There are dozens of alternatives out there either for Dark Souls fans or sci-fi nuts, and Dolmen is just too riddled with issues to recommend.

Headspun's mix of management sim and FMV narrative is fairly unique. However, repetition and buggy gameplay mar the game's potential.

The Good Life is a bit of a mess, trying to be too many things and getting very little right, with weak characters and an unpolished plot.

For all the positives, a game you want to uninstall every time you die just isn’t good, and for that reason Galak-Z isn’t worth your time.

Maid of Sker has an interesting story based on the House of Sker folklore. The use of binaural sounds is extremely well done but is let down by its reliance on jump scares and repetitive sound effects. The holding your breath mechanic does help and adds an extra layer to the survival aspect.

Abyss is as “OK” as a game gets. Presentation and gameplay-wise, it’s very unmemorable, and there’s not really any particularly reason for recommending this eShop purchase, save for its very low price.

Overpass is an interesting and unique take on the driving genre, but issues in the most integral areas of the game often make it a chore to play.

An acid-fueled tribute to the chiptune scene, Spectra is high on musical euphoria and painfully low on gaming excitement.

It feels like a missed opportunity. It starts okay, but it’s not long before the downtime or micro-management begin to push the enjoyable segments of gameplay further and further apart.

Shenmue III could've been made 18 years ago as it feels very similar to the previous two entries, with no real improvements, making it feel rather outdated.

Exploring Balan Wonderworld's levels can be fun, but ultimately its single button gameplay and technical issues hold it back.

A cliche-ridden written story that has some decent ideas throughout, but is so bleak it's hard to grow attached to.

It’s not a bad game as such, it’s just uninspired, unrewarding and unremarkable.

Despite its interesting premise, Submerged never achieves more than mediocrity due to its repetitive gameplay, lacklustre execution, and unpolished world design.

Wooden Sen’Sey isn’t the worst title in the world – it just exists in a time when we expect a bit more from our platformers, particularly when you are shelling out the thick end of a tenner.

Elex II is another example of Piranha Bytes aiming far too high. It's a plodding, often clunky adventure with few bright spots.

Knowledge is Power: Decades is how not to do a sequel. The premise is still fun, but should only be purchased if you can't get access to the original.

It’s a shame that such an interesting possibility falls so flat. Perhaps a little more development time could have yielded more positive results, but as it is we end up with a running time of around 5-6 hours that feels like it outstays its welcome ever so slightly, purely because the longer you play it, the more it falls apart and the more it becomes frustrating.

Not quite the glorious return we wanted for Travis Touchdown, for all of this game’s desire to be weird it does a better job of making itself uninteresting.

A brave attempt at creating a more thoughtful shooter hindered by poor execution and messy technique.

It's not really about dodgeball, and it certainly isn't super. And the beats are obscured and hard to hit most of the time. Don't let the title deceive you.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition is anything but definitive, with too many issues that simply cannot be overlooked.

The awkwardness of waving a large GamePad around and unresponsive controls make this one of the less enjoyable party offerings available on the system.

If you can disengage your brain and just plough through the endless array of same-faced enemies, you’ll enjoy the glorious visuals and well designed audio – but this is a game destined to be forgotten fairly quickly, even if it does help prove the Xbox One has more power than we first thought.

A fun mech fighting game, with really enjoyable slower paced combat. Unfortunately Override Mech City Brawl is marred by framerate issues, and there's nobody online to play against.

The Padre is a great idea, let down by a lack of proper direction and some frustratingly obtuse puzzle design.

A decent concept and interesting loot system can't save this indie action title from mediocrity.

Fans of the genre are better off downloading the (admittedly) pricier iOS ports of Cave’s excellent shooters like DeathSmiles and DoDonPachi Resurrection, or Dotemu’s R-Type ports, for a look at how this type of game should be done.

A valiant effort, but far better sims exist.

Early on Robonauts is a nice little blaster, but a rote mission structure and a headache inducing core mechanic let it down.

It feels harsh to say this as there’s plenty of love and care on show, but VR Worlds feels like it should be a pack-in product. Not because it’s bad, quite the opposite in fact: it’s good at showcasing what VR can do on PS4, but it doesn’t have anything approaching real staying power. With larger, more full VR games out there, VR Worlds is a curio to use when showing off your shiny new product, but one that’s otherwise consigned to the shelf.

An interesting premise, but Rollers of the Realm struggles with its identity.

