Latest Reviews
Review Lunar Lander Beyond (Switch) - A Fresh Approach For Atari's Arcade Classic
Minor turbulence
Atari has had a very interesting few years, publishing a critically acclaimed 50th-anniversary collection in the form of a playable documentary, the ‘Recharged’ series of neo-retro revivals, and a handful of unique reinventions of its classic IPs. Lunar Lander Beyond from Cris Tales developer Dreams Uncorporated is the gaming...
Review Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes (Switch) - An Immersive JRPG With Some Real Problems
The wait is over
The PS1 played host to a staggering number of memorable and influential RPGs, one of which was Konami’s Suikoden. After that strong debut came a handful of sequels that eventually puttered out during the sixth generation of consoles, and Konami has virtually abandoned the series since. Not ones to be stifled, some key members of...
Review Kudzu (Switch) A Delightful, Leafy Ode To Link's Awakening And The Game Boy
It'll grow on you
Kudzu came to this reviewer during a significant birthday celebration. The day was filled with echoes of our past. There was the music on the radio – uncanny remixes of early-to-mid-90s techno songs that used to hype up pre-teen candyfloss-fuelled visits to funfairs. And there was Kudzu and its unsubtle similarity to all-time...
Review Rose & Camellia Collection (Switch) - An Enjoyably Absurd Yet Frustrating Slapathon
Slappiness is the truth
Certain problems cannot be solved through careful discussion or compromise. Sometimes it isn’t enough to give a verbal beatdown to your rival – you must throw hands as well. The Rose & Camellia series was built upon the idea that not only is a good old-fashioned slapfight fun, but it is often the only dignified way a...
Review Planet Of Lana (Switch) - A Gentle Puzzle-Platformer With Sparkling Presentation
Out of this world
The cinematic platformer: although some great examples have emerged over the decades, the genre perhaps under-celebrated, with its fans especially under-served for a long stretch in the 2000s. It has nonetheless provided some truly legendary games: Prince of Persia, Another World, Flashback, and Inside. Planet of Lana gathers...
Mini Review The Gap (Switch) - A Bit Basic, But Still A Gripping Narrative Mystery
"One must have good memory to keep the promises one makes"
Following a mysterious 'walking sim' path similar to those trodden by The Stanley Parable and What Remains of Edith Finch, Slovenian developer Label This' debut game, The Gap, doesn’t necessarily feel like anything revolutionary, but it’s an engaging narrative experience that we’d...
Review Moonglow Bay (Switch) – A Fishing Sim That Doesn't Pull You In
Watered down
Love or hate fishing minigames, there’s no denying they’re a staple of the cosy set. But Moonglow Bay aims to blow that hook-and-line mechanic into a full game. This fishing sim from Bunnyhug and Coatsink launched in 2021 on Steam and Xbox to mixed reviews. The new Switch port (and starboard) starts out as a tranquil few days out on...
Review MLB The Show 24 (Switch) - A Solid Swinger Emerges After A Laughable Launch
Homerun or dinger?
San Diego Studio returns for a third season of baseball action on Nintendo Switch and it's another fairly solid job all round for 2024, giving fans yet another feature-complete port that manages to get the most important stuff right during its deep and addictive matches. Indeed, whilst MLB The Show 24 has seen plenty of technical...
Review Botany Manor (Switch) - Cosy Yet Challenging, This Puzzler Is Quite Beautiful
Bloomin' lovely
When cosy and wholesome games first stepped onto the scene, they were counter-culture — created in response and in resistance to an industry that churned out violence, conflict, and a particular type of masculinity that wasn't keen on things like emotions or intimacy. Some people were tired of this monolithic and exclusionary idea...
Review Freedom Planet 2 (Switch) - A Sonic-Style Platformer Exuding Passion & Quality
He better watch out
Back in 2014, a team of new developers calling themselves GalaxyTrail released Freedom Planet—a retro style platformer that captured the hearts of many classic-era Sonic the Hedgehog fans. Freedom Planet, in fact, started life as a Sonic fan game, though it established a unique identity for itself as development wore on, and...
Mini Review Screencheat: Unplugged (Switch) - Turns An Old Problem Into A Great Game
Who watches the watchers?
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. An old Steam favourite comes to...
Mini Review I Am The Hero (Switch) - A Well-Presented, Retro-Style Beat 'Em Up
Hero of crime
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. I Am The Hero is an interesting beat em’...
Mini Review Storm Boy (Switch) - An Incredibly Brief But Touching Experience
Pelican't believe it
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. This interactive story game is based...
Mini Review Demetrios - The BIG Cynical Adventure (Switch) - A Crude-Humoured Point-And-Click
Cyn and out
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. An enjoyably crude and dark point-and-click...
Mini Review Soap Dodgem (Switch) - A Rudimentary And Repetitive Slide-Puzzle Port
No scrub
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. A puzzle game that has you cleaning up stains and...
Review Open Roads (Switch) - A Short, Evocative Trip Worth Taking
Straight and narrow
The surprising phenomenon of indies casting Hollywood talent continues with Open Roads, a three-hour narrative adventure. But then this is the latest release from Annapurna Interactive, a publisher of both films and games, which has a few similarly voice-acted examples in its back catalogue – the delectable The Artful Escape...
