Game Reviews from 2020/1000
Yee-haw!
Well, it's about time. Not officially available anywhere since making its arcade bow (outside of the well-intentioned but obviously weaker home ports on the SNES and Mega Drive, at least), Konami's phenomenally good Western-themed run n' gun Sunset Riders has finally been re-released as part of Hamster's superb Arcade Archives line. The...
Review Adam's Venture: Origins (Switch) - 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 Project Warlock (Switch) - A Fantastic Tribute To The Very Best '90s FPS Classics
Retro Witchcraft
Originally released on PC back in October of 2018 and the brainchild of high school student Jakub Cislo – who saw his game through several early iterations before putting together the small team that make up Buckshot Software in order to get things polished to the standard we see here – Project Warlock is very obviously a true...
Review Do Not Feed The Monkeys (Switch) - An Enjoyably Oddball Adventure Laced With Real Tension
The human zoo
Voyeurism isn't a theme that's new to video games. In fact, one of the most controversial games in the history of the medium was the Mega CD's Night Trap (now available on Switch in remastered form, incidentally), a game ostensibly about watching people through cameras. And now, here's Do Not Feed The Monkeys with a very similar...
Review Synaptic Drive (Switch) - A Fun But Bare-Bones Custom Robo Successor
Customless Robo
Delve in the uncomfortably long list of Nintendo game series published in Japan that never really had a chance to shine in the West, and you will undoubtedly stumble upon Custom Robo. This game series developed by NOISE began on Nintendo 64, offering tight solo and multiplayer arena fighting action with customizable robots. The...
"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 Skelattack (Switch) - A Likeable Platformer Suffering From A Bit Of An Identity Crisis
Dem bones, dem dry bones
Skeletons are brilliant. Their clickety-clacking, rattle-me-bone structures are unambiguously fun to look at, and – best of all – no matter how terrible the fate of the fleshy prison surrounding a skeleton, they always look really happy. It's always a treat to dive into a game like Skelattack that features skeletons so...
Mini Review Game Tengoku CruisinMix Special (Switch) - Jaleco's Answer To Parodius Flies Again
Mix and match
Jaleco might not be as well-known as the likes of Capcom and Konami with today's gamers, but it was big enough company back in the '90s to create its own parody shooter, taking inspiration from the likes of Parodius and Star Parodier. The result was Game Tengoku – or Game Paradise, as it's also known – which hit arcades back in...
Review Space Invaders Invincible Collection (Switch) - 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...
Mini Review Indiecalypse (Switch) - A Deeply Unpleasant Game About Games
That joke isn't funny any more
Humour is highly subjective, so we're quite willing to concede that you might – might – find Indiecalypse hilarious. We only wish we could say that you'll find it fun to play with the same level of confidence. This bawdy adventure sees you taking control of three nerds as they bid to make a video game. It's a...
Block party
Minecraft has become an institution since its inception as a humble indie game, having since become the best-selling video game ever while also solidifying a new genre that’s been iterated on countless times in the years since it released. It would stand to reason that a brand with that kind of power would go on to generate all kinds...
Superpowered Smash Bros.
You're not ready for Fly Punch Boom. No really, you're not. You might think you were born to play a game that essentially throws you into an anime royal rumble, but neither your eyes nor your reactions are up to the task. Not yet. It's going to take time to acclimatise to Fly Punch Boom's level of madcap hyper-kinetic...
Review Borderlands Legendary Collection (Switch) - 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 (Switch) - 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 (Switch) - 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 Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling (Switch) - A Lovely Indie Tribute To Paper Mario
Fly paper
It's no huge revelation that Nintendo's refusal to return the Paper Mario series to its RPG roots has alienated a lot of players. The exploration and puzzle-solving of the latest entries Sticker Star and Colour Splash is an acquired taste, and many gamers lament the fact that the big N chose this direction for the franchise. Consequently...
Review Liberated (Switch) - An Atmospheric Comic Book Take On Grim Dystopia
Liberated, rated
Imagine a world in which a totalitarian government exploits our reliance on social media to take control of every aspect of our lives. It's not a particularly radical thing to conceive of, is it? You could even be forgiven for calling it a fairly clichéd premise. But as Liberated demonstrates, there's a reason why clichés become...
