Mike Diver lives by the sea in East Sussex. His writing on video games has appeared in publications including VICE, EDGE, The Guardian, Nintendo Life and Official PlayStation Magazine. He is the author of three previous books – Indie Games: The Complete Introduction to Indie Gaming; How to Be a Professional Gamer: An Esports Guide to League of Legends; and Retro Gaming: A Byte-Sized History of Video Games – and editor of several more.
Feature A 20th Anniversary Zelda Adventure - Playing Ocarina Of Time For The First Time
Hyrule still rules
Ocarina of Time happened at the wrong time. Not so much for the fortunes of its original platform, the Nintendo 64, nor legions of Zelda fans old and new around the word – the game would sell two and a half million copies between its November 20th release and the end of the year. But said year, 1998, was one where a lot changed...
Review Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse - An Old-School Point-And-Click Adventure In Every Sense
Puzzlingly pedestrian
The Switch isn’t short of superb narrative adventures. From Night in the Woods to Thimbleweed Park, via Oxenfree and Gone Home, the platform’s got fans of loquacious conversation and perplexing puzzles pretty well covered. Now, into this mix, comes another blast from the recent past (something the Switch sees a lot of, of...
Review Mario Tennis Aces (Switch)
Super Grand Slam Brothers
Bereft of feature content though it was, the Wii U’s Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash delivered addictively enjoyable core gameplay, for as long as its online servers remained populated. Its measly offline attractions and lack of court and character variety proved its critical undoing, but developer Camelot Software – makers...
Feature Freedom Fighter: Paul Cuisset On The Making Of Flashback
As the 16-bit classic comes to Switch, its director reflects
This month sees some potentially special games come out for the Nintendo Switch. From Wolfenstein II to Lumines Remastered via the arcade sports action of Mario Tennis Aces, the console’s not wanting for attractive offerings. Yet perhaps the most interesting of the month’s new releases...
Review Little Nightmares: Complete Edition (Switch)
A little bit Maw
Bestowed with a disquieting atmosphere and visual imagination, Little Nightmares makes a terrific first impression. A side-on platform-puzzler in the vein of Playdead’s exceptional Limbo and Inside - with a similarly dark palette - the game casts the player as Six, a nine-year-old girl who must navigate her way from the depths of...
Soapbox Celebrating The Second Chance Saloon That Is The Nintendo Switch
Round two’s alright
Cole Phelps is one of the most unlikeable video game protagonists I’ve ever had the pleasure of vaulting over a wall in pursuit of a fleeing perp, or accidentally propelling into the back of a parked Buick while at the wheel of a siren-wailing Nash Super. The leading man of Rockstar’s L.A. Noire, developed by the...
Review The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Switch)
Stay frosty
The dream that, to be fair, probably only a handful of complete weirdos ever truly had, is nevertheless now a reality: with its much-heralded release on Switch, in a DLC-complete edition, it’s now possible to play Skyrim on the toilet. Or, more likely, in bed, or on a train or plane. Or even in the toilet of a train or plane. And so...
Review Oxenfree (Switch eShop)
Under The Skin
Oxenfree is one of gaming’s greatest ghost stories. Granted, they’re a rare breed, the genuinely spooky video game, experiences that aren’t so much played as permitted to crawl across your skin, cooling the blood and yet quickening its flow. But Californian indie studio Night School’s debut production, originally released in...
Review Thimbleweed Park (Switch eShop)
Twin Pixels
"Open Gate." That’s the first thing you’ll do in Thimbleweed Park. It’s an inauspicious beginning, sure, but immediately illustrative of the kind of experience ahead, mechanically. You’re going to have to get familiar with verbs, instructing your pixelated avatars around the environs of the wider Thimbleweed County as you, as one...
Soapbox Playing Super Mario Sunshine Today Painfully Illustrates Nintendo's 3D Evolution
As it turns 15, Mike Diver takes a fresh look at the GameCube platformer
Precision platforming – it’s something that pretty much comes as standard in Mario titles, these days. I’ve had my hands on Super Mario Odyssey, and it’s a delight – aesthetically as peachy as we’ve come to expect from Nintendo since the advent of HD visuals, but...
