The Perfect Pencil is a metroidvania wrapped in a rather unusual outfit. If the game's mechanics are fairly standard insofar as we will do what most games of the kind expect from us, the plot and theme set it apart. By integrating the experience within a world that deals with issues of mental and emotional health and where every interaction and development derives from that theme, The Perfect Pencil manages to create a captivating space of its own, even if at some moments the game has a tendency to become rather repetitive.

GRID Legends: Deluxe Edition shows that it's possible to do an intense and fun racing game that joins an arcade experience with precise driving. The game comes with a healthy variety of choices and game modes and enough flexibility for players who want to create their own experiences, though the lack of competitive multiplayer of any kind is difficult to understand. Fans of racing games will be very satisfied nonetheless, as GRID Legends on the Switch 2 is a sharp and solid experience, with plenty to look forward to and a very competent technical performance.

The game allows for the players' gradual immersion into its mechanics and fundamentals, in a way that even those of little experience with such games will feel welcome, and the use of the Nintendo Switch 2 mouse control does wonders for the interactivity. Citadelum would have benefited from a greater development of its diplomatic and military components, and in the medium term it can feel somewhat repetitive due to the lack of a strong plot, but the game does a very good job with its core mechanics and fits neatly in the Switch 2 catalogue.

Inazuma Eleven - Victory Road marks a welcome return of the popular but long absent sports RPG series, and it's a new take that brings Inazuma Eleven to our day without compromising on what made it fun in the first place. The plot is more ambitious and interesting, the team management is more in depth and complex, and there's plenty of content to explore. Not only that, but its DLC is free, and very engaging as well. Fans of the previous games and newcomers alike will find plenty to wrap themselves with in this new step for the Inazuma Eleven series.

Mega Dimension is a DLC that brings some welcome new features to the game, such as a more demanding difficulty and new Mega Evolutions, as well as a plot that directly follows that of Pokémon Legends Z-A. Mega Dimension does not do so well on other fields, however, and very often the game feels repetitive when it comes to its overdone actions and settings, especially when it comes to the small dimension of its map. Mega Dimension is competent, but it adds more in quantity than in quality, and the price is too high for what it delivers.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment builds on what its two predecessors did and does it better, more ambitiously, and with a much more prominent plot, delivering the best "musou" experience on the Nintendo Switch 2 and a major addition to the Zelda universe. Thanks to the variety of quests, a more in depth combat that requires greater strategic thought, and the updates that render the experience more demanding and enveloping, Age of Imprisonment proves to be the best of its series, topped off by a near perfect performance on the Switch 2.

MIO: Memories in Orbit is an exquisite looking Metroidvania that plunges the player in a sci-fi adventure where the plot is drip-fed and the typical mechanics of the genre work exactly as they should. The start feels rather slow and underwhelming but as the game progresses, we find ourselves thinking the opposite, which makes MIO more suited to experienced players. Thanks to a flawless technical performance on the Nintendo Switch 2 and fine-tuned controls, MIO always feels right to play, and some of its difficulty barriers are addressed by the game's options.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition does not do a complete reworking or revolutionise the original classic, but it delivers an amount of improvements and new content that make this new edition a joy to play. The visual upgrade makes everything more pleasant to look, despite the framerate remaining the same, and the quicker loading times help making the experience swifter. The new areas and increased storage capacity, as well as the ability to invite more neighbours and improved control system further contribute to make this the ultimate way to play Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins performs remarkably well on the Nintendo Switch 2, and brings its healthy mix of massive scale battles and straight-forward action in a sharp and competent way, with no let downs and hiccups. Fans of the Dynasty Warriors series have plenty to look forward here and can expect its hallmark features along with a very captivating plot. Other players might start feeling that the action turns repetitive after a few hours, and the lack of a multiplayer mode is hard to justify for fans and newcomers alike.

