Latest Reviews
Review The Alliance Alive HD Remastered - This 3DS Classic Is Worth A Second Look On Switch
Back from the dead
Back in 2018, the 3DS was still receiving a slow, but steady trickle of new releases despite the Switch stealing the spotlight with its runaway success. Though many put away the old handheld in favour of bigger and better things, there were still plenty of excellent titles released in this period, one of them being The Alliance...
Review A Knight's Quest - A Pale Imitation Of Zelda, But At Least It Has A Sense Of Humour
Open mic Knight
Ever wondered what happens when you’re the adventurous son of a Mayor and accidentally set in motion the end of the world? Welcome to A Knight’s Quest, a charming if flawed action-adventure from Sky9 Games. You play as Rusty, a brave (if clumsy) protagonist tasked with putting right his rather substantial mistake of setting free...
Review Valfaris - Heavy Metal Mayhem That's Rough Around The Edges
Headbangers brawl
The concept of subtlety doesn’t exist in the world of Valfaris, a grimdark sci-fi realm where a grizzled warrior crashes his ship onto an alien world, shooting, slashing and headbanging everything that dares move in the name of vengeance and violence. You’ll shotgun bugs into red mist, collect guns obsessively named around the...
Review Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince - This Magical Series Is Back On Track
More than just a dream
It’s been rather fascinating to follow the development of the Trine series since its debut in 2009. The initial title was lauded for its fantastic puzzle design and aesthetics, which were honed and improved even further by the sequel that launched two years later. Things took a turn for the worse, however, when Frozenbyte...
Review Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered - Bare-Bones, But A Thrilling Nostalgia Trip
"Why am I drippings with goo?"
Games based on movie licences have a bad reputation, but the idea that they’re universally rubbish is simply untrue – there are plenty of examples of movie-based games that range from 'pretty good' to 'excellent'. Ghostbusters: The Video Game fell somewhere between the two when it launched ten years back, exceeding...
Review BurgerTime Party! - Too Many Cooks Spoil The Burger
Overcooked, or a rare treat?
You can tell BurgerTime originated in 1982 from the state of the burgers you’re building. Nothing fancy: a flat bap, a patty, a limp bit of lettuce and maybe a tomato or cheese slice in the more exotic levels. A true 2019 update should deliver ludicrous towers of buttermilk chicken, smashed avocado and chipotle sauce...
Review Asphalt 9: Legends - Likeable Burnout-Style Racing Action, If You Play The Right Way
Another loot box for the road
The Asphalt series actually started off on Nintendo, many moons ago. It launched on the DS in 2004 as Asphalt: Urban GT, got a sequel and then headed off to (what was then) the new and exciting world of mobile gaming, leaving Nintendo behind. Other than a brief return for the launch of the 3DS with Asphalt 3D, the...
Review One Night Stand - A Unique Journey Through The Morning After
Was it good for you?
You swim into consciousness. Your eyes remain tightly shut, but you’re already far too aware of how bright the world is. It’s quiet, and yet the noise in your head is deafening. Your mouth feels like it’s full of sawdust, and each passing moment brings with it a new aching pain. You lie completely still, knowing that the...
Review Arcade Love: Plus Pengo! - A Unique Bundle Of Japanese Zaniness
Arcade beatings, shooting and Pengos for everyone
Triangle Service's debut title for the Switch is a fairly safe option for the small developer, which compiles three of their previously-published arcade titles – along with a unique 2012 version of Sega's Pengo – into a single package. But is it worth investing in Arcade Love: Plus Pengo!, which...
Review Candleman - A Relaxing And Illuminating Little Platformer (Switch)
Look for the light
On the surface, Candleman might seem like an immediate write-off. An anthropomorphised candle isn’t, after all, one of the most immediately engaging or relatable video game characters – it’s just, well, a candle. But to disregard Candleman without giving it a fair shot would be a mistake, as this is a genuinely enjoyable...
Review Dead By Daylight - Fun Online Horror Action That's Ugly And Expensive On Switch
Daylight Robbery?
Dead By Daylight is an asymmetrical, online-only survival horror game that has been pitting teams of survivors against crazed killers since 2016. The story sees innocent bystanders pulled into the world of the Entity, a supernatural being awakened from its slumber by the horrific actions of the cast of killers you get to play as...
Review Galaxy Champions TV - Smash Up Your TV With This Engaging Twin-Stick Blaster
"I'd buy that for a dollar!"
Rewind back to last week’s review of Contra: Rogue Corps and we discussed how not getting the basic building blocks of a twin-stick shooter right ensured that your game – no matter how much bloat, padding and on-trend features you bulked it up with – would ultimately fail to keep players engaged or hooked. This is...
Review Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns - A Worthy Upgrade Of A Solid Match-Three RPG
A tile matching quest for the ages
Originally released back in 2007 for the Nintendo DS, Puzzle Quest was something of a surprise hit. Expertly blending the tile-matching mechanics of Bejeweled with more traditional RPG mechanics like turn-based battles, you could almost argue that it pioneered a completely new sub-genre. Of course, in the years...
Review Hexagroove: Tactical DJ - The Thinking Man’s Rhythm Action Experience
Too many DJs? Not around here...
If you’ve ever had the desire to stand before a baying crowd on the sun-kissed beaches of Ayia Napa and spin them into a state of unimaginable euphoria through the power of your DJ skills, Hexagroove: Tactical DJ from Swedish-based developers Ichigoichie might just be exactly what you’re looking for. The key...
