Game Reviews scoring 5/10
That quarterback is toast
Mutant Football League: Dynasty Edition is a weird depiction of arcade football. In many ways, it's nothing like an actual game of football due to (cheap) dirty tricks and on-the-field obstacles that greatly change the course of a contest. Unfortunately, these additions mar the experience, turning it into a frustrating game...
Review Cities: Skylines (Switch) - A SimCity Successor That Struggles To Shine On Switch
The sky has a limit
Have you ever aspired to a seat of mayoral power? Fancy yourself as the next Mayor Quimby? Okay, perhaps he’s not the best example of how to run a town, but spend a few hours with the power Cities: Skylines bestows upon you and you’ll begin to understand why Diamond Joe so often ran away from his duties. There’s just so...
Review Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle (Switch) - Interesting Ideas Squandered By Dull Design
Crawling in the dark
First-person dungeon crawlers have been around for a long time, and like most genres, they’ve evolved over the years in order to find new relevance. Some have stuck to the classic turn-based RPG model and thrown in modern visuals and humour - such as the recent Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk - while others have followed...
Review Moonfall Ultimate (Switch) - A Failed Attempt To Update Sega's Golden Axe For The Modern Age
Hack. Slash. Repeat.
A good 18 months in and Nintendo Switch isn’t struggling for content - especially when it comes to role-playing games. Be they turn-based affairs or action-RPG romps, owners of this plucky hybrid machine have a buffet of long-form adventures to gorge on. So when a new entry tries to hack and slash its way into this packed...
Review Out Of The Box (Switch eShop)
If your name's not down, you're not coming in
Video games revolving around performing a day job - and one that’s very likely to be different to a real-life profession, to boot - have proven to be popular with well-known franchises keeping the genre alive year on year. Ever fancied being in charge of a whole medical unit? Then check out Theme...
Review Lifeless Planet: Premiere Edition (Switch eShop)
Lost in space
On its barren surface, Lifeless Planet: Premiere Edition is a difficult game to quantify. Is it a sandbox exploration title? A walking simulator? A puzzle-platformer? A sci-fi adventure with a splash of horror? In truth, it’s an amalgamation of all these things, but it only ever dips its toes into these creative sources and ends...
Review Little Dragons Café (Switch)
Lovable Characters, lengthy Load Times
For some time now, the Nintendo Switch has been sorely lacking in the life simulation game department. Of course, there’s Stardew Valley – easily one of the greatest titles to grace the console – but the obvious absence of instalments in the “relaxation” genre has left many fans feeling disenchanted...
Review Space Ribbon (Switch eShop)
Gotta go... slow?
Imagine firing up Mario Kart (pick one) for the first time and being dropped directly onto Rainbow Road, but a 25cc version with no items. And you’re driving a Morris Minor. Welcome to the opening of Space Ribbon. Released on PC in 2016 by Liverpool-based developer Onteca, this racer’s biggest problem is the first impression it...
Review Tiny Hands Adventure (Switch eShop)
A true dinosaur
In recent years, 3D platformers have experienced something of a renaissance in the modern game industry, with the likes of Yooka-Laylee, Super Mario Odyssey, and Crash Bandicoot: N-Sane Trilogy making a notable impact on sales charts and the general conversation surrounding games. Though the appetite is clearly there for these sorts...
Review Next Up Hero (Switch eShop)
Lives long enough to see itself become the villain
No one likes kicking the bucket in a game. Whether you’re licking your wounds in a beat-’em-up or lamenting a mistimed jump in a platformer, death is the constant that keeps us coming back for more with respawns, ‘Game Over’ screens and more. But what if popping your proverbial clogs could...
Looking to the past
Playing Tanzia is a bit like jumping into a time machine and travelling back to an era where consoles still needed memory cards and DVD playback was all the rage. Everything from the cheesy soundtrack to the visuals that look like they’ve had the old-gen HD treatment makes you feel like you’ve traded your Nintendo Switch in...
Review NoReload Heroes (Switch eShop)
We could be heroes, indeed
NoReload Heroes is like one of those microwave meals you get from a discount store. On the surface, this title appears to be a tasty treat to get stuck into, but after a couple of mouthfuls of the DIY fast food, it’s a dish that becomes a bit of a slog to chew through. This isn’t to say this game doesn’t have some...
Review Hungry Shark World (Switch eShop)
Sorry about Bruce, mate
From the Finding Nemo-esque logo and the bulbous eyes of the sharks, you might get the impression this is a family-friendly romp where you munch through the ocean like a sea-faring Pac-Man, accruing points and combos as you go. Which is pretty accurate, apart from the ‘family-friendly’ bit – Hungry Shark World is...
Review Chicken Assassin: Reloaded (Switch eShop)
Cock-a-doodle-don’t
Everybody knows that the bird is the word on the Nintendo Switch. We got your humble Cuccos in the greatest Legend of Zelda ever made, a chicken who lays bombs, a duck who can throw down with the best of the best and even a boy who is an owl. Joining the feathered ranks is Mean Mcallister, the toughest chicken in t
Review Star Story: The Horizon Escape (Switch eShop)
Live. Die. Repeat.
