Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is a gorgeous title with some charming elements, but the action isn’t sharp enough to be memorable, and the town building elements only serve to hamper the other sides of the gameplay. A lovely game is buried in here somewhere, but instead, too many unsuccessful elements drag down the greater experience.

Like a loveable puppy that’s peed on the carpet, it’s hard to be mean to Wobbledog. The adorable pet sim has a distinct personality and loads to do. I just wish it wasn’t quite so aimless, and that the performance and controls on Switch matched the heart that the core gameplay so clearly has. You’re a good boy Wobbledogs, but you can be better.

If you’re a fan, there’s nothing here that’s going to shake the foundation of puzzle games in the future but if you’re looking for a quick puzzler to kill some time, Magic Flute does what it sets out to do. If you’re not a fan of sliding puzzles and find them the bane of all that is good in the world, stay far, far away.

The first entry into The Dark Pictures Anthology, Man of Medan still holds up as a tense, cinematic horror experience where every choice matters. Unfortunately, the Switch’s ageing hardware holds this version’s performance back, but it’s nonetheless an impressive port with some welcome additions, and still captures the souls of all who board this ship.

An intriguing puzzler that takes a novel approach to tried-and-true mechanics for a unique experience.

Let’s Build a Zoo reminds us why tycoon games were once an industry monolith, but also why the genre couldn’t stay at the top forever. Morality mechanics, plenty of animals, and an appealing visual style all make this Zoo one you want to visit, but some tired systems and a slightly clunky Switch control scheme means you might not stick around for more than a few breeding seasons.

Grimvalor is the best Metroidvania you’ll find on a mobile platform, but doesn’t move the bar for the subgenre at large.

Trek to Yomi is an ambitious journey revolving around love, honour, and, above all, revenge. An ode to classic Samurai flicks, its gameplay is simple, but its striking aesthetics and clear focus on cinematography is what truly sets it apart – unfortunately, it’s also where it struggles the most due to the performance limitations of the Nintendo Switch.

Like its predecessor, This is the Police 2 is a vacuous and ineffective crime commentary. It’s mechanically more sound, but still feels overstuffed with new features that are largely disjointed and unnecessary.

It’s not overly complicated to learn (it’s actually quite easy to pick up) but presents the player with a wealth of gameplay options and possibilities and allows for multiple strategies to win.

Though I wanted to love A Storied Life: Tabitha, its smooth and relaxing gameplay is let down by a frustrating narrative arc, which left me with more questions than answers - ones that a replay doesn’t seem to help solve.

As bad as the user interface is—and it is completely horrible—I still can’t hate too much on XenoShyft. Much like those old VASSAL modules of mine, once you get over the learning curve and figure out how the UI works, it’s manageable and the game underneath isn’t hurt by it.

The open-air theme will probably appeal to a larger audience, and being able to play solo or with as many as four players is a welcome addition. Patchwork wasn’t a hugely interactive game but there was a little more going on in that you could deny your opponent tiles and time your moves to grab the bonus patches. In contrast, pottering around in your garden feels very much like a solitary pass time. Cottage Garden is a stress-free, easygoing game with flowers and cats. Despite this, I still prefer the slightly more involved Patchwork, with its less cluttered screen, clever time management and button economy.

Banksy wannabes and those not familiar with this style of game should check this out. For everyone else, Vandals could prove to be underwhelming.

Ultimately, the Switch offers a unique way of playing Apex Legends on the go, but one of the best battle royale experiences is seriously hampered by the limitations of the hardware.

Armello plays like an American-style board game with loads of dice rolls and player conflict. It has some neat ideas, with asymmetric player powers and multiple paths to victory, adding long-term interest, all of which are explained in a very well-presented tutorial. My biggest problem with the game is that at the moment it seems quite difficult to arrange matches with reliable players. Mutual enjoyment relies on all players sticking to a code of honour that involves seeing the whole game out and not ganging up on a single player.

In the end, if you’re in the market for Hearthstone with tanks, or just looking for a new deck-builder, World of Tanks Generals is worth a try.

The game’s sheer style and approachability will draw players in, but for seasoned gamers there is a distinct lack of challenge.

It’s just a shame that Buried leaves some of its greatest potential, well, buried on the table.

