Switch eShop, Switch Game Reviews scoring 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6/10
Review Star Wars Episode I: Racer - This N64 Cult Classic Doesn't Quite Make The Podium In 2020
The Race of Skywalker
A long time ago in, erm, this galaxy, a game called Star Wars Episode I: Racer was a smash hit, leading to dozens of enthusiastic magazine reviews with the byline "now this is podracing!" Unfortunately, the intervening years have been unkind to the Star Wars prequels, but does that hindsight extend to this thoroughly...
Review Blair Witch - A Decent Horror Romp That Doesn't Quite Live Up To Its Tantalising Premise
The Blair Switch Project
1999's The Blair Witch Project was something of a milestone in modern cinema history. An independent, low budget hit that made mega-profits at the box office, it was the first truly successful "found footage" movie (although not "the" first) as well as the first to cleverly employ the internet in a viral marketing campaign...
Review Namco Museum Archives Vol 2 - An Eclectic Mix That's For Hardcore Fans Only
The other Galaga brother
Not content with releasing just one compilation of vintage 8-bit goodies this week, Bandai Namco has given us a second helping for those not completely satiated with the first batch of 11 games. Much like Namco Museum Archives Vol 1, this isn’t your typical Namco Museum compendium containing a cornucopia of coin-op...
Review Warborn - Solid But Unspectacular Advance Wars-Style Action
Unadvanced Wars
Raredrop Games' Warborn is a traditional turn-based tactics affair that takes the thoroughly tried and tested gameplay of the likes of Advance Wars – and, more recently, Wargroove – and adds great big sexy Gundam-esque mechanised robots and a generous dollop of '90s-style overwrought anime backstory to the mix. Fans of the genre...
Review Summer In Mara - Alluring Presentation Hides A Fundamentally Flawed Adventure
A bit of a shipwreck
In February of last year, a promising project called Summer in Mara was released on Kickstarter. Appearing as something of a cross between The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and the Harvest Moon games, many fans were quickly enamoured by the cute art style and seemingly wholesome story. A little over a year later, Summer in...
Mini Review Poopdie - Chapter One - Like Poop, Butts And PewDiePie? Then You're In Luck!
Everyone else, not so much...
At first glance, Poopdie - Chapter One is an enormous rip-off. Every aspect of its presentation calls to mind Edmund McMillen and Florian Himsl's seminal roguelike The Binding of Isaac. Taking a step back, we gave it a second glance, and yep – this game wants to bite Isaac's style so hard it's on the verge of drawing...
Mini Review Super Toy Cars 2 - A Cute Racer Saddled With Technical And Balancing Problems
Diminutive returns
Racing around everyday domestic environments in dinky toy cars isn't a fresh concept for Switch owners. Not only have we already had the original Super Toy Cars, but Table Top Racing: World Tour - Nitro Edition, too. Super Toy Cars 2 doesn't exactly have novelty on its side, then. Unfortunately, it doesn't have an awful lot else...
Review Adam's Venture: Origins - Uncharted For Switch? You've Got To Be Kidding
Nothin' Drake
Oof. There's no reason to beat around the bush with this one; Adam's Venture: Origins is an ugly, ugly game. In fact, graphically, it's one of the worst-looking titles we've ever seen on the Switch. It's muddy, glitchy and aesthetically dull. There's constant shimmering, shockingly blurry low-resolution graphics, appalling textures and...
Review Synaptic Drive - A Fun But Bare-Bones Custom Robo Successor
Customless Robo
Delve in the uncomfortably long list of Nintendo game series published in Japan that never really had a chance to shine in the West, and you will undoubtedly stumble upon Custom Robo. This game series developed by NOISE began on Nintendo 64, offering tight solo and multiplayer arena fighting action with customizable robots. The...
Review Skelattack - A Likeable Platformer Suffering From A Bit Of An Identity Crisis
Dem bones, dem dry bones
Skeletons are brilliant. Their clickety-clacking, rattle-me-bone structures are unambiguously fun to look at, and – best of all – no matter how terrible the fate of the fleshy prison surrounding a skeleton, they always look really happy. It's always a treat to dive into a game like Skelattack that features skeletons so...
