Gear.Club Unlimited 3 offers a solid core racing experience, but it suffers from poor visuals, performance issues, some visual glitches, and a scarcity of content to justify the asking price. It is even harder to recommend Gear.Club Unlimited 3 in a post-GRID Legends: Deluxe Edition world on Nintendo Switch 2. There is potential here, but too many caveats for it to be even close to an easy recommendation.

I could see Ripple Island Kyle and Cal’s Restaurant reaching an acceptable level if the developer commits to patching it, but in its current state, I really can’t recommend the game to anyone. Not even the Sunsoft diehards should bother with this.

The new intro really does say everything you’d need to know about the artistic merits of this remake. The humanity is gone, the literal art replaced to remove all sense of life. The Front Mission 3 Remake will be a fine product for anyone without a critical eye and the context to expect better. There is no artistic merit to a product that dumps the hard work of people 26 years ago into a plagiarism machine to make up things that were never there. Past the hand-wringing over artistic merit, it just looks straight up ugly. I’m sure both the publisher and the developer will repeat what they’ve done with all their remakes, patching it bit-by-bit into a more acceptable state over the years. Maybe it’s true that mankind will never learn.

This is a textbook case of a disappointing remake. Without the context of the original, you’d probably assume Front Mission 2 is a mediocre game. I’m sure the intent of all of the developers wasn’t nefarious, and it’s possible that there was just a brutal time crunch they had to work under that resulted in so many cut corners. The translation is such a massive blemish on this game that I can’t recommend this even being worth your time until it is properly retranslated, and hopefully, by then, you can grab it for a convenient sale. Front Mission 2 deserved better, and I wish I could have properly experienced everything it had to offer.

If you are a fighting game fan you probably won’t be able to look past the floaty controls, loose game flow, and flimsy mechanics. It’s lacking basic quality of life, and all this stuff adds up. If you’re looking for a solid introduction to fighting games and enjoy anime, you’ll probably at least find some value here. I think there are much better introductory fighting games that offer smoother game flow and better spectacle to the players, and probably for cheaper. Simplified mechanics aren’t inherently a flaw, but I think Phantom Breaker: Omnia makes the fatal mistake of over-simplification. Maybe the Nintendo Switch port is just of subpar quality and the other consoles would have provided a better experience, but that just goes to show that if you do want to play this game you should do so elsewhere.

As kart racers go, Chocobo GP is bright and colourful but decidedly forgettable all around. The racing feels serviceable but isn’t short of frustrations, tracks busy with visual flare but uninspired in their actual design and the mode selection a mish-mash of forgettable and okay options. Chocobo GP not only fails to bring anything exciting and fresh to the table but even struggles with some of the fundamentals and when compared with the best Switch has to offer in the kart racing department it falls short in just about every way.

These are all great games, some of the most influential AAA sandbox games of all time. I cannot in good conscience recommend you play this version, especially if you wanted to check out the Nintendo Switch version. It’s quite ironic that unnecessary and ugly visual overhauls make these ports of PS2 games almost unplayable on this system. I hate to be cynical, but I don’t think you could salvage these things without redesigning everything from the ground up. Grand Theft Auto deserved better, and you deserve better than to waste your money on this.

I could go on, but Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed was another disappointing entry in a series that hasn’t been on a straight path since 2014, following the critically panned ARPG Akiba’s Beat. I was intrigued by the idea of bringing back an overlooked entry in the PSP’s library to modern systems and a new fanbase, but I’d go as far as to say that you’re better off just playing the original or Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed. Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed might be worth sticking through for the experience of feeling like you’re wandering through Akihabara, but the clunky combat, thin plot, and poor performance make this a stripped-down experience. I really hope one day we can get a brand new Akiba’s Trip game that hits all the marks, but at this point, I’m wondering if the developers even want to.

The Game of Life 2 is a fairly faithful adaption of the original board game – complete with a few minor tweaks – and is an okay distraction for a few rounds. However, minimal variety, content and a general lacking feel of excitement leave The Game of Life 2 far behind other board game offerings on Nintendo Switch right now.

While it attempts to come across as a love letter to classic gaming, all Speed Limit really does is celebrate the poorly impersonated rubbish that nearly collapsed the gaming industry back in the early ’80s.

FIFA has so much potential on the Switch, but it seems that this is how it is going to be going forward. FIFA 21 Legacy Edition is still FIFA 19 and while that game is still actually pretty fun, especially online, it is now extremely outdated – and it was outdated two years ago. This game should not be full price.

Struggling is one of the more frustrating games I’ve played on the Switch to the point where it felt more like an endurance challenge than anything else. Small victories are marred by countless failures and coupling that with a co-op mode than only serves to aggravate more and a visual style that is at times unappealing and others just plain gross makes for an end result that makes it a struggle to keep playing.

