The simple controls allow for an easy entry and the game does a great job of introducing the systems at a slow and manageable pace. Once it gets going it offers a real challenge, which results in an amazing sense of achievement when a level is finally beaten.

Crysis Remastered is a very pretty game when it runs smoothly, which sadly isn’t often. That said, it’s still a satisfying shooter, even if the AI needed more of an overhaul than the graphics.

The Rumble Fish 2 has the promise of online play with rollback netcode – which should make this perfect for going online and getting absolutely smoked by a Japanese kid who has probably forgotten more than you will ever know. Superb.

Synced combines simple storytelling with effective shooting, interesting powers and a fantastic, almost roguelite, upgrade system.

High on Knife only lasts for a handful of hours, and while it doesn't do much to separate it from the main game, it's still fun.

I will almost certainly play a sequel if there is one but Sword of the Necromancer is a hard sell. It might be worth resurrecting, but not more than once.

If you’re partial to a bit of hack ‘n’ slashing and fancy something a little different to the norm, you’ll find Omensight to be an enjoyable addition to the Switch’s catalogue of ports.

Miracle Cure doesn’t really break the mould in any way for the puzzler genre. It throws you a selection of levels and different modes, it gives you several different power-ups, but overall it frustrates and fails to excite.

Reveil might not be outwardly terrifying, but it looks incredible and has some interesting puzzles with plenty of variety.

The Callisto Protocol is violent and brutal, with stunning visuals, but its intimacy causes a few problems that are hard to be overlooked.

Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions offers a great mix of competition, action, and story, with beautiful visuals throughout.

A competent port of the mobile hit that feels lost in the living room. Stick to playing this on a mobile device.

A fun multiplayer game that doesn't outstay its welcome.

Batora: Lost Haven is an enjoyable action game with enough combat and puzzles to keep you busy for a while.

Beautiful aesthetics and soundtrack wrapping a Doom-alike shooter, slightly marred by unfair and punishing gameplay that could use a good dose of balancing.

If you can look past the weak story and the dull characters, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst has some of the best gameplay mechanics on the current gen by far.

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.

AO Tennis 2 is a good-looking tennis title with plenty of things to tinker and tweak with. However the fiddly controls and limited roster mar the experience.

Roller Champions provides a solid gameplay base, but only time will tell to see how dev support will keep players coming back.

Despite its irksome shortcomings, Magicka: Wizard Wars succeeds in amply entertaining the frugal among us… at least until your next paycheque hits.

The team has succeeded in creating something that feels truly different and unique, but it's over too quickly and far too simple as a game.

It’s a little short and familiar, but forget Adventures, Assault, and Command, this is the Star Fox game that we should have got a long time ago.

Balls-out fun with the undisputed King of carnage, but it won't win over new players.

It's quite slow to start and has a pretty harsh difficulty curve, but when everything clicks, it proves to be the best use of the Jurassic licence yet. Running a park isn’t easy, but incubating your first velociraptor makes it all worthwhile.

Toybox Turbos is Micro Machines, and that’s no bad thing. Pull three friends together (online or off) and the classic, fast paced, anarchic fun of elimination mode could last for hours. The game still lacks in single player thrills, but that’s an acceptable caveat now that I can once more get together with mates for a few laps around the breakfast table

I’ve not felt this challenged in a long time, and the levels do nothing but push you to the absolute pinnacle of your resolve. It’s just a shame some of the game’s bugs can ruin your progression.

In a genre monopolised by the Trials series, MX Nitro can’t quite compete on the same level, but it gets points for trying something a little different.

There's not much here to really dazzle, but if you haven't yet played it, Outward Definitive Edition has a lot to like for RPG and survival fans.

House of Golf 2 is a fun party game to play with friends, even if at times it will have you ripping your hair out with some tough courses.

With content from both movies, plus a tonne of extra stuff included in a fun open world, LEGO The Incredibles offers a great adventure for fans of both the Pixar franchise and LEGO games. For everyone else, it may show that the LEGO games are growing a bit tired.

There are some great moments in Harold of Halibut, even if it takes a while to get going, and the art style is stunning in every way.

If you're looking for a great platformer to play on your own or with friends, this is the one for you. It's fun and it looks gorgeous, filled with combat that provides lots of options to defeat the goblins and the robots.

A brave choice at something different by Tokyo RPG Factory finds a game that’s good but crying out for new ideas.

World War Z on Switch is a decent port, and is as close to Back 4 Blood as we're likely to see on Nintendo's console any time soon.

A game brimming with potential. Incredible attention to detail and the potential to create your own stories is tempered somewhat by a lack of guided content to keep players motivated.

A confident first game from Indian studio Nodding Heads Games. Raji: An Ancient Epic features a thematically appropriate player viewpoint, which unfortunately hampers some of the platforming elements, but a simple and surprisingly versatile combat system keeps things interesting.

