The core gameplay is fundamentally solid and filled with potential, but it seems like the developers gave up at halftime instead of pushing through to the end. The end result is a featureless title that feels like a demo of things to come instead of a full $40 retail release, and the lack of multiplayer is a glaring oversight.

If Space Invaders floats your intergalactic boat, Super Destronaut DX will definitely scratch your itch and the attempts to nudge and wink its way through your fond memories of neon lights and electro tunes are admirable. However, unless you’re a high score hunter or a multiplier maniac who has had their fill of more interesting shooters or music-based games on the system like Just Shapes And Beats or Lumines Remastered, Super Destronaut DX will end up being a brief time killer, but not much else.

ATV Wild Ride 3D had a lot of potential, but it turned out to be a buggy little curio instead.

Solid production values aside, Tangram Style feels like your average smartphone game bundled with all the micro transactions pre-purchased, whether you need a kid-friendly mode and 600 puzzles or not. In truth you’re bound to find products on other formats that rival this 3DS download, and probably for a fraction of the price. That doesn’t make Tangram Style bad; merely irrelevant.

If you enjoyed the first game in the Carmen Sandiego Adventures in Math series, then there's no reason for you not to get this second one. Carmen Sandiego Adventures in Math: The Big Ben Burglary doesn't add to the already existing formula established by the previous game, but at the same time it doesn't take anything away either.

It's obvious that Frozen: Olaf's Quest is aimed towards younger gamers, and it's a decent level entry into the world of platformers. For some it might feel quite short and limited, but collecting each and every treasure will take some time, therefore extending gameplay.

Life is Strange: Arcadia Bay Collection is an odd release in that it doesn't really feel like the games have been remastered at all. Certain aspects of the presentation have been improved, such as the lip-syncing and overall colour tone, but at the same time you've got some pretty unforgivable presentation drawbacks like texture and asset pop-in, muddy environmental visuals, and absurdly long load times. Considering how long it's taken for this collection to arrive on Switch, we honestly expected better. Nevertheless, these games are worth experiencing for the narrative alone, so if you've never played either and you have no other way to access them, this still comes with a light recommendation.

Although Family Table Tennis is more complete than the Table Tennis game found in Wii Play, its single player is greatly outclassed by the single player mode in Wii Sports Tennis.

The Bradwell Conspiracy offers an intriguing take on the first-person puzzler formula, even if its USP lacks the simple creativity of other similar puzzle games. The story itself has some real potential, but it ultimately fails to really flesh out some of the more interesting beats hinted at in news reports and audio logs. More interactive than Firewatch but far less challenging than The Witness, this is a puzzler that’s ultimately more style than substance. And with so many issues with performance in its launch state, The Bradwell Conspiracy on Switch doesn’t prove itself to be the ultimate portable version it really should be.

To an extent, we feel we’re being hard on Moon Raider, but compared to the plethora of excellent Metroidvania titles on Switch, this title is just 'all right'. It’s not bad, but its various flaws mean it's certainly not great, either. At around three hours in length, there are absolutely worse ways to spend your time, and the game does also include a neat co-op option to increase its longevity somewhat. Ultimately though, if you’re after a thrilling, memorable 2D action title with a dash of originality, this sadly isn’t it.

Identical gameplay and setup to its predecessors makes Anonymous Notes Chapter 3 a well-known quantity at this point, so whether it's worth diving into is dependent on how much you cared about the other two episodes. Nothing here will convert a nay-sayer, but if you want to get your dungeon crawling on the cheap then Chapter 3 is an adequate way to do so.

Layers of Fear 2 is a rather disappointing follow-up to 2016's interesting and effective psychological horror effort. There's a decent premise here, a strong setting and an opportunity to tell an interesting tale, but it feels wasted for the most part. Despite looking and sounding great, predicable scares, repetitive gameplay, disappointing puzzles and a story that just never makes a decent connection result in a game that's pretty hard to recommend overall.

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate – Deluxe Edition is as problematic as its title is long

36 Fragments of Midnight does a lot of things right - a cute protagonist, nice platforming, and an easy to understand objective make it seem like you’re onto a winner. Unfortunately, though, even with its low asking price it is hard to fully recommend a game that can easily be completed in under 15 minutes. It is a shame because there is a lot of promise here; some players may find themselves wanting to keep playing to beat their times but, ultimately, there is only a very small amount of content on offer. Many will have hoped for something more.

