I think some of the hardest games to review are ones that speak for themselves, but those are so often the easiest to play and enjoy. I wouldn’t say the original Star Ocean 2 falls in that category, but it is a game so massive in scope for a PS1 RPG that I couldn’t help but respect it despite my disinterest. Star Ocean: The Second Story R attempts to smooth out the experience in so many subtle ways that it turns it into a modern classic. I don’t think remakes need to follow any particular rules, but for faithful ones this is a new standard. It encourages players to indulge in side content by signposting it all so well, which is great. I think the story is a bit predictable and the cast is far from my favorites, but the gameplay itself is so engaging that it smooths over these issues. This is perhaps the best rerelease I’ve seen from Square Enix, and even if I don’t think it makes the original a perfect game it is so full of love for the source material that it’s beyond commendable.

As the first major video game release of 2024, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown sets the bar high. Very high in fact. Not just an excellent Metroidvania but also a brilliantly refreshing new direction for Prince of Persia, one that surprises throughout its 15-plus hour adventure whilst remaining true to the series’ core elements.

I’m not sure I’d be able to recommend Another Code: Recollection to people who prefer a higher ratio of puzzle to story in their adventure games, but if you’re fond of visual novels I think this is a solid recommendation. If you have a younger relative looking for something unlike anything currently on the market, I think this would make for an incredible gift. It might just change the way they see the world, and speak to them in a way no other games are capable of.

Dropping on the Nintendo eShop seemingly out of nowhere, Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator is a delightfully pleasant surprise, packed with charm and whose balance between friendly customer haggling and experimental potion mixing craft a truly relaxing way to close out an already excellent year on Nintendo Switch.

All in all, if you have played any of the other Football Manager Touch games on the Nintendo Switch, then you will have a good understanding of what you are getting here. This is a game for the Football Manager player with less time on their hands than they used to – consider it Football Manager Lite. It’s a decent upgrade from last year’s version, but nothing more. So, if you were hoping for more, then maybe next year’s version – which the developers are touting as a new era – might be worth holding out for.

Super Mario RPG may not offer the lengthiest or most challenging quest that you will ever face, but it is a game with tremendous heart that never fails to raise a smile. Modernised for a new generation, it bookends what has been a stratospheric year for Mushroom Kingdom adventures.

The thing about roller coasters is that even some of the best ones have moments of downtime, but ultimately remain thrilling and fun. The ride didn’t leave me changed in any way, but I certainly want to get back on and go again.

For the first time in a long time, Nintendo Switch owners finally have a good, non-management football game to enjoy. It is not going to blow anybody away, but it is by far the best football game on the console. The only feature that the Switch has over PlayStation or Xbox – as it is with any game – is the ability to play it on the go. If this doesn’t interest you, even with the parity in terms of features, you’re still going to want to play the other console versions over this.

WarioWare: Move It! delivers another wild and wacky assortment of microgames that make some of the best use we’ve ever seen from the Joy-Con’s motion functionality. The variety of actions you’ll perform is truly impressive and there’s little denying the quality of ideas on display here. In a package more catered to multiplayer though and with few extras and surprises to distract in the longer term, Move It! isn’t likely to keep the attention of those playing alone for much more than a weekend. Still, WarioWare is just as fun and unpredictable its ever been, even if it is a little lighter in content this time around.

The Jackbox Party Pack series has often proven a reliable source of fun and laughs, every year presenting players with another good excuse to gather everyone together for a few hours of phone-tapping hilarity. Unfortunately, The Jackbox Party Pack 10 feels like somewhat of a letdown, its games, while sometimes entertaining, are unable to capture the true magic we know this series is capable of. Summing things up in one sentence – Tee K.O. 2 is a safe but still fantastic time, Timejinx is a fun time-based trivia, Hypnotorious is enjoyable but inconsistent in its delivery, FixyText is chaotic noise and Dodo Re Mi is uninspired and forgettable.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder left me spellbound. Nintendo remains at the top of its game, and the Flower Kingdom is the perfect playground for its sprightly reinvention of what we have come to expect from setting out on a 2D side-scrolling adventure with Mario and his pals. This world of wonder comes crammed with the most whizz-popping surprises, making for a kaleidoscopic trip to the Flower Kingdom that is simply unmissable.

Overall (and after some post-launch updates) I’m content with the state of Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster. That’s not exactly the tone I was expecting to have during the launch period, so I’m thankful that they fixed it quickly even if I was frustrated that we needed to wait a week at all. These are two very special games that deserved a great re-release, and I’m thankful that I was able to experience them in this fashion. They might not appease every hardcore fan of the original, but I doubt many would be able to deny how good of a steal this is for newcomers looking to experience some cult classics. They are flawed gems, but they’re bound to capture the attention of anyone looking for something truly unique.

Disney Illusion Island may not rewrite the Metroidvania handbook nor does it ever feel particularly challenging, but what it does, it does exceptionally well. Throughout the six-hour journey, my wife and I couldn’t stop smiling; between the colourful worlds and their light puzzly-platformy layouts, enchanting soundtrack and fun banter between its four main leads. Disney fans will adore everything about this game while those looking for a more laid-back, less demanding adventure will appreciate what’s on display too.

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.

Marble It Up! Ultra is a delightfully fun time, one packed with strong level design, countless unlockables and an entertaining multiplayer component. As a big Super Monkey Ball fan, I’m always up for more marble-rolling antics and Marble It Up! Ultra is a great addition to the sadly small library fans currently have to choose from.

