Devil May Cry 3 remains one of the very best action games ever made. It has certainly aged in places, but that turbo-charged, combo-heavy action feels as fresh today as it did back in 2005. The new Freestyle mode – which lets players swap combat styles on the fly at any point during the action – is a genuinely excellent addition to the package, and the ability to play Bloody Palace in local co-op is the cherry on top of a Switch port that should appeal to anyone interested in sampling the devilish delights of this all-time classic.

Brief Battles is a raucous little game that provides another option for Switch players looking for some decent four player, local multiplayer party times. It's easy to pick up and - owing to that clever mix of pant-powers, environmental obstacles and unique style of traversal - has a level of depth that introduces a pleasing amount of tactics for dedicated players. It's also priced really reasonably so is well worth taking a punt on if you're regularly inundated with friends wanting to get some couch co-op action on the go.

Code: Realize Guardian of Rebirth is a solid visual novel with a unique steampunk setting and a bunch of well-written and pretty likeable lead characters. The mystery surrounding Cardia's bizarre situation combined with suitors based on well-known 18th-century literary characters is an engaging mix and, even if you're not really all that bothered with romancing a bunch of lads, there's plenty here to keep you reading and exploring the various routes and scenarios until you've seen everything this one's got to offer.

Darksiders Genesis is, for us, the best entry in the series in terms of its mix of satisfyingly meaty hack-and-slash action and huge levels filled with secrets, puzzles and platforming. With its fully co-op campaign, unlockable arena mode and Apocalyptic difficulty feeding into that addictive Creature Core grinding, there's an absolute ton here for fans of the series – and newcomers alike – to get stuck into. This Switch version may suffer some slight blurriness and FPS hiccups in portable mode but, if you can make peace with these problems, this is a highly entertaining action game at a very reasonable price.

Warriors Orochi 4 was a solid, if uninspired, Musou game and this 'Ultimate' edition fleshes things out with some new characters and modes, significantly beefs up the story and tweaks the central gameplay here and there. However, the additions that have been made sometimes feel like the least amount of effort that was possible. The new playable characters, although fun, are pretty much slapped in without any fanfare, new weapons don't even have unique skins and Infinity Mode feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate is definitely an improvement over the vanilla version of the game – and absolutely the way to go if you're keen but have yet to pick it up – but it's also a rather disappointingly small one that comes at a pretty steep price for loyal fans who are forking out to upgrade from the base version.

After a couple of passes through its four worlds, there's little if anything to keep you coming back. Even the single-player mode is merely a series of encounters with AI opposition and is really not worthy of sustained attention. Tilt Pack deserves credit for offering the kind of instant arena brawler thrills that anyone can partake in. But that comes at the expense of any lasting appeal.

From stem to stern, Knights and Bikes is a delight to behold and a testament to the creative power of the talent at Foam Sword. Demelza and Nessa’s story is a compelling one that hits all the right emotional and comical beats, while the laid-back gameplay proves to be varied and interesting as the narrative continues. All of this is tied together by some stellar presentation to make for a couch co-op experience that you won't want to miss out on. We’d give Knights and Bikes a strong recommendation whatever way you choose to play it, though bear in mind that you’ll be getting the best and most fulfilling experience if you play it through with a friend.

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.

Snack World serves up a beautifully presented helping of dungeon crawling, garnished with generous amounts of humour and charm. Its character is also its saving grace, because it helps keep your interest when the actual mechanics start to feel repetitive. Or, to milk the food analogy further: its outer shell is so endearing that you’ll still enjoy consuming it even when you can tell it’s starting to get a little stale.

If you’ve played the previous instalments and the series and you appreciate updated rider rosters, the introduction of female riders and the improved physics (for those that play on more realistic settings) then Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame 3 will definitely appeal, but with a completely absent online community, this port is a tougher sell over those on PC and other console platforms. Still, despite its shortcomings, this is a solid two-wheeled racer that retains all the usual modes and extras and runs like a treat in handheld mode. Just don't expect it to feel massively different from the previous instalment.

