Game Reviews scoring 9 or 10/10
REVOlutionary?
It feels like Virtua Fighter 5 has been around for bloomin’ ages, and that’s because it has. Originally released in 2006, it’s been updated several times, remastered by RGG Studios with the Dragon Engine, received the highly-requested rollback netcode, and finally ported to current platforms, including the Switch 2. If I were...
Hey. Nice sneakers.
Back in 2023, Mimimi Games, the Munich-based indie studio that almost single-handedly reinvigorated the real-time tactical genre over the previous decade, released its very best game to date. And then it shut down for good. Of all the indie studio closures we'd had up to that point, this one felt like it got to me the most upon...
Review Blue Prince (Switch 2) - A Masterful Mystery, And One Of The Best Puzzlers Ever
Homes Under The Planner
Herbert Sinclair, the baron of Reddington's Mount Holly Estate, is dead. In his will, he leaves the estate, its grounds, and his title to you, his grandnephew, Simon. There is one condition: to prove yourself worthy of the gift, you have to find the mysterious 46th room in the 45-room manor, the location of which has never...
Review Tales Of Berseria Remastered (Switch) - QoL Tweaks Make A Brilliant Game Even Better
Redemption is here
2015 marked a low point for the Tales series. Tales of Zestiria was an underwhelming entry despite its exciting battle system. With a boring plot and mostly unimpressive characters, it wasn’t exactly an entry to write home about, at least for me. However, the follow-up entry, 2017’s Tales of Berseria, was nothing short of a...
Review Planet Of Lana 2: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition - A Charming Trek Through A Fantastic World
Mui and me
Planet of Lana released in 2023 to strong reviews, but flew under the radar. Wishfully Game's short and sweet indie platform puzzler was a real treat, with its painterly style and cute central partnership at its centre. While the original is still well worth seeking out, the story is quickly recapped in the opening moments of Planet of...
Review Scott Pilgrim EX (Switch 2) - A Gloriously Entertaining, Fan-Service-Filled Retro Brawler
Sweet! More coins!
Riding the cult success of Edgar Wright’s cinematic adaptation while keeping the aesthetic and charm of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s source material, Ubisoft's Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World game was a smash hit at launch. This gloriously retro co-op brawler still holds up today; its 16-bit charms remain well worth your time,...
Review Resident Evil Requiem (Switch 2) - Action And Horror Combine In A Series Highlight
Blood, blood, gallons of the stuff
There’s a moment during Resident Evil Requiem — actually, no, several moments — in which I laid the controller on my lap and just stared at the screen in awe. Over the last decade, the series has reclaimed its throne as the king of the survival horror genre, but Requiem pushes the quality bar higher than...
Go tell Aunt Rhody
Just in case you need yet another reminder of how old you’re getting, Capcom first revealed Resident Evil 7: Biohazard all the way back in June 2016 – almost a decade ago. Following its release in 2017 and a rather unsavoury cloud port on the Switch in 2021, Nintendo fans can finally experience Capcom’s soft reboot on Switch...
Review Reanimal (Switch 2) - Little Nightmares Team Delivers Its Darkest, Boldest Vision Yet
Not your average farm sim
If you’re a horror fan and you own a Switch 2, you should play Reanimal. From the moment it pulls you into its bleak, nightmarish world, it’s clear that developer Tarsier Studios is building on everything it learned from the Little Nightmares series while pushing its signature horror sensibilities to unnerving new...
Review Hollow Knight (Switch) - One Of The Finest Metroidvanias That's Not A Metroid Or 'Vania
Bugs now available on Switch 2
This review was originally published in June 2018 when Hollow Knight launched on the Switch 1. To celebrate the release of the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, we're republishing it along with some brief impressions of the free upgrade, which is available to download now. The Switch isn't exactly lacking for quirky...
Review Jimmy And The Pulsating Mass (Switch) - The Best EarthBound-Like You've Never Heard Of
Jimmy Dreams World
Early on in Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass, the young protagonist confronts a possessed frog statue in a house surrounded by a bloody lake. The possessor turns out to be a rotten Jack O’Lantern, capable of dangerous fire magic but with a goofy, cheerful grin. Defeating it, Jimmy stands where it used to be, and immediately...
Review Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined (Switch 2) - A Fantastic Makeover & The Best-Looking DQ Ever
Let's do the time warp again
Ready to feel old? It’s been about 13 years since the launch of the 3DS remake of Dragon Quest VII, which itself was released about 13 years after the original on the PSX. That means that it’s time for yet another remake of the storied classic, which has been dubbed Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined this time around. This...
May contain nuts
As a big old superhero nerd and a fan of Telltale's narrative adventure games of old, it's fair to say that Dispatch piqued my interest when it made its episodic arrival on PC and PS5 last year. Still, I took a punt and held back on purchasing because it simply had to be coming to Switch at some point in the future. Well, Jim of the...
Everybody's living in a Materia world
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gawked at the opening sequence to Final Fantasy VII over the years. From a three-year-old, gazing up at the intro for the first time from the carpet of my living room, to watching the camera zoom out and pan across Midgar in Final Fantasy VII Remake back in 2020, I’ve...
Review Dynasty Warriors: Origins (Switch 2) - A Super-Solid Port Of A Fantastic Reboot
Okay, you can pursue Lu Bu
Wading into Dynasty Warriors: Origins on Switch 2, I'm keenly aware that there's been a lot of conversation about the game's frame rate on Nintendo's console in the run-up to release. Yes, it's not a super-sweet 60fps as on some other platforms, and yes, that is a shame. However! Anyone who fancies a little Musou madness...
