Resident Evil Village may not quite live up to the highs of its terrifying predecessor but it's a still a solid entry in the long-running series that's well worth checking out. Eastern Europe makes for a fantastically atmospheric and surprisingly open setting here, it's chock full of delightfully oddball characters and features a handful of properly entertaining set-pieces to blast through. There may well be a few rough edges, with a rather painful protagonist and some duff boss battles to contend with but, overall, this is one truly messed up village that's well worth a visit.
Skate City is a laid back, chilled out alternative to the more hectic skateboarding action of the likes of Roll7's OlliOlli series. The various tricks and skills here won't take you long to master, putting together little runs through Los Angeles, Oslo and Barcelona feels satisfying and the overall aesthetic suits the rather simple, straightforward nature of proceedings. However, there's an undeniable lack of actual challenge and variety here, alongside a few niggling framerate issues on Switch, that result in a game that's reasonable enough value for a quick bash, especially given its budget price point, but one that won't last anyone beyond the most avid of skateboarding fans for much longer than a couple of hours.
Battle Axe is a good-looking homage to the classic hack and slash arcade efforts of yesteryear that's dragged down by some fairly dull and repetitive action. It looks the part, sounds the part, nails the aesthetic and vibe that it's going for completely, but then it drops the ball with regards to level design, enemy AI and in providing any sense of strategy or surprise during a short campaign that gives you very little reason to return once its done and dusted. If only it had a few twists and turns and a handful more levels, this one could have been well worth a playthrough but, as things stand, it's pretty forgettable stuff.
SaGa Frontier Remastered sees Square Enix's cult classic JRPG looking and playing better than ever, with a lovely HD lick of paint and lots of restored content and quality of life improvements providing hardcore fans with an experience they'll doubtless enjoy. However, this is still a game that's aged quite poorly in many respects; an idiosyncratic, eccentric and infuriating experience that refuses to guide you or help you in any way, and one that, in the end, is quite hard to recommend to anyone who isn't already a fan.
Star Wars: Republic Commando has aged surprisingly well and proves to be a ton of fun to revisit in this admittedly rather basic Switch port. The squad system here is still supremely satisfying to get to grips with, the HUD elements are slick, and there's plenty of atmospheric fun to be had as you blast your way through the three campaign stories on offer. Yes, there's no doubt the level design is archaic, there's no great variety in enemies, the visuals have had only the most basic of touch-ups and it's a real shame the multiplayer has been completely excised. Overall, though, this is still a welcome return for one of the very best Star Wars video game offerings.
Outriders really has taken us completely by surprise. This is a game that gets off to a pretty bad start but, once the combat kicks off properly, quickly reveals itself to be one of the slickest and most addictive looter shooters we've played in a long while. Launch weekend has been a mess of server issues, for sure, but stick with what People Can Fly has dished up here and you'll find yourself handsomely rewarded. This one comes highly recommended.
Bladed Fury is a good-looking hack 'n slash platformer that tells a decent tale and is set in an engrossing period of history that's been nicely infused here with mythological and supernatural elements. It's Soul Sliver mechanic adds plenty of scope for strategic combat shenanigans and its levels have a few good ideas thrown into the mix. However, all of these positive aspects are let down by poor implementation, dull enemies who don't force you to utilise your moveset, bland and repetitive area layouts, simplistic platforming and constant technical issues that plague combat just as it's starting to up the ante. If the framerate issues are addressed this one may be worth a look for fans of the genre, otherwise it's hard to recommend in its current state.
Tales from the Borderlands is arguably Telltale Games' finest hour and easily one of the very best choice-driven narrative adventures available on any system. This is ten glorious hours' worth of top-notch entertainment with a world-class cast, consistently excellent writing that manages to perfectly balance comedy and drama, non-stop twisted action and a cast of kooky characters that are a joy to spend time with. This really is the best the Borderlands universe has ever been, and a game that everyone should experience at least once.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning is a rather barebones revamp of a cult classic action RPG that's really beginning to show its age in many respects. The core combat here is still strong stuff, crunchy hack and slash action with plenty of flexibility and variety in how you go about decking out your character, but it's also surrounded by a world and story that are very much of their time. Fans of the original game will no doubt enjoy what is a mostly fine Switch port, but there so many other, more modern RPG experiences available at this point on Nintendo's console that everyone else should perhaps approach with a measure of caution.
Apex Legends on Switch delivers the full-fat Battle Royale experience we know and love in a heavily compromised state. There's still fun to be had here if you can lower your expectations but, over time, the massive graphical downgrade and niggling framerate and performance issues begin to grate. If you've got no other choice but to play on Switch we'd recommend diving in and seeing how you fare before splashing any cash on paid versions or battle passes but, overall, this is a game that is best experienced on other platforms – at least until Panic Button can steady the ship somewhat with future updates.