Mini Review Indiecalypse - A Deeply Unpleasant Game About Games
That joke isn't funny any more
Humour is highly subjective, so we're quite willing to concede that you might – might – find Indiecalypse hilarious. We only wish we could say that you'll find it fun to play with the same level of confidence. This bawdy adventure sees you taking control of three nerds as they bid to make a video game. It's a...
Review Minecraft Dungeons - A Simple Action RPG That Relies Too Heavily On The Minecraft Name
Block party
Minecraft has become an institution since its inception as a humble indie game, having since become the best-selling video game ever while also solidifying a new genre that’s been iterated on countless times in the years since it released. It would stand to reason that a brand with that kind of power would go on to generate all kinds...
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...
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 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 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 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 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...
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...
Review Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl - An Enjoyable 8-Bit Throwback, Warts-And-All
Licensed 8-bit beat-'em-ups don't just fall outta the sky, you know
It's appropriate that the first Kevin Smith video game is a retro throwback, because the stoner director's output has been increasingly insular in recent years. More power to him making things he wants to see, but the recent Jay and Silent Bob Reboot didn't endear us to the idea of...
Review Battle Princess Madelyn Royal Edition - One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
Mulling over Madelyn's mulligan
Capcom's legendary Makaimura series, better known to the West under the titles Ghosts 'n Goblins and Ghouls 'n Ghosts, has been a source of inspiration to many, many pretenders throughout gaming history. Its intoxicating mixture of vivid graphics, unique levels and punishing difficulty have made it both memorable and...
Review Dread Nautical - Damp Tactical Action Which Fails To Excite
Cruising for an eldritch bruising
You'd think being trapped on a cruise ship under the influence of some mysterious malevolent entity would engender a sense of urgency, but Dread Nautical seems content to take it easy. It's all very casual stuff. World's collapsing, sure. Lines between realities are bleeding together. Sanity's starting to look like...
Review Billion Road - Like Pokémon Meets Monopoly, But Not As Cool As It Sounds
Does it deserve to Monopolise your time?
In a world where Switch owners already have access to both a serviceable version of Monopoly and Pokémon Sword and Shield, do we really need a game that combines the two? For most people, the answer is "probably not". But that's got nothing to do with Billion Road's concept, and everything to do with its...
Mini Review Later Daters - A Poignant Dating Sim That's Over Far Too Quickly
A short-lived romance
Later Daters argues that it's never too late to find love. From developer Bloom Digital Media, you take on the role of an ageing pensioner settling into life at Ye Olde Retirement Community, where the prospect of romance fills the air. The game plays out as a visual novel, presenting you with a vast array of choices and...
Review Totally Reliable Delivery Service - Return To Sender
FedEx-cruciatingly bad
We’re quite sure game devs don’t go out of their way to make a bad game. Normally, a game’s quality – or lack thereof in many cases – is a direct result of budgetary limitations, time restrictions, unexpected bugs, and many, many more variables. It really feels, though, that We’re Five Games are playing some kind...
Mini Review Chapeau - Multiplayer Fun Ruined By Awkward Controls And Limited Scope
If you want to get ahead, get a hat
Chapeau is quite possibly one of the most bizarre multiplayer games we’ve played in a good while. Pitting up to four opponents against one another, you take control of a sentient hat, with the aim of the game being to ‘tag’ as many humans as possible by leaping onto their heads. It’s a chaotic game that...
Review Gunbrick: Reloaded - A Painfully Tedious Puzzler Which Isn't Worth The Effort
Square goes
Following the formerly-exclusive (and really rather good) Bomb Chicken, developer Nitrome has returned with a whole new puzzle-platformer in Gunbrick: Reloaded. Well, we say "new", but that "Reloaded" in the title should really cue you in that we're dealing with the redux of an existing game, here – and if it didn't, one look at the...
Review Cooking Mama: Cookstar - Definitely Needed More Time In The Oven
Undercooked
It’s been rather fascinating to follow the slowly unfolding trainwreck of Cooking Mama: Cookstar over the past week or so. What began as an innocuous and unassuming new release in a beloved series has quickly grabbed headlines after its mysterious and sudden disappearance from storefronts. Conspiracy theories around copyright...