The central loop of battling, chatting and levelling up is as compelling as you could ever want it to be, with an interesting story told well and a meaty 20 hours or so of no-frills tactics. Dark Deity lacks the romance options of Fire Emblem, as well as the first-party flair you expect from a Nintendo title, but the latter is hardly surprising and would be an unreasonable standard to hold almost any indie game to. Dark Deity delivers a convincing and essentially satisfying facsimile of GBA Fire Emblem, but perhaps fails to stand on its own two feet. Then again, we're not sure that was ever really the point.

For the most part, Mineko’s Night Market will be enjoyed by people who like to curl up with a compelling narrative and relaxing tasks. It’s fun gathering materials and discovering secrets. And did we mention you can PAT THE CATS?! Without sneezing! What a joyous, allergy-free delight. As for whether it was worth the long wait, well, we recommend holding off a little longer for another of its nine lives – one with some patchwork to address the snags on Switch.

The experience may be geared at a younger audience, but puzzle fans will be delighted to solve each object and watch Orion's Odyssey unfold.

All told, Mainframes is a solid recommendation if you’re after a new precision/puzzle platformer that tries something relatively fresh with its desktop-bending premise. We would have liked to have seen a few clever nods to real-world software brands to really take advantage of its setup, but with its pleasant pixel-art visuals and gorgeously laid-back soundtrack, it’s a good way to spend a handful of hours. Just watch out for those difficulty spikes; they can be a real downer.

Although there's room for improvement in ININ's presentation, and it would have been nice to get a few more bonus unlockables, this is still the best version of Rainbow Cotton around thanks to its silky smooth frame rate, lovely upscaling, widescreen formatting, and all-important gameplay enhancements. It's a fun, at times spectacular, novelty adventure in the Cotton universe, that can occasionally feel confusing and cluttered. Stick with it, though, and an enjoyable and genuinely charming rail shooter bubbles to the surface.

PO'ed Definitive Edition is yet another fine example of Nightdive Studio's excellent work in preserving unique, oddball games of yore while adding some welcome mod cons. With this one, however, the core experience is a little bit too weird to recommend to just any FPS fan. The general premise is odd, the enemy design is unsettling, and the layout of the levels can prove frustrating, especially for newcomers unaccustomed to its old-school ways. Despite this, the jetpack is honestly one of the most fun mechanics we've sampled in gaming, and the bizarre audio design had us in fits of laughter at multiple points. If you've played the original or fancy checking out one of the most unique FPS games from the '90s, it's well worth a punt.

Black Bird is a unique little shooter that only gets better as you play it more and uncover its secrets. Its vintage-style art direction is charmingly melancholy, and its strange soundtrack only adds an extra layer of quirkiness to proceedings. It’s very much a score challenge game, though, meaning players expecting a wealth of things to see and do may be left feeling underwhelmed by its meagre four stages - especially when you consider the rather high price tag. This is very much a case of quality over quantity, and as long as you’re up for repeat playthroughs, you’re in for a wonderfully bizarre treat.

Throughout LEGO Builder's Journey, we found that the aim of the game was to make you feel like a kid — whether or not you are one. Getting back in touch with the pre-manual-following version of yourself is a delight, and having the story be about a parent and a child connecting through child's play is as touching as it is smart. Despite occasional misfires and what can feel like padding, this is a LEGO game which plays with the fundamental philosophy of creativity far more than the average LEGO-branded title, and we hope this is an indication of new games to come.

Astlibra Revision may not be a truly great game, but it is most certainly an interesting one. At the very least, it is unafraid to challenge JRPG conventions in unique ways while also demonstrating mastery of the genre’s most basic tropes. It can feel a little too archaic in its design and haphazard in its pacing, while the vaguely Flash game-esque visuals are a bit of a letdown. On the whole, though, it proves to be a worthwhile experience, one that we would especially recommend to fans of older RPGs. If you can look past its faults, there’s a lot to love about Astlibra; we’d suggest you investigate if your interest is piqued.

While a few extra puzzle elements could have been employed, as well as a bit of customization with music and some multiplayer options, Tappingo’s price tag makes it easy to recommend to anyone who thinks they’d enjoy its brand of pixel puzzling.

Overall, Fossil Fighters: Frontier is too innocuous and likeable to stay mad at for long.

Wizard Fire might not have set the world ablaze but is still a more than adequate sequel to a more than adequate dungeon crawler. Even today the sprite work is fantastic and it most certainly worth a few runs to try out all the characters. But don’t expect long-term replay value, it is, after all, a coin muncher first and foremost. A solid, if unspectacular, option for those looking to expand their range of arcade titles on their Switch library.

Romancing SaGa 2 is really intriguing new JRPG. The combat system has a great sense of depth thanks to its distinctive take on levelling, the inclusion of formations and how the player is held accountable for each party member. The kingdom management aspects also provide a greater sense of player agency and helps set it apart from conventional role-playing games. Due to this design, the story and character development – including the dialogue throughout – aren’t quite as refined as other Square Enix titles. Regardless, the entire concept has aged surprisingly well – even by modern standards.

