Latest Reviews
Review I Hate This Place (Switch) - A Messy Monster, But With A Certain Charm
A strong word
The way I see it, there are three different versions of I Hate This Place. First, there’s the game as promised in the trailers: a survival horror with some general emphasis on resource management and gunplay, all elevated with some nice-looking cinematic storytelling. Sweeping cameras slowly reveal the ominous presence of creepily...
Review Reanimal (Switch 2) - Little Nightmares Team Delivers Its Darkest, Boldest Vision Yet
Not your average farm sim
If you’re a horror fan and you own a Switch 2, you should play Reanimal. From the moment it pulls you into its bleak, nightmarish world, it’s clear that developer Tarsier Studios is building on everything it learned from the Little Nightmares series while pushing its signature horror sensibilities to unnerving new...
Review Mario Tennis Fever (Switch 2) - Slim For Singles, But An Addictive Core Gives It Online Legs
Nadal it's cracked up to be?
Having never been any sort of tennis fan for my entire childhood — Wimbledon always seemed a bit posh to me — I fell completely and utterly in love with the sport in my teenage years through the medium of video games. Yes. Video games. They're a whole thing! And just as has been the case with American football,...
Death Race 2026
In a cruel twist of irony, those of us who remember the breakneck mayhem of the original Carmageddon are creeping ever closer to our senior citizen bus pass. This will allow us to ride a slow-moving passenger vehicle that gains no extra points for mulching pedestrians. Released in 1997, this classic of vehicular combat arrived with...
Review Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties (Switch 2) - Maybe It's Time To Take A Break
Daddy issues
I’m of the opinion that there are no bad Yakuza games. Although the series has definitely fluctuated in quality over the years, they always offer up something to keep me engaged and satisfied. Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is still a decent entry, but it’s also bloated, poorly paced, and marred in controversy surrounding the recasting...
Review Hollow Knight (Switch) - One Of The Finest Metroidvanias That's Not A Metroid Or 'Vania
Bugs now available on Switch 2
This review was originally published in June 2018 when Hollow Knight launched on the Switch 1. To celebrate the release of the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, we're republishing it along with some brief impressions of the free upgrade, which is available to download now. The Switch isn't exactly lacking for quirky...
Review Jimmy And The Pulsating Mass (Switch) - The Best EarthBound-Like You've Never Heard Of
Jimmy Dreams World
Early on in Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass, the young protagonist confronts a possessed frog statue in a house surrounded by a bloody lake. The possessor turns out to be a rotten Jack O’Lantern, capable of dangerous fire magic but with a goofy, cheerful grin. Defeating it, Jimmy stands where it used to be, and immediately...
Nightmares and Dreamscapes
The Metroidvania revival (did it ever really go away?) keeps rolling, and here comes another stylised combat-platformer where a strange little hero gets lost in a dark, labyrinthine fantasy world. This time, our protagonist is John, who stumbles into a bizarre realm full of somnambulist weirdos and giant babies. Studio...
Review Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined (Switch 2) - A Fantastic Makeover & The Best-Looking DQ Ever
Let's do the time warp again
Ready to feel old? It’s been about 13 years since the launch of the 3DS remake of Dragon Quest VII, which itself was released about 13 years after the original on the PSX. That means that it’s time for yet another remake of the storied classic, which has been dubbed Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined this time around. This...
May contain nuts
As a big old superhero nerd and a fan of Telltale's narrative adventure games of old, it's fair to say that Dispatch piqued my interest when it made its episodic arrival on PC and PS5 last year. Still, I took a punt and held back on purchasing because it simply had to be coming to Switch at some point in the future. Well, Jim of the...
Vroom, shake the room?
For serious petrolheads, the Switch 1 wasn't exactly a (Burnout) paradise platform. In fact, given the size of the console's library, there's surprisingly little in the way of even semi-serious racing sims for those looking for more than kart racing, smaller-scale experiences that hone in on one aspect and expand (such as the...
Everybody's living in a Materia world
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gawked at the opening sequence to Final Fantasy VII over the years. From a three-year-old, gazing up at the intro for the first time from the carpet of my living room, to watching the camera zoom out and pan across Midgar in Final Fantasy VII Remake back in 2020, I’ve...
Lost in memory
Team Cherry set a new genre standard with Hollow Knight. That legacy has recently been reaffirmed by the long-awaited Silksong, a release that developers and publishers alike are now clamouring to match. These are beautifully animated combat platformers, built around tight controls and striking art direction. Players explore...
Review Dynasty Warriors: Origins (Switch 2) - A Super-Solid Port Of A Fantastic Reboot
Okay, you can pursue Lu Bu
Wading into Dynasty Warriors: Origins on Switch 2, I'm keenly aware that there's been a lot of conversation about the game's frame rate on Nintendo's console in the run-up to release. Yes, it's not a super-sweet 60fps as on some other platforms, and yes, that is a shame. However! Anyone who fancies a little Musou madness...
You could just save your bells
It’s tough to consider that Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out almost six years ago, and even tougher to get over just how good it looks on Nintendo’s first hybrid system. Switch 2 hasn’t been left behind, though - now it’s got its own version of the game, but if I’m being honest, it's not really bringing...
