The Labo Vehicle Kit is simply wonderful, and really brings Nintendo’s cardboard-filled vision to life. The inclusion of a meaty game to sink your teeth into makes all the difference, and it feels as though the weighting of the different aspects is designed to keep you constantly interested and entertained. While it was easy before to write off Labo as a cardboard demo set, or a craft project with a lacklustre robot game tied to it, the Vehicle Kit is a perfect demonstration of what Nintendo achieve time after again.

The new music is wonderful, the additional stories are engaging, and the updated visuals make it hard to return to the pixelated appearance of the original DS release. Still, despite these obvious improvements and extra pieces of content, there’s a downside to the update. Some people, especially newcomers, won’t find issue with the new control scheme, but for many long-time fans the dual-character combat of the original is a huge part of what made it a game worth remastering.

Metal Max Xeno is just so thoroughly average when it comes to JRPGs. The basic world, familiar storyline, and characters serve an okay experience which embraces the grind a bit too much for a world that is generally void of much interest. The game feels like a throwback to older JRPGs which is great if that is what you’re into, but there has been so much advancement in the genre that overall Metal Max Xeno feels a bit out of place.

Space Hulk: Tactics is certainly true to the ethos of the original board game, with some smart card-based additions, a full Genestealer campaign and a full on level editor. That said, it’s only liable to be long-serving franchise fans that get the most out of it.

Hyper Light Drifter is a jaw-dropping experience no matter the platform you play it on. What started as an engaging masterpiece in 2016 continues to be just as rewarding and worthwhile of a video game in 2018. With the Nintendo Switch you get the valuable bonus of being able to take this journey with you anywhere you want and believe me when I say this is a journey you will not want to step away from once you start it.

Transference’s inventively spins its story of obsession and broken families into a game that’s all about perception and twisted realities. It’s not entirely successful, failing to confront the topics it raises and failing to live up to its Hollywood billing and origins, but it’s still deeply atmospheric as you flick between realities, solve puzzles and figure out the lengths to which Raymond Hayes would truly go.

STAY can’t be faulted for its aspirations and the attempt to make a believable character in Quinn, to create an individual that the player will want to help. However, the result is a near endless stream of lacklustre dialogue that made it incredibly difficult to stay to the end.

Fossil Hunters is a game I’ve been looking forward to playing for the last six months and Reptoid Games have not disappointed me. This team based puzzler is superb and will be sure to unleash your inner palaeontologist.

Overall the controls are intuitive and responsive, with the game working with you to complete its levels, but every once in a while, certain mechanics felt a little off. Thankfully there’s a wide array of accessibility options, and while hardcore gamers may lament this approach as overly casual, the optional nature means that The King’s Bird can be enjoyed by all.

Super Mario Party is just a very safe game. It brings back the classic Mario Party board game form, marrying it with some of the better ideas from Mario Party: Star Rush, but it's light on the number of boards to play, lacks depth in other game modes, and misses opportunities for solo handheld and online multiplayer. It's Mario Party, but it's not particularly super.

It's rare that a modern return of a classic gaming series hits the mark, but Mega Man 11 lets off a charged burster shot that obliterates any worries you might have had. It encapsulates much of what made the old games so great, but the new abilities feel fresh and more modern at the same time. This is a much needed return to form for the Blue Bomber. Can Battle Network come back now too?

Assassin's Creed Odyssey throws so much stuff at you, it's difficult to sift through it all. It's a beautiful game to look at and the story is intriguing, but it feels like a game that could have been a little more ambitious if given more time to develop. There's good ideas, from the branching story and character choice to the return of ship-based combat, but its ambitions also fray around the edges in a way that Origins didn’t.

FIFA 19 feels like the culmination of the last few years of FIFA games, and not just from the conclusion of The Journey’s interwoven story. The Champions League gives EA the opportunity to show their presentation skills and bed in a new commentary partnership, a shakeup for the main online set up of Ultimate Team, and the surprisingly fun new Kick Off mode. Some new ideas don’t quite come together, but there’s a reason why FIFA is the biggest game in town.

Whilst an enjoyable and undoubtedly beautiful game, Planet Alpha never quite makes the leap into classic territory.

Wandersong is by no means perfect, but it is very different. Charm oozes out of every note and motion you make. Despite the technical glitches it is consistently winning and moving, with a lack of aggression and a genuine optimism that beams through like nothing else. It really will bring a smile to your face.

Bungie has done an excellent job in, not just creating enough content for the game’s fourth season and start of the second year, but in reviving a game that stuttered after its initial launch.

Ultimately, there is a difference between being easy and not very good. NASCAR Heat 3 is severely let down by the anodyne on-track action. Lacking any sort of driver enjoyment undoes the hard work put into the officially licenced lineup and career path options. Even for a racing game fan, this game is as dull as dishwater and extraordinarily derivative.

Following on from Max and Chloe’s time-twisting adventure was always going to be a tricky task, but Dontnod have pulled it off with aplomb in Life Is Strange 2’s first episode. Sean and Daniel’s relationship, the tragedy that sends them on the run, the contrasting people that they meet and the supernatural twists on a modern day drama all come together in wonderful fashion.

While NBA 2K19 is competent it has also, for me at least, continued down the road of not feeling as fun or exciting as previous NBA 2K titles. This year, the feeling isn’t so much of outcry as it is fatigue at having seen the gradual changes take place over the last several years.

Beautiful, British and bold, Forza Horizon 4 sets a new benchmark for open-world arcade racing.

Final Fantasy XV Pocket HD is a bullet-point RPG that just about gets away with its narrow focus thanks to the charm of its lead characters, fun combat, and having been able to crib some of the original’s great production values, particularly the epic soundtrack. It’s more or less impossible to recommend to PlayStation or Xbox owners, but for Switch fans it’s a light snack before next year’s deluge of proper Final Fantasy games.

Amongst the most generous expansions of all time, Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country is one of the year’s best RPGs.

It doesn’t outstay its welcome, its full of lovely touches and is a great example of a nice game.

The Gardens Between is a short and simple adventure that holds a lot of charm. It plays upon the nostalgia we all have for childhood and focuses on experiences we’ve left behind in adulthood. It’s also distinctly bittersweet in how it deals with the nature of change within relationships. While it’s not the longest game, it’s perfectly put together, and though the puzzles aren’t too difficult, the way they’re crafted should be praised as should the whole package.

If you’d never seen, heard or played a video game before, you might be moderately impressed. For everyone else, you should steer well clear of Fall Of Light.

While the Senran Kagura series has always been rife with fanservice and hyper-sexualization, these moments were at the tail-end of addictive action gameplay, funny character interactions, and classic anime cheesiness. These things are what make up the heart and soul of Senran Kagura, and by removing those and placing full focus on the T&A virgin wish-fulfillment, Senran Kagura Reflexions is just a lifeless alternative to an afternoon with your Chrome Incognito tabs.

The sparse amount of content and shoddy visuals hamper the experience slightly, but regardless, Touhou fans and bullet hell buffs are sure to have a great time with this one.

It is difficult to recommend City of the Shroud. It offered so much but delivers very little.