As it stands right now, Hot Wheels Unleashed is a fun racer whose fantastic selection of cars makes up for its relative lack of varied course environments. With updates and DLC it has the potential to become a brilliant mess of licensed properties in the way the best mash-up games are, but what’s here is a solid enough foundation to start from, even if it’s a little samey at launch.

Zarvot offers the kind of tight arcade-shooter action that lends itself well to epic local competitive scraps; what we have here is a charming, eclectic package that goes all-out to appeal to both solo and social players. It's perhaps a little too scattershot in its mixture of styles and tones, and not all of its ideas hit the target, but there's a whole lot of heart and humour to Snowhydra's little box of tricks, and that goes a long way.

Syder Reloaded is a solid addition to the steadily-growing library of quality shmups on the Nintendo Switch. The game has an engaging visual presentation, thoughtful accessibility and extras, comfortable controls, decent sound design, and a unique gameplay style that is fairly uncommon among shmups these days. And while we felt that the gameplay could be improved upon with more concentrated stages and frenetic enemy abundance, we still had a lot of fun playing and recommend the game for those looking for a fresh take on the free-scrolling shmup sub-genre.

Just Dance 4 still has the right moves, but soon might be a good time to learn a few new ones.

TNT Racers sets itself apart by refusing to focus on the traditional 'win the race' conditions of other driving titles, meshing in cross-car combat well. Its difficult later levels will ensure that you stay in the driving seat, more than possibly cursing while repeatedly hammering the retry button, for a while to come.

Tesla vs Lovecraft is a competent top-down, twin-stick shooter and arguably the most polished title in the developer's catalogue. Taking the fun but limited template of Crimsonland and building an entertaining and visually striking, but familiar and repetitive experience. It's unlikely to get pulses racing in terms of original gameplay, however, the perks system, crazy weapons and relentless explosive action should spark enthusiasm among fans of the genre.

So, whether you take a punt on Sonic X Shadow Generations for the Switch 2 will very much depend on whether you already own it or not. If you don’t, add two points to the score below and jump in: it’s a great game and this is undoubtedly the best way to play it on Nintendo systems. If you do, however, you should think twice about double-dipping. It’s already a splendid game on Switch 1, and with no upgrade path or new content, you're missing out on very little if you skip it.

Die For Valhalla! is a successful mix of several genres that mainly presents itself as a lengthy side-scrolling beat-'em-up and just like the majority of such games is best enjoyed with friends along the way. There is still a lot to chew for the lonely solo player out there, so if you into the genre and Norse mythology, do consider giving this one a possession. Odin would approve and so do we.

Picross e4 offers very little new from its predecessors.

An endearing combination of influences from art and science makes The Bridge a valuable addition to the Nintendo Switch library, especially if you've never played it before. Sometimes bogged down by showing off its aesthetic strengths at the sacrifice of fully exploring the puzzle ideas and mechanics, The Bridge does suffer slightly due to slow controls and a story/ character that deserves a little more nuance to back up its ambitious and academic influences. What it does do, however, is reward players' patience, calculation and observation with moments that rival some of the best in the genre. A genuinely interesting and challenging experience that, despite a few small flaws, will stretch mental as well as physical muscles.

While its combat design isn't perfect and the enemy AI could be better, Hard West’s supernatural-tinged Wild West shtick offers a great way to get into the XCOM formula without relying on too many random factors. And with the Scars of Freedom expansion pack included as standard, there are plenty of ways to exercise your itchy trigger finger on the go.

When it's not giving the world more reasons to 'Catch 'Em All', Game Freak continues to deliver interesting and unexpected forays into other genres. Much like Tembo the Badass Elephant before it, Giga Wrecker Alt. is a quirky left-turn that takes the exploration staples of a 2D Metroidvania and combines it with a destructible environment puzzle system for some creative and hugely rewarding puzzles. Combat is quite forgettable, but sucker-punching a boss with a giant ball can be ridiculous fun when you pull it off. It's looks might not be that memorable, but it's still a worthy way to make a mess on Switch.

Disney Magical World 2: Enchanted Edition is a fine remaster of a 3DS game that many may have missed the first time around. For players both young and old who love the classic Disney characters, spending time in Castleton may well prove a joyous experience. Some aspects — chiefly the poor character creation tool and rather basic combat — could have done with a bit more TLC in this updated version, but if you’re after a decent life simulation game, this is a nice Disney-flavoured addition to an already-thriving genre.

Overall, G.G Series ENERGY CHAIN is a fun time-sink for those looking for a cheap puzzle game to play.

