Tag: Reviews - Page 9
Review Oddworld: Soulstorm (Switch) - Ol' Abe Still Intrigues, But He's Shackled To The Past
Still stuck in the '90s
The Oddworld series has never quite evolved past its late 1990s roots; the grimy puzzle-platformer was a unique take on the genre for its time, yet hasn’t really made a mark with the handful of releases and ports since its debut. A shame, as Oddworld, with its Mudokon slaves, the half-mechanical Sligs, and industrialist...
Review Bayonetta 3 (Switch) - A Stunning Return For An Icon, And The Best Game In The Series
Stone-cold sober, as a matter of fact
What's the greatest pure action game series of all time? Is it Ninja Gaiden? Max Payne? Devil May Cry or something else entirely? Whatever your own personal preferences in this regard, one certainty is that there are only a handful of franchises which have truly managed to knock it out of the park with regards...
Review Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher (Switch) - Bigger Means Better In This Monster Raising Sim
Size definitely matters in this one
In the world of Monster Rancher, bigger doesn’t always mean better, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. The newest entry in the series, Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher, takes this philosophy and turns it up to epic proportions, creating a world filled with monsters the size of mountains that need to be fed, trained,...
Still life in the old dog
Chapter 1 - An Overdue Return In the pleasant, reasonably well-kept living room of my small, comfortable home, I sat down on the sofa with a warming mug of strong, milky coffee and booted up my Nintendo Switch. As the main menu flashed into existence before me, a new icon caught my eye. It was bold in its simplicity; a name...
Review Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway (Switch) - Slams The Series Into Reverse
"No sir, I don't like it"
Usually when a licensed karting game is released, it’s a one-and-done affair. Cram a load of well-known characters into tiny cars, fling them around a bunch of courses, collect the money and punt them out the door. In that sense, you’ve got to give credit to developer Bamtang and publisher GameMill for holding firm and...
Review Dragon Ball: The Breakers (Switch) - Dares To Be Different From Other Dragon Balls
Survive in the nightmare that is the Dragon Ball universe
Video games based on the Dragon Ball franchise usually have a very specific focus. While there have been the occasional RPGs like Kakarot or The Legacy of Goku thrown into the mix, most have been firmly focused on fighting your way across the series’ story. However, Dragon Ball: The...
Chomping at the bit
The craze now coined as “bronyism” — a heavily documented My Little Pony fandom that took root in 2010 — turned out to be more about inclusion than it did the show (Friendship is Magic) itself. Despite our attempts to get into it based on recommendations, we found its adult appeal largely overvalued. It acted as a conduit...
We promise the Rabbids’ antics aren’t too annoying
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle came about like a fever dream in 2017. Nintendo lending Ubisoft its poster child franchise? A Rabbid dressing up as Princess Peach? Mario wielding a gun? Madness. More surprising still, it turned out to be a ridiculously good strategy game – one of the best on...
Review Persona 5 Royal (Switch) - Finally On Switch, This Is The Very Definition Of Essential
Looking cool, Joker!
Well, all you lovely people, it finally happened. After literally years of pretending like it wasn’t sure there would be an audience, Atlus has brought Persona 5 to the Switch. And though this belated port hasn’t brought with it any major new upgrades or changes, we’re pleased to report that Persona 5 Royal is every bit as...
Review Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova (Switch) - A Ragtag But Competent Co-op Adventure
Jankom Pog abides
It's been a long road getting from there to here. Star Trek fans might have a whole new constellation of shows to enjoy (or complain about amirite), but when it comes to video games the range of available options has been decidedly slimmer, especially on Nintendo systems. In fact, Star Trek: Conquest on Wii was the last time the...
Review Pilotwings 64 - A Real Gem, Sparkling In The Shadow Of Mario 64
Top flight
This review originally went live in 2013, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival in Switch's N64 library via the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. Releasing alongside Super Mario 64 when the Nintendo 64 launched back in 1996 (1997 if you're European), it was somewhat inevitable that Pilotwings 64 was...
Review Chaos;Child (Switch) - A Stand Out 'Science Adventure' VN That's Compelling And Gruesome
Find the truth behind a whole new set of grizzly murders
The Science Adventure series of visual novels usually don’t share much in common aside from a shared universe and an unusual naming convention, but Chaos;Child is the most direct sequel the series has seen so far. Set six years after the events of Chaos;Head Noah, this game offers a similar...
