Despite some serious technical compromises this is still XCOM 2 and playing it on Switch in handheld mode is just as engrossing as any other version.

A milestone in action video game storytelling and while the gameplay is not nearly as inspired, the experience as a whole is one of the best of the generation.

It’s a nerdy organisational rabbit hole of depth and intricacy that, for the right personality, will create the sense of benign addiction gamers crave.

There’s a new, less punishing, three-round battle system, but this is mostly business as usual with lots of deep pits, damp caverns, mysterious alcoves, and a short-lived partnership with Throm the barbarian. It’s a pleasantly relaxing game to play, your frequent deaths only ever sending you back to the previous narrative branch, with Eddie Marsan amiably suppling details of your demise.

As you upgrade you’ll face tougher monsters, your backpedalling crowd control getting steadily more bloody as foes arrive thicker and faster, and you unlock more of the game’s vast arsenal of weapons and armour. You’ll need to grind its paltry selection of side missions to keep up with the rigours of story mode, but it’s a rewarding progression even if the action soon starts to feel repetitive.

It’s a friendly and beautifully constructed ecosystem, and if you enjoy tinkering with, as well as simply playing, levels this is an endlessly engaging toy.

Even on the easiest difficulty level it’s intensely challenging from the start, with movement, managing your dwindling oxygen supply, and timing the long cooldowns on your weapons requiring patience and skill to get right. It’s also hampered by touchscreen controls that never feel as responsive as you’d like.

Because this is free to download everything comes with a countdown timer, which in time-honoured tradition starts off instantaneous and soon has you waiting multiple hours for processes to complete. It’s also very buggy, frequently crashing to the home screen, although rarely losing too much progress.

Two of the best remasters ever made, as after years of neglect the Command & Conquer franchise finally gets the tender loving care it deserves.

A great Switch port that packs in an incredible amount of content and comes with relatively few technical issues.

A fun action platformer with plenty of charm and some great visuals, that’s only let down by an uneven difficulty level that seems unsure exactly how hard it wants to be.

A competent Metroidvania but although Shantae and her friends are as charming as ever the franchise is beginning to seem aimless and overly repetitive.

An engrossing look at pre-digital gaming entertainment that offers an attractive way to play familiar classics and introduce yourself to new ones.

The best Paper Mario game since The Thousand-Year Door, but also a charming adventure in its own right, with some surprisingly good storytelling and fun combat.

£35 for half a Kombat Pack and a three-hour epilogue is terrible value for money, especially as only two of the new characters are any good.

One of the best Japanese role-players of last generation is still one of the best on current formats, with an excellent remaster that includes a generous amount of new content.

A shark RPG sounds like an unlikely idea for a video game and unfortunately the end result is even less entertaining, and far more repetitive, than you might imagine.

A modern day alternative to Gauntlet, whose innate shallowness and overreliance on random generation is balanced out by some fun combat and great co-op action.

Still one of PlatinumGames’ most imaginative and exuberant action games but the refusal to improve the controls or accessibility doom the remaster to further obscurity.

A welcome tonic to overly large open worlds, Mafia 2’s story and missions remain worth experiencing if you haven’t already, but its age and intrinsic flaws are still obvious.

The most enjoyably one-note VR game for a long time, that turns its simplicity into a virtue and whose cathartic ultra-violence is strangely therapeutic in these difficult times.

The world’s least realistic golf game is a tour de force in manic invention that values variety, invention, and surrealist humour above all.

An excellent port of the Xbox game but the original is now so old it’s becoming difficult to enjoy even for veteran fans.

An impressively ambitious survival horror that moves beyond the realm of mere VR tech demo and, despite some technical limitations, is a hugely engrossing game in its own right.

There’s a plot involving the town’s ineffectual mayor, gaff-prone police department, and various other resident caricatures, but underneath that shell, it’s incremental business as usual. How this got past Apple’s legendarily puritanical vetting process is anyone’s guess.