"NO FREE-TO-PLAY! NO LOOTBOXES! NO GRINDING!" proclaims the eShop trailer. Developer EvilCoGames boldly assures players that Star Story: The Horizon Escape contains "ONLY FUN!" While it’s amusing to throw tired conventions and unpopular trends under the bus, ‘fun’ is a vague descriptor. What’s fun about this turn-based...
Review Super Destronaut DX (Switch eShop)
Get the duck (and 3D) out
Some say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and one of retro gaming's founding fathers Space Invaders has endured plenty of sycophancy over the last four decades. After appearing on the Wii U in 2015 and proclaiming the inclusion of a pixelated duck in its 2016 sequel before utilising the 3DS hardware a year...
Review Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion (Switch)
A faithful comedy RPG that’s lacking depth
Adventure Time is one of the best modern cartoons currently on the air. It’s nearing the end of its long run with its ninth and final season, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a show that’s so consistently funny for viewers of all ages while mixing in emotionally mature themes and content in one...
Review Touhou Genso Wanderer Reloaded (Switch)
Time to shrine
Ah, The Touhou series. Well, depending on your experience and exposure, the ‘project’ is either a long-standing production line of ‘Danmaku’ (curtain fire) bullet hell shmups, a vast array of parody and homages ranging from Castlevania clones to 3D fighters (in the form of Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle), or a vast,...
Review The Lost Child (Switch)
Pokémon meets Ghostbusters meets Etrian Odyssey?
If you find the setting for most modern JRPGs to be rather too much like the old JRPGs, The Lost Child might be of some interest. Set in present-day Tokyo, it casts you as Hayato, a junior reporter for an occult magazine who soon falls into the old journalistic trap of becoming part of the story...
Review Lost Sea (Switch eShop)
Muddy waters
Lost Sea is the latest roguelike to hit the Switch, and unfortunately, it doesn't fare too well against the competition. With poor presentation, questionable mechanics, and sometimes-frustrating gameplay, Lost Sea is bound to drift away into the depths of the eShop, where it likely won't make much of a splash (that's the last...
Review Discovery (Switch eShop)
Feeling creative?
When Minecraft took the world by storm and functionally created a new ‘sandbox’ genre, it stood to reason that there would be plenty of games which would try to muscle in and get a slice of the pie. Some of these games, like Dragon Quest Builders, had something to add to the formula which helped them carve out a niche while...
Review Legendary Eleven (Switch eShop)
Not even at the end of the day
There are moments in Legendary Eleven that are very enjoyable, such as super special moves that juggle the ball before launching it into the back of the net with an overhead kick and a button dedicated to dribbling, meaning you can fake and nutmeg your opponents as you approach the goal. Then there are the...
Review The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker (Switch eShop)
Tossed salad and scrambled eggs
With The Bunker and Late Shift both under its publishing belt, Wales Interactive has some strong FMV games on Switch. Its next foray into the genre comes from D’Avekki Studios, and this time you’ll need a clipboard, your best Freudian accent and plenty of patience. You are the replacement psychiatrist for the...
Review Legend Of Kay Anniversary (Switch)
Some legends are best forgotton
Every new(ish) console has its fair share of ports and remasters, and Nintendo Switch is no exception - especially when it comes to those that previously graced the perpetually sinking ship that was Wii U. And while we’ve been treated to Bayonetta/Bayonetta 2 and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, we’ve also...
Review Nihilumbra (Switch eShop)
Nothing to see here
Artistic video games aren’t something you see all too often from major video game companies, but indie studios are quite the opposite, being far more daring and bold in their pursuits. Sometimes these artistic games are done in a meaningful way, like with Journey, and other times they don’t quite seem to reach what they were...
Review Disco Dodgeball - REMIX (Switch eShop)
If you can dodge a wrench
Breaking away from its custom of pumping out pinball titles at an impressive rate, Zen Studios has decided to bring Robot Roller-Derby Disco Dodgeball back to life but with a much snappier name. The first iteration saw release on PC three years ago and now Switch owners can join in with minimal differences from...
Review Invisiballs (Switch eShop)
Let’s get ready to rumble
Created by Swiss indie developer Digital Kingdom, Invisiballs describes itself as a “competitive next-gen hide-and-seek,” aiming to utilise the unique features of the Nintendo Switch to make something a little different. It also gives off that immediate multiplayer party vibe that we see so often in the Switch’s...
Review Ice Cream Surfer (Switch eShop)
Vanilla flavoured
Stephen Hausdorff's zany comic returns once more to Nintendo platforms after leaving a bit of a sour taste on Wii U. No small feat considering Dolores Entertainment still completed this game’s production despite a failed Kickstarter campaign. But has the flavour (or lack thereof) improved since the previous serving? The sugar...
Review Timberman VS (Switch eShop)
Timber!
Timberman VS is Digital Melody's Switch enhancement of its free-to-play arcade title first released on Android and iOS devices in 2014 (and eventually ported across to Steam in 2015). If the name wasn't already enough of an indication, it's a game about chopping trees as fast as you can until your hands hurt. Given its mobile roots, the...
Review Cast Of The Seven Godsends (Switch eShop)
Hellspawned
Raven Travel Studios clearly has a lot of love for classic 16-bit platform games, but can its old school platform homage to Super Ghouls’n’Ghosts possibly live up to the source material or even stand up to the best among the current Switch library? Gods be with us. The Kingdom of Dareca is about to fall to Emperor Zaraaima. Prince...