Mother Russia Bleeds is a proficiently-made side-scrolling beat 'em up that ultimately fails to drag this already limited genre forwards with any great new ideas of its own. Add in a wearyingly mature aesthetic and you're left with an oddly downbeat button-mashing action game; fans of the genre should wait for the forthcoming Streets of Rage 4 or download Capcom's superb Beat 'Em Up Bundle.

Although it seems to be one big parody, it becomes overwhelming taking in all the made-up words and terms that are meant to mean or represent something important within the context of the game, but in actuality add very little to the overall experience.

Players who fell in love with Ace Attorney will no doubt view Justice for All as a must-have expansion to the first release. But those who were unconvinced that Phoenix Wright was the second coming of Atticus Finch are unlikely to be swayed by this new evidence.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants is not the steaming cash grab that you might have assumed by seeing the publisher involved. Neither is it anything close to the action-packed highs that we have seen from the heroes in a half-shell in recent years. Instead, we are left with a game that is perfectly serviceable but ultimately forgettable, let down by repetitive levels and combat and lacking any reason to go back for more. If, for some unknown reason, this is the only Turtles beat ‘em up that you can access, then you will likely have a perfectly fine 90 minutes of playtime. But the alternatives on Switch deliver much more memorable, satisfying TMNT experiences.

It's hard to fault PENTAPUZZLE on a functional level — everything you need to have a mildly amusing time is present and accounted for. With that said, we'd caution you to think hard before spending the launch price of $4.49 on something this middling; there are other options that offer similar experiences for very little, and some of them with a lot more content.

Redeemer: Enhanced Edition is something of a misnomer. Yes, it’s the same two-year-old top-down brawler/twin-stick shooter, but there’s very little that’s been enhanced here. Local co-op is technically a new feature for the game but considering its woeful performance on Switch that’s not much of an addition. There’s an attempt to divide skills between two different paths, but with such a barebones approach to stealth, you’ll often just run in, pull limbs off and start dealing death loudly. If these issues can be addressed then those looking for Mortal Kombat-levels of gore will slake their thirst for blood, but until then, its performance remains as battered as your unfortunate enemies.

Touken Ranbu Warriors is a game best suited for players with little experience with the Dynasty Warriors series in general. If this is meant to appeal primarily to fans of the free-to-play games – with far lower expectations when it comes to action games – as a great big slice of Touken Danshi fan service, this will be a great addition to their collection. For players less versed in the world of Touken Ranbu, this is a much harder sell, offering a rote, repetitive game loop that does little to slake your thirst for a more meaningful, evolving game experience. This criticism could arguably apply to all of the Warriors games, but where the bigger license-based games add to the formula, Touken Ranbu Warriors feels like a distillation. In a lot of ways and for certain audiences this is perfectly fine. By this point in time, the Dynasty Warriors machine is a well-oiled, refined and polite product; the video game equivalent of a Honda Civic. But even with a well-loved product as reliable as that, there comes a point when it's just time to get with the times.

Apex Legends on Switch delivers the full-fat Battle Royale experience we know and love in a heavily compromised state. There's still fun to be had here if you can lower your expectations but, over time, the massive graphical downgrade and niggling framerate and performance issues begin to grate. If you've got no other choice but to play on Switch we'd recommend diving in and seeing how you fare before splashing any cash on paid versions or battle passes but, overall, this is a game that is best experienced on other platforms – at least until Panic Button can steady the ship somewhat with future updates.

911 Operator is a fun way to pass the time and its realistic depictions of how to use the emergency services make it all the more commendable. It is, however, repetitive and may not be picked up again after an initial play-through.

Avatar isn't a bad game, it just rarely rises above the average, despite borrowing heavily from some superb games.

Airoheart is a passable game, but hardly one we would recommend you rush out to buy unless you simply cannot get enough of the 2D Zelda formula. It follows A Link to the Past's template so closely that it could never be classed as 'bad', but in a crowded market of homages, tributes, and variations on the theme, it does very little to stand out. We would suggest you pick this up only after you’ve played through A Link to the Past, the Link’s Awakening remake, and both the Blossom Tales games, and you still don’t feel you’ve gotten enough of that specific brand of top-down gameplay. Airoheart provides an adequate adventure, and for $40 at the time of writing, we simply expect more.

