Ratalaika Games Game Reviews
Review Videoverse (Switch) - Miiverse-Inspired Visual Novel Is Beautifully Human
Chapter and Videoverse
Video games are good. The internet is good. Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that nowadays, but Videoverse — the second visual novel from Kinmoku — is determined to remind us of the impact of online communities and the relationships we forge through playing video games. It’s also the most accurate depiction of online...
Mini Review Heroes Trials (Switch) - A Solid Little RPG (Emphasis On The Little)
Trial of the sentry
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. Sometimes, simplicity and a healthy...
Mini Review I Am The Hero (Switch) - A Well-Presented, Retro-Style Beat 'Em Up
Hero of crime
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. I Am The Hero is an interesting beat em’...
Positively shocking
Confusion abounds with this one. This isn’t the same Shockman that was originally released for the TurboGrafx-16 back in 1991, which was a localisation of Japan's Shubibinman 2. This, Cyber Citizen Shockman, is a new 2023 translation of the original Shubibinman game from 1989; and frankly, that’s the most special thing about...
Mini Review Save Room (Switch) - RE4 'Inventory Tetris' Writ Large, Though Not Large Enough
Packing heat
Ever thought inventory management in 2005’s Resident Evil 4 is like a game in its own right? Well, in the internet age, everything happens eventually, so here's that game. In Save Room from Fractal Projects, you have a limited and specifically shaped inventory space on the left and a load of guns and stuff on the right. Simply slot...
Mini Review Klang 2 (Switch) - A Noisy But Satisfying Rhythm Adventure
Pitch please
There isn’t exactly an abundance of rhythm games available on the Switch (certainly not recently), so it goes without saying that Klang 2 sticks out a bit from the pack simply by catering to this oft-overlooked genre. We’re not sure why Tinimations decided to bring Klang 2 over to the Switch before its predecessor, but from what...
Mini Review Gynoug (Switch) - Switch Takes Another Fine Shmup Under Its Wing
Flappy bird[man]
It’s obvious from the moment you start Gynoug that this is another release from the same team that recently re-gifted the world Gleylancer, presenting players as it does with the same options using the same interface, just with a different Mega Drive shmup running underneath it all. This is great. As we mentioned in our other...
Mini Review Gleylancer (Switch) - A Brilliant 16-Bit Shmup Sparkles With Mod Cons
Stick to it and believe in your power!
Retro re-releases falling outside the familiar safety of the M2, Hamster, or Code Mystics stables are usually one thing and one thing alone — a plain ROM bundled with some inoffensive but unspectacular emulation options. It’ll work, it’ll be official, and... that’s about it. If those bland goals had...
Mini Review Kingdom Of Arcadia (Switch) - A Pleasant Little Not-Quite-Metroidvania
Metroidvania-lite
Kingdom of Arcadia’s premise should be familiar to everyone who loves gaming. Admit it, we’ve all imagined being sucked into one of our favourite gaming worlds at one point or another. That’s exactly what happens to Sam, a normal boy who is suddenly pulled inside his father’s arcade cabinet. Now stuck inside the Kingdom of...
Mini Review Mekorama (Switch) - It May Look Like Captain Toad, But Don’t Let That Fool You
Dior-iffic
Mekorama looks a lot like Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. There’s no getting around this, but in the same way that Metroid Prime looks a lot like other FPS titles, it doesn’t quite play the same. In fact, Mekorama is played entirely on the Switch’s touch screen (or with an on-screen cursor, if you wish), and feels completely...
Strategy fans will get a kick out of this
The beautiful game of football (or soccer for those across the pond) is generally known for its face-paced, high octane action. The players are constantly moving, constantly searching for that one crucial opening to find the back of the net. Ganbare! Super Strikers is an odd little duckling, then, as its...
Review One Night Stand (Switch) - A Unique Journey Through The Morning After
Was it good for you?
You swim into consciousness. Your eyes remain tightly shut, but you’re already far too aware of how bright the world is. It’s quiet, and yet the noise in your head is deafening. Your mouth feels like it’s full of sawdust, and each passing moment brings with it a new aching pain. You lie completely still, knowing that the...