Kukoos: Lost Pets has some fun platforming ideas, but gameplay issues, boring boss fights and annoying sound effects make it tough to recommend.

Clive 'N' Wrench probably won't set your world on fire, but it's an enjoyable enough 3D platformer with plenty of colourful doodads to collect.

The gameplay is thoroughly repetitive and uninspired, but this undemanding approach does allow you to enter a sort of Zen-like state of relaxation, while still feeling like you are completing quests and achieving something. For most however, there is very little in the way of an actual game on offer here.

After a bright start Gardening Mama’s irritating faults will have you wanting to throw in the trowel.

Lichtspeer: Double Speer Edition is fun for a bit but gets tiring quick and only really enjoyable as a party experience.

Cassette Beasts The Pier of the Unknown just can't compete with the main campaign, thanks to lots of iffy platforming and repetitive bosses.

Despite Pixel Trap making the wise decision not to spoil their title with virtual controls, Mighty Adventure just doesn’t do enough to set it aside from a plethora of other cartoon-style platformers.

It feels like such an almighty shame that a game this beautiful, with such a compelling premise, should be let down by a failure to include anything approaching interesting gameplay.

Does a good job of showcasing the spirit of the turtles, but never reaches its potential and will let you down with repetitive combat, lack of local co-op and bland environments.

Mega Dead Pixel fails to bring any great ideas to the table, and is not particularly fun to play.

Wasteland 2 was a very good game on PC, and a very good port in 2015, but now it just feels like one more re-release the Switch doesn’t need. The lack of any attempt to improve visuals or utilise any new features means it feels like you’re just playing an old game, and Wasteland 2 doesn’t really have the charm or appeal to pull that off anymore.

Deadly Premonition Origins looks bad on the switch, and there are various issues including poor frame rate and awful driving controls, but its just as bizarre as it ever was.

While this is a unique showcase of HD rumble on the Switch, you will most likely get bored of the gimmick very quickly.

Laced with punishing difficulty spikes that put off rather than urge on, Rack N Ruin falls short with an array of irksome gameplay elements and lack of innovation.

The Last Oricru has some decent ideas and will scratch an itch for fans of Risen, but it’s not quite good enough to overshadow its peers.

Having spent a good amount of time across other collections on the system and even Nintendo’s NES Online app, this is easily the worst collection of older games on the Switch in terms of overall feel. While it has loads of games for the asking price, I would rather spend more and buy quality releases piecemeal or buy another collection for the Switch where there is a lot more to the release than just old roms with a few extras.

There is fun to be had, but in short bursts, and you'll play it every time you want to show the system off to someone new to Switch, but this is a shallow game, with a few fun minigames, and some cool tech.

My cranium is red raw from tearing strands of hair from my scalp in frustration and I’m sure plenty of others will be bald within an hour of playing The Castle Doctrine.

While I do feel MLB is above average in most areas, I feel it is let down entirely by boring gameplay, which completely ruins the general mood and feel. Great modes, decent graphics, the licenses – although they are all there, playing MLB 14 feels like going through the motions over and over again.

Dr Fetus' Mean Meat Machine is too hard for its own good, and the addition of deadly obstacles to the puzzle gameplay is just frustrating.

The Technomancer, like Bound by Flame before it, tries to be too much like the genre leaders instead of finding its own way, and ends up falling short of the mark.

The on-track action in Touch Racing 2 would legitimately be some of the best on mobile devices if it were a bit more challenging.

There’s an intriguing and intelligent story to Those Who Remain, but poor checkpointing and awkward chase scenes often spoil the experience.

Despite being a decent racer, RiMS Racing struggles on Nintendo Switch due to the limitations of the device.

A decent attempt at a dungeon crawler, but there just isn’t the same appeal or craftsmanship seen in games like Diablo 3 or Baldur’s Gate.

Unfortunately there is just too little content and not enough character or story development to recommend Operation Broken Eagle wholeheartedly.

Syberia 3 isn’t a bad game by any means and offers up an immersive story… If you can make it past the horrific graphical hindrances that is.

There's nothing particularly bad about Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life, but compared to modern farming games it's just a bit dull.

Blood of the Werewolf is a short ride and, ultimately, a forgettable one.

It has beautiful visuals and interesting gameplay, but Yestermorrow's frame drops and visual glitches make it incredibly hard to play on the Switch.

Rad Rodgers is too self aware, and falls short on many levels.

