Beholder is an intriguing concept and thematically rather strong, as it twists and exaggerates a Cold War totalitarian surveillance state into the form of a video game. However, with a sequel on the way, we hope that Warm Lamp can improve on an idea that’s rather rough around the edges but is dying to be fleshed out further.

InnerSpace manages to craft a bright, bizarre and beautiful world that is probably the best example of the phrase “eye candy” I can think of. Unfortunately, the act of exploring and navigating that serene, majestic world often times felt like a headache. The poor frame rate on Switch and no clear horizons made flying and swimming in InnerSpace far less enjoyable than the idea of those actions ever was.

Brawlout is fundamentally a great take on the Smash Bros. format, and they’ve nailed the weight of the characters, movement, and the pure fun that getting four players together for some combative carnage can bring. Unfortunately the limited roster and the unrewarding grind of the in-game store can temper that somewhat, but as a starting point for a new indie fighting franchise there’s a lot here to like.

The Escapists 2 for the Switch is a great prison escape game, which stays true to its intention of bringing 8-bit sandbox games into 2018 and while there may be other ways to create a game of this genre, it is still hard to imagine other prison escape games being as fun as this both for a single player and multiplayer experience.

Space will likely be the issue that prevents users from experiencing L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files, but while it isn’t a perfectly controlled VR experience, it’s impressive that we’re seeing a VR game that utilises Room Scale VR in ways that make sense. To actually be part of this crime drama, investigating crime scenes and apprehending criminals, was more enjoyable in VR. Here’s hoping the next time we see something like this, it’s a dedicated experience.

Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King is another indie game which feels right at home on Nintendo’s platform, despite also being available on Steam. The game will appeal to those looking for a bit of classic dungeon crawling, and it will be sure to please those that have missed top-down Zelda adventures. With a lovely kingdom to explore and a varied range of objectives, Blossom Tales shows us that this genre is still very much alive.

The Battle Royale game mode is so compelling, with each loss only making you want to do better next time, and each victory giving you stories of tense games of cat and mouse and frantic gunfights. It’s still lacking in terms of polish and optimisation, but after years of experimentation, this feels like the real start of a new paradigm in multiplayer gaming.

Tiny Metal is a great attempt at reviving the Advance Wars style of approachable military strategy for modern audiences, but while it certainly looks and behaves the part, the poorly balanced campaign and uninspired narrative only serve to emphasize just how special those classic games were.

Dead Rising 4: Frank’s Big Package is perhaps the perfect Christmas game; stuffed to the gills with content that swiftly loses its novelty, with the overall effect being a kind of overfed sleepiness. In this case, less could have been more.

For those who have been following the game since long before it’s PlayStation 4 announcement, Gang Beasts really does come as a poisoned chalice. Its meathead multiplayer melees will light up your living room for hours on end, yet when there’s only one person in the hot seat, it loses that charm almost completely.

Gorogoa’s main problem lies with its outdated linear approach. It’s a fantastic, distinctive looking game with a solid hook for progression through its puzzles, but it ironically doesn’t take a lot of risks. If you want a good hour or so to play a unique puzzle game, Gorogoa will fill that void, but just don’t expect it to do much more than that.

Shooty Fruity is a fun arcade shooter for VR that will be enjoyable for many people regardless of skill. The simple control mechanics makes it easy to pick up for anyone. Shooting aggressive fruit with various weapons is absurdly entertaining, while the pressure to perform basic tasks keeps you on your toes. Shooty Fruity is a simple premise well executed.

ELEX is the very opposite of the accessible games that have revolutionised the open world RPG in recent years. I enjoyed it as a modern looking take on the Gothic series, but newcomers will have to be prepared to fight against the systems through the beginning of the game. This has resulted in the game quickly gaining a cult following who celebrate its obscurity and lack of accessibility. I don’t agree with this take and would argue that the best aspects of the game would only be improved by a more polished and refined presentation.

LocoRoco 2 Remastered certainly gets the job done and while it is shorter than the original, there’s a ton of side content present. Its charming, minimalist detail looks great on the whole and runs as smoothly as one could hope for. The omission to that is with the low resolution cutscenes, which is somewhat ironic considering the emphasis on 4K in the marketing, but LocoRoco 2 Remastered is more of the same, which can only be a good thing.