Thymesia is a confident, good-looking Soulslike that arguably ranks among the best of the non-From Software titles in the genre.

High on Life is filled with some fun mechanics and great writing, and while it doesn't reinvent the genre, it makes it more enjoyable.

Tumble is a good example of the tactile feedback a combination of motion controls and virtual reality can bring, and importantly, it’s something people of all ages and skill levels can enjoy, and understand.

Shadows of Doubt may have a few problems that hold it back, but it's easily one of the most ambitious and exciting games of the year so far.

Sandlot have crafted another ludicrously entertaining, utterly bonkers sci-fi romp. There are more enemies, more guns, more nutty speech, and more missions. It does have limitations. It isn’t going to trouble the best that your PS3 has got to offer in the aesthetic stakes, but I dare anyone – even the most staunch graphics-fan or gaming snob – not to get a kick out of EDF.

The campaign itself is quite lengthy with some of the later puzzles taking a little bit more to work out, but the game does such a fantastic job of gradually introducing new ideas that nothing feels insurmountable. It doesn’t feel quite as polished as it did when I played it on Xbox One, however it feels great to sit and muddle my way through the clever puzzles again, especially in handheld mode.

In a time of games that stretch into the tens of hours, it’s nice to have a game full of short gameplay bursts designed to be replayed over and over, Blowout Blast is a wonderful little distraction.

Visual shortcomings and questionable first impressions aside, Foul Play is a cheery, bright-eyed, delightful roaming beat-em-up that, through superior, fluid and engrossing combat mechanics, has arguably swiped the crown of Beat-’em-up King right off of Castle Crashers' head.

While the 3DS hardware doesn’t measure up to the Switch, Fire Emblem Warriors provides the same experience regardless of format.

A fun game with a few nice touches that is let down by lacking any real wow-factor. Nonetheless, worth your time if you're looking for a well designed and executed open world game.

The Shapeshifting Detective on the Switch is the best way to play it since it offers the full big screen experience and has the ability to not only play it on the go but with both button or touch controls. If you enjoy murder mystery games, this one is definitely worth your time.

Pride Run isn't perfect but offers solid rhythmic entertainment. It has some new ideas, and once you've adjusted to it, there's plenty of fun to be had.

Sociable Soccer 24 is a reminder of the good old days of football games, with gameplay that's easy enough to pick up and enjoy.

Hey! Pikmin isn’t a long game but throughout it’ll capture your heart just as regularly as Olimar captures Pikmin.

It isn’t a perfect encapsulation of the sport, but it is the best one to have appeared on any handheld in recent memory, and one which makes fine use of the Unreal Engine to generate some high-fidelity looks on the Vita’s OLED screen.

On the one hand it’s very well-made and it shows: the visuals are great and the familiar hallmarks are all present and correct. But on the other hand, there’s something undeniably missing from the formula, an element of fun that remains absent despite the unique battle system and the returning cast.

Scarf offers a short and sweet platforming experience. It's perfectly enjoyable to play, but you'll likely be left wanting more when the credits roll.

Tokyo 2020 is a decent entry in the Mario & Sonic series, with plenty of content and charm, but control inconsistency and lack of personalisation can mar the multiplayer fun.

It feels trite to put a score on a game like Memory of Us as it tells an important and poignant story that should be heard, it's just that at times the game parts get in the way of that story.

WrestleQuest is a fantastic concept for a video game, but slow pacing, annoying voice lines and a ridiculous amount of QTEs spoil it entirely.

Another combat-heavy title that doesn’t really offer anything different than other Omega Force titles, but the story is certainly worth following and Arakawa’s artwork is stunning.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite is an absolute win if you’re a franchise fan and you stick to the multiplayer; if you’re a solo player and the universe does nothing for you, there’s not much here worth exploring.

Sparkle 2 is a simple yet effective time waster that offers plenty of hours of fun before it inevitably starts to feel a bit repetitious.

Curious Expedition 2 is a seriously odd, fiendishly difficult, yet somehow weirdly charming experience that sucks you in against your better judgement.

The action is frantic, stylish, and addictive – and if that’s all you want from a roguelike shooter then ArcRunner won’t disappoint.

LEGO Worlds is a delightful game, full of whimsy with tonnes of things to see and do. The draw of exploration is excellent as is the myriad of items to collect, but frame rate issues and quest bugs slow the gameplay down a bit.

If you're looking for a non-violent stealth game, though, Ereban: Shadow Legacy is a straightforward, mostly uncluttered challenge.

Super Bomberman R 2 is as fun to play against people locally or globally as it ever was, but the story mode is a little dull.

If you’ve been craving a Valkyrie Profile or just an RPG with a unique visual style and fun combat system, Exist Archive is the game for you. It is good to see more RPGs like this on home console in a time when most JPRG developers are ditching the big screen.