Rogue Prince of Persia does a marvellous job at presenting a 2D action platformer roguelike that fits nicely with the Prince of Persia series. Quick paced, dynamic, intense action, topped by a gorgeous visual environment and a near flawless performance on the Nintendo Switch 2 make this an addictive and engaging experience that will quickly capture many players’ attention and dedication.

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is very ambitious and delivers an enormous amount of content, a long gameplay campaign, engaging turn-based combat, and an atmosphere that fits perfectly with the Warhammer series. It's less successful, however, at welcoming new players who are not familiar with the Warhammer lore. The experience can get cumbersome, with its heavy menus, long loading times and framerate drops, and despite recent updates, some flaws remain unadressed. Rogue Trader is a strategy RPG that does several things right, but execution problems make the Nintendo Switch 2 version fall below its potential.

Each chapter is dealt with through different gameplay mechanics, where players will find elements of puzzle games, stealth action, or criminal investigation along with the usual dialogues and plot choices. It's Shuten Order's biggest and most creative asset, but it also falls short of expectations as these gameplay mechanics are not explored as extensively as they could, and the game's somewhat fragment structure can lead to finding out what's going to happen too soon. Nonetheless, its solid plot, full of unexpected twists, and intriguing characters are well worth a good look.

Viewfinder is a puzzle game that treats us to an original gameplay mechanic based on altering reality with pictures so we can advance to the next chapter and to the next level. Captivating and with a fair difficulty curve, it does not try to overwhelm us with punitive difficulty or over the top antics, but it does a very good job at keeping us interested in what we’ll have to do next. Viewfinder is a very welcome addition to the Nintendo Switch catalogue, despite its late arrival compared to the original release date.

Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key DX brings the Atelier Ryza trilogy to a close, and joins the previous two games on the Nintendo Switch 2 as the best way to experience this trio of alchemy crafting RPGs. Thanks to the extra content and its many quality of life improvements, any player who wishes to experience the epilogue of the trilogy in the most rewarding way should look no further than this Switch 2 release. While some of its original flaws, such as a certain lack of novelty, remain present, the exploration feels more immersive, and both the combat and crafting system remain fun and engaging.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a sidescrolling beat'em up that does a very good job at being fun, looking sharp, and at providing a very solid cooperative experience, local and online. While it can get a bit repetitive, the game fits nicely with the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware, and its cast of characters, pixel art visual style, and dynamic combat are certain to find their place with Marvel and beat'em up fans alike.

Red Dead Redemption: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition does a marvelous job at updating the original game to a modern-day experience, repurposed for the Nintendo Switch 2 with improved visual quality, a more fluid experience, and all extra content and DLCs in one package which help make this the ultimate Red Dead experience on a Nintendo console. As for everything else, its plot and characters remain outstanding, the game's open world is one of the very best, and there's so much to do that the experience never grows stale, whether on long sessions or on quick and simple takes.

Absolum takes elements from beat'em ups, brawlers, and roguelites, and presents some of the best elements of those genres in an action-packed experience with a fantasy theme. The dynamic and varied combat gives the players all possible incentives to try different combinations and styles, and the game's exploration and progress are structured in a way that becomes very addictive, very quickly, with that classic 'just one more go' feeling that takes us back the arcades.

Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged is an exquisite remake that fits like a charm on the Nintendo Switch 2. Thanks to its many costumization options, it's possible to play either like in the original game or in a much more up to date manner. The plot remains juicy and captivating, even if it takes a bit of time until the real implications are laid bare in front of us. The puzzles are fun to tackle, and the dialogues are always able to get a smile out of the player, even if now and then we come across some outdated clichés. The best treatment that the original Broken Sword could get, now improved on the Nintendo Switch 2.

This fourth chapter features an exquisite art style which benefits greatly from a fantastic performance on the Nintendo Switch 2, that omnipresent atmosphere of solitude that goes with every Metroid game, and a jaw-dropping soundtrack. The attempts at an open world are not as fulfilling, however, and the backtracking can feel like a chore, while its plot sometimes breaks the game's momentum, but the core of the Metroid Prime series is all here, and the action and exploration still hit all the right spots.