Review Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics (Switch) - 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 if you're outside of North...
Review The TakeOver (Switch) - A Worthy Companion Piece To Streets Of Rage 4
This town IS big enough for the both of us, actually
Scrolling fighting games on Switch are clearly like buses; you wait years for a decent one to arrive and two come along at once. We've recently been blessed with the long-awaited Streets of Rage 4, an officially-sanctioned sequel created by DotEmu, Lizardcube and Guard Crush Games, and just a...
Review Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath (Switch) - An Expensive Way To Get The Full MK11 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...
Ret-2-go!
About 20 years ago, few probably could’ve guessed that the Shantae series would be firing on all cylinders by now. The initial release of this charming Metroidvania series saw a release late in the life of the Game Boy Color and never received the spotlight it deserved, but after about a ten-year hiatus, the series came back and has been...
Review Sky Racket (Switch) - A Unique Blend Of Tennis, Breakout, And Bullet Hell
A real mash-up
Shmups, Breakout, and Tennis – what do these three have in common? Before Sky Racket we were inclined to say "not much", but Double Dash studios has shown that these elements can be the ingredients to an interesting cross-genre blend. The origins of Sky Racket are very unique. Created during a 2015 event called Indies VS Gamers –...
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 Five Nights At Freddy's: Help Wanted (Switch) - A Largely Pointless Cash-Grab
Freddy Faz-bleh
It's often entirely possible for games designed to be played in virtual reality to be played outside of the VR headset. Trover Saves the Universe, for example, is quite plainly designed for VR, but is both playable and enjoyable without it – likewise The Persistence. But having said that, it is usually a matter of compromise...
Review Journey To The Savage Planet (Switch) - No Man's Sky Meets Metroidvania
Kindred Spirits
Typhoon Studios' Journey to the Savage Planet was very well received when it originally released back in January of this year on PC and consoles; it's a genuinely funny and supremely well designed title that combines Metroidvania elements with No Man's Sky-style procuring of resources on a bizarre alien planet filled with slick...
Mini Review Pushy And Pully In Blockland (Switch) - Cute Block-Based Action, If Somewhat Forgettable
Ah, push it, push it (quite) good
Pushing blocks in video games feels as though it shouldn't be an act of aggression. The likes of Sokoban and the many games it inspired do not exactly encourage acts of crate-based violence. Much of the time if you see a box, it's probably got something useful inside. Of course, there are outliers, and Pushy and...
Review Never Stop Sneakin' (Switch) - An Almost-Perfect Parody Of Metal Gear Solid
Tactical Fishpionage
Humble Heart's Never Stop Sneakin' attempts to parody the PSOne-era Metal Gear Solid whilst offering up its own rather impressively streamlined take on the stealth genre. Fans of Hideo Kojima's beloved franchise will instantly recognise the cocky Codec conversations, overwrought music, and ludicrously monikered characters here,...
Review Golf With Your Friends (Switch) - Only Fun If You Take The Title Literally
Could've used some fore-thought
When it comes to having a fun day out with some chums you can’t beat a bit of mini-golf (or crazy golf or putt-putt, or whatever you prefer to call it). At the time of writing, however, it’s safe to say that the idea of standing in a small area next to people from a different household is frowned upon at best;...
Review Super Mega Baseball 3 (Switch) - Step Up To The Plate In This Slugfest Sequel
Hitting it out of the park
For the initiated, baseball is the great American pastime. From the pang of a freshly struck home run to the smell of hot dogs wafting down from the stands, it’s the quintessential U.S. sport. Much like gridiron and basketball, the sport’s recent video game recreations have also become more focused on hyper-accurate...
Sweet Devil
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix sees the world's most famous virtual Vocaloid pop idol finally arrive on Nintendo Switch in an excellent portable version of the hit rhythm game series that includes a brand new Switch-exclusive art style, motion-control Mix Mode and touchscreen options that give players more ways than ever to bash...
