Latest Reviews
Review The TakeOver - A Worthy Companion Piece To Streets Of Rage 4
This town IS big enough for the both of us, actually
Scrolling fighting games on Switch are clearly like buses; you wait years for a decent one to arrive and two come along at once. We've recently been blessed with the long-awaited Streets of Rage 4, an officially-sanctioned sequel created by DotEmu, Lizardcube and Guard Crush Games, and just a...
Review Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath - An Expensive Way To Get The Full Mortal Kombat 11 Experience
I'd buy that for a dollar!
Ever since the launch of Mortal Kombat X in 2015, NetherRealm Studios’ output has continued to soar in quality. The alternate fighting styles of X fed into the impressive facial animation of Injustice 2, with that second round of DC super-fighting leaving its mark on the customisation depth of last year’s Mortal Kombat...
Review Shantae And The Seven Sirens - Back To Basics Brilliance Leads To A Must-Have Metroidvania
Ret-2-go!
About 20 years ago, few probably could’ve guessed that the Shantae series would be firing on all cylinders by now. The initial release of this charming Metroidvania series saw a release late in the life of the Game Boy Color and never received the spotlight it deserved, but after about a ten-year hiatus, the series came back and has been...
Review Sky Racket - A Unique Blend Of Tennis, Breakout And Bullet-Hell
A real mash-up
Shmups, Breakout, and Tennis – what do these three have in common? Before Sky Racket we were inclined to say "not much", but Double Dash studios has shown that these elements can be the ingredients to an interesting cross-genre blend. The origins of Sky Racket are very unique. Created during a 2015 event called Indies VS Gamers –...
Review Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition - A Timely Update Of One Of The Greatest RPGs Ever
We're (still) really feeling it
If you were around to browse this site about nine years ago, you may have been privy to the rising support for localization of a game called Xenoblade Chronicles. Back then, the title was just a niche Japanese RPG that Nintendo was extremely hesitant to release outside of the country, but the fans saw something in it...
Review Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted - A Largely Pointless Cash-Grab
Freddy Faz-bleh
It's often entirely possible for games designed to be played in virtual reality to be played outside of the VR headset. Trover Saves the Universe, for example, is quite plainly designed for VR, but is both playable and enjoyable without it – likewise The Persistence. But having said that, it is usually a matter of compromise...
Review Journey To The Savage Planet - No Man's Sky Meets Metroidvania
Kindred Spirits
Typhoon Studios' Journey to the Savage Planet was very well received when it originally released back in January of this year on PC and consoles; it's a genuinely funny and supremely well designed title that combines Metroidvania elements with No Man's Sky-style procuring of resources on a bizarre alien planet filled with slick...
Mini Review Pushy And Pully In Blockland - Cute Block-Based Action, If Somewhat Forgettable
Ah, push it, push it (quite) good
Pushing blocks in video games feels as though it shouldn't be an act of aggression. The likes of Sokoban and the many games it inspired do not exactly encourage acts of crate-based violence. Much of the time if you see a box, it's probably got something useful inside. Of course, there are outliers, and Pushy and...
Review Never Stop Sneakin' - An Almost-Perfect Parody Of Metal Gear Solid
Tactical Fishpionage
We recently asked if there were any Switch games we'd missed which you thought were worthy of a review. Never Stop Sneakin' was one of the most-requested games, so here we are! Humble Heart's Never Stop Sneakin' attempts to parody the PSOne-era Metal Gear Solid whilst offering up its own ra
Review Golf With Your Friends - Only Fun If You Take The Title Literally
Could've used some fore-thought
When it comes to having a fun day out with some chums you can’t beat a bit of mini-golf (or crazy golf or putt-putt, or whatever you prefer to call it). At the time of writing, however, it’s safe to say that the idea of standing in a small area next to people from a different household is frowned upon at best;...
Review Super Mega Baseball 3 - Step Up To The Plate In This Slugfest Sequel
Hitting it out of the park
For the initiated, baseball is the great American pastime. From the pang of a freshly struck home run to the smell of hot dogs wafting down from the stands, it’s the quintessential U.S. sport. Much like gridiron and basketball, the sport’s recent video game recreations have also become more focused on hyper-accurate...
Review Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix - This Digital Diva Is Perfectly At Home On Switch
Sweet Devil
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix sees the world's most famous virtual Vocaloid pop idol finally arrive on Nintendo Switch in an excellent portable version of the hit rhythm game series that includes a brand new Switch-exclusive art style, motion-control Mix Mode and touchscreen options that give players more ways than ever to bash...
Review SEGA AGES Thunder Force AC - Another Sega Rarity Comes To Switch
AC what they did there
In the early ‘90s, it was believed by many Mega Drive / Genesis fans that Thunder Force II, III and IV were the best examples of the shoot ‘em up genre on their system. It was hard to argue with them: the Thunder Force games delivered an awesome combination of constant action, impressive graphical trickery, ridiculous...
Review The Persistence - Firesprite's Likeable VR Horror Has Survived The Shift To Switch Perfectly
Xeroxmorph
The idea of taking a game that's been originally designed as an all-encompassing virtual reality experience and expecting it to stand tall when unplugged from that impressive virtual realm – played instead on the Nintendo Switch's dinky little portable screen or a bog-standard telly – isn't one that really fills us with much...
Review TT Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge 2 - Better Than The Original, But With Room To Improve
Manx speed
Racing games have been a staple of the games industry since its inception, but very few of these virtual drivathons have managed to truly capture the heady mix of excitement and outright fear that comes with pushing real-life machines to their absolute limit. Modern superbikes can reach incredible speeds, but most other two-wheeled racing...