Review Moonscars (Switch) - A Brutal, Beautiful Soulslike In Need Of A Performance Patch
Clayfighter
Everybody up for yet another Soulslike? Yeah, we thought as much. However, Black Mermaid's Moonscars has been turning heads since it was first announced due to its rather exquisitely detailed pixel art style. This is a deliciously dark 2D slasher with Metroidvania elements that reminds us a little of Motion Twin's dazzling De
Review LEGO Bricktales (Switch) - A Refreshingly Creative Yet Awkward Build
Everything could be awesome
Though the late '90s and early '00s saw a variety of Lego video games released across all genres, the launch of LEGO Star Wars kicked off a 30+ game run of co-op action platformers based around myriad popular IP that’s still going strong today. It’s a formula that’s worked well and evolved somewhat over the years,...
Review No Man's Sky (Switch) - Right Up There With The Very Best Switch Ports
Galaxy Quest
This article was originally published as an in-progress review without a score prior to the arrival of the 4.0 Waypoint update, which brought a raft of new features in the days after launch. It has now been updated with our impressions of Waypoint and awarded an overall score. It's been a long old road for Hello Games' No Man's Sky...
Review Chaos;Head Noah (Switch) - A Great Localisation Of The First 'Science Adventure' VN
Dive into the delusions of the ultimate otaku
There are two ways that life goes for visual novel protagonists. Either they wake up in a world where all their classmates are beautiful anime girls who want to jump their bones, or they find themselves in a twisted supernatural murder mystery. Unfortunately for Takumi Nishijou, the protagonist of...
Review Overwatch 2 (Switch) - Solid F2P Shooting That Doesn't Yet Justify The '2'
You're powered up, get in there!
The recent release of Splatoon 3 spawned an interesting discussion over what justifies a sequel. Considering that Splatoon 2 is still playable on the Switch and maintains a healthy player base, its follow-up was viewed by some as an unnecessary iteration that failed to meaningfully innovate. Blizzard’s recent...
Review Railgrade (Switch) - An Entertaining Management Sim That Runs Out Of Steam
All aboard the capitalism train!
There is something deeply appealing about playing with trains. They go exactly where you tell them to, yet can still behave in unexpected ways to keep things interesting. Railgrade from developer Minakata Dynamics is a great railway management sim game with some fun quirks. While it doesn’t go as deep into its...
In need of a re-remaster
When a studio looks to remaster an older title from its repertoire, the absolute minimum expectation is that the new version looks and perhaps plays better than the original, making the most of modern hardware and, where appropriate, integrating new features to align with modern gameplay sensibilities. Granted, the results...
Review NieR:Automata The End of YoRHa Edition (Switch) - A Modern Classic Shines On Switch
NieR-ly perfect
NieR:Automata is perhaps a story of the power of word of mouth. A sequel in an IP with a devoted but modest following by Square Enix standards, it became a notable sales success over time as initial fans convinced neutrals that something special had arrived. Director Yoko Taro was also clever in his approach to storytelling - playing...
Review FIFA 23 (Switch) - The Final Whistle Blows On A Legacy Of Disappointment
Don't waste your Sterling on this
If you’ve been keeping tabs on EA’s hugely popular football franchise, you’ll have heard that FIFA 23 marks the end of an era. As the final game to carry the FIFA licence before EA parts ways with its partner of 30 years, most multiformat sites have been discussing FIFA 23’s importance as the finale of a...
Review Potion Permit (Switch) - A Great-Looking Life Sim That Eschews Both Farmwork And Challenge
Double, double, toil and trouble
Coming from developer MassHive Media, Potion Permit is a sweet little social sim-meets-adventure RPG. However, unlike the majority of life simulators currently dominating the eShop, Potion Permit presents no crops to cultivate and no farm animals to tend to, and instead relies on medicinal foraging to help those...
Review Let's Sing ABBA (Switch) - La Question C'est Voulez-Vous
ABBA-go hero
Let's start with a question: Why are you here? Of all the many games launching in the latter third of 2022, this is perhaps the most dependably, dryly predictable in form and function: a Let's Sing game featuring songs by Abba. Sure, you might be curious about the playlist or the various modes in this particular entry of the...
Review Various Daylife (Switch) - A Simple Yet Repetitive JRPG Best For Bite-Sized Sessions
Another day in the life
At this point, it seems almost certain that Square Enix is using an AI to randomly generate new titles in its “Underlined Serif Title” RPG series. Triangle Strategy already felt like it was pushing the limits, but we’ve now been graced with the delightful Various Daylife. After an initial exclusive launch on the Apple...
Review Let's Build A Zoo (Switch) - A Creative, Cartoonish Tycoon Sim With A Sinister Twist
Create new and exciting affronts to the natural order
We’ve all walked around a zoo and wondered just how hard it could be to run one. After all, you just need to get the animals in one place and keep them from escaping, right? However, if the plethora of zoo management sims on the market is anything to go by, there is a lot more to it. While many...