Bloodstained is an inventive twist on the Castlevania formula, but a lack of visual quality and control frustrations prevent this port from wholly doing it justice.

There's nothing wrong or broken about Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning on Switch, it's just an uninspired experience that pales in comparison to the genre greats.

Though the interface isn’t quite as natural as I’d wish, you do get used to it pretty quickly, and what’s left is a genuinely wonderful game.

Shifting the focus has helped Flatline morph into its own game... [But] in doing so it's lost some of what made Lifeline special in the first place.

A well designed and quick playing abstract strategy game that unfortunately becomes repetitive after only a few plays.

Fans of both Talisman and Warhammer 40,000, will like this one, fans of neither should take a different warp jump.

Subnautica: Below Zero embraces all the elements needed to create a strong survival game, though it suffers from repetition and immersion-breaking performance issues on Nintendo Switch.

Sheltered will test your mettle and patience more than your wits, but has unique merits even when compared to other survival games.

Super Rush is a great party game but lacks replayability. If you can get past the XC golf portion of adventure mode, you’re bound to have a solid few hours of solo fun as well.

For all the attention given to orders of battles and battlefield terrain, Peninsular War Battles remains a typical simplistic game. The recent Hold the Line shows Hexwar can do better. Thought should be given to upgrading their older games rather than just recycling them to different platforms.

Overall, it’s a lot to enjoy. But you need to know what you’re getting into. There are dragons here. Sometimes they are logical ones, sometimes iron. Either way, there’s a lot of satisfaction to be had in slaying them.

If you’re the kind of person who enjoys the battle systems of JRPGs but couldn’t care less about the story, Quest to the Future is for you.

While the gameplay isn’t for everyone, the world is intriguing and delightful to discover. Those who are fans of visual novels, social simulators, and battles against mysterious monsters will enjoy Loop8: Summer of Gods.

Tomb Raider: Reloaded has much potential thanks to featuring a videogame legend, but janky controls that suffer from sluggishness and delays ensure it’s not a smooth experience.

If you are a fan of 4X games though this is an easy purchase.

Isle of Skye is a terrific board game, it is just a pity that the app wasn’t thoroughly play-tested before being released.

Atari returns to one of its classic franchises for the first time in over a decade to deliver a faithful revival. The old gameplay has aged well, but screams to be revamped and reinvented, neither of which you’ll find in Missile Command: Recharged.

Easy on the eye and showing lots of promise, but a lack of quality in the final third means that Football Drama falls short of greatness.

A standard gacha RPG that suffers from the same issues as the genre in general, so will only appeal to those that already like it and Game of Thrones.

A nice-to-look-at clicker/survival-sim. Nothing terribly wrong with it, but nothing exciting either.

While lacking functionality, Paperback is a fun and smart deck/word-building game that can only get better over time.

Uncharacteristic of developer OrangePixel, Space Grunts 2 is a sequel that’s relatively tame on genre innovation. It stands as a serviceable roguelike deck builder in a world where excellent ones like Slay the Spire exist.

This port of a classic boardgame gets the big picture right but is starting to show its age.

A competent game, but one that seems to have hit the market three years too late while still demands a premium price.

The Siege of Dragonspear is a tale well told in a form that remains compelling, if showing its age. If you liked Baldur's Gate and its sequel, you will probably like Dragonspear too, though it does not reach the heights of its venerable predecessors.

A cult classic reborn on the Switch with all its original quirks, including its flaws.

Warhammer 40K Dakka Squadron is made by people who clearly love 40K, and Orks. But, while that leads to lots of initial fun, the game can eventually wear thin with repetitive levels and an incredibly dated aesthetic.

A neat twist on an old classic, but lacking in variety and challenge.

It’s impressive both visually and mechanically, showcasing lots of innovation to get the most from its minimalist mechanics. The fact it doesn’t do better is, I suspect, more a comment of the difficulty of making satisfying real-time strategy on mobile than it is on the game itself.

Like a red wine stain on a stark white dress, Blanc spoils its pristine visual style with a combination of frustrating controls, stubborn camera angles, and restrictive puzzle solutions. I love walking through the beautiful wilderness as the adorable animals, but when I try and think of good gameplay, I’m drawing a blank.

