Pokémon Rumble U is straightforward fun that's a far cry away from the main Pokémon titles, but it does pair some key strategic elements of the series with the button bashing – though there are definitely moments where there's too much going on to keep real track of, which does lead to more reliance on the latter than the former.

If you’re looking for a game to get the whole family gathered around the TV - or your Nintendo Switch in tabletop mode - during the school holidays or at a party, Carnival Games offers plenty of silly mini-games to get everyone swinging their Joy-Con. It’s nothing remarkable, but the new games do offer a little more variety than the previous versions, so if you’re looking for a quick pick-up-and-play alternative to Super Mario Party, this colourful collection could be the virtual funfair trip for you.

While it makes the most of the unique functionality that the 3DS has to offer, it’s woefully repetitive and quickly becomes a monotonous affair. Beyblade fans may find enjoyment in its accurate depiction of the franchise’s universe, but that doesn’t disguise the fact that this is a flawed title that is clearly lacking in entertainment value.

Gargoyles Remastered is an okay remaster of an okay game. Its moody 16-bit visuals and challenging difficulty will no doubt appeal to some, especially fans of the show, but its short length and often unfair design certainly hold it back from greatness. We’d say this one might be worth picking up if you can find it on a pretty decent sale down the road—it’s entertaining enough despite its shortcomings—but you’re not really going to be missing out on a ton if you choose to pass on it.

It’s a real shame that YesterMorrow performs so poorly, because visually it’s a real treat, and it’s backed up by a pretty great soundtrack. More importantly though, its gameplay – while functional – can’t hold a candle to a game like Celeste, and we feel it really should have nailed this aspect if it’s to be successful. YesterMorrow may be worth a go if the severe technical issues get ironed out, but it’s by no means a must-buy.

We really wanted to love Canvaleon, but grinding for resources, one-hit deaths and some wonky design choices makes this an uneven experience. It's a fresh idea that needed a better execution, but could prove to be a hit with anyone who can look past its flaws.

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.

Frustrating controls, simplistic gameplay and relatively poor graphics make for a forgettable title.

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

Its cheap scares and repetitive gameplay fail to live up to the promise of that first hour and winds up feeling like you're just going through the motions.

We suspect this game was rolled out with a minimum staff and development time so as to maximize profits in the tradition of the worst sort of licensed games. But in spite of all of that, with simple mechanics and classic board game style play, it can become quite addictive.

As it stands, there's definitely still enjoyment to be found here, though it's only in the latter half of that combination: the simple fun of the flying sequences could be enough to carry the game for some players, but the severely limited dress-up side of the experience will leave fashion-conscious enchantresses disappointed.

Real Heroes Firefighter 3D suffers from below-par visuals and a game engine that feels nothing short of cheap. It isn't a patch on the Wii version - which wasn't outstanding to begin with - and any fun that the game provides disappears quickly in a puff of smoke thanks to annoyance after annoyance. With so many other titles out there, it really can't be recommended.

A very thin package that feels almost aggressively old-school through its distinct lack of features. While the core game is addictive as ever, the puzzles end too soon and the rest of the content is so underwhelming that you'll wonder how much time it actually spent in the kitchen.

We're not sure where things went wrong, but Mighty No. 9's finished product is just a "mega" disappointment.

If you can't find anything better to spend your money on at this point in the eShop's life, somebody should probably take your wallet away.

RIOT - Civil Unrest could have been something special, but its move to Nintendo Switch from other platforms hasn't seen that potential embraced any further. The lack of touchscreen support and the absence of a proper tutorial mode are odd decisions considering how difficult it can be to follow the action when playing in handheld/tabletop mode. Even its use of real-life clashes between protesters and police fails to bring anything insightful or interesting to the table. Sadly, this riot is already fizzling out.

The biggest problem faced by Lux-Pain is the poor effort that appears to have been made to localize the game effectively and this lets down an otherwise very engaging title.

While Morphies Law lacks the grandeur of Splatoon 2 and the F2P gratification of Fortnite, there’s no denying that its mass-shifting gimmick has legs - giant ones, at that. It just needs the right kind of post-launch TLC from its developer and some smart adjustments to both net code and player progression. With added gyro controls making the most of those Joy-Cons (should you want to gather mass via motion controls) and support for local play with up to eight players (as opposed to online's four), this indie shooter has the potential to grow into a genuine sleeper hit.

FlingSmash is a waste of an intriguing game mechanic.

Boost Beast is a wholly serviceable match-three game with a cute theme, fun mechanics, and plenty of content to keep you entertained. It has a few notable balance issues — including an overemphasis on luck and some puzzling vestiges of its free-to-play origins — but it’s still a good time for fans of the genre, and a worthwhile addition to the Switch’s growing puzzle library.

Panty Party is not unenjoyable. Don’t be tricked into thinking you’ll be ogling barely dressed girls – the panties themselves are the stars here. Bayonetta is an infinitely more alluring proposition in absolutely every way, but Panty Party’s hack-and-slash style gameplay isn’t without merit and there’s a certain bizarre joyfulness to it. It’s mostly-harmless, repetitive nonsense that you’ll blow through in an afternoon, but we’d be lying if we said it didn’t raise a grin or two through its sheer WTF-ness.

Pine could have been a lot better. There are genuinely impressive systems at play here – for example, the other creatures inhabiting this world are gathering resources in much the same way as the player, and will even snatch up crops and objects that you were making for. But its smarter touches are totally obfuscated by the shadow of absolute technical unsuitability to the Switch hardware. When you look at ports like Doom and the recent Alien: Isolation, you'll wonder what exactly went wrong for Pine to be so disastrously sub-par in purely technical terms. We can only imagine how cool it looked on the design document; it's just such a shame about almost literally every single aspect of the execution.

Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai suffers from a chronic lack of focus. The vibrant visuals and fun combat can’t make up for the fact that you’ll spend hours doing little more than watching static images tell the plot of the anime. The result is a game that will frustrate action RPG fans with a lack of action and fails to do justice to the story it is trying to tell. Unless you’re desperate for a new Dragon Quest game to play, you’re better off just watching the anime and skipping this spin-off entirely.

Regular Show: Mordecai & Rigby in 8-Bit Land is almost a decent enough game, but serious gameplay flaws keep it from reaching its potential.

A bit of a let down and feels like a step backwards in terms of gameplay as the game itself is little more than one massive scavenger hunt with most of the storyline progressing through bland, boring cut-scenes.

Overall, however, the experience is still fairly solid, so we recommend giving the free content a shake and then deciding whether or not you want more of it.

Fear Effect: Sedna is a flawed amalgam of disparate parts. It fails to wholly convince as an action, strategy or stealth game, and the delivery of its story is a little stilted. However, the sheer variety of its mix and its fresh visual style may prove enough to keep you playing through.