The improved frame rate makes WRC 9 a better experience than WRC 8, but it still suffers from a number of issues through no fault of the developer, such as a lack of analogue triggers and a reduced rally count. However, the extremely distracting nature of the scenery, which is constantly drawing itself in right in front of you, makes it difficult to get properly immersed in the action. It's probably the best rally game on the Switch so far, but for fans of the sport, the wait continues for something truly brilliant on the system.

An absolute pleasure from start to finish, what Kaze and the Wild Masks lacks in originality it makes up for in the strength of its level design, responsive controls, kinetic move set and attractive visuals. Excellent, action-packed platforming through and through, with great gameplay variety and gimmicks that don’t compromise on what the game is best at – challenging, fast-paced obstacle courses and deviously-hidden secret areas. Easiest sell? Kaze and the Wild Masks is to Donkey Kong Country what Freedom Planet was to Sonic the Hedgehog. Don’t miss this one.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning is a rather barebones revamp of a cult classic action RPG that's really beginning to show its age in many respects. The core combat here is still strong stuff, crunchy hack and slash action with plenty of flexibility and variety in how you go about decking out your character, but it's also surrounded by a world and story that are very much of their time. Fans of the original game will no doubt enjoy what is a mostly fine Switch port, but there so many other, more modern RPG experiences available at this point on Nintendo's console that everyone else should perhaps approach with a measure of caution.

If you're looking for the next Stardew Valley, this doesn't even come close. Harvest Moon: One World is a poor imitation of what the series once was, and it feels more like a rushed mobile game than a full-fledged Switch game. These games have always been about chores, but this one feels like a chore to play. In our opinion, your money is better spent on something that respects you as a fan of the genre.

Ultimately, while the game mostly succeeds as an engaging, fun multiplayer experience, there’s only so much you can squeeze from the four modes available. They all feel relatively similar to each other, and despite the individual tasks presented, the gameplay feels the same across all of them. It’s unlikely to be a game you’ll go back to after a couple of sessions, and take it from us, don’t even consider purchasing Can’t Drive This if you don’t intend on playing local or online multiplayer.

Everhood is one of the most memorable games we’ve played in recent years. Its utterly bonkers plot and weird cast of characters is reason enough to check it out, but the instantly accessible rhythmic combat will keep you hooked from the very first battle to the epic final boss encounter. Some may be put off by the minimal visual design and deliberately vague sequence of events, but for those after something a bit different, Everhood delivers originality and unique gameplay in spades and absolutely deserves a place in your Switch library.

The Switch version of Crash 4 is a perfectly passable port of a fantastic platformer that's absolutely rammed with things to do. It may have the lowest frame rate and resolution of all versions of the game, but if the Switch is your main console or you're looking to enjoy some bandicoot-bouncing on the go in handheld mode, it's still an excellent offering when judged on its own merits.

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.

Between the surprisingly deep plot for such a simple game, the clever narrative explanation of the mechanics, and enough chaos going on in the discussions to keep you guessing, we had a lot of fun with this one. Gnosia's simple game mechanics and deceptively deep story make it a must-have for visual novel and murder mystery fans; it's just a shame that the music is so poor. Even so, if you give it a chance it's highly likely that you'll fall in love with each member of its diverse cast – just in time for them to kill you.

As a birthday gift from Blizzard to itself, Blizzard Arcade Collection has been put together with some care. Sometimes good things come in smaller packages, though, and a lot of the content here is superfluous. Two of the Definitive Edition games are worse than the SNES titles also included, while Rock 'n Roll Racing’s is so successful that including the SNES and Mega Drive versions has only really added clutter. The result is a need to start every version of every game a few times to work out which one is actually worth playing, which somewhat spoils the party. But, for all those imperfections, there’s a lot to love: it may not be exactly what we’ve always wanted, but it’s the thought that counts.

While it's a compelling package, Citizens Unite!: Earth x Space doesn't excel as an RPG in either of its halves. There's fun to be had, but it's obfuscated to some extent by technical issues and a lack of balance to its gameplay. That said, a lot of love has obviously been poured into this title and if you like your games with a bit of a unique personality, that's very much in evidence here. If you've already played these RPGs before, there's not enough here to draw you back for a repeat play, but new players might find this worthy of their hard-earned cash – if they're willing to put up with some rough edges.

