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New Super Lucky's Tale is a solid port of an underrated platformer with a greatly improved camera. It's a little on the short side and may not provide much of a challenge to more hardened gamers – and if you already own it on Xbox One there really isn't enough new here to warrant a second purchase – but what makes it worth a look is its uncanny ability to make you smile, and this is something that can't be overlooked, especially in modern times.
Corpse Party: Blood Drive is the very definition of a mixed bag. Its 3D exploration aspects never quite work and just when you're finally able to settle into playing the game, it suddenly switches back over to another visual novel stretch. Combined with poor pacing in the game's early hours and a lack of any options to help explain the events of the prior games to new players, it feels like Corpse Party: Blood Drive struggles to decide what it wants to be, and despite the occasional show of strength in its writing and characterisation, it ultimately results in a frustrating, inconsistent experience.
It’s an excellent ‘winding down before bed’ sort of game, and though it might not fully live up to the series legacy, we’re still excited for whatever Level-5 is planning next for Kat.
Mistover follows too closely in the footsteps of a game that overshadows it in every possible way. Its combat is unspectacular and its dungeon-crawling suffers from a lack of atmosphere and a bunch of harsh gameplay systems that ensure you never really feel like you're relaxing into a rhythm, getting any sort of foothold or extracting any real or lasting joy from proceedings. If you're going to studiously pay homage to a game as expertly-crafted as Darkest Dungeon you'd best bring your A-game, and, unfortunately, in this instance, developer Krafton has failed to do that.
Putting our opinion on the cynical Ryan phenomenon to one side, the resulting game is nevertheless a slightly below-average kart racer that handles reasonably well but generally underwhelms, from the pitifully small number of tracks to the uninspired, floaty-light weaponry. Give your kids a Mario, Sonic or Crash racer instead; they may be young, but they aren't stupid.
Its 34 events provide welcome variety and there are far more hits than misses in its line-up, but once you're finished with Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020's four-hour Story mode it becomes notably less enticing for solo players. With no real incentives or unlockables to aim for, this should be considered a strictly multiplayer affair if you want to still be playing it by the time the actual Tokyo 2020 Olympics roll around.
Ritual: Crown of Horns is a challenging yet hugely rewarding western-horror themed action game which will go down well with veterans of the 'horde' genre. The difficulty bar may be set a tad too high for casual play, and some people will never get used to the mechanics, but everybody else will have a gun-slinging blast with this one.
Xeno Crisis feels like a lost classic from a bygone era of gaming – a brilliant twin-stick arena shooter which wears its influences on its blood-drenched sleeve. The stern challenge may prove to be off-putting for casual players, but it rewards dedication with some of the most intense and addictive blasting action you can find in the genre. Convince a fellow player to join in and you've got the makings of a co-op classic.
Dusk Diver is a solid Musuo-style hack-and-slash action game that throws you into some massive battles with a fun and flexible combat system at your disposal.
Let’s Sing 2020 works as a karaoke video game and the point-focused levelling-up system and subsequent unlockables add a sense of satisfaction as you beat your score, unlock avatars and the use of songs in other play modes.
Gust has done a brilliant job of taking this long-running franchise and making it appeal to the mainstream more than ever here and, if you’ve ever been tempted to give the world of Atelier a try, this is a perfect jumping-on point.
Override: Mech City Brawl is a solid port for Nintendo Switch. Any graphical downgrade isn't noticeable in handheld mode, and the action of the game distracts from anything that would stand out. Single-player and local multiplayer can provide hours of fun, but the online multiplayer lets the game down massively. The choice not to implement cross-play harms its long-term appeal, rendering what should enjoyable game modes almost entirely irrelevant. This is still a neat little title, but if you're keen to take your skills online, you might want to look elsewhere for your kicks.
If you're looking for a new fighting game experience and you've somehow managed to avoid Skullgirls over the last seven years, then Skullgirls 2nd Encore is as good as any opportunity to do so. It doesn't bring anything new to the table to distinguish it from the other iterations of the update that dropped back in 2016 – and some new characters would have really helped sell its arrival on Switch – but with its catchy jazzy soundtrack and memorable character animations, it's still one of the most underrated fighters to emerge in recent generations.
.Put aside your affection for Adam Blade's novels and just play one of the many other amazing RPGs on Switch instead.
Hamster's done the very best with what it had to work with, but the reality is that VS. Castlevania, while still essentially the same fantastic game at its core, is more frustrating to play than the NES version. You're better off buying Castlevania Anniversary Collection, unless you're a diehard fan of the series.
Taking clear inspiration from the seminal BioShock series, Close to the Sun promises much but delivers a somewhat lacklustre exploration of a world 'enhanced' by Nikola Tesla's fascinating vision. The horror is ramped up with a tense and unsettling atmosphere, but cheap and repetitive jump scares lower the tone and the rudimentary puzzle sequences provide little in the way of real challenge. To make matters worse, the Switch is far from the ideal system to contain such a visually striking game; while the Helios remains a sight to behold, there's little here to warrant jumping aboard.
Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King is an unfortunately tough release to recommend.
Back in the day, we gave the Wii version a crushing 4/10 score and said 'if the controls were good then you could double the score'. Little did we know that over a decade later, our words would ring (almost) true. With more usable controls you can finally enjoy this batch of 100 levels for what they are, but the wider game is let down by weird leaderboard decisions and those lacklustre mini-games. The best monkey-in-a-ball game since Super Monkey Ball 2, sure, but not quite a return to the series heyday.
As it is, it’s a perfectly serviceable port that serves as a nice reminder that Resident Evil’s so-called ‘action phase’ really isn’t as bad as some think.
Luigi's Mansion 3 is not only a graphical powerhouse and showcase for Next Level Games' unrivalled mastery of video game animation, it's also an immense helping of spooky fun as well. The amount of care and consideration poured into every facet of the game is abundantly clear, and it all results in one of the most enjoyable and attractive Switch titles of the year. It's also the undisputed high point of a franchise which – following this sterling release – will hopefully get even more love and attention from Nintendo fandom, and the gaming community as a whole.