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.