Review Felix The Cat (Switch) - A Cute But Costly Clowder
Retro charm aplenty but no purring
As one of the earliest animated characters dating back to the silent film era, Felix the Cat’s popularity has waxed and waned over the decades. His charm, though, continues to endure beyond his centenary. He may be the only cartoon mascot older than Mickey Mouse to have also tried their hand at the Super Mario...
Review F-Zero Maximum Velocity (GBA) - The First Portable F-Zero Still Holds Up
Back to the future
This review originally went live in 2014, and we're updating and republishing it to celebrate the game's arrival in Switch's Game Boy Advance library via Nintendo Switch Online. Ah, F-Zero. The futuristic racing series that’s so fast that even Nintendo lost track of it for years. Since it released the Japanese exclusive...
Mini Review Otxo (Switch) - Think 'Roguelike Hotline Miami With Bullet Time, But Not As Good'
I can dodge bullets?
It’s difficult to experience Otxo and not compare it to the top-down shooter Hotline Miami. With its minimal, pixel art visuals, simplistic yet effective core gameplay, and a penchant for visceral, bloody violence, Otxo shares much in common with Dennaton Games’ arcade-style hit. Where Otxo deviates, however, is in its...
Review Pepper Grinder (Switch) - A Cracking Platformer That Drills Down & Strikes Gold
All driller, no filler
Way back in the ancient days when the Game Boy Advance was Nintendo’s main handheld, Game Freak (yes, the Pokémon people) released a creative little platformer called Drill Dozer. Placing you in the role of a slightly crazed girl who tears through stages and foes alike with a powerful drill, it quickly established itself as...
Review Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection (Switch) - Riddled With Issues, This Is
Playing this made us Saddlefront
Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection should have been a slam dunk. Take two of the most beloved Star Wars games ever made and their DLC, touch them up a bit, add modern multiplayer support, and release them. Easy money, right? You’d think so, but the reality is that Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection is...
Review South Park: Snow Day! (Switch) - Glitchy, Clunky Co-op That Should've Stayed Indoors
Grab a shovel
South Park’s history with video games has been a mixed bag for the most part and the latest instalment, South Park: Snow Day!, had a lot to live up to following the critical success of Ubisoft’s The Stick of Truth and its sequel, The Fractured But Whole. A shift in genre and developer — Question LLC is at the helm here — has...
Not so Horrid Henry
Set in the 15th century and taking place in the tumultuous land of Bohemia, Kingdom Come Deliverance follows the exploits of nice-but-dim blacksmith’s son Henry. Struggling through the political and religious machinations of the lords and ladies around him, he seeks to avenge the death of his family and find a place in the...
Review Princess Peach: Showtime! (Switch) - Peach Breaks A Leg In A High-Class Production
Bend and slap
It's kinda hard to believe, especially given how ridiculously popular the whole Mushroom Kingdom thing is, that we've had so few games starring its actual ruler as the protagonist over the years. Yes, there was Princess Toadstool's Castle Run on Nelsonic Game Watch back in 1990, Princess Peach's very first leading role (which you...
Mini Review Krimson (Switch) - A Face-Meltingly Brutal Rhythm Platformer
Hellish
People play games for a variety of reasons. It could be that you want to experience a few thrills, get lost in a world beyond your imagination, or simply relax and wind down after the stresses of day-to-day life. Some games, however, are designed to test the very limits of your patience, inducing a level of anxiety that many would rather...
Review Rebel Transmute (Switch) - A Brutally Brilliant Metroid-Like
There's always room for one more good one
About five years ago, solo developer Evan Tor set out to make a new game in the crowded Metroidvania genre called Rebel Transmute. Tor launched a Kickstarter in 2022 to secure the funding to get the game over the line, and after a successful campaign and development period, the title has finally made it to...
Review The Legend Of Legacy HD Remastered (Switch) - A Decent Return For The 3DS Dungeon-Crawler
Not quite legendary, though
A few years ago, FuRyu released The Alliance Alive HD Remastered for Switch—an uprezzed port of a great RPG that was sadly missed by most due to releasing on the 3DS after most players had already moved on to Switch. Yet The Alliance Alive was not the company’s first release on Nintendo’s old handheld; that honor...
Review Mario Tennis (GBC) - Camelot's Ace Little Tennis RPG Is Hard To Fault
Courts of appeal
This review originally went live in 2014, and we're updating and republishing it to celebrate the game's arrival in Switch's Game Boy (Color) library via Nintendo Switch Online. For whatever its name is worth, Mario Tennis doesn’t feature a lot of the red guy — at least at first. That may come as an initial disappointment to...
Review Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story (Switch) - A Dazzling Trip Into A (Gold) Master's Mind
Yak in time
With its efforts on Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration and The Making of Karateka, developer Digital Eclipse is cementing itself as a true pioneer in the interactive documentary space. Truth be told, it’s a niche that the studio completely owns at this point, and though we’re surprised other major players in the video game...
Review Snufkin: Melody Of Moominvalley (Switch) - A Joyful, Dreamlike Adventure With An Edge
Snufkin compares to you
Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley opens with a goodbye. The music swells and this goodbye pulls hard on the heartstrings. It’s a goodbye to a Moomin, so perhaps you’d think it’s not an important goodbye – just a Moomin, after all. But it sets up the main arc of a well-paced and imaginative musical adventure. For the...