With a slick aesthetic, some great synthwave tunes, and intense cybercycling through dilapidated space tubes, Gripper gets a lot right and we enjoyed those parts of it. We can forgive repetitive voice acting, but the other half of the game — the arena boss battles — is egregiously frustrating. The main gripping mechanic fails to work far too often with so much happening on screen, leading to a difficulty level that requires grudging patience rather than player skill. Thus, by the end of the game, our patience for this sci-fi mashup of genres had run out.

If you've got enough patience you'll probably be able to mine for the diamonds in the rough - but the easily frustrated should steer far clear.

The Sega Ages version of Puyo Puyo does the best it can with the source material it has, but that offered fairly slim pickings in the first place. A few optional tweaks to the controls make it a little less frustrating to play, but the reality is that compared to other Sega Ages offerings this has probably had the least work put into it. Puyo Puyo devotees will want it because it’s where the series all began, but everyone else should look into alternatives if they want to keep coming back for another one of those blob-dropping feats.

Deer Hunting King isn’t a broken game, but it does feel a lot like a stripped-down version of the 3DS eShop hunting sims that came before it. The missions add a much-appreciated sense of purpose, though most of them are recycled over and over again making for a distinct lack of variety. If you’re looking for a new 3DS hunting experience, this one might hold you over for the time being, but bigger and better releases are sure to be just over the horizon.

The fast-paced Color-Cade and some of the more complex later levels of Story Mode are quite entertaining, but the lack of lives in the game's main section makes the majority of its stages an extremely tedious affair. Those with the patience to tunnel deep enough will find an enjoyable experience, but overall, this gem is definitely a flawed one.

AeternoBlade isn't a bad game, it's just bland and occasionally frustrating.

We can’t recommend you purchase Shinorubi over other games in the genre, but, in handheld mode, there’s thankfully still something for diehard fans to play for, if only out of curiosity.

Mystery Murders: Jack the Ripper isn’t a particularly bad game, it’s just repetitive, unfocused – and if we’re being honest – somewhat mediocre. It truly does feel like a budget game that would have been released during the 90’s era of PC gaming. Fans of the genre will probably find some enjoyment here but it would be realistic not to expect anything all that memorable. Weak story delivery and mediocre gameplay elements make Jack a dull boy.

Embr has the potential to be a good time, a slapstick bit of carnage with friends that provides a decent amount of missions to blast through and plenty of unlockables and variations on modes to keep you and your party of first responders busy. However, on Switch this potential goes almost entirely unrealised as the online component of the game is a bust. Get a few Switch-owning friends to set up a match and you may find some fun here but without crossplay, and factoring in a few other gameplay irritations, this one is quite hard to recommend on Nintendo's console.

Headsnatchers is a cool premise let down by really poor controls. The multiplayer modes are pretty decent as a whole, with some of the more simplistic objectives providing the most frantic fun, for a little while. On the flip side, if you enjoy single-player experiences, avoid this one at all costs, because the one solo mode available is an absolute chore to play thanks to wonky movement and awful platforming mechanics.

If you find the prospect of dragons fighting each other intriguing and you have money to blow, then it might be worth looking into this title, even though it's a bit of a steep gamble at 800 DSi Points.

We can't pretend this isn't a disappointment. After promises of updates and improvements to this classic title, what we've got is something that we'd honestly not recommend to either prospective new fans or enthusiasts of the original Alex Kidd. We're inclined to think this may have been something of a rushed release, but that's pure speculation based on some of the more lax features (there's a lot of new dialogue but almost all of it is awkwardly written, with typos and errors). Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is not horrible by any means, and you might have fun with it until you run up against its irritating issues — unless you use infinite lives, in which case you'll finish the game in two hours, tops. If this was supposed to be Alex Kidd's big comeback, we're sad to say that we don't think we'll be seeing that Alex Kidd: High-Tech World remake any time soon.

Run Run and Die may look deceptively cute, but with a title like that we suppose we've only got ourselves to blame for underestimating its difficulty.