Revisiting a visual novel trendsetter
Yu-No: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of this World might not be a catchy title for a Japanese visual novel, but this remake of the beloved PC-98 classic is an important watershed for the genre as a whole. Originally released in 1996, Yu-No tells the tale of Takuya, revealing the nature of his father’s...
Review Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair - A Delicious Mix Of Donkey Kong And Zelda
Lair today, Kong tomorrow
It’s possible to beat Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair in under half an hour. Now, hold on a minute. Before you make a beeline for Amazon to start pricing pitchforks (it’s about £25 for a good one, if you’re asking), let us clarify. We said it’s possible. But there’s no way you’ll be able to manage it right...
Mini Review 80 Days - A Wordy But Wonderful Jaunt Around The Globe
The road goes ever on
We’re going to assume you’ve not lived under a rock your entire life and are at least vaguely familiar with the concept of Jules Verne’s literary masterpiece, Around the World in 80 Days. It’s inspired a number of real-life imitations, movies, musicals, and – in this case – an incredibly well-written adventure from...
Review Fight'N Rage - Who Said The Side-Scrolling Brawler Is Dead?
Golden Act
As Fight'N Rage loads up, it mimics the boot sequence of an old arcade cabinet, going through its various system checks, verifying and okaying its RAM before throwing up its ROM number and region version. It’s a nice little touch in a game jam-packed with nice little touches. With a heavy (and totally optional) CRT post-effect that...
Just deserts
Fans of Rebellion’s period sniper simulator often look to Sniper Elite V2 (which also got a Nintendo Switch re-release earlier this year), with its campaign through the ruins of Berlin, as the moment the series really found its groove, but it’s the sequel that followed two years later that truly took all the things we love about...
Review Amnesia: Collection - A Masterclass In Horror That Has Aged Better Than You'd Think
Deeper down
Horror isn’t easy. Anyone can throw together enough blood, guts and gore to make a butcher green at the gills, but proper, unsettling terror is a rare thing indeed. There are countless films, books and TV shows out there that claim to conjure blood-curdling chills, but very few of them really stay with you, like a splinter burrowing...
Review Ori And The Blind Forest: Definitive Edition - An Unmissable Experience
A light shining the way
There was a time when a platform holder publishing games for a rival format would have been completely unheard of. Unthinkable, even! Yet, a bizarre chain of events has seen Microsoft Studios release a handful of games for our beloved Switch, including the likes of Minecraft and, surprisingly, even Cuphead. While Microsoft...
Review FIFA 20 - A Shamelessly Cynical Attempt To Swindle Switch-Owning Footy Fans
This can't Coutinho happening
When EA released FIFA 18 on the Switch, it was missing a number of modes and features. Given that the game was being handled by another studio in Bucharest – and given that one of the game’s producers gave the (rather fishy) excuse that they didn’t want to overwhelm Switch players with every option at once – we...
Review Pilotwings - 16-bit Flight Simulation, The Nintendo Way
Mode 7 is the wind beneath my Pilotwings
Now that SNES games are available on Nintendo Switch Online, we've decided to revisit each of them in a fresh review. Expect to see updated reviews for all of the titles currently available over the next few weeks. Upon introducing its new Super Famicom console in late 1990 it wasn't just critical for...
Mini Review Button Button Up! - A Perfectly Fine Platformer, And That's It
Stitch-em-up
Button Button Up! is one of those platformer games that can be described as being just ‘fine’. It’s not going to compete with some of the more accomplished games on the Switch like Celeste or Super Mario Maker 2, but nor should it be completely glossed over. It’s a perfectly serviceable platformer with cute visuals and fun...
Review Devil May Cry 2 - The Series Nadir Isn't Worth Bothering With On Switch
Dante's Inferno
By now we all know the story of how Devil May Cry 2 was subject to a rather troubled and fast-tracked development. Hideki Kamiya, the director of the first game, was not involved and his replacement – whom, to this day, has remained unnamed – was dismissed deep into development, replaced by Hideaki Itsuno for the remaining few...
Review Mario Kart Tour - Steer Around The Gacha For A Fun, Free Take On The Series
Please ride and subscribe
It’s fair to say that Nintendo’s forays into mobile gaming have been a bit of a mixed bag, partly because none of its fans can really agree on which of its efforts have struck the best balance between fun and funds. Originally reluctant to even get into mobile gaming in the first place, Nintendo has struggled to settle...
Review Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX - Short-But-Sweet, Mega Man Zero-Style Action
Shining light
Inti Creates have become synonymous with action platformers over recent years, even beating Capcom at their own game with their excellent Mega Man Zero series. The Ichikawa-based outfit challenge their former masters once again with the first original Switch entry in their acclaimed Gunvolt series. Can they make their mark among the...
One for the ages
It’s fascinating to see how much the JRPG genre has changed over the years, as countless new studios and designers have come up with a seemingly bottomless amount of ways to riff on battle systems, narrative styles, and world designs. In many ways, one could say that a JRPG is judged by how well it subverts genre expectations, but...
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 Contra: Rogue Corps - An Ugly And Unfocused Mess That Shames The Contra Name
A very shattered soldier
Contra: Rogue Corps sets itself some seven years after the cataclysmic events of 1992’s Contra III: The Alien Wars, one of the very best entries in the franchise. It’s certainly a bold move to tie yourself so directly to such a beloved game; a sign of supreme confidence, you might think. Well, if it was confidence, it...