Latest Reviews
Devilishly good
Though the manga only started in 2016, Demon Slayer has gone on to become one of the most successful media franchises in existence—even passing up the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog and Minecraft in raw sales. Despite this, Demon Slayer has had shockingly little presence in video games; aside from a Japan-only mobile game that still...
Review Metal Max Xeno: Reborn - A Welcome Rebirth Despite Its Flaws
Don't get mad, Max
Editor's note: This review, originally published on Saturday 14th May 2022, was based on the imported Japanese version of the game. However, you can find updated comments relating specifically to the English language release at the bottom of the page. Metal Max fans in the West are not what you’d call spoiled for choice,...
Review STAR WARS: Knights Of The Old Republic II: The Sith Lords - Always Two, There Are
No more. No less.
After Bioware's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic wowed audiences with its in-depth storytelling and RPG mechanics in 2003, publisher LucasArts decided that a sequel would have to be made as soon as possible. Much akin to how Majora’s Mask came out barely a year after Ocarina of Time changed the game, Star Wars: Knights of...
Review Mario Strikers: Battle League - Simply The Best Sports Game On Switch
Violence is apparently the answer
Name a sport. Go on, name one. Now presumably you’ve chosen some obscure sport that Mario hasn't played because you saw where this bit was going, but that doesn’t change the fact that our red plumber chap has been in a hell of a lot of sports games. Mario Strikers: Battle League attempts to carry on the legacy...
Review Lost Ruins - A Survival-Focused Metroidvania With Fantastic Pixel Art
Pixel punishment
In anime, there is a popular genre called isekai, which means “another world” and is characterised by the protagonist travelling from their normal, boring world into one filled with magic and monsters. Normally, it is a light-hearted affair, with the main character settling into their new life and eventually managing to save...
Mini Review Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery - A Short Tale With Lovely Ghibli-Esque Art
An art game we can get behind
Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery is the first game from Taiwanese developer Silver Lining Studio. Released on Steam and mobile last year, it has collected its fair share of rewards and strong user reviews. With its launch on console this month, it gains an additional epilogue to play through, offering a new slant on...
Review Biomotor Unitron - SNK's Mech-Builder Is Heavy With Arms And Retro Charms
Cool robots and nostalgia can only do so much, though
Biomotor Unitron has a wicked name. We’d forgive you for assuming it refers to an obscure power metal band or maybe the title of a 1990s mech-based anime. In reality, Biomotor Unitron is a mech-building role-playing game originally released for the Neo Geo Pocket Color way back in 1999 –...
Review Souldiers - A Potent Metroidvania And Soulslike Blend, But Not Without Issues
Die another day
These days, it feels like you can hardly go a week without seeing another handful of games that are inspired by any combination of Metroidvanias, Soulslikes, or roguelikes. Souldiers—the first release from a new development studio called Retro Forge—is an in
Review Card Shark - A Wonderfully Witty WarioWare-Esque Affair, With Cards
It's not about a shark
They say cheaters never prosper, but clearly they’ve never played Card Shark, a wonderfully tense, goofy little game that’s all about keeping your cool under tremendous pressure as you basically rob people blind. The act of pulling off the con is shockingly simple, but maintaining one’s composure to ensure that...
Review PAC-MAN MUSEUM+ - A Gaming Legend's Best Collection Yet
Who let the ghosts out?
Pac-Man Museum+ follows Pac-Man Museum (2014), a collection for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. This updated compilation includes some of the titles in the previous release, and adds several new ones, bringing the total count to 14 (although Pac-Man Arrangement is featured twice with arcade and home versions). It comprises...
Review Wonder Boy Collection - Four Well-Presented Wonders In A Stingy Standard Package
Strictly Limited fun
Wonder Boy has a convoluted gaming lineage. Initially a platform arcade game featuring a squat caveman-boy in a grass skirt, and developed by Westone (then Escape) for Sega, the sequels quickly splintered off into action role-playing territory. Oddly, there are two chronological entries for Wonder Boy III — Monster Lair...
Review Rival Turf! - Jaleco's Brawler Is No Match For Final Fight, Two-Player Or Not
Two isn't always better than one
This review originally went live in 2015, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival on Switch as part of the Super NES library of games included with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. When approaching Jaleco's Rival Turf! (known as Rushing Beat in Japan), it's important to understand...
Review Kao The Kangaroo - Rough Edges Can't Ruin This 'Roo's Return
Every champion was once a contender who refused to give up
In the late '90s and early '00s, mascot 3D platformers were all the rage and… well, not all of them were great. For every Super Mario 64, you had a… Bubsy 3D, eventually leading to the genre becoming oversaturated and tired. One franchise that was a casualty at the tail-end of the 3D...
Review OPUS: Echo Of Starsong - Full Bloom Edition - Evocative And Shockingly Well-Realised
Blooming brilliant
OPUS: Echo of Starsong is intimidating. Not so much in terms of difficulty — there's very little of that in what's largely a visual novel-esque sort of business — but in terms of story, there's so much to take in. Even with the preceding two games (OPUS: The Day We Found Earth and OPUS: Rocket of Whispers) in your back pocket,...
Review The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story - A Campy Murder-Mystery From Square Enix
Almost to die for
If you had told us in January that an FMV murder-mystery title would become one of our most memorable experiences on the Switch this year, we’d have looked at you as if you were one of The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story’s prime murder suspects. Directed by Koichiro Ito (scenario designer for Metal Gear Solid V) and produced...
