Microids Game Reviews
Pyramid scheme
Isn’t it comforting to settle in with a good book that you already know? Microids certainly seem to hope so, as their Studio Lyon is snuggling yet another Christie classic right into your Switch. A follow-up to 2023’s Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile may not be as big as that choo-choo colossus, but it nearly is...
You Twinsen, you lose some
You may not have heard of Little Big Adventure, but if you have, it’s likely you remember it fondly. It popped up on PC in the last months of 1994, then found its way to PlayStation and other platforms. It didn’t shift millions, but it gained cult status for its unique atmosphere, inventive controls, and memorable...
Review The Smurfs - Dreams (Switch) - Not Quite Smurf, But Surprisingly Smurf
Don't smurf on this one
We have a confession to make: we were almost certain we knew how this review was going to go before we even started playing The Smurfs - Dreams. After all, on paper it didn’t appear that anything special was on the cards. Publisher Microids is generally known for releasing solid enough games, but French developer Ocellus...
Review Agatha Christie - Murder On The Orient Express (Switch) - A Clever New Spin On An Old Mystery
Train of thought
When a mystery story has been told millions of times before, how can it still be a mystery? This is the challenge faced by anyone adapting Agatha Christie’s phenomenally widely-read 1934 novel, Murder on the Orient Express. And just in case anyone missed out on the book, decades of film adaptations have also solved the case again...
It’s-a me, Poir-i-ot
The Agatha Christie Poirot games have a long and mixed history. They go right back to PC games in the early 2000s and continue through to the likes of The ABC Murders, which also made it to Switch back in 2020. Over the years, different developers and publishers have picked up the Christie brand and delivered a range of...
Review Smurfs Kart (Switch) - Not As Smurf As Smurf, But Surprisingly Smurf
Not half as Smurf as we'd Smurfed
When it comes to karting games, you can either try something new in an attempt (and likely failure) to reinvent the genre, or you can play it safe and just take notes from Mario Kart. Smurfs Kart has absolutely no qualms about going with the latter option, with barely a shred of originality to be found in its game...
Review Oddworld: Soulstorm (Switch) - Ol' Abe Still Intrigues, But He's Shackled To The Past
Still stuck in the '90s
The Oddworld series has never quite evolved past its late 1990s roots; the grimy puzzle-platformer was a unique take on the genre for its time, yet hasn’t really made a mark with the handful of releases and ports since its debut. A shame, as Oddworld, with its Mudokon slaves, the half-mechanical Sligs, and industrialist...
Mini Review Beyond A Steel Sky (Switch) - A Nostalgic Return To Adventure Gaming's Golden Age
Cat hair moustache?
The first golden age of the point-and-click adventure was brief. Just moments after Lucasfilm Games graduated from the kindergarten clunk of Maniac Mansion, The Dig was in its Spielberg-endorsed grave. That was 1987 to 1995. Everyone agrees the early '90s were where it was at – even those who wrongly preferred Sierra Online...
Review Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot: The First Cases (Switch) - More Visual Novel Than Puzzler
Compels me, though
Mystery fans will have been keeping an eye on Hercule Poirot: The First Cases following the frightful crime scene that was The ABC Murders. The Belgian detective’s latest arrival on Switch is again courtesy of French publisher Microids, but the developer this time is Blazing Griffin, who have engaged with the Ardennian gumshoe...
Review Blacksad: Under The Skin (Switch) - 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 Garfield Kart Furious Racing (Switch) - A Rancid, Regurgitated Hairball Of A Racer
This kitten's got flaws
“Garfield, the famous lasagna-loving cat, is back!” That’s according to the description for Garfield Kart Furious Racing on the Nintendo eShop. The reality, however, is quite another matter entirely. Despite a description (and a price tag) that would suggest this is a sequel to the infamous Garfield Kart, we’ve got...
Review Gear.Club Unlimited 2 (Switch) - Sluggish Controls Force This Real-World Racer Off The Track
Back of the grid
Last year’s Gear.Club Unlimited was a decent attempt at bringing a ‘serious’ racing game to the Switch. Based on a mobile game, the ‘Unlimited’ part of the title referred to the scrapping of microtransactions and all the other nonsense you got when playing it on your phone. Although Gear.Club Unlimited was a good start, it...
Review Toki (Switch) - Gorgeous Arcade Platforming That's Over All Too Quickly
Chimpin’ ain’t easy
Of all the ‘80s and ‘90s retro games getting modern remakes these days, it’s probably fair to say that Toki wasn’t exactly on most gamers’ wishlists. While it was an entertaining action platformer back in the day, it’s one of those titles that very much remained in the 20th century and is rarely brought up in...
Conrad returns
It could happen to anyone. One day you’re having a lovely morning enjoying the mundane lifestyle of 2142, the next you discover an alien race has infiltrated the human race and you’re downloading your own mind to a holocube before being captured and memory wiped by the very same species you were about to expose. Conrad B. Hart’s...
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...
Put your back into it
The King is dead. Long live the King! His ghost, however... a bit of a loud mouth braggart. He will not be shutting up until his final request is granted: bury his coffin in a suitable catacomb filled with riches. After some wheels get attached to his coffin, it is up the Princess to push and pull the titular 'chariot' along...
Snow Joke
While the first Syberia game may have arrived on the Nintendo Switch a full fourteen (ish) years after its initial PC release, its point and click legacy has no doubt been felt since, and there have been a few decent modern examples - such as Thimbleweed Park and Violett - on Nintendo's hybrid system. Not to be outdone, the second...
Review Gear.Club Unlimited (Switch)
Aiming for top gear
When it comes to video game expectations, context really is king. As the first thing resembling a ‘proper’ racing game on Switch, Gear.Club Unlimited has a certain amount of goodwill stored up for it. Conversely, Gear.Club’s mobile past means that racing fans will be watching with an unusually critical eye. It initially...
Toying with your emotions
Point-and-click adventure games have historically found their audience on PC, especially in the heyday of the early-to-mid '90s with series such as Broken Sword and Monkey Island. While there has always been a core fanbase for this style of game on mouse-driven systems, the genre has been brought into both the console with...
Review Brutus & Futée (3DS eShop)
Et tu, Futée
You'd be forgiven for not being especially inspired by the title of Brutus and Futée, as two unknown character's names doesn't really strike that much confidence in consumers. The title also doesn't give anything away in regards to the gameplay itself, so is this strangely named game worth your time? The two titular characters in...