Designed as an homage to 90s horror, Daymare: 1998 tries too hard to mimic its inspiration when it should have focused on being its own game.

Exception almost wound up being exceptional, but unfortunately is broken enough to warrant steering clear of until things are fixed.

WWE 2K Battlegrounds on Switch is pretty much the same game, but it suffers from a significant drop in quality when in handheld. It's a shame when there's already a paywall in place to unlock Superstars, and having these technical issues hinder the enjoyment of the opportunity to play it on the go.

If you fancy a golf game as far away from simulation as possible then this is most definitely for you. It isn’t the smartest or the sharpest game on the market, but it still grabs you despite its flaws.

Everreach has potential, but it's not there yet. Hopefully, Elder Games will continue to support it post-launch.

Bright Memory is a short, janky blast of fun that almost makes up for in ambition what it lacks in execution.

Cyber Citizen Shockman is a gaming museum piece, and a labour of love, but if it's gameplay you want, then track down the far superior sequels.

Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is a basic platformer that never holds your excitement, with mechanics that just don't work anymore.

Party Animals is simply frustrating to play, and most of the minigames boil down to the same scrappy situations that get old fast.

Gomo does have some real charm in its simple yet appealing visuals and its strange sense of humour, but it is seriously lacking in the gameplay department.

Forever Forest looks and sounds nice, but that unfortunately masks a game with performance issues and repetitive gameplay that will put many people off.

From its late 90s cockney gangster routine to its poor visuals and AI, Filthy Lucre is a game out-of-time.

Digital tabletop games are a great idea, but Ogre is simply too harsh for anyone but the most stubborn of players, thanks to some of the worst RNG I’ve seen. When played with friends however, it shows how good the game could have been.

Uno is a great card game, however this version fails to understand the social aspects of card games. It shines if you have friends to play it with, otherwise it's a bit of a bore.

RiME is a great game but one you should experience on another platform.

The Cruel King and the Great Hero is a gorgeous looking JRPG, but its slow pace and amount of random battles make it a painful experience.

Frankly I would prefer to see the same level of imagination and ingenuity in the razor sharp writing translated to another point and click classic.

The definition of average, Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden isn’t good enough to delight you with the subject matter, but nor is it terrible enough to incite your rage over how bad it is. It’s simultaneously very competent and very unspectacular.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood has potential, but is little more than a C-tier experience that's unlikely to stick in anyone's memory for long.

It’s a rather transparent and honest take on free-to-play monitisation, and as long as you’re sensible enough to either abstain from paying any money, or to set yourself a budget, then there’s a little bit of fun here for you.

A grand finale this definitely is not, and whilst The Untold Stories of Los Perdidos gave players a welcome reason to re-enter the city, they have short-changed loyal fans at almost every turn.

Tannenberg offers an authentic World War 1 experience of the conflict waged on the Eastern Front. It features excellent attention to detail in the map design, character uniforms and weaponry, but the dogged commitment to historical accuracy means its appeal is limited to a very small niche of player.

A death simulator which somehow makes killing annoying little Netto minions actually a frustration, rather than the joy it should be. While it can be fun at times, the awkwardness of setting up the levels, lack of atmosphere and character make it a rather underwhelming experience.

Demon Skin isn’t a bad game, but it is ropey and certainly needed more work where the animations and menus are concerned.

Windlands is a pretty great idea that could have been an essential PSVR title had more thought been put into its traversal.

A faux-retro shooter with an irreverent sense of humour, Bedlam is hard to recommend as anything other than a curio, despite its popular source material.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is littered with technical and gameplay issues that dampen the fact that there's a great story at its heart.

Skully has some interesting gameplay involving your multiple forms, but is ultimately let down by checkpoint issues, and blurry visuals.

The problem with Fightback is that if you don’t actually want to spend more of your own money, there is little in the game that is going to make you want to wait and come back later.

Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop is better suited for young children due to the incredibly easy mini-games and lack of variety.

At the middle point, Game of Thrones is losing its momentum and, except for Gared and elements of Rodrik's story, hasn't shown enough progression to get people excited for what's to come.

Vesta is best described as okay, and it never really rises above that level despite its prettiness.

Even a younger gamer may crave a little more depth than what’s available here, especially with so many other free games out there.

With a bit more thought and consideration towards the controls, combat and structure, and less reliance on fart and poo gags, Rustler could have been a riot.

If a group of buddies all chip in Star Rush can be a cheap night or two of fun, but it’s not much more than that.