Its non-rotate-able isometric world makes it tricky to see around furniture and walls, and the absence of an undo button makes that problem worse, a single misplaced tap enough to end an otherwise perfect raid, which encourages continual shameful save scumming.

There are cars to unlock using a spin-the-wheel lottery style, and you win the usual variety of currencies for completing events, but at heart this is a stylishly presented car-themed rhythm action game rather than anything to do with driving. You can sign in with Xbox Live and it has Forza in its name, but that’s absolutely all this psychologically addictive but patronisingly over-simplified abomination has in common with the illustrious Xbox franchise.

Clever, taxing, and graphically elegant, the short-form ads you have to watch before and after each level are thoroughly inoffensive and can be removed for a one-off payment of £3.99, which also unlocks hats for your worm.

Its light challenge and straightforward level design are complemented by minimalist good looks, but there’s just too little going on to maintain interest beyond saving up and collecting a few perfectly drawn miniature vehicles.

It often takes the best part of two minutes to load, but after months spent locked inside, it’s just quite nice getting a bit of unfettered fresh air, even if it is only simulated.

Its mellow pace requires diligent concentration, and its 30 levels will be enough to sustain a few days’ solid puzzling.

The way seemingly innocent snippets of data are collated, corroborated, and then grossly misinterpreted in the name of law and order makes for a sobering refresher course in why digital privacy is so vital. It’s also an enticing few hours of drama.

One of the best video games to ever be based around cycling, with the stylised visuals and pitch perfect controls creating an impressively immersive experience.

It has its flaws but this inspired mix of first person shooter and traditional roguelike offers a level of freedom and tactical decision making that many bigger budget games can only dream of.

A fantastic movie adaptation that may not look the part but manages to perfectly translate the action of John Wick into video game form.

One of the best attempts at an interactive anime ever, although the nonsensical story, weak combat, and dubious portrayal of female characters will ensure it a limited audience in the West.

A better remake than Secret Of Mana, even if it does remove one of the original’s best features, but the one-note gameplay and weak storytelling limit its appeal considerably.

An excellent return to form for gaming’s favourite beat ‘em-up franchise and while it doesn’t represent much evolution from the original games it’s still just as much fun as ever.

What started off as a fan remake of Resident Evil 2 has been transformed into a would-be homage that even in its better moments is a tedious and frustrating slog.

Easily the most authentic Predator game ever made but also a paper-thin multiplayer game that offers far too little content and variety for its asking price.

By the end of the 30+ hour campaign you begin to realise that the worst thing about Gears Tactics is that it’s a Gears Of War game. The gameplay and controls work very well but the repetition and lack of strategic control becomes more of a problem the longer the game goes on. As an introduction to the genre it works very well, and we hope it’ll get more people interested in turn-based action, but we doubt it’ll do the same for Gears Of War itself.

Wastelanders transforms Fallout 76 from a technical and conceptual disaster to a merely flawed online experience, which has a far better online community than it deserves.

The best game about moving out there’s ever been but, more importantly, a fun four-player co-op game that’s perfect for causing family arguments everyone can enjoy.

An attempt to simplify and streamline XCOM sounds like a disaster in the making but the original’s tense turn-based combat is still highly entertaining even in this reduced form.

A gothic masterpiece of weird fiction and roguelike exploration, that gives you the freedom to do whatever you want in one of gaming’s weirdest fictional worlds.

An entertaining and agreeably clever remaster of the classic puzzle platformer, with added 3D bonus levels that give the formula a welcome and devious shake-up.

There are still glimpses of the original’s charm, and the potential of an earthquake-surviving simulator is made clear, but this tonally awkward, disaster of a game doesn’t get close to realising it.

Tool around, explore, and try to reach lofty areas you spot from ground level. Taking out surveillance drones and signal boxes could be seen as using your hoverboard to dismantle the tools of oppression, but then you also have to destroy fire hydrants, so maybe things aren’t that straightforward, in this piece of interactive entertainment that’s as much toy as formalised game.

