I don’t think MLB The Show 18 is as good as last year’s game, but the improvements over the last two years are solid enough to carry the franchise momentum forward. Hopefully, next year's version will get back to the winning ways and bring more substantial changes.

Far Cry 5 manages to deliver some satisfying open world action with a focus on co-operative play, but a few poor design choices, disappointing story and occasional bugs hamper the overall impression.

Bit Dungeon Plus isn't the worst game around, but it doesn't do anything particularly noteworthy with its mechanics. If you're just dying for a co-op roguelike, I suppose this will do, but you can find a lot of better examples elsewhere.

Aegis Defenders is an indie that has a chance to be a standout of 2018. Most of the key ingredients to a winning formula are here; engaging and addictive gameplay on both the solo and multiplayer fronts, a nice presentation, and just the right amount of innovation.

Surviving Mars has the interplanetary foundations of a good strategy game, but it gets bogged down in its own complexity, micromanagement, and a surprisingly bland setting.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 manages to improve on its predecessor in just about every way, resulting in a structurally familiar but highly entertaining co-op experience with a surprising amount of depth and variety in its character and difficulty progression.

Even as a simple party game, it's difficult to recommend Frantics. There's just nothing that really stands out as a high point. It's flawed in almost every way that really matters and doesn't offer the levels of entertainment one would hope to get from a game like this.

Yakuza 6 is a fitting end to the journey of Kazuma Kiryu that will not disappoint long-time fans, while also providing an accessible journey to newcomers. Though it does not reach the heights of previous entries in its narrative and optional content, it does deliver a touching tale with a strong thematic core that has even stronger combat chops.

Like the original, Q.U.B.E. 2 keeps the emphasis on smart puzzle design and maintains a core group of mechanics that fit together like a glove.

Distortions adopts the negative connotations of its own name by offering an overpriced mix of poor storytelling, bad gameplay, lack of polish, and an outdated presentation.

Chuchel’s overt humor and slick animations will make for an entertaining few hours but its simple puzzles and throwaway mini-games fail to ensnare deep imagination.

Metal Gear Survive is an enticing, challenging, polished and occasionally frustrating spinoff that doesn't devalue the reputation of the franchise, and offers a unique standalone experience that fans of survival games should enjoy getting stuck into.

Novel and cleverly designed, Roguemance makes for a delightful, tempestuous little fling while its ideas are still fresh, but its failure to make the most of them may leave you with a spot of premature exhaustion.

Celeste has a couple of hiccups in its aesthetics and tech, but the core of what Matt Thorson and his team have made contains a wonderful story of endurance and resilience for both the characters and the player, that begs not to be missed.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance deserves a lot of credit for succeeding in its highly ambitious and original realism-driven approach to role-playing game design, though the amount of broken quests and general lack of polish in combination with an ill-conceived save system bring down the experience significantly.

Fe feels like an experimental platformer trying to make an emotional statement. It leans heavily on the gimmick of using songs to interact with nature, but if you're not floored by this angle - there's not much else for you.

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition is a very faithful remake that captures every single quality of the original title. That means you're getting a wonderful new presentation alongside all of the blemishes of the past.

The Station lacks the storytelling it needed in order to justify playing it. The lack of gameplay could have been overlooked if the story was up to snuff, but it just simply isn't. What results is a short, boring experience that will only satisfy the most desperate of sci-fi fans.

For long-time fans of the franchise, Dynasty Warriors 9 feels like it has its heart in the right place, but the implementation of the open world and MMO mechanics feels dated, creating a bland experience that does not do the colorful series justice.

While not terrible, Sky Force Reloaded asks too much of the player with too little to give back. With some reworking to the exorbitant grind, I would maybe recommend this, but there are far better shoot 'em ups on the Switch that deserve your time and attention.

All the creative problem-solving satisfaction of algorithm design with minimal nuisance coworkers. Algo Bot is a little bland and tiresome at times, but it’s still far cleverer than you and I.

BLIK uses a typical first-person puzzler template to produce a substandard game. Because of its bad reflection mechanics, playing with mirrors has never been so irksome.

Monster Hunter: World is a fantastic game that kept me enthralled for 60 wonderful hours. I loved exploring the world, discovering new areas, and engaging in epic fights with excellently designed monsters. There's so much gameplay to enjoy, that despite a few snags, I’d wholeheartedly recommend it to almost anyone.

Strikers Edge has some decent mechanics at its core, but a lack of gameplay modes, short campaign and deserted online scene make this essentially a barebones local multiplayer title with a high asking price.

Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] should satisfy fans of the fighting genre, if they are willing to look past its flaws and spend time perfecting the art of combat for the game's sometimes shaky online mode. As a single player experience, it is well-suited for a couple of friends to pass the time thanks to being fun and accessible.

Subnautica links progression to dive depth and it pays dividends. It also provides useful tools and varied submersibles that facilitate the steady exploration of wondrous biomes far below the waves.

Dragon Ball FighterZ is an excellent representation of the source material it is based on, with solid mechanics and plenty of variety, and offers just the sort of over-the-top mayhem that fans of the franchise should thoroughly enjoy.

Vostok Inc. is something of an oddity. It offers some competent shooter mechanics dressed up with some playful satire, unique concepts, and plenty of gameplay for those who seek it. But the overall experience feels lacking, uneventful, and repetitive, especially when it comes to the click-fest sim components.