It didn’t have to be this way. WayForward has worked minor miracles with licensed fare before – see Aliens: Infestation and The Mummy Demastered. But this is work for hire of the most rotten kind, showing total contempt for the fans it hopes to lure in with a bright, likeable licence. Trollhunters is one of the less enjoyable things to happen to us this year. Given what a year it’s been, that is quite a feat.

Part dungeon-crawling RPG, part survival horror, part dating sim and part visual novel, Undead Darlings ~no cure for love~ successfully blends its disparate elements into a thoroughly compelling whole. While a couple of mechanical elements here and there are a little awkward — most notably inventory and equipment management — this is a satisfying, challenging game that will keep you hooked until the credits roll.

Alwa’s Legacy is an excellent example of how to do a proper sequel; it takes everything that the original did well and builds on it, adds in a few new ideas of its own, and corrects the issues that were previously present. It may be a little on the short side, but Alwa’s Legacy is the special sort of game that only comes around once in a great while, reminding you of the kind of quality that’s possible when a dedicated crew puts in the time to make a polished and tightly designed final product. The best Metroidvania on Switch? That’s entirely subjective, of course, but those of you who enjoy the genre owe it to yourselves to give this a try.

The story here takes a back seat to the brilliant and compulsive dungeon crawling gameplay, which should appeal even to those who don't tend to enjoy action RPGs. No puzzle, no battle and no single room ever outstays its welcome in Ys Origin, resulting in one of the briskest, easy-going games we've played in a long time. Sure, the visuals could be better, the overall length might be too short for hardcore RPG fans and there's a lot of grinding afoot, but this remains a solid choice if you're a fan of this sort of thing. An easy recommendation to pretty much anyone who has an interest in RPGs, Ys Origin is perfect even if you've never touched a game in the series before. Now, can we get Ys: The Oath in Felghana on Switch, too?

Given that it arrived with practically zero fanfare, Kirby Fighters 2 is a surprisingly brilliant Smash Bros.-style spin-off that simplifies its big brother's control system but still offers a healthy amount of depth with its 22-character roster. Its Story mode, in particular, is a clever and compelling way to make each battle feel important, and that mode alone lasts long enough to make it a worthwhile purchase for solo and co-op gamers.

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw is a wonderfully well-realised and stylish slice of space-sim action set in a satisfyingly seedy galaxy full of untrustworthy scum and illegal activity. The dogfighting action here is wonderfully tight and engaging thanks to the game's clever auto-pursuit mechanic, resulting in explosive ship-to-ship combat that allows you to get up close and personal, tracking your prey without much of the laborious fuss of other efforts in the genre. Juno Markev may not be the most exciting of protagonists and the story doesn't really come to much in the end, but there's a ton of side missions and a dynamic economy and morality system to keep you busy as you slowly unravel the mystery behind who killed her husband and left her for dead. Overall, this one's an easy recommendation for space-sim fans, dogfighting fiends and anyone else looking to indulge their inner space rebel.

Despite a well-executed premise and pleasing blocky visual aesthetic, Unrailed is ultimately a short-lived game. It tries to promote replayability with an inbuilt achievement system, leaderboards and different modes, but this doesn’t disguise a lack of depth to the core gameplay. It’s still an enjoyable experience though and whilst solo play won’t hold you for too long, if you can gather a group of friends to join, this is one co-op game worth looking into.

A mature visual novel that isn't afraid to be fun, Vampire: The Masquerade - Shadows of New York is a quick plunge into the freezing waters of a bloodsucker-filled Big Apple. It won't last you forever, but you'll be hooked for its short runtime. It does a lot with a little and is breezy enough to fly by. Just don't expect to actually, you know, do that much. Great art and good writing, but not enough of it.

Going Under makes for an excellent debut from Aggro Crab. Though the humour won’t be to everyone’s taste, it brings us a corporate satire which hits closer to home than most, and by doing so consistently, never feels ham-fisted in its execution. This isn’t the longest experience you can find on Switch – taking around 10 hours to fully complete including side tasks – but it provides an entertaining story, and one that’s filled with great combat and high replayability. Keeping you hooked until the end, this dungeon crawler comes with a modest recommendation.

Rollercoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition brings the classic theme park building sim and all of its DLC to Switch in a generously priced package that's hard to knock. A very well-implemented control scheme streamlines the potentially fussy business of managing menus and constructing great big behemoths and, besides a few judders here and there when your park gets crazy busy – a problem inherited from earlier versions of the game – the whole thing runs pretty smoothly in docked and handheld modes while still managing to look good (thanks in part to a HD lick of paint) some sixteen years after its original release. This is one ride Switch sim fans should absolutely consider jumping aboard.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is not just a great sequel; in many ways, it outdoes its predecessor. The addition of more customization options, a greater focus on combat and a better-developed story – all in a game that's running at 60 frames per second – allows the sequel to comprehensively outshine the original. However, this does come at a cost of stability, as several crashes and soft-locks were extremely demotivating. Overall though, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a must-buy for anyone even the slightest bit interested, and we're confident that the stability problems can be patched in the future. This is a supremely enjoyable platform adventure which everyone should experience.

Though there are plenty of other well-made SRPGs on the Switch today, Othercide does more than enough to differentiate itself from the pack and carve out for itself a unique identity. The striking art style, endlessly punishing gameplay and esoteric storytelling ensure that this one will likely only appeal to longtime fans of the genre, but it’s more than worth the effort. Despite the difficulty, Othercide is quite a rewarding experience, and this coupled with its well-built gameplay systems makes for a game that we can confidently state is worth your time. Don’t let its frequent struggles in the performance department or its intimidating challenge dissuade you; Othercide deserves a spot in your Switch library.