Octodad: Dadliest Catch is a rare beast, then, because it made me laugh out loud the first moment that I ambled down the aisle to meet my doting bride-to-be.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain has a lot of good ideas that mostly come together well but it still doesn't feel as fun to play as the mainline series.

Oddworld: Soulstorm is probably the best Oddworld game, and the Switch port doesn't disappoint.

Madden NFL 23 has refined the matchday experience and improved much of the gameplay to make this year a strong foundation for the future.

An interesting addition to any casual gamer’s mobile library, but it will only really appeal to hardcore Whovians or people interested in getting into it. Still, it’s a fully featured match-3 game with enough of a twist to keep you invested for a while.

Dead Season is a decent game for fans of the turn-based genre who like to feel that everything is a little bit hopeless.

It's incredibly ambitious, but without spending hours upon hours building a safe haven to protect you from the brutality of PvP, the single player feels a bit redundant without anyone to play with.

Probably the most un-Final Fantasy game in the series history XV Pocket Edition HD at least provides a decent game to get us going before more full-fat titles arrive.

Ultimate NES Remix brings the terrific NES Remix series to the 3DS, making the leap from console to mobile with consummate ease. Ultimate NES Remix feels right at home on 3DS, with the variety and challenge breathing new life into some of Nintendo’s most iconic titles. I don’t think it matters who you are: if you like video games, you will love Ultimate NES Remix.

If you’ve already got it on other platforms, I wouldn’t recommend trying it on the Switch.

Some great moments, but this is far from being everything a fully interactive Dragon Ball Z battle could and should be in 2015.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX has a few repetitive frustrations but is still charming, addictive fun and lovely to look at.

Invizimals: The Alliance is the perfect example of a game held back by the very elements that set it apart from its peers. The creativity and technology involved with the catching of Invizimals is great, but there isn’t enough of a game built around that aspect – other than the monster fighting, which can get rather repetitive. But even with its mildly tedious nature, it’s still infinitely more enjoyable than The Lost Kingdom.

Soft Body is a challenging puzzle-action game, with a colourful palette and beautiful soundtrack, but its repetitive nature stops it from being more than a niche curio.

A fantastic beat em up with varied gameplay that plays great in both handheld and docked modes.

Monster Energy Supercross 4 is definite step up for the series, with a robust Career mode that provides you with plenty to do. The Compound is a great mode to practice in, and the handling has certainly improved since the last outing of the series.

It’s Quiz Time is a welcome return to the quiz games of old, made a lot easier thanks to mobile phones. It’s a fun quizzer to play with either friends or family, even if the host is a bit annoying.

Sea of Solitude is a powerful story of loneliness, perfectly complimented by a beautiful art style and score.

Erica is by far the best game to feature in the PlayLink category, but some of the ideas are unnecessary. The acting is great, but the story never really picks up until the final third of the game.

Daemon X Machina is a fun and frenetic mecha game with a hell of a lot going on. It occasionally gets too busy for its own good, but competently out-Anthems Anthem in terms of gameplay.

Some of WWE 2K17 is brilliant, especially with the well animated moves, some new mechanics and a huge roster. Sadly, however, all the good is undermined by awful presentation.

New Tales from the Borderlands is a worthy successor to Telltale's magnum opus, with great writing and an engaging story.

The perfect party game, great for short-bursts of entertainment but doesn't stand up to lengthy play.

Rubble Without a Cause takes King’s Quest down a much darker path and is very enjoyable for it. With having to solve puzzles against the clock it really feels as if your decisions matter, due to gut punching consequences.

Descent feels a little bit of a disappointment. Two maps are fairly bland, with Beserk being the most interesting, and Empire while being a fantastic remake of Raid, doesn't suit the speed and core movement.

It is immensely fun to play and the puzzles never get monotonous. If you love platform games, you absolutely have to experience Metrico. And if you’re an info-graphic lover, this is your holy grail game.

Red Wings: Aces of the Sky is filled with over 50 missions, and although there's plenty to do and the controls are easy to get used to, it does become repetitive after a while.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood is a fun if slightly buggy shooter, made more interesting with the addition of a friend to help you punch Nazis to the face.

Play it in short bursts, however, and you could find yourself spending many an intriguing hour in Blackguard’s universe.

A title that grabs your attention and has you hooked almost immediately. But after a while, the repetition and constraining design choices will put you off.

NBA 2K24 is fantastic to play on the court, but Virtual Currency stops your everyday player from seeing any proper progression for hours.

It’s great to see crashing as a major game mechanic back with a bang, Danger Zone 2 is the smash ‘em up we’ve been waiting for since PS2 era Burnout.

An entertaining game for kids best enjoyed in short bursts.