Players are instead transported to a world where a unique, riveting story awaits them, with twists lurking around different corners and insightful commentary on a whole variety of topics. While the developer is able to achieve so much success with its story, it does fall short on the introduction of a core mechanic that stops the gameplay from becoming repetitive. But that’s not enough to stop players from reaching State of Mind’s climactic ending, though.

Much like Contrast before it, We Happy Few shows off plenty of potential with its original and engaging world from a team whose passion and heart clearly shines through. Unfortunately, the random nature of the world ultimately hampers this ambition, and is held back further by lackluster stealth and inconsistent dialogue.

The continued issues with online play (least on Nintendo’s platform) as well as Ghost Town’s wilful dismissing of a properly-adapted single-player alternative will only go to dwindle the potential audience once more. An audience whom might not see much significant change from what is still essentially an unaltered recipe from previous, but will still find immense joy in partaking in when part of a group. Which is a shame, given how well-realized Overcooked 2‘s core, emergent style of play truly is.

WarioWare Gold is a perfect example of how to take the insanity of microgames from the past and shove them into one packed setting while still having each one stand out. With tons of different ways to play and a multitude of things to unlock, Gold is filled to the brim with wonderful content that’s easy to pick up and play at any time. Anyone who has enjoyed the previous WarioWare titles will have an utter blast in Gold, as it brings back all the good of previous entries while making itself a staple of how the series can continue to grow from here.

Chasm is one of the finest Metroidvania games ever created. While the game’s developmental journey was longer than expected, the wait was well-worth it. Every aspect of the game shows that a great deal of care was put into it and the attention to detail for the core gameplay pays off in spades. There are many different ways to play Chasm and all of them result in an unforgettable experience. It plays like a dream, looks stunning and features an atmospheric soundtrack that makes every new room both exciting and terrifying.

The biggest disappointment about Ripples is that technical issues overshadow many of its positives. It’s an episode that is pure frustration not for its story, but for not fulfilling its true potential and arguably falling short of the standards expected from any gaming title, whether it’s triple-A or indie.

Necessary changes to gameplay and Franchise Mode make it feel fresh and the improved visuals help complete the updated experience. There are still some issues with gameplay on the defensive side of the ball, but having the Real Player Motion helps in adding new ways not only to move the ball down the field, but celebrate. Longshot: Homecoming is an entertaining sequel while Madden Ultimate Team introduces new ways to play. Hardcore Madden fans will appreciate the changes this year and skeptics need to give it a try before judging this as just another roster update.

A must play for anyone who is a fan of retro arcade style beat ‘em ups, especially if they can appreciate a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The character and enemy designs are visually interesting and the gameplay mechanics make playing through this tongue-in-cheek adventure enjoyable. The enormous character roster and multiple game modes provide a good value, but the biggest problem lies in the nature of the genre. The gameplay is repetitive even with the different fighting styles of each character, which can get old quickly, especially on single player.

Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1+2 provides a lot of value for players. The first four entries are top-shelf games, while the fifth is a slight dropoff and the sixth is a bigger dropoff, but still fun to play in short bursts. X7 and X8 are misfires, with a slight uptick in quality for the latter. As a complete package, there’s a lot to enjoy about the first six entries though and those games make the collection worth buying.

Hakoniwa Explorer Plus is entertaining but isn’t extraordinary once you get past the novelty factor of the half-naked killer demon girls. For RPG standards the story and gameplay are enjoyable but shallow. The game doesn’t provide much of a challenge, and while that may sound like a criticism, it isn’t that detrimental if the player just wants to see the different areas and bosses and enjoy the humorous moments.

While there are problems with the structure and overall narrative, there’s no denying that Octopath Traveler is an alluring adventure and one of the better RPGs on the Nintendo Switch.

Just like his grand adventure, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is simply a delight to experience in the unique and puzzling world he explores. Those who had the original on Wii U might not get as much enjoyment the second time around due to the small amount of new content, but this is a must-have puzzle title for anyone who hasn’t picked it up before or is just desperate to have it on the go. While it may just be a port with only a few new additions, hopefully there is more to come from the adventurous Toad in the future on the journey to collect all the treasure around.