WRC Generations marks the end of a series that has never really hit cruising speed on Switch. Like its predecessors, its look and feel are subpar and while it has a lot of content, it's a struggle to enjoy it fully given how many compromises you have to make. After a lot of time spent with it, you’ll finally start to see results, but this is a game that perhaps requires too much compromise on the player’s part to appeal to anyone but the most ardent rally fans.

Perhaps Nikoli is too pleased with its hand-crafted puzzles to mechanise them with video game conventions, but lacking the will to really embrace its new medium ultimately will keep these puzzle packages from hitting their potential. Slitherlink by Nikoli suffers from the same indifference as previous - and likely future - releases, making it a tough sell for someone looking for more than just paper puzzles.

Europa doesn’t ask much of you, but left us asking lots of questions. The story feels half-baked, the controls are clunky, and we’re still unclear on the objective. The beautiful backdrop is its best feature, and it’s very relaxing to play in parts. It’s hard to recommend this game because there’s nothing it does terribly, but there’s nothing it does terribly well either. Every element present here can be found elsewhere, and better – with no need to travel to a moon of Jupiter.

My Time at Sandrock is a decent new entry in the farm sim genre, though not one that we’d say you need to play. To its credit, its mixture of open-ended farming, crafting, socializing, and questing is compelling and could easily drive dozens of hours of gameplay if it gets its hooks in you. However, everything My Time at Sandrock does has been done elsewhere, and better. Couple this with the mess of technical problems at launch, and you’ve got a game that has its draws but does very little to demonstrate that it’s worthy of your attention. If you’ve already started and finished several farms across the likes of Stardew Valley, Harvestella, and Story of Seasons, and are looking for something new — and you're not too bothered by bland presentation and technical hiccups — then My Time at Sandrock could be a decent way to keep working the land. That said, we’d recommend you wait for a deep sale, ideally several months from now once time proves whether those patches ever come.

All in all, Akihabara is a fun blend of genres that uses its Tetris-inspired roots to produce some fine puzzling. However, the lack of modes, repetitive gameplay, and poor presentation make this one for the more hardcore puzzle fans alone.

NORTH is not a video game, per se, at least not in the traditional sense. It is an interactive piece of electronic art one can choose to indulge in order to better understand the plight of refuges. As such the messages might escape those who are too young to understand the real-life parallels or those who are too old and with prejudice too care. If you like cyberpunk science fiction and don't mind experiencing simulated oppression, give this a shot. There is certainly nothing quite like it on the eShop and for the asking price and a mere moment of your time will give you modern society conundrums that will haunt you for years.

Playing Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff is a great way to introduce young gamers to the decidedly difficult Metroidvania sub-genre of platformers, but anyone looking for a challenging or fulfilling experience will be sorely disappointed.

Bugsnax is a game that is brimming with potential, but struggles in actual execution. Capturing hundreds of adorable snack-themed creatures sounds like such a great idea, but the lack of memorable characters, a frustrating control scheme, repetitive gameplay and numerous technical and design problems, particularly on Switch, makes for a somewhat lukewarm experience. There is certainly fun to be had here, but once you’ve played for a few hours, the magic fades and you’re left with a disappointing game that doesn’t live up to expectations.

Waku Waku Sweets will absolutely not be to everyone’s taste. However, much like a chef’s speciality dessert, it’ll be devoured by fans of its distinctive happy-go-lucky visual style and those who enjoy the cooking sim genre. As is, its lack of challenge, silly plot, and niche visual style make it difficult to recommend to everyone, but it certainly isn’t without merit.

Finding out the dark past that the main character tries so hard to keep bottled up is, at times, intriguing. However, the repetitive task of cherry-picking customers to come into the prestigious club will prove to be dull for many, and simply won’t be enough to keep you playing in order to see one of the multiple endings. Still, there isn’t another time-management title like this on Switch right now, so if you're looking for something with a very different pace and with an adult theme, you might gain some enjoyment.

It's let down as a brain training title, sporting an ineffective categorisation system and progress tracker as well as failing to teach specific strategies that apply to the task at hand, instead largely relying on the player to learn through trial and error.