More than a decade after its initial release, Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns is a worthy upgrade of a solid match-three RPG. It adds new quests and new classes for both veterans and newcomers to enjoy, and manages to resist the ‘freemium’ business model that plagues a lot of games in the genre these days. It falls down a bit on graphics and presentation, with the artwork particularly showing its age, but if you’re after a surprisingly deep puzzle adventure to get lost in, then look no further.

PixelJunk Eden 2 is an odd duck, but it delivers an enjoyable and engaging time. Despite frontloading its status as an "audiovisual experience", we found it fun in and of itself. The litmus test, of course, being "would this game still be fun if it had Vectrex-level graphics", and thankfully in this case it absolutely would. A lack of variety hurts it somewhat, but if you treat it as an occasional treat to dip into rather than an extensive campaign that must be cleared, PixelJunk Eden 2 is a welcome addition to your Switch library. Let's just hope that Eden 3 doesn't skimp on the nudity again.

Overall this stripped down DSiWare version of Puzzle League is a pretty solid puzzler with clear and concise gameplay. There is a fair amount to keep avid puzzlers busy and for the price tag the game really is a bargain. It’s a pity that the game lacks the multiplayer action of the original, but then for only 500 Nintendo points, the game is still a steal.

The graphics and (near lack of) music will be off-putting to some, but there's nothing a stereo or a music player on your computer can't solve.

If you don't mind some divisive humour and some repetitious exploration, then having this sprawling adventure on a portable actually helps alleviate some of its limitations. Just try not to keep it away from an open bar.

Payday 2’s devotion to its core gameplay mantra makes it a unique way to team up with other players on Switch, but it does seal the game’s mechanics in a time capsule that only serves to noticeably age it when seen through the prism of 2018. The inclusion of many of the game’s far more exciting DLC missions as standard does make its diverse mix of heists a more tantalising prospect for new adopters, and the relatively smooth port means it's a great way to experience the FPS on a handheld, but with the game launching with a year's worth of updates and content missing make its relatively high price tag stick out like a sore thumb.

Spirittea serves up a creative and addictive (after)life-sim loop of attending to bathhouse spirits and helping townsfolk. The tools and menus don’t offer the most fluid experience, and the minigames are often overwhelmingly complicated, but there’s enough to do here that means you can dip in and out of things when you don't like them. Anything you do like, you can soak in for hours.

Crazy Construction does what it sets out to do and little else, sticking to an inventive plan that works. With a relatively low investment of time and money, this absurd puzzle game is worth seeking out if an unconventional puzzle fix is what you’re after.

Stranger Things 3: The Game isn’t going to set any gold standards for video game tie-ins, but it does a fine job of capturing all the elements that have made the TV show such a phenomenon. Exploring Hawkins and interacting with the wider cast is really going to appeal to fans of the franchise, but the repetitive quest designs and unremarkable combat can make it a bit of a slog if you’ve yet to catch the Stranger Things bug. Still, thanks to its appealing visuals, accessible gameplay and atmospheric synthwave soundtrack, there are arguably many worse ways to spend your summer.

The main issue, however, is the game's performance, with some levels (such as the train) feeling like they play in slow motion at times. We also experienced crashes a few times throughout our post-patch playthrough — and we had to wait for the day one update thanks to the constant crashing of the unpatched version. Hopefully things will continue to improve over time, but if you happen to get a physical copy of the game, make sure you update it.

Sometimes brilliant, sometimes flawed, Phantom Trigger is a game that could have been one of the best releases on the Switch eShop to date, but is let down by a lack of new ideas. Whilst being a rather tough game difficulty-wise, many players will find fun in the easy-to-pick-up combat system, beautiful aesthetics and gripping story, but will likely find themselves getting bored after a while thanks to seeing the same enemy hundreds of times. It's a good game overall, once the pros and cons are weighed up, so it is certainly worth considering.

Link 'n' Launch is easily one of the more unique puzzlers you're ever likely to play. It takes a very basic gameplay premise and moulds a unique outer space puzzle theme around it all. Intuitive touchscreen controls and an extremely basic set of gameplay objectives make the game easy to pick up but difficult to put down.

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.

Track & Field remains as endearingly entertaining as it was when it first appeared 36 years ago. It's a little on the pricey side considering it only has six events, one of which (the high jump) is a bit of a stinker, and is obviously a one-trick pony given its subject matter. But it still does that one trick better than most games that have succeeded it, so if you're looking for a quick button-basher this is a good choice.