Bake ‘n Switch makes for a fun experience overall but it’s hard to deny that certain elements feel bare. With a minimal PvP mode, no single-player option (at launch, anyway) and issues with online progression, it does feel rushed upon delivery but there’s still plenty of content to keep players busy. If you can assemble a team of friends, have a younger family to entertain or just want a new multiplayer experience, there’s enjoyment to be found here – but it’s a cautious recommendation.

The concept behind WWE 2K Battlegrounds is a solid one, but it's let down time and time again by limited and repetitive combat, dopey AI, an excessively locked roster and a series of bewildering design choices that really should have been questioned at some point during production. We hope it eventually gets an improved sequel, but until then, the Switch is still lacking a proper main event-tier wrestling game.

We love a good arcade racing game, and in many ways Mini Motor Racing X delivers thrills in spades; it’s a reasonably fast, responsive experience with loads of vehicles and tracks to try out. Ultimately, though, there’s just nothing here that really stands out; nothing to tear you away from Mario Kart 8 or Rocket League. It’s quite content with being an entertaining alternative, and if you’re happy with that, then you’ll have a good time.

Hades is a sublime mix of satisfyingly gritty and flexible combat, a wonderfully vibrant art style and genuinely fun and engaging narrative. Supergiant Games has an excellent track record thus far but this really does feel its finest hour, a rip-roaring rampage through the underworld that's arrived here on Switch in a port that's nigh-on perfect. Even if you're yet to be swayed by the admittedly repetitive ebb and flow of the roguelike genre, we passionately urge you to at least give this one a try; for fans of the genre or anyone even remotely interested, this is one heavenly vision of hell that we highly recommend you sacrifice yourself to.

It's a little ramshackle, but care and craft has gone into the making of Giraffe and Annika. There's nothing new here to speak of, but its disparate genres work well together and we had a good time unravelling the mysteries of Spica Island. A great game for kids and the young at heart, we're excited to see what developers Atelier Mimina do next.

Georifters has good ideas on paper but ultimately, it all feels rather tedious. If you’re searching for new kid-friendly multiplayer games, there are better experiences available and at a lower cost, making this hard to recommend by comparison. Should those options already be exhausted, Georifters does have some fun moments within its Adventure Mode co-op while the Battle Arena mode offers competitive fun. But ultimately, those seeking a new puzzle-platforming fix would be better off looking elsewhere.

Super Punch Patrol feels like a greatest hits package, but that's the thing about the greatest hits – they're great. And so is Super Punch Patrol, in the end. For the price you'll pay, it's nothing short of spectacularly generous; there are only five stages, but they're tough as old boots and it'll take time to master the challenge and see those credits roll. With costumes and characters to unlock there's reason to keep playing even after you surmount this beastly little brawler, and at £4.99 it's a bit of a no-brainer.

World of Tanks Blitz takes the core gameplay of its full-fat forebearers and translates it fairly successfully to Nintendo's hybrid platform. This one's not going to win any beauty pageants, it's highly repetitive, there are some balancing issues and a pretty essential comms system is MIA but, overall, there's still a decent game to get to grips with here – especially if you like tanks, which, as we've already established, everybody does. With a huge number of tanks, countless upgrades and none of the absolute essentials hidden behind the game's premium paywall, there's literally hundreds of hours of tank-blasting action to indulge in that's well worth checking out for the princely sum of zero.

Moero Crystal H is an outstanding dungeon crawler that combines the light-hearted, sexy, character-centric comedy of harem anime with deep combat and progression mechanics, plus a healthy dose of dating sim for good measure. It respects the player’s time with quality-of-life features such as adjustable speed controls for both combat and exploration as well as a helpful autopilot mode – though it would have been nice to also see an option to save and recall party lineups and load-outs. It’s beautifully presented, too, with delightful animated Live2D characters, gorgeous (if infrequent) event images and incredibly catchy music. Most importantly, though, it plays well – and provides enough content in both its main story and endgame to keep even the most avid RPG fan busy for hundreds of hours.

Kingdom Rush Origins does a lot right, but it’s also got one major flaw that sours the experience. The gameplay is really slow overall; there are frequent moments where you’ll just be staring at the screen for extended periods of time, waiting for the enemies to waddle their way across the screen. It’s only until you get to the later waves of enemies that the flow of gameplay starts to pick up a bit. It’s a lumbering experience, and we reckon shorter, more intensive levels would be extremely beneficial.

Road to Guangdong is a tough one to score, because what it does right – the character interaction and small-scale personal dramas – are engaging enough to be worth praise. It's just that the mechanical glue holding it all together is close to disastrous at times. As a result, we can't give it a recommendation without enough caveats to make it sound like a warning. You might like Road to Guangdong, but even if you do, you'll like it despite it doing its level best to push you away.

We’ve had an absolute blast playing through these three gems all over again, especially now they look sharper than ever. It’s a shame that the presentation is practically barebones with no bonus content beyond the soundtracks, but there can still be no denying the quality of the games on offer here. This is the Beatles’ Greatest Hits of the video game world, and is an absolute treat whether you’re reliving it in HD or discovering it for the first time.

Witcheye is a quirky platformer with an innovative movement system, and it's well worth playing if you're after a fresh, bite-size handheld-focused experience. Removed from its mobile context, however, it doesn't quite have the necessary tactile appeal to overcome the game's relative lack of depth. Fun as it is, this is one mobile port that doesn't feel perfectly at home on Switch.

