Latest Reviews
Review Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns - A Worthy Upgrade Of A Solid Match-Three RPG
A tile matching quest for the ages
Originally released back in 2007 for the Nintendo DS, Puzzle Quest was something of a surprise hit. Expertly blending the tile-matching mechanics of Bejeweled with more traditional RPG mechanics like turn-based battles, you could almost argue that it pioneered a completely new sub-genre. Of course, in the years...
Review Hexagroove: Tactical DJ - The Thinking Man’s Rhythm Action Experience
Too many DJs? Not around here...
If you’ve ever had the desire to stand before a baying crowd on the sun-kissed beaches of Ayia Napa and spin them into a state of unimaginable euphoria through the power of your DJ skills, Hexagroove: Tactical DJ from Swedish-based developers Ichigoichie might just be exactly what you’re looking for. The key...
Revisiting a visual novel trendsetter
Yu-No: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of this World might not be a catchy title for a Japanese visual novel, but this remake of the beloved PC-98 classic is an important watershed for the genre as a whole. Originally released in 1996, Yu-No tells the tale of Takuya, revealing the nature of his father’s...
Review Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair - A Delicious Mix Of Donkey Kong And Zelda
Lair today, Kong tomorrow
It’s possible to beat Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair in under half an hour. Now, hold on a minute. Before you make a beeline for Amazon to start pricing pitchforks (it’s about £25 for a good one, if you’re asking), let us clarify. We said it’s possible. But there’s no way you’ll be able to manage it right...
Mini Review 80 Days - A Wordy But Wonderful Jaunt Around The Globe
The road goes ever on
We’re going to assume you’ve not lived under a rock your entire life and are at least vaguely familiar with the concept of Jules Verne’s literary masterpiece, Around the World in 80 Days. It’s inspired a number of real-life imitations, movies, musicals, and – in this case – an incredibly well-written adventure from...
Review Fight'N Rage - Who Said The Side-Scrolling Brawler Is Dead?
Golden Act
As Fight'N Rage loads up, it mimics the boot sequence of an old arcade cabinet, going through its various system checks, verifying and okaying its RAM before throwing up its ROM number and region version. It’s a nice little touch in a game jam-packed with nice little touches. With a heavy (and totally optional) CRT post-effect that...
Just deserts
Fans of Rebellion’s period sniper simulator often look to Sniper Elite V2 (which also got a Nintendo Switch re-release earlier this year), with its campaign through the ruins of Berlin, as the moment the series really found its groove, but it’s the sequel that followed two years later that truly took all the things we love about...
Review Amnesia: Collection - A Masterclass In Horror That Has Aged Better Than You'd Think
Deeper down
Horror isn’t easy. Anyone can throw together enough blood, guts and gore to make a butcher green at the gills, but proper, unsettling terror is a rare thing indeed. There are countless films, books and TV shows out there that claim to conjure blood-curdling chills, but very few of them really stay with you, like a splinter burrowing...
Review Ori And The Blind Forest: Definitive Edition - An Unmissable Experience
A light shining the way
There was a time when a platform holder publishing games for a rival format would have been completely unheard of. Unthinkable, even! Yet, a bizarre chain of events has seen Microsoft Studios release a handful of games for our beloved Switch, including the likes of Minecraft and, surprisingly, even Cuphead. While Microsoft...
Review FIFA 20 - A Shamelessly Cynical Attempt To Swindle Switch-Owning Footy Fans
This can't Coutinho happening
When EA released FIFA 18 on the Switch, it was missing a number of modes and features. Given that the game was being handled by another studio in Bucharest – and given that one of the game’s producers gave the (rather fishy) excuse that they didn’t want to overwhelm Switch players with every option at once – we...
Review Pilotwings - 16-bit Flight Simulation, The Nintendo Way
Mode 7 is the wind beneath my Pilotwings
Now that SNES games are available on Nintendo Switch Online, we've decided to revisit each of them in a fresh review. Expect to see updated reviews for all of the titles currently available over the next few weeks. Upon introducing its new Super Famicom console in late 1990 it wasn't just critical for...
Mini Review Button Button Up! - A Perfectly Fine Platformer, And That's It
Stitch-em-up
Button Button Up! is one of those platformer games that can be described as being just ‘fine’. It’s not going to compete with some of the more accomplished games on the Switch like Celeste or Super Mario Maker 2, but nor should it be completely glossed over. It’s a perfectly serviceable platformer with cute visuals and fun...
Review Devil May Cry 2 - The Series Nadir Isn't Worth Bothering With On Switch
Dante's Inferno
By now we all know the story of how Devil May Cry 2 was subject to a rather troubled and fast-tracked development. Hideki Kamiya, the director of the first game, was not involved and his replacement – whom, to this day, has remained unnamed – was dismissed deep into development, replaced by Hideaki Itsuno for the remaining few...
Review Mario Kart Tour - Steer Around The Gacha For A Fun, Free Take On The Series
Please ride and subscribe
It’s fair to say that Nintendo’s forays into mobile gaming have been a bit of a mixed bag, partly because none of its fans can really agree on which of its efforts have struck the best balance between fun and funds. Originally reluctant to even get into mobile gaming in the first place, Nintendo has struggled to settle...
Review Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX - Short-But-Sweet, Mega Man X-Style Action
Shining light
Inti Creates have become synonymous with action platformers over recent years, even beating Capcom at their own game with their excellent Mega Man X series. The Ichikawa-based outfit challenge their former masters once again with the first original Switch entry in their acclaimed Gunvolt series. Can they make their mark among the sea...
