Full Metal Furies (Switch eShop)

$3.99 (-80%)

Full Metal Furies is an impressive fusion of genres from Cellar Door Games, the makers of Rogue Legacy. A beat ‘em up brawler at heart, we wish more developers would invest such considerable effort into this sort of puzzle design in action games, and coupling that with the deep RPG systems, punchy co-op gameplay, and memorable writing makes for an experience that no Switch owner will want to be without.

We can’t recommend this release enough; put in the time to explore the different tactics required with each character and you’ll find a much deeper, more replayable experience than a typical brawler.

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Gotta Protectors: Cart Of Darkness (Switch eShop)

$7.49 (-50%)

The blend of all-out action, deep strategy, and Ancient's irreverent humour is as enjoyable as ever in Gotta Protectors: Cart of Darkness, and smashing a huge castle-tank into evil things never stops being fun.

This '80s-loving game — which goes beyond standard tower defence territory and ends up somewhere that can only be described as "strategic mayhem" — plays its story for laughs, but the game itself is an expertly crafted challenge with lots to do and plenty more to keep coming back for.

Into The Breach (Switch eShop)

$5.99 (-60%)

Into The Breach is a brutal, uncompromising game of making hard decisions and living with your mistakes, but the short length of battles and endless variety of playthroughs make for an extremely addictive experience.

Though the graphics are nothing special, the gameplay is some of the very best you’ll find in the strategy genre on Switch, and we can easily recommend this to anybody looking for an in-depth game that’ll make you think. Into The Breach feels right at home on this system.

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Into the Restless Ruins (Switch eShop)

$10.49 (-30%)

Into the Restless Ruins took us totally by surprise. This is a belting addition to the Switch's lineup of roguelikes that manages to make itself fresh and unique in a category full of bland copycats.

The melding of deckbuilding, combat, memory challenges, and construction of dungeons makes for a game that draws you right in every time, robbing you of hours as you work your way through its delightful catacombs.

A little more narrative oomph may have taken it even further, but you're still looking at a bit of a must-play here.

Kaze and the Wild Masks (Switch)

$3.99 (-80%)

An absolute pleasure from start to finish, what Kaze and the Wild Masks lacks in originality it makes up for in the strength of its level design, responsive controls, kinetic move set and attractive visuals. Excellent, action-packed platforming through and through, with great gameplay variety and gimmicks that don’t compromise on what the game is best at — challenging, fast-paced obstacle courses and deviously hidden secret areas.

Easiest sell? Kaze and the Wild Masks is to Donkey Kong Country what Freedom Planet was to Sonic the Hedgehog. Don’t miss this one.

Lost in Play (Switch eShop)

$9.19 (-54%)

Lost in Play has many of the hallmarks of golden-age point-and-click adventures: a cartoon style, humorously animated protagonists, item-based puzzles, and curiosity-piquing 2D scenes serving as both play space and reward for clearing the previous area.

However, it also shakes off many of the classic bugbears: pixel hunting is impossible because you’re moving a character, not a cursor; using no words in the game leaves the hint system to be helpful but not too transparent; there’s very little backtracking because environments are kept small and the time in them is brief; and wacky dream logic is completely excused because you’re playing in children’s imaginations.

Over its five-or-so hours, Lost in Play barely puts a foot wrong, delivering cerebral gaming and effervescent entertainment. In doing so, it makes many of the genre’s design challenges look easy.

Lumines Remastered (Switch eShop)

$4.49 (-70%)

Lumines Remastered is a luminary of the puzzle genre and feels perfectly at home on the Switch. Intense and immersive puzzle action, psychedelic visuals, a killer soundtrack, and a bevvy of content and modes make for a premier puzzle experience that should not be missed.

Lumines is an addictive experience that is positively a delight to play, and we would highly recommend it to both veterans and newcomers to the puzzle genre. There’s something here for everyone, and considering the relatively low price tag, Lumines Remastered is required playing for any Switch owner.

Lunistice (Switch eShop)

$4.24 (-15%)

Presenting itself modestly as “a simple and short experience”, Lunistice has masses to offer. A first run is maybe a handful of hours, but the thirst to retry is so strong it’s almost hard to move on to each new stage. Add the challenge of finding all the cranes and hidden items, avoiding resets, and setting faster times, plus unlockable characters with different moves, and it's a full and generous package.