Ninjala definitely has a lot of problems that it needs to iron out, but that’s the beauty of being free-to-play. It’s definitely worth checking out, but I think the best is yet to come for Ninjala.

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD is a substandard remaster of a game that quite frankly didn’t need it in the first place. The disappointing level design, frustrating boss battles and shallow party games are a sore reminder of just how much this series has fallen since the glory days of the GameCube pair. I want the series back just as much as any fan, but not like this.

Had the development team put together a point-and-click adventure or platformer set in this world, it would have been much more enjoyable. Because we could focus on a story, we could investigate, see the causes of mutations and inspect why life has been reduced to this ramshackle society. Instead, we’re used to dying in the wastes before being recycled ad infinitum. And what grates the most, is that I wanted to love this game. It has ideas, it has scope, but everything is hidden beneath a smudged ‘CRT’ veneer.

Playing alone, Nippon Marathon is a one-note joke, stretched too thin and without enough artifice to challenge or grip a player, but as a party game it works just about well enough to amuse those who can look past its various rough edges, have money enough to spare for frivolous purchases and enjoy a silly, wonky mess from time to time.

Slay the Spire is one of those rare gems that I simply cannot put down. I’ve battled way too many monsters to count, I’ve unlocked every unlockable card there is, I’ve discovered all kinds of relics and even toppled the spire numerous times with each character. Yet I still find myself drawn back for one more crack at the mysterious spire eager to see what arrangement the game has in store for me this time. Tense, unpredictable and hugely rewarding Slay the Spire is one of the eShop’s best and a perfect fit for the Switch device.

The Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit is nothing less than a cardboard marvel through which Nintendo has delivered an affordable and content-rich introduction to the world of virtual reality. We’re four Nintendo Labo kits in now, and, after the equally brilliant Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 03: Vehicle Kit, the build-and-play concept – which wonderfully blends physical and digital activities – continues to maintain its rubber band-strung stride. That only leaves me wondering about what cardboard contraptions will come next.

DYING: Reborn had the potential to be a decent game. Nevertheless, with its lack of real horror elements, bad translation issues and nowhere near enough good puzzles, all of the things you would want, it is hard to recommend. To stand out from the crowd on the Nintendo eShop nowadays, you have to do something different or something special. DYING: Reborn does neither. There are much, much better options out there.

The end result is that Fimbul is a soulless experience that never amounts to much more than something that will forever represent the developer’s unrealized vision. Throwing the unpredictable bugs, glitches, and wayward problems that are present on Nintendo Switch into consideration, it’s hard to not come to the conclusion that you’d be better off simply leaving it to someone else to prevent Ragnarök from happening.

Those patiently waiting on a decent realistic racer on Switch, unfortunately, won’t find that in Gear.Club Unlimited 2. Its decent selection of cars, solid customization and lengthy campaign are crippled thanks to the game’s sluggish and uninspired racing, sketchy performance and horrendous load times that pop up far too frequently. The Switch may be sorely lagging in the racing department but it certainly deserves much better than this.

On the bright side, Nickelodeon Kart Racers is the kind of game you can buy for a nephew that you can’t stand. Just think. On the surface, his parents will give you brownie points for such an appealing looking gift. The nephew, on the other hand, will know full well that you have completely screwed him over. Furthermore, you can shamelessly watch in glee as he gets chastised for being an ungrateful and spoilt little brat after complaining about such a generous present. A win, win situation if you ask me, and well worth your money.

I am not going to mask it, the only real reason you would actually buy Senran Kagura Reflexions is so that you can look at scantily clad women and see them in seductive positions. However, let us be completely honest here, if that really is your sole reason to play, there are many better and cheaper ways of doing such things. Even though other games in the series featured many of the same themes, at least the gameplay had a bit of substance to them. There just isn’t anything here to hook anyone but die-hard fans.

The Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 03: Vehicle Kit is easily the best all-round experience that I have had so far with Nintendo’s new line of interactive make, play and discover kits. Remarkable to build, fascinating to learn how it all works and, importantly, content rich compared to the last two kits, this could be the start of a cardboard revolution.

Lifeless Planet: Premiere Edition may very well gain a few new fans based solely on its narrative. Unfortunately, the tedious ordeal of having to traipse around the planet for half a dozen hours like a clumsy jelly baby just doesn’t make the plot strong enough to be worth the hassle. While it may not sound like it, I do appreciate the hard work and effort it takes to independently craft an environment of such scale. However, it really doesn’t excuse the fact that this is an incredibly poorly made game, regardless of how interesting its premise may be.

All in all, Jumping Joe and Friends is your typical smartphone experience – shallow, repetitive and lacking any real hook to keep you playing. Even the multiplayer wears out its welcome in a matter of minutes. The list of excellent or just fun Switch titles is already a long one and continues to grow with every passing week. Any one of those would be a better investment than Jumping Joe and Friends.