If you are a fan of the other games in this cycle of platform adventures, you are going to love Titans of the Tide. It's another colourful, funny SpongeBob adventure from Purple Lamp and, just like the cartoon, repeat viewings don’t tend to lessen the magic. The formula is starting to show its age now, but it's still the best virtual Bikini Bottom we've got.

There's no denying that Picross 3D is a diverting and addictive game, but at the same time it fails to surpass its two-dimensional predecessor.

Miitopia is a weird old game, that’s for sure. If from what you’ve read you think you’d enjoy seeing King King Dedede (sic) encouraging our very own Zion Grassl to marry his daughter Kazooie over Jon Cartwright, then you’re bound to have a good time with this. It’s very much the type of game in which you get out as much as you put in; if you’re not into injecting a copy of Chibi-Robo!: Zip Lash into the role of a genie then you might want to think twice, or at least give the free demo a whirl. Whimsy and madcap situations a-plenty, this is a crossover that could rival Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, provided you’re willing to put the effort in.

Syberia on the Nintendo Switch is a reasonable yet inconsistent port of an enchanting genre classic. This is an absorbing, intricate story filled with melancholy, eccentric characters and mystery demands and deserves attention, even if the game shows its age technically in some places and demonstrates a lack of care in the porting process in others. For fans of the genre, or those willing to dive in and forgive some inconsistencies, there's an endearing and worthwhile adventure here.

Crashlands' cartoon sci-fi world offers a fun-loving cross between Minecraft, Toejam & Earl and Don’t Starve with its ‘RPG-lite’ mix of crafting, questing and combat. It’s incredibly easy to pick up and play thanks to the streamlined design of its inventory and the automation of accessing tools and weapons, and while its grind for new armour can get a little repetitive after a while, there are some cute little mechanics to unearth, such as the power to incubate eggs and nurture your own pets. While it’s never going to hold a candle to the RPG chops of Diablo III: Eternal Collection, it still offers a colourful curio alternative on Switch.

It’s really hard to put a score to a game like Pokémon Sleep. The cute aesthetic and the enjoyment of waking up to document the new Pokémon are definitely there, but the question is if the busy work of building your Snorlax each week is compelling enough to keep coming back. However, the ability for the game to basically judge your bad sleeping habits can definitely help. If Select Button and The Pokémon Company can keep the game going with frequent updates and events without falling into the mobile game trap of locking stuff behind paywalls, then Pokémon Sleep could truly be something great and it could be in the upper echelons of Pokémon mobile games.

There's a ton of content here and, in the end, the whole thing feels like a pretty successful celebration of what made the first game a cult classic in the first place. It's not going to be to everyone's tastes, however, and if you like your strategy action to be a little more intense, you might want to stick with something like Wargroove or Fire Emblem: Three Houses instead.

As its own experience, Cube Creator 3D stands up well as an entertaining experience.

Figment is an attractive, creative puzzler that explores the human mind’s inner demons very nicely indeed. The gameplay is good, if never revolutionary, with just a handful of downers being present in an otherwise solid experience. The game’s most creative moments – such as its boss battles – and the way in which it deals with its heavy subject matter are the real winners here, though, and should go a long way towards encouraging a purchase for those who are most interested.

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.

This is not an experience for everyone, though we'd suggest that those with a love of adventure games and the download scene should take this one on; it's an important part of gaming history and an education for serious gamers.

Fall Guys’ brand of chaotic fun is still great all of these years later, and the free-to-play Switch release is no different, assuming you can ignore your opponents' choppy frame rate. While there are some disappointing elements linked to cross-progression, those ultimately won't matter if this is your first time entering the Blunderdome. Some moments of lag and frame rate quirks aside, the Switch version offers a solid way to play if you're looking for some barmy 60-bean battling and the barrier to entry has never been lower.

Agatha Knife tackles vast subjects with surreal humour and delightful style but when it comes to the big questions, it doesn’t offer much beyond sarcasm and a shrug. Fortunately, the writing is entertaining enough to make the adventure worthwhile regardless, and the comprehensive touchscreen execution on Switch makes it an ideal candidate for anybody wanting to dip their toe into the point-and-click pool, provided you’re not put off by bad language or the odd splash of blood.

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.

Red’s Kingdom is full of cutesy charm and clever puzzles that act as a nice way to pass the time in small doses. Longer play sessions are ruined by repetition, and the game struggles to really fulfil its potential due to the occasional lack of creativity, but there’s definitely some fun to be had in its nutty world. With a decent level of challenge for all ages, and a puzzle mechanic that can go a surprisingly long way, this one is perhaps best suited to those looking for quick sessions of chilled out puzzle gameplay.