Review Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch) - An Approachable And Addictive Masterpiece
The shores of Bell
Over four years since Update 2.0.0 — which was billed as the "last major free content" — Animal Crossing: New Horizons Update 3.0.0 has arrived, alongside the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. Given the wealth of additions, we're republishing our review with an extra
Mini Review Stardew Valley: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition - Almost The Cream Of The Crop
A farm where you'll want a mouse
I’ve spent close to 300 hours with Stardew Valley since it landed on Switch in 2018. That feels like rookie numbers compared to other people, but even with the portability, the Switch version has always been slightly behind other versions in the multiplayer department, which is where ConcernedApe’s surprise...
A load of pollocks, or did they krill it?
Cast n Chill is one of those games that, the instant I clapped eyes on it, and even with other people telling me that it's real good, I got the feeling I'd just never get around to it. That's not to say fishing isn't for me or anything. I have fished in real life. Oh yes. My dad used to take me when I was a...
Review The Rogue Prince Of Persia (Switch 2) - A Worthy, Approachable Follow-Up To Dead Cells
PoP it like it's hot
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been the better part of a decade since the launch of Dead Cells, though its absurdly long stretch of post-launch DLC expansions and updates certainly helped to keep it in the average player’s consciousness. The original Dead Cells developer, Motion Twin, actually passed the buck in...
Review Despelote (Switch) - An Irresistible And Appropriately Beautiful Game
Back of the net
Editor's note: This game launched in North America on 11th December, but won't hit European eShops until 13th January. For some, football is something to play; for some, it’s something to watch; for others, it’s something to be scared of in the playground. But in 2001, in Ecuador, football meant just about everything to just...
Review Simogo Legacy Collection - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition - Nothing Less Than Essential
Flipping great
I had a moment of realisation while flipping my Switch 2 around in my hand and tapping at the screen in an effort to solve yet another clever-but-abstract puzzle. I realised that the Simogo Legacy Collection was one of the most unabashedly original sets of experiences I had encountered in a long time. The funny thing was that I had...
Review Octopath Traveler 0 (Switch 2) - A Bit Of A Retread, But Unmissable (And Enormous)
Zero to hero
In 2020, Square Enix released an interesting 'stopgap' in the Octopath Traveler series called Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent. This free-to-play mobile game took the gacha approach to design, regularly launching new units and storylines to interact with as the years rolled by. The company wrapped up that initial version in...
Mini Review Red Dead Redemption: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition - The Update That This Epic Deserved
"It's wanting that gets so many folk in trouble..."
The first time I played Red Dead Redemption was, of course, the day it launched. 2010 really doesn't seem all that long ago at all, but there was a level of expectation and excitement to those opening moments in Rockstar's utterly wild West that I do feel I haven't experienced in a very long time...
Review Metroid Prime 4: Beyond - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (Switch 2) - Samus Returns In Prime Form
Sy-luxurious
I’ve been waiting a long time for this. Ever since Metroid Prime 3: Corruption ended on a slight cliffhanger (provided you obtained the 100% completion rating) back in 2007, I’ve been wondering where exactly Nintendo and Retro Studios might take the series next. 18 years would follow, and that’s an awful long time to formulate an...
Review R-Type Delta: HD Boosted (Switch) - The Best R-Type? Possibly, And It's Never Looked Better
Playing with your balls
In the great pantheon of shoot-'em-up games, R-Type is both one of the greatest and one of the most excruciatingly difficult. Released in arcades in 1987 and drawing visual inspiration from the works of H.R. Giger, you pilot an R-9 fighter craft through spectacular alien worlds in a bid to destroy the Bydo Empire. Although...
Review Blippo+ (Switch) - An Uncanny Channel-Surfing Sim That Perfectly Captures '90s TV
Surprise and Deee-Lite
If you want to really understand (or remember) what TV looked like before the internet, Blippo+ is just the ticket. This unique little time capsule launched on Panic's Playdate in May and landed on Switch and PC in September. Now in full colour, this remarkable collaboration between the band Yacht, Telefantasy Studios,...
Review Yakuza Kiwami 2 (Switch 2) - One Of The Series' Very Best
Kiwami-likey
Sega and developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio are seemingly on a mission to bring as many Yakuza games to the Switch 2 in as short a time span as possible. With Kiwami and Kiwami 2 joining Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut, we’re already at three within five months of the console’s release. Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties next February will make it four...
You Korok my world
Back in 2014 when I picked up the very first Hyrule Warriors on Wii U, my expectations were set somewhere around 'Give me mindless musou action wearing its best Legend of Zelda costume and I'll be a very happy boy.' A simple boy, for sure, but a happy one. And I was a happy boy. I played through Hyrule Warriors in a delirious...
Review Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake (Switch 2) - Rounds Out The Erdrick Trilogy In Style
Erdrick of the tale
After its initial announcement of the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, Square Enix took a few years before it shared any further significant information on the project, which led some at the time to wonder if it had been cancelled or was facing development issues behind the scenes. When the company finally broke the silence and...
Mini Review Xenotilt: Hostile Pinball Action (Switch) - The Balatro Of Pinball Games
Cyber-nudge
Demon’s Tilt deservedly received praise for its occult-themed gameplay, with many deeming it a worthy spiritual successor to Devil’s Crush. Now, sole developer WIZNWAR is back with Xenotilt: Hostile Pinball Action, a cyberpunk-inspired twist that improves upon its predecessor in almost every conceivable way. Simply put, this is one...
