Game Reviews scoring 8/10
We promise the Rabbids’ antics aren’t too annoying
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle came about like a fever dream in 2017. Nintendo lending Ubisoft its poster child franchise? A Rabbid dressing up as Princess Peach? Mario wielding a gun? Madness. More surprising still, it turned out to be a ridiculously good strategy game – one of the best on...
Mini Review Dorfromantik (Switch) - A Perfectly Peaceful Puzzler That Soothes The Soul
It means "village romanticization"
In an age where it feels like many big-budget projects are falling victim to 'FOMO mechanics' and stricter price schemes, it can be refreshing to play a game that focuses on simplicity, like Dorfromantik. Here you have a puzzle game that doesn't chase after complex mechanics, cutting-edge design, or intense action;...
Review Chaos;Child (Switch) - A Stand Out 'Science Adventure' VN That's Compelling And Gruesome
Find the truth behind a whole new set of grizzly murders
The Science Adventure series of visual novels usually don’t share much in common aside from a shared universe and an unusual naming convention, but Chaos;Child is the most direct sequel the series has seen so far. Set six years after the events of Chaos;Head Noah, this game offers a similar...
Review Chaos;Head Noah (Switch) - A Great Localisation Of The First 'Science Adventure' VN
Dive into the delusions of the ultimate otaku
There are two ways that life goes for visual novel protagonists. Either they wake up in a world where all their classmates are beautiful anime girls who want to jump their bones, or they find themselves in a twisted supernatural murder mystery. Unfortunately for Takumi Nishijou, the protagonist of...
Mini Review Picross S8 (Switch) - Four-Player Picross? It's Absolute Madness!
"You get used to it, I don't even see the code"
In a series as focused on multiplayer as Picross S, it’s always seemed odd that Nintendo and Jupiter haven't allowed more than two players to be playing at the same time. We’ve lost track of how many times we’ve played Picross on our Switch during a major social event and could only have one...
Review Let's Sing ABBA (Switch) - La Question C'est Voulez-Vous
ABBA-go hero
Let's start with a question: Why are you here? Of all the many games launching in the latter third of 2022, this is perhaps the most dependably, dryly predictable in form and function: a Let's Sing game featuring songs by Abba. Sure, you might be curious about the playlist or the various modes in this particular entry of the...
Review Let's Build A Zoo (Switch) - A Creative, Cartoonish Tycoon Sim With A Sinister Twist
Create new and exciting affronts to the natural order
We’ve all walked around a zoo and wondered just how hard it could be to run one. After all, you just need to get the animals in one place and keep them from escaping, right? However, if the plethora of zoo management sims on the market is anything to go by, there is a lot more to it. While many...
Review Tunic (Switch) - Old-School Adventuring With Nods To Zelda, Unforgiving And Ingenious
Surprisingly, the fox isn’t saving a princess from a pig-man
The opening moments of Tunic fooled us into thinking we were in for a derivative Zelda-like adventure. A diminutive fox-like character wearing a green tunic reminiscent of a certain hero wakes up on a beach. From an isometric camera angle, this fox (known as the Ruin Seeker) finds a...
Review Easy Come Easy Golf (Switch) - Everybody's Golf Spiritual Successor Scores A Birdie On Switch
Finally, golf for everybody (with a Switch)
Clap Hanz is a studio closely linked with PlayStation, producing hugely popular titles Everybody's Golf / Hot Shots Golf across multiple generations (over the course of 20 years+). Recently it loosened up its swing and went another way, however, releasing Clap Hanz Golf on Apple Arcade. It's that title...
Review Temtem (Switch) - An Innovative Pokémon-Like, With Depth And Grind In Equal Measure
Into Temtemtion
At the beginning of our Temtem adventure, we had every intention to review the Pokémon-inspired massively multiplayer game based on its own merit, steering clear of comparisons between the two as best we could. Developer Crema never shied away from where Temtem’s blueprints came from during its successful Kickstarter campaign and...
