Koch Media Game Reviews
Review Let's Sing 2022 (Switch) - Reliable Karaoke Fun That Could Do With More Variety
More reissue than brand new
There are some things in life that are so predictably reliable, any change to the equilibrium would cause catastrophic disruption. Like the changing of the seasons, the annual holidays, and EA Sports’ insistence on screwing over Switch owners, Let’s Sing continues its annual releases with another set of both new and...
Review Windbound (Switch) - A Surprisingly Chill Survival Epic That Owes A Debt To Zelda
Bring me that horizon
The survival genre has been around for decades, but it seems that the rising prominence of indie game development over the last decade has led to survival games experiencing something of a renaissance, much like the Metroidvania and roguelike genres. Windbound – the newest release from 5 Lives Games – is the latest entrant...
Review Saints Row IV: Re-Elected (Switch) - Marvellously Madcap Open-World Fun
POTUS power
Few games do ‘fun’ with as much enthusiasm and self-awareness as Saints Row. While GTA tempers its acerbic tone and pop culture devotion with a firm set of in-game rules, Volition’s open-world series has always aired towards the silly and the slapstick. Want to throw yourself into oncoming traffic and ragdoll your way to insurance...
Review Metro: Last Light Redux (Switch) - A Big-Budget FPS That's Right At Home On Switch
Half Light
Metro: Last Light Redux sees the first-person survival horror adventures of post-apocalyptic Metro ranger Artyom continue in a sequel that seeks to up the ante in terms of big-budget bombast. There are lots of OTT on-rails sections here and even a couple of traditional boss battles thrown into the traditional Metro mix, but it's when it...
Review Metro 2033 Redux (Switch) - A Truly Astonishing Switch Port Of A Genre Classic
This is Sparta
When Metro 2033 originally released back in 2010, it was something of a graphical showcase that really put the latest consoles and custom-built gaming PCs through the wringer. Rebuilt from the ground up in 2014 for this enhanced 'Redux' edition in order to bring its visuals and gameplay more in-line with its sequel, Metro: Last Light,...
Review Ash Of Gods: Redemption (Switch) - A Gorgeous Turn-Based RPG Failure
Scammer Saga
Ash of Gods: Redemption wants to be The Banner Saga so bad it hurts. Everything about AurumDust's turn-based RPG is influenced massively by Stoic's superlative dark fantasy effort, and that's fine. It's got the exact same animation style, dark and brooding story, life-or-death decisions to be made, branching narrative, RPG elements,...
Monk-ey business
Redeemer: Enhanced Edition is the Ronseal of top-down beat-’em-ups. With no frills, bells or whistles, it does exactly what it says on the tin/box/eShop description. You’re a former soldier living in a remote monastery. And when some bad dudes attack your temple and kill your fellow monks, it’s up to you to embrace your old...
Purple reign
Once upon a time, Saints Row was tipped as the ‘new’ Grand Theft Auto, with its sprawling urban open-world and a big focus on gang warfare – and while it didn’t take long for us to realise developer Volition didn’t quite have the pedigree of Rockstar, once the series started embracing its over-the-top action and violence, it...
Review Manticore: Galaxy On Fire (Switch eShop)
In Space no one can hear you pew, pew, pew!
Flying your spaceship and shooting other bad spaceships will be what you will spend most of your time doing in Manticore: Galaxy on Fire. Fortunately, it's a refined and precise experience, with easy to pick up controls that allow for all sorts of flashy maneuvers. The left analog stick controls your ship...
A chilling experience
Kona seems to intent on reclaiming the term 'walking simulator,' which has become a bit of a slight of late. Describing a game as such instantly paints a picture of a barely-interactive first-person 'experience' that's more concerned with narrative than gameplay. And while it still ticks many of the aforementioned...
Review Puzzler World 2013 (DS)
A puzzling affair
There are a number of reasons why the Puzzler World series continues to see new life on DS. For one, it's still a bestselling series, which is no doubt partly down to the DS's impressive install base around the world. However, it's also the fact that the titles' word and logic puzzles — which historically have been restricted to...