Skyforge is a properly mediocre MMORPG that could, perhaps, have been a reasonable enough little timesink for a bunch of friends or solo players who just want to mindlessly blow through its content without thinking too much. There's no shortage of content here, and the idea of having eighteen different classes to master is an attractive one. However, this Switch port is such a huge disappointment on a technical level; it's such a lazy, janky, stuttery, buggy, low-resolution mess that it's hard to see how anyone could be bothered to stick with it for long enough to properly engage with anything it's got to offer. If you're in need of an MMORPG to play on your Switch right now, we recommend you download and play just about anything else that's available because seriously, this ain't it.

The spiders themselves are wonderfully depicted, with their stop-and-start movements animated to near perfection. There are a decent number of the buggers hidden in each level, but never enough to feel overwhelming or unrealistic; you can easily imagine walking into your kitchen and finding two or three spiders skirting across the tiled floor. They come in different shapes and sizes, with some spawning smaller spiders upon death, and others exploding with impressive force. Catching them can be a hefty task at times, and you’ll often leave each level in utter disrepair as you desperately burn or destroy any object that might be hiding the eight-legged freaks.

Let's cut (ahem) to the chase – this is one of the worst games on the Switch. Its tracks are ugly and short, its vehicles are laughably unresponsive, its lack of any sort of progression system is an insult and the thing doesn't even have a title screen. Whether it's just a bad joke or a genuinely terrible game, our advice is the same: kick this one into the long grass and forget about it.

For people who loved the collect-craft-combat loop of Fantasy Life, this game might scratch that same itch, and it'll certainly take up a fair few hours – even if the "combat" part is missing. Littlewood is an incredibly impressive game for a solo developer, and though none of its ideas go particularly deep, it more than makes up for it in breadth. Fans of the life sim genre should definitely seek this one out.

The single-player Arcade mode is good, and the Missions have a lot of difficulty headroom, but it will sting a little to pay full price if you don’t have an opportunity for multiplayer. Mighty Fight Federation nevertheless remains a very interesting proposition for fighter fanatics craving a new set of mechanics to explore. Assuming the Switch online community grows, or if you have players ready for local fisticuffs, it will scratch an itch other fighters can’t reach.

Astrologaster is perhaps the only time you'll ever get to play through a pop-up book version of London's 17th-century medical history. It's an extremely specific pitch, but when it hits, it hits well – and its musical interludes are as delightful and giggle-worthy as any of Shakespeare's best. Sure, it's not going to be to everyone's tastes, but if you're looking for something a little different and you're a fan of the classic British historical sitcom Blackadder, then you could do a lot worse than give this a spin.

Hellpoint is a reasonably decent sci-fi/Soulslike effort that sticks closely to FromSoftware's well-worn formula whilst introducing a few neat new tricks and twists of its own. The combat here is solid, the space station setting often spectacular and the narrative as enticingly cryptic as you'd expect from the genre. However, the whole thing suffers massively due to myriad technical issues on Switch. Constant crashes to the console's homescreen, a seriously flaky framerate, long loading times and a pretty huge graphical downgrade result in an experience that's infuriating for all the wrong reasons and one that it's almost impossible to recommend in its current form. Here's hoping Cradle Games has some big patches incoming.

Azur Lane: Crosswave is a game that was best left on smartphones. The visual novel sequences are perfectly fine, and the story itself – while utterly bonkers – is interesting enough to keep you engaged, while the characters are both charming and unique. Sadly, the naval combat sequences bring down the entire experience. They’re slow, repetitive, rarely require much strategic thought, and look incredibly bland all at once. This is a game for hardcore fans of the genre only; everyone else ought to look elsewhere for their naval combat needs.

As if it was ever in doubt, Square Enix has demonstrated once again that it understands exactly what ingredients are necessary to make a great RPG. The interesting, risk-based combat is supported by a diverse class system and a well-told story, which all combine to make for an experience that can be tough to put down. That said, one can’t help but feel a consistent sense of ‘been there, done that’ with Bravely Default II; Square certainly could’ve pushed the envelope just a little more with this entry. That aside, you really can’t go wrong with Bravely Default II. This is a well-crafted and expertly-made RPG that is easily worth your time and money; we’d highly recommend that fans and newcomers alike look into picking this up.