With excellent pixel art, Bomb Chicken is an engaging puzzle platformer with its own very distinct personality.

To keep abreast of upgrade requirements you’ll need to watch ads to double your winnings, or pay £10 per month for what amounts to a battle pass giving you automatic gold doubling and the ability to autoplay levels, obviating the need to sit there triggering special moves when their cool downs expire. That may be a fundamentally mindless process, but like most successful incremental games, the steady flow of upgrades proves shamefully compelling, although if we have to sit through one more ad for Charm King we can’t be held responsible for the consequences.

With the spider crawling all over 3D objects there are moments where you’re not sure which way to drag the 2D joystick to get it to go where you want, and occasions when it’s unreasonably finicky about standing in the right spot to attach a web to an object, but in general this is a fun, gently puzzling game of eight-legged espionage.

There is such a thing as being too hard and the original version of Below proved that, but there’s also such a thing as second chances and Explore mode has managed to turn Below into a game everyone can enjoy, and without compromising its original vision.

Minimalist adventuring that’s original, clever, and soothing – and a perfect example that gameplay and atmosphere is always more important than high-tech graphics.

Fans will be arguing about it for decades to come but for now this is a surprisingly daring reinvention of the legendary original, although it’s a shame its biggest flaws were largely avoidable.

A competent remaster of a story mode that, while it still has the ability to impress, feels old-fashioned, shallow, and grossly overpriced.

An interactive movie that tries to tell a relevant tale of near-future Britain but is marred by characters that lack credibility and a story free from dramatic tension.

The source material already had its problems, but this disappointing remake manages to make Resident Evil 3 seem even less inspired than it did originally.

The definitive version of one of the best Japanese role-playing games ever made, even if it’s easy to see the joins with some of the story additions.

A flawed remake of one of the Sega Saturn’s most recognisable classics, that fumbles the controls and visual upgrade and yet remains a relatively enjoyable homage.

It often feels a little undercooked but the emphasis on teamplay and some very unusual characters offers an enjoyable alternative to other online multiplayer games.

A great game for novice fighting game players, with some interestingly unique ideas, but the bland fantasy world and lack of playable characters lessen its impact.

An incredible technical achievement but one that is surprisingly short of genuinely new ideas, and often struggles to get the balance right between VR showpiece and satisfying gameplay experience.

A whimsical and engrossing VR puzzle adventure, who’s lack of hand-holding and gentle discoveries prove consistently engaging and relaxing.

An unfairly neglected part of the Doom canon is given the remaster it most certainly deserves, in what is one of the most welcome retro remasters of recent years.

A significant improvement on the reboot and while there are still a few flaws the core combat is some of the best in any first person shooter this generation.

Animal Crossing finally gets a sequel that moves the franchise forward, in a surprisingly timely release that is perfect for this year in terms of both its gameplay and its philosophy.

It’s not changed much but what improvements there are, are all positive in what remains the best Dark Souls clone not made by From Software.

There are neat graphical details, with chunks of masonry blown off buildings by grenades or tank rounds, and your tiny soldiers will automatically dive to the ground when a machinegun opens up nearby. The base game also had some excellent DLC, which will hopefully make its way to this rock solid iPad port.

There’s always someone falling off something, or getting impaled on something else, in a cacophony of tiny sound effects reminiscent of the chaos of LittleBigPlanet 3’s excellent multiplayer mode.

Although graphically pretty, the controls are often slow to react to your input and swiping to swap out redundant power-ups is horribly temperamental, undermining a great deal of the potential fun.

It may not be able to claim much originality compared to its predecessor, or Metroidvania games in general, but this is still one of the best examples of its craft this generation.

Even after just a few hours of gameplay it’s obvious that this is an important contender in the battle royale genre. Whether interest will quickly fizzle out, as happened with Blackout, remains to be seen but the early signs suggest Warzone will rage on for some time to come. [First Impressions Review]

A highly unlikely combination of Ace Attorney and Picross but despite the game’s best efforts it’s a mixture that never really gels together.