Fight Crab is an impressively full-featured and surprisingly good-looking game that transcends its silly meme origins and ends up as something much more. It could end up a staple party game with its joyfully nonsensical premise and well-executed crab simulating gameplay, which goes above and beyond what a crab-battling game really needs to be, and we applaud it. Some novelty titles are a complete flash in the pan, but Fight Crab sticks.

Paratopic is a fever dream; a near-constantly engaging sequence of strange and at times frightening imagery. It's intriguing stuff, to say the least, but we felt that it rather fizzled out just when our interest in the various eldritch goings-on was piquing. We found that beyond experiencing it all over again there was nothing much in the way of meaningful replay value, but as a once-through bad trip, it'll keep you glued to your Switch from start to annoyingly-abrupt finish.

Spellbreak is up against some pretty tough competition in the ongoing battle for your time and attention, but it’s an enjoyable romp that ultimately holds its own. The magic-based combat system proves to feel distinct and interesting next to other genre peers, and you’ll find likely yourself eagerly playing matches long into the night once you get a handle on things. That being said, there’s an undeniably strong sense of ‘vanilla’ to Spellbreak that threatens to kill it in its cradle, and that’s not even considering the performance problems. Either way, it only costs you some space on your SD card to see what this one’s all about, so there's really not much excuse to pass on it. We’d encourage you to give it a download and try it out; this isn’t the game to convert you if you don’t like battle royales, but it’s a respectable example of the genre in action.

It took us a little while to get to grips with Party Hard 2. After getting arrested a dozen or so times for using our knife a bit too much, we slowed down a bit and found that there’s actually an abundance of options available to you once you look out for them. There’s a lot of creativity on display here (if you ignore the fact that the game is basically a condensed Hitman), and while it can get frustratingly tricky at times, it’s nevertheless a fun way to let off some steam.

Overall, Adventures of Pip makes the biggest mistake a game can make: being boring. While the game had a lot of potential, it is brought down by being unmemorable. A great soundtrack cannot justify bland level design, a restrictive bit-switching gimmick, and a lacklustre story. There are far more imaginative and innovative platformers on Switch that deserve a look over this.

RPG Maker MV on Switch is a stripped back and limited version of its PC counterpart that removes the ability to integrate your own custom elements as well as the use of plugins. There's also very little in the way of help or tutorials and the UI can be clunky and slow to navigate. However, if you can make peace with these limitations, what's here is still a vast, hugely flexible bit of game-making software that provides those with the patience to get to grips with its systems almost limitless potential for RPG-making fun. We can't wait to see what players come up with over the coming weeks and months ahead and the free RPG Maker MV Player means that all Switch owners get to share in the fun and perhaps be inspired to join in down the line. If you're hugely serious about RPG making you may do best to stick to the PC version, but, if you just want to have some creative fun within the limits of the assets provided here, you'll have a blast.

Minoria is a great Metroidvania that we’d hate to see slip under the radar amongst the more well-known titles like Bloodstained and Hollow Knight. It’s not quite as feature-rich as some of the other titles in the genre and will only last roughly 5 hours or so, but the combat is so impressive, that we’d urge you to check it out.

MO:Astray is so confident in every facet, including its slick gameplay, well-implemented backstory, and stunningly atmospheric visuals. This is a grim, gory game, but one that retains a level of charm that could perhaps be likened to the Metroid franchise. There are so many wonderful surprises around every corner, whether it’s a new ability or a fearsomely intimidating boss battle. Don’t let MO:Astray fall under the radar; it’s a real treat and deserves to gain a place in your library.

Inertial Drift is an acquired taste. Its interesting control method eventually pays off and feels rewarding when you simply complete a course unscathed, but none of its modes are meaty enough to provide an solid package overall. If you're the type who has no issue with racing over and over again to perfect your skills, this could be a game for you. Fans of more conventional racers, however, may want to drift around it.

The Last Campfire is an unusually freeform puzzle adventure that stuffs its six-hour playtime with conundrums of every kind. While a few puzzle designs deserve more time in the spotlight – or could support whole games by themselves – the game's commitment to new ideas makes for a refreshing change of pace. This is proof that Hello Games don’t have to build a universe from scratch to entertain. More of this, please.

There’s a refreshing freedom to Paradise Killer we’ve not previously seen. You can start the trial almost immediately if you desired, which is far from sensible, but without a narrative constraining you, Lady Love Dies’ investigation is what you make it. Coming to your own conclusions can be a little overwhelming in places but successfully solving this case is immensely satisfying. For murder-mystery fans, this comes highly recommended.

Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars is a reasonably fun turn-based strategy affair with an excellent setting and some unique ideas of its own. The streamlined nature of its gameplay makes it pleasingly zippy stuff that's well-suited to strategy newcomers but a lack of real depth, a clunky UI and some dodgy enemy AI means the fun here is, unfortunately, pretty short-lived overall for anyone but genre enthusiasts and vampire fans.

Bounty Battle is one of the very worst video games we've ever played. It's got an amazing premise, for sure, and Dark Screen Games' has somehow managed to procure the use of all of these fantastic indie characters, but that's as far as the positivity goes. Everything else about this appalling mess is absolutely broken. Janky menus, awful combat, a shocking framerate, crude animations and poorly explained mechanics leave this one in a hole that's surely impossible to climb out of; a hole that should be boarded up and forgotten about. If you're considering picking this one up on the strength of that enticing indie Smash Bros. premise, trust us, run away.