Review Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris (Switch) - One For Forgiving SAO Fans Only
This link takes a long time to get started
Anime fans around the world will be familiar with Sword Art Online. The light novels and the sprawling media empire that they spawned follow the exploits of Kirito as he stumbles from being trapped in one online video game to another. Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris is the latest game to follow...
Review Voodoo Detective (Switch) - Stylish And Low-Stress Monkey Island-Inspired Adventuring
Voodoo you think you are?
You may have heard of a little game releasing on Switch this month – a point-and-click graphic adventure featuring Voodoo mysticism, set in the Caribbean and with music by Peter McConnell, composer on Monkey Island 2? That’s right! It’s Voodoo Detective, the magical, mystical debut from Short Sleeve Studio, hot on the...
Review Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival (Switch) - A Solid Entry That Marches To A Familiar Beat
The same old song and dance
More than twenty years after its initial inception, chances are you know by now whether or not the Taiko no Tatsujin franchise is for you. Featuring rhythmic gameplay via four methods of control (buttons, touch screen, motion controls, or the drum accessory itself), the new entry from Bandai Namco — Taiko no Tatsujin:...
Review Tunic (Switch) - Old-School Adventuring With Nods To Zelda, Unforgiving And Ingenious
Surprisingly, the fox isn’t saving a princess from a pig-man
The opening moments of Tunic fooled us into thinking we were in for a derivative Zelda-like adventure. A diminutive fox-like character wearing a green tunic reminiscent of a certain hero wakes up on a beach. From an isometric camera angle, this fox (known as the Ruin Seeker) finds a...
Review Hokko Life (Switch) - An Animal Crossing-Like That Lacks Charm And Originality
Horsing about on island life
In recent times, life sims and 'wholesome' gaming have taken almost every platform by storm, and now developer Wonderscope Games presents Hokko Life, a colourful community simulator encouraging you to take life at your own pace. This intriguing animal-filled life sim echoes one of Nintendo's most popular titles but...
Review Airoheart (Switch) - Adequate Adventuring For Link To The Past Obsessives
"We have 2D Zelda at home"
It’s said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and if that is indeed the case, then Airoheart is one of the most sycophantic releases on the Switch today. There's certainly no shortage of 'Zelda-likes' available on the console, but this is a game that stretches the term “inspired by” to its absolute...
Review Return To Monkey Island (Switch) - An Impeccable Encore For An Adventure Gaming Icon
Look behind you! A three-game series!
In 1990, Ron Gilbert created the seminal point-and-click adventure The Secret of Monkey Island. It grabbed hearts and hasn’t let go for 32 years. In 1991, he concluded Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge on a bombshell cliffhanger. In 1992, he departed Lucasarts, and the secret third part of his trilogy went...
Review Easy Come Easy Golf (Switch) - Everybody's Golf Spiritual Successor Scores A Birdie On Switch
Finally, golf for everybody (with a Switch)
Clap Hanz is a studio closely linked with PlayStation, producing hugely popular titles Everybody's Golf / Hot Shots Golf across multiple generations (over the course of 20 years+). Recently it loosened up its swing and went another way, however, releasing Clap Hanz Golf on Apple Arcade. It's that title...
Review Shovel Knight Dig (Switch) - A Finely Formed Roguelite That Strikes 16-Bit Gold
"Now dig on this"
Since the last 8-bit-style game came out, Shovel Knight has been branching out more into other genres as developer and publisher Yacht Club charts a course for where its eponymous nobleman will go next. In December, we got the wonderful Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon, which smartly blended falling block puzzle mechanics with...
Review The DioField Chronicle (Switch) - A Solid Tactical RPG That Falls Short Of Its Ambitions
It was I, DioField!
Published by Square Enix and developed with assistance from Lancarse, The DioField Chronicle looks and feels like most tactical RPGs out on the Switch in many ways, but with everything just slightly tweaked. The characters are all undeniably stylised, but never quite as much as Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The politics are front...
It's more than zero
We don't blame you if you’re intimidated by Falcom’s The Legend of Heroes: Trails series. This massive saga is now up to its twelfth mainline game in Japan, with the West falling behind at an alarming rate. However, one piece of the puzzle has been missing for years – Crossbell. After years of begging, fans are finally...
I choose you!
Fun fact: at this time last year, we had only just learned of the existence of Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars. Not only has that game and its sequel—Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden—come out since then, but we’ve now received yet another sequel in Voice of Cards: The Beasts of Burden. As you’d probably expect, this...
Review Radiant Silvergun (Switch) - A Superb Shmup That's Still One Of The Very Best
No refuge
Making it business to boycott sensible business practices, Treasure’s commitment to dying consoles once cemented it as Japan’s most revered boutique developer. A practice that gave rise to some of gaming’s most significant works, Radiant Silvergun is a product of both spectacular overachievement and unapologetic showboating. Once...
