Crazy Strike Bowling EX is what it is: a zany arcade bowling game that eschews realism and depth in favour of simple mechanics, colourful characters and some wacky ideas.

Animality lacks any real substance: this is the type of game you’ll jump into for 10 minutes at a time, while the TV’s on in the background, or while you’re waiting for the microwave to beep. There may be meatier endless runners out there, but this one-button wonder does all you need it to in order to keep you coming back.

Ion Fury is flawed, but there’s plenty of gruesome fun to be had here, more so if you’ve got fond memories of 90s shooters. If Voidpoint/3D Realms can tighten up the game for an expansion pack or a sequel, I’d definitely be up for more Bombshell. Just don’t expect this outing to blow you away all the time.