Just like Etrian Odyssey’s identity exists to modernize classics, the Origins Collection successfully modernized Etrian Odyssey. It’s easy to be sad about what isn’t there, but I understand that I have a minority viewpoint in the fanbase and those remakes added a lot of things people didn’t need. These games were always meant to focus on gameplay over all else, and what was preserved has been done so in stunning quality. The games themselves are not perfect, but I think these remasters are as perfect as you can get to recreating them today. They’re simple at their core, and these remasters are simply great. If Atlus decides to bring back more of its extensive DS and 3DS catalog to modern systems, I sincerely hope they continue with this amount of effort going forward.

The Pikmin series has always been one of my personal favourites of Nintendo’s, delivering something not only unique in their long-illustrious catalogue but the industry as a whole. And with each new entry managing to improve on the last, Pikmin 4 had a lot to live up to, high expectations, particularly from a fan like myself. Yet, somehow Nintendo has raised the bar once again creating perhaps its biggest and most well-rounded Pikmin adventure yet.

Blanc never truly lives up to its potential, but it is a good starting point for a potential sequel. There are simply too many missed opportunities with most aspects of the game. From the puzzle-solving to the story, more could have been done. That isn’t to say I completely disliked the experience, far from it. Just please remember to bring a friend along for the ride if you are willing to forgive any shortcomings.

It’s been great fun revisiting these two GameCube classics, both holding up remarkably well and each a must for those that perhaps entered the series through its third entry. While the updates are minimal, that doesn’t diminish what are essentially two of Nintendo’s finest efforts on the purple box and a perfect appetiser before Pikmin 4 rolls around.

I don’t have too much to say about Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, because the game speaks for itself. If we lived in a world where The Great Ace Attorney never existed or maybe was never even localized, it’d be tremendously easy to call this Shu Takumi’s best work. I might not like this as much as those games, but it’s only by the tiniest sliver. Ghost Trick is incredible, and this remaster is outstanding. I tend to avoid making grand declarative statements over products these days, but I think if you have any interest in this genre you owe it to yourself to experience this game. Especially with a remaster this good. It’s Ghost Trick, but in HD. It’s never been better, and I’m glad leagues of new people can play one of the most fun puzzle games ever made.

As a fan of all things Disney (except the modern-day remakes, those can burn) Disney Speedstorm is an exciting idea, a chance to reacquaint myself with the worlds and characters that defined by childhood in kart form. While the game certainly delivers on the nostalgia and its racing proves enjoyable, sadly the free-to-play wrapping (it’s worth noting this game isn’t free currently) lets the package down resulting in a grindy structure that irks more than engages the player.

The greatest legend that Nintendo has ever told, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a shining beacon of wondrous brilliance in an enviably storied franchise. Nintendo’s playful creativity and ability to surprise its players seemingly know no bounds, and it is a testament to the team’s hard work that a sequel can outpace its predecessor in such miraculous ways. I cannot sing the game’s praises enough, and this is a rare occasion where simply writing about it won’t ever do the experience that awaits you enough justice. Where the series goes next from here is anyone’s guess, but, when I didn’t think that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild could be surpassed, it’s clear that Nintendo is more than capable of achieving the impossible.

Picross S9 is… well, it’s more Picross. If you’ve never been interested in these types of puzzles then the latest entry isn’t going to change that view but if you’re the kind of person hungry for more grids to solve or seeing dreaming of shading in boxes in your sleep then picking up this latest entry should be a no brainer.

WayForward’s efforts should be commended though, and there’s much to celebrate here – not least the fact that Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp exists in the first place. I have really missed this series, and to see it back in such an emboldened way is heartening. It’s as addictive and tense an experience as it ever was, packed with punchy strategic brilliance and reimagined for a whole new generation to conquer. Now, I just hope that there’s enough interest out there that Nintendo considers greenlighting Advance Wars: Dual Strike and Advance Wars: Days of Ruin to receive the same treatment… but, let’s be grateful for what we do have for now.

This might come off as rather strict, but that’s because I do think these games are classics that deserve the best. I don’t want to be overdramatic though, because this Legacy Collection is still the best we’ve ever gotten. I think more could have been done, but I don’t want to downplay the work that went into bringing Mega Man Battle Network back like this. While I’m unsure if modern audiences would click with these, I think kids might still get a lot out of them even today. They’re all fantastic freshman RPG experiences that don’t explicitly treat their audience in a condescending manner. This is a great collection, but it could have been a legendary one.

Metroid Prime Remastered ticks all the boxes. Not only one of the best Metroid games out there, not only one of the best single-player adventures ever, not only an amazing remaster… you get the idea. The bar has been set when it comes to bringing GameCube classics to Nintendo Switch and I for one hope we see plenty more.

While it can’t match the mechanical highs of Bayonetta’s fast action gameplay, that comparison is frankly unfair to make to begin with. It isn’t trying to reach those goals, it strives to reach different heights altogether. I didn’t think a Bayonetta story would ever get me emotional, and Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon managed to pull that off several times. The ways in which it shifts the focus away from Bayonetta proper have led to what I believe is a more consistent experience of the series yet, that never dips into the series’ most frustrating low points. While I don’t think this game will be for everyone, I think you’ll find it a hard game to hate. If you do fall for it, you’ll find it to be an incredibly easy game to fall in love with. I want more spin-off games to strive to do what Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon does, and if this team is involved in Bayonetta’s future I have to say I’m completely back in.

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.