I still enjoyed the majority of my time with Tormentum. It’s an enjoyably grim adventure that can be finished in a lazy weekend. If you’re into the art style and settings and can handle the anemic ending, you’ll probably have a good time. Just don't expect anything profound from it.

Smash Up is a mixed-bag success & lack-lustre design choices, but it has a promising future ahead.

Attractive and engaging to think about, less enjoyable for which to perfect solutions.

A game that excels in its presentation and production, but ultimately feels like nothing more than a hollow experience. Sacred Legends has enough clever hooks to keep you going but nothing to make it memorable.

Nintendo continue to take another safe step in their mobile gaming journey. Fire Emblem Heroes is enjoyable, but largely forgettable.

Though not the most exciting game, and somewhat compromised by its currency, Conflict of Nations: World War 3 has a decent amount of strategic depth.

Kitaria Fables feels like a short and sweet game stretched needlessly long, robbing the game of a lot of the fun it’s cutesy art style promises. But fans of similar genres, and people with a lot of time and patience, might well fall in love with this game.

Pea Ridge by HexWar has some blemishes but it offers an interesting gameplay experience with different problems for the Union and Confederate player.

Swap Heroes 2 is smart, but slight, and could have been much improved if its main mechanic was given the proper room to stretch.

That’s not a deep criticism, of course, and as a logic puzzle Ento is clever enough, but I find myself reflecting back to Zendo with a bit of nostalgia for the forthright inaccuracy of calling the rule the Buddha nature.

A reimaging of a dormant series that straddles the line between homage and invention, but delivers an entry that doesn’t go far enough in either direction. Oddworld: Soulstorm still has plenty to please fans and it looks gorgeous at certain points, but it’s often an exercise in frustration geld back even further by load times, control issues, and brutal level design. Plus he can’t fart anymore, come on man.

Soulvars is a pixel art JRPG that’s definitely not a deckbuilder, no matter what the synopsis tells you. It’s beautiful to look at and fun to play once you get to grips with it.

An ambitious, narrative-driven kingdom management game that doesn't quite manage to pull its two distinct halves together as well as we'd like.

It should be enough to keep you busy for a good long while, so long as you don't tire of the cookie-cutter mechanics.

Drag x Drive can be a lot of fun, but it can also be just as frustrating when it doesn’t want to play ball. For me, it seems more like a showcase of the Nintendo Switch 2’s mouse mode controls than a game that stands out for its own merit. There’s likely an audience for this kind of thing; it’s just I don’t think I’m a part of it.

Eternal Radiance is a nice little visual novel with some mediocre action RPG elements. It features some beautiful CG art and shows a genuine love for the classic anime ARPG genre it’s inspired by, but ultimately falls short in its clunky combat and occasional performance dips.

A short-burst Norse-inspired tale that's fully functional but lacks that spark to make it a top-tier experience. It's worth trying the free-trial, at the very least.

Seen as a first episode, it offers a strong foundation that, if followed up on by more ambitious level design and greater focus on its strengths, could be a real Wild West legend.

Beholder is pithy, with small sketches of character and darkness. Sadly, submission to the game's mechanics means much is lost in the God of efficiency.

An approachable beer-and-pretzels wargame like this one needs to have an inviting user experience that makes it more rewarding to play in short sessions and less of a management chore.

It looks the part, feels the part, but is lacking essential features to make this a genuine Crash Bandicoot experience.

Marble Age can sit alongside other quirky tactical takes like Empire: The Deck Building Strategy Game and provide a snappy, short­-term bit of strategic jerky.

Decent game that’s worth a try with friends. Feels a little light though.

A charming but troubled post-apocalyptic title that I had fun with despite its best efforts, Metal Max Xeno Reborn is a good game dragged down by some silly design choices and a lacklustre presentation. But if you know this is your bag and have a little patience, there’s something really rewarding in here.

An intriguing survival game that forces real-life players to sustain each other as the clock ticks down, one minute (year) at a time.

Project Cars Go isn't the car sim that some people might have wished it was, but despite lacking the breathless thrill of the best racing games, it still manages to be compulsive enough to keep your fingers engaged.