One for the ages
It’s fascinating to see how much the JRPG genre has changed over the years, as countless new studios and designers have come up with a seemingly bottomless amount of ways to riff on battle systems, narrative styles, and world designs. In many ways, one could say that a JRPG is judged by how well it subverts genre expectations, but...
Review Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition - Death’s A Fine Way To Make A Living
Link and Kratos, sitting in a tree...
There’s something to be said for how the Switch became the go-to console for remasters; titles that have already seen the light elsewhere and are getting a new lease of life thanks to Nintendo’s console. It’s something to be celebrated when a port appears as if from nowhere, nearly four years after its...
Review Contra: Rogue Corps - An Ugly And Unfocused Mess That Shames The Contra Name
A very shattered soldier
Contra: Rogue Corps sets itself some seven years after the cataclysmic events of 1992’s Contra III: The Alien Wars, one of the very best entries in the franchise. It’s certainly a bold move to tie yourself so directly to such a beloved game; a sign of supreme confidence, you might think. Well, if it was confidence, it...
Review Habroxia - An Old-School Shmup That Fails To Excite Or Entertain
Er-Type
Developed by Lillymo Games and published by EastAsiaSoft, Habroxia is an old-school shmup that sees you face off against waves of alien invaders across fifteen short levels, hoovering up various pickups in time-honoured shoot-em-up fashion and grabbing credits which can then be used to purchase a variety of upgrades for your ship. Levels see...
Review Paper Dolls Original - A Horror Wannabe That Fails To Raise A Scare
Yōkai Botch
Ever since Amnesia: The Dark Descent first gave gamers the heebie-jeebies back in 2010, we’ve seen a number of games try to imitate its success. Some, like Outlast and Alien: Isolation, have been remarkably well-received, whilst others, like Slender: The Eight Pages, haven’t been quite so successful. The latest attempt to meld...
Patience you must have
The Switch is finally getting itself some Star Wars games! With last week’s release of the rather excellent Star Wars Pinball being very quickly followed by this, a barebones port of 2002’s Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. Quite rightly regarded as one of the very best Star Wars games – certainly in terms of its...
Review Rebel Cops - A Bland Setting Gives Way To Challenging Tactical Action
Cop this for turn-based tactics on the go
Developer Weappy Studio has enjoyed some notoriety as the developer of This is the Police, and now it's firing right into its own spinoff, Rebel Cops. Set in 1994, Rebel Cops is centred around a rogue faction of ex-police officers who are sick of the system and seeing their town overrun by mobsters, and...
Mini Review Ritual - A Nice Setup Let Down By Boring Gameplay
Set gameplay to 'auto'
Just in case there’s any confusion, Ritual is not an adaptation of the fantastic horror novel by Adam Nevill, though we’d almost prefer it if that were the case. Instead, Ritual is a top-down action RPG in which you play as a powerful Sorcerer who partakes in a quest of revenge after a failed sacrificial attempt from a...
Review Overland - A Survival Roguelike That's Often Too Frustrating For Its Own Good
Go west
For all the vast and far-reaching open worlds out there – of which there are plenty on Nintendo Switch alone – there’s something acutely intense about exploring something on a far smaller scale. Without being burdened with the chore of filling a large virtual land mass with ‘stuff’, even the smallest design decision can have a huge...
Review Castle Crashers Remastered - Addictive Brawling Action That's Best Enjoyed With Friends
'Tis but a flesh wound
Long ago, during the ancient times of the early 2000s, the cesspool that was the online Flash game community acted as something of a precursor to what would go on to become the modern indie gaming scene. A site called Newgrounds soon rose to prominence as the go-to place for quality Flash games, and one of the most popular...
Mini Review Arcade Archives Track & Field - Timeless Button-Bashing Fun
Old 'un athletic
Sometimes you just get it right the first time you try. This was the case when Konami released Track & Field in arcades and completely nailed its mechanics right away, then spent decades trying (and arguably failing) to better them. Now that original arcade title has made it over to the Switch as part of Hamster’s ever-growing...
Review Super Mario World - Phenomenal Platforming Perfection
It's-a Mario masterpiece
Now that SNES games are available on Nintendo Switch Online, we've decided to revisit each of them in a fresh review. Expect to see updated reviews for all of the titles currently available over the next few weeks. Impressive software is vital for a console's launch, and the powerful one-two combination of the Mode 7...
Review Deadly Premonition Origins - The Marvellously Bizarre Cult Classic Comes To Switch
The Grand Ol' Mind of York
There’s always been something about Deadly Premonition that has resonated with a gaming audience. Whether it be the quirky cast of characters you meet along the way, the B-movie sentimentality the pours through every scene or the fragmented nature of its mechanics, the phrase ‘cult hit’ has never rang truer. Those...
Review Untitled Goose Game - Short But Most Definitely Sweet
Metal Geese Solid
For a game that sees you controlling waterfowl and doesn't feature any robots, guns or tortured subplots, it's incredible how much attention Untitled Goose Game has garnered since it was revealed way back in October 2017. Thanks to its unique visual style, whimsical setting and instantly relatable protagonist, House House's...
Mini Review Golazo! - Knockabout Soccer Action Straight Outta The 1990s
A coin-op kickabout
It could be argued that the arcade football genre is more or less dead at this point. While these days FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer take part in a constant two-horse race – the Celtic and Rangers of video games, if you will – the days when we were swimming in less realistic arcade-style football games are gone. Many...
