If you are of a younger age and are more accustomed to modern fighters, King of Fighters R-2 may very well seem a little bland in comparison. With that said, there is far more under the hood of the game’s simple yet pleasing exterior. While King of Fighters R-2 happens to be a decent fighting game in its own right, whether it holds up or not is really beside the point. For me, I see it as yet another source of gaming artefacts contained in a portable museum. Like a slice of wonderful nostalgia pie sat in the window of a cakeshop of gaming history.

Blue Fire does a grand job combining fun 3D platforming with a Metroidvania-esque adventure whilst injecting other elements we’ve seen in a number of other franchises before it. While it might not stick the landed with everything it tries – the combat for one – the amount it does get right is enough to make venturing through Penumbra worth your time.

It’s far from perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but for what it is there’s definitely plenty of addictive gameplay here if your willing to put the effort in.

Onimusha: Warlords for Nintendo Switch is a delight. It looks and plays well, it’s fun, and the in-game achievement system – aptly named Honors – motivates the player to replay the game several times. On average, most will be able to complete the game in around four hours. Despite the short duration, the journey is a quality one and something you’ll want to replay. Hopefully, Capcom has plans to bring the rest of the Onimusha series to the Nintendo Switch in the near future.

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.

Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions creates a fun and unique twist on a well-grounded genre. While it can often suffer from an identity crisis on exactly what gameplay style it’s trying to achieve, there’s still a whole lot to love once the dust finally settles. Those who fancy some over-the-top otaku action with their half time oranges will revel in the combustion of far-fetched fantasy football. As for the soccer purist? You’re maybe best off just sticking with FIFA.

It is simply too bad that the gesture recognition is so far below acceptable standards, otherwise this game could have nearly reached the mid-8's, score-wise.

His lightning-quick powers of deduction and obsession with gulping down coffee blends from High Hat Café aside, the greatest praise that I can throw at Detective Pikachu is how it always felt like you were really working alongside the electric mouse. And, as we cracked our last case, I can only hope that this is only the start of our adventures together.

Playing Everything left me kind of empty feeling, which is almost definitely not the intention. I feel as though it is meant to leave you feeling in awe of how connected everything is. The trouble is, I’m already a hippie vegan with an interest in quantum mechanics. I already know everything is connected. So, I can only conclude that it’s not for me, but it isn’t necessarily a bad thing because of that. It isn’t a game though, it’s just a thing to start up and experience. Just don’t play it while on drugs, I feel like it’d do a lot more harm. Also just don’t do drugs, go and do push-ups and read about quantum entanglement or something.

I still have endless amounts of fun playing matches online and my most wanted feature, being able to play online against friends, has been added. With that being said, there are still so many features that EA is holding back for some unknown reason and, until they are implemented, it still feels like a missed opportunity. There is no doubt it is better than last year’s FIFA, but it could have been so much more.

Granted, by today’s standards Dragons Lair may even be considered as a pretty awful game in every angle outside its drop-dead gorgeous Disney-flavoured smut. However, Dragon’s Lair Trilogy is another important slice of gaming history and one that can now be added to the growing museum on the Nintendo Switch.

If I had reviewed Resident Evil Zero sixteen years ago, I would have said it was an incredible game, but going back to anything after this long away does not always end well and unfortunately, that is the case here. The controls are a bit wonky, the puzzles are weak and there are some AI issues with the buddy system that can be troublesome. I still, for the most part, enjoyed playing through the game again after all these years, but it is certainly the weakest entry of the ‘classic’ Resident Evil titles.

It’s hard to complain too much about Fight Crab when you know how self-aware it really is. The troublesome controls and repetitive gameplay are all clearly a part of the joke but even laughing can be tiring if it’s all you’re doing. Fight Crab definitely has its moments of fun and stupidity, but it’s not got enough meat on the bones to make it feel like anything more than a fun concept.

The arcade racing subgenre isn’t as buoyant as it once was with new examples few and far between so it’s always exciting when one does drift into view and delivers thrills in high doses. Cruis’n Blast is a truly wild ride of a game packed with plenty of fun and equally wild extras. It’s simple but electrifying and during a time where games are vying to offer season passes, realistic physics and always online experiences it’s truly welcome and refreshing to come across a game that just wants to be an old-school great time.