Review Tinykin (Switch) - A Wholesome Platforming Spin On Pikmin
Good things come in small packages
Splashteam, developer of the humourous 2D platformer Splasher, is back again but with a different cast of curious creatures in its newest project, Tinykin. It's an imaginative and very pleasant 3D platformer that challenges you to think outside the box and find a new purpose in everyday objects — especially since...
Review City Wars: Tokyo Reign (Switch) - A Deep Deckbuilder That Stands Out In The Crowd
The city that nevers sleeps
These days, it feels like deckbuilding elements are finding their way into all kinds of roguelikes, but it’s not too often that you see new releases purely built around card games. City Wars: Tokyo Reign is one of those rare releases, and we’re pleased to report that it presents an interesting and unique take on CCG...
Review ANNO: Mutationem (Switch) - An Impressive Cyberpunk Action RPG With Stunning Visuals
This game has a monkey in a lab coat
'Cyberpunk' has become a bit of a dirty word in games as of late after a certain game's widely-publicised rough launch. However, video games and the cyberpunk aesthetic have gone hand in hand for almost as long as the medium has existed. From SNES-era titles like Shadowrun and Hideo Kojima’s wildly...
Review Cursed To Golf (Switch) - A Spooky Roguelike That's More Than Up To Par
"You're not being the ball, Danny"
Halloween might still be a couple months away, but Chuhai Labs has seen fit to kick off the spooky season early with its latest release, Cursed to Golf. Starring a person who basically escapes from hell using nothing but their god-tier golf skills, it’s certainly a memorable adventure and we’re happy to say...
Review Islets (Switch) - A Wholesome, Hand-Painted Metroidvania That's Stunning To Look At
A tale of the small but mighty
Kyle Thompson, the creator of Sheepo, is back with another weird yet wonderful addition to the Metroidvania genre. Islets is a gorgeously hand-painted story of connection and adventure through a world quite literally torn apart. Taking on the role of a self-doubting mouse whose dream is to reconnect to the world and...
Review Kirby's Dream Buffet (Switch) - A Delicious Spread To Put You In The Party Mood
Waddle Dee-licious
What do you get when you take a generous helping of Fall Guys, add a pinch of Super Monkey Ball and then mix in a lovely big dollop of Kirby? Well, a great big dream buffet, that's what. Kirby's Dream Buffet is a bright and breezy party game that sees a whole field full of Kirby characters roll at speed down sweet treat-laden...
Review Cult Of The Lamb (Switch) - Animal Crossing Goes Bad In This Satisfyingly Stressful Sim
"Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!"
Devolver Digital has always had an eye for some delightfully odd gaming experiences. Play as an ape escaping its captors while freeform jazz blasts in the background. Rob pretentious rich people as a con man in 18th century France. Eviscerate houses full of goons as a drug-addicted ninja with PTSD. The latest in...
The NeverEnding Story
If “Kureshin × Bokunatsu” a) makes sense and b) sounds appealing to you, and if c) you haven’t already bought this game in the year since it was released in Japan, then we can keep this review nice and tight: buy this game! For those not residing in that modest nub of the Venn diagram, let’s see if you’ve moved there...
Review Arcade Paradise (Switch) - An Addictive Arcade Management Sim That Proves Laundry Can Be Fun
Not a wash out
Have you ever wanted to turn your local laundromat into an arcade? For the three of you that have, boy do we have a game to recommend you. Created by Nosebleed Interactive, the same developer behind the well-received Vostok Inc., Arcade Paradise puts you in the role of Ashley, an inheritor to a run-down laundromat called King Wash...
Review Strange Horticulture (Switch) - An Odd Occult Puzzler That Blossoms Into A Fantastic Mystery
It’s a grower
Strange Horticulture takes on some big challenges. It’s a carefully authored story that wants to be driven by interaction, and it’s a single-scene play space that wants to create immersion in a whole world. It’s such a tricky line to walk between structured gameplay that’s interactive but dry and a carefully managed story...
