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July was host to a cracking selection of indie games and digital releases available on the Switch's eShop, and what better way to celebrate than showering the best of the best with some well-deserved love and attention.

Introducing the return of the Nintendo Life eShop Selects awards!

Yes, we're bringing back the monthly feature which aims to celebrate some of the smaller titles gracing Nintendo's hybrid system, with the Nintendo Life team coming together to highlight three games which we think deserve their time in the limelight (along with some honourable mentions). So, without further ado, here are the best Switch eShop games of July 2018!

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Honourable Mentions:

While these titles didn't quite make our top three this month, they're still certainly worth checking out.

3. Semblance (Switch eShop)

Taking the third place spot this month is Semblance, a platformer that stands out from the genre's tried and trusted crowd by allowing you to shape and deform the platforms around you. Our reviewer Dom Reseigh-Lincoln said that the game "offers an intriguingly fresh take on the age-old 2D platformer", going on to explain that "what it lacks in narrative density, it more than makes up for with a generous helping of levels to explore where the platforming itself is a vital part of the puzzle to be solved". The game received a very well-deserved 8/10 score.

2. Hand of Fate 2 (Switch eShop)

Hand of Fate 2 dealt a wonderful hand of gameplay magic to win us over this month, charging in at number two. Another title reviewed by our word-machine Dom, this game impressed by bringing "a new and unique RPG experience to Nintendo Switch". He says, "there’s just so much to enjoy here; the rewarding premise of its deck-building, the endless depth of its questing, the simple pleasure of its combat", all of which helped it to land an excellent score of 9/10.

1. Inside (Switch eShop)

Taking the top spot, and therefore being our eShop Selects game of the month, is Inside (although we wanted to give an extra little nod to Limbo here, too - a game that goes hand in hand with our winner). Another platformer, but this time with a dark, grizzly twist, Inside won over our hearts by being "packed full of jaw-dropping highlights". This game's reviewer, Jon Mundy, said that "while its dark tone won't be for everyone, it's all been executed brilliantly, with gently taxing physics-based conundrums woven into a haunting wordless narrative". A very worthy winner of this month's top position.

What was your favourite eShop game last month? (135 votes)

  1. Inside17%
  2. Hand of Fate 26%
  3. Semblance4%
  4. Limbo4%
  5. Mega Man X Legacy Collection18%
  6. 20XX4%
  7. Runbow7%
  8. Element  0.7%
  9. Bomber Crew5%
  10. Bomb Chicken10%
  11. Another World  0.7%
  12. Pocket Rumble7%
  13. Miles & Kilo  0.7%
  14. The Lion's Song  0%
  15. VSR: Void Space Racing  0.7%
  16. Johnny Turbo’s Arcade: Two Crude Dudes1%
  17. Bud Spencer & Terence Hill - Slaps and Beans2%
  18. Other (comment below)11%

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How we decide our eShop Selects top three: As we reach the end of every month, the Nintendo Life staff vote on their favourite titles from a list of games selected by the editorial team. To qualify for this list, these games must have been released as a digital-only release on the Nintendo Switch eShop in that particular month, and must have been reviewed on Nintendo Life; we select the qualifying games based on their review scores.

Staff are then asked to vote for three games that they think deserve to sit right at the very top of that list; first choice gets 3 points, second choice gets 2 points, and third choice gets 1 point. These votes are then tallied to create a top three list, with the overall winner taking that month's top prize.