March2024
Review South Park: Snow Day! (Switch) - Glitchy, Clunky Co-op That Should've Stayed Indoors
Grab a shovel
South Park’s history with video games has been a mixed bag for the most part and the latest instalment, South Park: Snow Day!, had a lot to live up to following the critical success of Ubisoft’s The Stick of Truth and its sequel, The Fractured But Whole. A shift in genre and developer — Question LLC is at the helm here — has...
August2023
Review Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy (Switch) - A Series Best That Proves It Still Has The Magic
Not just another cog
Back when Trine 4 came out, it felt a bit like a hail-mary attempt to recapture the audience that was lost after the disappointment of Trine 3, and the future of the series seemed a bit up in the air. Luckily, that last title proved to be a strong return to form for the series, and after a DLC expansion (on PC) that was also...
June2023
Review AEW: Fight Forever (Switch) - The Spirit Of WWF No Mercy Lives On In The Ring
Penta plays
Ask any long-time grappling fan what the best wrestling video game of all time is, and they’ll give you one of two answers, both published by THQ: WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain, developed by Yuke’s (which is incorrect) and WWF No Mercy, developed by AKI (correct). For decades no wrestling game has touched No Mercy when it comes...
January2023
Review SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake (Switch) - The Best SpongeBob Platformer Yet
Across the Spongeverse
A few years ago, Purple Lamp Studios released SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated, a solid revival of a 3D platforming classic from decades past. Sales for that remaster were evidently robust enough to justify development of an all-new sequel, as SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake was announced a...
June2022
Review Wreckfest (Switch) - An Absolute Banger (In A Good Way)
Wreck and ruin
On paper, Wreckfest is one of those games that should never really be possible on the Switch, at least not in a sufficiently playable state. When it came to PS4 and Xbox One in 2019, even though it was widely praised, many noted that it suffered from some technical issues and extremely long loading times. Surely if you’re bringing a...
September2021
Review Darksiders III (Switch) - A Poor Switch Port Of A Distinctly Average Series Entry
Hellish
We're pretty big fans of the Darksiders franchise here at Nintendo Life. These games may pilfer their core mechanics from all over the shop, and make no attempt to hide the fact in the process, but they're pure comfort food; cosy, familiar, resolutely old-fashioned in how they go about their business, and for the most part a lot of...
August2021
Review Skydrift Infinity (Switch) - Arcade-Style Sky Racing That's Short But Sweet
Just good fun, plane and simple
One of the most irritating things anyone can say online is: “Nobody asked for this.” It’s a cocky, unfairly harsh way of shutting down any new game that isn’t on a person’s own specific wishlist, and not only is it generally disrespectful, it can also be totally meaningless. After all, a game doesn’t have...
June2021
Review Destroy All Humans! (Switch) - Ray Guns And Probes Abound In This Silly, Simplistic Remake
Alien Resurrection?
Black Forest Games' remake of 2005's Destroy All Humans! issues a warning to players upon launching into its campaign for the very first time. The overall experience, it says, has been upgraded but the content, the story, words and images, remain the same and may be shocking to modern human brains. It's an honest acknowledgement...
March2021
Review Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning (Switch) - RPG Action That Really Shows Its Age
Combat is King
Some six months on from its initial release on PS4, Xbox and PC, Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning, THQ Nordic's "remaster" of 2012's action-RPG epic, finally arrives on Nintendo Switch, bringing with it a solid hundred hours'-worth of high-fantasy shenanigans. While it's more than showing its age in many respects – and certainly...
June2020
Sweet victory
The 3D platformer was very much a ‘fad’ genre back in the day, as game companies all over the world figured out ways to get their colourful mascot collecting all sorts of MacGuffins strewn around big playgrounds. During this era, a game based on the popular SpongeBob SquarePants show was released called SpongeBob SquarePants:...
February2020
Review Darksiders Genesis - Thrillingly Visceral Action Tempered Slightly By Performance Woes
Cores of War
Darksiders Genesis continues the series' penchant for switching up its central gameplay style and influences, this time settling on a Diablo-esque camera angle for its hack-and-slash antics. At first glance, it may seem far removed from the third-person romps that make up the rest of the franchise, but, rest assured, once you jump in...
September2019
Review Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition - Death’s A Fine Way To Make A Living
Link and Kratos, sitting in a tree...
