The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom takes the magic of Breath of the Wild and makes it bigger, sillier, and much more fun. It’s an excellent time, packed to the brim with beauty and joy, and there’s nothing like it on the Switch.

A fast and addictive card game with silky-smooth gameplay - Meteorfall rocks.

Beautiful visuals, a stellar soundtrack, a plethora of great modes, all wrapped around one of the most mechanically perfect video games ever made, Tetris Effect: Connected is an essential puzzle game and a perfect match for anyone with the OLED Switch.

Metroid Prime is one of the best games in action history, and now it gets an upgraded release that sets a new high-water mark for remasters across the industry. Gorgeous visuals, fantastic control options, and stunning sound design, all make this the best way to play Samus’ stellar sci-fi epic.

It’s a nearly perfect port of a classic PC game, something we haven’t really seen since Firaxis brought us XCOM.

Smartly designed with some wonderful visuals and enthralling entertainment. Well worth plundering.

Persona 5 Royal is a wonderfully immersive and iconic JRPG, featuring striking, stylised visuals, fast-paced, turn-based combat, and a unique world full of captivating characters and stunning stories. Though the Switch somewhat stumbles with downscaled visual performance, it provides an otherwise smooth experience, and the novelty of being able to take the Phantom Thieves on the go is certainly a plus. Long live the phantom thieves!

Hades is a near-perfect marriage of reactive storytelling, blistering action, and bickering gods.

Sometimes the narrative stutters due to the need to grind and upgrade your tools and items, and you’ll remember that what you’re playing is just an artfully disguised Skinner box. As you’re ploughing over unexplored savannah in search of Glutterfly eggs, however, you’ll realise it doesn’t matter because it’s a hell of a disguise.

As a source of insight into history, what Twilight Struggle does better than any other game I've played (as if it needs more trophies on its mantel) is provide some perspective on how different it felt to live during the Cold War.

Zach Gage’s knack for finding age-old games, shaking out the excess, and rearranging what’s left into a brilliant work gleams in every inch of Pocket-Run Pool.

A Good Snowman Is Hard To Build is a delightful little puzzle game.

It is truly a fantastic gamebook and a great way to spend time with Shakespeare, even if you end up searching for sunken ships on the bottom of the North Sea.

A frankly phenomenal attention to detail, alongside a variety of interesting additions to level design, powers, and the brilliant new badge system, make this Mario’s finest outing in a generation. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is pure Nintendo magic, and an A-Team of veteran Nintendo talent with a fresh injection of younger developers is responsible for the most refreshing, satisfying, and addictive Mario game since Super Mario World. This is the Mario game the Switch deserves and the start of Mario’s new legacy.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed is Monolith Soft firing on all cylinders, and it’s a resounding victory lap that rewards longtime fans while showcasing exactly what this incredible team do best. The story balances new and old with a deft touch, and everyone gets their moments. Plus, there is so much to see and explore, with smart and satisfying reasons to do so. Maybe make sure you’ve played a few entries before jumping in, but this is heaven for Xenoblade fans.

Rogue Wizards is an excellent tactical RPG. The line-of-sight graphical style is appealing and the game is easy to play and understand. If you enjoy tons of loot and optimizing a character's gear, it is the game for you. It really scratched the Diablo 3 itch for me right from my phone. What's more, the game is free and its monetization system is smart and respectful of players. I hope the developer finds success with it and that more freemium game makers experiment with these types of approaches.

This game is the best example I can give of the importance of games as a medium of art: Papers, Please is precision-engineered to encourage you to feel empathy. There’s few films (or works of literature, or musical compositions) that slip you into the shoes of a man in an impossible situation as adroitly as Papers, Please does.

A loving addition that pays homage to a beloved franchise while injecting new blood into the existing game, the Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania DLC is a shining example of how developers should approach additional content. With heaps of weapons, outfits, and nostalgic surprises to find: there’s a huge amount of bang for your buck, and Castlevania fans couldn’t possibly ask for a more exciting or fun way to bring the series into the fold.

Civilization VI is a great game, but you already knew that. The iPad port is exceedingly well done and well worth the consideration of any fan of the franchise or turn-based strategy genre.