Review Digimon Survive (Switch) - This Champion Visual Novel Proves The Wait Has Been Worth It
DigiDestined for greatness
The long wait for Digimon Survive is finally over, with players at last able to dive into this unusual entry in the series. Fans expecting the usual fare from a Digimon game might be understandably disappointed, but for those with an appetite for visual novels and tactical RPG combat, there is plenty to get your teeth sunk...
Review Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 (Switch) - Another Cracking Mega Man Zero-Alike
Capturing lightning in a bottle again
Way back in 2014, Inti Creates—of Mega Man Zero and Mega Man ZX fame—made waves in the action platforming space when it released Azure Striker Gunvolt, a clear successor to its previous work on the Blue Bomber. Though that initial release was kinda similar to older Mega Man games, this franchise has evolved...
Mini Review Severed Steel (Switch) - A Heart-Pounding FPS That Makes You Feel Like John Wick
Get equipped with: Time Stopper
Following movies like The Raid and John Wick, the genre of ‘solo badass fighting endless amounts of enemies’ has skyrocketed in popularity. Almost parallel to that style of film, the genre has also become prevalent in games thanks to the likes of Sifu and Superhot with their intense trial and error gameplay; where...
Review Omori (Switch) - An Emotional, EarthBound-Inspired RPG That's Not Afraid To Shock
"Oh, you can't help that. Most everyone's mad here."
It’s been a long journey for Omori — the first video game from OMOCAT — on its way to the land of Nintendo. After a successful Kickstarter campaign all the way back in 2014, the game was originally slated for release on the 3DS, though this was later cancelled as development wore on and...
Review Live A Live (Switch) - A Brilliantly Faithful Remake Of A Unique And Influential JRPG
Living our best lives
Early on in Square Enix’s remake of Live A Live, it’s plain to see the influences the game had on Chrono Trigger. From spanning multiple timelines to the inventive area of effect skills, and right down to the simple, sometimes deep story, director Takashi Tokita clearly used 1994’s Live A Live as a springboard for his...
Review Pokémon Puzzle League - A Thrilling Puzzler And A Heavy Nostalgia Hit
Panel de Pokémon
This review originally went live in 2008, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival on Switch as part of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. For those who have dabbled with Puzzle League, this is obvious information, but please bear with us. Tetris Attack, the SNES game, was a westernized version of...
Review Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium (Switch) - Captures That Arcade Magic In A Quality Package
Insert coin
Since there’s little 'wrong' with Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium, what’s right with it will depend on the sensibilities and interests of the player. The second of Capcom’s superbly curated compilations following on from Capcom Arcade Stadium, its 32 arcade titles (one of which is free) now feature a greater emphasis on action and...
Review Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series (Switch) - A Classic Platforming Pair Worth Catching Again
Dream a little dream of me
The fifth console generation represented arguably the greatest shift in game design the industry has ever seen, as developers all over the world wrestled with how to transition 2D tenets into the 3D realm. There was lots of experimentation, and while platformers like Super Mario 64 and Spyro dived head-first into the new...
Review Little Noah: Scion Of Paradise (Switch) - A Fun, Formulaic Roguelite In The Dead Cells Vein
Size isn't everything
Cygames may be known for its success in the mobile space with titles like Granblue Fantasy, Shadowverse, and Dragalia Lost (with which the developer partnered with Nintendo) but the company seems like it has an interest in translating these IPs into more traditional console games. Last year’s excellent Shadowverse: Champion's...
Mini Review ElecHead (Switch) - Smart, Surprisingly Deep, And Very Satisfying
Alone in electric dreams
Isolation is a weird thing; we’re all a little accustomed to it now, but having to figure out things on your own can be pretty daunting. Elechead revels in isolation; it was made by a sole developer, NamaTakahashi (Developer of 2019’s eShop game Battlloon), and during the course of the game all you have is yourself, and...
