Digimon Survive is one of the best visual novels to come out so far this year, with plenty of heart and tension to carry you through to the final act. Fans looking for an engaging story with well-written and presented characters that deal with life-and-death situations will enjoy the ride, while players focused on the combat will probably find that the game comes up short. Despite its sluggish, padded start, Digimon Survive is well worth the long wait.
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is the strangest thing you'll play from Nintendo, bringing with it laughs and creativity in abundance. But even with improvements over the 3DS game, it follows a familiar structure that isn't always enthralling or hilarious.Tomodachi fans will certainly be living the dream with this new entry, but I'm not desperate to keep coming back to my island. A little more variety would've been welcome, but the customisation, and the thought of my cat being best friends with DMC's Dante, will have me peep in every so often for a little pick-me-up.
At the end of the day, you probably already know if you’re going to pick up this game or not; Picross S3 hasn’t changed much from its predecessor and the same will likely be said about the inevitable Picross S4.
While its runtime is noticeably short for a JRPG of this style – especially when compared to the classics it so closely resembles – Shadows of Adam is still a really enjoyable experience while it lasts.
Beyond Enemy Lines: Covert Operations is an Early Access game that's come out of the oven less than half-baked. The good intentions of the developer are clear to see in the open-ended nature of each map and the way you approach each objective in your way by opening locked doors and hacking computers rather than shooting your way into a facility, but none of the mechanics in place ever make these conditions feel reliable or rewarding. It's a purely single-player experience that really needed more time to work out its considerable number of kinks before enlisting on the eShop.
When it's not giving the world more reasons to 'Catch 'Em All', Game Freak continues to deliver interesting and unexpected forays into other genres. Much like Tembo the Badass Elephant before it, Giga Wrecker Alt. is a quirky left-turn that takes the exploration staples of a 2D Metroidvania and combines it with a destructible environment puzzle system for some creative and hugely rewarding puzzles. Combat is quite forgettable, but sucker-punching a boss with a giant ball can be ridiculous fun when you pull it off. It's looks might not be that memorable, but it's still a worthy way to make a mess on Switch.
Mortal Kombat 11 is the best Mortal Kombat since MK2, a bold and bombastic entry that boasts a fighting model that finally matches the slapstick theatrics of gory Fatalities.
Remarkably solid and satisfying, SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech is a card battler with an abundance of charm in its art, mechanics and writing. The presentation is slick, the dialogue's witty and the gameplay's addictive, although nothing about it feels particularly special – not in the way SteamWorld Dig 2 felt special. It does what it does well, though, and it's still a thoroughly enjoyable time in that universe. As long as you're not expecting anything revolutionary, we recommend anybody who likes turn-based battling or who enjoyed any previous games in the series check it out.
Screenshots really don't do The friends of Ringo Ishikawa justice. What looks like a traditional side-scrolling brawler is actually something far more intricate. It's more of a teenage simulator than anything, and with some really well-written dialogue (filled with the kind of malaise and sense of directionless rebellion we all experienced in our formative years) there's a really interesting story to be found. Its everyday activities will remind you more of Bully or Shenmue than Street Gangs/River City Ransom, just don't expect to have your hand held as you head out into the world to discover them.
In the highly competitive world of CCGs, PlayFusion has taken one of the biggest fantasy licences and seamlessly melded it with a card battling system that's both easy to grasp and different enough to set itself apart from its contemporaries.
If you haven’t gleaned it already from reading up to this point, Katana Zero is unmistakably a game that you need to add to your Switch collection at earliest opportunity.
Cuphead was an absolute masterpiece when it launched on Xbox 18 months ago and nothing has been sacrificed in its move to the Switch. It's the same visually jaw-dropping, aurally delightful, knuckle-whiteningly difficult game it was on Microsoft's console and the Switch's library is all the better for its presence. Its focus on intense boss battles won't be to everyone's tastes, but as long as you know what you're getting yourself into we can't recommend it enough.
While The Padre is a far from perfect indie offering, its mixture of satisfyingly challenging puzzles, a dark sense of humour and a perennial love for classic survival horror makes for an intriguing addition to the genre. The issues with combat and the sometimes infuriating nature of its puzzles can grate, but with a little extra polish The Padre has the potential to be a real hidden gem on Nintendo Switch.
The gap in quality between mobile games and console/PC releases is almost non-existent now, as is proved by the likes of Shadow Blade: Reload. As such it fits the portable nature of Nintendo Switch like a glove, with its short-yet-challenging levels offering a platforming experience that's ideal for both short bursts of play and longer speedrunning sessions. The sound design helps create a rhythm to your progression through each level, and there's plenty of secrets to find in each level, but the absence of the level editor included in the PC/PS4 port makes this version feel a little hollow by comparison.
My Time At Portia is an ambitious game that actually delivers on what it sets out to do. The crafting can be extremely overwhelming at first and the presence of some in-game timers can be a mild annoyance, but get your head round its detailed multi-step building missions and you'll end up with a game that could end up racking hundreds of hours on your Switch.
As an officially licensed game – complete with character likenesses in Reigns' angular portrait format and Ramin Djawadi's instantly recognisable score – Reigns: Game of Thrones is about as close as you'll come to living the day-to-day life of a Westeros monarch, short of visiting the Seven Kingdoms for real. By bringing in key characters and events from the books and show, you're given enough authenticity that exploring storylines only ever teased in the source material (such as seeing Jamie on the throne or a more compassionate version of Cersei) feel just as meaningful.
If you’re a rabid Mega Man fan, have already played all the main games to death, and are desperate for something to fill that void, Metagal is maybe worth your five bucks. Otherwise, we’d encourage you to save your money and put it towards something that’s more worth your time.
