Game Reviews scoring 9/10
Review Yoku's Island Express (Switch eShop)
A pinball-metroidvania that really delivers
It's safe to say that Yoku's Island Express is the first pinball-Metroidvania game we've ever played. We sincerely hope it's not the last. Swedish indie studio Villa Gorilla has produced an improbable mash-up that succeeds through an uncommon combination of charm and inventiveness. Beyond all that, though,...
Review Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection (Switch)
Handsome fighters never lose battles
Street Fighter may have been surpassed by the likes of Resident Evil and Monster Hunter in Capcom's enviable stable of IP, but for gamers of a certain age, the merest mention of the name itself is enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention. In the early '90s, Street Fighter was...
“Even though the ideal is high, I never give in”
Upon first release on Sega NAOMI-powered arcades back in 2001, Ikaruga polarised audiences. While it most certainly was a vertical scrolling shmup like one would expect from the spiritual sequel to Radiant Silvergun, it played nothing like it. In fact, it played like no shmup before it and even...
Review Mega Man Legacy Collection (Switch eShop)
A legacy to be proud of
Until recently, it seemed that Capcom wasn’t all too interested in the Mega Man series, which understandably upset a lot of fans who grew up alongside the Blue Bomber. Though Mega Man has starred in a lot of games, it’s the original NES releases that arguably stand as the most iconic, which makes Mega Man Legacy...
Review Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Switch)
Bogus, or bodacious?
Platformers aren’t quite what they once were; whether they’re 3D or 2D we’ve had a bit of a mini-renaissance with them in recent years, but they hold nowhere near the draw that they did in the '80s and '90s. What a shame then that one of the best and most polished games of the genre happened to not only launch after these...
Review Wild Guns Reloaded (Switch)
Welcome to Westworld!
Back in 1994, Natsume delivered the definitive ‘shooting gallery’ shmup made famous in previous years by the likes of Neo Geo NAM-1975 and TAD’s Cabal. Sadly, a limited number of copies coupled with being a late generation SNES game meant that a lot of people missed out on this slice of space western action. Add in some...
Review Sky Rogue (Switch eShop)
"You don't own that plane! The taxpayers do!"
There once was a time when the 3D combat flight simulator was the genre of choice for seasoned players; during the 16-bit revolution, home computers like the Amiga and Atari ST played host to the likes of Falcon 3.0, F-15 Strike Eagle and Starglider, all of which used very basic filled polygon visuals to...
Review Sengoku 3 (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Third time's a charm
SNK’s first two Sengoku games put players in control of a sword-swinging hero, with the neat ability to switch to a different character during play should they wish. Coupled with a variety of enemies to bash they were not essential titles, but could still provide some decent fighting fun. The second game built on the first,...
Review Rogue Aces (Switch eShop)
Nice plane you’re flying there. I’ll take it
In 1987, Brøderbund released Wings of Fury, a thinking-man’s scrolling shmup that borrowed Defender’s free-roaming gameplay but was otherwise an original concept. Thirty-one years later, can Infinite State’s Rogue Aces be the dream sequel you never knew you needed? Throttle up and lets find...
Review Dragon Blaze (Switch eShop)
Imagine dragons
By the year 2000, Psikyo’s TATE shmup design was already established as the de facto template for the genre and with several hits already under its belt, it's hard to imagine many more gimmicks could be added to the tried and tested formula. So what if it added a few dragons into the mix? The Demon King has risen. The Sun and the...
The only way is shmup, baby
From the western title you might not be immediately aware that Tengai’s full Japanese title is Sengoku Blade: Sengoku Ace Episode II. This is, in fact, the sequel to Psikyo’s very first game, the brilliant Samurai Aces. But with only a few familiar faces returning and a complete change of shmup orientation style, did...
Review The Alliance Alive (3DS)
Alive and well
In 2015, Atlus published The Legend of Legacy, a 3DS JRPG produced by a dream team of veteran developers with credits on classics like SaGa, Final Fantasy, and Chrono Trigger. The game was met with mostly positive reviews, but at the time, another game was in development from the same team. This game came to be The Alliance Alive,...
Review Shantae And The Pirate's Curse (Switch eShop)
It hasn't aged a day
Back in 2014, Shantae And The Pirate's Curse graced Wii U and 3DS, and many hailed it as the best Shantae release yet. Since then, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero saw a release, and while that was met with similar acclaim, some fans were displeased with the slightly more linear direction taken by the gameplay. Now, WayForward has opted...
Review Steredenn: Binary Stars (Switch eShop)
My god, it's full of stars!
In October of 2015, a French studio called Pixelnest released a space shooter arcade game called Steredenn, which blended classic shmup action with roguelike elements. The final product received high praise across the board, but Pixelnest wasn’t content to simply stop there. Over the last year, the studio has been...
Review Danmaku Unlimited 3 (Switch eShop)
Dodge this!
With each passing day Nintendo Switch is becoming the go-to current generation console for shmup enthusiasts. Already offering plenty of old and new titles in the current library, plus the bonus of proper TATE mode being at a distance of a quick Switch flip, perhaps the time has come to turn things up a notch. Does Danmaku Unlimited 3...
