Switch eShop, Switch Game Reviews scoring 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6/10
Review Dream Alone (Switch eShop)
Should have stayed asleep
You’d be hard-pressed to make a list of the best indie games of all-time and not include Limbo either/or/and Braid in the top ten, as well as the recently released Inside. These are some of the best indie games ever made. Then on the other end of the spectrum, you have games such as Dream Alone that desperately try...
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 R.B.I. Baseball 18 (Switch)
Swing and a miss
R.B.I. Baseball 18 is the second title in the series to be released on the Nintendo Switch. Last year's title was lambasted with negative reviews across the board, and if you’re hoping for better this time around then, unfortunately, we are going to have to let you down gently. There was so much chatter around R.B.I. 18 prior to...
Review Drawful 2 (Switch eShop)
Pictionary this
Once resigned to The Jackbox Party Pack (which appeared on Nintendo Switch back in 2017), the co-operative party game that is Drawful returns with a solo outing that’s just as silly and throwaway as the original version. And while it’s a no-go for solo players, those looking for some couchplay tomfoolery need look no further...
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 Fallout Shelter (Switch eShop)
Up and atom
Unlikely as it seemed just 18 months ago, Bethesda has become a major third-party supporter for Nintendo. When Skyrim was first glimpsed in the Switch reveal trailer, many assumed that a quick rejig of a six-year-old game was something of a polite gesture on Bethesda’s part, yet they followed it with the brilliant DOOM, and we’ll...
Review Soccer Slammers (Switch eShop)
Cheap kicks
World Cup 2018 is upon us, and with it comes the inevitable rush of pick-up-and-play football games. Soccer Slammers is one such effort, and it's pretty much at the polar opposite end of the Switch footy game scale compared to FIFA 18 - for better and for worse. On the 'better' side, it forgoes the dry, manicured pomposity of EA's fully...
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 Super Sportmatchen (Switch eShop)
On your mark, get set, go!
If you’ve ever played Konami’s Track & Field series (also known as Hyper Olympic in Japan), you’ll no doubt remember the intense competitive aspects of these titles. Super Sportmatchen channels the spirit of these classics and has a slightly less serious tone. This is a single and multiplayer game focused on...
Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube767k Watch on YouTube Review Jumping Joe & Friends (Switch eShop)
An uphill battle
The floodgates have officially opened - bargain-bin games are now diluting the Switch eShop, and unless some serious action is taken to curate Nintendo’s newest digital library, it is unlikely there’ll be a resolution to this problem in the near future. With this in mind, Jumping Joe & Friends is another one to add to the...
Review Fallen Legion: Rise To Glory (Switch)
The best form of defence is attack
RPG developers have long struggled over how to make a turn-based battle system that excites on a visceral level. If nothing else, Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory suggests one possible solution to such a conundrum. This side-scrolling role-playing game features a competently written narrative as well as light...
Review Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles (Switch)
Yawnder
Take The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Harvest Moon, and Animal Crossing, mix it all together in a big game stew, and what do you get? Something that would no doubt closely resemble Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles. The newest release from Prideful Sloth certainly isn’t shy about the franchises and games that led to its...
Review Samurai Defender: Ninja Warfare (Switch eShop)
1,000 arrows for 1,000 knees
When you use both ‘Samurai’ and ‘Ninja’ in your game title, certain epic expectations come along with it. If the name sounds at all familiar, you might have stumbled upon the previous release of this game back on 3DS. Now having lost one screen while making the jump to the Switch, can Link Kit’s charming feudal...
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 Happy Birthdays (Switch)
You've got the whole world in your hands
It’s quite hard to categorise a game that tries its hardest to defy categorisation, but it’s often something that needs to be done, in order to inform the consumer what they will experience. Happy Birthdays is best surmised as a sandbox game which, while layered with wonderfully cute visuals of flora and...
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 Yesterday Origins (Switch)
Die another day
Do you like inspecting the bottom of objects? Do you enjoy looking at things with your eyes? Do you revel in the idea of browsing a person’s body and finding out information about their knees? If you answered yes, then here’s a game for you. Admittedly, much more happens within Yesterday Origins than just wandering and poking...
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 Punch Club (Switch eShop)
Super punched out
The idea of a fighting game in which you don't actually do any fighting might sound like an odd one, but that's precisely what you'll find in Punch Club. This is a conversion of a casual management simulator that started out life on PC and mobile before making its way to 3DS and other consoles last year. There have been no radical...
Review The Adventures of Elena Temple (Switch eShop)
Play a classic you never knew existed
Before the arrival of extensive open-world gaming, cutting-edge 3D graphics and online multiplayer connectivity, video games were much more humble. Life was simpler and the games of yesteryear were a reflection of this. The Adventures of Elena Temple by GrimTalin is for anyone who has a yearning for the past...
Review Fox n Forests (Switch eShop)
How does the fox play? (ring-ding-ding)
Although the idea of indie games using retro graphics is about as overdone as a chicken cooked in a volcano, very few of them are authentic. With a few exceptions – Shovel Knight and VVVVVV immediately spring to mind – the majority of indie games using 8-bit and 16-bit style visuals would simply never have...
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 Little Nightmares: Complete Edition (Switch)
A little bit Maw
Bestowed with a disquieting atmosphere and visual imagination, Little Nightmares makes a terrific first impression. A side-on platform-puzzler in the vein of Playdead’s exceptional Limbo and Inside - with a similarly dark palette - the game casts the player as Six, a nine-year-old girl who must navigate her way from the depths of...
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 InkSplosion (Switch eShop)
No use crying over spilled paint
Splatoon 2 and, to an extent, De Blob, have a lot to answer for. It seems that so many developers are attempting to ape the style that comes from splashes of paint spilling from a protagonist or vehicle. There’s a lot to be said for the visual style; bright colours bursting from a screen are always...
Review The Fall (Switch eShop)
More human than human
When it comes to the allegorical relationship between artificial intelligence and the meaning of life itself, fiction has done a pretty decent job of marrying the two. From Blade Runner and Humans, to Ex Machina and The Matrix, it’s path well worn by many a piece of art. So is there space for a fresh interpretation, and can...
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 Suicide Guy (Switch eShop)
End game
In this uncertain time where mental health is more of a concern than ever, there might have been a better title for Chubby Pixel's Suicide Guy. Oddly enough, the title does offer a good description of the game, but it's not what it sounds like. Suicide Guy doesn't deal with mental illness or depression; rather, it's a wacky, slapstick...
Review Samurai Shodown III (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
More samurai action on Switch
The Virtual Console might be dead, but via its Arcade Archives and ACA Neo Geo series, HAMSTER is doing a lot to scratch that retro gaming itch, with a constant stream of re-releases. Like a number of Neo Geo titles (including others from the same series) Samurai Shodown III is a one-on-one fighting game. As always you...