If you are a fan of turn-based strategy titles then Warbits has everything you need.

It may be slightly more demanding up-front than a Tetris sure, but show it a fraction of the forbearance given to an RPG or a 4X game and you’ll be entranced by a beautifully efficient design that makes the player feel like some arcane trickster genius.

A retro-style action-roguelike that feels like Castlevania on steroids, Vampire Survivor goes from one of the most addictive games on Steam to one of the most addictive games on mobile with a stellar port and some great options no matter your device.

No Man’s Sky is the definitive example of a comeback. What was once a hollow experience is now a dense RPG that encourages you to play your way without punishing you for it. With excellent multiplayer and waves of free content to dig into, No Man’s Sky is the only space RPG you need to play right now.

Cinco Paus is, quite literally, a revelation. Strongly recommended for enterprising word-nerds as well as puzzle- or min/max-minded individuals who don't mind trafficking in vagaries and risk.

Her Story is a unique experience. You’ve never played anything like this before, and might never get the chance to play anything like it again.

Donkey Kong Bananza elevates the 3D platformer genre with highly engaging mechanics, an almost entirely sandbox environment, and buckets of charm. This isn’t just the game that I’ve wanted to play for years without even knowing it, but it’s the first truly must-have Nintendo Switch 2 release. As I’m writing this, I already can’t wait to go back for more.

The controls aren’t perfect and it’s still on the short side, but The Room Three delivers exactly what you’re promised: brooding and beautiful atmosphere with epic-length puzzles to solve.

Once again, inkle Studios has bested themselves in creating the gold standard for interactive fiction, and causing us all to start wondering when the next chapter will arrive.

7 Mages takes the best qualities of classic dungeon-crawlers while adding its own twists, a combination which makes it one of the best RPGs on the App Store.

Physics based combat makes a surprisingly enjoyable addition to turn-based strategy in this stylish, story driven campaign. Head out to the black and tell ‘em you ain’t coming back!

Even with a few minor quips, this a fantastic port of a classic that is immediately accessible and works in both ten minute bursts or a long weekend session. Essential.

Persona 4 Golden on Switch is just as fantastic as the original game, with minimal performance issues, a great aesthetic, enigmatic characters, and an enthralling story that keeps you guessing, this JRPG is a must-play for any role playing fan. Throw in some great turn-based combat with unique elements, and you’re in for a terrific time.

Hollow Knight is an incredible achievement that combines smart game design, a rich world, and sharp combat, with an enthralling insectoid world and a story just begging for you to find it. Team Cherry’s title is a high watermark for Metroidvanias, as the satisfying abilities and countless collectibles add variety and meaning to exploration, rewarding every discovery. Yet, while the challenge is a rewarding part of the process, I do wish that the title made some concessions and shone a bit of light in the darkness for those first fledgling steps.

Resident Evil Requiem wonderfully blends survival horror and action, featuring two compelling protagonists with starkly different experiences that keep the gameplay fresh. The story is excellent, fitting nicely into the Resident Evil universe at large, and the game runs really well on the Nintendo Switch 2.

An excellent sci-fi SRPG that will provide countless hours of fun once you get over its initially intimidating scope.

Do not let the IAPs and steep challenge deter you from strong gameplay and incredible presentation. Iron Marines is an excellent mobile RTS.

A beautiful realisation of the joy of playing, Chicory is an astounding use of the medium of video games that also leans heavily into the emotional weight of expectations and doubt. An incredibly real and human story is told with fantastic gameplay, and bringing the world of Picnic back to life is a journey I won’t forget.

For those of us that have played Kairosoft’s Game Dev Story, this game will feel very familiar. Replace the graphics with Kairosoft’s trademark pixel art and, on the surface at least, the two games would be hard to tell apart. However, look a little deeper and you will realise that Game Dev Tycoon has a lot more to offer, both in terms of depth and opportunities to experiment with different approaches. The presentation is clear and simple, and overall, it just feels like the game has found its true home on touchscreen devices -- and it works equally well whether you choose to play in short sessions or over longer periods. My one real gripe is that the endlessly looping music quickly becomes irritating; it would have been lovely to have a soundtrack based on the chip music of different eras.

