Switch Game Reviews
Review Fate/Extella Link - One Of The Best Musou Games On Nintendo Switch
Can I just have one more moondance with you, my love
Musou fans have been a bit spoiled this generation, with many great releases in this niche genre coming out for the Switch, some of which are from the Big N itself. One of the more middling Musou games from the early days in the Switch’s life was Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star, which married that...
Review RICO - A Great Tactical Shooter That Truly Comes Alive In Co-Op
Breach and cheer
‘Kick doors, kill men.’ These four seemingly simple words, which appear on-screen while you patiently wait for one of RICO’s procedurally generated levels to load, might seem like a throwaway line – and yet they perfectly sum up its bombastic simplicity. For all the extra objectives and features, everything boils down to...
Review The LEGO Movie 2 Videogame - Accessible And Enjoyable Action For The Whole Family
Bricking it
In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes and LEGO video games. On every platform, seemingly since time immemorial, the good folks at TT Games have been taking those humble Danish toy bricks and turning them into a successful – if not particularly groundbreaking – series of titles. Of course, having access...
Review Rad Rodgers Radical Edition - Fun, Foul-Mouthed And Forgettable
Not so radical
Rad Rodgers is a walking, talking ’90s cliche. A wisecracking kid who clashes with his parents while boasting a love of video games so deep it’s burgeoning on a clinical addiction. He’s perpetually glued to the CRT TV in his room and the blocky grey console (called ‘Dusty’, naturally) sits beneath it. Then, one day, the TV...
Review Fimbul - An Atmospheric But Unforgivably Flaky Norse Adventure
Hitting a Thor spot
It might sound like the name of a cute character from a generic platformer, but Fimbul is actually the final, brutal winter before Ragnarök – AKA: Norse Armageddon. Which tells you an awful lot about Fimbul the game, both in terms of its icy northern European setting and its grim, violent gameplay. You play the part of...
Review RemiLore - An Endearingly Sweet RPG Experience That Might Leave You Wanting More
Got a sweet tooth?
In the modern game industry, it feels like there’s quite a continuous push for ‘event games’, like the sorts of action titles you see plastered over advertisements and social media just about everywhere you go. What doesn’t often get talked about is the market for less intense games; the sorts of experiences more geared...
Review Trials Rising - Death-Defying Stunts On The Move
On the rise
Very few games as close to marrying sheer frustration and abject joy as Trials. From its earliest days as a browser game in 2000 to its breakout success on XBLA, RedLynx’s 2.5D racer has always been a tough cookie to crack thanks to its physics-driven stunts and high difficulty curve, and as such, it’s boxed itself into a...
Review RIOT - Civil Unrest - A Fantastic Idea Undone By Some Sloppy Execution
I predict a riot
Ah, the strategy game. Once a stalwart of the PC gaming scene, the genre has bloomed on console in recent years as developers re-approach the genre in new and exciting ways. And it's those titles that break away from the traditional military concept that's gripped its mechanics for so long, taking the principles of an RTS and...
Review BlazBlue Centralfiction Special Edition - Well Worth The Wait For Fighting Game Fans
Don't be Blue
In the world of virtual fisticuffs there are 2D fighting games and then there are 2D fighting games, those series and franchises that are often the richest in mechanics and delicately-balanced subsystems, filled with equally convoluted plots and backstories. On the flip-side, that usually means said games are super-niche in their...
Review Aragami: Shadow Edition - What We Do In The Shadows
Sadly not about a ninja folding up paper
Stealth is a difficult thing to get right in gaming, and it’s something developers have been trying to nail for decades. Do you go down the GoldenEye route and encourage the player to sneak around while still giving them the option to go all guns blazing should they so desire? Or do you go for a strictly...
Moving up through the pack
Such is Nintendo Switch’s popularity as a platform, that within two years of its launch we have no less than three motocross and supercross-related games. For such a niche corner of the racing simulation genre, the world of two-wheeled mud shenanigans has been scoring holeshots and podium finishes on handhelds for quite...
Review Gelly Break - A Unique Co-Op Platformer That Will Make Or Break Friendships
Don't be gel
When is a platformer not a platformer? When it’s a shoot-’em-up, of course. That’s the dual nature Gelly Break presents you with. A puzzle-platformer that requires you to flip between two different colours while jumping and shooting copious numbers of enemies all at once. To say it’s challenging would be an understatement, but...
My first Diablo
It’s fair to say most licensed tie-in games these days – with the exception of TT Games’ LEGO output -– tend to fall somewhere between ‘awful’ and ‘meh’. Usually developed and shipped out in double-quick time to save money and hit a theatrical release deadline, these sorry bits of software are more often than not...
A bit of a drag
Inti Creates has made quite a name for itself on the Switch with quality titles like Mighty Gunvolt Burst, Blaster Master Zero, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, and Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack all offering up some excellent retro run ‘n’ gun action. Going back further, however, the company put itself on the m
Review Sphinx And The Cursed Mummy - A Bit Musty Due To Age, But Still Worth A Look
Mother may I
No one really remembers Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy, which makes it rather odd property to raise from dead. Originally released on the GameCube back in the early 2000s, it came out during the renaissance for action platformers, with the likes of Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper and Jak & Daxter cementing PS2 as the place to be. Add...