If you’re a die-hard fan of the studio, then perhaps Code Shifter is worth a look if you find it on sale someday. Otherwise, there isn’t much to see here.

We were pleasantly surprised by EQQO. After a rather lacklustre opening segment, the majority of the game proves itself to be an engaging puzzle title with a surprisingly meaningful narrative to support it. If you’re after a challenge, you might want to look elsewhere, but for its price, EQQO is a lovely, relaxing experience that will keep you playing right to the end.

Ash of Gods: Redemption looks and sounds the part; it's a beautiful thing to behold, easily matches its most obvious inspiration in this regard and will obviously be very tempting to fans of the genre – and especially The Banner Saga – as a result. However, beneath this shiny surface, it's a mess. A combination of badly implemented and nonsensical mechanics, a poor story, terrible (and often juvenile) writing and a constant desire to stomp its players into the dirt make it a real pain to struggle through. It's a hugely punitive game, which would be fine if it played by the rules – but it doesn't. Combat here relies too much on luck and uncontrollable aspects which rob you of the opportunity to use actual skill and savvy to overcome the tough tests you'll be put through. If you want to make your game tough, fine, go for it, but you need to ensure the systems that underpin that toughness are up to serious scrutiny and, unfortunately, here they really aren't.

Games in the 'visual novel' corner of the industry can often leave you a little cold unless you’re happy to watch an anime with a small amount of actual player interaction, but with its unique premise and interesting take on a fantasy world (think Netflix's Bright, but actually good), Coffee Talk serves up a refreshing brew of angst, introspection and coffee beans. Its hand-crafted story mode is a tad too short for our liking, but with Endless mode you’ll have plenty of fun getting in touch with your inner barista.

With an imaginative world and equally imaginative premise, Skellboy is an admirable attempt to provide an alternative to your average Zelda title. If you can get past the sluggish gameplay and cringe-worthy technical performance, there’s plenty here to get to grips with, and you’re guaranteed at least a few laughs thanks to the hilarious writing and dialogue.

Arc of Alchemist is not worth your time. We’ll say it again just in case the people in the back didn’t hear: Arc of Alchemist is not worth your time. The story is barely serviceable, the gameplay is middling and uninspired at its very best, and the graphics often look like they could’ve been pulled from an early 3DS game. That would all be damning enough if it at least ran well, but Arc of Alchemist in fact runs at laughable framerates all the way through. That would be damning enough, but then the developers have the gall to ask you to pony up forty bucks (at time of writing) for this mess. The Switch library is packed to bursting with loads of fantastic RPGs that are each sure to deliver a great experience. This is definitely not one of them. Please, don’t waste your money on Arc of Alchemist.

The best way to experience Sinless is in handheld mode, with the game taking full advantage of the Switch’s touchscreen capabilities. You can, of course, also use the analogue stick to move a cursor around the screen, but this is incredibly slow and cumbersome. It’s a short game, and not a particularly polished experience, but Sinless is nevertheless a nice take on the cyberpunk genre that will intrigue you enough to see it through to the end.

The Turing Test is a solid first-person puzzler with an interesting and well-executed premise that provides a pretty enthralling backstory to its central gameplay. The tests you face here may not be quite as mind-bending as we might have hoped for, and they certainly don't force you to look at things from as many different angles as those found in this game's very obvious inspiration, Portal – or even The Witness – but overall, there's still plenty to like here for fans of the genre as long as they're prepared to blast through it all quite quickly and without too many major headaches.