All things considered, I would recommend The Daring Mermaid Expedition only to diehard CoG fans, to someone who is looking for a light, entry-level gamebook or who doesn’t have a lot of time on their hands to really delve into a complicated and multi-layered story.

Deep Paths does away with many of the harsher features of those early dungeon delvers - there is no need to worry about starvation, or losing health by walking into walls. Nor is there a need to trouble yourself managing your supply of torches to avoid being plunged into darkness, as the lantern in Dark Paths seems to have an unlimited supply of fuel. Yet in other ways it is stubbornly old school, which may be a little too much for more mainstream gamers to enjoy. The good news is that the designer is obviously open to improving the game, he has already released an update with an option to make the monsters easier to defeat. A bit of time polishing the interface and introducing an auto-mapping function would really help Deep Paths appeal to a wider audience.

Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening continues a long and dependable series in the exact fashion you’d expect, but playing it on Switch is a clunky and unintuitive experience, bringing a charming sim into the territory of irritating micromanagement.

Still, Sproggiwood is a clever, fast-paced RPG disguised by a tawdry facade. Is it particularly deep? No. Is there too much grind to it? Yes.

Due to the rampant increase in difficulty and sometimes feeling wholly dependent on luck, Missile Cards is a great idea that frustrates just a little too much to be a great game.

A faithful recreation of the original Final Fantasy Legend titles. Perfect for fans looking for a nostalgia trip, but not a great first entry into the series for new players.

It’s harder to recommend this game to a general RPG audience, but the problems with Petticles in Peril are mostly correctable, so the next episode of ChemCaper could very well fulfill the dream.

I love Stellaris, but I feel like Galaxy Command is too crowded to really capture the essence of what makes the original so special.

Stockpile is a clever game, but to get the most from the experience you would probably be best investing in the board game.

Despite some nice ideas and a classic roguelike framework, Source of Madness on Switch just isn’t fun enough to recommend. Here’s hoping some updates down the road can change that.

Super Gridland is a solid match-three offering with a cool day/night cycle.

If the developers can get it to work reliably, Patchwork: The Game has the potential to be one of the most-enjoyed boardgames on iOS of the year. Until then, the weak AIs and online frustrations leave it as only a tempting appetizer.

A fun mobile racer that suffers from balance issues and a lack of innovation.

The game is definitely for min/maxers and “roll” players. If you enjoy character optimization, accumulating and upgrading powers, and fine tuning your choices for specific battles Oz will appeal to you. Battles are quick, fun, and rewarding. You should, however, be willing to either do some daily grinding or spend some real money to keep your heroes on par and all of your options open. If you are looking for a story-driven RPG for the “role”-playing elements, I'd recommend looking elsewhere.

If you're a Fire Emblem super-fan, this is the best version of the NES classic. For everyone else, the Nintendo DS remake or its Wii U port are far better.

Though it never reaches the potential highs, Chroma Squad is the best video game adaptation of Power Rangers to date.

There is certainly room on the market for a streamlined spaceship management game. Unfortunately, in the process of making a more approachable game, the developers have not only rationalised the idea but also oversimplified it. The result is a rather repetitive and directionless experience. It is sad that the legacy of Panthera Frontier’s initial freemium release is still present. The considerable expense of decent upgrades and the ability to cheat death feel unbalanced and make the game too much of a slog unless you are prepared to spend extra cash.

Storyteller has an alluring concept and some great visuals but doesn’t engage you fully until it’s almost too late. While providing some laughs and including some solutions that modernise fairy tales and tragedies for today’s audiences, the puzzle aspect doesn’t boggle the brain consistently enough for my liking.

It's a short, rough-edged experimental indie game with alt-comics art, and it's about interrogating circus performers. It's either your cuppa, or it just isn't.

Though I wanted to love A Storied Life: Tabitha, its smooth and relaxing gameplay is let down by a frustrating narrative arc, which left me with more questions than answers - ones that a replay doesn’t seem to help solve.

It’s a smashing success in game design for the purposes of luring in new gamers and giving everyone a reasonable second choice when a game group comes together and has difficulty choosing a game.

Maneater is a grisly, carnage-fuelled experience, though the Switch port exhibits some rough edges, many of which dampen the fun.

Silent Night isn’t quite as good as the original Lifeline…, but it’s still worth playing.