Switch eShop Game Reviews
Review Valfaris: Mecha Therion (Switch) - Steel Mantis Switches To Shmup For A Tight, Taut Sequel
Go big or go home
Valfaris: Mecha Therion wastes no time in getting going. During the briefest of cutscenes we’re re-introduced to series main man Therion on a gothic-styled spaceship hurtling through the stars. Hekate, his AI companion, says she’s picked up the signal of his father, Vroll, the man responsible for the destruction of Therion’s...
Review Castlevania Dominus Collection (Switch) - The Strongest Konami Compilation Yet
Glyph I could turn back time ♫
Konami has been making waves this year with its upcoming duo of high-budget remakes of Silent Hill 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. For Castlevania fans, however, it’s been a bit of a quiet one, with seemingly no sign of any new entry in the long-running gothic franchise. Despite this, the publisher has been...
Review Shadow Of The Ninja - Reborn (Switch) - A Beautiful, Brutal Return To 8-Bit Basics
Stepping out of the shadow
Though Ninja Gaiden occupied the spotlight on the NES back in the day, there was another similar ninja action game called Shadow of the Ninja which proved to be just about as good and featured two-player co-op. Due to publisher issues, a planned Game Boy version was repurposed as a Ninja Gaiden prequel and a sequel was...
Review Crypt Custodian (Switch) - A Charismatic Kitty Cleans Up In This Metroidvania
Not one to throw out
Metroidvanias are a dime a dozen in 2024. In a genre so flooded with games, several releases each week, charm and a unique setting are what can help your game stand out. Thankfully, Crypt Custodian isn't going to end up swept away by the competition, as it has just that. You play as Pluto, a cat beloved by their family...
Review Gori: Cuddly Carnage (Switch) - An Interesting But Messy Spin On The Character Platformer
Kitty May Cry
Hordes of vicious zombie unicorns, a commercialised metropolis drenched in neon, and a cat with a killer hoverboard. Gori: Cuddly Carnage throws a lot at you in its opening moments and never lets up. Developer Angry Demon Studios has made a hard pivot from first-person horror to gaudy character platformer. The horror remains, albeit...
Mini Review Mech Rage (Switch) - An Uninspired But Serviceable Top-Down Shooter
Ave-Rage
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. Mech Rage is meat-headed and silly and it knows...
Mini Review Rain World (Switch) - A Gorgeous Yet Cruel Survival Platformer
They might as well be dead
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. Rain World is a survival...
Mini Review Bring Them Home (Switch) - A Fair Little Puzzler That Soon Palls
A successful failure
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. Puzzler Bring Them Home ventures into...
Mini Review Dreamwalker (Switch) - A Dull Puzzler That Left Us Catching Zs
PuZZZling
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. The cartoonish, dream-based Dreamwalker is an...
Mini Review Solar Flux (Switch) - A Cosmic But Basic Touch-Based Puzzler
Pod cast
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. This space-themed puzzler provides a nice breath...
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Mini Review Viviette (Switch) - A Horrifying Hidden Gem
Getting Vivi- with -ette
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. Viviette brings a ghastly...
Mini Review Conduct Together! (Switch) - An Endearing Puzzler That's Fun In Multiplayer
C'mon n' ride it
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. While at first glance, Conduct Together!...
Mini Review OkunoKA (Switch) - A Handsome, Hardcore Platformer For Players Who Love Punishment
OkunoKA-nnae take it anymore
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. If you’re looking for a...
Mini Review GensokyoDefenders (Switch) - A Blend Of Shmup And Touhou Tower Defence
Decidedly different
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. GensokyoDefenders is a decidedly...
Mini Review Starman (Switch) - Won't Blow Your Mind, But Will Chill You Out
Let all the children boogie
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. No, not the popular Bowie...
Review Mika And The Witch's Mountain (Switch) - A Cute Ghibli-Inspired Tale That Doesn't Deliver
"Flying used to be fun until I started doing it for a living"
Kiki’s Delivery Service is a movie all about growing up. The night Kiki leaves home to complete a year of witch training, she excitedly overstuffs her bag, makes herself a broomstick that’s too small for her, and crashes into a couple of trees during her flight. She doesn’t have a...
Review SteamWorld Heist II (Switch) - A More Ambitious Caper That Rewards Patience And Planning
Steamy and challenging seas
When we played the original SteamWorld Heist, to anyone who’d listen (and to plenty of people who wouldn’t) we described Heist as the quintessential underrated indie gem. We thought everyone should play it. We were blown away by how skillfully Thunderful Games had taken everything satisfying about X-COM-style...
Review The Garden Path (Switch) - A Green-Thumbed Ode To Animal Crossing That Needs Tending
In the thick of it
This article originally went live as an in-progress, unscored review. Having now experienced all four seasons of an in-game year, we've updated the text and assigned a score. Anyone who's tried to cultivate a garden knows it's hard work. You can't just plant some flowers, water them once a week, and leave it at that. Every...
