Switch eShop, Switch Game Reviews scoring 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6/10
Mini Review Skellboy - An Amusing Take On Zelda That's Undone By Sluggish Performance
Don’t lose your head
In the once peaceful land of Cubold Kingdom, life is flipped upside down when the king’s court magician gets well and truly dumped by the princess. In a fit of rage, he unleashes death and destruction on the pixelated world, bringing forth a host of ferocious monsters. Unbeknownst to the magician, however, he has also...
Review Arc of Alchemist - One Of The Worst RPGs To Hit Switch So Far
An unfortunate concoction
Say what you will about the overall quality of its output, but never let it be said that Compile Heart doesn’t love to make RPGs. The studio – best known for its successful Hyperdimension Neptunia series – has always been prolific, to say the least, but alas, it’s also developed a reputation for putting out many...
Mini Review Sinless - A Cyberpunk Point-And-Click Adventure That's Over Too Soon
Sinful lens flare
The Switch most likely won’t be getting the cyberpunk game that everyone’s currently talking about (boo!), but that doesn’t necessarily mean that there are no examples of the genre available on the platform. Alongside titles such as Observer, Neo Cab and Astral Chain, Sinless is an
Review The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics - Solid But Unspectacular Tactical Action
Puppet Master
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics seeks to recreate the major plot beats and battles from Netflix's recent – and absolutely excellent – Dark Crystal prequel series in turn-based tactical strategy form. An expensive, multi-episode forerunner to the seemingly long-forgotten 1982 movie masterpiece was a somewhat unexpected...
Review Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire - Sub-Par Shmup Action On Switch
Aggressively generic
Booting up Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire for the first time, we were completely blind to everything about it. All we had to go from was the name, cute cover art, and the understanding that it is a shmup of some kind. We were optimistic as to what to expect. Judging by the 'moe' style and naming convention, we felt...
Review Mosaic - Biting Social Commentary Masquerading As A Video Game
Just another piece of the puzzle
Mosaic, from Krillbite Studio, isn’t an exciting game. It’s not going to keep you on the edge of your seat, and it won’t get your blood pumping. In fact, Mosaic isn’t even a game at all in a lot of ways; it's more of a grayscale pastiche of physical life in the digital age – but not one that ever follows...
Review Speaking Simulator - Tongue-Twisting Comedy Action With A Few Rough Edges
Robochops
Speaking Simulator is a comedy indie game that takes the idea of social anxiety and ramps it right up to eleven. You assume the role of Blank Textsfield, a hapless android who's been sent to earth to infiltrate human society, and in order to do so, he must engage in various social interactions while attempting to speak and act as though...
Review Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf - The Emperor Will Not Be Pleased
All bark and no bite
You find yourself all alone on an alien planet, nothing ahead of you except filthy worshippers of the evil Chaos Gods. That would usually be fine, as you are a Space Wolf; a son of Russ, bred specifically for battle and ready to die for your cause. But this time, there are a lot of enemies, and your mission is to search for an...
Mini Review Super Tennis - Calm Down, It's Not The Super Tennis You Think It Is
Double fault
Despite already appearing in the SNES library for Nintendo Switch Online, Super Tennis is ready to hit the court again with its very own eShop release. Boasting beautiful Mode 7 graphics and slick gameplay, Super… hang on… we’ve just got word that this isn’t the SNES game, but rather a completely new tennis title blessed with...
Review Soccer, Tactics & Glory - Unique Turn-Based Footy Action That's Not Always Nice To Watch
Manage your expectations
“Football is more and more like a game of chess,” Alex Ferguson once said in a 2009 interview. “In chess, if you lose your concentration for a second you’re dead.” Obviously he was speaking metaphorically – chess-based fatalities are extremely rare – but his point is an important one: when it’s played to a...
Review Ember - A Lightweight RPG That Burns Itself Out Faster Than We'd Like
Neverwinter Lite
N-Fusion's Ember, first released on iOS and PC back in 2016, is just about as generic as RPGs get. A love-letter to the classic isometric RPGs of the 1990s, it manages to pretty much nail the looks and sounds of your Baldur's Gates and Diablos, but it also strips away almost all of the depth, discovery and complexity of those titles...
Review Puzzle & Dragons Gold - Sadly, Not Everything That Glitters Is Gold
An unfortunate misstep in a beloved series
The Puzzle & Dragons series has been a juggernaut in the mobile gaming space for close to a decade now, due in no small part to its distinctly satisfying blend of RPG elements with match-3 puzzle action. Even today, the series still routinely pulls grosses well into the billions, which has naturally led...
Review Warhammer Quest 2: The End Times - Passable Fantasy Role-Playing Action
Dungeon brawling
The Warhammer licence has spawned countless games over the years – from surprisingly decent shooters to god-awful tactical offerings, and everything in between – but it’s when developers attempt to emulate the tabletop gaming that things can get really interesting. The original 1995 version of Warhammer Quest was recreated in...
Review AO Tennis 2 - A Decent Tennis Sim Ruined By Woeful Performance On Switch
Cue a backhanded compliment
Despite the fact that there are now officially more games on the Switch eShop than there are people living on the planet (citation needed), it’s fair to say tennis fans have severely limited options when it comes to games on the system. Sure, Mario Tennis Aces is great and all, but those looking for a more serious...
Mini Review Drunk-Fu: Wasted Masters - Plays Like Smash Bros. After A Few Too Many Drinks
You wanna take this outside?
Fighting games are generally known for their slick, precise gameplay. Even something like Super Smash Bros., well known for its accessibility, boasts a remarkable level of depth, perfect for competitive play. Drunk-Fu: Wasted Masters doesn’t quite match up (in fact, it really doesn’t), but its bizarre, physics-based...