If you're a fan of the Princess Maker series you'll already know whether or not Princess Maker - Faery Tales Come True is your bag. You'll probably be able to overlook the complete lack of tutorials, abysmal translation job, sometimes backwards attitudes towards women and repetitive nature and get down to enjoying a strange little sim/management game that's unquestionably suited to the portable nature of the Nintendo Switch. However, newcomers should beware that this really is a careless and sloppy port of a very old game that doesn't show any real effort on the part of its developers to reward you for parting with your cash.

Many of the problems with this 3DS version link back to the uniqueness of the Wii game: its motion controls have not translated well to the cramped button and touch screen layout on the 3DS.

With that all said, the core mechanics of online competitive Pokémon battles remain as solid as a Steelix. Predicting whether your opponent will switch out their Whimsicott, protect with their Mega Charizard Y, or try to catch you off guard with a powerful, offensive attack creates mind games as addictive and intense as ever. And as someone who has participated in competitive Pokémon on-and-off since 2011’s Pokémon Black & White, the ease with which I can now train Pokémon has me hopeful that Champions will, much like Scarlet & Violet before it, evolve into a more complete, comprehensive experience. But as it stands, the convoluted monetisation, disappointing performance, and inexplicable bugs make this another lacklustre Pokémon experience to add to the pile.

Though its gameplay can be entertaining enough in short bursts and its art looks nice, SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off proves to be a disappointing take on the beloved IP. Shallow gameplay, performance issues, and weird controls make for an experience that’s simply ‘ok’ at best. Considering that you can also access a version of this game on your phone for free, we can’t fully recommend that you spring for this one. There are much worse things you could buy off the eShop, but SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off simply doesn’t offer enough value for its asking price.

Gururin is proof that sometimes the best puzzle concepts are sometimes met with a harsh dose of ‘average’. Despite doing nothing technically wrong, it sadly falls short of other offerings on Neo Geo like the previously released Magical Drop series or the still stubbornly Switch absent Puzzle Bobble series. As such it is only truly recommended to the puzzle fan with nothing else to currently play or the rabid digital Neo Geo collector. Everyone else should just let this one drop.

Things like the touchscreen map should have opened up the opportunity to plan out strategies and position troops about the battlefield, but your allies never live up to your demands, and organising a strategy is rendered useless by the idiotic AI. There are a lot of missed opportunities here, as strategic troop planning could have added a lot of depth to the title.

Worth a look for die-hard mini-game score addicts, providing you're willing to repeat, repeat, repeat. For most though there won't be enough gameplay here to satisfy.

Modern Combat Blackout is a decent step forward for the series on mobile, but in the presence of DOOM, Wolfenstein II, Paladins and even Payday 2, it simply doesn’t stack up. There’s plenty to appreciate here – the integration of single-player missions, Spec Ops challenges and multiplayer matches into one hub is a really great feature, but the mediocre gameplay and mobile-centric quality levels really water those positives down. Modern Combat could be a great series on Switch, but only if it’s built for the system from the ground up, and not clumsily ported from mobile.

King of Seas gets off to a pretty decent start with a promising story and combat mechanics that are initially fun to engage with. However, the repetition isn't long creeping in. This is a game that's seriously lacking in any sort of depth, jettisoning much of its early promise in favour of a bog-standard narrative, hugely repetitive side quests, overly punitive combat that thinks nothing of wasting your time and a constant, mind-numbing grind that very quickly becomes a tedious waste of effort. If you're absolutely desperate for a high seas adventure, there's still a measure fun to be had with the combat in brief stints here but, beyond that, this one really is more of a Sir Francis Drag than a Sir Francis Drake.

Cast of the Seven Godsends is an old-school homage that sadly falls short of delivering a completing experience that lives up to the seven godsends mechanic. The six levels are extremely challenging (and a little unfair); bosses will blissfully bash you in merciless, over and over until you either somehow manage to reach them with Kandar fully-upgraded or get the dreaded 'Game Over' screen. Despite some potential, it's hard for us to recommend this game considering the plethora of superior 2D action platformer games already available on Switch. Perhaps the Gods should have better left Kandar rest in peace on his tomb instead of demanding such an infuriating quest of him (and you).

