Does Pokémon Legends: Z-A make you want to catch em’ all? Plus Hades II, BALL x PIT, LEGO Brick Like This! and more.

For the uninitiated, the Pokémon Legends series become somewhat of a proving ground for everybody’s favourite pocket monsters and Pokémon Legends: Z-A takes what might be the series’ biggest risk yet. That’s because the turn-based battle system which has carried alongside the series since Pokémon Blue and Red has been tossed aside.

In its place sits a real-time system similar to the likes of Final Fantasy VII Remake. In terms of Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the change-up allows the trainer (aka: you) to freely move around the battlefield, and although you can’t go throwing punches yourself, you’ll communicate each attack and watch it play out. Things start up relatively simple but eventually you’ll even have to focus on dodging attacks from enemy Pokémon as the battlefield figuratively (and occasionally quite literally) heats up. This new approach is certainly controversial but honestly feels like a breath of fresh air for the series, and it’ll be interesting to see when and how it evolves from here.

Outside of combat, much of Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s French adventure remains as you might expect, for better and for worse. That means proceedings are pretty darn familiar, but after the complete technical misfire of Scarlett and Violet it’s also great to have a Pokémon game that runs great again.

That said, Game Freak could still implement plenty more optimisations and it’s yet another entry where Pokemaniacs beg for proper voice acting. It’s especially jarring in some of the more extensive cutscenes on offer here, which just become somewhat laughable as a result.

Still, they’re minor gripes in what is an otherwise great return to form for the series. If you’ve been on the fence about investing in a Switch 2 so far, Pokémon Legends: Z-A might just deliver enough to tip you over the edge.

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Pokémon Legends: Z-A is out now on Nintendo Switch 2 and Ninteno Switch.

Also out now…

Hades II (Switch 2, PC)

To say there was a bit of pressure behind Hades II is somewhat of an understatement. Commonly considered one of the best indie games of the last decade, and one of the best rogulites ever made Hades II had to deliver something special and then some. Yet despite all the odds, this is a richer, deeper, more complex experience that’ll quickly suck you in and refuse to spit you back out.

Through the smart utilisation of its early access program, Supergiant has been able to refine every aspect of Hades II to within an inch of its life. The performance is rock-solid no matter whether you play on PC or either of the Switch consoles – it doesn’t miss a beat. Combat, meanwhile has had a serious overhaul thanks to the addition of the grasp system – lead character Melinoe’s spirit-focused hand opening the door for a whole new buff and upgrade system, as well as a completely new Cast system that you’ll actually want to use and can have some dramatic impacts on your runs.

In fact there are so many new currencies and upgrade systems that even fans of the first game are bound to find themselves overwhelmed in the game’s opening hours. That said, it won’t take long for everything to gel together and once it does, Hades II just hums. The boons are varied and plentiful, encounters diversify and intensify naturally and the soundtrack is once again an absolute standout. But the narrative is what continues to drive you forward and even when it feels like your runs have stagnated, there’s somehow always some new conversation to discover. It’s truly impressive how much voice acting exists within Hades II and it proves how much TLC was put into this sequel.

There’s no doubt that Hades II is an absolute masterclass in game design and is unquestionably one of the best games of the year.

BALL x PIT (PS5, Switch, PC)

BALL x PIT is a game of two halves. The first is a melding of brick breaker and rouglike – requiring you to deal with a steady stream of enemies marching towards you as you fire a flurry of different balls to stop them in their tracks. This will often involve the clever use of walls to angle shots and employing various special power ups to assist you.

The other half triggers whenever you do eventually kick the bucket – the game pivoting to a base-builder farm sim where you’ll gradually build and improve upon your home base. What exactly does that mean? Well, you’ll add various fields and forests to harvest in order to amass a heavy stockpile of resources that can be used to construct buildings that will give you all sorts of advantages in the pit beneath. It’s a devilishly simple hook that starts off slow, but is shockingly quick to suck you right in.

With a huge roster of characters to unlock and special ball abilities to discover, you’ll be under BALL x PIT’s spell for countless hours and never complain. Boot this one up at your own risk.

Yooka Replayee (Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

When Yooka Laylee first released back in 2017, despite some pretty noble efforts it wasn’t quite able to nail its lofty goal of recapturing the nostalgic heights of classic platformers like Banjo Kazooie, leaving many excited fans slightly underwhelmed.