You Must Build A Boat is such a rare combination of frenetic speed and methodical planning that its closest relative might be Dark Souls.

Cat Quest is a delightful, challenging, and ultimately wonderful action-RPG. Fans of Zelda, Dark Souls, or anything cute will find themselves happily occupied for at least a dozen hours. It’s not purrfect, but it’s close.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is itself and loudly. It is what it is without a hint of doubt. It’s the perfect videogame, inasmuch as it takes everything that makes the series special and turns it up louder, down darker. It does what it wants.

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury provides a compelling, if inconsistent, blend of the past and a potential vision of the portly plumber's future.

It's not revolutionary, but ELOH is a good puzzle game that develops its central ideas well and puts them in a very attractive package.

Pokémon Pokopia is a delightful, cozy game with an intriguing world, enthralling gameplay, and endless playability. It takes the best bits from iconic games like Animal Crossing and Dragon Quest Builders and makes them its own, resulting in an adorable adventure that you just can’t put down.

An intuitive, attractive puzzler for anybody who ever thought they could build a better subway.

If you're a fan of real-time combat games Barbearian is easy to recommend as it is certainly one of the better mobile titles in the genre. It looks great, is loaded with smashy goodness and visceral feel, and is a ton of fun to play. It offers plenty of challenge without nearing the rage-quit-and-never-look-at-the-game-again reaction some similar games seem to elicit. The ability to micromanage the difficulty and completely control the UI layout is just icing on the cake.

Nier Automata is one of the best games from the previous generations of consoles, and it has made the jump to the Nintendo Switch in a mind-bogglingly impressive fashion. Little to no noticeable compromises have been made to get it onto a handheld system, and the magical, inventive nature of the thing sings just as loud as ever.

Though outside our usual remit, this game is so unusual and of rare quality that it has proved itself a rising star. Astrologaster is a pitch-perfect musical comedy of (medical) errors.

With a moody map just begging to be explored, satisfying secrets in every corner, and some immensely rewarding combat that pushes you to your limits; Death’s Door is a sublime action game wrapped in an amazing well realised world.

A streamlined management sim experience, Motorsport Manager 2 is an enjoyable game even if you are not a fan of motorsports.

If you’ve played through the previous installments, picking up the fourth is a no-brainer. You’ll bump into characters you’ve met along your journey and use items you nabbed way back in the Shamutanti Hills. If you’re a newbie, it’s still worth the price of admission, but I would recommend picking up the entire series and starting from scratch to get the most out of it. Otherwise, it’s a bit like reading about the Battle of the Pelennor Fields without having sat through the Council of Elrond (spoilers?).

Frost is a well-designed game. It looks and sounds beautiful in its own bleak and foreboding way, especially on my iPad Pro. I did test it on my iPhone 6S plus and it looked fine there too. It is harder to read the words without expanding cards, but once you know your way around that matters less. Gameplay is fun and effective and offers ample opportunity for tactics and strategy. The sights, sounds, gameplay, and every other aspect of Frost feed its survivalist theme perfectly. Skill definitely has a role in Frost, but chance often plays the greater part. I know this turns many gamers off, and if you're one of them, you might want to look elsewhere. If you don't mind losing to bad luck now and then there's a lot to love about Frost and it is definitely worth picking up. Frost is available on iOS and Android.

For those with an interest in the period or the temperament to appreciate its pitched battles, Pike and Shot’s mix of the cerebral and the visceral make it a compelling and unique game, and its range and longevity of content make it an essential purchase.

Lost Frontier is a worthy candidate for fans of turn-based combat games who like a good challenge.

Sunless Sea is not a great game, but it's a very good and very unusual one. In truth, it's a better game with a controller or a keyboard than a touchscreen. But if that's the only route you have to taking passage on the Unterzee, learning the clumsy controls is a price worth paying.

With it's original style and finely honed gameplay, either Severed is a crazy diamond of a game or I'm tripping. Or both.

Moonlighter is truly the sum of its parts, a brilliant combo of homely shop-keeping and dungeon-crawling depth.

