Game Reviews scoring 8/10
Review Undead Darlings ~no cure for love~ (Switch) - A Solid, Compelling Dungeon Crawler
Dead ringer for love
It’s been a long road to release for Undead Darlings ~no cure for love~. The project first sought funding via Kickstarter back in 2015 and initially failed to meet its modest goal, but the ex-NIS America staff of developer Mr. Tired Media were convinced that there was an audience for this game and remained determined to see it...
Review Ys Origin (Switch) - An Awesomely Accessible And Amiable Action RPG
Eesey peasy
Nihon Falcom's Ys (pronounced "eese") been around since the days of the PC-8800, but only now are we seeing this formative tale in the enormously popular saga. Well, technically, a lot of people already saw it in 2006 when it originally released, or 2012 when it was initially localised. Thankfully, now it's on the Switch we can see that...
Review Kirby Fighters 2 (Switch) - A Brilliant Bite-Sized Alternative To Super Smash Bros.
Kirby sucks, but this doesn't
You don’t need us to tell you this, but Nintendo makes some strange decisions sometimes. The latest example of this is Kirby Fighters 2, a digital-only fighting game that was stealth-dropped onto the eShop without any warning, promoted with a couple of tweets then generally abandoned (at least at the time of writing)...
Loop Dreams
Did you know that rollercoasters were originally invented, in their American form at least, as an attempt to rid the country of sin? Apparently LaMarcus Thompson, the "Father of the American Rollercoaster", was so sick of the disgraceful antics of his fellow citizens that he got to work building the Switchback Gravity Railway on Coney...
Review Othercide (Switch) - A Challenging But Ultimately Rewarding SRPG
Wake me up inside
You know you’re in for a rough time when a game tells you upfront that you’re going to lose a lot. One of the first things you see in Othercide – the latest release from Lightbulb Crew – is one such message, which plainly says, “your Daughters will die, and you will lose, only to rise stronger again.” Indeed, Othercide...
Review Super Punch Patrol (Switch) - There's Plenty Of Rage On These Streets
Pleasing penny-punching pugilism
Super Punch Patrol sees a return to the signature sketchy style of Gunman Clive from developer Bertil Hörberg, last seen on Switch with really rather brilliant boss-'em-up Mechstermination Force. Here, though, he's turned his hand to the brawler genre with what feels like a homage to Capcom's Final Fight. Well, more...
Review Fight Crab (Switch) - The First Rule Of Fight Crab Is That It's Fine To Talk About Fight Crab
The best crabs you'll ever get
We are witnessing the birth of a brand new genre, friends. We've had games based on movies, television shows, comics and even literature; here, though, is Fight Crab, the first game ever made based on an animated GIF. Yes! The popular GIF of a crab menacingly wielding a knife has been adapted into a full-scale Switch...
Mini Review Minoria (Switch) - A Short But Sweet Metroidvania With Great Combat
Sister Act
Coming off the back of its previous game, Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight, Bombservice’s Minoria feels like a natural evolution in many ways. It’s a fast-paced Metroidvania with a sharp focus on aggressive combat, but also contains many staple tropes of the genre, including collectable items, hidden passageways, and unlockable...
Review The Last Campfire (Switch) - A Refreshingly Freeform Puzzle Adventure Packed With Ideas
S'mores the merrier
The Last Campfire is a delightful puzzle-stuffed adventure from the core creative team behind WiiWare favourite LostWinds. Where that game was made at Frontier, home to the universe builders of the Elite series, this new adventure was nurtured at Hello Games, home to the universe builders of No Man’s Sky. There’s something...
Mini Review Paradise Killer (Switch) - A Murder-Mystery Case You'll Definitely Want To Crack
Paradise Is You
Much has been previously written about Paradise, a promised land supposedly filled with luxury and personal fulfilment. Everyone pictures it differently, but like many stories before, trouble has once again reared its ugly head inside it. Developed by Kaizen Game Works, Paradise Killer brings us a murder-mystery with a gorgeous...
Hoops: they did it again
Say what you will about 2K Sports, but it certainly knows how to get the most out of the Switch hardware. NBA 2K21 is the fourth of its basketball games to find its way onto Nintendo’s system, and by this point, the spectre of NBA 2K18’s botched launch is a distant memory; these days, the series looks tremendous on...
Review Spinch (Switch) - A Deliciously Enjoyable Sugar Rush
You'll never see colour the same
Fans of 2D platformers have got it pretty good on the Switch. Into retro stuff? Super Mario Bros. 3, Donkey Kong Country and Yoshi’s Island are just one cheap subscription away. Something newer from Nintendo? Well, you’ve got Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze,
Mini Review OkunoKA Madness (Switch) - A Fine Rival To Super Meat Boy
A meaty alternative
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade, chances are you’ll be quite familiar with Super Meat Boy, even if you haven’t necessarily played it. Renowned for its slick controls and brutally difficult gameplay, it was one of the most prominent games to be released on the Xbox Live Arcade back in 2010, and...
It's hip to be square
When you’ve made a game that pays homage to early polygonal racing games and you want to release it on the Switch, you’d better be certain it’s a good one. After all, considering the Switch has actual Virtua Racing on it, when you come at the king, you best not miss. The upstarts with the sheer gall to step onto the...
Review Spiritfarer (Switch) - A Striking Yet Benignly Haunting Gem With Big Ideas
Super-gatory
It's not exactly rare for a game to be about delivering folks to their deaths – usually via high-calibre ammunition – but it's certainly something new to see a game about ensuring a peaceful, fulfilling end of life. That's what Spiritfarer is, and it's certainly a unique thing; an instantly striking, benignly haunting little gem...
