Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[cl-r] might just be the best fighting game available on Switch. In fact, I’ll just say it: it is the best fighting game on Switch. It doesn’t have 40+ characters and it doesn’t have the history or familiarity of franchises such as Street Fighter, but it doesn’t need them. Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[cl-r] simply puts up a bloody good fight and that’s all you can ask for. The cavalcade of modes in which to sink your teeth into is just the icing on an already delicious cake.

Featuring both local and online play, Cake Bash is one of the most enjoyable party games of recent memory. Mechanically it’s solid, and there’s a wonderful variety to its Bash and Snack events. It helps that it looks great, too, and the preposterousness of the whole affair does nothing but win you over. Where else can you pummel a doughnut as a chocolate chip muffin, after all? If you’re after a sweet game to play the next time you have some friends or family around, be sure to treat yourself to Cake Bash.

The Journey Down is an unexpected delight. While point-and-click games can often be frustrating, The Journey Down manages to remain fun and engaging throughout. Its excellently-told story, beautiful art design and humorous characters certainly help in keeping you hooked. If you love classic point-and-click adventure games, make sure The Journey Down is on your radar.

The Journey Down is an unexpected delight. While point-and-click games can often be frustrating, The Journey Down manages to remain fun and engaging throughout. Its excellently-told story, beautiful art design and humorous characters certainly help in keeping you hooked. If you love classic point-and-click adventure games, make sure The Journey Down is on your radar.

A Plague Tale: Requiem outdoes its predecessor in many ways. Its story, for example, manages to be even more engaging and touching, while numerous gameplay enhancements make it a deeper, more varied affair. It's just a shame that its first quarter isn't better paced, relying too much on you manipulating rats with light, and that its combat sections just aren't fun at all. Add in a myriad of performance issues and bugs, and you have a game that somewhat squanders its phenomenal potential, but is still very much worth playing.

All of Thumper is quite the sight, particularly in VR. It’s dark and moody; blacks and reds fill your screen, transporting you to some sort of ethereal nightmare. But you’ll likely be transfixed on the action, completely absorbed in Thumper‘s strange but fascinating world. There really is nothing else like it. And try as we might, it truly is impossible to fully summarise the wonder of Thumper into words. It’s one that really does need to be experienced first-hand to be fully appreciated.

Inspired by classic survival horror games of the '90s, Crow Country's puzzle-laden gameplay is enjoyable on the whole. It's not scary in the slightest, though, and its combat is a bit of a let-down. While fans of the genre might want to check it out, then, it's unlikely to be remembered as a classic itself.

I have to give credit to Hideo Kojima for trying to make something different. For me it didn’t pay off, but I did feel there were moments of brilliance here and there. Death Stranding is an ambitious game, but it’s also one that’s self-indulgent and overwrought. With better pacing and the excising of some of its less flattering content and features, Death Stranding could have been something special. As it is, however, it’s just a slog that ultimately turns around and spits in your face.

While you're not likely to remember its story in a few months' time, and the erratic driving of friendly civilians may frequently alarm you, its gameplay shines and that's what's important. Setting you free in a stunningly realised open world, Far Cry 5 gives you all the tools you need for tens of hours of outrageous fun. Factor in online co-op and the user-generated content of Far Cry 5 Arcade, and you have one hell of a compelling package.

The Evil Within 2 is good old-fashioned survival horror with a little bit of an open-world bent, and it works beautifully. It’s tense, it’s scary, it’s exciting, it’s absorbing – it’s everything I hoped it would be and more.

So yeah, go with the Switch. You’ll die, die and then die again, but you’ll always go back for more.

This is a fantastic remaster of what was already a great game, offering a thoroughly absorbing experience that could easily run into the hundreds of hours. Available for £35 or less, that’s a hell of a lot of fantasy adventuring in exchange for your coin.

If you like being guided from one objective to the next while playing a game, Magical Delicacy is not for you. But if figuring things out for yourself, exploring a wonderfully designed pixelated world and cooking up some unique delicacies in the kitchen all sound good to you, there's so much to love here. It's a unique blend of crafting and metroidvania, and it works incredibly well.

A great city-building game for beginners who don’t want to be bogged down with complicated systems, there’s a lot to like about SteamWorld Build. It isn’t so simple that it’s boring: the balance between your surface-level town and the mines below means there’s always something to do. Add in the fact that objectives always give you something to work towards, and you’ve got an engaging little timesink with a great sense of progression.

