Yakuza 0 is an excellent game and this Director’s Cut is the best version of it yet. The story is compelling, the action is fun, and there’s a wealth of things to enjoy in its well-realized settings. I’m not sure there’s enough here to justify a double dip for those who have already played it elsewhere, but if you’re new to the game it’s a must-have. Hopefully the third time is the charm for Like A Dragon and Nintendo platforms so that we can see the rest of the series come to Switch 2.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is fascinating. I love to play it, I love to study it, and I love to watch it. No fighting game has ever felt as good to play, in my opinion. I think the Switch port is the weakest version by default (I’ve only played this one and the PS4 release), but I’m still more than pleased with this version. The frame rate is perfect, the matches feel great to play, and the visuals are just as good as they’ve always been. I was expecting to stop playing this as soon as I had access to the other versions, but here I am… still labbing on Switch. If you have no other systems, and want to get into one of the strongest Persona spin-offs out there, check out Ultimax. I’m beyond excited to grab it on PC as well, to instantly boot it up when innocent trash-talking on Discord needs to be hashed out in the Arena.

Inscrpytion did the impossible, it made me want to buy a booster pack of a card game. Not even a particular card game, but just any so I could relive the feeling of buying them as a kid and seeing what I’d get. Maybe I’ll even boot up a run of Rogue Legacy, since it’s been a few years. Or, I could just play more Inscryption. I could continue to theory craft about my newly discovered Mullinsverse, fascinated by the ways Inscryption begs players to dissect it down to the pixel. This game was made with an infectious love of card games, rogue-lite games, and just games in general. I have to say, I’ve caught the bug.

All up, Gradius Origins is another incredible collection from M2 and Konami. While it might not have every single game or version you might want, for what it does have it has just about everything. There are some extremely coveted scarcities, and even a few fun hidden goodies. At the core of it all is a series of games that shook its genre harder than just about any other, and by playing them, you’ll likely understand why. It’s a must-have for fans of shooters and gaming history alike.

In all fairness, the online mode is just a box to tick against something that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection doesn’t need. The real hook is that this particular series is something we don’t see packaged together very often – an omnibus of memories, specially tailored for fans and friends alike, who were once touched by the games and the franchise at its peak. I was lucky enough to be one of those kids, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection is, without doubt, one of the most nostalgic compilations I have ever had the pleasure to experience.

The Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion never lacks in the sheer spectacle of its creativity. It’s Nintendo at its best, for sure, taking what we have come to expect from Splatoon 2’s core experience only to throw the rulebook out the window to astound with freshly inked ideas. More, please.

All Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game Complete Edition had to do to keep me happy was bring back a title I’d been unable to play for nearly six years. Quite obviously it does that, but I’m shocked at just how great the game still remains, and how much of it is a true love letter to Scott Pilgrim and gaming itself. It’s not the longest or easiest experience, but it’s one that I would urge any gamer to give a go thanks to its satisfying gameplay and fantastic presentation. Don’t let it slip between your fingers this time.

Aggelos is a lovely sweet spot for those looking for a bite-size experience which delivers quality in almost every aspect. It looks and sounds wonderful in both handheld and on a big screen. While the difficulty of old may not appeal to all, the game does a great job of making you feel like you worked hard to win and learn from defeat. Aggelos feels ageless, which is a truly lovely thing to experience.

With Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, AAA Games Studio has masterfully interwoven The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s playfully experimental gameplay systems with its own Musou pedigree. The plight surrounding the war for ancient Hyrule is endlessly captivating, and, while clearly most attractive to lore nerds like me for plugging the gaps in Nintendo’s original tale, the end result is a game that is a legend in its own right.

Super Mario Party Jamboree truly has something for everyone. Between its enjoyable smorgasbord of minigames, delightful lineup of traditional-style boards and exciting injection of fresh competitive and cooperative modes, this is a party you won’t want to miss out on. Biggest Mario Party? Absolutely. Best? After 30 hours and many laughter-filled evenings with friends, I’m thinking it’s very much in the conversation.

Wax Heads is one of my favorite narrative-driven puzzle games in years. I hope the developer adds in an endless mode so I can just boot Wax Heads up and spend more time in the world. It makes me wish some of the bands in-game were real, but at least I can keep listening to the soundtrack and think of my time in Repeater Records.

Unruly Heroes is a wonderfully enthralling adventure thanks to its striking visuals, impressive variety and clever mix of platforming, puzzles, and combat. What might at first seem like a fairly ordinary platformer reveals itself to be much more not only helping it stand out from an already crowded genre on Switch but surprise players in a great way.

If it’s your first time then it’s a fantastically unique game that you’ll probably enjoy whether you look deeply into it or not, and if you’re replaying it then this is unarguably the best format there has ever been to do so.