At $4.99 or your regional equivalent, weighing in at a lean 600MB, and having a demo on the eShop, Lunistice is simply a must-try game.

Metro 2033 Redux (Switch eShop)

$2.99 (-85%)

Metro 2033 Redux is a top-class first-person shooter/survival horror game, a breathless experience that's been almost flawlessly ported to Switch by 4A Games.

Artyom's desperate, haunting voyage through the irradiated remains of Moscow is every bit as engaging today as it was back in 2010, and this Redux version benefits massively from overhauled AI, gameplay mechanics and visuals. In terms of first-person shooters or survival horror games on Nintendo's console, this is one of the very best.

Momodora: Moonlit Farewell (Switch eShop)

$13.59 (-20%)

If we were to describe Momodora: Moonlit Farewell in one word, it would be “exquisite”. This isn’t a game that necessarily attempts to do anything new in what is undoubtedly a crowded genre, but everything it does, it does very well.

It’s a slick experience with gorgeous visuals, engaging combat, and challenging, yet fair boss encounters. The soundtrack has also been noticeably improved over the previous game, making this a must-play for fans of the series and, indeed, Metroidvanias in general.

Pentiment (Switch eShop)

$9.99 (-50%)

Pentiment is a fantastic adventure RPG that revels in a studious approach to history and immaculate recreations of the styles and traditions of 16th-century Bavaria. There's a super smart, funny, and engaging murder mystery to investigate here, but it's how that mystery is so fully rooted in the world that's been lovingly crafted around it that really elevates this experience.

It's one of the best games of the past decade, hands down, and to have it running and performing perfectly on Switch is a joyous thing — it feels like it was made for Nintendo's console. This is about as essential as games get.

Persona 5 Tactica (Switch)

$17.99 (-70%)

Persona 5 Tactica is a thrillingly varied tactical RPG that fans of the Phantom Thieves and the genre should take note of. It's a little on the easy side, but the varied gameplay, excellent soundtrack, striking visuals, and lovable characters all make for a very easy recommendation.

We’d especially suggest you pick this up if you really enjoyed Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, as we noticed a lot of parallels. It remains to be seen if this is the last time we’ll be seeing the Phantom Thieves don their masks, but if this does turn out to be their finale, Persona 5 Tactica is a massively enjoyable sendoff for the beloved crew.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo (Switch eShop)

$15.99 (-20%)

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is a masterclass in retro Zelda-like game design, expertly fusing classic mechanics with creative new ideas to make for a thoroughly memorable and worthwhile experience.

Occasional difficulty spikes aside, we’d highly recommend you pick up Pipistrello at the next available opportunity, especially if you're a Zelda fan who prefers the top-down design of games such as The Minish Cap. Much like its title character, this one has a lot of cool tricks up its sleeve.

Planet Alpha (Switch eShop)

$1.99 (-80%)

It’s impossible not to be caught up in the puzzle platforming charms of Planet Alpha. The product of one man and a small indie team from Denmark, it’s a game that runs remarkably smoothly considering the detail of its environments and the vibrancy of its art style.

The platforming won’t necessarily blow you away — especially if you’ve become trained in the twitch arts of Hollow Knight and the like — but with some brilliant puzzles, a rewarding balance between endangered stealth and peaceful exploration, and some of the most intense set-pieces we’ve ever played on Switch, Planet Alpha has secured a place as one of the console's best indie releases and it deserves your attention if it passed you by.

Prodeus (Switch)

$14.99 (-40%)

Prodeus is the kind of game that knows exactly what it wants to do and executes that vision flawlessly.

It’s not complicated and it’s nothing you haven’t seen before, but every inch of this experience was clearly crafted with passion and talent. The intense firefights, expansive arsenal, metal music, and sprawling level designs all come together to make Prodeus feel like a game that’s just the right mix of retro and modern.

If you have ever been a fan of Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein, or any of the indie boomer shooters of the last few years, you owe it to yourself to give Prodeus a shot. Even if you haven’t much been into the genre before, we’d say this is an excellent place to jump in and see what it’s about.

Radiant Silvergun (Switch eShop)

$7.99 (-60%)

Radiant Silvergun remains, despite its uncompromising nature, deservedly celebrated. The game wears its hardcore credentials on its sleeve, and its depth in both technical and artistic terms is astonishing. As stimulating and rewarding as it is exhausting, it’s a labour that has transcended not only the genre but the medium to some degree.

