Switch eShop Game Reviews scoring 9 or 10/10
Review Mr. Driller: DrillLand (Switch) - As Much Fun As It Was 18 Years Ago, If Not More So
Want a great puzzler? Bosch, here's one
There was a time when Mr. Driller was widely considered one of the best puzzle series around. After the first game hit arcades in late 1999, it spawned a bunch of sequels throughout the following decade, with 11 different versions launching in 10 years. And then... nothing. We haven’t had a new one since...
Review Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour (Switch) - A Timeless FPS Classic Comes To Switch
Got any gum?
Always bet on Duke. It seemed only a matter of time before Duke Nukem 3D cropped up on the Switch; after all, it'd be downright odd for him to miss a format. Sure, there was Bulletstorm: Duke of Switch Edition, but that's not real Duke. This, however, is. It's the magnum opus of the series, when the Duke was in fine fettle, yet to be...
Review Invisible, Inc. Nintendo Switch Edition (Switch) - Beautifully Accessible Turn-Based Tactics
You can't see me, the time is now
We're tempted to give Invisible, Inc. an instant 10/10 for its pun-tastic title. That is truly good stuff. Unfortunately "giving ten out of ten for liking the name of a game" is on the secret journalists' charter of Things You Don't Do Ever, so we have to measure our praise. Thankfully, not much measuring will be...
Yee-haw!
Well, it's about time. Not officially available anywhere since making its arcade bow (outside of the well-intentioned but obviously weaker home ports on the SNES and Mega Drive, at least), Konami's phenomenally good Western-themed run n' gun Sunset Riders has finally been re-released as part of Hamster's superb Arcade Archives line. The...
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 What The Golf? (Switch) - 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 Huntdown (Switch) - 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...
Review Levelhead (Switch) - A Wonderfully Robust And Surprising Challenger To Mario Maker
A package that delivers
Levelhead is a platform game that allows you to make your own levels, and the most fundamental issue with this is Mario Maker 2's existence. After all, the plumber and his community have had almost a full year's head start. It's a shame, but you can't really ignore the fact that Nintendo's flagship series has its own...
Review Lonely Mountains: Downhill (Switch) - A Freewheeling Downhill Delight
King of the hill
Lonely Mountains: Downhill might sound like the name of a lost chapter from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, but it's even more magical than that. It's... a mountain biking game. Now, you might not think that sounds particularly magical, and we'd be tempted to agree with you. Except that we've played Lonely Mountains: Downhill rather a...
Review Streets Of Rage 4 (Switch) - A Perfect Modernisation Of A Beloved Franchise
Street Kings
It may be twenty-six years since Streets of Rage 3 released back in the spring of 1994, but jumping into this brand new chapter in the series, a joint venture between Lizardcube – makers of the excellent Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap – Dotemu and Guard Crush Games, it genuinely feels as though very little time has passed since we...
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Review Overcooked 2: Gourmet Edition (Switch) - The Perfect Recipe For Multiplayer Fun
A full course meal
After nearly two years of regular post-launch support, it seems that Team17 and Ghost Town Games are finally ‘finished’ with Overcooked 2. The developers have provided some excellent additions in the time since launch, and all of it is now being tied together with the aptly named Overcooked 2: Gourmet Edition. For the purposes...
A real treasure of the deep
In Other Waters is not an easy sell. A game where you explore the vast expanse of an alien sea? Sounds awesome, right? Something like 2016's Abzu, or the Wii's Endless Ocean series would be perfect for the Switch. Imagine that sense of freedom, the spectacle of magnificent aquatic creature drifting past you in such an...
Mini Review Wandersong (Switch) - This One Can Really Hold A Tune
Pitch perfect
They say that music heals the soul, but can it actually save the entire universe? Wandersong seems to think so. You take on the role of a passionate bard who uses his tuneful singing voice to defeat enemies, solve puzzles, and cross bottomless pits as you embark on a journey to collect pieces of the legendary Earthsong (no, not the...
Review Good Job! (Switch) - This Laugh-Riot Feels Like 2020's Answer To 'Untitled Goose Game'
Promoted to ‘essential’
We’ve all been in a job that we didn’t like very much. Heck, a lot of people – this writer included – have had jobs that they’ve actively hated, filled with menial tasks that make time grind to an absolute halt. Given the current world climate, chances are you’re safe and sound in your own home (and if you do...
Review La-Mulana 2 (Switch) - A Deep And Challenging Metroidvania For Your Switch
Passing the torch
As indie game development has massively ramped up over the past decade or so, there’s also been an equivalent rise in the popularity of the Metroidvania genre. We’ve seen countless fascinating examples of how elements of the genre can be bent or expanded upon to create amazing new experiences, but one of the finest examples of...
Review Afterparty (Switch) - A Hellishly Good Night Out, Without The Hangover
Hell yes
Night School made a relatively big splash with its 2016 debut Oxenfree, a ghostly story-based video game that set new standards on how dialogue can be executed in a game. The follow up to that title was always going to be an interesting one, then, as the question would be how Night School would iterate or, potentially, break away from the...
