Game Reviews scoring 8, 9 or 10/10
Review Voice Of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden (Switch) - A Fine Follow-Up To Yoko Taro's Cosy Card RPG
Fast and fabulous
Well, that was fast, wasn’t it? Not even four months ago, Square Enix released Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars, which proved itself to be an enjoyable, relaxing, and interesting take on a classic JRPG from creative director Yoko Taro and his team. The title subtly hinted at the possibility that there would be more entries...
Mini Review Grapple Dog (Switch) - A Cracking GBA-Style Platformer, With Echoes Of Go! Go! Beckham!
"What's Updog?" finally has a coherent answer
A long time ago in 2002, long before many of you were even born, there was an obscure little Game Boy Advance platform game developed by Denki based on the football man David Beckham. It was called Go! Go! Beckham! Adventure on Soccer Island and, quite frankly, it was magnificent. Why are we bringing up...
Review EarthBound Beginnings - A Charming Curio That Mother Fans Will Cherish
Everybody's gotta start somewhere
This review originally went live in 2015, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the arrival of EarthBound Beginnings in the Nintendo Switch Online NES library. If you were an early adopter of EarthBound fanaticism in the West, you likely caught wind of a previous title made for the Famicom. Translated...
Review PowerSlave Exhumed (Switch) - An Old-School FPS That's Absolutely Worth Digging Up
We're not doing an Iron Maiden reference. Way too obvious.
Not content with finally getting seminal Build engine classic Blood back on digital storefronts (Switch port, please!), as well as the first two Turoks, Doom 64, Quake and Shadow Man, Nightdive Studios have finally got Ancient Egyptian FPS Powerslave (known in the UK as Exhumed) out of its...
Review EarthBound - A Quirky, Cosmic Adventure Bound To Warm Your Heart
Mother!
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the arrival of Earthbound in the Nintendo Switch Online Super NES library. Fuzzy pickles! Back in 1995, this second instalment of Shigesato Itoi's much-loved Mother series (as it's known in Japan) only received a western release in North America, where...
Review Infernax (Switch) - A Great, Gory Throwback That's More Ninja Gaiden Than Castlevania
Bloody. Good. Game.
We'd be lying like filthy, filthy little devils if we claimed that there was any shortage of Castlevania-alikes on the Switch. The likes of Odallus, Aggelos and most prominently the Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon duology are all right there on the eShop to cater for starved fans of Konami's apparently-defunct series - not to...
Mini Review Retro Bowl (Switch) - An Addictive 8-Bit Throwback That's Appropriately Super
The Bears' offence is rubbish in this, too
(American) Football is a surprisingly complicated sport; it may not look like it as we watch enormous humans endanger themselves while wearing a lot of padding, but it's a game with playbooks and elaborate calls that sound to the uninitiated like the outbursts of lunatics. For most of us fans it's a simple...
Review OlliOlli World (Switch) - A Radical Departure And A Must-Play
It's an Olli, Olli, Olli, Olli World
A little over 8 years ago, Roll7 first introduced the world to OlliOlli, a fun little take on a 2D platformer that centered around skating. Barely a year later, the studio then released OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood, which built on the mechanics and scope of the original in nearly every way. With that last...
The Sign of the Eight (Out of Ten)
With an apologetic tip of the long, fancy hat to original author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, we think it's fair to say that Sherlock Holmes' many adaptations have supplanted the original text in terms of prominence. Most luridly, of course, there is Steven Moffat's Sherlock, as well as similarly contemporary take...
Review The Artful Escape (Switch) - A Thrilling Audiovisual Journey From Annapurna
Space jam
The Artful Escape hit Windows and Xbox in 2021, published by Annapurna Interactive. Over Annapurna’s brief 5-year history, its preferred flavour of stylish, quirky, thoughtful games has become well-understood, as has the “triple-I” production and publicity push that sets Indie Devs™ apart from other independent developers. Coming...
Review Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Switch) - One Of The Greatest Pokémon Games Ever Made
We all live in a Pokémon world
A century before it became the land of Sinnoh, the Hisui region was a dangerous place where humans and Pokémon didn’t share the close bond they have today. In fact, Pokémon were treated like dangerous creatures to be avoided, and in Pokémon Legends: Arceus it’s up to you and the Galaxy Expedition Team to...
Review Eschatos (Switch) - A Boldly Unique And Historical Shmup Package
Here comes the judgement
M-KAI began his game development life on the MSX with RPG Izumic Ballade, before moving into the shoot-em-up arena with Kanzen Kouryaku Kyokugen and Pleasure Hearts. The distinct design hallmarks of these early works — leaning toward lightweight, unpretentious fun — have remained present throughout his commitment to the...
Review Banjo-Kazooie - Peerless Platforming Perfection, And Now Available On Switch
Kazooie, we're home
This review originally went live in 2009, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the long-awaited return of Banjo-Kazooie to a Nintendo console, available as part of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack N64 library. Back in the days of the N64’s prime, there was one firm that managed to stand out from the rest:...
Review Windjammers 2 (Switch) - Sweaty, Strategic, And Better Than The Near Perfect Original
We hope you like jammin' too
Update: We've now managed to play some Windjammers 2's online since the game went live yesterday and, we're pleased to say, it all seems to be working fine and dandy on Nintendo Switch, with a solid connection maintained during matches which we were able to jump into instantly. Good news, as this one really is all about...
Mini Review Shadow Man Remastered (Switch) - A Rich, Inscrutable World To Get Lost In
He's got friends on the other side
There's no sense in pretending that Shadow Man isn't a dated experience. But games like this — originally seen on PlayStation, N64, PC and Dreamcast — rather force a re-examination of the somewhat meaningless criticism "dated". Seriously, what does it mean? A change in standards, perhaps. Differing expectations...