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics is a pretty solid, if wholly unspectacular little tactical title. It does a decent job of incorporating events and characters from Netflix's spectacular TV series (and the 1982 classic movie on which it is based) into its gameplay, and fans of the franchise – as well as folk who simply can't get enough of this genre – will certainly find something to enjoy here, especially for the pretty reasonable asking price. In terms of presentation, we would have liked to see something more befitting of the spectacular source material and a few more flashy combos and opportunities to set your team up to blow enemies off the screen in style would have been nice. Overall, however, for such a strange (and somewhat late arriving) TV tie-in, this one really is quite a bit better than we expected it to be. Feel free to add one to the score below if you're a huge Dark Crystal fiend.

Prison Princess is an enjoyable puzzle adventure that combines invigorating brain-teasers with appealing characters, beautiful artwork and an intriguing narrative. While it’s pretty short – we cleared the game for the first time in four hours without having to resort to a walkthrough at any point – its multiple endings and unlockable features provide some replay value, and it’s worth bearing in mind that even classic adventure games from the genre’s “golden age” were only a couple of hours long at most. Here’s hoping we see more games of this type from Qureate in the future; they’ve clearly got a talent for them.

It's regrettable that we have to be dismissive of a new shmup release, especially one inspired by Castle of Shikigami that does seem to be sincerely trying to offer up a fun experience. With that said though, when it comes down to the basic fundamental aspects of the genre – visuals, music, stage design, gameplay flow – Sisters Royale feels unfinished. It’s hard to care about the scoring system when the structure it is built upon doesn’t satisfy enough to encourage players to spend hour after hour routing and experimenting.

If you’re after a new addition to your social multiplayer pile, this is an easy sell. Sure, it’s a little old considering its long history on myriad platforms, but it’s hard to deny just how enjoyable and easy it is to pick up, even for younger Nintendo Switch owners. The support for local and online multiplayer is great, as is the ability to play through the story mode solo, but the intermittent issues with performance in handheld mode does put a few wrinkles in this hero’s costume.

A barbed look at today's society that lacks an end-product of sorts, Mosaic is a short experience that seems content with telling us what's wrong with our lives without really going any further than that. There's a vital message trapped within the game somewhere, but it never quite gets out, and the experience ends up being depressing rather than entertaining. That might have been what the developer was going for, but ultimately, it doesn't make for a particularly interesting video game.

While utilising the ruleset of a more traditional CCG system might put off some players, the on-brand approach to turn-based combat in Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales is still a positive addition to the world. Because with such an involved and intricately designed story – and such an interesting world to explore beyond the confines of Geralt – Thronebreaker offers the opportunity to lose yourself in the Continent like never before.

Speaking Simulator is a great idea delivered in mostly the right way. It throws its android protagonist into some brilliantly awkward situations and, once you've unlocked his entire repertoire of facial movements, things get pleasingly hectic. However, a lack of polish with regards to the controls, zero replayability, a janky combo system and the fact you don't actually seem to be able to fail a level all conspire to hold it back from being really easy to recommend.

Aviary Attorney is well worth picking up, just so you can take your legal cases on the move and continue your cross-examination in handheld mode. Just be wary of playing on your commute – as you may be on the receiving end of some funny glances when you let out an inevitable chuckle at a stupid bird pun. And you might get even stranger looks if you try to explain the whole concept to the oblivious commuter who you disturbed.

There's an interesting and fun game buried somewhere deep beneath the surface of Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf, but you’ll need to crack the tough, unintuitive armour that protects the core mechanics before you can find it. Unfortunately, you don’t have the privilege of a Thunder Hammer at your disposal – all you have is time, and you’ll need a lot of it to get any real enjoyment out of this rather disappointing title.

Even without comparing Super Tennis to the real Super Tennis, the game largely falls flat as a compelling sports title. Once you’ve mastered the gameplay (which you most certainly will after 2 or 3 matches), it becomes incredibly repetitive with little incentive to continue other than to see the cool unlockable costumes. If you’ve recently moved to the Switch from another console and wish to learn the layout of the controller, then this is a great way to do so, but if you’re after an actual tennis game, you’ll want to look elsewhere.