Review Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch) - An Approachable And Addictive Masterpiece
The shores of Bell
Over four years since Update 2.0.0 — which was billed as the "last major free content" — Animal Crossing: New Horizons Update 3.0.0 has arrived, alongside the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. Given the wealth of additions, we're republishing our review with an extra
Review Cassette Boy (Switch) - A Dimension-Flipping Zelda-like With A Unique Hook
Let’s twist again
While it presents itself as a chilled-out ode to Legend of Zelda–style adventuring and the Game Boy aesthetic, Cassette Boy is more than meets the eye. It opens with an ominous dream in which your protagonist is told, “If it can’t be seen, it does not exist.” From there, the game drops you into a very familiar scenario...
The path to a radiant dawn awaits
Did you know that the Japanese version of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance has a 'Maniac' difficulty mode? You did? And did you know that this mode sort of fixes my biggest problem with the game? You did? Can I do the review anyway? Thanks. Jumping back into Path of Radiance, the first home console FE, for the first...
Mini Review Stardew Valley: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition - Almost The Cream Of The Crop
A farm where you'll want a mouse
Note. At the time of publication, the Switch 2 update is not yet live on European eShops. However, it is accessible from the North American eShop if you have a Nintendo Account from that territory. I’ve spent close to 300 hours with Stardew Valley since it landed on Switch in 2018. That feels like rookie...
Review The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Beyond The Horizon (Switch 2) - A Step Up From Daybreak II
One small step for man
The long-running Trails series needs little introduction, as Falcom has been chipping away at this JRPG narrative for the better part of two decades across a variety of arcs and perspectives spread over more than a dozen interconnected games. While newcomers have traditionally been discouraged by the mountain of homework...
A load of pollocks, or did they krill it?
Cast n Chill is one of those games that, the instant I clapped eyes on it, and even with other people telling me that it's real good, I got the feeling I'd just never get around to it. That's not to say fishing isn't for me or anything. I have fished in real life. Oh yes. My dad used to take me when I was a...
Mini Review Layers Of Fear: Final Masterpiece Edition (Switch 2) - Handsome But Humdrum Horror
Tormented souls
Switch owners already have access to Layers of Fear: Legacy and its sequel, but Bloober Team is back with a new port for Switch 2. Utilising Unreal Engine 5 to achieve some truly impressive visuals, Layers of Fear: The Final Masterpiece Edition is neither a sequel nor a remake, but rather the definitive vision of the series so far,...
Review Stray Children (Switch) - A Surreal, Captivating, Undertale-Inspired RPG
Don’t talk to strangers
Stray Children launched on the Japanese eShop on 26th December 2024. We weren't able to review it back in October when it arrived in the West, but we've now managed to catch up with Onion Games' latest... Your dad’s missing and some weird “uncle” is at the door, claiming to know you. Stray Children just chucks you...
Review The Rogue Prince Of Persia (Switch 2) - A Worthy, Approachable Follow-Up To Dead Cells
PoP it like it's hot
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been the better part of a decade since the launch of Dead Cells, though its absurdly long stretch of post-launch DLC expansions and updates certainly helped to keep it in the average player’s consciousness. The original Dead Cells developer, Motion Twin, actually passed the buck in...
Review Despelote (Switch) - An Irresistible And Appropriately Beautiful Game
Back of the net
Editor's note: This game launched in North America on 11th December, but won't hit European eShops until 13th January. For some, football is something to play; for some, it’s something to watch; for others, it’s something to be scared of in the playground. But in 2001, in Ecuador, football meant just about everything to just...
Review System Shock (Switch 2) - Performance Woes Tarnish A Classic
What a hack
I absolutely adore the System Shock remake from Nightdive Studios. When it launched on the PS5 last year, this reimagining of Looking Glass' 1994 classic was just about all I could think about for weeks on end thanks to its immersive gameplay, oppressive atmosphere, and stunning visuals that blend pixel-art textures with advanced...
Review Farming Simulator: Signature Edition - A Passable But Lacklustre Port Ploughs Onto Switch 2
Reaping what you sow
My pigs are starving and I do not know how to feed them. The pig feed is ready to pick up at the shop, but I don’t know where the shop is. Once I find the correct establishment, I need to figure out how to pick up the pallets of food and take them back to my emaciated swine. Later, after I purchased a front loader and the...
No mice, no dice?
I'm not sure how many times I've played through the opening hours of Divinity: Original Sin 2, but it's a lot, and it's been across a long period of time via various platforms. What I'm saying is that I've experienced this all-timer during phases of janky performance, and whilst it's a game that still shines, no matter the...
Review Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (Switch 2) - A Hard Pass For A Great Game
Sanity is for the weak!
Warhammer, I have to say, is something that I've only come to really appreciate properly in recent times. I was never particularly bothered until I picked up a big starter pack of wee guys and big monsters to paint (y'know, for my kids), and then a proper, no-holds-barred addiction set in. I needed lore. I needed more! And...
Review Pokémon Legends: Z-A: Mega Dimension (Switch 2) - Repetition Takes The Shine Off
I am the Alpha and the Mega
After hopping into my 20th Hyperspace in Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s DLC, Mega Dimension, I realised something. I’ve been doing the same things over and over again for the past few hours. Now, I know the series isn’t exactly known for varying things, but it feels particularly egregious within a condensed DLC...
