Latest Reviews
Old friends, new console
Nearly two decades ago, the Nintendo fanbase was graced with Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, the first entry in the series for the Game Boy Advance. Offering up a low-key and easily accessible gateway into the farm sim genre, it quickly garnered a following and earned itself the reputation of being one of the better...
Review Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise - A Fun Game, In Disguise
That game you like is going to come back in style
Let’s get the bad (though perhaps unsurprising) news out of the way first: from a pure technical perspective, Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise is a train wreck. Anyone who can't handle unstable framerates, crude character animation, moiré-like patterns and other visual artifacts or...
Review Catherine: Full Body - The Ultimate Version Of A Surreal Cult Classic
A Rare Vintage
One of our absolute favourite games from the last console generation, Atlus' Catherine is a sublimely stylish mix of visual novel, dating simulation and fiendish block tower puzzler that tells a captivatingly warped story whilst constantly challenging its players with its clever and rewarding platform puzzle elements. Originally...
Class Act
Nihon Falcom’s long-running The Legend of Heroes series finally hits Nintendo Switch in this third entry in the epic Trails of Cold Steel story arc, a direct sequel to Trails of Cold Steel II that takes place less than two years after the Erebonian Civil War portrayed in both that game and its epic predecessor. This is an enormous,...
Sweet victory
The 3D platformer was very much a ‘fad’ genre back in the day, as game companies all over the world figured out ways to get their colourful mascot collecting all sorts of MacGuffins strewn around big playgrounds. During this era, a game based on the popular SpongeBob SquarePants show was released called SpongeBob SquarePants:...
Review Warborn - Solid But Unspectacular Advance Wars-Style Action
Unadvanced Wars
Raredrop Games' Warborn is a traditional turn-based tactics affair that takes the thoroughly tried and tested gameplay of the likes of Advance Wars – and, more recently, Wargroove – and adds great big sexy Gundam-esque mechanised robots and a generous dollop of '90s-style overwrought anime backstory to the mix. Fans of the genre...
Heaven is a race on Earth
If there’s one genre of gaming where the Switch is arguably lacking, it’s open-world racing. In fairness, that’s because there aren’t too many of them in general, but whereas other systems have their Forza Horizons, Need For Speeds and The Crews, the Switch is almost entirely bereft of free-roaming driving. That...
Review Adam's Venture: Origins - Uncharted For Switch? You've Got To Be Kidding
Nothin' Drake
Oof. There's no reason to beat around the bush with this one; Adam's Venture: Origins is an ugly, ugly game. In fact, graphically, it's one of the worst-looking titles we've ever seen on the Switch. It's muddy, glitchy and aesthetically dull. There's constant shimmering, shockingly blurry low-resolution graphics, appalling textures and...
Review BioShock: The Collection - Three Of The Best Single-Player Shooters Ever, All In One Place
"Would you kindly...?"
It’s rather fascinating to see how the first-person shooter genre, which began as a mostly single-player thing, has gone on over the years to become much more focused on multiplayer. There’s nothing wrong with this, of course, but it’s a little disappointing to see memorable, narrative-driven adventures tossed aside in...
Review Space Invaders: The Invincible Collection - 40 Years Of History In One Package
Invaders Must Die
Considering we have been shooting them out of our virtual skies for entertainment over the past forty-two years, any sentient extra-terrestrial life form might not be too keen to drop in to say “Hello!” these days, and with good reason – Tomohiro Nishikado's original 1978 Space Invaders didn't just kickstart a cultural...
Review Borderlands Legendary Collection - A Triple-Helping Of Classic FPS Action
Three tickets to the gun show
It's safe to say you've probably already played Borderlands in some form. The open-world looter-shooter franchise has made an appearance on pretty much every console since the original game released in 2009. This isn't even the series' first appearance on a portable system – Borderlands 2 saw release on the...
Review The Outer Worlds - Obsidian's Fallout-Style RPG Is Worth A Look On Switch
Halcyon Days
Obsidian's The Outer Worlds was very well received when it originally launched back in October of 2019; it's a satirical and darkly humorous RPG that takes the first-person Fallout experience and blasts it into orbit. However, as much as it has in common with the Fallout games, it's also very much its own distinct affair; a remarkably...
Review XCOM 2 Collection - Firaxis' Stone-Cold Classic Makes The Leap To Switch Intact
Welcome Back, Commander
2K Games really has gifted Switch owners a smorgasbord of truly excellent games from their back catalogue lately, with the publisher's Borderlands, BioShock and XCOM franchises all exploding onto the eShop in unison. It's certainly going to be interesting to see how successfully they've managed to deal with the technical task...
Review Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics - You Won't Get 'Board' Of These Games Easily
Warning: things get a bit dicey
With much of the world still in some form of lockdown at the time of writing this review, many have resorted to board games or playing cards to keep themselves occupied and help while away the hours. It could be argued, then, that Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics (or 51 Worldwide Games
Review Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath - An Expensive Way To Get The Full Mortal Kombat 11 Experience
I'd buy that for a dollar!
Ever since the launch of Mortal Kombat X in 2015, NetherRealm Studios’ output has continued to soar in quality. The alternate fighting styles of X fed into the impressive facial animation of Injustice 2, with that second round of DC super-fighting leaving its mark on the customisation depth of last year’s Mortal Kombat...