Prince of Persia makes a solid comeback with The Lost Crown, embracing the Metroidvania genre and giving fans a world full of adventure and danger. The intriguing story, characters, and lack of bugs are just the cherry on top of a lovely sundae.

A meaty mobile port of the massive farm simulation game that’ll keep you occupied on the go, with a few minor control issues.

Tunic boasts satisfying and challenging combat, as well as a beautiful world rich with hidden treasures and forgotten knowledge, and revels in slowly giving players the pieces they need to explore its every corner. A delightfully colourful visual language and a beautifully wistful soundtrack also help, bringing everything to life with earnest energy that delivers a sense of childlike wonder that very few games can achieve.

A brilliant addition to the base game that condenses the highlights of the original into a handful of fantastic boss fights, The Delicious Last Course is a constant delight from start to finish. About 4-5 hours of great new bosses, new ways to play, and a new character to get to grips with, Cuphead fans will be delighted to return to this world with so many new foes and new tools to kill them with.

It’s the very essence of what indie gaming is all about: this is no game made by committee, but one man’s utterly original and compelling vision brought to life.

Legends of Runeterra might be the best deck-builder on mobile, but the grind and hard to access champions, leave it falling just short.

Though difficulty may frustrate and dissuade some players, the XCOM 2 Collection on iOS is still a great introduction to what makes the series special.

13 Sentinels barely puts a foot wrong throughout its story. It has lofty ambitions that can become a mess of strange terms, but it never forgets its characters and themes. It loudly reminds you of the violence and destruction to come with the RTS mech combat one moment, then lets you see a character quietly consider the ramifications of everything they learn the next. It has such breadth, not just of ideas, but also of emotion.

With intuitive controls, beautifully crafted levels, and a story that takes you deep into the mind of a girl and her childhood, NeverAwake is one of the funnest games I’ve played in a while. I simply can’t get enough, and thanks to its auto-aim feature, both hardcore and casual gamers can progress through the levels.

Metroid Dread doesn't break the mold, but it's a solid Metroidvania that will please fans new and old alike.

The content included in the game is absolutely worth the purchase price, and I didn't feel like I missed out on much by not spending more. The game is intensely engaging with a light-hearted tone that makes it a real pleasure to jump in to. Tweaks to the Kingdom Rush formula should please long-time fans and jaded TD players who have seen everything. If you're new to this kind of game, Vengeance is a great, entertaining jumping off point.

Rise nails the theme, introduces smart improvements to combat, and is a thoroughly fun experience from start to finish. If you don’t mind the dip in performance compared to the previous game, it’s the best Monster Hunter on the market.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a lovingly crafted remake that brings all the fun of the original while including some helpful quality-of-life updates that do away with tedious traveling. There’s a reason this game is a fan favorite, and this enhanced version lives up to all the expectations.

The mechanics are occasionally a loose fit for the theme, but Rebuild 3 atmosphere and gameplay create compelling narratives of growth, progress and hope.

Guild of Dungeoneering has a distinctive look, challenging, original gameplay, and a snarky bard. What's not to like?

A motorsport manager that could rival any outing on a major console or PC, bursting with details, stats and features.

A solid port of one of the greatest games ever made.

With such expertly crafted and satisfying gameplay that it feels like it was made in a lab by Heisenberg, Poinpy is just ridiculously fun to play, offers a huge amount of ways to customise your personal gameplay, and gives you a treasure chest of fun things to discover along the way. Of course, no game is perfect, but if you asked me to point out the best mobile game of the year right now, I’d probably tell you to play Poinpy.

Miracle Merchant is a simple yet compelling solitaire game with a winning mix of finesse and fortune that will win over a wide variety of players.

This bizarre tale of history is yours and yours alone... and it's far too engrossing for you to ignore.

Much like the original version, the Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is a cryptic manifesto on game design as much as it is a game in itself, made even more playable with responsive controls on Switch and no noticeable bugs or issues. On stepping out of office 427, you find laughter, existential crises, and moments of pure bewilderment in equal amounts, and you’ll cherish every second.

Telling Lies is one of 2019's best games but still stands in the shadow of its predecessor's achievements. It earns major props for acting, writing and excellent implementation of FMV. Minor demerits for an untidy denouement.