Review Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes - A Stylish Return For The Otaku Hitman
Everything IS awesome
We haven’t heard a peep from otaku assassin Travis Touchdown since he last graced our screens in 2010’s No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. Brainchild of enigmatic industry figure Goichi ‘Suda51’ Suda, Travis cut a stylish swathe through Wii’s catalogue of casual fodder. That same infectious energy is alive and well...
Review Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition - An Aptly-Named Refresh Of A True JRPG Classic
Blastia from the past
If you’ve owned a console in the last two decades – and have a passing interest in Japanese RPGs – there’s a very good chance you’ve played at least one of the Tales games on your travels. There are so many entries (not counting the ludicrous number of spin-offs) it’s a surprise it’s taken this long for one to...
Review New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe - Nintendo Plays It Safe With This Timely Reissue
Ultra Super Mario Bros. U: The Final Challengers
Ever since its debut on Nintendo DS way back in 2006, the ‘New’ branch of the Super Mario Bros. series has divided fans. As Nintendo transposed the 3D character-models of video games’ most treasured mascots back into the classic 2D realm, purists lambasted the ‘Disneyfication’ of the...
Review Fitness Boxing - Rhythm Trappings Help This Limber Wii Fit Successor Land Its Punches
Wii Fit Trainer has left the building
As 2019 dawns and gamers the world over wake up after New Year celebrations, Fitness Boxing arrives in time to take advantage of resolutions to get in shape. From the moment it boots up, anyone who’s ever baulked at their BMI beside a frowning Mii or stamped an onscreen calendar following a daily workout will...
Review V-Rally 4 - A Bumpy Ride That Will Only Reward Dedicated Motorsport Fans
Its roots are showing
The Switch isn’t lacking when it comes to racing games, but there’s one particular subsection of the genre in which it’s been left wanting so far: rally games. The current king of rally in the gaming world is Codemasters, but it’s been slow to support the Switch and its first offering (coming in 2019) will be a port of...
Review Atari Flashback Classics - This Dusty Collection Sadly Opts For Quantity Over Quality
Going old, old, old school
Usually, when it comes to retro gaming compilations we tend to see two schools of thought: quality or quantity. The former usually consist of a modest helping of games, but each is given lots of care and attention and supported with heaps of extra content. Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection and the recent SNK 40th...
Poor harvest
These days, practically every possible kind of pastime, occupation and setting has a gaming equivalent. Take the simulation genre for instance; a place that’s packed with all manner of seemingly mundane concepts that have gamified to create some of the most bizarrely engrossing experiences you can play. Farming simulators have been...
Review Gear.Club Unlimited 2 - Sluggish Controls Force This Real-World Racer Off The Track
Back of the grid
Last year’s Gear.Club Unlimited was a decent attempt at bringing a ‘serious’ racing game to the Switch. Based on a mobile game, the ‘Unlimited’ part of the title referred to the scrapping of microtransactions and all the other nonsense you got when playing it on your phone. Although Gear.Club Unlimited was a good start, it...
Park life
Who would have thought way back in the late ’90s – when PC gaming was producing some of its biggest and most beloved hits – that a simulator all about building and maintaining a theme park would prove to be an enduring classic in its own right? And while the RollerCoaster Tycoon games took something of a nosedive once creator and...
Real survival horror
One of Switch’s greatest strengths (besides its central ‘homeheld’ gimmick) must be the sheer breadth of available software. Whatever our mood, the menu screen’s glorious spectrum of icons always has something that’ll hit the spot, running the gamut from rainbow escapism to grey, gritty realism – and This War of Mine...
Review Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - The Absolute Pinnacle Of Nintendo's Fighting Series
Still no playable Waluigi, though
Crossovers happen all the time in games, films, TV shows and just about every other form of media out there, but none of them can really be compared to Super Smash Bros.; no, not even that film that you’re thinking of. So it’s beyond a bold move to name the latest entry in a series ‘Ultimate’, thus raising...
Review Ark: Survival Evolved - An Ambitious Survival Epic That's Borderline Unplayable On Switch
Extinction event
Since this review was originally published, the Ark: Ultimate Survivor Edition update launched (in November 2022) and has reportedly addressed or improved one or more of the issues cited. While we unfortunately cannot revisit games on an individual basis, it should still be noted that the updated game may offer an improved...
Review Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom - The Best Wonder Boy Game Yet, Even If It Lacks The Name
Is it any Wonder?
The hand-drawn 2D platformer has become such a common occurrence over the past couple of years that it might as well be a genre of its own. Since its launch, the Switch has seen its fair share of these, from Hollow Knight to Toki (the latter of which was released this week). One of the most notable examples of this was last...
Review Toki - Gorgeous Arcade Platforming That's Over All Too Quickly
Chimpin’ ain’t easy
Of all the ‘80s and ‘90s retro games getting modern remakes these days, it’s probably fair to say that Toki wasn’t exactly on most gamers’ wishlists. While it was an entertaining action platformer back in the day, it’s one of those titles that very much remained in the 20th century and is rarely brought up in...
A messy business
One look at the name Spintires: MudRunner - American Wilds Edition and we wouldn’t blame you for assuming this was just another off-road racer. Something in the vein MXGP 3 or Monster Jam: Crush It!, perhaps. But you’d be wrong. This is no speed-obsessed demon, but rather an unusual take on the classic driving simulator more...