Wii U eShop Game Reviews
Review PixelMaker (Wii U eShop)
For you retro art fans
Not so much a game as a creativitiy app, Nostatic Software's PixelMaker does exactly what it says in the title. Those of us with an arty side or penchant for retro gaming will enjoy creating or recreating well known pixel characters with the use of this tool, and the user interface is uncomplicated and easy to grasp. With the...
Review Epic Dumpster Bear (Wii U eShop)
It’s time to take out the trash
Yes. You are reading the title correctly. This is the review for Epic Dumpster Bear. A Unity-made precision platformer with a hilarious twist. Created by Log Games Ltd. (creators of the Wii U puzzle game Puzzle Monkeys), Epic Dumpster Bear takes you through the tragic life of Dumpster Bear, an unsuspecting brown...
Review Dodge Club Party (Wii U eShop)
Dot's all, folks!
Last year, Dot Arcade on the Wii U eShop simmered gameplay down into its simplest, retro arcade-like form and served it up with pizzazz. One of the three games available in that package has now busted out as Dodge Club Party, upping the number of players yet losing much of its flair in the process. Dodge Club Party operates very...
Review Star Sky 2 (Wii U eShop)
Moonlit meandering
Video games have come a long way from their humble, straightforward beginnings. They're still a form of entertainment, primarily designed to help you waste time and relax, so there will always be a mission to complete, a goal to achieve or an enemy to defeat. However, there are simpler, quieter stories to be told as well, with an...
Review Pinball Arcade (Wii U eShop)
FOR AMUSEMENT ONLY
When it comes to pinball games for the Wii U, there's really not a whole lot of options available. Zen Pinball 2 is obviously the first name that comes to mind, and while it certainly delivers a diverse and in-depth library of tables to choose from (along with the standalone Star Wars Pinball), one occasionally must wonder what it...
Review Paranautical Activity (Wii U eShop)
Horrifying yet hard to put down
Have you ever watched a movie that's so bad it's good? One that you know you rationally should not enjoy, but do anyway? If you have, then you might understand the appeal of Paranautical Activity. Paranautical Activity is a bit like a mashup of three separate games in three disparate genres. The core gameplay...
Review SUPER ROBO MOUSE (Wii U eShop)
Mousetrap
This late in the Wii U's lifecycle the low expectations for good Nintendo Web Framework games are becoming the norm. Where we were once shocked at the poor quality of a number of these low-budget indie titles, we now roll our eyes and shrug. But when a title is hyped by its developer as its pièce de résistance, the end result had better...
Review Chasing Dead (Wii U eShop)
A shambling horror
The opening of Chasing Dead sees you hurtling into the atmosphere of a newly discovered second Earth, Intel delivered to you via a short video sequence consisting of a live actress with a cheap looking OSD overlay; one could easily imagine a parallel universe where the Mega CD2 became a reality and FMV games continued to thrive...
Review Draw 2 Survive (Wii U eShop)
You Know the Lines
Have you ever seen one of those back-of-magazine art school tests? The ones that provide simple line art of, say, a turtle and ask you to turn it into something more detailed by adding on top of it? That's how Draw 2 Survive feels at the moment. It has potential, but what's currently there needs to be drawn out and embellished...
Review Olympia Rising (Wii U eShop)
A jump into the past
Paleozoic's Olympia Rising initially started as a campaign on Kickstarter in 2014. Fans were drawn in by the nostalgia of old 2D platformers and hoped Olympia Rising could live up to expectation. A unique mix of Greek mythology along with the classic genre, this game definitely delivers in terms of visuals and story, but is...
Review Star Fox Guard (Wii U eShop)
En garde, robot scum!
Project Guard debuted at E3 2014 as part of an initiative from Nintendo to craft new experiences that could only be pulled off with the GamePad. What was then a small, weird, experimental game is now a small, weird, experimental game set in the Star Fox universe. Oh, and a pretty great — if distressing — proof of concept...
Review Chronicles Of Teddy: Harmony Of Exidus (Wii U eShop)
Cuddly but not perfect
Childhood security blankets come in many forms - a favourite stuffed toy, blankets, specific articles of clothing and imaginary friends - to name a few. In Chronicles of Teddy: Harmony of Exidus, security takes the shape of a possessed teddy bear, a sturdy shield, and a really sharp sword. Chronicles of Teddy sees a young...
Review Chompy Chomp Chomp Party (Wii U eShop)
Om nom nom nom nom
When a game has a title like Chompy Chomp Chomp Party and comes from a publisher called Utopian World of Sandwiches it is pretty hard to ignore, although with a promise of support for up to nine players locally and some truly crazy looking gameplay footage, this was never a title to be overlooked anyway. Unsurprisingly, Chompy...
Review Asdivine Hearts (Wii U eShop)
Meowzers, it’s a Sassy Cat God!
Kemco has certainly released a lot of RPG mobile games over the past few years, so much so that it's hard to filter out which ones are actually worth playing. Asdivine Hearts was initially released for mobile and was a combined effort from both Kemco and EXE Create. Was it worth it? Yes. It's not going to win any...