This re-do, on the other hand, is a fresh attempt at delivering on the promise and by all accounts it’s a huge success from top to bottom. Much of this success stems from some smart adjustments that dramatically improves the play experience. All abilities (except for a handful of major ones), for example, are all free to be utilised from the jump, and it makes adventuring both faster and easier. However, although it prevents some slower early hours, some may lament the lack of progression it creates.

Worlds are also easier to navigate without waiting for unlocks and in general the game just looks and feels a whole lot smoother (just be warned that Switch 2 is capped at 30fps). It leads to an adventure that should do well to lure back old fans or completely win over brand new ones.

Hirogami (PS5, PC)

Inspired by the ancient Japanese art of origami, Hirogami certainly takes some big shots. But even though not every element works as seamlessly as it should, the game manages to win far more than it loses.

A visually pretty adventure with an incredibly creative twist sees you controlling a master folder who travels to put an end to a deeply rooted evil from taking over your kingdom. You’ll do this by folding into a number of different creatures who will assist in certain situations. The ape, for example, is best to say down some heavy hits, while the armadillo can roll through obstacles. Hiro can even transform into a flat sheet of paper to reach difficult places.

It’s an incredibly clever idea, but the level of polish just makes the entire experience feel slightly underdone, and it just feels as though Hirogami can truly make the most of its deep potential. That brings Hirogami’s wider appeal down a little, but it’s still worth commending its creativity in design and execution.

Sword of the Sea (PS5, PC)

If you’ve been searching for a stunning, serene adventure to break up the complete deluge of triple A titles, you needn’t look any further than Sword of the Sea.

Developed by the team behind both ABZU and The Pathless, it’s no surprise that this indie gem is artistically breath-taking. Playing as a voiceless protagonist whose primary objective is to return water to a completely barren landscape, things might start out barren and desolate, but before long you’ll be indulging in rich colour palates and engaging worlds that truly pop off your screen.

And how do you fulfil this perilous task? Why, by riding a giant sword like a mix between a surfboard and a snowboard, of course! Yes, Sword of the Sea’s gameplay isn’t what you might initially expect, but the buttery smooth movement takes centre stage and it’s consistently excellent the moment you take off on some sand dunes.

At only about three hours in length, this is one experience that never outstays its welcome, and as such is an easy recommendation.

LEGO Brick Like This!

You have to hand it to the LEGO group, they’re not afraid of some diversification. So despite having hands in video games, movies and more, now we have Brick Like This, a party game worth adding to the rotation.

The pitch is simple – teams of two or three players are broken into two: an instructor and a builder. The instructor will choose a card with a specific LEGO design on it and then describe said design for their teammate who must do their best to construct as accurately as possible from a shared pool of bricks with only verbal direction. Nail the brief and you’ll net yourself some points – the team with the largest number of points after six rounds declared the victor.

But much like the best party games, simple rules rarely stay that simple in execution. Describing layouts is often wildly chaotic and once you ramp up the difficulty via more intense builds (that’ll also net you more points) it can lead to a hell of a lot of laughs from all involved.

It is worth noting that Brick Like this does feel more targeted towards a family crowd, but challenge cards were handy at keeping older players more engaged. Some of these challenges will require you to construct with only one hand, while others will prevent you from mentioning colours in instructions. They’re cheeky tweaks that turn the tables just enough to ensure there’s a bit of challenge for everybody.

Games don’t go for more than about 15 minutes, meaning Brick Like This smartly never outstays its welcome. It may lack depth for hardcore card/board game fans, but this is a perfect stocking stuffer for everybody else.

LEGO Party! (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, XBO, Switch, PC)

Speaking of LEGO’s diversification, the latest in the brick-builder’s video game line-up is LEGO Party! – a clever switch-up on the beloved Mario Party formula. As a result, you can expect to choose a mini-fig, move around various game boards and collect gold bricks and studs while also competing against your friends/foes amongst 60-odd minigames. Sound familiar? Yes, LEGO Party! Wears its inspiration very, very clearly on its sleeve, but that’s not at the expense of its own unique charm, which is evident even from the game’s own TV gameshow-like aesthetic. Victory also feels less like a dice roll than Mario Party, but that’s never at the expense of pure chaos-induced laughs.

The character customisation is great, LEGO’s core concepts permeate through each board and the minigames themselves are consistently strong. If you’re a LEGO superfan or never had the means to jump into a Mario Party title, LEGO Party! Is well worth a look.