Review Cotton Fantasy (Switch) - A Joyful, Mischievous, And Incredibly Varied Shmup
Any Witch Way
When it comes to the cute-’em-up sub-genre, the characterful witch Cotton and the series to which she lends her name are effectively royalty. There are other games that have been important in defining a niche where shmups’ staple fighter craft, tanks and laser turrets are replaced with kittens, candy canes and cuddly toys, of...
Review SNK VS. Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash (Switch) - An Utterly Essential Card-Battler
Now this is a Brucie bonus
It's a result we had previously only dared to hope for. When SNK Vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium dropped on Switch almost a year ago, the fruits of the two fighting game companies' all-too-brief alliance were once again deemed "potentially in play". But when the labelled "Volume 1" of the wonderful Neo Geo Pocket Color...
Mini Review Picross S7 (Switch) - Holy Moly, They Only Went And Added Touch Support
THE NUMBERS, MASON! WHAT DO THEY MEAN!
If there’s one Nintendo franchise that has desperately needed a new entry in modern times, it’s Picross. Just nine months on from S6, barely five months since the SEGA-flavoured Picross S Genesis & Master System edition, and after the thrilling cliffhanger ending, we’ve been eager to see how Jupiter...
Review Astroneer (Switch) - Plenty Of Genial Jank In This Addictive, Scrappy Sandbox
In space, no one can hear you scrap
The story of Astroneer is a remarkable one, and one this reviewer (hello!) has been following since the very beginning. Back in 2015, this charming little teaser trailer was released, showing a spaceman traversing lonely, low-poly alien landscapes. It wasn't fully clear what the game was, but it was instantly...
Mini Review Dreamscaper (Switch) - A Carefully Crafted Roguelite With A Personal Touch
Don't sleep on this one
Sometimes you can just tell how much effort and care went into making a game, and a good example of this can be seen in Dreamscaper. Developed by a tiny three-person development team, it’s impressive how much has been crammed into this little roguelite from both a story and gameplay perspective. At its core Dreamscaper is...
Is it worth the hype?
Well, here we are. Eight months after The House In Fata Morgana's release, and six months since our first diary entry of "the game better than Breath of the Wild", it's finally time to actually, finally review it. Fata Morgana is an subject of bafflement, a tantalising enigma, and a frequent point of mocke
Review Chicory: A Colorful Tale (Switch) - A Masterful Marriage Of Mechanics, Themes And Visuals
Available handheld or Chicory dickory docked
There are few things more personal than art. That is, the art produced by an artist. Obviously. Even in its most commercial, populist form — including when it’s a small part of a much larger product — the work of an individual artist is ultimately recognisable, whether from obvious sweeping traits...
Deed-lightful
Team Ladybug has something of a reputation of turning famous licensed properties into compelling Metroidvanias. After the opening PC-exclusive freebie Shin Megami Tensei: Synchronicity Prologue starring series mascot Jack Frost came Touhou Luna Nights, another ‘exploration action’ title featuring the endlessly popular Gensokyo...
Review Deathsmiles I & II (Switch) - A Visually Impressive Panoramic Slice Of Bullet Hell
Chips, dips, chains, whips
Originally marketed in Japan with bottles of tea labeled as “Windia’s Delicious Urine” — the ostensible excreta of Deathsmiles’ central protagonist — one has to wonder what exactly Cave’s aspirations were for this entry in their shoot-em-up canon. A 2009 bullet hell shoot-em-up (or ‘shmup’), Deathsmiles...
Much more fun than Regular Possible Path
Spoilers: The road is, in fact, possible. Yes, it’s another example of flagrant false advertising and the sort of thing that gives this fine hobby an ill reputation. No, we’re joking. Of course we’re joking. It’s not impossible to traverse, it’s impossible to build. A road free-floating in space on...
Review Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon (Switch) - A Super Addictive, Combat-Driven Puzzler
Diggin' it
Sometimes just before his boss battle, Specter Knight will warn you, “All who play Pocket Dungeon’s deadly game will be consumed by it.” He’s certainly right. Yacht Club’s newest spin-off of its critically lauded Shovel Knight franchise is, in a word, addictive. It’s easy to look at Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon and think...
Review Paper Mario (N64) - A Well-Crafted Creation That Stands Up Beautifully
Historical document
This review originally went live in 2017, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the addition of Paper Mario to the other N64 games on Nintendo Switch Online. Can we take a moment to appreciate just how gloriously wacky it is that a game like Paper Mario exists in the first place? This is an idea that followed in the...
Review Loop Hero (Switch) - A Creative And Incredibly Addictive Distillation Of An RPG
You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?
When you get right down to it, almost every game consists of a very simple loop. For example, every Mario 2D platformer ultimately is nothing more than having the famed plumber jump over obstacles and run to the right. We’re rarely focused on the repetition, however, because it’s the new things that...
I know how you feel
It’s hard to believe that we’re now on the fourth Life is Strange game in just six years (fifth if you include the short introductory installment for Life is Strange 2). That’s a lot of content within a relatively short space of time, so there’s an undeniable danger of the series running out of steam. Thankfully, however,...
Mini Review DoDonPachi Resurrection (Switch) - Same Great Game, Same Old Problems
Bee-rilliant, bee-witching, bee-ry annoying
Another day, another prestigious arcade shmup finds a happy new home for itself on the Switch. This may sound like we’ve skipped straight to the end of this review a few paragraphs early but as it’s been a full decade since DoDonPachi Resurrection’s English Xbox 360 release, more than that since it...