With a solid new story mode, a greatly improved MyTeam mode and the same high quality of presentation that 2K now brings to the series on Switch, NBA 2K21 is now the new definitive basketball game on the system. The unwanted microtransaction ogre continues to loom over most of the package, ever encouraging you to fork out more cash to accelerate your progress, but as long as you're capable of ignoring this and have the patience to slowly improve your player and team organically, the results will be infinitely more satisfying.

Bright, technicolour visuals, punishing difficulty, excellent level design and tight controls are all hallmarks of this deliciously enjoyable sugar rush. Spinch is a short but sweet experience and one that certainly proves itself to be worthy of both your time and money. Although it’s regrettably marred by early launch performance issues, Spinch is an otherwise wonderful platformer that we’d highly recommend to anybody who just can’t get enough of the genre.

There’s plenty to be getting on with, and with gorgeous, colourful visuals and a great soundtrack, OkunoKa Madness is an excellent platformer that fans of Super Meat Boy will relish. As for everybody else; well, just get ready for a bit of a challenge…

If the look of Hotshot Racing appeals to you and you can appreciate the aesthetic delights of something that looks deliberately low-fi and polygonal, the action it offers on the track does an excellent job of backing up the game's style with substance. It may have its quirks and it may turn you into a paranoid conspiracy theorist ready to tell tales of rubber-banding to anyone who’ll listen to you, but hey: that just adds to the authenticity of the era it’s based on. This is a fine racing title that truly nails its driving mechanics and delivers an exhilarating experience that will captivate newcomers and veterans alike.

Gleamlight is worse than the majority of bad games. With most poor-quality titles, the rot is obvious from the word go. Here, the game doesn't show its true colours until you realise it's over. Surely, you'll think, it's going to pick up? It generally looks nice, after all. It was featured in at least one Indie World presentation, which is usually a mark of at least some quality. But no. It's atrocious. It's boring to traverse, feels bad to play, has an insultingly low amount of content and has nothing to recommend it. Hollow Knight is actually cheaper, and there are plenty of lower-tier Switch platformers more deserving of your time than this. FoxyLand. Goblin Sword. Polyroll. Get those three for the same price as Gleamlight, maybe less. They're not even that good, but they're ten times the game Gleamlight is. Oh! And the music's discordant clanging rubbish, too. We hope it gets a physical release so we can throw it in a bin.

The graphics are average at best and don’t look anywhere near as good as its PS4/Xbox One counterpart, and the number of bugs becomes a bit exasperating after a while. Regardless, Ary and the Secret of Seasons makes up for this with a well-told story, a fantastic gameplay mechanic centred around seasons, and a well-realised world filled with unique characters. It’s not a game we’d urge you to rush out and purchase immediately, but if you’re after an action-adventure fix, you could do a lot worse.

Lair of the Clockwork God is a difficult one to score. What it does well is brilliant – the humour is great, with constant jokes both quickfire and slow-burn – but the gameplay is a more complex matter. While it's not bad by any reasonable metric, it is awkward in places. But, then, this is intentional and comes part and parcel with the story, so do we treat it more leniently? Is there some hubris in presenting a flawed game, but distracting from said flaws by making them... kind of the point? It's a question that not even Nintendo Life can truly answer, but we can put a big number under a review of the game. We do our part.

Whether or not Moon is for you ultimately depends upon your tolerance level for aspects of late '90s game design and your overall interest in the RPG genre. As a standalone product, Moon has plenty of amusing commentary about RPGs, but much of this is likely to be lost on those who don’t much care for them. Strip away the satire, and you’re left with a mostly entertaining but somewhat simplistic point-and-click-style adventure laden with fetch quests. We’d give Moon a recommendation to those who are fascinated by its legendary status as a niche classic or to those who really enjoyed the narrative style of Undertale, but if you don’t fit into either of those groups, this might not be for you.

It almost feels like Manifold Garden might have fared better as a "walking simulator" at times; its infinitely-folding environments are works of art from any angle, and it's a little difficult to appreciate them when you're solving yet another samey block puzzle. Still, it'd be churlish to mark it down for being a game when solving its riddles isn't unenjoyable by any stretch of the imagination. We just found ourselves a little impatient to be done with them so we could hurry into the next astonishing panorama of abstract, impossible imagery. Manifold Garden is a lovely game, but sometimes the "game" bit gets a little in the way.

Jump Force is a good time for a short time; a simplistic button-masher that looks and sounds great in action but can't deliver in terms of providing players with any more than a handful of hours of dumb fun before it all becomes a bit of a bore. If you're a huge fan of the shows involved or you like your fighting nice and easy you'll get more than most out of things and jumping into an online battle – if you can find one – adds a little spice to the mix but, overall, this is a disappointingly dull, one-note affair that doesn't do its roster of ever-popular characters any sort of justice.

As a traditional football game, Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions falls flat in many ways. As its own unique interpretation of the sport, though, there's something oddly compelling about the way it gives each goalie an energy bar as if it were some sort of ball-based fighting game (Street Striker II, if you will). Play it with an open mind and as long as you're not against a game that tries something different – as well as plenty of cutscenes – you'll have fun with this one. If you're a fan of the wider Captain Tsubasa franchise, then you're going to love it even more.

It’s quite telling that caring for your pooch is generally more fun than the visual novel side of the game, but even this can get repetitive and monotonous after a while. Best Friend Forever is an admirable hybrid of two seemingly disparate genres, but both sides of the game suffer from a lack of variety as a result.