Tempest 4000 is a fantastic conclusion to Llamasoft’s work on the games and easily holds its place amidst the classics of Atari’s flagship arcade series.

Rifter is a fantastic neon-synth action platformer with a gorgeous, distinctive style and a rewarding challenge. It can be a bit merciless at times, especially when chasing after success on the bonus levels, but the tools to win are available even if they can be a bit tricky to access sometimes. You’ll need to bring your A game to wring the most from Rifter, and the reward is a lightning-fast 2D adventure that sees frustration turn to a satisfying mastery as one goal after another eventually falls to a combination of persistence and growing skill.

Pick a pair of favorite weapons and a modifier for a standard run, attack a hell-mode ship with just a single gun and scavenge what you can along the way or maybe investigate the weird mystery ships that sometimes turn up to see what new oddity it will bring. Each run is a pure action romp through the heart of a robot-infested ship, packed so many bullets, lasers and other mechanical assault critters that it’s a wonder the aliens could lug it all to our solar system.

Overall, Lost on Mars does have several moments of amusement, and while it might not achieve a true level of greatness it is entertaining enough to warrant a visit to Mars when someone needs a change of scenery from Montana.

The world of Shining Resonance Refrain is a joy to explore and the option to go through it a second time with villains on your side adds a good reason to play through again.

The strange thing about The Lost Child is that, despite its many, many flaws, it still manages to be entertaining by virtue of being a bog standard, but competent, first-person dungeon crawler with a great pace of progress. It’s not worthy of scorn, nor praise, managing to cut right down the middle of the road.

Having the ability to change from a split screen to a shared screen in single-console multiplayer would have been nice too. Other than that, Mario Tennis Aces looks and sounds great, and is something any Mario Tennis fan will enjoy.

The Sims 4: Seasons connects Sims more than ever to their player counterparts, and now that Sims have holidays to look forward too and birthdays marked down on the calendar, there’s a foundation in their lives where there once was none. Playing with Seasons gives a certain sense of play that wasn’t their before and much like each passing day I can’t wait for the changes Seasons brings to my Sims’ lives.

It’s a highly-replayable adventure and something that anyone who craves more depth in a game’s story should try out. It may not be a long tale, but this pre-amble to what’s to come for LiS showcases that there is plenty of life in the franchise no matter who is in it thanks to the rock-solid storytelling foundation on display.

There’s an overabundant amount of things to do and it will keep your time consumed. What it lacks, however, is that hook to want to play it. The driving and physics are bland and the narrative is dreadful.

The puzzles are a blast, the graphics and environments are jaw-dropping, and little bonuses such as the challenge levels provide a good incentive to keep coming back for a while. It may not hit the same emotional heights as before, but the latest outing for our stringy heroes is one that cements them as the stars of a classic franchise in the indie gaming scene, so don’t miss it.

The game simply puts players into a spell thanks to engaging gameplay, a killer soundtrack and hypnotic visuals. Anyone who has never experienced the series before is in for a treat. Existing fans should be prepared to fall in love with Lumines all over again.

With a wonderful cheerful story and plenty of enjoyable moments, Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido is a near-instant classic for the puzzle genre and an absolute treat to play.

For those who have been playing The Elder Scrolls Online consistently, Summerset is only a natural progression to continue with, but for people who have taken a break and are looking for an excuse to get back in the game or people who have been curious to start, this is a great place to resume or start an adventure.

Pokémon Quest is a wonderful experience that is easily played in short bursts and feels properly at home on Nintendo Switch in particular as it makes great use of the tablet-like aspect of the system. Those interested in this cute cube-styled world should give Pokémon Quest a try as it’s truly a delightful treat for every type of Pokémon fan.

The new features, particularly the Resolve system, are cool, but the title still manages to feel incomplete. For those elite, it’s best to wait until the next version.