Assassin’s Creed III on Switch is easily the weakest 'Remastered' version of the game that’s been released thus far. The expected graphical bells and whistles are mostly absent and this game feels more like a straight port of the 2012 original. Framerate issues plague many of the busier areas of the open world and make combat and traversal a chore for the most part, while audio problems are also a constant niggle. Granted, this is still the full-fat game and the fact that it's available to play on-the-go and includes all the DLC (and a pretty nice HD version of Liberation) is impressive, but there's no escaping the fact that it's a lacklustre port of one of the weakest Assassin's Creed titles.

If you're really into your party games, then Finding Nemo: Escape to the Big Blue may entertain you with its slightly tougher mini-games, but it goes without saying that there are much better titles in the 3DS library to choose from.

There will be a niche market that TABLETOP GALLERY appeals to, and the titles do offer moments of distraction to those with an interest in such games - but there is very limited enjoyment to be found here for the average gamer; most will happily bypass this one altogether.

Serious Sam Collection is two-thirds amazing, but the final third is a real technical mess; Serious Sam 3: BFE is one of the least impressive Switch ports we've ever seen. It's playable, but surely the machine that can push out an acceptable version of Doom can manage this? There's the potential for early patches to improve matters, but the way it is now, we can only recommend The Serious Sam Collection as a great way to play the First and Second Encounters. That's not what's advertised, though, and as a result, we can only give this package a cautious recommendation. A three-game collection should be a three-game collection; not two games and the faintest suggestion of one.

The Magic Hammer is the sort of game a child may have fun with for a couple of hours of distraction.

However, it's clear that the game - like the film - is aimed at a younger audience, and will certainly appease children with less demanding expectations. The more experienced gamers out there, however, will find limited enjoyment here, and anyone hoping for rip roaring ride should steer clear of this one altogether.

Mad Carnage has a few things going for it in the form of its movement mechanics and the comic strip-led story sections, but they’re packaged together with an experience that doesn’t do them justice. Everything else is far too basic, and thus it fails at building a cohesive experience that we could recommend.

Blue Collar Astronaut has its heart in the right place. It's a game that makes the most of its theme, with a beautifully cynical, anti-capitalist conceit that's sure to crack a few smiles. Sadly, the actual game underneath is competent but not really worth clocking in for — it's a simple, thruster-based delivery challenge that's decently fun, but doesn't hold up well to either repeat or extended play; its pleasant touches are balanced out by presentation problems in equal measure. You can sense the developers' passion for their project — which is worth a lot — but as a package, it comes up a day late and a dollar short.

This collection could be recommended for those who want to casually drop a few credits in a Psikyo game here and there, and are not going to become too concerned about learning or clearing the game. If you are the type of player who respects the original versions of these classics, however, and wants to experience the feel of the intended gameplay, the Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha is not a worthwhile purchase.

AeternoBlade is one of those games that’s frustrating, not because anything in it is broken, but because brief glimpses of excellence show what could’ve been. It's a decent game, but mediocrity rears its ugly head in nearly every aspect. You could do much worse with Metroidvania games than this, but there’s very little here that you haven’t seen done before, probably better. If you are chomping at the bit for every Metroidvania you can find for Switch, then perhaps AeternoBlade is worth the punt. If that’s not you, we’d suggest a better release in the genre - such as like Axiom Verge or Shantae: Half-Genie Hero - and to sit this one out.

Goat Simulator: The GOATY is a definitive edition of Coffee Stain Studios' slapstick destruction simulator, and as such, it's a mixed bag that varies wildly in quality. The base modes are fun for about five minutes, and there's only so much entertainment to be had from launching a farm animal from the top of a roller coaster before it becomes dull. The Waste of Space and MMO Simulator expansions are decent fun in their own right thanks to a greater sense of structure, but the purposefully crude mechanics will start to grate after a while. This is a package that arguably works best as a smartphone proposition for when you've got five minutes to kill; when placed on a proper console with many more worthy uses of your time, it all starts to feel more than a little inconsequential.

It's a crying shame - not to mention an almost unbelievable situation - that Mutant Football League: Dynasty Edition is currently the only American football game on Switch; Nintendo fans certainly deserve much, much better. Due to the annoying 'dirty tricks' system and unpredictable field changes, the experience leads to many cheap situations which, while mixing things up, don't make the game fun to play. It has the over-the-top aggression of its spiritual forerunner - 1993's Mutant League Football - and a sizable amount of content, but it's simply not an enjoyable experience after a few games, even when a second person is involved.

