With a wealth of customisation options, intriguing side content, and a fantastic soundtrack, Lightning Returns is a unique approach to many of the RPG mechanics that were starting to feel stale or already were. The main quests may be overshadowed by the extensive side content, but the result is still an involved and rewarding RPG, and the best of the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy.

Besides a bad first impression with the tutorial and unbalanced single player, Last Pirates: Die Together quickly proves itself to be an addictive co-op experience. It goes against first impressions and creates a horror game that manages to deliver some of the best jump scares in the genre - not despite, but because of its cartoonish demeanour and comedic protagonists. The focus Last Pirates: Die Together puts on teamwork further makes it a recurring game with Discord friends once the witching hour starts!

The story mode is a phenomenal tutorial, while the online play offers a most beautiful TCG and digital board game experience thanks to Culdcept Begins taking the best of both Monopoly and Magic: The Gathering. However, it stumbles at the finish line of becoming a strong competitor to Mario Party as the quintessential digital board game night title. For households with four Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2 systems this is a must-buy. Otherwise, one really has to consider if playing board games with strangers online and the tutorial-esque story mode are appealing in themselves.

In these dark times of game ownership and obsolete disk drives, Duskfade burns brightly as a shining beacon of why we all fell in love with games in the first place. A fantastically fun experience with real heart. Challenging at times, grin inducing most others, here’s hoping this is the first of many. It’s been far too long since titles have been made with this much love and care outside of the big red gaming behemoth and the small moustached plumber.

Lies of P comes closest to capturing FromSoft's signature style, and in some ways, it pushes the genre forward with its innovative weapon-building system and expanded customisation options. The reimagining of a familiar folktale is novel, and the sheer density of content on offer is more than generous. Sometimes it feels like the designers are creating a game that could be their final masterpiece, pouring everything they have into it. Nothing is held back, and every step of the way it surprises with something new.

If there is one thing Be Missed and Remembered: The Letter from Mayoiga gets really well, it is the ageless nature of a problem many claim is a modern thing. By mixing in themes of old theology with the modern concept of unemployment and the hikikomori phenomenon, it unmasks it as a problem for all of humanity to solve, and not just those affected. It gives empathy and hope to outsiders, and hopefully, will encourage others to dare to take their hands despite what society tells them. However, at times it could have trusted its depiction of humanity to keep the reader turning pages. The story here is too good for cheap tricks like cliffhangers.

Is Pokémon Pokopia Expansion Pass worth splashing out for? Players craving more Pokopia areas to build and friends to meet will feel right at home with the first part. There is a surprising amount of depth, literally, with content that feels fresh - yet familiar. With just how much care has gone into Part 1 of the Pokémon Pokopia Expansion Pass, it's exciting to see what is in store to round out the post-apocalyptic Pokémon experience. If you enjoy the base Pokopia experience, the DLC is an absolute no-brainer.

Dream Echo serves as a strong core to build upon. While it currently has too little variation because of the specialised builds it asks players to make, there is enough here to create most classic ARPG builds desired, such as defensive melee builds, ranged chaos, and summons. The roguelike elements also enhance the ARPG wonderfully thanks to the amount of control given and the fact that they prevent runs from feeling repetitive.

Soundpeats’ Pop Clip2 continues the brand’s push into open‑ear, clip‑on audio – a category built for people who want lightweight listening without sealing off the ear canal.

As with the previous games, the Switch 2 upgrade makes this the ultimate version of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Previously an eyesore when played portably, the higher resolution and framerates massively enhance a game that badly needed the improvements. The additional Merc Assault mode helps to speed up certain missions, while the other additions are merely nice-to-haves. There is the lingering thought that there could have been other helpful boosters to speed up gameplay, however. This grand RPG may suffer in parts, with the expansion papering over a few cracks, but one thing is certain: this is the best version of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 to play.