Review The Lullaby Of Life (Switch) - A Kaleidoscopic Puzzler With Plenty Of Bite
White noise
If you’re a puzzle fan who wants something unique to add to your library, you’re in for a treat. The Lullaby of Life is a sound-based puzzle experience which places you in the blobby shoes of a particle with the ability to create music, exploring the origins of the universe. At first glance, this game is striking. The aesthetic is...
Review Bare Butt Boxing (Switch) - Cheeky But Featherweight Fare
Rear-end reservations
Bare Butt Boxing from publisher and developer Tuatara Games makes a good first impression with its quirky character avatars, colorful maps, and cheeky premise. Though the title delivers knockabout fun and floaty arena combat chaos, the overall experience is a rather shallow one and not exactly the ‘Punch-Out!! With Your Arse...
Review Trinity Fusion (Switch) - A Roguelite Fusion Of Ideas That’s Worth Your Time
Across the multiverse
We had high hopes for Trinity Fusion after playing it at PAX East two years ago, and we’re happy to say, it doesn’t disappoint. The concept is great. A human-made multiverse — made up of Prime, the Overworld, the Underworld, and the Hyperworld — is collapsing, and the only way to fix it is to merge all of the different...
Review Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Kid (Switch) - A Pleasant Vacation, If You're Patient
A great vacation, or Natsu much?
In a world where problems and frustrations seem to be around every corner, you might find yourself wanting to escape from it all. Maybe you dream of taking in the Japanese countryside, strolling around in a field of sunflowers, catching some bugs, fishing, all without a worry in sight. Well, if that’s what you’re...
Review Volgarr The Viking II (Switch) - One Of The Switch's Best 2D Action Platformers
Entry to Valhalla secured
Since the release of Volgar the Viking in 2013, fans have been itching for a full sequel to the Rastan-inspired action platformer for over a decade at this point. Now the time has finally arrived. Thanks to a partnership between developer Crazy Viking Studios and retro specialist Digital Eclipse, we can step back into the...
Review World Of Goo 2 (Switch) - A Superb Sequel With A Few Sticking Points
World of Good
It’s hard to believe, but it’s been a few weeks shy of 16 years since the original World of Goo barged its way onto Wii and PC back in 2008. Its wacky physics and endearing presentation stole the hearts of practically everyone who played it, and a re-release on Nintendo Switch back in 2017 reaffirmed its lofty status, but can its...
Mini Review MARS 2120 (Switch) - A Mediocre Ode To Metroid Dread
This Mars has no bite
When Nintendo launched Metroid Dread in 2021, there was no doubt in our minds that it would inspire more fast-paced, gritty Metroidvanias later down the road. MARS 2120 is one such title; a sci-fi romp that attempts to capture the same magic that made Dread so special, but ultimately falls at almost every hurdle. It starts off...
Review SNK Vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos (Switch) - A Great-Looking But Painfully Average Fighter
So Very Common
Sometimes it's very difficult, no matter how you try to frame it in your head, to get excited for re-releases of certain retro fighting games. It's a genre that's ripe for the picking, absolutely stuffed full of crackers to be revisited but, for every delightful return to the likes of Samurai Shodown 2, Guilty Gear, or Street Fighter,...
Review Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (Switch) - A Faithful Remaster For Jango Fett, Warts And All
Mandabore
In the early 2000s, the Star Wars universe was expanding. While the prequel trilogy was setting its sights on Anakin Skywalker's epic arc from good to evil (or from 'Yippee’-ing child actor to underappreciated grown-up actor, depending on your point of view), LucasArts turned to the video game scene to provide some 'wider reading' for...
Review Thank Goodness You're Here! (Switch) - A Face-Achingly Funny British Romp
A Grand Day Out
You don’t know who you are, you don’t know fully why you’re going where you’re going, and everyone around you just assumes you’re the solution to all their problems. You could argue that this idea describes an unusually vast number of games, but Thank Goodness You’re Here! takes that notion to its logical conclusion. You...
Review The New Denpa Men (Switch) - A Simple, Goofy RPG With The Usual F2P Irritations
A winner is you
Back in the days of the Nintendo 3DS eShop, some of you may remember the Denpa Men trilogy, which offered a series of cheap and approachable RPG adventures that felt like a great fit for the portable. However, there was a fourth title released only in Japan in 2014 which experimented with a free-to-play structure that proved...
Review Bō: Path Of The Teal Lotus (Switch) - Charm Meets Challenge In This Gorgeous Metroidvania
More tea, vicar?
Metroidvania fans seem to be living through a golden age. Hollow Knight and the Ori series, indie hits of the last decade, have established themselves as all-time classics, spurring on a horde of imitators, tributes, and new ideas. Even just 2024’s entries range from the imaginative, lo-fi hit Animal Well to the lavishly presented