Struggling isn't the first game whose main gimmick is a protagonist who's deliberately difficult to control. Whereas other games do this for comedy effect, though, here it only serves to frustrate. It's difficult enough in single-player, but as a co-op experience you're far more likely to want to slap your friend in the face before you'll high-five them. Success does feel like an accomplishment, but the end rarely justifies the means, making this strictly a game for masochists.

Windbound is most certainly not the Zelda-lite adventure that you may have expected it to be, but it still manages to pull off an impressively well-made survival experience that’s fun to roam around in for a few hours. The open-ended progression, pleasing art style, and relaxing pace make this one an easy recommendation for fans of the survival genre, though it’s held back from greatness due to issues with repetition. Still, it’s tough to go wrong with what’s on offer here; you might want to give this one a look.

With only three modes to choose from, we wish there was a bit more meat on Boomerang Fu’s bones. The Golden Boomerang mode is a welcome change from the standard Deathmatch, but not one that’s going to keep your attention for long, and unfortunately, there’s no story mode or any semblance of plot. There are plenty of gameplay modifiers to alter how the matches play out, but ultimately, Boomerang Fu’s longevity will largely depend on how often you’re able to play local multiplayer rather than against AI bots. Still, it‘s an adorable, hilarious experience that’s great fun in short bursts.

While Takeshi & Hiroshi may immediately grab you with its charming art style, the game itself is sadly quite lacking. From start to finish, the player will feel like they are watching an interactive short film, completely removed from the world. Combined with the frustrating random elements and the lack of overall content, Takeshi & Hiroshi does not provide enough to warrant a recommendation.

Raji: An Ancient Epic is a strong debut for Nodding Head Games but it’s just a shame there isn’t more of it. It brings a respectful take on Hindu and Balinese mythology, one which has a strong narrative hook that invests you in Raji’s personal adventure whilst offering enjoying gameplay. Though it suffers from some unfortunate technical issues, this is one journey we still recommend experiencing, especially if you're a fan of the genre.

Hypnospace Outlaw really is like nothing else out there; at once an excellent puzzle game, razor-sharp satire and meticulously crafted slice of early-internet nostalgia that you can spend hours absolutely lost in. It's frequently hilarious stuff that's impeccably well-written across the board, managing to successfully bring the crazy, lawless, early rush of creativity that formed the pre-Y2K era of the internet convincingly back to life. It delivers a truly extraordinary recreation of the GeoCities era of the internet that absolutely nails its '90s aesthetic to present a living, breathing world that's a joy to spend time browsing around, soaking up the atmosphere and reliving the anarchic early days of the internet as you slowly untangle the puzzles at the heart of its narrative.

PGA Tour 2K21 plays a solid golf game with enough flexibility in its control settings to appeal to both die-hard simulation buffs and casual golf fans just looking for a quick round. Its real-life pro players are so underused they may as well not be in here and the game may not yet have the typical 2K Sports trademarks – the polished story mode, the slick TV-style presentation – but it also isn't plagued with microtransactions, and the result is a game that, refreshingly, just gets on with it.

A Short Hike is a fat-free experience from top to bottom – or should we say bottom to top? It's the kind of game that makes us just sigh with happiness when we recall our time with it, and even having played it through to its ostensible conclusion multiple times, we know for a fact there are still things to see and do on that mountain. What we have here is something of an apotheosis – a milestone in indie games akin to Cave Story, or Spelunky. The very best bits of multiple game genres, stripped of all padding and bloat, mixed perfectly into a delicious video game stew that only gets richer and richer the more you play. An exploration in every sense of the word, A Short Hike is cute without being twee, challenging without being obnoxious, and emotional without being cloying. A landmark game for all ages. Don't miss this one.

Linn: Path of Orchards looks and sounds fine, but it's such a banal gameplay experience that we can't recommend it in good conscience. It's surprisingly slick, but said slickness is in service of a game that's simultaneously completely unfair and far too easy. Unclear rules, unpredictable deaths and unacceptable controls make this an easy skip. There's potential here, but it's just too flawed to flourish. A sequel that's built from the ground up for Switch could be something special, but for now, it's a reluctant thumbs-down from us.

There aren't many games from 30 years ago that you can truly say have stood the test of time, but Herzog Zwei is such a perfectly-balanced strategy offering that it's genuinely hard to pick fault or suggest how it could be improved or enhanced. Sure, the unit AI can be a little basic, the online play is a bit jerky and the split-screen mode in multiplayer cuts off a lot of your viewing area (and also reduces the ability to launch sneak-attacks) but the core gameplay is utterly fantastic, and remains just as addictive and engaging in 2020 as it was back in 1989, when the game first arrived in Japanese stores. In single-player, the varied map types and scalable difficulty mean that Herzog Zwei will keep you entertained for weeks (if not months and years) but when played with another person – be it locally on the same console or online – this game is elevated to a whole new level of greatness. Even if RTS titles aren't your cup of tea, we highly recommend you give this one a whirl because, outside of spiritual successor AirMech, there really hasn't been a game quite like this since.

A truly pleasant game, Spiritfarer balances undemanding platforming, gentle exploration and forgiving resource management with a beautifully-realised world with a cast full of charming, likeable, memorable characters. It's a pleasure to move around in with an evocative, endearing atmosphere and a succession of gameplay styles that gel superbly and never feel like padding. It's a long game, and you may find it becomes a little rote and repetitive before the end, but if it gets its hooks into you it's a game you'll want to go the distance with. Would it be distasteful to say it's dead good?

