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Super Mario 3D All-Stars is a limited time release in both physical and digital formats. We can only guess at the reason but whatever misgivings you have about the nature of the collection – or its position as Nintendo’s big fall release – it’s still an essential purchase. The three included games look better than ever and provide hours and hours of exquisitely designed, eye-bleedingly inventive gameplay.
Whilst I wish Paradise Killer’s mechanical detective fangs were a little sharper, it oozes style and its writing and world-building are out of this world. It’s not a lie when I say I wanted to stay forever here in paradise where love dies. I already know as truth/fact that when it comes to this game my love will never die.
Hitman 3 is a masterful final chapter for IO Interactive’s reboot trilogy, offering a range of stunning sandboxes filled with satisfying assassination opportunities and a dynamic set of tools that reward experimentation. With the studio closing out its reboot in style, IO has cemented it as the definitive interpretation of Hitman and one of the most consistent trilogies of the last decade.
The £70 price tag may sting, but with close to 30 hours on a single playthrough and some of the most compelling gameplay I’ve experienced in a while, Returnal feels like a premium product worth every penny.
Triangle Strategy takes time to unfurl, but your patience is rewarded with an intricate narrative and finely crafted tactical combat. The impressive visuals, music, and storytelling ensure the game will live long in the memory and demand multiple playthroughs.
Despite some scruffy visuals, Pokémon Legends: Arceus feels like the first game in the series to be designed for a home console platform. It’s a magpie of a game, but every borrowed element comes together to create a coherent and fresh experience that reinvigorates the franchise.
Cities: Skylines takes a classic game design template and updates it with minimum fuss and considerable style. It might not be the type of game you'd normally want to take over the family TV, but it's hard to imagine a better console execution.
The Switch eShop is attracting a fair few match up puzzlers of late, but Ironcast should be the first one to be considered. It might be a port, but you would be forgiven for thinking this was designed from the ground up for the Switch.
Hyper Light Drifter's a tough game and for that, it won't be for everyone. But if it already has your interest, your admiration, or your love, then it has – all hyperbole aside – found a perfect home on the Nintendo Switch.
Gnog is a pleasing and relaxing experience; one that understands what its strengths are and focuses making them the best they can be. Plus, it is the perfect length for escaping the dull and drab realities of the real world, and diving into the pastel-drenched absurdities of Gnog.
Ultimately, Alone with You is a satisfying, if occasionally hard-going, experience. It loses a mark for its saggy middle but it redeems itself with a cast of nuanced characters and a well-earned conclusion. With this title — and horror game, Home — under his belt, it's evident that Benjamin Rivers is a talent to watch and his next game should be anticipated.
Ojiro Fumoto’s smartly designed arcade game loses none of its appeal on Nintendo Switch, where a variety of display options and a budget price make it an essential purchase.
If you liked the original, Chime Sharp is an enjoyable follow-up that delivers more of the same compelling puzzle gameplay with a fresh coat of paint. Long-time players might yearn for a little more variety, but if you are new to the series, you’re in for a treat.
When your time with The Final Station comes to an end, you might feel like those pistons – firing over and over until you reach your terminus, bound by looping gameplay as they are to the track. Though it might thirst for challenge, it’s a surreal tour through a beautiful, brutal world – one underscored by loving attention to detail and an atmosphere unlike any other I’ve played. Despite the mechanical motions that get you there, the journey and the destination stay with you long after you disembark.
Dirt 4 has one of the best career modes you'll see in the racing genre, at times closer to the do-whatever-you-want elements of Forza Horizon than the franchised motorsports games it seems outwardly more similar to. If you're a real stickler for speed and technical challenge you'll probably enjoy the 'proper' rally cars more than I did, but the beauty of it is that you can progress your career however the hell you want, which is delightful.
Already there has been no shortage of excellent Switch games, and Death Squared is definitely one of them. It might not be the most inventive of all puzzle based games, but it certainly utilises the strengths of Nintendo’s hybrid system, and is a thoroughly enjoyable experience that is deeply rewarding after having completed a particularly challenging level. There are plenty of games vying for attention this year, but Death Squared on the Switch is worthy of receiving it.
Loot Rascals, like other roguelikes, might not be for everyone, but it is the game's charm and engaging approach to stat loadout and item management (as dull as that sounds) that make it enjoyable and helps turn what otherwise might have been frustration into a learning experience. Ultimately you might not get very far, but you won’t regret the time spent trying.
Fast RMX may crib from other titles, but it's beautiful, competitive, and as the name suggests, fast. It should be the other Switch game you own.
The temptation with Snake Pass might be throw the controller down in frustration and walk away, when faced with sheer befuddlement at the controls and the absurdity of wiggling Noodle around some tricky environments. But if you persevere with it – and you really should – you'll find the gameplay 'clicks' surprisingly quickly. And once it does, Snake Pass is a thoroughly enjoyable riff on the retro 3D platformer, brought to life in charming style and with a genuinely innovative approach to traversal and problem solving.
This isn’t the best version of Tetris there has ever been, and I expect previous versions of Puyo Puyo have been more focused, but there’s no doubt that this chaotic mash-up of both, plus the exuberant – if overwhelming – presentation, make this a recommended purchase.