There are far worse mech-based efforts on the Switch than Gigantic Army, and we can’t deny the endearing, nearly “kusoge” appeal of this title. The potential is certainly here, yet it is never truly fulfilled. There are quite a number of better options out there within the same price range. We can only recommend this half-hour generic mecha blast-fest curio to the most dedicated hardcore fans of the genre. The passage of time has not been kind to Gigantic Army, but we do hope this is won’t be the only Astro Port game to see a Switch re-release.

Once you've got the hang of things Power Spikes II is a simple volleyball game that can provide some entertainment. There's a range of serve options, power shots and frantic moments where you hope to get to the ball in time, but the simplified nature leads to little variety even with the various shot types. There are times you can score quickly (maybe even from a serve) and there is a rush of excitement when you do so, but there is also a lot of time spent knocking the ball back-and-forth, simply tapping left or right to get into position to make sure the process can continue. Ultimately Power Spikes II is a little too simple to offer long term appeal.

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.

For the first couple of worlds it's a simple, addictive little platformer with tight level design. Unfortunately, the game loses its way by not introducing enough new ideas to keep things fresh, and by relying too heavily on trial-and-error in the back half of the quest.

POKER DICE SOLITAIRE FUTURE succeeds as a simple and accessible GamePad application that will allow poker diehards and high-scoring addicts to pass a little time while their television is in use. Unfortunately, it's such a bare-bones package that there's not much incentive to keep returning for more.

Wooden Sen'SeY has all of the materials to be a winner — sharp visuals, clever touches and plenty of charm. The execution falls down, however, as the intention to offer 'old-school' difficulty isn't backed up by polished physics and impeccably structured level design.

Had Rayman not been so annoyingly cheap then it would be a highly recommended platformer. Unfortunately, it is annoyingly cheap and should only be traversed by those with either a masochistic streak or diehard Rayman fans.

We liked much of Chernobylite and this is a playable port with a fairly solid frame rate, but too many things held us back from scoring it any higher - the graphical downgrade, the tedious death loop, and most egregiously, the multiple crashes that we experienced throughout. We never lost any progress but almost a dozen crashes in the 15-20 hour runtime are worth noting.

King Of The Monsters is simple to play, but with a range of moves available as you fight your way through the different creatures. Outside of aesthetics the monsters largely play the same however, making the fights quite repetitive. The game works well with the five minute caravan mode as you attempt to smash up as much of the city as possible, whilst not loosing the fight to increase your score. There's no long term appeal with the game, but turn off continues and boot it up for a few two-player fights every now and then and it can still provide some entertainment.

On paper, Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3 does so much right, with a bigger roster of racers, more kart customisation, and the oft-requested addition of voice acting, which does add to the atmosphere considerably. But on the track it's hugely disappointing, with a severely reduced frame rate compared to its predecessor, making everything feel more sluggish as a result.

Overall, Hive Jump is a disappointing game in light of the attention and buzz it once attracted. There are the bones of an interesting concept here, but it never seems to come together quite right once everything gets rolling. Repetitive gameplay, disappointing performance and ho-hum presentation make this a game that’s 'ok' at best. We’d recommend this one only to players who are eager for a co-op action shooter for their Wii U. It does what it says on the tin, just don't expect to come away from this one wowed by the experience.

On the whole though, while some fun can be had if you really dig in and attempt to learn Shockman with total conviction, it remains the lesser of its series, has aged fairly poorly, and will really only appeal to diehard retro enthusiasts who want to own a piece of gaming history on a modern format.

Soul Axiom has some strong points to make it potentially enticing for eShop enthusiasts; it works hard to deliver an interesting narrative, there are plenty of hours of play, and it's atmospheric and intriguing at times. There are downsides though, with performance and puzzle design often middling and sometimes poor, which both drag the experience back somewhat. Perhaps worth a punt - at a budget price - for fans of first-person puzzles, but Soul Axiom sadly doesn't deliver to its full potential.