Regardless of its difficulty — and in that difficulty, its lack of immediate connection — those who learn to fell the game proper can say they truly lived Radiant Silvergun. That’s an experience worth fighting for.

Rocket Knight Adventures: Re-Sparked (Switch eShop)

$20.99 (-30%)

Rocket Knight Adventures is a series comprising two fine games and one stellar, timeless piece of work. While the sequels are above average for '90s platform gaming, it’s the series debut that really informs this review’s score. Rocket Knight Adventures is a title that sits comfortably alongside Gunstar Heroes in the pantheon of exceptional games overlooked in their heyday.

It does everything an arcade action adventure needs to, and more, outdoing a vast number of actual arcade games in the process. Its constantly evolving stages, incredible variety of scenarios, and driving cinematic soundtrack make it one of the best of its kind. If that’s not the very definition of underrated, we don’t know what is.

Rogue Legacy 2 (Switch eShop)

$12.49 (-50%)

While not the first 'roguelike' by any means, 2013’s Rogue Legacy (also discounted) — alongside classics like Spelunky and The Binding of Isaac — helped make the genre the huge deal it has become. Nearly a decade after the original (not counting two years of early access), Cellar Door Games finally followed up on its breakout hit.

Rogue Legacy 2 builds upon its predecessor and re-establishes what made it such an enduring hit. While it’s not a game-changing revelation, it takes everything that made the original great and goes bigger and better.

Sea of Stars (Switch eShop)

$22.74 (-35%)

Sea of Stars is a sensational achievement for Sabotage. Following on from The Messenger, the studio is two for two in providing impressively designed and genuinely innovative takes on classic genres.

Some pacing issues aside, the complex narrative, deep and strategic combat, thoughtful level design, and fantastic visuals and music all combine to make this one of the easiest recommendations we can make. If you consider yourself a fan of old-school RPGs, you must play Sea of Stars.

And if not? The execution and polish here are so good that we’d suggest you give it a try anyway - few games would be a better introduction and representation of what makes JRPGs great. Sea of Stars is an instant classic and a new high-water mark for modern retro-styled indies.

SEGA AGES Out Run (Switch eShop)

$2.39 (-70%)

If you originally missed out on the 3DS port, this is about as essential a retro release as you can get. Out Run has always been an infinitely playable game, and the new unlockables and online rankings only increase its longevity further.

Those with the 3DS version will have to decide whether it’s worth buying what’s more or less the same game again in order to play it on their TV, but for everyone else with an interest in retro gaming, it’s a must-have.

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance (Switch)

$26.99 (-55%)

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is a stellar example of an enhanced re-release done right - which is fortunate, as the original version was delisted when this launched.

Vengeance's comprehensive approach to improving the story and various gameplay systems of the original release makes for an experience that’s even more engrossing. Though we were disappointed by the lack of any performance gains here, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is still an extremely easy recommendation for any RPG fans.

Some may consider SMT to be “Persona without the heart,” but SMT V: Vengeance cleanly demonstrates that this old Atlus stalwart still has an abundance of fantastic gameplay and unique appeal. A wonderful game.

Shovel Knight Dig (Switch eShop)

$12.49 (-50%)

Shovel Knight Dig is another triumphant and enjoyable entry in the popular indie knight’s growing legacy, offering up thrilling, challenging gameplay that will appeal to fans both old and new. Though it may be a little on the short side, every minute of Shovel Knight Dig positively oozes quality, whether that be the snappy action platforming or the fresh 16-bit art style and animation.

We’d give this one a high recommendation to anyone who enjoyed the original platformers or to anyone looking for a tough (but not off-puttingly tough) new roguelite. Shovel Knight Dig has got it where it counts and can stand tall beside its noble predecessors.

Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon (Switch eShop)

$9.99 (-50%)

Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon is a smartly designed and truly delightful revitalisation of the falling block puzzle genre. High intensity, combat-driven gameplay, oodles of replayability, a cute art style, and a surprising amount of depth make this one a ridiculously easy recommendation.

If you’re at all a fan of Shovel Knight or falling block puzzlers, you owe it to yourself to give this a shot; even if you don’t fall neatly into either of those camps, we’d still very much suggest you give this one a look.