Review PONG Quest - A Slapdash Attempt At Resurrecting A Gaming Classic
Same old back and forth
When it landed in arcades in 1972, Pong wasn't the first video game ever made – but Atari certainly based it on the game that was. There's a strong argument to be made that Pong needs a modern revamp more than any other gaming classic. But not like this. Not like PONG Quest. It's far from unusual to splice RPG elements...
Review Shmup Collection - A Solid Collection Of Modern 2D Shooters
Astro Port's maestro ports
It's one of gaming's greatest myths that graphics aren't as important as gameplay. Without the right kind of graphics, it's possible to depth-charge the potential of an otherwise enjoyable experience. Visuals are a crucial part of a game's feel, and a mismatch between what you're doing and how it all looks is a major...
Review What The Golf? - A Gloriously Inventive Title That's Full Of Surprises
Golf is a four-letter word
It's a strange phenomenon, but golf has always translated rather well to the noble medium of video games. Possibly because it is, in itself, a noble sport; swing a stick at things, go for a nice walk on some cool grass. Nothing to lose but your balls. It's a pursuit in which you aren't really encouraged to expect the...
Review The Elder Scrolls: Blades - A Grindy Free-To-Play Bastardisation Of Bethesda's RPG Classic
Only fit for Oblivion
The Elder Scrolls: Blades is a pretty misguided attempt on the part of Bethesda to transfer its beloved RPG franchise to the mobile, free-to-play arena. It may have been touted as something resembling a full-fat entry in the franchise prior to its initial early access release last year, but it falls far short of being anything...
Review 80's Overdrive - Warmed-Up 3DS Racer Is Outpaced By The Competiton On Switch
More vice than virtue
The ‘80s aesthetic is so overused these days that it takes something fairly spectacular to stand out in the crowd. To be fair to 80’s Overdrive, it originally launched on the 3DS back at the end of 2017, when things like that 3D purple sci-fi grid you see all the time now (and appears in this game too) were still considered...
Review Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 Road To Boruto - Naruto Fans Will Lap It Up
Storm warning
Like most ports of Japanese origin, the Nintendo Switch version of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 Road to Boruto has taken its time to go handheld – the original launched back in 2016, and its anime film tie-in expansion a year later – but with three different story modes, and a frighteningly large number of playable...
Review The Wonderful 101: Remastered - Kamiya's Comeback Kid Lives Up To The Hype
Is it any wonder?
No game captures the ebb and flow of a titanic battle between the forces of good and evil quite like The Wonderful 101. There are dozens of almighty scraps in PlatinumGames’ idiosyncratic action game, against enemies so colossal that even your 100-strong squad feels hopelessly outmatched. And the best moment in each of them is...
Review Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee - A Technically Stunning Port Of The Worst Game In The Series
Super Meh Oddysee
The eagerly-awaited second game in the Oddworld Quintology, Xbox launch title Munch's Oddysee had a lot riding on it. Poached by Microsoft to bolster their hard-sold new console, much was expected of this long-awaited adventure; previous acclaimed title Abe's Exoddus promised Munch coming up next, with Squeek's Oddysee to follow...
Review Ion Fury - Hail To The Queen, The Old-School FPS Is Reborn
Shellshocked
Ion Fury doesn’t just love 2.5D ‘90s shooters, it is a 2.5D ‘90s shooter. Developed by Voidpoint, a studio made up of veteran Build modders (the same engine used to create Duke Nukem all those years ago) and published by none other than 3D Realms, Ion Fury has all the hallmarks of a nostalgic killing spree down memory lane...
Review Void Bastards - In Space, No One Can Hear You Chuckle
Into the Void
There's certainly no shortage of excellent roguelike titles doing the rounds on Switch just now – with the likes of Dead Cells, Enter the Gungeon, Slay the Spire and the recently released Fury Unleashed just a few examples of the very best of the genre currently available on Nintendo's console – and Bl
Review Huntdown - A Gloriously Gory Run 'N Gun Blaster
Future Warriors
On the mayhem-filled streets of a hyper-violent future version of society, marauding criminal gangs have taken control. Police are all but powerless – fighting desperately in the face of overwhelming odds – the public is in hiding and it's now down to hardcore bounty hunters with an insatiable hunger for cold-hard cash to wade...
Mini Review Jet Lancer - Outrageously Enjoyable Aerial Combat Action
I thought the only lonely place was on the moon
There's no denying the incredible impact Japanese developers have made on the shoot 'em up genre, from the foundation laid down by Space Invaders right up to more recent examples, such as the superb Rolling Gunner. The influence of Japanese design can be felt keenly in the western-developed Jet Lancer,...
Mini Review Slayin 2 - An Engaging Action RPG Romp
The pain in Slayin falls mainly on the lanes
The original Slayin was a mobile marvel of simplicity; a lovely little bite-sized twitchy RPG-ish thing where you effectively just moved left and right putting holes in enemies and using their dropped loot to improve your stuff. It was a familiar rogue-lite approach that worked brilliantly for a few...
Mini Review Spirit of the North - Minimalistic Mystery Mired By Myriad Mistakes
The fox and the... other fox
Since the release of the hugely popular Journey, many other games have gone down the route of minimal storytelling, focusing primarily on visuals and music to evoke emotions within the player. Spirit of the North leans heavily into this, tasking you with a very simple objective; explore the environment and solve puzzles...
Review SuperMash - A Fun Genre Mashup Idea Let Down By Poor Execution
Identity crisis
Genres are incredibly important. Not just in video games, either; whether you’re reading a book, watching a movie, or listening to some music, genres are vital in indicating what kind of experience you’re in for. SuperMash takes this idea and flips it on its head, giving you the freedom to take two distinct game genres and smash...