There’s something to be said for how the Switch became the go-to console for remasters; titles that have already seen the light elsewhere and are getting a new lease of life thanks to Nintendo’s console. It’s something to be celebrated when a port appears as if from nowhere, nearly four years after its...
Review Rebel Cops - A Bland Setting Gives Way To Challenging Tactical Action
Cop this for turn-based tactics on the go
Developer Weappy Studio has enjoyed some notoriety as the developer of This is the Police, and now it's firing right into its own spinoff, Rebel Cops. Set in 1994, Rebel Cops is centred around a rogue faction of ex-police officers who are sick of the system and seeing their town overrun by mobsters, and...
July2019
Review Red Faction: Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered - Blowing Things Up Never Gets Old
Guerrillas in the mist
When the original Red Faction dropped in 2001, it was kind of a big deal. Sure, it wasn’t the best first-person shooter we’d ever played, but its destruction physics really were something else. Corridor shooters could often be stifling and claustrophobic affairs, but Red Faction just pointed a grenade launcher at the walls...
June2019
Review Battle Worlds: Kronos - A Hex-Based Tactical Title That's Tough As Old Boots
When worlds collide
“Battle Worlds: Kronos is a hard game,” reads an ominous opening message. “But if you can’t beat it, that’s not because it is too hard.” That warning might sound a little cocky, but there’s truth to it, too. Because beneath its wonky CGI cutscenes and well-worn sci-fi setting lies a turn-based strategy game that...
April2019
Review Darksiders: Warmastered Edition - The End Of The World Comes To Nintendo Switch
War (mostly) never changes
If you’re going to strap on the shoes of anyone during the end of the world, who better than one of the Four Horsemen of Said Apocalypse? The end times have unexpectedly been unleashed, and as the armies of Heaven and Hell go to war on a ruined Earth, all the fingers are pointing to moody horseman War as the instigator...
October2018
Review Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams - Owltimate Edition - Still A Real Hoot Five Years On
Sister act
Five years on from its original release on Wii U, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is doing the fashionable thing and making the jump to Nintendo Switch. Now with a fancy new Owltimate Edition tagline and some extra content, this 2.5D platformer is looking to bring its creative brand of leaping and running to another generation of Nintendo...
September2018
Review This Is The Police 2 - An Uncompromising Look At Law Enforcement That Often Misses The Mark
Police brutality
New Sharpwood sheriff Lilly Reed is way out of her depth. She's conscientious and competent, but far too meek to corral the motley crew of misogynistic knuckleheads that make up her police force. Sheriff Reed soon makes the fateful decision to enrol the assistance of one Jack Boyd, the corrupt cop you controlled in the first This Is...
July2018
Any port in a storm
Switch’s success caught publishers off guard, and it seems portfolios are being raided to keep the steady stream of ports a-coming. Titan Quest – a revamp of the twelve-year-old hack-and-slash ARPG – is finally launching on Nintendo’s console following a PS4 and Xbox One release earlier this year. Reception was...
June2018
Painting the town red… and blue… and yellow
Originally launching way back when on the Wii, this super-colourful puzzle-platformer is now on the brink of turning a decade old. At the time, de Blob stood out from the crowd thanks to its ever-present charm – despite some frustrating control niggles – and we definitely enjoyed our time with the...
October2017
Review This Is The Police (Switch)
"180 Days Of Quiet, Jack - That's All I Need"
Freeburg City is suffering. Far from a shining beacon of American civilisation, it bears closer resemblance to a wounded fighter on the ropes, reeling from hit after hit but too old and stubborn to give up entirely. The neon skyline of the '80s is fading, giving way to a new decade painted in varying...
September2017
Just don't play the co-op with your ex...
The shmup genre is understandably much loved by some gamers, as it boils down the basics of gaming. Often intense yet simple to play, difficult but easy to grasp, shoot 'em ups were fundamental in the retro arcade scene and continue to entertain us on modern systems, often as download games or budget retail...
June2017
Review Darksiders: Warmastered Edition (Wii U)
War is upon us, at long last
Just when you thought it was safe to bid farewell to your Wii U, a lone figure appears on the shadowed horizon. Unhindered by multiple delays, primed for war and ready to impress; the horseman cometh. Darksiders originally released back in 2010, and was hailed as a hidden gem of the last generation. While it...