Nexomon: Extinction does enough to make it somewhat distinct, but the unique elements can also be its undoing. It mostly succeeds in being a more deliberate and challenging take on Pokémon, but that difficulty can oftentimes come across as exhausting and artificial. If you felt let down by Sword and Shield there may be aspects of Nexomon you really enjoy, but we can't help but feel that the slow pace of battles and lack of multiplayer features prevent it from being a true rival; it's really more like a cheap alternative, but one that's arguably worth a look if you're a hardcore fan of Game Freak's famous franchise.

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition is the kind of game that will unfortunately only appeal to a relatively limited demographic. Enjoyable co-op chaos with your friends is the main draw here, but the lack of same screen or even local Switch multiplayer substantially hobbles that appeal. Couple that with simplistic gameplay that fails to provide you with much of a hook to stay with it long term, and you’re left with a rather middling experience that doesn’t do much to incite strong feelings one way or another. Newly remastered graphics and extra content certainly sweeten the deal, but we’d advise you take a good look at why you’re interested in this game before jumping in. If you intend on mostly playing solo, we’d firmly advise you to pass and instead look to the litany of other excellent solo RPG’s on the Switch, many of which are in the Final Fantasy series. If you intend on getting a new multiplayer game to play with your mates, we’d give this a light recommendation and encourage you to evaluate how much playtime you really think this will offer. Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition is far from being the worst co-op focused game on the Switch, but it’s far from the best, too, leaving it somewhere in the middle of the pack.

No Straight Roads isn’t a bad game at all, but it’s one that consistently falls short of the tremendous potential that it often hints at. The world, characters, music, and overall idea of its gameplay are ripe for a groundbreaking beat ‘em up game, but this, unfortunately, is just a so-so one. Performance problems, camera issues, and repetitive gameplay are all factors that hold this one back from greatness, but these issues are often balanced out by the spectacular boss fights, excellent soundtrack, and charming writing. We’d recommend this one to beat ‘em up fans looking for an interesting new entry in the genre, but with the big caveat that you consider this release’s flaws before taking the plunge. It’s certainly a worthwhile experience, but one that will likely disappoint if you come into it with the wrong expectations.

Despite its flaws, Bite the Bullet is a fun experience that we’d recommend if you’re a fan of franchises like Metal Slug. The game looks gorgeous, and while we do take issue with the controls and gameplay, there’s just enough here to keep you entertained throughout the campaign. Just don’t blame us if you start feeling a bit hungry…

Evergate is a wonderfully designed puzzle-platformer that starts off strong and goes from strength to strength over the course of its campaign. Every new world you encounter here adds a new twist to proceedings, gradually becoming more complex as it layers mechanics on top of one each other, enabling you to experiment and come up with your own unique ways to bound across its intricate levels. Speed-running here, for us, feels like it was tacked on for no real reason but, besides this one little misstep, this really is an essential purchase for puzzle/platforming fans and a standout example of its genre on Switch.

A highly original puzzle-platformer with a compelling body-manipulation mechanic at its heart. Helheim Hassle's particular sense of humour and occasionally fiddly controls might make you bristle from time to time, but you'll keep plugging away thanks to its inspired mechanics and varied challenges.

It may feel like it’s a few years too late, but Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is a worthwhile experience that properly celebrates a beloved IP while being a darned good action game in its own right. A striking art style, well-executed combat mechanics, and a challenging level of difficulty make this one an easy recommendation, but with the caveat that it’s a little light on original ideas and that performance can often dip to sub-par levels. It may not be perfect, but Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time acts as a great companion piece to the legendary cartoon; don’t dismiss this as just another tie-in.

The Eternal Castle is a neo-retro masterpiece. Even if you play the game from start to finish just once in a single sitting and never come back to it, this minimalist post-apocalyptic epic will stay with you for years to come. If you already have Another World and Flashback in your Switch collection and are looking for the next true evolution of the genre, look no further. They just don’t make them like this any more… and we found ourselves wondering 'why not?'.

Another key title in Nintendo's arcade history making its way to the home for the first time, Super Punch-Out!! is more eminent than it is entertaining. It's still a fun enough game for a while, but it's probably the weakest in the series: play the SNES Super Punch-Out!! on Switch Online first, and only get this if you're itching for more.

Peaky Blinders: Mastermind makes clever use of its licence, incorporating Tommy Shelby's knack for scheming and planning into the core of its time-manipulating gameplay as well as working each and every one of the gang from the hit TV show into proceedings. It's a shame that it takes quite so long for it to up the ante to the point that missions are really satisfyingly complex but what's here is certainly both fun and highly replayable for those who want to perfect each job on offer and grab gold in every mission.

Lots of care has gone into the creation of this game, and it shows with the gorgeous graphics and atmospheric soundtrack. It's a game that feels vast, and a slow burn experience for the patient gamer. It's possible that its difficulty will take some time to get used to, but it's worth persevering with this truly rewarding and excellent game. Phoenotopia: Awakening is a thoughtful, coherent game which, if you click with it, doesn't lose a step. A marvellous surprise.

Inmost tells its dark and troubling tale with plenty of style and there's an expertly handled mixing of narrative elements and satisfying gameplay mechanics for the most part that only really loses its way in the final stretch, unwisely wrestling control away from players and brute-forcing a rather neat and tidy ending that's at odds with how deftly the multi-layered story is handled early on. This and a few control niggles aside, however, are not enough to derail what is a genuinely haunting and memorable experience that's well worth checking out.

