Game Reviews scoring 9 or 10/10
Review Collection Of Mana (Switch) - Expensive, But Ultimately Worth Every Penny
It's Mana from Heaven
While Square's Seiken Densetsu series continues to this very day, it's the two SNES / Super Famicom outings on which the franchise arguably built its enviable reputation. Seiken Densetsu 2 – better known in the west as Secret of Mana – is one of the finest RPGs ever made, while its sequel has only been held back from global...
Review Slay The Spire (Switch) - A Sublime Fusion Of Genres You Simply Have To Experience
Dungeon Master
There are a handful of Switch games we know we’ll likely never uninstall from our systems; an elite list of titles so addictive and so well suited to the portable nature of Nintendo’s system that they’ll always have a special place allocated on that MicroSD card. We’re talking about games like Mario Kart 8, Celeste, Axiom...
Review Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth (3DS) - The Last Picture Show
You'll find me in the matinée, the dark of the matinée...
Atlus has been one of the strongest supporters of Nintendo’s 3DS handheld over the years, keeping RPG fans busy with a total of seventeen stellar RPGs from the company. These releases have been coming at a consistent and reliable pace since the 3DS’ first year, so it's only fitting that...
Review Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster (Switch) - Two Games In One Remarkable Switch Collection
The final word on these fantasies
2001 represented an exciting time in video games, as the industry began a shift to newer hardware and started to move past the growing pains of figuring out 3D game development in the previous generation. As the tenth mainline entry in the series, Final Fantasy X had a lot riding on it, as all waited with...
Review Katana ZERO (Switch) - A Razor-Sharp Action Platformer That Everyone Should Play
A much-needed shot in the arm for sidescrollers
The '80s was a decade that modern media seems to be overly enamoured with, to the point that it becomes almost tiresome to see yet another game or movie that makes its '80s influence a big selling point. Often, these works merely pander to nostalgia, going after the low-hanging fruit in an effort to...
Review Cuphead (Switch) - The Xbox Masterpiece Becomes An Essential Purchase On Switch
It’s a mug’s game
It’s a well-known fact that teamwork makes a dream work. Console wars are all well and good, but when great games are made available on multiple systems, the ultimate winner is the player. The recent love-in we’ve been seeing between Nintendo and Microsoft started a while back when Minecraft was released on Nintendo...
Review Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (Switch) - A Dazzling Port That Sacrifices Very Little
Ninja Theory's critical darling arrives on Switch in fine form
The critically acclaimed Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice won a whole host of awards back in 2017 on PS4 and PC, so hearing that the game was coming to Switch sent ripples of excitement through the NL office. Ninja Theory, the studio behind Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and...
Review AngerForce: Reloaded (Switch) - A Superb Shooter With Surprising Staying Power
It's raining robots
The ability to undock the Switch Joy-Con and play the console in 'portrait' or 'TATE' mode has gifted Nintendo fans with some truly excellent shooters since the console launched in 2017; we've already seen the likes of Ikaruga, Strikers 1945, Psyvariar Delta and Gunbird 2, all of which can be played in portrait orientation,...
Review Blaster Master Zero 2 (Switch) - Pure, Retro Platforming Goodness At Its Finest
A masterclass in retro game design
In the early days of the Switch eShop, one of the first indie darlings to resonate with audiences was Blaster Master Zero, an enhanced remake of the NES classic. What began as an already solid remake quickly grew into something much more substantial thanks to a series of paid content drops and free updates that...
Review Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn (3DS) - A Timeless Classic That Feels Right At Home On 3DS
A quality port cut from the same cloth as the original
Much like its infinitely versatile mascot, the Kirby series has always been comfortable in taking many forms; Kirby has starred in several roles that diverge significantly from the copy-ability platforming of the mainline series. Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn – an enhanced re-release of the...
Review Ape Out (Switch) - A Short But Oh-So-Sweet Action Title That Every Switch Owner Should Play
Ape escape
It’s interesting how modern times have created something of a renaissance in game development, with more developers than ever now producing new games, yet these games, in many ways, feel like they’re becoming gradually more homogenous. Ape Out pushes back against this trend in the best kind of way, crafting a distinctive identity for...
Review BlazBlue Centralfiction Special Edition (Switch) - 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 Tetris 99 (Switch) - A Revolutionary Take On A Puzzle Classic
Apex who?
If you’d have asked us, just a few days ago, for a comprehensive list of video game series which we could imagine in a 'Battle Royale' format, Tetris would have been right at the bottom. Splatoon could be a good shout with a lot of tweaking, and maybe even an ultra-cruel Pikmin showdown – heck, we’d even put Nintendogs higher in the...
Review City Of Brass (Switch) - An Action-Packed Roguelike That's Worth Its Weight In Gold
A diamond in the rough
City of Brass is all about greed. Naturally, you love pilfering shiny and sparkling trinkets, but just how close will you tread into the unknown to sate your desire for wealth? Will your avarice help break an age-old curse and claim limitless riches, or condemn you to an eternity of torment? It's an intriguing premise, and one...
