With a fast-paced and addictive gameplay loop, not to mention a solid amount of multiplayer content to keep things feeling fresh, I can see myself coming back to NWC: NES Edition time and time again, even if it’s just to shave a millisecond from my reigning records.

While the game suffers from a lack of 3D, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is still tons of fun to play, keeping younger gamers entertained with its accessible gameplay whilst older players will find tons of collectables and an exciting multiplayer mode to keep them occupied.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door may not be anywhere near as ambitious as other modern remakes such as Final Fantasy 7 and Resident Evil 4, but it didn’t really need to be. This is a fantastic and faithful remake for the Nintendo Switch, with enhanced visuals and reworked music breathing new life into this GameCube classic.

Princess Peach: Showtime! is a great option for young children who want a casual collectathon to sink their baby teeth into without fear of any difficulty spikes halting their progress. The variety of stages and abilities also helps to keep the experience fresh, while simultaneously never becoming so complicated to prove intimidating or confusing. That said, a lot of the inventive mechanics do feel undeveloped, lacking the required time to be fully explored. The low difficulty ceiling, even with collecting every single collectible, will likely put off older gamers – especially with the likes of Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Yoshi’s Crafted World doing a greater job of pleasing multiple audiences.

Super Mario RPG is a gorgeous reimagining of the SNES classic thanks to the highly detailed 3D animations. Those looking for a dose of nostalgia will be pleased that this is an extremely faithful remake, with just enough tweaks to make it more accessible to a new generation of gamers without diluting the magic of the original.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a condensed version of the modern Assassin’s formula. That may disappoint some who hoped for something that felt new while also significantly harkening back to the series’ past. Stealth does get a boost, alongside occasional engaging narrative and characters, but there’s plenty of padding that dampens the fun.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a fantastic addition to the franchise. Every level is bursting with personality and the fantastical new power-ups and abilities offer a lot more motivation to look further into every nook and cranny. The characters are a joy to control and all the platforming elements feel seamless. The Wonder Flowers are a very welcome addition, adding a lot more dimension to what I would previously call a very cookie-cutter experience. The only downside – if you can really call it that – is that Wonder can’t exactly stand alongside its peers in terms of storytelling or sheer size. Super Mario Bros. Wonder doesn’t break the mould for 2D platformers, but it has built upon what came before wonderfully and I would highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a calm, cosy experience on the Switch.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is exactly what you want from a sequel, building upon the web-swinging traversal and thrilling combat with numerous upgrades, while also making the most of the PS5's cutting-edge hardware for improved visuals and instantaneous loading. The story is excellent too, with one of the best on-screen adaptations of Venom to date. If you're a Spider-Man fan, this is an essential purchase for PS5 owners.

Starfield is an excellent RPG in the same mould as Skyrim and Fallout, but with a sci-fi spin. It features a deep skill tree and rewarding side quests to eat up your free time, as well as fantastic gunplay. But it hasn’t quite reached the high expectations for space exploration, with technical limitations and countless bland planets making the journey into the stars a rather mundane one.

As a successor to the hugely popular Final Fantasy 15, Final Fantasy 16 leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. Sure, the crucial elements of a Final Fantasy game are all present and accounted for – engaging boss battles full of impressive visual effects, fluid combat and an interesting storyline – but for every win, there’s a massive fail, be it the bland semi-open world devoid of much to do or the frankly uninspired never-ending list of fetch-style side quests. Charming voice acting, a plethora of twists and turns and Hollywood-esque cut scenes helped keep me entertained through the majority of the 40-hour campaign, but once it was over, I was done. There was no urge to explore the semi-open world or even dive into the new Game+ mode. It’s very much a one-and-done affair, which hasn’t been the case for previous Final Fantasy titles I’ve played.

My love for Pikmin 4 only grew stronger the more I played. This is a great Pikmin entry to delve into as a newcomer and all the new features and characters should offer enough of a change to seasoned Pikmin players. The animation is incredibly endearing and creates a wonderful atmosphere throughout the game. The creepier sections may be too overwhelming for very young players but will be highly appreciated by older gamers. If you don’t mind a breezy game that doesn’t offer up much of a challenge, I implore you to check out Pikmin 4 and see what these cutesy little creatures have to offer.

Resident Evil 4 Remake not only does right by its original source of inspiration, but it also sets a high bar for what modern day remakes can be. All components of the story have been finetuned into a more well-thought out package, and that’s before mentioning the game’s full use of today’s graphical prowess to deliver a more terrifying interpretation of rural Spain. The core gameplay also retains what made it so great back in the day, but with modern amenities such as a parrying system, quick-select for weapons and the ability to run. And despite the new improvements, the increased aggressiveness of the enemies ensures that the game never feels like a cakewalk. I don’t know who still needs to be convinced at this point, but Resident Evil 4 is a masterpiece that I cannot recommend enough.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom doesn’t stray too far away from the hugely successful template of Breath of the Wild. But by reinforcing its predecessor’s strength for experimentation with the new building mechanics, while also telling an engaging story and opening up new locations to explore, this is a perfect sequel to the greatest game to ever grace the Nintendo Switch.