Star Ocean The Second Story R is absolutely stunning and could be the best-looking game of 2023. With a gorgeous 2.5D aesthetic, timeless story, and the ability to play the way you want with a range of skills, this is a great entry for new fans to start their Star Ocean journey and a faithful remake for existing fans to return to.

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit is a must-play for all FNAF fans, offering stunning pixelated graphics and a story inspired by the novel of the same name. FNAF has never been so terrifying, Spring Bonnie proves to be a brilliant antagonist, posing a true test of survival while you cautiously creep around each corner.

After what seems like forever, we’ve finally got Pikmin 4 and it does not disappoint. Head into the undergrowth armed with a planty platoon and your trusty dog Oatchi to uncover mystery and treasures in a delightful adventure.

I’ll come right out and say that Banner Saga 2 is a better game than it’s predecessor, and that’s no small thing, considering that the first game shook off its critics stings like so many biting flies, winning nearly all of them over despite their misgivings. It’s not perfect, especially as a mobile experience, but it builds on the previous game’s strengths and benefits from a shift in players' perspectives from what they thought The Banner Saga should be to an appreciation of what it actually is.

If you played Teeny Titans and are ready for more great figure-battling action, or enjoy the genre in general, Teen Titans GO Figure is an easy recommendation to make. The game is a great blend of old awesomeness and new hotness and does feel like a new experience, one that I am enjoying just as much the second time around.

Melatonin is a dreamy rhythm game experience for newcomers to the genre and veterans alike. Prepare to sink some hours into this one, as I can guarantee it will have you hooked.

Don’t Starve is unlike anything I’ve played before and I can’t stop myself from playing it. It’s frustrating as hell at times–finally getting farms built and then getting eating by roving hounds comes to mind–but I can’t turn it off.

Charming, witty and as addictive as a bag of chips with lashings of salt and vinegar.

Mediterranea Inferno is a must-play visual novel that explores the intricacies of generational trauma, queer subculture, and our sense of connection in a post-pandemic world with nuance and without shying away from the gorier aspects of the human experience.

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line takes a very simple premise with easy-to-learn and hard-to-master levels and ties them all up in an adorable little chibi ribbon. It’s a must-play for any Final Fantasy superfan, but the lack of touchscreen controls on Switch is an oversight.

It can be convincingly argued that Rodeo are the Blizzard of mobile gaming at this point — their commitment to polish and detail is like no other mobile-focused game dev studio going.

Matching tight, intricate controls with a vibrant style and high-spirited, energetic world, OlliOlli World delivers the best skateboarding experience on Switch. The series has taken a significant leap forward and absolutely stuck the landing. An essential indie for any skateboarding fans.

Wildfrost is a brilliant little deck builder that manages to both frustrate and charm in equal measure. Its magnificently moreish yet maddening gameplay loop makes it a perfect fit for mobile, and its intuitive yet punishing mechanics offer heaps of replayability, making it well worth the premium entry fee.

Dungelot: Shattered Lands is a fun and challenging game with the best of both roguelike and RPG worlds.

Like Mr. Bond, FRAMED2 is a classy and immaculately presented spy caper. You may be shaken by its brevity, but this innovative puzzler is still stirring stuff.

Ex Astris is a truly impressive premium mobile RPG that really breaks the mold. Nostalgic yet fresh, this brilliant little gem combines a stunning world, deep lore, lovable characters, and an intricate turn-based-meets-real-time combat system, making for a truly striking experience that is well worth the entry fee.

Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles has some fun yet immensely difficult strategy combat, a gorgeous art style, and an intriguing story. I would recommend the game to anyone looking for a challenge; however, if you’re only interested due to it having Final Fantasy in its name, this probably isn’t the game for you.

Showing no signs of slowing down, these two most recent entries in the Ace Attorney series present a strong enough story, and enough great new characters and mechanics to make the titles feel as fresh as ever. The time period makes for some interesting twists and the earnest protagonist and rookie-lawyer Ryunosuke is a delight thanks to witty writing and fantastic presentation. A series high point and a great entry for newcomers to boot.

Overboard is an engaging and puzzling narrative experience, with a striking visual style and a great level of replayability to boot.