Dandara is a beautiful game with a fresh movement mechanic, but it doesn’t come together as well as I had hoped. Leaping across platforms is satisfying when it works, but aggravating when it doesn’t, and even when the leaping does what you want it to do, you’ll find annoying backtracking or bizarre navigation puzzles to overcome. There are some great moments in Dandara, but the headaches you have to deal with to get to them aren’t always worth it.

If you’re a fan of exploration titles then you should enjoy this. While The Station doesn’t reach the heights of some other titles in the genre, it is a good attempt and tells a slightly different story. Hopefully the audio and visual bugs can be ironed out, but The Station is an intriguing little mystery that has you guessing what happened to the crew on board right until the very end.

There’s clearly been plenty of love and attention given to the remastering of Age of Empires Definitive Edition, even if some of the less enjoyable elements of the original have also made it through the process unscathed. Twenty years later it still remains a hugely enjoyable RTS, and particularly thanks to its iconic soundtrack remains a joy to play, with hours disappearing as the eras pass you by.

Pop-Up Pilgrims is far from a must-have for PlayStation VR though helps demonstrate the tech’s implementation in terms of clever gameplay mechanics and not just immersive dioramas.

Fe is a thoroughly lovely adventure, full of wonder as you explore and lose yourself in this darkly wonderful forest. Its distinctive art style and the unusual creature designs conjure up something that’s both familiar and alien at the same time, which is only enhanced by the etherial lighting and the animals’ voices. A few nitpicking design issues and some shaky performance on Switch aside, it’s easy to recommend this charming game of discovery and singing.

With more depth to the combat, Crossing Souls could be a great game. As it stands, though, the lack of difficulty means that the only reason to drive forward is the story, so a recommendation relies heavily on your view of the 80s and reference-heavy stories set during that decade.

It’s clear that these are direct ports of the Wii U games, bringing across the touch controls that were added to the mix for those who wanted to tap at the screen of the Wii U GamePad instead of press buttons. Though not the best way to play the game, it’s actually nice to see some games making use of the Switch’s touchscreen instead of pretending that it doesn’t exist, even if it’s just because all of the hard work had already been done.

Sadly, this isn’t the breakthrough fans were expecting. Omega Force took a pretty big risk with Dynasty Warriors 9, and while its open world integration can be seen as a small triumph, this newest entry is marred by its heavily outdated approach to combat design.

If Kingdom Come: Deliverance has a ton of bug fixing to improve the performance drastically, it could be a hidden gem. It’s clear that the game, despite its grand ambitions, was simply not ready for public consumption. Shimmers of brilliance are there and had it seen more time in the oven, or set its expectations at a more reasonable level, it could have been brilliant and scored significantly higher as a result. Alas, Kingdom Come: Deliverance is another cautionary tale rather than a trend setter.

Long-time fans of Seven Deadly Sins might find some joy in seeing their favourite characters make the jump to a big, 3D action game, but that alone is hardly worth suffering through the rest of what this poor package has to offer.

Aegis Defenders is a title that totally delivers on its initial concept. It’s a game that built on the obvious passion of the developers, resulting in something that’s vibrant, fresh, enthralling and addictive. And when you’ve reached the end, you’ll be heading back to the start for more.

For any Final Fantasy fan, Dissidia NT has plenty to offer, with an array of the series’ best loved characters, and plenty of chaotic combat to pit them in. Unfortunately the lack of definition to those encounters, messy UI, convoluted single player progression, and a barebones selection of modes saps a good chunk of the fun away.

Exe:Late[st] takes the delicious Under Night cake and adds an entire extra layer of your favorite flavor, plus the garnishes and decorative frosting to make it stand out again, 3 years later.

EA UFC 3 is a good representation of the sport franchise, offering a well put together fighting game that represents the different styles and weight classes found in MMA. The action in the octagon mimics reality very well, with a decent career mode helping people to learn the ropes. On the online front, there’s a divide between Ultimate Team and standard online divisions with the latter winning out in both accessibility and fairness. If you’re a UFC fan in general, then this is a good game to pick up.

Strikers Edge has a strong and satisfying core, but there just isn’t enough surrounding that core experience to keep me engaged for very long. A lack of game mode variety would be excusable if there were some incentive for me to keep playing the one core mode this game has, but that incentive is nowhere to be found. Coupled with the lack of character descriptions or a proper way to practice their abilities, Strikers Edge is a lot like highschool dodgeball; you can only enjoy the same rubber ball hitting you in the teeth for so long before you decide to play something else.