Review Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards - Kirby's First Brush With 3D Is Still A Charmer
Kirby Sixty-phwoar
This review originally went live in 2015, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival on Switch as part of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. Like many of Nintendo's properties during the transition from the SNES to the N64, Kirby underwent a shift from a flat 2D sprite to a fully rendered polygon...
Review Snow Bros. Nick & Tom Special - A Tired Bubble Bobble-Alike That's Finally Affordable
Snow thank you
Don’t you think a gaming hero should have a sort of heroic name? Rastan! Sparkster! Astyanax! Right? Yet here we are with the Snow Bros, Nick and Tom. Nicholas Snow and Thomas Snow. Not bad names – we can foresee a gritty murder mystery series starring one Thomas Snow coming to ITV in the near future – but not names that inspire...
Review Soundfall - A Beat-Based Shooter That Can't Hit The High Notes But Still Rocks
Sounds good
When playing an instrument, it can be thrilling to finally nail that song that you’ve been trying to master for some time. Rhythm games are built on this concept, challenging you to replay levels as many times as needed until you get it perfect. Sometimes rhythm mechanics even work well in other genres — just look at how Runner3...
Review As Far As The Eye - A Nomadic Roguelite City-Builder Launched In A Right Old State
As far as you can get before the game crashes
Since this review was originally published, a patch has reportedly addressed one or more of the issues cited below. While we unfortunately cannot revisit games on an individual basis, it should be noted that the updated game may offer a much-improved experience over the one detailed below. Promoted as...
Review Seven Pirates H - A Rich Bounty Of Fan Service, But Lacks Depth
A bountiful sea of fan service awaits you
Pirates are always a sure way to make a game exciting. Who doesn’t love the idea of sailing the seas, plundering and pillaging along the way with a trusty crew at their side? There is just one thing that can make the pirate’s life even more appealing, and that is, of course, copious fan service. That’s...
Review Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising - Tedious Side Quests Mar This Prequel's Metroidvania Charm
A mixed intro to the world of Suikoden's spiritual successor
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, a spiritual successor to the legendary Suikoden series of Japanese role-playing games, blew past its funding goals on Kickstarter two years ago, raising a whopping 4.5 million USD and shattering all its stretch goals in the process. It’s safe to say...
Mini Review Citizen Sleeper - A Tabletop RPG-Inspired Gem You Shouldn't Sleep On
A sleeper hit
Citizen Sleeper places you in the role of a synthetic robot-person—called a Sleeper—who awakens on a grimy space station bustling with all kinds of morally and legally grey activities and organizations. Your character escaped from working at a colony for a megacorporation who literally owns their body and now has to contend with...
Review Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 2 - A Colourful, Characterful, LOL-Worthy Pair
Take a walk on the funny side in the RPG classics
In the long history of video games, it is impossible to catch everything at the time of launch. That is why re-releases and remasters can be so useful; introducing a whole new generation to games that might not have the same cultural penetration as the bigger releases in a genre but still deserve to...
Review Fragrant Story - A Goofy, Final Fantasy Tactics-Style Indie Swansong For 3DS
Needs a little more watering
Thought the 3DS was done for, did you? Well, despite Nintendo’s best efforts with the announcement of the 3DS eShop's closure in 2023, the company’s popular handheld is still alive and kicking, and it’s recently seen a brand-new release with Fragrant Story. This odd micro-SRPG comes from an indie developer William...
Review Toaplan Arcade Garage: Hishou Same! Same! Same! - M2 Delivers Two Seminal Sharky Shmups
Send in the Toaplanes
M2’s ShotTriggers series has been an ongoing pilgrimage of preservation for some of the greatest shoot-em-up’s in arcade history. Hishou Same! Same! Same! combines an early Toaplan series of two: Hishouzame and Same! Same! Same!, known in the West as Flying Shark and Fire Shark, respectively. Both original arcade titles are...
Review Layer Section & Galactic Attack S-Tribute - A Solid Switch Port For An Epic Space Shmup
A locked-on epic
City Connection, now a fairly prolific shoot-em-up publisher, have been hit-and-miss with its quality control. While some games land fine, others feature severe lag issues, leaderboards that don’t properly differentiate full clears (or disallow auto-fire registries), and usually come devoid of original bonuses. While Layer Section...
Mini Review Waifu Impact - Single-Player 'Fortnite With Fan Service', Minus The Fun
Sometimes fan service just isn't enough
When something becomes popular enough, it is bound to attract imitators. Sometimes those imitators will smash as many different genres together to try to capitalise on multiple other games' popularity. In the case of Waifu Impact, the developers took the principles that have made Fortnite a bewildering success...
Review Nintendo Switch Sports - Familiar Fun With Friends, But Little More
Wii haven't come far
Note: At the original time of publication, online functionality was not yet live for Nintendo Switch Sports. As it is such a crucial part of the game, we decided not to score this review until we can had sampled the full online experience. Having now done just that, here's our full updated (and scored) review. When Wii Sports...
Mini Review Arise: A Simple Story - An Audiovisual Treat With Emotive, Elegant Storytelling
Arise and shine
Is a platform game a good medium in which to tell a story of agonising tragedy? When the tears fall on the joysticks, is it appropriate to say, “Now, jump from there to there”? It’s hard to see how it wouldn’t be insensitive, after a heart-rending calamity, to chime in, “Chin up! Swing on your grappling hook over that lava...
Review Bugsnax - A Charming Idea That Struggles In Execution
To snack or not to snack
Ever since Bugsnax was announced for PlayStation systems back in 2020, the game has grabbed people’s attention like few others. With plenty of merchandise and its catchy theme song, it seemed as though the googly-eyed strawberries were everywhere despite being Sony-exclusive at the time. Now, a year and a half later, the...