Hosting Me, Hosting U
Nintendo consoles have been no stranger to party games over the years, and accessibility has always played into that success. Whether it was a dance-off or a quick bout of tennis, both software and hardware worked in tandem to ensure that absolutely anybody could join in on the fun. The introduction of the Wii U GamePad added...
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...
Review The Beggar's Ride (Wii U eShop)
From rags to riches?
Bad Seed's The Beggar's Ride hit the world of mobile gaming late last year, and has now made the transition to the Wii U eShop. The tale follows an unlikely hero in the shape of an old bearded beggar as he is teleported to a mysterious and desolate land, where he finds a cryptic mask which gives him the power to see and control...
Review Grumpy Reaper (Wii U eShop)
Death by a thousand lawn cuts
The Grumpy Reaper opens with a storyline so absurd that developer Drakhar Studios should receive kudos for (presumably) shoe-horning it in to provide some context to a game that doesn't really need it. The set-up is thus: Death's granddaughter has made off with the keys to the Underworld and is releasing zombies out...
Review PixlCross (Wii U eShop)
More room for squares
Picross games are something of a staple on Nintendo's DS and 3DS lines, but haven't seen much action on home consoles. Indie developer Pixlbit Studios seeks to change all that with PixlCross for the Wii U, and the results are good despite some wonkiness. If you haven't yet played a Picross game the rules are quite simple: each...
Review Cutie Clash (Wii U eShop)
Clash of the birds
Yazar Media Group's Cutie Clash is another entry in the Cutie Pets meta-series. Of all the other strange Cutie Pets games, Cutie Clash is the weirdest, most charming and ultimately most disappointing. A wacky one-hit multiplayer brawler, Cutie Clash could have been a parody of Super Smash Bros. had it been fleshed out more. But...
Review Cutie Pets Go Fishing (Wii U eShop)
Hook, line...sink
Yazar Media Group's Cutie Pets meta-series is a peculiar little oddity on the Wii U eShop. The games are full of strange, weirdly compelling characters and ideas, but the execution is very, very flawed. Unfortunately, that trend continues with Cutie Pets Go Fishing. Yet another Cutie game with very, very little content, it's...
Review Bird Mania Party (Wii U eShop)
Top flight entertainment
Starting life as Bird Mania 3D – a hidden gem in the ever growing 3DS eShop library released back in 2012 – Bird Mania Party is an expanded version of the original brought to us by publisher and developer, Teyon. We were fans of the original release, as well as Bird Mania Christmas which was released not too long after,...
Dreamal a little dream of me
Have you heard the one about the goat, the parrot, and the raccoon? It may sound like the setup to a bad joke, but it's actually the cast of Dreamals; it's a puzzle-platformer that's got cute animals and dreamy landscapes in abundance - which is probably almost definitely where the name comes from. While it isn't...
Review Infinity Runner (Wii U eShop)
Keep on running...
Wales Interactive has become a new name to Nintendo gamers in the Wii U generation, with Gravity Badgers being a fun but 'casual' game and Master Reboot being a rather intriguing, story-driven experience. Next up is another typically diverse approach with Infinity Runner - as the name makes clear it's a runner title, utilising a...
Review Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut (Wii U eShop)
Risky business
Late in the life of the Game Boy Color, the world received Shantae, the first in WayForward's flagship series. A love letter to fans of 16-bit action platformers, the game was highly praised and developed a cult following, but it didn't do terribly well due to being released after the launch of the Game Boy Advance. Eight years later,...
Review City Connection (Wii U eShop / NES)
Missed Connection
If you don't remember City Connection, we wouldn't blame you. In 1985, arcades in the U.S. and elsewhere were booming in popularity, and as a result that particular industry was rather strong. This title came to NES owners a little later, however, releasing in the middle of 1988. It looks and feels like a relic of a bygone era, and...
Review REPLAY: VHS is Not Dead (Wii U eShop)
Taking it to the Betamax
'Going retro' is all the rage in modern download gaming. Pixels and chiptunes aren't hard to find in any download store, from the eShop to PSN to Steam and beyond, as gamers of all ages embrace titles that offer an enhanced twist on gaming's past. REPLAY: VHS is Not Dead aims to distinguish itself with retro-styled visuals...
Review Jewel Quest (Wii U eShop)
Once a Jewel Quest addict, always a Jewel Quest addict.
iWin, Inc. is joining the puzzle fray with Jewel Quest for the Wii U eShop, this time with PlayEveryWare behind the developer's wheel, releasing the classic puzzle game on a console that's been surprisingly devoid of Match-3 games for a while now. Originally developed for PC by iWin in 2004,...
Review Volcanic Field 2 (Wii U eShop)
All fizzle, no boom
Playing Volcanic Field 2 is a lot like throwing lasagna against the wall. It can be fun and even primally satisfying for a short while, but you'll soon take a closer look and realize how much of a mess it is. The game can be described as a 2D, sidescrolling, twin-stick shooter. The left stick, d-pad, or even shoulder buttons on...
Review Mutant Mudds Super Challenge (Wii U eShop)
Git gud or get rekt
Way back in 2012 when the eShop was still in its earliest stages, Mutant Mudds was released to general critical acclaim. Indeed, it was one of the earlier original titles released for the eShop, and paved the way - in a sense - for what would go on to become a very prolific service. Now, four years later, does the follow-up live...