Review Magical Drop III (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Simple, frantic fun with balloons
The lineup of retro offerings on Switch may largely be comprised of fighting games and shmups, but other genres feature too, such as platformers, sports titles and - in the case of Magical Drop III - a highly enjoyable puzzle games. With the second game in the series already receiving the ACA Neo Geo treatment,...
Review Detention (Switch eShop)
Best in class
Every so often, a little-known game with much smaller expectations than its AAA counterparts will come along and completely knock your socks off. Celeste managed it last month with its intricate 2D platforming, and no less than a month later, another crowning achievement has made its way onto the Nintendo eShop. Detention, from...
Review Crypt Of The NecroDancer (Switch eShop)
How low can you go?
When it first released on PC in 2015, Brace Yourself Game’s Crypt Of The NecroDancer was an unexpected delight: a personable dungeon crawler on a rhythm game base, it combined the procedurally-generated levels and relentless challenge of the roguelike genre with the beating heart of a dance game. Now that it’s out on Nintendo...
Review Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Plus (Switch eShop)
I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more Pac-Man
In 1980, Pac-Man took the world by storm, introducing arcade players to an entirely new kind of gameplay style. The titular pill muncher went on to become a universally recognised icon of gaming, while also spawning numerous sequels and spinoffs to the inaugural debut over the decades that...
Review SteamWorld Dig 2 (3DS eShop)
Diggin’ up a treat
Image & Form’s SteamWorld franchise has become somewhat of a household name among the Nintendo eShops as of late, with games spread across Switch, 3DS, and Wii U gathering almost nothing but praise from players and critics alike. SteamWorld Dig 2, which is perhaps unsurprisingly the sequel to the rather wonderful...
Review Membrane (Switch eShop)
Insane in the membrane
For your consideration, the common housefly (Musca Domestica). For as long as mankind began to build houses, these tiny winged insects somehow always manage to find the tiniest openings to invade the peace of our homes. The genesis of Membrane is a story about such a home invasion. With an aforementioned flying tiny pest now...
The shadow remains cast!
While Wii U has ultimately become little more than a benchmark for Nintendo Switch sales to surpass, the experimental pit stop between Wii and Nintendo’s hybrid handheld still had a handful of must-have games. Bayonetta 2 sits proudly at the top of that list, and now the bold and brazen action-adventure breaks the chains...
Review Aegis Defenders (Switch eShop)
Get a Clu
After initially being conceptualized as a graphic novel, Aegis Defenders became a KickStarter game started way back in 2014, promising a unique blend of platforming and tower defense elements. After a successful campaign and a four year development cycle, the game has finally come out, and it was worth the wait. Aegis Defenders is a blast...
A real hoot
Owlboy is a game almost 10 years in the making; surviving a variety of ups and downs over the last decade, the developers at D-Pad Studio finally felt the sweet taste of universal acclaim when it launched on PC last year. The game tells the story a mute owl called Otus, an underdog of sorts who is always looked down upon and thought to...
Review Samurai Shodown II (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Sensational samurai
With its weapon-based combat and gameplay that often rewarded patience, Samurai Shodown was a different type of fighting game, but a very good one. SNK thought they could do better however, so went away and came up with Samurai Shodown II, a game similar to its predecessor but with some additions to the lineup and gameplay...
Review Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology (3DS)
You can go home again
The 3DS may be getting on these days, but it’s certainly got plenty to show for its half-dozen years on the scene, including an astoundingly impressive collection of RPGs. ATLUS has been a prolific contributor to this corner of its library, and alongside original titles such as Shin Megami Tensei IV, Persona Q, and Stella...
Review Night In The Woods (Switch eShop)
You can't go home again
Make no mistake about it, Night In The Woods will stay with you. There aren’t very many games out there that manage to leave an imprint on the people who take the time to experience them, but Infinite Fall’s emotional adventure into rural isolationism, palpable Americana and the melancholy of long lost youth does just...
Review Strikers 1945 II (Switch eShop)
Superb shmup action
Thanks to HAMSTER’s Arcade Archives and ACA Neo Geo series there are a number of retro titles available on Switch, but they’re not the only company providing games from yesteryear. Zerodiv have slowly been adding high quality titles from Psikyo’s back catalogue such as Gunbird and Zero Gunner 2. One of their first releases...
Review Pokémon Crystal (3DS eShop / GBC)
Crystal clear
Akin to Pokémon Yellow's existence to Pokémon Red and Blue, Pokémon Crystal is the next critter-catching adventure to round-off a generation of main series, handheld Pokémon games – that being Pokémon Gold and Silver. But what could Crysta
Review The Last Blade (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
The king of fighters?
Kaede is fighting Yuki and weapons slash quickly as the two leap about the screen. Quick strikes from both, the action is fast as each looks to string together a series of moves to end the battle. Another day, another fight between Kaede and Yuki, but this time things are playing out differently. This time the combatants have...