For fans of fast-paced, over the top twin stick action, complete with bullet time and a score system that awards perfection, Bleed 2 is excellent. The only real issue is its length, which is remedied to an extent by additional characters, weapons, and modes. If arcade, Contra/Metal Slug action is your thing and you’ve been missing it, you could do much worse than Bleed 2.

I wasn’t expecting to have a good time playing Sairento VR because of all the movement, but once I’d gotten used to it I really enjoyed the over the top action. Even though it was just because of the ease of slaughtering enemies mindlessly, doing so in VR really helped with its appeal. It’s by no means perfect, with some structural and technical issues getting in the way of the fun, but from a small studio making a relatively ambitious VR title, they could have done a whole lot worse.

While you may not want to pick this up strictly for a single player experience, Shiftlings Enhanced Edition is probably one of the best co-op experiences there is on the Nintendo Switch, especially considering the recent surge in top-quality indie titles on the platform. If you like puzzles, platforming and have friends that enjoy video ganes, then this is for you.

Most people probably won’t mind Lost Sphear’s nostalgia tinted approach to game design, but there’s surprisingly little to write home about. Despite a rather intriguing premise, the characters come across a tad too bland, while the quest itself is too linear. It’s hard to knock it too much, but after the thoughtful journey at the heart of I Am Setsuna, this is a pretty average showing and certainly not a fresh take on the JRPG.

Black Mirror is a good story that suffers from a dated application of game styles. While this is interesting in a meta way, it is not much fun to play. The narrative itself plays out fairly successfully. but it is hard to recommend it for this alone.

Shadow of the Colossus isn't necessarily a game that needed to be remade in such an elaborate fashion, and yet, I'm so glad that it has been. Bluepoint's remake of this sublime and poignant adventure is phenomenal, both managing to stay utterly true to the original and bringing it up to date in glorious fashion.

Out of Ammo is a decent experience that blends RTS and FPS together, and if can be fun if you want something quick and not too taxing. However, it’s a game that shows its hand very quickly and doesn’t offer much beyond that.

2018 is off to a strong start with an Dragon Ball FighterZ early contender for this year’s best fighting game. By shattering some boundaries, Dragon Ball FighterZ has combat that’s more than worth getting into, but also a diverse roster and some phenomenal presentation. The Story Mode could have been improved if it were more streamlined, but it’s a mere blemish on an otherwise spectacular game.

Vesta was an absolutely delightful way to start off my gaming year. It’s hardly ground-breaking stuff but this is a solid, dependable and, most importantly, fun game. It’s all over rather quickly, but it’s a credit to the developers that this left me wanting more.

Full Metal Furies surprised me in just how diverse the gameplay could get in a brawler/shooter hybrid. Some experiments don’t come off, but upgrades change character play styles nicely and the game is a joy to play with others. The teething problems that online play is suffering do make it hard to recommend for those with online co-op in mind, but once it’s all fixed or if you plan to play locally, Full Metal Furies is a decent way to spend a couple of evenings worth of co-op brawling action.

Monster Hunter: World is the evolution the series has been waiting for. The giant creatures have never looked better, while the beautiful open world areas and the way Scoutflies assist your exploration have brought a newfound dynamism to every hunt. It remains brutally difficult and the unprepared may still be chewed up and spat back out, but this time it’ll categorically be your own fault rather than the game’s. Whether on your own, or in a group, now is the time to join the hunt.

I think it’s important to preserve old games for future audiences, or make them available for audiences that never knew they existed. Video games, like any other art form, have a long history behind them, and a longer history ahead of them. Releases like Zwei: The Arges Adventure serve as time-capsules to help keep old pieces of history from disappearing. It’s a game very much from its time. While I appreciate the effort put into making the writing stand proudly in a modern day, gameplay flaws and dated design choices make it a chore to truly get a satisfying experience out of the game.

ChromaGun is, for the most part, a great port, but it doesn’t fix issues like the difficulty spikes that have always been present in the game. There’s some truly excellent puzzle design in the sharp looking test environments that will keep you entertained, in what is likely the closest thing to Portal that the Nintendo Switch will ever see.