Many of the avoidable snags found in GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon were solved by genre predecessors long before this game was announced. There is no doubt that in a few patches time this could be a fantastic game — but that's if Konami, which hasn't been in many gamer's good books for a long time, actually grants the development team the time and the funding to work on it. As it stands the game could end up being something special, the trouble is other similar Switch titles already are.

By offering five games in one it fails to offer a definitive version of anything, and even a pretty decent take on horse racing isn't worth the price of admission unless you're planning on really diving into the other sports as well. As a multiplayer title it could be fun to climb the ranks online, but as a single player experience it's totally functional yet painfully lifeless. It's laid out the groundwork, but Sports Superstars just needs to take a few more risks.

While it’s great to see Ubisoft finally giving Nintendo Switch a platform exclusive, it’s frustrating that it has to come in the form of a competent yet throwaway party game. Having said that, superior hardware and far more accurate motion controls make this the best Sports Party instalment yet, so if you’re looking for a new addition to your local multiplayer setup this Joy-Con-happy collection of simplified sports should tickle your fancy, in-between rounds of Super Mario Party, of course. However, there’s an almost crippling lack of depth to each discipline that anyone hoping for more than a casual party experience will be sadly disappointed.

Cradle of Egypt 2 isn't a bad game because it doesn't deliver what it sets out to. In fact, aside from a few gameplay niggles and its rather basic visual style, the title is quite playable, and fans of the Match-3 genre will likely find it absorbing. The problem with it is that it's virtually a carbon copy of the games that precede it.

Overwhelming for newcomers and probably too generic for genre aficionados, Touhou Gensou Wanderer Reloaded is difficult to recommend to all but die-hard series fans. The beautiful hand-drawn presentation and high production values are hindered severely by a contrived and intrusive interface, unimportant dialogue with very little character development and derivative mechanics. It certainly looks the part, but there are more fun and interesting adventure roguelikes such as Crypt Of The Necrodancer on the eShop right now.

When all is said and done, when the glow of the stylish aesthetic and the intrigue of the Cyberpunk Orwellian narrative have fizzled out, Neon Chrome emerges as an average, sometimes fun but more often than not generic twin-stick rogue-like with a Sci-Fi coat of paint; it rarely lives up to its explosive promise or explores its thematic potential in any meaningful way. It could be argued that the genre is solely about the mechanics, but with a neglected back story failing to compliment the reasonable if hardly revolutionary gameplay, it's difficult not to feel a little flat about the experience on offer.

Super Bomberman R Online joins many of its peers as the latest classic franchise to receive a battle royale twist. It’s not entirely successful, with technical issues including freezing during gameplay and awfully long waits to get into matches alongside a battle pass and microtransaction system that just doesn’t fit in with the nature of the game. Underneath all the added padding, however, is the same classic Bomberman gameplay that’s tweaked to fit 64 players, making it an experience that you should, at the very least, download and try out. It’s free Bomberman, after all.

3Souls - Episode 1: Nelesa has an intriguing story, character and setting, but ultimately falls short of its full potential as a puzzle platform game.

Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle certainly has some interesting elements - most notably its team-splitting mechanic and use of classical Japanese folklore - but thanks to the rigidity of its first-person dungeon crawling design it soon loses steam and you’re left exploring a vast castle full of dangerous yokai and unimaginative level design. It takes plenty of inspiration from those that came before it, but does little to innovate on its own merit.

Disney Universe plays it safe in nearly every way, and that's a problem.

Nothing about FAR S Ultra is particularly offensive (except the music, which is a crime against the concept of ears). It has some clever ideas but the execution is a little lacklustre, and the relatively low number of tracks combined with the annoying AI and the unforgiving nature of its difficulty means it certainly won't be to everyone's tastes. If you don't have Fast RMX then get that first, but we've played worse racing games for $7.

Outbuddies DX tries to mix things up a bit with unique features like a playable drone partner. The problem is, it tries to be a little too clever for its own good, and its failure to effectively pull off solid fundamentals like the controls and the map system means that the gimmicks suffer as a result. There's a lot we want to love about this game, but its constant annoyances make that hard.

Other DSiWare games have raised the bar significantly in terms of presentation and polish, and Beach Party Craze doesn't come close to offering a premium experience on the platform.

Ultimately it tries to mould action defence play with RPG levelling but optimises neither, leaving a passable but uninspiring end result.