If you’ve played West of Loathing, you’ll know what to expect here: a delightfully silly narrative, excellent writing, and gameplay that’s far more engrossing than it has any right to be. But even if you’ve not, you can jump straight in and have a whale of a time. Video games should be about having fun, and Shadows Over Loathing captures that spirit perfectly. Joyful, captivating and surprisingly deep, you’ll love every moment you spend with it.

I’m quite torn by DiRT Rally 2.0. Its improved visuals and handling undoubtedly make it a better game to play than DiRT Rally, but in terms of content, it leaves me wanting. Sequels like this are meant to be bigger and better, but DiRT Rally 2.0 feels about the same size but better, and with less track variety as standard. Regardless, for devout rally fans it’s still pretty much essential.

All three games in Borderlands Legendary Collection are very nearly flawless. There’s perhaps just a little too much to-ing and fro-ing; and as you go from one game to the other you’ll find that the series hasn’t evolved all that much over the years. Still, if you’re into looting and shooting, you really can’t go wrong. Gyro aiming is built into the Switch versions of these games, too, adding a new gameplay dimension. Needless to say, whether you’re a fan of the series or someone interested in jumping in, Borderlands Legendary Collection is outstanding.

Little Nightmares II is a true evolution from the first game. Tarsier Studios has done a fantastic job in creating a world that's even more terrifying, brought to life with absolutely sublime art and sound. Sure, there are a few frustrations along the way, but they aren't what will stick with you. What you will remember, long after you've turned off the game, is just how magnificent and macabre Little Nightmares II is.

The main event of Super Mario Party Jamboree is fine, but it doesn't offer anything truly original. As a package, though, there's plenty to like here, with several modes and ways to play, whether locally or online. The battle royale-like 'Koopathlon' is a real highlight in particular.

A sequel, but also a celebration of the series so far, Streets of Rage 4 doesn't disappoint. That's amazing considering the many years of anticipation and excitement leading up to it. Fans couldn't have asked for more in a new entry in the beloved series. And even better, Streets of Rage 4 proves that there's still life in it. It's a tour de force of sumptuous art, mesmerising music, and trance-inducing action. Take nostalgia out of the equation, and Streets of Rage 4 is the best entry in the series yet.

UFC 4 is undoubtedly the best representation of the sport yet. It may not have a great deal more content than previous offerings, but what has been added injects a lot of fun into the game, and the removal of Ultimate Team isn’t likely to be a great concern. It’s the improvements to the game’s actual combat systems that make the most impact though, giving the action a more authentic and dynamic feel while also providing a much-needed lifeline for those who previously struggled on the ground.

I have never, in my three decades plus of gaming been as motivated to save another video game character as I was during the last act of The Last Guardian.

Your typical Need for Speed or Forza Motorsport player might find it lacking. But those looking for a game that focuses on the driving experience and the pleasure of shaving fractions of a second from a lap time will lap it up. It still doesn't welcome new players with open arms, but it has an abundance of content that it isn't afraid to give up to you without a fight.

MotoGP 20 is undoubtedly the best MotoGP game yet. Not everyone will be on board with some of the changes made to its core modes, though. There’s room for the managerial features of the career mode to be refined and expanded upon in the next iteration, and opponent AI could still do with a bit of work, but they do little to sully the racing experience provided this year. Needless to say, if you’re a fan of the sport or after a bike racing game that ties itself to tracks rather than open roads, MotoGP 20 is highly recommended.

There’s not a single misstep in Botany Manor. It looks fantastic, and it’s supported by a gorgeous, if sometimes subtle, soundtrack. It’s the puzzles that take the limelight, though: they’re almost flawless in design, requiring just the amount of brainwork to complete. The perfect blend of exploration and puzzle-solving makes Botany Manor an absolute delight — and as thrilled as we were that Arabella got to finish her book, we were gutted that it meant our time with her was over.

While the new campaign introduced in Vessel of Hatred disappoints, other additions such as the new Spiritborn class and endgame co-op PvE activity Dark Citadel make for a wortwhile expansion overall. In any case, adding a whole new region to explore filled with new dungeons, strongholds, and more, it's essential for devout Diablo 4 fans.

To say Indivisible is a bit of a disappointment is an understatement. It’s not a bad game by any means, but it could have – and should have – given us a much more enjoyable journey than what we’ve ended up with. A bit more time fine-tuning combat and traversal would have gone a hell of a long way in making Indivisible worthwhile. As it is, its sumptuous graphics and excellent writing are let down by maddening gameplay elements – and that’s the most disappointing thing of all.

Tetris never had a story and that has kept us coming back for decades. If a game like this is to be judged on its puzzles alone, then SOLAS 128 is a superb entry into the puzzler genre. Though it is best played on PC, where the controls feel more at home.