Skyforge is a properly mediocre MMORPG that could, perhaps, have been a reasonable enough little timesink for a bunch of friends or solo players who just want to mindlessly blow through its content without thinking too much. There's no shortage of content here, and the idea of having eighteen different classes to master is an attractive one. However, this Switch port is such a huge disappointment on a technical level; it's such a lazy, janky, stuttery, buggy, low-resolution mess that it's hard to see how anyone could be bothered to stick with it for long enough to properly engage with anything it's got to offer. If you're in need of an MMORPG to play on your Switch right now, we recommend you download and play just about anything else that's available because seriously, this ain't it.
Hellpoint is a reasonably decent sci-fi/Soulslike effort that sticks closely to FromSoftware's well-worn formula whilst introducing a few neat new tricks and twists of its own. The combat here is solid, the space station setting often spectacular and the narrative as enticingly cryptic as you'd expect from the genre. However, the whole thing suffers massively due to myriad technical issues on Switch. Constant crashes to the console's homescreen, a seriously flaky framerate, long loading times and a pretty huge graphical downgrade result in an experience that's infuriating for all the wrong reasons and one that it's almost impossible to recommend in its current form. Here's hoping Cradle Games has some big patches incoming.
Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos is a delightful Zelda-inspired roguelite that's chock full of secrets, surprises, and some top-notch dungeon crawling action. There's an excellent central hub area to evolve and expand here, lots of fun little side quests to indulge in and a well-designed overworld that takes full advantage of your hero's ever-growing armoury of weapons, skills and gadgets. There are perhaps a few too many skill trees and upgrade mechanics for our liking and the story is entirely forgettable, but overall this one comes highly recommended for co-op and solo adventurers alike.
Perils on Gorgon is a well-written and highly enjoyable expansion to The Outer Worlds that provides lots of interesting new background info and lore whilst whisking players off on an engaging eight to ten-hour long sci-fi mystery. There's nothing new here in terms of mechanics, no great big surprises or new gameplay additions, but it sure does feel great to get back together with the crew of the Unreliable in a Switch port of Obsidian's sci-fi RPG that's been patched into a much more playable state in the months since it initially released.
Gal*Guns Returns is a so-so remaster of a tedious on-rails shooter that features dull, unchallenging and highly repetitive action set against a cringe-worthy story that's neither titillating or in any other way engaging. This is a very short and basic game for the asking price, and one that it's hard to see anyone outside of hardened (no pun intended) Gal*Gun fans deriving even the slightest amount of enjoyment from.
Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption is a successful return to the Quest for Glory universe as well as a clever, addictive and highly replayable adventure game in its own right. Fans of the franchise will find lots of little references and in-jokes to revel in as they make their way through the substantial campaign, and newcomers should enjoy the well-written, smartly balanced mix of point and click puzzling, time/relationship management and turn-based combat on offer.
Persona 5 Strikers is a slick and stylish spin-off that manages to successfully combine a surprisingly strong story with some satisfying Musou-inspired hack-and-slash action. There are a few issues here and there, with some necessary grinding at points, slight difficulty imbalances and a camera that can be a bit of a pain during busy battles but, overall, this is a thoroughly entertaining action RPG that comes highly recommended.
Gods Will Fall is a unique and challenging dungeon crawler that cleverly combines a handful of inventive gameplay mechanics, resulting in constantly tense and thrilling runs through some seriously tough death chambers and boss battles. This is a pretty brutal and unforgiving game – one some players are sure to bounce hard off – but stick with it until it clicks, explore, experiment, forge ahead through frustration and you'll be rewarded with one of the most addictive and original roguelikes we've played in quite some time.
Shing! has a few decent ideas and a reasonable premise up its sleeve but all of these things collapse under the weight of poor performance issues combined with scrappy combat and shoddy enemy AI and placement. The game's unique right-stick control mechanic could have worked a treat but isn't refined enough or even given the room to breathe and the story that backs the whole thing up is let down by atrociously dated writing. If you're desperate for a four-player co-op side-scroller you may find something to enjoy along the way here, but otherwise, this one is almost impossible to recommend.
Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends and the Secret Fairy takes everything good about Gust's 2019 Atelier adventure and further refines it, resulting in the best entry in the long-running franchise to date. This may still be a relatively small-scale, old-fashioned JRPG experience, but it's one that's full of heart, great characters, slick combat and some excellent new ruin-based dungeons. Anyone looking for a relaxed and enchanting JRPG to sink their time into should definitely check this one out.