Review Etrian Odyssey Nexus (3DS) - A Stellar Send-Off For A Beloved RPG Series
And for the 3DS itself?
Long before games existed as we know them now, ‘video games’ consisted of text-based adventures that demanded just as much imagination from the players as they did input. Dungeon crawlers were a popular genre at the time, one in which you guided a protagonist room by room through sprawling, confusing castles guided only...
Review Downwell (Switch) - The Ultimate Version Of Everyone's Favourite Potholing Roguelike Shooter
Get down and TATE
Imagine for a moment that you’re taking a stroll in the countryside and you happen upon an old well – what do you do? At the very least, you wander up and take a peek; you might drop a pebble down there, or even a cheeky loogie if nobody’s around. Why? It’s tough to say exactly, but Downwell taps into that human fascination...
Review Wargroove (Switch) - A Turn-Based Strategy Classic That Intelligent Systems Would Be Proud Of
Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war
Intelligent Systems has always been known for its strategy game IP, with Fire Emblem naturally being the most popular, but that esteemed series might never have made it West were it not for the more colourful and militaristic antics of the Advance Wars franchise. Unfortunately – despite its similarities to...
Tummy trouble
When the Switch came out nearly two years ago, few would've expected that Nintendo would still be supporting the ageing 3DS with new first-party software as far as 2019, yet here we are. Picking up the ball that the Paper Mario series has long since dropped, the Mario & Luigi series of RPGs has been a celebrated mainstay of...
Review SEGA AGES Out Run (Switch) - A Fantastic Update Of One Of Arcade Gaming's True Greats
The allure of the open road
Out Run is the greatest, most influential arcade racing game ever made. There, we said it. Yes, there have been other classics over the years: Daytona USA, Ridge Racer, Virtua Racing, Let’s Go! Jungle and the like. (Okay, maybe not that last one.) But no game has meant as much to the genre as Out Run. Back in 2015,...
Review Firewatch (Switch) - There's No Smoke Without Fire In This Essential Indie Hit
If you go down to the woods today…
During the early days of Firewatch’s development, Washington-based indie studio Campo Santo made a point of speaking to real fire lookouts to get a sense of what it’s like to be stationed for months on the end, deep in a North American forest. “Why would you make a game out of this job?” some of their...
The colour of magic
The capture button is one of our favourite things about the Switch. Any time you see something impressive in a game, the ability to snatch that image and freeze it in time forever is sitting right there next to your thumb. In most games, it’s only used every now and then, but by the time we’d finished Gris our screenshot...
Review Katamari Damacy REROLL (Switch) - A Timely Remaster Of A True Modern Classic
Keep rollin'
Games are often at their best when they embrace the truly weird and wonderful. In an era where so much emphasis is placed on gritty realism, life-like character models and terrifyingly accurate simulations, it’s nice to punctuate that authenticity with oddity or two. Thankfully, the peculiar world of Katamari has returned in the form...
Review Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch) - 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 Yo-Kai Watch 3 (3DS) - The Perfect Swansong For The Series On Nintendo 3DS
A charming addition to the tribe
While it’s never quite reached the levels of superstardom enjoyed by Pokémon and other Japanese-centric monster-collecting RPGs (well, not consistently anyway), the Yo-Kai Watch series has remained one of the best handheld franchises to ever grace the seemingly immortal Nintendo 3DS. Of course, we western fans...
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...
Breathtaking
Journey changed the game when it released back in 2012, bringing a distinctly serene experience to PlayStation owners that championed the experience of play, rather than the goal of conquering challenges. Journey generated all sorts of acclaim for its atmosphere and pace, so it comes as no surprise that Matt Nava – Journey’s art...
Review Horizon Chase Turbo (Switch) - A Worthy Successor To Sega's Out Run
Blue sky thinking
There are many gamers out there – this writer included – who would kill for a modern-day version of Out Run. Not literally, mind you, but we could probably stretch to petty crime if need be. While fans of Sega’s definitive arcade racer will be pleased to hear it’s coming to the Switch soon as part of the Sega AGES series,...
Review Sid Meier's Civilization VI (Switch) - Conquer The World On The Move In This Superb Port
Civ on the streets, Civ in the sheets
The world’s premiere 4X strategy game has finally landed on Switch! It promises the real deal – the full Civilization VI experience – distilled to handheld form, and it’s a relief to report that Aspyr has done a fine job squeezing Firaxis’ game onto the hybrid console. Beyond a few small issues, it...
Dead and loving it
Somehow, somehow, Grim Fandango is 20 years old this year. Twenty years! For some of you reading this review, the following game might look just like any other title from the transformative PC gaming days of the ’90s. A relic of an era where polygons were blocky, textures lacked detail and aspect ratios were square at best. But...
Girl power
Cellar Door Games put itself on the map with the release of Rogue Legacy, a critically lauded roguelike sidescroller that in some ways set a trend still being followed by indies today, but the studio later went on to release a new game, Full Metal Furies, to much less fanfare. There were plenty of factors that resulted in the studio's...