Cat Quest is definitely good fun for a few hours and can be quite humorous, but a lack of depth to the basic gameplay loop means it gets repetitive and it’s easy to lose interest. Once you reach that point, tolerance for cat puns wears thin and the bright, cheerful aesthetic, while nicely realised and attractive enough, isn’t enough to keep people coming back. The only thing left to look forward to is the quirky side quests, which can be written well enough but again, are based around cat puns.

Nine Parchments is a solid release. Its gorgeous art style, dependable controls and fun co-op play almost hide a multitude of sins. Almost. Unfortunately, with a poor save system and combat mechanics that never really develop from the first level onwards, Nine Parchments soon becomes a slog that is less than magical.

Monster of the Deep definitely succeeds in immersing players, though fans of Final Fantasy may be left sorely wanting. It comes with a hefty price tag and, gameplay-wise, there’s so very little tying Monster of the Deep to Final Fantasy XV even if it does feel like part of the universe.

It’s Quiz Time has all the basics of a good quiz game, and can be plenty of fun with a group of friends. However, the host is unlikeable, rude and annoying, and you’ll be doing everything you can to give her as little screen time as possible, while the accuracy and difficulty of some of the questions can rob some rounds of their enjoyment.

Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier is an exciting narrative adventure that fans of the recent film trilogy will love. Its biggest drawback is perhaps how little interaction you actually have with it and that some of your choices make no difference to the game’s direction, but as a fantastic-looking, branching story in a loved world, there’s nothing else quite like it.

Reigns’ devilishly simplistic game of Tinder-like kingdom management feels just as inventive now as it did in 2015, but Reigns: Her Majesty fixes some of its more poorly considered design choices while also putting a refreshing spin on the challenge you face by casting you as a (very powerful) woman in a man’s world. The king is dead. Long live the queen!

de Blob is a welcome remaster and will hopefully lead to those who avoided the Wii version enjoying a fun and vibrant platformer. The sequel was released as a multiplatform title, so it’s possible that some may be looking backwards to the series’ origins. The game itself still holds up in comparison to its sequel, though it doesn’t have the enjoyable 2D sections. If you’re after a splash of colour to illuminate the dark winter nights, de Blob is a good place to go.

Unlike the invention of the wheel or the utilisation of fire, Caveman Warriors is hardly likely to revolutionise our world, but then it wasn’t intended too. Instead you get a solid and fun side scrolling platformer that harks back to the console classics of yesteryear. It’s gorgeous to look at, and whilst frustration can be caused with several technical issues, I nonetheless enjoyed my time with Caveman Warriors.

As a VR experience designed from the ground up for the technology, Doom VFR is probably the best example of this to date. There are some improvements to be made with the movement, but it is otherwise a fantastic bit of the ol’ ultra violence that shouldn’t be missed. Bethesda have definitely shown they understand the potential of VR, so hopefully we’ll see more dedicated VR experiences in the future.

It might not be the best example of the genre, but if you’re going to play it then the portable option makes the Switch the best place to play.

The recurring theme here is substance. On paper, creating a wave-based shooter doesn’t sound all that inventive or ambitious, yet Raw Data is just that. In a bid to capitalise on the VR gold rush, we’ve seen plenty of smaller, lacklustre shooting galleries, but Survios effortlessly puts them all to shame.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a phenomenal RPG. It's a truly incredible piece of work that builds and expands on the series' staples, while turning into a unique and heartfelt adventure all of its own.

I’m really surprised just how much I enjoyed Sky Force Reloaded, the first time I loaded it up I was playing it for five hours non-stop and at no point was I bored. Adding grind to a shoot ’em up sounds terrible but it’s a genius idea to counter the shoot ’em up’s traditionally short playtime. By adding the challenges, the act of replaying a level twenty or more times never gets boring. I am now going to bestow on Sky Force the highest honour I can give it: It reminds me of SWIV.

Oriental Empires is a very well made strategy game that allows you to get through a campaign in a few hours instead of having saves that span days, though that is an option as well if you wish. Despite its smaller scope focusing on Ancient China instead of the globe, the stakes actually feel higher due to the limited resources and high number of factions fighting for them. While some of the systems require a lot of getting used to Oriental Empires is well worth persevering with.