Review Metro 2033 Redux (Switch) - A Truly Astonishing Switch Port Of A Genre Classic
This is Sparta
When Metro 2033 originally released back in 2010, it was something of a graphical showcase that really put the latest consoles and custom-built gaming PCs through the wringer. Rebuilt from the ground up in 2014 for this enhanced 'Redux' edition in order to bring its visuals and gameplay more in-line with its sequel, Metro: Last Light,...
Review Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition (Switch) - The Best Version Of The Best Devil May Cry
Three is the magic number
After the absolute mess that was Devil May Cry 2, Hideaki Itsuno returned to the fray in 2005 with this absolute banger, righting the wrongs of his previous effort, returning protagonist Dante to his righteously cocky self and letting loose with a no-holds-barred, non-stop action thrill-ride that, to this day, is as good as...
Review Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales (Switch) - A Superb Addition To The Witcher World
Cry me a Rivia
Once upon a time, the sheer notion of The Witcher appearing on Nintendo Switch in any form seemed a fantastical pipe dream. It didn’t even seem like we’d even get a version of Gwent, the card-battling spinoff based on the in-game card game of the same, never mind a full-fat version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition...
Finger lickin' good
Kentucky Route Zero begins simply enough. You assume the role of Conway, a grizzled delivery driver who, along with his dog, is in the process of taking a cargo of antiques to 5 Dogwood Drive. Somewhat lost, you pull up to a gas station on Route 65, Equus Oils, and speak to Joseph who sits quietly on the forecourt in an armchair...
Review Stories Untold (Switch) - A Chilling Horror That Toys With '80s Nostalgia
Stranger things have happened
Stories Untold is a chilling collection of four interconnected vignettes that make up a twisted little journey exploring the true nature of nostalgia and the very fabric of memories we all hold so dear. It examines how we remember and reconfigure things from our pasts and how digging down into what we, on the surface,...
Review To The Moon (Switch) - A Powerful Interactive Story You Really Need To Experience
Memories are made of this
Kan Gao's To The Moon is a game whose genesis was, according to Gao, the illness of his grandfather and how that event led him to consider that, when his time came, he might end up regretting decisions he'd made throughout his life. It's a consideration we'll surely all have at some point or another about a situation that...
We must believe in free will - we have no choice
In the beginning, there was light. The Talos Principle opens with a peaceful looking, beautifully serene and gentle flight above the clouds - though all is not as it seems. Onscreen text informs us that a program is loading - and it's here that the game's robotic protagonist awakens, in a seemingly...
Review Shovel Knight: King Of Cards (Switch) - A Worthy Swan Song To A Legendary Platforming Series
The closing chapter of five years of shovelry
Nearly seven years ago, Yacht Club Games launched the Kickstarter for Shovel Knight, thus beginning the long journey towards building one of the most recognizable characters in the indie gaming space. After a record-breaking response from the community, not only did the game receive the funding it...
Review Alien: Isolation (Switch) - One Of The Greatest Horror Games Of All Time Comes To Switch
Get away from her, you Switch!
Straight off the back of a fantastic port of Grid Autosport on Switch, Feral Interactive is back with Creative Assembly's survival horror masterpiece, Alien: Isolation. The game's been out and receiving rave reviews since 2014 so we guess the first thing you'll want to know is have they managed to squeeze all of this...
Review The Touryst (Switch) - A Visually Stunning Island-Hop That's Loads Of Fun
We're Going To Ybiza
Shin'en Multimedia seem to wield some sort of superpower when it comes to pulling perfect performance out of the Switch. Fast RMX, Its superb Wipeout-style future racer – which helped fill a gap in the console's launch when Mario Kart 8 Deluxe arrived late – was, and still is, a dazzlingly handsome beast that runs at a...
Review Return Of The Obra Dinn (Switch) - A Beautifully Crafted Detective Mystery
Absolutely Kraken
Released to critical acclaim last October, Papers, Please creator Lucas Pope’s Return of The Obra Dinn finally arrives on consoles with quite the fanfare. After finding a dedicated audience willing to get on board with a game that on paper, probably shouldn’t ever have been as popular as it was, Pope’s narrative-based...
Review Fight'N Rage (Switch) - Who Said The Side-Scrolling Brawler Is Dead?
Golden Act
As Fight'N Rage loads up, it mimics the boot sequence of an old arcade cabinet, going through its various system checks, verifying and okaying its RAM before throwing up its ROM number and region version. It’s a nice little touch in a game jam-packed with nice little touches. With a heavy (and totally optional) CRT post-effect that...
Review Ori And The Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (Switch) - An Unmissable Experience
A light shining the way
There was a time when a platform holder publishing games for a rival format would have been completely unheard of. Unthinkable, even! Yet, a bizarre chain of events has seen Microsoft Studios release a handful of games for our beloved Switch, including the likes of Minecraft and, surprisingly, even Cuphead. While Microsoft...
Review Sayonara Wild Hearts (Switch) - A Marvellous, Music-Driven Masterpiece
Pop goes the gleeful
The Switch isn’t exactly lacking in short, artistic games that grab your attention for a scant couple of hours, unleash all ‘the feels’ (as the kids say) then wander off into the sunset, leaving you dumbstruck at what you’ve just played. Gris, Gone Home and What Remains of Edith Finch are just three examples of Switch...