Mini Review Gigantic Army - A Cybernator Homage That's Almost Over Before It Starts
Rocky robot
If you are a hardcore shooting game fan, three-man "dōjin" developer Astro Port might ring a bell. This small team has a clear love for the genre and have produced several shooters based on classics from the 16-bit generation over the past decade. It was a bit of a surprise to see an “old friend” pop up on both Switch eShop and in...
Review Princess Maker – Faery Tales Come True - A Lazy Update Of An Often Boring Life Sim
Tangled
Princess Maker - Faery Tales Come True, otherwise known as Princess Maker 3, was first released all the way back in January 1997. A simulation/management game, it sees you take the role of parent to a ten-year-old fairy whose been transported into the body – and complicated social life – of a human. Over the course of eight years it's up...
Review Blacksad: Under The Skin - Technical Woes Make This A Tough Case To Crack
Feline rough
Detective games can be an unpredictable sort. Their quality often comes down to A) how engaging the core mystery is, and B) how well its mechanics blend with the traditional features of their chosen genre. At their collective best, Telltale and LucasArts really nailed this delicate balance, but some of the recent Frogwares Sherlock...
Review Dr Kawashima's Brain Training for Nintendo Switch - Not Quite As Smart 14 Years On
Doctor Why
It’s difficult to overstate the importance of the original Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training (or Brain Age, if you’re based in North America). Even though these days many credit the Wii with bringing gaming to non-gamers via the likes of Wii Sports, it’s crucial to remember that Brain Training was doing it first, shifting countless DS...
Review Princess Maker Go!Go! Princess - A Painfully Dull Spin On A Cult Series
Princess Maker No!No!
CFK's Princess Maker Go!Go! Princess takes the premise of the Princess Maker series – to guide a young fairy-turned-human through her formative years by planning all of her social interactions, classes, work and leisure time in order to make her into the best princess she can be – and turns it into a board game. Instead of...
Mini Review Ultimate Racing 2D - Accessible Action Which Sadly Isn't Much Fun
Stuck on cruise control
Top-down racers, whilst never boasting the same level of depth as their 3D counterparts, are reliably accessible. They tend to put a playful spin on what is otherwise an often daunting gameplay experience for newcomers, allowing almost anyone to dive right in immediately. Ultimate Racing 2D succeeds in this respect, boasting...
Review LastFight - A Weak Clone Of Capcom's Legendary Power Stone
Power Nap
Piranaking's LastFight attempts to recapture the crazy multiplayer chaos of Capcom's classic Power Stone series, lifting its signature chaotic gameplay wholesale and transplanting it into the world of cult comic book Lastman. All of the most recognisable elements of Power Stone – small 3D fighting arenas, numerous objects and weapons...
Mini Review Space Pioneer - Solid Gameplay Let Down By Repetitive Design
One small hop for mankind
Just in its name, Space Pioneer immediately conjures up an undeniable sense of awe and spectacle. There’s a feeling that you’re going to be embarking on an epic journey of discovery as you take your first steps on one of many exotic planets. Space Pioneer certainly has a whole bunch of planets to explore, but the only...
Mini Review Tools Up! - An Overcooked Challenger Which Doesn't Quite Come Together
Undercooked gameplay
Let’s get one thing out of the way before we take a deeper look into Tools Up. Yes, it’s clearly a direct response to the phenomenal success of the Overcooked franchise, and no, it’s not quite as good. Nevertheless, that doesn’t make Tools Up a bad game, as such (it’s actually great fun when you get a few friends...
Review Gensou SkyDrift - A Mechanically Sound Mario Kart Clone That's Lacking In Longevity
Drive me home, please
If you aren’t familiar with the Touhou Project, it’s a series of ‘bullet hell’ shoot ‘em ups developed by Team Shanghai Alice, which actually consists of a single person who uses the nickname ZUN. Since his first release in 1997, ZUN has made a whopping 17 Touhou shooters, all of which enjoy a cult following for their...
Review Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition - An Unforgivably Sloppy Port Of A Genre Classic
Nights into screams
Imagine if you bumped into an old friend you hadn’t seen in 17 years. You spent ages with them back in the day and over time you just drifted apart, but now you’re finally face-to-face with them again and you realised you’re delighted to see them after all this time. Now imagine if you and your newly-reunited chum went out...
Mini Review Heroland - A Fun Twist On The RPG Genre Which Loses Its Novelty Too Quickly
See you on Monday. Bring a sword
Video games really are magical. In a mundane world, they’re a wonderful form of escapism where anyone and everyone can be a hero. This is particularly true in the legendary resort known as Heroland, where folks from all walks of life are encouraged to visit and live out their best hero life. Except, you’re not...
Review Deathtrap Dungeon Trilogy - A Somewhat Drab Retelling Of A Classic Series
Fighting (Fantasy) words
For readers of a certain age – to which this writer is very much a member – adventure gamebooks were the best. Splicing the agency of roleplay with the narrative depth of a fantasy novel, these souped-up ‘choose your own adventure’ novels took readers on all manner of dark and daring quests that could easily end...
Review Pine - An Ambitious Zelda Pretender That Fails To Find Its Feet On Switch
Pine; (verb) to languish, decline or weaken
Initially, we thought Pine was going to be a very pleasant surprise. It definitely doesn't bode well from the outset when the initial load takes just under three minutes. In situations like that, you can't help but wonder if the game has crashed. But no, patience was a virtue and in the time it took to fry...
Review Simulacra - An Interesting Horror Title That Doesn't Quite Hit The Mark
Tik Tok, you’re dead
What would you do if a mobile phone belonging to someone else was left on your doorstep? Chances are (in this day and age) the device is protected with face ID, fingerprint ID or a password and/or pin, so naturally any self-respecting citizen would turn it in to the police. But in Simulacra, an unusual glitch allows you to...