Am I a convert? Not yet, and I may never be, fully. But I’m glad I finally had a chance to see what everyone else has been telling me for years.

While Vampire Survivors isn't even technically out, the latest update has made this Early Access title so fun to play. [Early Access Score = 80]

This is brilliant, it’s everything I wanted the game to be and maybe even a little bit more.

Blending together a turn-based RPG with card battles and roguelite mechanics, Gordian Quest has a certain magic to it, despite its repetitive gameplay loop. [Early Access Score = 75]

Even before playing on live servers I’m not afraid to say that Battlefield V’s multiplayer is great. That is simply undeniable. It’s impossible to not care about the result of each match, tense finishes seem to happen almost every other game and the moment to moment action is incredibly satisfying.

Shapez 2 is a lovely looking, zen-like, itch-scratching conveyor-a-thon, which fans of factory-builders will spend countless hours delving into. [Early Access Score = 90]

DNF Duel is an extremely welcoming fighting game that I’d recommend to genre veterans and newcomers alike. The battles are tense, the visuals are out of this world and the inputs and tutorials make it really easy to pick up and play. I never thought I’d truly get into this genre of video game, but DNF Duel managed to drag me into it and I couldn’t be happier. [Review in Progress]

It’s a paid beta, though (which is iffy in itself in some ways), and so there’s lots of room and time for improvement. It’s just a shame that a game with such polished shooting and looting is bogged down by such clunky menus, tangled systems and tiresome mechanics. We’ll re-examine Fortnite as and when the big changes come, but for now it’s a lot of fun, once you’re comfortable with how it all works.

Playing the first episode of Hitman brought back fond memories of unique kills from previous titles, with the grander and more compelling scale of the game adding tons of replayability. I don’t doubt there will be those left frustrated with the game’s short length, but its focus on great gameplay is where Hitman truly shines. Even though you only feel like you’ve dipped your toes in the water, the first instalment of Hitman leaves a lot of promise for the rest of the series.

With plenty more to test in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, we’ll update this review to include a breakdown of its multiplayer, but as far as the campaign goes, Infinity Ward has put out a solid effort that surpasses most Call of Duty campaigns we’ve seen over the last five years. It’s a good sequel to 2019’s reboot, but still follows some all too familiar tropes, with some of the characters not getting the spotlight they deserve. [Review in progress]

Whilst the design of Morphopolis may have won it many fans already, this does seem to be very much a case of style over substance.

There are many better indie games on the WiiU, don’t waste your paper on this one.

Disney Speedstorm has plenty of potential, but at present the racing feels unbalanced and there's far too much currency to get familiar with. [Early Access Review Score = 55]

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is an extremely mixed bag so far. While I’m enjoying the atmosphere, the few stealth-based missions (I say “based” but you can just wander in and shoot everyone) have been the highlights. Skif is a likeable enough horrible person, and I like how much there is to do in terms of quests and side content, but it’s held back massively by stifling bugs, unsatisfying gunplay, iffy voice work and sound design, and a general air of being five to ten years behind the modern market. Or maybe I’m just missing the point. Either way, with only around a dozen hours played I’m still in the early game, so perhaps by the time I come to add a score to all this, a lot will have changed. Either way, right now, Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl isn’t setting my world alight. [Review in Progress]

While it looks lovely and isn't a bad game by any means, Star Allies is aimed at a very specific age group, and most others will find it far too easy and, sadly, rather dull.

Sword and Fairy: Together Forever looks pretty and has some fun moments, but constant cutscenes and a poor translation make it hard to recommend.

Tricky Towers is not fun or enjoyable, but you might get something out of it if you’re a masochist.

Echo Prime has a nice idea at its core, but it is let down almost every step of the way by run-of-the-mill, uninspired execution.

Time will tell if Crayta makes an impact on its intended audience, but I sincerely hope it succeeds, because it’s definitely one of the best creative games on the market.

There’s some excellent design work on display here, but it’s just lacking that touch of polish that a finished product needs and while the adventure mode is good it just highlights how little use LABO has outside of its own wheelhouse. Maybe, just maybe Nintendo needs to help developers integrate LABO kits into their games as bespoke controllers, it might be that that finally helps LABO take off.

Despite some great presentation, Lichtspeer is simply an unfair experience that never feels rewarding or fun.

It’s a shame but Yo-Kai watch Blasters could have been a good game, but it’s let down by a lack of variety in what it offers in itself and against its predecessors.

A bog-standard dungeon crawler with added boobies, Party Favors offers forgettable titillation but almost no actual substance.

Neptunia ReVerse has enjoyable combat and engaging RPG systems, but it's not worth enduring the "fan service" to experience them.

The thing is, what Dissidia NT does do well is hamstring itself from actually being good. A good fighting mechanic can only carry a game so far, outfitting the game with so little in the way of modes to actually experience is bad enough, but to then completely lock away a staple mode of fighting games to force people to repeat play stagnant modes is practically unforgivable, especially for a story based franchise like Final Fantasy.

It’s a shame but Yo-Kai watch Blasters could have been a good game, but it’s let down by a lack of variety in what it offers in itself and against its predecessors.

While TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge accurately captures the sense of speed as you barrel down the country lanes of the iconic circuit, its twitchy handling undoes the experience entirely.

It’s still early days for Torchlight 3. Right now it’s a decent dungeon crawler, but even in this heavily saturated market there are still occasional gems, and in its current state Torchlight 3 simply isn’t that. With work done on the skill trees and classes, and the injection of a little spectacle, it could become something great. As it stands though, it’s really just another dungeon crawler.

The delay between versions should have been used to improve what was already there, instead we get a smaller game with a prettier face.

Unfortunately the core game underneath the gloss and stacks of features is no better than the first Wii Party – and in many ways is actually worse. 80 minigames had better have a good strike-rate or they become a procession of annoying interludes; there are only so many ways you can throw a dice and move around a track.

Other than the new Operation L and Virus Buster modes, there is little in the way of new content that makes this a better deal than the previous (and cheaper) versions.

Way of the Hunter sacrifices fun for realism, and coupled with some other aggravating elements is a game I cannot recommend.

Adore brings action packed combat to the monster collecting genre, but unfortunately it's just too repetitive and frustrating to recommend.

Grievously weighed down by its unforgiving orienteering mechanic, tedious gameplay and frame-rate issues, Kholat is more likely to leave you with your head aching rather than your head spinning.

DRIVE Rally is a well produced, fun rally experience. It’s imperfect but there’s plenty of time for tweaks before the full release in 2025. With a unique artistic style, arcade style handling, four charismatic co-pilots and a plethora of stages, there’s more than enough on offer for both beginners and rally veterans alike to enjoy in this early access release. [Early Access Review]

Defense Technica is a bland, run-of-the-mill affair. It brings almost nothing new to the genre and relies on tried and tested mechanics.

A disappointing package which fails to showcase the appeal of the classic series. Bad boss fights and bad mini games make this remake hard to recommend.

After this it might be high time for Mario to put his sportsing behind him and stick to regaling kids with stories of his adventures, rather than his sporting achievements.

Toby: The Secret Mine has fair visuals and a decent level variety, but disappointingly relies too heavily on inspiration from previous indie successes to blossom into anything truly original.

With its weird physics issues and inept AI, FlatOut 4 is a frustrating game that simply disappoints on every level.

Digimon World: Next Order is grindy, unintuitive and just plain dull, and no amount of exciting evolutions will change that.

The here and now of Asemblance leaves you with more questions than answers, and not in the way Nilo intended.

An intriguing puzzle game let down by dull visuals and tiresome design.

As is often the case with looking back on the past, Mario Party The Top 100 makes you remember that things were never really as good as you remember.

Sadly, despite its pretty aesthetic, Rain World is a confusing and sluggish platformer that failed to give me any reason for what I was doing and just left me feeling bored and bewildered.

For me, the biggest issue Anthem has right now is its loading times. I’ve never seen a game with so many loading screens, and some of them are utterly unnecessary. There’s an incredibly intrusive feature whereby if you fall behind your squad, a tethering mechanism kicks in and drags you forward via a loading screen. The fact that this happens when you’re barely 100 yards away in the same instance is mind-boggling, but more irksome is the frequency at which it happens.

A good premise that just doesn’t match up to it’s execution, much like one of Akko’s spells.

The fact that it's a mechanically solid sporting experience can't save it from mediocrity or a lack of any real reason to come back, and that's really the worst sin a sports game can commit.

It isn't a bad game, but Stitchy in Tooki Trouble is just too slow moving and simple for anyone with platforming experience.

With so many great rally games already available, V-Rally 4’s poor handling and inconsistent AI just can’t compete with its competition. It should have stayed as a fondly-remembered retro series.

A mediocre eight-year-old game judged by modern standards.

The Dwarves is hard to recommend to any but the most diehard RPG fan, due to poor combat and terrible performance.

The Caligula Effect is an average JRPG with a memorable soundtrack that has some ambitious ideas for mechanics, but fails in executing them in a constructive manner.

Carnival games falls so short of achieving anything good that it’s genuinely hard to think of a reason for anyone to buy it.

It's supposed to be terrible, because it's satire, but you reach a point where you begin to feel like the deliberate poor quality is an insult rather than a jape.

While I do have a fair few hours invested in Fade to Silence, its slow opening and lack of direction had me struggling for longer than I would like... [Review in Progress]

Over ambition has killed what is a great premise for a story driven 3rd person game, regardless of it’s humble beginnings.

There are loads of great tactics games out there, and unfortunately Goblin Slayer -Another Adventurer- Nightmare Feast just can't hang with them.

Ready Set Heroes has a good concept, but the execution doesn't match up to the ideas with an over-reliance on the players familiarity with in game language, combined with unresponsive controls and frustrating gameplay.

Elrentaros Wanderings has the makings of a lovely relaxing game, but its repetitive nature and frustrating side objectives kill those cosy vibes.

Mugen Souls Z is a bland, generic JRPG. The only thing that makes it stand out from the crowd is the rampant sex that runs through it. Personally I found it distasteful; games are better than this, and Mugen Souls Z is the precise reason why the entire medium gets viewed as juvenile. If you like JRPGs you could probably do worse – nothing about it is broken – but you could also do a hell of a lot better.