A breezier, simpler game than its clear inspirations, what Curse of the Dead Gods lacks in narrative it makes up for in focused, crunchy gameplay. Combat is interesting, exploration is rewarding and the systems in play are sufficiently diverse to make this a winner. It won't consume you forever, but you'll feel far from short-changed by this game of meaningful, divergent dungeons.

Overall, Capcom Arcade Stadium is a very good package filled with brilliant games, each updated with modern functionality. It doesn’t rival the quality of original hardware or the likes of M2’s sublime individual ports of arcade masterworks as seen with the release of Esp.Ra.De Psi, but at £30 for 32 games, it is well worth the price, warts and all.

Taxi Chaos feels very much like a proof of concept; it's certainly evidence that a taxi game has its place in 2021, though it's lacking that vital spark that would truly make it a must-play title. The city itself is well-made, with plenty of sights to behold, but the overall visual design feels a bit generic and lacks its own voice. There are few incentives to play for extended periods of time, so how long the game lasts is largely dependent on your own willingness to climb the online leaderboard. Nevertheless, Taxi Chaos is an admirable revival of a genre that’s been dormant for far too long, and a good foundation for a potential sequel down the line.

Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection is Tokuro Fujiwara’s love letter to a thirty-five-year-old series that’s famous for burying mortal men, and it’s a job done exceptionally well. By ignoring it, we risk having to wait another thirty-five years for a new entry, and, in a world where so many games have become cinematic, one-button-does-all 3D picture books, that’s an unacceptable prospect. If challenge is what you live for, toughen up, don that mental armour, and take up the mantle like a lance. If you put in the time and effort, Ghosts ’n Goblins Resurrection will see you reap the most valuable of gaming accomplishments: the prestige of victory.

As it’s a package from 2013 of a game that reportedly sold a million copies, you probably already know if you need to get Thomas Was Alone. If you haven’t played it and you have a Switch then you absolutely must get the demo – right away, no excuses. Its playful elucidation of how games work shouldn't be missed by anyone interested in the medium. The full game gives you a few hours of good platforming with great presentation and a well-told story. And as an artefact of its era of indie games, Thomas Was Alone is a delight. The game can be experienced start-to-finish in a few short sessions and Bithell’s commentary provides a sort of meta-narration to motivate another playthrough if you haven’t heard it before. In short, Thomas Was Alone was pretty great when it came out, it’s held up well and now it’s on your Switch.

Haven is a beautiful game about a relationship that is best in its quiet moments. The conversations and tenderness between Yu and Kay, its two leads, are the lifeblood of the game, and everything else is secondary. Its interesting combat system would benefit from a bit more signposting, and the flying traversal is a fun sci-fi addition to the game that works more often than it doesn't. Still, it's a wonderful experience, especially in co-op, but perhaps one to get on sale.

Despite some re-release shortcomings, SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium remains not only a charming piece of history, but a comprehensive fighting game with impressively taut elasticity. Bursting with move-sets that accurately mirror the arcade counterparts from which they’re derived, it represents the moment that a legendary rivalry thawed out and shook hands, and a fanfare for SNK’s excellent but ill-fated handheld. There also remains something special about having so many faces from so many different series occupying the same screen space, and in such good spirits. Seeing pocket-sized Kyo and Chun-Li battle it out on her Great Wall stage or Ken and Ryu’s fireballs trailing across Krauser’s cathedral is an experience worth revisiting. It’s an object of both its time and format, and you need to be prepared for that; but SNK versus Capcom? That really is the match of the millennium.

A very pleasant and enjoyable surprise, Blue Fire is an auspicious debut from ROBI Studios. Only the performance issues, mildly sloppy combat and high difficulty are points of contention, and the latter will certainly depend on your point of view. Developed with passion and skill, this is a world you can lose yourself in that'll reward you the more you play and the better you get. It's uncompromising in its difficulty but doesn't resort to cheap tricks and "gotchas". The graphics are appealing and, crucially, clear as day. This is a fantastic experience overall, even if it isn't made up of the most original pieces. It's gameplay first and once you're traversing the infinite space of the Void stages, everything else basically just falls away.