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If you own a PC, Xbox One, or PlayStation 4 there are plenty of other racing games worth your attention. However, if you are Switch owner looking for a more grounded racing experience Gear.Club Unlimited is up to the task. It’s a middle of the road racer, but as with so many Switch games, Gear.Club Unlimited is elevated by your ability to take it on the road with you in handheld mode and definitely suits the smaller-screen experience.
Rugby 18 is a solid, workmanlike first effort at what is probably the most difficult sport to translate into a playable video game. It's not as easy to pick up or as slick as FIFA, but it puts in the hard yards and, for the most part, gets the job done. As a result, Rugby 18 is probably the best rugby game in 20 years.
A perfectly serviceable JRPG, with an addictive Kingdom-building component, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is a charming game that falls short for its syrupy writing and the lack of a truly magic touch.
Pillars of Eternity is an elegant, beautiful, well-written piece of craftsmanship; it's proof that if we really want to, we can go back, but what we see there can't deliver on our fantasy.
Namco Museum is a well produced package, but it's also a missed opportunity. If you played – and loved – these games as a kid, dive in. However, if you’re an enthusiast of retro games, and games preservation, Namco Museum – at its recommended list price – lacks the supporting content that would make it an essential purchase.”
This would have been better as a complete package, with all three chapters sewn together. Considering it’s a plan that Tarsier has had all along – teasing its DLC, as it did, long ago – its merits and additions would be more sating had they been swallowed by The Maw, along with everything else, from day one.
As an experience, Tokyo 42 is worth your attention, but unfortunately, its gameplay and mission design become a hindrance as you progress, losing the spectacle that was notable from the start. It might at times feel reductive due to heavy reliance on other references, but it does manage to construct an identity of its own in spite of this. Tokyo of 2042 provides plenty of distractions, and it’s likely that it is this that will help it stand out amongst its contemporaries.
Survival, that most impermanent of genres, seems to have found permanent residency in the last few years, yet in a crowded space, Mojo Bones has made a mark. Impact Winter is dream-like and transfixing; it’s frustrating and brittle; and there is something truly special here you can just make out through the ice. If only it was given time to thaw.
There's a rough-cut, lo-fi patina to Get Even that adorns its good ideas like graffiti. With its edges scuffed and its heart in the right place, it feels like that now endangered species: the AA release. Long live dirty, flawed experimentation. This one’s different.
NBA Playgrounds is a conflicted game, it tries to cater to two different audiences at once, but in doing so weakens the overall experience and therefore appeals to neither. It did succeed in making me want to play an NBA game; just not this one.
If you were a fan of the main game then you can't go wrong with the £3.99 this will set you back, but it's by no means essential.
Transient, vague, and awash with macabre sights and sounds, Little Nightmares is aptly named. Its gameplay is rote and minimal but its skew of images will stick in your craw like the fleeting fragments of a nightmare upon waking. The rest will fade.
You'll have a cathartic blast with Mr Shifty, but your adrenal gland will have been worn out before you see the credits roll, and just like its titular hero, it doesn't stay with you for long.
The Signal From Tölva looks fantastic, with an intriguing setting and some interesting ideas working together for an incredibly strong start, but the game is quickly bogged down by it's inability to escape the vortex of open world busywork. Also, it contains a lot of robots.
From the promise of the Kickstarter and the people behind it, you might have expected Yooka-Laylee to be like a great band, getting back together for a new album after a long hiatus. What we've ended up with is something that feels like a cover version – of something a bit old-fashioned, not especially relevant today, and more than a little bit flawed – but if you loved Banjo-Kazooie, then you'll probably love the cover version just as much, and that's just fine.
Mark McMorris Infinite Air is by no means a bad snowboarding game. If you're looking for a challenging snowboarding simulator with a realistic approach to tricks (and failure) then this is absolutely the game for you, but if you're looking to lazily noodle a few buttons and feel like a superhero then you're likely to be disappointed. Additionally, the pretty but somewhat skeletal open world will probably suffer in comparison against upcoming titles like Steep and Snow.
Fate/Extella The Umbral Star is a great addition to the Switch, but not a great addition to either genre it tries to emulate.
If, like me, you like this sort of thing, you’ll sort of like ChromaGun. The game’s inspirations are obvious, and although its puzzle credentials are well earned, it ultimately feels inconsequential. ChromaGun has just received a free demo on Switch, which is handy, as it’s the perfect example of something to try before you buy.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a thrill for the senses and will frequently tickle your nostalgia bone. However, it lacks creative spark and is content to regurgitate its source material instead of building something new. A Kyber pass, just about.
FAR: Changing Tides doesn't surpass the achievements of FAR: Lone Sails – but it comes close – and is another example of Okomotive's considerable talents.