February2024
Mini Review Party Hard (Switch) - A Stealthy Soirée Slasher That's As Dark As It Is Fun
A gory gathering
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. Despite the deeply grim premise of...
August2021
Review Secret Neighbor (Switch) - An Intriguing Premise, But Unbalanced And Tedious
If it weren’t for those meddling kids...
Of all the indie games released over the last decade, you’d be forgiven for thinking of stealth horror game Hello Neighbor is one of the lesser-known creations, one which was engulfed in the flood of — let’s face it — better games. Yet despite the poor critical reception, Hello Neighbor found its...
March2021
Mini Review Kill It With Fire (Switch) - Arachnophobes Need Not Apply
Itsy bitsy spider climbed up the burning spout
Spiders are truly wonderful creatures. They’re exceptionally clever and are able to create the most intricate, beautiful webs imaginable. They eat pests, thus preventing the spread of disease, and they happen to be the inspiration for one of the most beloved superheroes in modern culture. Yet for many...
September2020
Mini Review Party Hard 2 - This Stripped-Down Hitman Clone Is A Fun Time
Let’s get a party going
Remember parties? Before 2020, these loud, obnoxious gatherings used to happen quite a lot. Back in the day, we loved a good party, but as the years go by, the prospect of sitting under the lampshade with a stiff drink and a good book is much more enticing. Party Hard 2 stars a poor chap who just wants to get a good night's...
April2020
Review Totally Reliable Delivery Service - Return To Sender
FedEx-cruciatingly bad
We’re quite sure game devs don’t go out of their way to make a bad game. Normally, a game’s quality – or lack thereof in many cases – is a direct result of budgetary limitations, time restrictions, unexpected bugs, and many, many more variables. It really feels, though, that We’re Five Games are playing some kind...
February2020
Review SpeedRunners - Move Over Sonic, These Guys Have Some Serious Pace
Gotta go fast
Ah, the classic superhero. Humble. Brave. Selfless. A beacon of hope to us mere underpowered mortals. And, as it turns out, massively competitive as well. Because in a city full of other metahumans, there’s only so much justice and glory to go around. So that means any super-powered persona in the vicinity is going to have to move...
July2019
Review Streets Of Rogue - An Ambitious Roguelite With Plenty Of Role Play
A rogue one
Let’s be honest, the rogue-lite has become a little too ubiquitous in 2019. Along with RPG levelling, procedurally generated levels and pixel art graphics, this once fresh and exciting sub-genre has arguably become more rote than riveting. And yet, despite the fact Streets of Rogue features all of the above, it’s somehow managed to...
Review Graveyard Keeper - Stardew Valley With Rotting Corpses? Not Quite
Can you dig it?
Have you ever played Stardew Valley and thought it was missing a talking skull named Gerry; Witch burnings at the not-so-subtly-named Witch Hill; removal of skin, fats, bones, organs and more from human bodies; the ability to run a church and gather sweet, sweet donations; making paper out of the deceased’s’ skin? We’re going...
August2018
Review Hello Neighbor (Switch)
Neighbour from hell
The sinister neighbour has been a cinematic staple for decades, from The Burbs to Disturbia via Arlington Road. It's curious that few video games have made full use of the concept, though. Hello Neighbor looks to buck that trend with a game that leans heavily on the premise, but it falls well short in a number of critical...
July2018
Review Guts and Glory (Switch eShop)
Cunning stunts
There’s nothing quite like a peaceful bike ride through the local park. The sun is shining. The birds are singing in the trees. The buzzsaws are whirring. Wait? Buzzsaws?! Oh dear, you’ve just been decapitated and delimbed by a series of deadly blades bouncing down a hill. Maybe not so peaceful, then… This is the world of Guts...
May2018
Review Punch Club (Switch eShop)
Super punched out
The idea of a fighting game in which you don't actually do any fighting might sound like an odd one, but that's precisely what you'll find in Punch Club. This is a conversion of a casual management simulator that started out life on PC and mobile before making its way to 3DS and other consoles last year. There have been no radical...
Marriage or mirage?
Deadbeat drug dealer Butch wakes up in the trunk of a car and climbs out into a top-down urban hellscape. It’s up to him, with the help of his mysterious handler ‘Anaconda’, to battle through the Garage, an underground mall formerly owned by shady corporation Smith Investments. Cue horrific encounters with mutated vermin,...
March2018
Review Clustertruck (Switch eShop)
Get the truck outta here!
The Matrix: Reloaded will forever live in the shadow of its predecessor, but it did give us a few unforgettable moments, namely Morpheus fighting an Agent on top of a truck while trying to rescue The Keymaker. Imagine thus a video game where you are Morpheus; you can still do all those fancy gravity-defying jumps but there...
February2018
Review The Final Station (Switch eShop)
All aboard the apocalypse train!
Do My Best's very first game is now boarding on Nintendo Switch with The Final Station. From afar it might look like a mere curious train simulator/zombie shooter hybrid presented in a retro pixelated wrapper. However, once you board this train you will quickly realise you are quite unable to stop this journey...
August2017
Review Phantom Trigger (Switch eShop)
Hack, slash, repeat...
Phantom Trigger is a self-described “neon slasher” featuring RPG and roguelike elements developed by two-man squad, Bread Team. Combining some rather tough gameplay with an intriguing storyline, it sees you make your way through various monster-ridden, dungeon-like worlds, whilst also attempting to make sense of what is...
April2017
Review Mr. Shifty (Switch eShop)
SHIFT+DELETE
There's a brief message at the bottom of every game page on the Switch eShop. In short, it's a disclaimer that is designed to protect Nintendo and other developers from liability in the event that players suffer from a seizure caused by gameplay. You've probably seen the message, and you've probably ignored it. You probably also haven't...
February2017
Get up, you son-of-a... 'cos Shiggy loves ya
Ever wonder what it's like to be a fighter? If you'd like to experience the life, Punch Club thinks it's the game for you. Let's find out if this fighting strategy/simulation is worth lacing up the gloves for. Your life in Punch Club starts out with a brief cutscene showing your father, who was...
April2016
Review Lovely Planet (Wii U eShop)
Hardcoradorable
Lovely Planet is a cutely packaged title that conceals a surprising amount of technical gravity. It's like opening a Hello Kitty backpack and finding nuclear launch codes within. Bright colours, an upbeat soundtrack and a very minimalist, very Japanese art direction make it easy to link Lovely Planet with other quirky titles such as...