The Switch version of Crash 4 is a perfectly passable port of a fantastic platformer that's absolutely rammed with things to do. It may have the lowest frame rate and resolution of all versions of the game, but if the Switch is your main console or you're looking to enjoy some bandicoot-bouncing on the go in handheld mode, it's still an excellent offering when judged on its own merits.
Let's cut (ahem) to the chase – this is one of the worst games on the Switch. Its tracks are ugly and short, its vehicles are laughably unresponsive, its lack of any sort of progression system is an insult and the thing doesn't even have a title screen. Whether it's just a bad joke or a genuinely terrible game, our advice is the same: kick this one into the long grass and forget about it.
Super Mario 3D World remains one of the better linear Mario games, and anyone playing it for the first time is in for an absolute treat. Add to that the curious bonus adventure that is Bowser's Fury and you've got a package that provides great value for money. It isn't without its flaws, but most of these (online multiplayer, repetitive missions in Bowser's Fury) relate to the new additions; the main game itself remains as pure and perfect as it was seven years ago. Had it just been Super Mario 3D World on its own, we'd be thoroughly recommending it anyway; Bowser's Fury is just the cherry on top.
The Medium won't give you any sleepless nights, but treat it as a paranormal thriller rather than an all-out horror game and you'll find an interesting story (albeit a disturbing one at times) that will encourage you to push through its slightly repetitive split-screen gimmick to find out how it all ends. A short but intriguing tale.
Wrestling Empire is the video game equivalent of Paul Heyman-era ECW. It's low-budget, it's extremely rough and it's often difficult to watch, but there's a clear passion for pro wrestling underneath it and we're sure it'll develop a hardcore following of fans who love it in spite of its many, many flaws.
Beat 'em ups were flatlining when Scott Pilgrim was originally released. A decade later the genre is in rude health, but it's a testament to the game's quality that it still stands tall as one of the better examples. Fans may be disappointed, however, that practically nothing has been added to the game after all this time.
The search for an intuitive control system on the Switch continues, as Football Manager 2021 remains clunky and fiddly to play. Stick with its admittedly awkward controls, however, and you'll end up with the best handheld football management game ever, thanks to its enhanced matchday options and its improved stats. It's the Robert Pires of football games: it eventually becomes sensational, you just have to give it a season or so before it properly settles.
DOOM Eternal has undergone one of the most severe visual downgrades we've ever seen in order to get the game running on Switch – which is a portable console, lest we forget – but the fact that it runs at a solid 30 frames per second and, most importantly, is still fantastically good fun means this 'impossible' port is nothing short of a miracle. The looks may have taken a hit, but the non-stop action, incredible soundtrack and sheer satisfaction in taking out hordes of demons all add up to a game that is just as pure as it was on other formats.
Puyo Puyo 2 could never have hoped to have the same impact as the first game did, but it remains a brilliant puzzle title nevertheless. While some may feel it's not quite different enough from its predecessor, the new single-player story is just as entertaining as the last one, and the Skill Battle mode adds interesting mechanics to the mix. It's still absolutely packed with content; it's just that the first game was too, so the impact is lessened slightly.
This six-episode compilation remains just as entertaining as it ever was, and the new remaster means it feels far more stable than before. It's not the truly jaw-dropping complete makeover some may have been hoping for, but the former Telltale staff behind this remaster have clearly decided that they shouldn't fix what wasn't broken. Except the broken bits. But they've been fixed.
Fans of the original Fitness Boxing will feel at home with this sequel, if a little disappointed that it isn't quite the evolution it could have been. A few new instructors and an improved achievements system isn't quite enough to make up for the fact that this still suffers from many of its predecessor's issues, most notably its disappointingly small selection of music and the terrible unlicensed instrumental versions it provides.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered teleports players back to more innocent times a decade ago, when simply taking on a series of races was considered enough to keep players entertained. Many would argue its simplicity is a strength, however, and the reality is that despite the lack of depth it's still a hugely entertaining time whether you're playing as a racer or a cop. If you struggle to stay afloat with all the faffing around in modern games, this old-school dose of straightforward racing goodness is your life jacket.
It should be no great shock that next-gen NBA 2K21 is the best-looking basketball game ever made. What's perhaps more surprising is that 2K has added two substantial modes (in the new WNBA career mode The W and the massively multiplayer The City) to make it the most feature-packed one ever too. Much of its content still has the weight of microtransactions hanging over it, but as long as you don't mind ignoring that and putting in the grind instead, this is a great purchase for NBA fans: especially if you held fire and haven't played 2K21 on Xbox One yet.
The mobile version of Part Time UFO already had the charm of a Kirby game, the physics-based chaos of World of Goo and the compelling claw machine mechanics of Nintendo Badge Arcade. This new Switch port builds on top of that already impressive stack by adding a co-op mode that betters Snipperclips and chucks in an infinite mode that provides the sort of quick-fix joy that hasn't been seen since Paper Plane on DSiWare. It may be a game about picking things up, but the real challenge will come when you try to put it down.
Visually, Pikmin 3 Deluxe doesn't push the boat out much further than the original Wii U version did. Where its changes lie are in its revamped control system and the addition of a new Side Stories mode. Neither are necessarily transformative enough to warrant double dipping if you're perfectly happy with your Wii U copy, but if you're one of the vast majority who don't have a Wii U copy, this Switch update is unquestionably the best way to play it.
FIFA 21 is the straw that breaks the camel's back. After initially impressing us with FIFA 18 (despite it being based on the previous year's outing, FIFA 17), EA has completely shut up shop and made no effort whatsoever to improve the series on Switch. By now giving us a second Legacy Edition in a row, while also removing the previous games from the eShop to ensure this is the only option that remains, EA has inadvertently created another, more realistic option: ignore this game entirely, and don't give out your hard-earned cash in return for being insulted.
After the disaster that was the first game, this is a remarkable turnaround. With far more Nickelodeon series represented, improved track designs and a power-up customisation feature that lets you enhance your personal racing style, Nickelodeon Kart Racer has gone from one of the most disappointing racing series on the Switch to probably the best one that doesn't feature plumbers or hedgehogs.
Super Mario Bros. 35 gives Nintendo's most iconic game a jolt of life and it's massively welcome. Its matches could do with being a little shorter and it's difficult to see whether it's actually going to have changed much a few months down the line, but it says a lot about the quality of the experience that the biggest problem we have with it is that come April 2021 it won't exist anymore.
Given that it arrived with practically zero fanfare, Kirby Fighters 2 is a surprisingly brilliant Smash Bros.-style spin-off that simplifies its big brother's control system but still offers a healthy amount of depth with its 22-character roster. Its Story mode, in particular, is a clever and compelling way to make each battle feel important, and that mode alone lasts long enough to make it a worthwhile purchase for solo and co-op gamers.
The concept behind WWE 2K Battlegrounds is a solid one, but it's let down time and time again by limited and repetitive combat, dopey AI, an excessively locked roster and a series of bewildering design choices that really should have been questioned at some point during production. We hope it eventually gets an improved sequel, but until then, the Switch is still lacking a proper main event-tier wrestling game.