Kirby Air Riders packs a myriad experiences that feature absolute chaos and bedlam, an endless amount of collectible items and achievements, charming and delightfully colourful tracks and scenarios, many, many unlockable pilots, machines and extras, and plenty of excuses to play a little bit more. Thanks to the way the game is structured, it is nearly impossible to ever feel bored, and with a million things to find, unlock and collect while winning races and minigames, Kirby Air Riders is an unmistakable bag of surprises, whether played at home or on the go.

Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & The Secret Fairy DX is an improved approach to this RPG with an alchemy-based gameplay mechanic. This DX edition improves on several technical issues, and the improved and more stable framerate and picture quality on the Nintendo Switch 2, as well shorter loading times, are a major step forward when it comes to an improved experience. Add to that all the additional content that is now accessible with the game, rather than scattered over several DLC packages, and this DX edition is indeed the best and most complete version of Atelier Ryza 2, for both newcomers and veterans alike.

Assassin's Creed Shadows on the Nintendo Switch 2 is a remarkable adaptation of this vast, open world RPG experience. Everything that made the game remarkable has been successfully ported to the Switch 2, such as the dual approach to the missions thanks to the differences between the two protagonists, the intricacies of the combat system, the shift in weather seasons with its gameplay implications, the attention to detail and fluid performance, all of that comes together to deliver a marvelous chapter of the Assassin's Creed series to Nintendo's new console. Veterans and newcomers alike will feel at home, with the added benefit of being able to play anywhere.

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is the premiere of this reboot of the Tomb Raider series on a Nintendo platform, and it does so in great style. The game features a very enveloping cinematic quality, and its storytelling features will keep players captivated from the beginning to the end, thanks to its balance between exploration, puzzle solving and frantic combat, while behaving very well on the technical performance side. Its puzzles can feel somewhat simplistic, however, and this version for both Nintendo Switch systems clearly required a graphical compromise that is difficult to understand on the Switch 2.

This puzzle-platformer, which goes from isometric to side-scroller, to 2D shooter to 3D navigation, is loaded with references to 1980s classics and collectible objects. The game keeps track of the objects we collect, not of the references we catch, and that’s a good challenge for when we are not feeling frustrated by the rather clunky platformer controls.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 lands on the Nintendo Switch 2 in yet another exquisite remake that will delight both veterans and newcomers alike. Its game engine allows for a fluid and enveloping experience, while everything that made the original game amazing has been duly preserved and is brought straight to our days. The game's intricate plot, its thriving streets and locations, the engaging and quick paced combat, and all the myriad characters, side quests and secondary plots are all here, in a testament to what a breathtaking experience Yakuza Kiwami 2 still is to this day.

Indika on the Nintendo Switch ends up falling short of its potential due to the game's graphical demands, which make its visual experience less impactful. With that said, its plot and bizarre atmosphere are still there, and they are successful with their attempts to create feelings of restlesness within the players. While Indika is not for everyone, players open to this kind of surreal settings will have a good time with this game.

Lapin is a charming 2D platformer that lures players to a challenging experience that will require sharp jumping skills and reflexes. Other than its fine-tuned gameplay and learning curve, Lapin also features a gorgeous visual world, as well as a surprising and even unexpectedly tragic plot line, all of which will keep us very curious until the very end.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A on the Nintendo Switch brings new and welcome ideas to a familiar formula which can feel fresh and captivating, while at the same time denounces hardware limitations that are impossible to escape on a system that's almost nine years old. The combat is more dynamic and engaging, the cast of characters is very appealing, there's plenty to do on exploration and side quests, and the soundtrack is magnificent. However, the game's world is rather small (though full of content), and its visual direction needs updating. Legends Z-A features good ideas but it craves a new space to live up to their promises.