Hello Neighbor could be fun, within the right parameters. The neighbour would hold a lot more terror if his actions carried any weight. The puzzling aspect of switches, hidden doors and traps would be more enjoyable were they staged within an inspiring world or using interesting concepts. But the game fails on all of these points, not holding attention, not really projecting any fear beyond the first few encounters, and the world feels as flat as the polygons used to build it.

Ultimately Mecho Tales is derivative, borrowing tried and tested ideas rather than coming up with anything that ever surprises or astounds. It fails to leave a lasting impression to result in another forgettable platformer that is unable to compete with far more memorable and groundbreaking games in the genre that are available on the Nintendo eShop.

I’m normally a big fan of party games; however Awkward is easily one of the weakest I’ve played, managing to deliver an experience that’s just painfully dull. While it sometimes achieves its goal of creating an uncomfortably fun atmosphere, the moods it tends to strike more often is that of apathy and aversion. Fact is, if you’re after a fun, hilarious party game then Awkward is definitely not it, the Nintendo Switch offering far better alternatives out there on the Nintendo eShop already.

The visual style is quirky and the idea spins the tired genre of tower defence on its head – which may or may not be welcome, depending on your mileage in the genre, but there’s very little to be gained from the game. Paper Wars: Cannon Fodder Devastated is little more than a title you’d buy on sale for a couple of pounds, play for five minutes and forget it exists.

To put it mildly, It’s Spring Again is a complete waste of time. It doesn’t do anything new or different to teach children any better than what a good walk in the park or a picture book can provide. In fact, you’re better off with CBeebies or a few videos on YouTube Kids if you want your children to learn something but can’t be bothered teaching them yourself.

The characters available in different colour palettes are appealing and I’m sure add a lot if playing with another person, but this brings me to the biggest issue that plagues DragoDino; the loading times. When they did load, the levels themselves offered little to no joy, at all, despite the cute protagonists, DragoDino is shallow and sadly cannot live up to the visual style.

Woodle Tree Adventures has potential but fails to ever realise any of it. The paint-by-numbers approach that has been taken to make this 3D platformer results in a game that feels more like a proof of concept or prototype rather than something that you would happily pay for.

BINGO for Nintendo Switch is tedious, repetitive and just plain dull. None of the four available games offer anything close to fun, the constant focus on searching for numbers wearing out its welcome quickly. Bottom line, there are so many great ways to spend your time on the Switch and BINGO isn’t one of them.

It doesn’t work as a video game and it doesn’t work as a movie. While it looks great, the acting leaves a lot to be desired and there just isn’t any involvement for the player as you’re just pressing the A Button a couple of times here and there without ever really having to make choices. It had potential and any future games can certainly learn a lot from this, but my advice is to stay well away unless you’re absolutely desperate for something to do for an hour or two.

Needless to say, Castle Of Heart isn’t a good game. Its humdrum platforming mixed with shoddy animations and sluggish controls makes for a rather dopey gaming experience. While the game’s main gimmick of keeping your life afloat does have some potential, it’s never quite implemented well enough to stir up anything new or interesting.

I have to say, a game like Hollow has so much potential and it could have been one the best horror games on the Nintendo Switch had some basic aspects had been right, such as the movement and combat. But what it ends up being is a game that doesn’t have many redeeming features or qualities. It’s too slow and lethargic, the display is a little off-putting after a while and it doesn’t run well playing in Handheld mode, which is a major feature of the Switch.

Snood 2 is what it is… a generic version of Bust-A-Move, sans any of the creativity or charm of the real deal.

The few games even available aren’t faithfully recreated, are mostly on the dull side, and feature remix styles that will mostly make you want to puke.

The biggest flaw here is conceptual -- Ping Pals has been rendered nearly useless with the superior PictoChat (as far as the messaging features go, anyway), and the shallow games do nothing to really boost the game.

The game grasps at replay value by locking up the medium and hard difficulty levels, forcing you to win an easy game to unlock medium, and a medium game to unlock hard. Not that that's difficult or anything, it's just there. Besides that minor point, you'll almost inevitably be finished with this lackluster game before you have a chance to settle in.

Don’t. That is, don’t take a second look at this game – don’t even briefly consider it.

To the game’s credit, the constantly progressing storyline and environments do give Around the World in 80 Days some pizzazz, but it can’t completely hide the repetitive, rudimentary gameplay.

So bad that even having a review for the game is a waste. Whatever you do, don’t play this game. The only good thing that might come out of Van Helsing is that you might value your other games much, much more.

One of the most disappointing and lackluster games on the GameCube today...No matter what type of gamer you are, though, there are many flaws in the game which are inexcusable – the game’s length, lack of challenge (apart from Survival Mode), monotony, and bad graphics and sound.