Review Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition - A Timely Update Of One Of The Greatest RPGs Ever
We're (still) really feeling it
If you were around to browse this site about nine years ago, you may have been privy to the rising support for localization of a game called Xenoblade Chronicles. Back then, the title was just a niche Japanese RPG that Nintendo was extremely hesitant to release outside of the country, but the fans saw something in it...
Review TT Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge 2 - Better Than The Original, But With Room To Improve
Manx speed
Racing games have been a staple of the games industry since its inception, but very few of these virtual drivathons have managed to truly capture the heady mix of excitement and outright fear that comes with pushing real-life machines to their absolute limit. Modern superbikes can reach incredible speeds, but most other two-wheeled racing...
Review Shmup Collection - A Solid Collection Of Modern 2D Shooters
Astro Port's maestro ports
It's one of gaming's greatest myths that graphics aren't as important as gameplay. Without the right kind of graphics, it's possible to depth-charge the potential of an otherwise enjoyable experience. Visuals are a crucial part of a game's feel, and a mismatch between what you're doing and how it all looks is a major...
Review Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 Road To Boruto - Naruto Fans Will Lap It Up
Storm warning
Like most ports of Japanese origin, the Nintendo Switch version of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 Road to Boruto has taken its time to go handheld – the original launched back in 2016, and its anime film tie-in expansion a year later – but with three different story modes, and a frighteningly large number of playable...
Review The Wonderful 101: Remastered - Kamiya's Comeback Kid Lives Up To The Hype
Is it any wonder?
No game captures the ebb and flow of a titanic battle between the forces of good and evil quite like The Wonderful 101. There are dozens of almighty scraps in PlatinumGames’ idiosyncratic action game, against enemies so colossal that even your 100-strong squad feels hopelessly outmatched. And the best moment in each of them is...
Review Ion Fury - Hail To The Queen, The Old-School FPS Is Reborn
Shellshocked
Ion Fury doesn’t just love 2.5D ‘90s shooters, it is a 2.5D ‘90s shooter. Developed by Voidpoint, a studio made up of veteran Build modders (the same engine used to create Duke Nukem all those years ago) and published by none other than 3D Realms, Ion Fury has all the hallmarks of a nostalgic killing spree down memory lane...
Review Ministry of Broadcast - A Grim But Enjoyable Cinematic Platformer
"I'm not into politics. I'm into survival"
Charm goes a long way in our illustrious hobby. A game with – let's be generous – difficult mechanics can be forgiven quite a lot of sins if it's got plenty of character. Ministry of Broadcast most certainly has difficult mechanics, but it positively oozes charm. Almost every screen is interesting, the...
Review Moving Out - Good, Old-Fashioned Fun That Just Falls Short Of Greatness
We quite like to move it, move it
You get an idea of Moving Out's tone when you're designated a F.A.R.T in the first sixty seconds; a Furniture Arrangement and Removal Technician. Much like that joke, the game is is silly, puerile and, unfortunately, a little bit lacklustre. Taking its cues from the frantic likes of Overcooked, Moving Out sees you...
Review Trials of Mana - Old And New Combine To Create A Fine RPG Adventure
A potent blend
It seems that Square’s cult favourite Mana series has been enjoying something of a renaissance of late, and the latest product of this resurgence is a new remake of Trials of Mana. Seiken Densetsu 3 – as it’s known in Japan – never saw a release in the west when it first debuted in the ’90s, and only got introduced to...
Review Cooking Mama: Cookstar - Definitely Needed More Time In The Oven
Undercooked
It’s been rather fascinating to follow the slowly unfolding trainwreck of Cooking Mama: Cookstar over the past week or so. What began as an innocuous and unassuming new release in a beloved series has quickly grabbed headlines after its mysterious and sudden disappearance from storefronts. Conspiracy theories around copyright...
Review Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories - A Totally Unique Experience Marred By Technical Problems
I feel the earth move under my feet
Let’s get one thing out of the way immediately. It’s by far the least interesting thing about Granzella’s Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories, the revival of a PlayStation 3 title originally set to come out in 2011, but your reaction to it will likely be the biggest factor in terms of whether or not you’re...
Review One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 - Exactly What You'd Expect, No More, No Less
Maybe the real treasure is the friends we made along the way
The One Piece franchise is truly something to behold. Nearly a thousand episodes of the anime have been produced and the manga – which has been running since 1997 – has nearly a billion copies in circulation. Despite series creator Eiichiro Oda’s initial wish for it to run for only...
Review Zombie Army Trilogy - Undead Action From The Team Behind Sniper Elite
Schlock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
It's 1945, World War Two is drawing to a rather bloody close and everybody's favourite angry auntie Adolf Hitler has just been informed that it's not looking great for him and his goose-stepping grunts. Being the level-headed Fuhrer that he is, little Adolf reacts to this news by immediately killing the...
Review Gigantosaurus: The Game - Yet Another Poor Licensed Tie-In
A gigantic mess
Licensed games continue to be incredibly hit and miss. There are certainly examples of titles that have got it right, such as South Park: The Stick of Truth and its sequel, but sadly there are countless other games that just simply feel like shameless cash grabs, relying solely on the popularity of the property over compelling...
Review Saints Row IV: Re-Elected - Marvellously Madcap Open-World Fun
POTUS power
Few games do ‘fun’ with as much enthusiasm and self-awareness as Saints Row. While GTA tempers its acerbic tone and pop culture devotion with a firm set of in-game rules, Volition’s open-world series has always aired towards the silly and the slapstick. Want to throw yourself into oncoming traffic and ragdoll your way to insurance...
