Lloyd Coombes
Dragon Quest XI is an excellent port of a superb JRPG. It’s rammed full of content, and performs excellently on the Switch. It’s the JRPG equivalent of putting on your comfiest pajamas and settling in on a rainy day - always enjoyable, wonderfully familiar, and the best way to prepare for Autumn.
In a year of stunning Switch games, Luigi's Mansion 3's puzzles and charm more than stack up alongside the incredible Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Link's Awakening. We're so glad the franchise is back, and it's made the jump to HD with style - who knew tidying up could be this fun?
By placing the Doomslayer, and by extension, the player, into the centre of a blood-spattered heavy metal symphony and encouraging them to conduct with a chainsaw, id and Bethesda have conjured a game of the year contender.
The Last of Us Part 2 didn’t need to exist. The first game was close to perfect and wrapped up on such an apt note that I don't think many would have been clamouring for a sequel. And yet, I’m so glad that Naughty Dog took the risk. The Last of Us Part 2 is PlayStation's new high watermark, and the developer’s best work yet. Forget the leaks, delays, and drama: if you can stomach its unwavering commitment to violence and desperation, it’s likely to be the best thing you'll play all year.
God of War Ragnarok is a complex, thoughtful game that takes everything that made its predecessor an unmissable experience to even greater heights. Its story is full of memorable characters, woven seamlessly into a series of worlds that feel more alive than ever, and its combat continues to add interesting new wrinkles dozens of hours in. Ragnarok is here, and it is glorious.
If you have PlayStation VR, Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes should be on your wishlist. It's the kind of game that's perfect for a night in with friends and offers incredible replayability thanks to it's randomly created explosives.
Shrinking such a dense game onto a smaller system and making it work with game-pad controls is no mean feat, and Aspyr’s port of Civilization VI feels like a perfect introduction to the series while also offering a new way to play for experienced fans.
Pillars Of Eternity is an absolute joy to play through. With the main campaign and two expansions included there’s well over forty hours of excellent RPG to get stuck into. It’s one of the Switch’s best ports because it’s one of this generations finest titles.
Divinity: Original Sin II is the best RPG you’re not playing. Unless you have played it, in which case you should definitely play it again. Its commitment to choice, challenging and tactical combat and strong characterisation make it one of the Switch’s best games.
To play Tetris Effect without VR is to attend the opera with earplugs in. In fact, Tetris Effect on PlayStation VR is arguably not something you play at all - it's an experience, albeit one built on well-trodden gameplay and a superlative soundtrack. It's synaesthesia incarnate, an orchestra conducted by the player, and well worth the price of admission.
There are also some minor frame-rate dips in handheld mode when things get particularly flashy on-screen, but not enough to ruin the experience. The camera can also be a bit finicky in enclosed areas, but these are small nitpicks.
Football Manager 2020 brings back the glory days with one of the best outings in the series' history
Just as the 1999 original was a more action-focused Resident Evil game that arguably helped pivot the franchise towards the iconic fourth instalment, this 2020 reimagining feels like last year’s game in many ways, only sped up and thirstier for zombie blood. It treads the line between tension and action impressively, and Nemesis cements his legacy as one of the series’ most enduring creatures.
Your mileage may vary based on how well you enjoyed Gwent in The Witcher 3, but if you’ve been looking for a fresh perspective on Andrzej Sapkowski’s dense world and lore then we can’t recommend it enough.
Fire Emblem Engage feels like a step backward in ways that this writer appreciates. Gone are the lessons, and in their place is a genuinely affecting story with plenty of whimsy and epic tactical conquests. It’s a great way to kick off the year for the Switch, and also happens to be one of the best-looking games on the platform, too.
It's rare that a game with 2002 feels, or even looks, as good as Metroid Prime Remastered in 2023. And yet, Retro Studios has somehow managed it -- even with no prior knowledge and a lack of history with the franchise, Metroid Prime Remastered is one of the best Switch games you can buy right now.
Asgard's Wrath 2 is the most impressive showcase for any VR headset I've seen and is a game I'm desperate to get back to even after writing this review. Packed full of secrets, layered with systems, and likely to get even better over time with new in-game events, it's a huge RPG that's worth exploring.
It’s hard to talk about The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered without speaking directly to two different camps; those who have played it and want to know if it’s worth the ten-dollar upgrade fee, and those who have yet to experience it. For the first, I’d say there’s more than enough here to warrant the upgrade, especially if the game got under your skin the first time around. Collectible character models, No Return, and the developer commentary are likely worth the price of admission for you alone. For those who haven’t played it yet, I feel like I can say with my whole chest that The Last of Us Part 2 remains one of my favourite games of all time, and this remaster has only reminded me of that.
From its banging soundtrack to its pixel-perfect paddling, C-Smash VRS is one of Meta Quest 3's most enjoyable titles, even a year on from its PSVR 2 launch. One more game, yeah?
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak is a triumph. Combined with the base game, it offers an ideal onboarding for newcomers and plenty of challenge for series veterans. It’s tougher than a Barroth, but offers the most rewarding action-RPG experience of 2022 so far.