Toki Tori 2 is a perfect little game for playing over time not only because of the format, but because it’s practically impossible to forget how it plays and how Toki Tori moves.

Streets of Rage 4 is like taking an old favourite toy to an antique repair shop only for it to come back working far better than it ever did before. The new lick of paint does the series justice, and the decision to stick to its guns and stay so close to its roots demonstrates a true understanding of the classic beat ’em up genre. I can’t deny I had a promising feeling in my jollies that I would enjoy Streets of Rage 4 before going into it. However, what I never anticipated for a second was that a side-scrolling beat ’em up based on a seemingly long-dead franchise would rise from the grave and become my personal favourite game of the year so far.

Once you’re in a groove, you can spend hours chasing the perfect playthrough, combining items and spells and tackling the dungeons. Handily, the game keeps track of how many runs you’ve attempted, which, when you reach triple digits, is a lovely metric for how addictive the game can be.

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is the kind of game I’ve been waiting to play for two decades. Jet Set Radio Future was a truly formative game for me, and I’ve been waiting for years to play something that truly gets what made it work. While I typically find an attachment to nostalgia to be damaging to any work of art, Team Reptile has not let it bog them down. This is one of the freshest games you’ll play all year, and with its quality of life improvements and new modern flair, I think it has surpassed the games it was inspired by.

Monster Hunter Rise is exceptional. 17 years on, and there still isn’t a gameplay experience that can deliver such tremendously heroic thrills at the same level as this. Evading increasingly crippling blows from a monster desperately fending for its life to managing to capture a monster while on the brink of your own failure, the excitement once the game clicks with you is constant and palpable. Capcom has crated yet another sensational addition to the Nintendo Switch library, which represents portable Monster Hunter at its unrivalled best, an outstanding hunt to set out on and a game that I look forward to playing for many years to come.

Sektori is a brilliant twin-stick shooter with an incredible soundtrack and one that is a perfect fit for handheld play on Nintendo Switch 2. If you skipped it before or simply want to play it on the go, it is more than worth the asking price. Just be prepared for a great challenge throughout.

Grindstone is a fantastic puzzler that has well and truly gotten its hooks in me. What usually starts out as plans for a quick five-minute session soon unravels into hours. The wait from Apple Arcade to Nintendo Switch has been worth it, and Grindstone ends 2020 with a bang.

Following closely in the footsteps of its predecessor, Little Nightmares II is an indie darling hiding a triple-A development team under the floorboards. It takes the cream of cinematic interpretations of The Ring, Poltergeist, IT and even Jim Henson’s Labyrinth and whisks them further into a butter of pitch-black imagination. It may not steer too far from the apple tree when it comes to evolving its gameplay, but what it does do is dim the lights even lower to carry on the momentum for another satisfying and nerve-wracking experience.

Mario Tennis Fever is the best sports entry we’ve had from the plumber since his GameCube days. Packed with content, crammed with unlockables and introducing a racket system that offers the sort of competitive chaos you want from Mario’s take on sports, Fever proves to be an absolute ace and a great start to the year for Nintendo Switch 2.

With fourth-wall-breaking gags, a riotous storyline and a thrilling turn-based combat system, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door has it all. This fan-favourite GameCube classic has long deserved a second chance to take to the stage, and this is the perfect opportunity to marvel at its quirky treasure hunt – whether you’re returning to Rogueport or searching for the Crystal Stars for the first time.

Where Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition had once offered a healthy dose of fan service, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity delivers meaningful storytelling and a worthy prequel expansion to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild that is an absolute triumph which masterfully integrates its characters, world and gameplay systems.

This is probably the best way to get into the series, and is great for fans of the original to re-experience this classic as we approach the release of Shin Megami Tensei V. I’ve been waiting for years for the next mainline entry, and I couldn’t be more excited. I’m primed and ready now ATLUS, show me what you got.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy has been charged on the counts of – highly entertaining and delivering players with a trio of excellent games. On these charges, the court finds the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy guilty. Capcom has also been found guilty on the lesser charge of providing players with three games for an affordable price and for offering gamers a great value. The judge has sentenced the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy to be classified as one of the Switch’s best early 2019 releases.

WarioWare: Get It Together! proves there’s plenty more fun left in the tank for his wonderfully zany series. Playing as the characters themselves is an unexpected direction but one that works brilliantly while the introduction of co-operative play creates an entirely new and exciting experience that I hope we see more of. WarioWare: Get It Together! once more delivers an experience unlike anything else out there, let’s just hope we don’t have to wait another ten years for the next.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 was practically a perfect game when it launched, and here we’ve got a port that gets everything that worked about it and makes it portable – with only a few small concessions. If you’ve played it before, it’s absolutely worth being able to play it wherever you go, and if you haven’t given them a chance until now then the Nintendo Switch is a fantastic platform to do so.