Review Jack Move (Switch) - A Short, Sharp, And Utterly Gripping Cyberpunk RPG
In bird culture, this is considered a Jack Move
It feels like most JRPGs these days don’t really tread much into hard science fiction. Sure, big franchises like Final Fantasy or Xenoblade aren’t afraid to mix in some tech alongside their magic, but it’s rare that you’ll see developers fully commit to a world that’s all robots and...
Review NBA 2K23 (Switch) - Michael Jordan Challenge Is A Slam Dunk In Another Solid Switch Port
A 'Magic' season for Switch b-ball
It's once again reached that time of year when another entry in the NBA 2K franchise slam-dunks onto our consoles. Yes, it's sometimes difficult to muster much excitement for these annual instalments, and it's easy to dismiss them as just another incremental update that looks and plays almost identically to the...
Review Temtem (Switch) - An Innovative Pokémon-Like, With Depth And Grind In Equal Measure
Into Temtemtion
At the beginning of our Temtem adventure, we had every intention to review the Pokémon-inspired massively multiplayer game based on its own merit, steering clear of comparisons between the two as best we could. Developer Crema never shied away from where Temtem’s blueprints came from during its successful Kickstarter campaign and...
Review Tinykin (Switch) - A Wholesome Platforming Spin On Pikmin
Good things come in small packages
Splashteam, developer of the humourous 2D platformer Splasher, is back again but with a different cast of curious creatures in its newest project, Tinykin. It's an imaginative and very pleasant 3D platformer that challenges you to think outside the box and find a new purpose in everyday objects — especially since...
Review Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling Into Darkness (Switch) - Makes You Work For The Good Stuff
Insert obligatory Nietzshe quote here
Made in Abyss feels like an anime/manga ripe for a game adaptation, especially given its almost Happy Tree Friends-esque combination of cute visuals with incredibly disturbing violence. We finally got that adaptation in the laboriously named Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness, which manages to be...
Review Splatoon 3 (Switch) - The Pinnacle Of The Series And Switch's Slickest Shooter
Peak squid performance
When the original Splatoon launched on the Wii U back in 2015, it was pretty groundbreaking. Nintendo making an online shooter? It sounded like a recipe for confusion, but as they so often do, Nintendo took a formula that had been refined to the point of parody and decided that it would be fun to be able to swim in bullets...
Review Circus Electrique (Switch) - Repetitive Turn-Based Battling In A Gripping Steampunk London
Roll up, roll up
Circus Electrique is quick to pique the interest of any fans of a turn-based tactical RPG, especially those who loved Darkest Dungeon. However, its unique design raises the question of what Darkest Dungeon would be like if it were filled with mechanical mimes and pretentious police officers, all while being set in a gritty,...
Review Disney Dreamlight Valley (Switch) - A Surprisingly Touching Take On The Life Sim Genre
A rough, but charming, work in progress
Note: Since the publication of this review, the publisher changed its plans to make Disney Dreamlight Valley free-to-play. Also, myriad updates and patches have been added to the game which may have altered and modified the gameplay experience from the one detailed below. Imagine waking up and seeing Mickey...
What a beautiful Duwang!
Anime games are in a weird spot. During the late '90s to mid-2000s we would get varied games like Berserk: Guts’ Rage, and Arc System Works’ Fist of the North Star. Aside from Dragon Ball — which in the last few years has gotten an RPG, 2D fighter, and even a Dead By Daylight clone — most anime series are relegated...
Review City Wars: Tokyo Reign (Switch) - A Deep Deckbuilder That Stands Out In The Crowd
The city that nevers sleeps
These days, it feels like deckbuilding elements are finding their way into all kinds of roguelikes, but it’s not too often that you see new releases purely built around card games. City Wars: Tokyo Reign is one of those rare releases, and we’re pleased to report that it presents an interesting and unique take on CCG...
Review Ooblets (Switch) - An Adorable Life Sim Full Of Charm, Character, And Dancing
It's nice to meet Oob!
Following six years of development, Glumberland finally presents Ooblets, a quirky, creature-collecting life sim set in a rundown town. But this game offers more than just creature collecting. Between farming, making friends, and busting a move, players are responsible for restoring life to Badgetown and its surrounding areas...
Review ANNO: Mutationem (Switch) - An Impressive Cyberpunk Action RPG With Stunning Visuals
This game has a monkey in a lab coat
'Cyberpunk' has become a bit of a dirty word in games as of late after a certain game's widely-publicised rough launch. However, video games and the cyberpunk aesthetic have gone hand in hand for almost as long as the medium has existed. From SNES-era titles like Shadowrun and Hideo Kojima’s wildly...