It may be a handheld game from the late '90s, but there's a solid fighting system in King of Fighters R-2 and genre fans should check it out if it passed them by the first time around. It may be a tad pricey given that it's lacking in the sort of special features many other retro releases get these days, but gameplay's where it counts and in that respect we have no complaints.

There's plenty to commend Double Kick Heroes for; it's an ambitious game, with great-looking pixel graphics, plenty of songs and modes, an enjoyable story and a general vigour to it that underpins its heavy metal aesthetic very appealingly. Unfortunately, we feel like it tries to do a little too much and ends up being rather confusing and slapdash in execution. We found the central rhythm-action gameplay to be the worst part, and that's not a great thing in any game. The disappointing soundtrack only compounded this problem, but we do appreciate that it's going to be a matter of taste in this regard. This leads us to a bit of a conundrum; Double Kick Heroes clearly has an enormous amount of love poured into it, but it's not enough for an unqualified recommendation when we just didn't quite have enough fun with it. A sequel could refine its more confused elements into something wonderful, but for the time being, you may get a (Double) kick out of this effort.

Along with the expected multiplayer modes (ranked and casual battles), Faeria delivers a compulsive, interesting and frankly enormously fun card battle experience. While not the easiest game to explain, it's an impressive teaching tool for itself, but never feels overwrought or tiresome in said education. Of the card games we've enjoyed on Switch, Faeria is easily the highlight of the bunch so far, and it deserves to do well. It's a full-featured package and stands out as an excellent card/board/strategy experience. If you want to play a fantasy card game on Switch, buy this one first.

If you’ve been curious about the property, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? - Infinite Combate is a good way to get involved, as it allows you to explore the first season of the anime and some supplementary material in an enjoyably interactive manner. Series veterans will also appreciate the opportunity to “date” their favourite characters in the Extra mode as both Bell and Ais, and the array of beautiful artwork and fun events to unlock provides good incentive for continued engagement — as does the progression system, which only really shows its depth once you’ve cleared the story. It’s just a bit of a shame the game feels like it was developed on the cheap; it’s likely some will find the simplistic dungeon graphics in particular somewhat off-putting. If you can look past that, though, this is a good adaptation of a well-loved series, with plenty of content to keep you busy in the long term.

Longevity will ultimately depend on how often you’re able to play Spitlings with friends. The story mode won’t take long to conquer, and even though there are plenty of additional characters to unlock, they’re ultimately only cosmetic, providing no real incentive to unlock them all. On the other hand, party mode is great fun, giving you complete control on how you customise your experience, from selecting a specific level to implementing various parameters (including a neat retro filter) to make the sessions more difficult.

Should you buy Megadimension Neptunia VII? Well, that depends on a few major factors. Can you stomach shamelessly pervy leerings at the bodies of the many females featured in the story? Are you okay with playing a poorly-optimized game that’s not very graphically impressive to begin with? If yes, then you just may be surprised at the quality of the gameplay that lies at the heart of this RPG. Despite its shortcomings, Megadimension Neptunia VII can be a fun game to play, and though there are plenty of better RPG’s to pick up on the eShop today, it’s impossible to deny the niche value being offered here. We’d lightly recommend this one, but with the important caveat that this is the kind of game that’s ideal fodder for buying on a big sale in the future.

A full-featured multiplayer effort, Swimsanity! excels in its frantic competitive gameplay, with a co-op experience that we found critically lacking in enjoyment. Skip the adventure mode and dive straight into Orb Rush with three friends for a good, fun time. The package holds together well despite some blandness to the visuals, and there's certainly plenty to do if it gets its (fish) hooks into you. Swimsanity! holds up well in a crowded market and we truly hope to see it succeed.

Heroes of Hammerwatch is a great culmination of everything developer Crackshell started with Hammerwatch. It contains 3 additional DLCs to sink your teeth into, along with a New Game+ mode if you’ve exhausted everything else from the experience (you can effectively keep playing indefinitely, if you wish). It’s best played with friends if you’re able, but however you choose to engage with Heroes of Hammerwatch, it proves to be a fine addition to the rogue-lite catalogue on Switch.

The Samurai Shodown games are among the best in the fighting genre: the seven games on offer here are perfect examples of this, and the exceptional Museum mode will keep you busy for hours. Its online may be a non-starter and it may have offered even more titles if it had lifted its self-imposed Neo Geo-only restrictions, but that doesn't take away from what's an otherwise strong collection of brilliant fighting games.

Skully isn’t an entirely lost cause. There’s an entertaining enough puzzle platformer hidden underneath its myriad visual flaws. It may be uglier than sin and you may be accompanied by an irritating voiceover throughout, but you’ll still have some fun playing through it and the plot does resolve itself in a nice way by the end. You'll just need to be able to roll with a lot of annoyances to get there.

At the end of the day, Fairy Tail is not a great RPG. Shortcomings in storytelling, pacing, difficulty, and performance all add up to make for a less than stellar experience which consistently seems to waste its potential. The well-made combat system and the adherence to the tone and content of the source material give occasional glimpses of the much greater RPG that Fairy Tail could be, but alas, it’s never really given the chance to spread its wings. We wouldn’t recommend you pick this one up, especially given the wealth of excellent RPGs available on the eShop right now, but we say that with the caveat that fans of the franchise will get a lot more out of this game than newcomers.

Rock of Ages 3 failed to impress us on almost any level. It's definitely a game with character, and it could feasibly work its charms on you, but in its drive to be different and unusual it seems to have neglected to be fun. Still, it certainly has an audience; broadly speaking, you don't get to a second sequel without your game mattering to someone. If you can muscle through the frustrations, you might be able to roll with Rock of Ages 3, but with so many other worthy titles on Switch, we can't say we'd recommend it.