With clunky combat and poorly explained mechanics, Lovecraft’s Untold Stories 2 fails to hit the mark in any meaningful way.

An uninspired, unoriginal Left4Dead clone that suffers from wishy-washy shooting and a lack of polish.

A one trick pony, and once you’ve played through the first operation enough times to complete it you’ll have stopped laughing. The controls err on frustrating far too often, and while deliberately clumsy, the entire system is too inconsistent to provide much fun.

Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition on Nintendo Switch suffers too many technical hiccups to be worth getting in its current state despite being chock full of loads of content.

Whereas Broken Eagle at least changed the way you play the game, Fallen Angel makes no real attempts to differentiate play style at all. Angel is a one-dimensional protagonist and is unlikely to resonate with players greatly, and the DLC is again woefully short and lacking in content to justify its existence.

Ary and the Secret of Seasons is fun for a while, but the technical issues really effect it, and stop you from having a great adventure.

With its immature design and humour, Drawn To Death is a game out of time. Its server issues and general instability compound that, distracting from what could have been a fun arena shooter.

The concept is admittedly a pretty great one (who doesn’t want to be a flying squirrel?) but sadly the game design and mechanics just aren’t strong enough to make the experience enjoyable.

Jettomero: Hero of the Universe is visually very beautiful, but it feels like a game that contains a number of unfinished ideas wrapped up in a gorgeous package.

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition showed us that you can completely re-tread an old classic, provided that you update it with some real care and affection. Unfortunately Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded just doesn’t feel like it has had this same care applied to it.

Akiba’s Beat is a tedious action RPG that has very few redeeming factors and one that has made me appreciate Akiba’s Trip even more and that is saying something.

A quiz game that does little to hold your attention after the initial impressions.

Aztech Forgotten Gods has a great setting, but that doesn't excuse how bad controlling the main character feels.

This feels like a very capable studio being told to annualise a series that really didn't need to be yearly, because it bypasses everything that makes Trials great.

There are a lot of characters here, and the game covers quite a bit of narrative ground, but the presentation and combat engine are just so clumsy that it’s impossible to recommend Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers to anyone but the most desperate fans of the anime.

The Legend of Korra is a poor title that offers little in the way of fun. The combat is the highlight, but even then it mostly consists of button mashing and has multiple irritating elements.

Sports Story is a huge disappointment, with a ton of technical issues, a lack of tutorials and unenjoyable new sports making it one to avoid.

It's fun for a game or two, but when you realise how much less The Game of Life 2 costs on mobile you'll want to spin again.

Between lackluster combat, outdated graphics and the horrendous stripping mechanic, it's very hard to think of a reason to recommend Akiba's Trip: Hellbound and Debriefed.

Flip Wars is not worth buying at all right now and it needs a lot of work to come close to being decent let alone good.

Pumped BMX Pro is a decent game with loads of tricks to keep you occupied but the precision of the jumps and the steep learning curve can be quite off putting.

Hard and unforgiving, Has Been Heroes has the potential to create the videogame equivalent of Jack Torrance in anyone who plays it.

Although I applaud Bigmoon for trying to bring this niche motorsport into video games properly, the end result is awkward and feels unfinished.

Die by the Blade has a few good ideas in its sheathe, but ultimately it fails to generate any genuine excitement.

Spartan Assault takes all the aspects that made the Halo series popular – expansive levels, an epic storyline, cutting edge visuals and inventive gunplay – and throws them all away.

An adventure that will only appeal to people who really miss the old ways.

Star Horizon simply has too many issues to warrant playing. Poor graphics, voices and variety make for a dull experience, and one level is broken to the point of unbeatable. If you want to blast some enemy ships, just play Starfox again.

Point and click adventures have a hard enough time drawing new players in without games like this tainting their waning reputation. This is definitely not the saviour of the genre; it’s sadly just one to avoid.

It is just sad that when the sport is on the crest of a wave of popularity, Cyanide couldn’t have done something to make their simulation more appealing to the general populace.

Sacred 3 is not an Action-RPG, although it wears the uniform. It’s an outright hack ‘n’ slash adventure game with a throwaway story, barely-developed characters, and a once-rich fantasy world now so washed-out it’s become almost nondescript.

Table Manners is disappointing and frustrating at the same time, and feels like a bit of a wasted opportunity to make something fun and different and entertaining.

A disappointing stealth title that could have been so much more, giving you little more than a few hours of enjoyment before everything begins to grate on you.

Invizimals: The Lost Kingdom is not only a bad game, it’s also the sort of lazy, badly-executed tripe that you would have seen during the last days of the original PlayStation.

A frustrating, often ugly game that fails to impress on almost every front.

A tedious slog that sullies the legacy of its vaunted predecessors.

A wonderful claymation art style and a unique soundtrack aren’t enough to save this point-and-click adventure from its own monotonous puzzles and uninteresting story.

As a Switch port, this is very good but as a game it is not worth your time unless you’re a die hard for a Sin City like aesthetic and need a new match 3 game with it.