The LEGO Movie 2 Videogame isn't the groundbreaking reinvention the franchise so desperately needs, but it's still a step in the right direction.
Nintendo Switch is enjoying a growing number of turn-based tactical games, and Hard West is another welcome addition to that strategic throng.
Hell Warders isn't the prettiest of games you'll play on Nintendo Switch – even in docked mode its visuals really struggle to shake off that last-gen sheen – but look past its unoriginal Gothic aesthetic and there's a competent (if uninspiring) Tower Defence game to be had. If you're planning to tackle this alone, it's best avoided, but if you want to hook up with the admittedly small number of people playing online, the occupants of hell certainly won't slay themselves.
Rad Rodgers Radical Edition serves up a hefty slice of side-scrolling shooter action and Metroidvania-esque exploration.
Trials Rising is the (mostly) full package you've been waiting for. With its huge list of tracks to tackle and all the races and trick-based stunts you could ask for, RedLynx has served up the best instalment in the series since Trials Evolution. With a killer soundtrack, tons of customisation and an impressively deep tutorial mode, it's only really let down by a tutorial-free Track Editor. The drop to 30fps might put off those also playing on other platforms and the drop in visual fidelity can be hard to miss at times, but despite its blemishes, Trials has proved its right at home on Nintendo Switch.
RIOT - Civil Unrest could have been something special, but its move to Nintendo Switch from other platforms hasn't seen that potential embraced any further. The lack of touchscreen support and the absence of a proper tutorial mode are odd decisions considering how difficult it can be to follow the action when playing in handheld/tabletop mode. Even its use of real-life clashes between protesters and police fails to bring anything insightful or interesting to the table. Sadly, this riot is already fizzling out.
BlazBlue Centralfiction Special Edition may a few years late to Nintendo Switch, but that time hasn't dulled the sharpness of its 2D fighting package. Not only does it give the Ragna saga a proper send-off with a story mode that's so rich in character development it could be a full anime season in its own right, but it offers a staggering number of modes to keep you playing long after the credits roll. It runs silky-smooth docked or in handheld modes and runs like a dream online. The lack of an English dub still rankles, and new adopters are going to have to do a lot of research to understand what's going on, but it's well worth the effort.
While some of its procedural generation can sometimes make for an unnecessarily challenging experience, City of Brass more than makes up for it with the sheer creativity you can have exploring its Arabian Nights-themed maps. With genii to imbue you with wacky powers and the ever-tantalising need to collect more gold (as well the option to compete with others via the leaderboards), Uppercut Games has produced one of the most entertaining roguelikes to swing onto Nintendo Switch. And you can throw ghost chickens. What more do you need?
Gelly Break isn't a perfect platformer/isometric shooter hybrid, but it showcases such creative aplomb it manages to make itself stand out among a vast number of couch-play titles already available on Nintendo Switch. While enjoyable in single-player, this really is a game best experienced locally with a friend – where something as simple as traversing a platform becomes an exercise in mutual harmony or a tragedy of teamwork.
Despite being a licensed tie-in, Dragons: Dawn of New Riders is anything but a broken, half-baked money-grab. It's not particularly remarkable in its features – and it really misses a trick by not adding more things to do while riding your dragon between dungeons – but for recovering Skylanders fans and those a little too young to go loot crazy in Diablo, this is still a family-friendly adventure that's well worth your time on Nintendo Switch.
Thea: The Awakening wants to be many things. It wants to be a proper 4X game; it wants to be a through-and-through survival experience; it wants to be an RPG, a CCG and many other genres all at once. It succeeds at some, but often at the expense of others. There are some really great ideas here – the almost Pratchett-esque silliness to some of its scenarios and the focus on Slavic myths serves as a striking source of inspiration – but the focus on micro-management busywork simply gets in the way of the empire-building fun Thea should really be embracing.
While its difficulty spikes can be a little tough at times (and the sheer amount of information presented quite overwhelming, especially to genre newcomers), it's impossible to not appreciate just how much has been crammed into Tangledeep's roguelike crevices. From taming monsters and turning them into pets to the ever-changing layout of its dungeons, this is a roguelike RPG for players who yearn for a return to SNES games of old. It's smart, deep and rewarding, but be warned: this is an adventure designed almost exclusively for seasoned players.
While its platforming mechanics are still a tad unpredictable at times – and the huge gaps between save points still rankle – Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy's quality nonetheless shines through. Weaving melee combat, environmental puzzles and plenty of platforms with a fun and interesting take on Egyptian mythology, it's an action-platformer that really holds up well, despite the years on its clock. Its camera might still be a bit rubbish, but with a new lick of HD paint, this is a hidden gem that deserves a little time in the limelight.
While Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics doesn't quite capture the intensity of the tabletop game it's based on, it still does an admirable job of doing something a little bit different with the tactics genre. By focusing more on story and the horror aspect of its lore, you get to experience intense close-quarters battles and ranged skirmishes while building on an unknown threat that could appear at any time, and in any form. Pacing problems and a lack of environmental variety can affect how well this all comes together, but if you're looking for a more focused tactical/strategy title on Switch, this Lovecraftian odyssey awaits.
Somebody, somewhere, thought we needed an answer to the question of ‘Could Santa take Jesus in a fight?'. We didn't, and we still don't. With such a wealth of fighting games on Nintendo Switch – and with a port of Mortal Kombat 11 on the horizon – a cheap and poorly executed example such as this simply doesn't make the cut. Even without its questionable choice of characters, you're much better off spending your money on one of the many other 2D fighters available on Switch.