Rogue Company is a solid, if pretty unspectacular addition to the online shooter genre. It's highly derivative – you won't find anything you haven't seen before here – but it performs impressively well in both docked and handheld, features cross-play and cross-save with other versions of the game and provides plenty of variety and strategy in its impressively large roster of rogues. With only two gameplay modes currently available there's definitely a lack of ways to play as things stand right now but this is undoubtedly a strong base on which Hi-Rez Studios can build. Add a few more modes - there's already extraction and 2v2 wingman incoming - and a steady drip-feed of new characters and this one could have a pretty decent future on Switch.

Carrion is a special thing in many ways, but its actual meat and potatoes structure is as formulaic as the genre gets. Thankfully, its core gameplay of tearing room after room of people into wet chunks of corpse never, ever gets old, and sustains the experience throughout. It looks superb, sounds great and is plenty of fun to play, despite some minor issues which just hold Carrion back from the upper echelons of the Switch library.

Ageless is the sort of game that could best be described as a great concept that almost nails the execution. The sombre narrative, cerebral gameplay, and distinct presentation are all great in their own regard, but each is plagued with enough inconsistencies and caveats to hold back the overall experience from true greatness. We’d give this one a cautious recommendation, as the distinct brand of puzzle-platforming gameplay ultimately proves to be a worthwhile experience, but this is also certainly not the ‘next Celeste’. Still, if you’ve been looking for a decent new indie for your Switch that you can clear in a reasonably short timeframe, it’s tough to go wrong here.

The addition of gyro controls is just the cherry on top of an excellent job on the part of Saber Interactive. The gameplay here has aged surprisingly well, too, and rampaging across the sandbox of Lingshan taking out human and alien foes with your nano suit technology is just as much fun now as it was way back in 2007. Crysis is easily one very best shooters currently available on Switch.

Fans of clever puzzles and masterfully told dark fairytales will delight in Creaks. Bursting with atmosphere and quirky style, Amanita's latest is full of clever puzzles and wordless storytelling. Its distinctive flavour won't be to everyone's taste, but this is an impeccably told fairytale that will also give your brain a thorough workout.

Some will find Monster Prom: XXL rubs them the wrong way – the outcome of the game often feels quite random – but it's about the journey and sharing its eccentricity with your friends. It doesn't rival the Jackbox series, but it captures a similar and very welcome vibe which could turn it into a monster hit.

The enemies you face are never particularly difficult to beat, but controlling Peet is surprisingly twitchy at times, and you’ll often run into a creature by accident, immediately taking away one of your hearts. Additionally, we simply wish the game was a bit longer. The content that’s here really is a joy to experience, and we’re of course conscious that artificially lengthening the game would no doubt diminish its value, but we can’t deny a certain level of disappointment after completing it in just a few short hours.

As we said, it's hard to review Lost Wing, because it's exactly what it looks like – a score attack-style game with ever-increasing difficulty and numerous extra tracks and game variations to unlock. Given how well it does almost every aspect of its core gameplay, it's unfortunate that this review reads like a litany of criticisms. Lost Wing is very good, but the presence of a number of issues – a couple being fairly major – mean that it could have been even better.

Dex is a well-made game, packing all the features you'd expect from a cyberpunk adventure. If that sounds like damning it with faint praise, it isn't. There's passion here for its world, and while you'll find it familiar territory if you've ever seen a cyberpunk game before, it's always fun to get your hands dirty and dig into its seedy, nasty little world. Fans of both RPGs and Metroidvanias should find something to like here. A compelling little mash-up that takes a little time to reveal its charms, but definitely delivers if you've got the patience for it.

Waifu Uncovered has a laser-focused target audience and it caters perfectly to that audience. If you fall outside of that demographic, how much you’ll enjoy this game will depend entirely on your receptiveness to hand-drawn, mildly lewd pinup-style art and puerile humour coupled with solid shoot ‘em up action. It perhaps lacks a little longevity besides chasing high scores on the online leaderboards — but if you’re looking for a quick fling with an affordable game you don’t have to think too hard about, this is a great palate-cleanser for when you’re between more substantial experiences.

Panzer Paladin's uncomplicated gameplay won't be for everyone and there are some very minor niggles that hold it back from true greatness. Even so, it has heart, and that goes a long, long way. If you're into retro throwback games then you should really give this a try; Panzer Paladin is an unpretentious, exuberant action game from start to finish, and a must for genre fans.

1993 Shenandoah is an unexpectedly polarizing title: previous Commodore Amiga owners and fans will undoubtedly love it and blissfully enjoy the sights and sounds of their beloved childhood, but folks who either missed out on the Amiga or are too young to know the machine might feel completely baffled that such titles managed to hold anyone's attention for long. Even so, we can’t deny that having games recovered from decades ago is always a welcome surprise, and for that, we are more than pleased to salute the addition of this one to the Nintendo Switch's ever-growing, ever-impressive shmup library. It's not for everyone, then, but if you loved the Amiga, then you'll probably love this.

Vigor has the potential to be a decent experience on Switch and there's no doubt it's central gameplay loops of stealthily scavenging for loot whilst avoiding other players and making a successful escape can be tense and absorbing. However, as things currently stand, there are a few too many bugs and technical issues for our liking and we'd recommend players wait for the FTP version to drop later in the year when some of these issues should have been worked out.