This is an experience that’s clunky to play, messy in its execution at times and visually ugly and dated however in spite of all this I’ve found my time with Deadly Premonitions Origins to be enjoyable. Like a questionably acted B-movie you learn to love its eye-rolling moments and start to embrace its flaws. Is Deadly Premonition Origins a good game? After 20 hours I’m not sure I even know for myself. What I do know is, I had a great time with Francis York Morgan and cannot wait to join forces once again in next year’s sequel.

With obvious criticisms aside, a game such as Just Dance 2021 could very well be the medicine we need to help provide some form of normality to this year’s holiday season. Having the under-appreciated privilege of joyfully dancing and laughing next to a Christmas tree within the isolated bubble of our loved ones not only boosts morale, but it also opens up to the realisation of how incredibly fortunate some of us are to have others to share that little bubble with.

if you're looking for a relaxed game with a good story and interesting puzzles, and you're a big fan of games like "Myst," Trace Memory will more than satisfy your craving for adventure.

The game now relies more on luck than actual skill and thinking; things such as mini-games, Charabom battles/merging and Coin Battle in Battle Mode have been taken out; and the game just seems too “cute” at times.

There are some good ideas to be found here, but it’s all spoilt by the lack of meat on the bone and not enough seasoning.

Hyper Sentinel is a smartly priced game for those that want to have a blast over the weekend to fork out for, and provides enough content and challenge to cater for both the casual and the insane gamer alike.

I would argue that Hammerwatch is best experienced with a group of like-minded adventurers. There’s far more fun to be found in the chaotic mayhem of heroically charging down a corridor together, slinging spells at your enemies, cutting them down to size and knocking back an arrow or two, compared to when having to endure the game’s repetitive design alone. There are enough successes to consider a purchase, and even more so once online support arrives.

Gunhouse never lacks in spectacle, but it won’t take long before you recognise that the gameplay loop that it looks to hook you on is a shallow one. This collision of genres can still entertain, but it needed a few more ideas that remixed its own concept to keep the player’s interest from waning too quickly. It’s good in short bursts, but lacking in depth.

The improved visuals and dynamic use of shadows in The Final Season really do make a difference to emphasise drama and emotion. Yet, despite the plot of this second episode feeling weaker than the first, the connections and drama between characters still came across much more believable than the big budget tv show.

I had a lot of fun with My Hero One’s Justice. There’s something about the game’s simplicity that felt refreshing in not needing to completely commit myself into learning the ropes. It’s a fun fighter to take on the go, too, allowing for players to split the Joy-Con for a quick, convenient throwdown. It may not have the most robust features in a fighting game, and there is a lot here that could be improved upon, but, despite this, the easy to learn gameplay system and over-the-top combat results in an entertaining score-settler regardless of whether you’re a fan of the series or not.

Joggernauts is a surprisingly fun take on the auto-scroller but a fairly short one filled with its fair share of frustrating moments. As a single player experience it feels clumsy but gather a group of friends and there’s a good amount of amusement to be had even if most of the time it’s from everyone yelling at each other and trying to orchestrate themselves. A short, simple and laugh-filled time.

When I was initially offered the chance to cover Shred! 2 I was highly skeptical, to say the least. The danger signs of shovelware rang alarm bells in perceiving this as yet another quick cash grab mobile port. Thankfully, I was wrong. Shred! 2 happens to be a cracking freestyler that’s ideal for both quick commutes and long journeys. If you are into your stunts, speed, and nose-bleed jumps, then it’s is worth every penny of your spare change.

SEGA AGES Ichidant-R is a strange game, but one that I’m glad has finally found its way outside Japan. At the end of the day, this is just a small collection of mini-games – albeit a fun one – but its fascinating presentation and surprisingly competitive multiplayer options make this an unknown worth exploring.

With the exception of the PAC-MAN: Championship Edition demake, Namco Museum Archives Volume 1 is really only ever going to appeal to old fogeys similar to myself who want to latch on to the past and stuff them into a Nintendo Switch. Sure, many of the games don’t hold up well, but that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be celebrated. It’s just a pity that Namco can’t seem to be that bothered. While M2 does a fantastic job as always in actually handling the emulation process, the disappointing lack of extra features leaves a lot to be desired.