A fun, fairly brief campaign that offers plenty of memorable scenarios and a suite of improvements that turn The Division 2 into a true contender for the looter shooter throne.

A highly enjoyable action romp, with a winning sense of humour and a hugely entertaining range of unusually varied weapons.

A thoroughly uninteresting roguelike that undermines the most compelling elements of both the genre and the Pokémon universe.

Space Channel 5’s dancing aliens and high camp work well in VR, but with only around half an hour of gameplay this represents astoundingly poor value for money.

The games are beginning to approach their sell-by-date, but the impressively oppressive post-apocalyptic atmosphere still has plenty of appeal.

A highly successful reboot of one of SNK’s most unfairly forgotten franchise, that takes its rightful place as one of the generation’s best fighters.

Another excellent PC-to-Switch port that revives the Theme Hospital with a heavy dose of humour and impressively involved business management.

A gruelling and protracted stat-management simulation, with paltry interactions and stilted dialogue that’s entirely removed from the actual process of parenting.

An unexpectedly enhanced version of one of the best action games of the PS2 era, which even now offers better and deeper combat than most modern rivals.

An inspired mix of survival horror and battle royale that also manages to blend competitive and co-operative gameplay into a terrifyingly entertaining whole.

Giving everyone the ability to create video games is a wonderful thing and Dreams is far easier to use, and adapt to your own requirements, than you might imagine. Although the one thing that it teaches above all is that no matter how easy the physical act of video game creation becomes, making a game that is enjoyable to play is something else entirely. That shouldn’t put anyone off though, but instead inspire you with the knowledge that, thanks to Dreams, all that is stopping you from becoming a world-renowned video game creator is hard graft and a vivid imagination.

Another good value expansion pass from Nintendo, that doesn’t quite make up for the flaws of the parent game but does manage to emphasise its most positive qualities.

Two of the best action games of the last generation make the jump to current gen consoles and prove just as entertaining as they ever were.

With its launch problems well behind it, Street Fighter 5 is no longer a disgrace to the family name, with the Champion Edition able to take on any other fighter this generation.

Dead Cells’ hugely engaging roguelike-meets-Metroidvania gets its first paid-for DLC and becomes even more compelling than it was at launch.

A fun, cathartic romp through demonic armies, with two fun characters that offer plenty of personality and an interesting alternative to other Diablo style role-players.

A competent Metroidvania with some attractive visuals and fun gimmicks, but they can’t hide the fact that the game underneath is far less inspired than it first seems.

It’s a well-designed game, with a rewind button that lets you instantly skip back to the beginning of courses, and clever use of music to let you know you’re in a challenge rather than just noodling about on the snow. The first mountain is free, with all the others unlocked for a one-off payment.

It’s a good, solid game even if its central shoot/loot/craft loop begins to bore long before you’ve navigated your way home.

While it’s undoubtedly accomplished and has console-grade production values, it’s never as feverishly gripping as its inspiration. Its viewpoint feels too narrow, and it has a nasty habit of letting the controller go unresponsive at the worst possible moments. It also only shows Xbox button prompts even with a DualShock connected.

Part room escape, part point ‘n’ click adventure, its subject matter, subtle puzzles, and graphic novel style line-drawn artwork make it a treat from start to finish.

The story mode’s 100 levels offer a stern challenge, with the action quickly becoming frenzied but also a little repetitive.

The goal is to complete 15 levels, but even making it as far as 10 is a huge undertaking that will require both significant practise and a lot of luck. It’s a fascinating and constantly changing challenge.

The developer’s love for Resident Evil and old school survival horror is obvious but this poorly made homage does nobody any favours.

This co-op tale of two delinquent young girls feels particularly at home on the Switch, in what is one of the best story-based games of recent years.