Review King Of Fighters R-2 (Switch) - A Pocket-Sized Fighter That Still Packs A Punch
Calm down, Star Wars nerds
The Neo Geo Pocket Color is one of the most underrated systems in video game history. Released just a few months after the Game Boy Color, its 16-bit innards meant its games looked significantly better than those on Nintendo’s handheld, and its clicky control stick was a delight too. Ultimately, though, the system was a...
Hammerwatch on steroids
Back in 2017, Hammerwatch released on Switch, and we thought it was pretty darn good. It delivered accessible combat and progression that anybody could jump into whilst also catering to those who were after a bit more of a challenge. Heroes of Hammerwatch is set in the same universe, and sees you scale the Forsaken Spire,...
Review Samurai Shodown Neo Geo Collection (Switch) - A Strong Lineup Of Brilliant Fighters
Seven Samurai
Although these days most gamers would associate SNK with the King of Fighters or Fatal Fury series, there’s still a sizeable following for the third major string in its fighting game bow, Samurai Shodown. Focusing more on weapons-based combat and less on having all the W’s in its title, the Samurai Shodown series is much loved for...
Review Carrion (Switch) - A Shockingly Violent Metroidvania Where You're The End Boss
Carrion screaming
We haven't played a lot of games that made us feel like a monster. A real predator. The measured and ultimately law-abiding stealth of the Batman: Arkham series had its power-fantasy moments, but nothing that made us sit back and think for a minute about what we've done. Enter Carrion. Taking control of an amorphous,...
Review Crysis Remastered (Switch) - A Technical Miracle And One Of The Best Shooters On Switch
Switch Mode Engaged
Of all the big-name ports that have arrived on Switch thus far, there's something about Crysis that makes it feel a little extra special. Here is a game that absolutely beasted even the most high-end PCs when it released back in November of 2007 with its GPU-melting graphics – light-years ahead of everything else at the time...
Review Creaks (Switch) - A Masterfully Told Dark Fairytale Packed With Clever Puzzles
Finely oiled
Amanita Design has made quite a name for itself producing distinctive, visually alluring and extremely intuitive point-and-click adventure-puzzlers for PC and mobile. Across the likes of Botanicula, Samorost and Machinarium there's an evident shared love for the absurd and a predilection for charming wordless narratives. Now, the Czech...
Mini Review Monster Prom: XXL (Switch) - A Silly, Knockabout Experience That's Perfect For Parties
John Hughes' worst nightmare
While going back to school is certainly not a desirable concept, it would certainly hold more appeal to find it populated by literal monsters, rather than the lousy figurative ones who made school life so difficult. Thankfully, Monster Prom: XXL offers a welcome opportunity to right those wrongs and ask a fantasy...
Review Dex (Switch) - A Compelling Cyberpunk Mash-Up
Augment your Switch with this cracking cyberpunk chronicle
Gaming and cyberpunk go hand in cybernetically-augmented hand. Like dystopian peanut butter and electric jelly. Our beloved medium has always been well-served with the genre, from Megami Tensei to Shadowrun to Deus Ex all the way up to the forthcoming Cyberpunk 2077. While it's not
Review Panzer Paladin (Switch) - A Joyfully Unpretentious And Exuberant Action Title
Battling mythical creatures? That's a paladin
Big. That's probably the best word to describe Tribute's latest action platformer. Big and chunky. Everything's bold, brash and refreshingly straightforward. Of course, there's no shortage of pixel-heavy games on the Switch, but there are few that feel quite so immediate and responsive. Joymasher's...
Review Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus (Switch) - A Rare Gem In The 40K Video Games Catalogue
In the grim darkness of 2020, there are still good games
Bulwark Studios' Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus throws players into the great big metal shoes of Magos Dominus Faustinus, chief commanding Tech-Priest aboard the monolithic Ark Mechanicus, who's just discovered a mysterious signal emanating from deep within the bowels of the planet Silva...
Review CrossCode (Switch) - The Zelda-Like RPG You Never Knew You Wanted
A Role Playing Game Game
A little over five years ago, a new studio named Radical Fish Games unveiled its dream concept for a new game. Called CrossCode, it promised to merge the RPG trappings and graphical style of '90s SNES RPGs with the world and puzzle design of the Zelda series. An ambitious goal, to say the least, and one that approximately...
You'll be creasing with laughter
The Paper Mario series has seen more ups and downs over the years than the lid of Picasso’s pencil case, with Nintendo and developer Intelligent Systems trying their best to nail the formula again. A large number of Paper Mario fans believe GameCube title Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is the best game in the...
A classic Castlevania by any other name
During the 2015 Kickstarter campaign for Castlevania spiritual successor Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, one of the reward tiers promised a retro-styled prequel minigame. Nobody really knew what to expect at the time, but three years later it resulted in Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. Developed by Inti...
Old friends, new console
Nearly two decades ago, the Nintendo fanbase was graced with Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, the first entry in the series for the Game Boy Advance. Offering up a low-key and easily accessible gateway into the farm sim genre, it quickly garnered a following and earned itself the reputation of being one of the better...
Mini Review Kuso (Switch) - An Accessible Yet Challenging eShop Gem
The least appropriately-named game of all time?
The sheer purity of kuso is almost disconcerting. A simple 2D platformer with no major traversal mechanics besides running and jumping, it's quite a difficult sell to the seasoned platform veteran. You have the ability to drop checkpoints instantly (a little like Ori and the Blind Forest), which means...
