Moon may look dated and its mechanics and puzzles can be obtuse as hell compared to what you might expect in 2020. Stick with it however and it's one of the most charming and unusual RPGs you can play that's just as influential and relevant as ever.
Not needing to reinvent the wheel, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 delivers the same fun and brilliant mash-up of two of the best drop-puzzle games ever with a healthy dollop of content, both classic and new. The jury's still out on whether the new Skill Battles will change things up, but regardless, this is a great puzzle package for parties or pros, and hopefully a great jumping off point for newcomers to discover the marvel and skill of competitive puzzle battles.
Olija subverts the expectations of an unforgiving old-school adventure for something more fun and breezing, verging on slapstick combat, yet still dripping with atmosphere thanks to its impressionistic pixel art and excellent audio. Being a castaway makes for a good escape.
Glyph is a soothing puzzle platformer, which, despite its sparse appearance has plenty of bounce, challenging you with its literal sandbox gameplay.
As old-school as it can get in every frame and fibre of its being, Battle Axe faithfully transports you back to the classic Capcom and Neo Geo arcade era with its exquisite pixel art animation and punchy, challenging gameplay.
A beautiful love letter to Japanese games and culture with a simple but heartfelt narrative from start to finish that's both comforting and life-affirming.
Under its bleak red skies, Umurangi Generation is scrappy at times, but it's also a bold photography sandbox game that isn't afraid to fill each frame of your lens with stark warnings of a world at crisis point. It's more than a game about capturing a good shot, but captures the very times we live in.
Sure there are certainly bigger and more sophisticated looking military-themed games vying for your attention this year, but there’s not anything quite that looks or plays like Valkyria Chronicles 4.
Observation is a smart, atmospheric and creepy sci-fi thriller that subverts the AI-gone-rogue trope by making you think about what it means to be the AI.
Untitled Goose Game is a short and sweet village sandbox of chaos, with probably the most laughs you'll have in a videogame this year. Goose tier.
Spend a few hours winding down with its carefree sandbox or just listen to the ever catchy folksy music, and it's just the antidote you need after a bad day, a bad year, or hell, a bad decade.
Devil May Cry 3 may be getting on a bit 15 years later but it nonetheless remains one of the most technically hardcore action games out there, and devout devil hunters will make great use of the additional features for the Switch port.
Puyo Puyo 2 is an invaluable piece of gaming history for the niche but dedicated competitive puzzling community and, provided you don't already have Nintendo Switch Online, the most affordable entry point to the Puyo Puyo series.
Final Fantasy X | X-2 is both beautiful and bonkers, a beloved turning point for one of the greatest JRPG series in video games. Even with its notable shortcomings, it’s hard not to get swept up by its powerful emotions, while there’s plenty for the most ardent JRPG completionists to spend over 100 hours in Spira.
Cuphead’s exquisite visuals and jazzy soundtrack perfectly transfers over to Switch, though you’ll need to be up for the challenge to appreciate most of its rewards. Most importantly, this game may be the start of a beautiful friendship between Nintendo and Microsoft.
While it won’t scratch the itch for anyone looking for a competitive puzzler, there isn’t a music-based puzzler quite like Lumines Remastered so beautifully executed, and at an affordable price. The Trance Vibration gimmick you can take it or leave it, but you’ll still be able to bliss out regardless.
While not everything is a classic and there’s a few notable omissions, this is still a great mixture of genres couple with neat emulation gimmicks. For Nintendo fans, it’s also a great time travel machine back to see just how the other lived during the great console war.
If you're looking for a sophisticated car sim, you won't find it in Road to Guangdong. What will keep you going over its short duration however is a wonderfully authentic exploration of Chinese/Cantonese culture through two very universal subjects: family and food.
Despite being available to buy as a separate stand-alone experience and packing content that could easily fill an entirely new RPG, Xenoblade’s idiosyncrasies make The Golden Country an experience you’re only going get the most out of if you’ve already played the base game.
My Friend Pedro can be an absurdly stylish action game when everything aligns but you'll just as likely find yourself slipping over its unwieldy controls.