Dead Island 2 has been long in the making, but it might’ve been a little too long. Various aspects of the game, from the semi-open world to the tongue-in-cheek characters are reminiscent of zombie titles from 8-10 years ago and do little to reinvent the overly-used zombie trope. The only real saving grace is the combat, which when paired with the gory flesh system provides visceral, satisfying melee combat that’ll keep you entertained throughout the otherwise dull campaign.

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp is a faithful adaptation of the Game Boy Advance classic, with charming 3D visuals giving it a welcome facelift. With the gameplay mechanics largely untouched 22 years after the release of the original however, Advance Wars feels rusty and basic compared to more modern strategy games on the Nintendo Switch.

Metroid Prime’s core game design hasn’t aged too well in the years since its original release, but in this Remastered version, its visuals and sense of atmosphere have never been better, making it an easy one to recommend for Metroid fans already familiar with the series’ quirks.

Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe, a remake of the Wii classic, is everything you want a Kirby game to be: colourful, adorable, and tons of fun. While hardcore gamers may be after more of a challenge, casual and younger players should dive head-first into Planet Popstar to see what it has to offer.

Horizon Call of the Mountain has set a new benchmark for VR games. Rather than trying to shoehorn classic game mechanics into the VR format, Guerrilla Games and Firesprite have rebuilt the likes of combat and climbing from scratch to result in a wonderfully immersive experience. This is one of the absolute best VR games I’ve ever played, and is a must-have purchase for anyone who buys a PlayStation VR 2 headset.

Fire Emblem Engage feels like a love letter to loyal fans of the series, providing pangs of nostalgia with recognisable characters, as well as an even deeper combat system that builds upon already solid foundations. Engage isn’t the best entry point into the series, and is rather shallow in terms of story and character development, but the combat is enjoyable enough alone to keep players engrossed until the end.

God of War Ragnarök is a spectacular sequel, retaining the same ultra-satisfying combat as its predecessor, but with a more grandiose story to boot.

FIFA 23 is a modest final hurrah for one of the most iconic game series of all time. It feels like EA Sports is saving the big advances for its EA Sports FC replacement coming next year, with FIFA 23 only offering marginal flourishes of something great and a lot of repetition. On the pitch, the game of football is good – better in many ways than FIFA 22. Animations are smooth and varied, there’s more free-flowing action and more variety in player types. Yet, everything else feels half-baked. Career mode is, to put it mildly, awful and Ultimate Team remains a cash grab that’s only for those willing to put far too much into it. The commentary is equally terrible, and while the larger focus on the women’s game is great, it‘s too limited.

Bayonetta 3 is the third instalment of the series, featuring new playable characters and a wide array of beautifully designed monsters. The ability to control Demon Slaves is endlessly fun and running around as Bayonetta feels very fulfilling. While this game does have its flaws, I think it’s a hack-and-slash that almost anyone can play.

Mario and Rabbids Sparks of Hope provides the same enjoyable turn-based combat as its predecessor, with some minor tweaks to make it more accessible to a wider audience. A greater focus on the Rabbids opposed to the Mushroom Kingdom feels like a backwards step though, with the slapstick crossover comedy failing to sparkle this time around.

Splatoon 3 feels like a fresh coat of paint for the series, with a new story mode as well as additional weapons, stages and enemies. With the main multiplayer modes largely unchanged compared to Splatoon 2, series veterans may feel aggrieved that there aren’t any substantial upgrades or new game modes. But Splatoon 3 still offers spades of fun and will no doubt be one of the leading multiplayer titles on the Nintendo Switch.

Even though it doesn’t provide the gameplay overhaul that some gamers were no doubt anticipating, The Last of Us Part 1 is still the best way to enjoy one of the most intelligent and well designed games of recent memory. The updated visuals helps to breathe new life into the story, and the world it presents has never felt more immersive. And that’s before considering the plethora of accessibility features on hand, enabling swathes of gamers to play the game for the first time and see what all the fuss is about.

I can understand Volition wanting to reboot the Saints Row series given the original launched all the way back in 2006. But the latest entry feels like a backwards step for the developer, with this release misses out on the over-the-top satirical humour that made the series so beloved. As a result, Saints Row now feels like a mediocre open-world action game, becoming just like all of the games at which the series used to poke fun. Mission objectives are bland and repetitive, while the story is boring and lacks cohesion. Worst of all, the slapstick jokes rarely land and are arguably more cringeworthy than they are funny. You can still have fun if you simply want mindless chaotic action, but I’d argue you’d have a better time with the likes of CyberPunk 2077 or even Saints Row The Third Remastered.

Two Point Campus is a fantastic simulation game that blends together management, quirky graphics and interesting characters to create a unique experience. With intuitive creation tools and a satisfying finance system, you’ve got everything you need to make your dream campus.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a great action RPG with an outstanding story. The characters are likeable with engaging arcs, while the cut scenes offer jaw-dropping spectacle. Combat is enjoyable enough, although the introduction of larger parties and swappable character classes both have major drawbacks, which can make fighting enemies feel repetitive halfway through this lengthy adventure.