Mini Review Legend Of The Skyfish (Switch) - A Poor-Man's Zelda
Hook, line and stinker
You don’t need to look very long at Legend of the Skyfish to know which series it takes influence from. Heck, the clue is in the name itself. Taking place on a set of islands, you take on the role of Little Red Hook, a girl with a particular talent of traversing the land and vanquishing foes with – of all things – a...
Mini Review Gravity Duck (Switch) - Finite Flashes Of Fowl Fun
Quack and easy
Gravity Duck is an odd little game, but a rather enjoyable one. It’s a 2D, pixel platformer in which you play as a duck gifted with the power to control gravity. After being promised riches in exchange for some golden eggs, the duck sets off to find those eggs in dozens of gravity-bending levels. The gameplay in Gravity Duck...
Review Paradox Soul (Switch) - One Metroidvania Too Many?
Dr. Rose, I presume
Another day, another Metroidvania. It feels like the Switch is getting a new one every week at the moment, and whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing will no doubt depend on your affinity with the genre. Whilst the Switch has become home to some of the finest examples of the genre in recent memory, such as Axiom Verge and...
Review Cybarian: The Time Traveling Warrior (Switch) - A Short But Sweet Action Throwback
Cyberpunk 577BC
Joining a seemingly never ending list of retro-inspired platform games, Cybarian: The Time Travelling Warrior has perhaps one of the most far-fetched premises around. You play as Cybarian, a butch barbarian from olden times who discovers the coveted Sword of Ages. Upon wielding the mighty sword, he suddenly gets magically transported...
Review Back In 1995 (Switch) - A Clumsy Survival Horror Tribute That's Lacking In Bite
Back in 1995 is where it belongs
Survival horror games are notorious for ageing quite badly. Despite their status as some of the most influential games of all time, titles like Resident Evil and Silent Hill feel positively archaic in design by today's standards. Even Resident Evil 4, recently released for the Switch, now has deep wrinkles showing in...
Review Bird Game + (Switch) - A Colourless Effort That Never Truly Takes Off
Even the name is winging it
Whatever the platform, whatever the medium, modern digital content stores are busy places. What makes your game stand out from the crowd on a place like the Switch eShop is a complex equation, though there are shortcuts. While Bird Game + isn’t going to draw anyone in with its title, the game’s commitment to...
Review Metagal (Switch) - A Mega Man Clone That Comes With A Mega Problem
A Wily attempt at mimicking a classic
There’s an old saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, yet while there’s certainly something to be gained through being inspired by a previously existing work, a new work generally must add something to the mix to keep things fresh and interesting. If the new work fails to add anything...
Review Tetra's Escape (Switch eShop)
Attack the block
Ever wondered what would happen if gaming grandaddy Tetris decided it didn’t want to spend the rest of its days dropping blocky shapes down an endless chute? Where would it go next? Try its hand as a first-person shooter perhaps? No, too predictable. A fighting game cameo? No, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has already reached full...
Review Super Destronaut DX (Switch eShop)
Get the duck (and 3D) out
Some say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and one of retro gaming's founding fathers Space Invaders has endured plenty of sycophancy over the last four decades. After appearing on the Wii U in 2015 and proclaiming the inclusion of a pixelated duck in its 2016 sequel before utilising the 3DS hardware a year...
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 Devious Dungeon (Switch eShop)
We're going deeper underground
There’s something to be said for a game with a simple concept. A piece of software that knows what it does, does that thing well and never tries to be anything else. It’s both a comforting constant and a reminder of just how grander and deeper said game could be if it mixed its recipe up a little bit more. It’s...
Review Midnight Deluxe (Switch eShop)
Driving at something different
Midnight Deluxe is a swift follow-up to last year's slight Switch eShop platformer, 36 Fragments Of Midnight. While it looks nigh-on identical, however, it's actually a very different game indeed. If 36 Fragments of Midnight was a fairly traditional bite-sized 2D platformer, Midnight Deluxe has more in common with the...
Review Twin Robots: Ultimate Edition (Switch eShop)
Dōmo arigatō, mister roboto(s)
Watt and Volt, the two robotic protagonists (whom we still can’t believe are not related to Chibi-Robo) have been around since 2013 when Twin Robots debuted on the Ouya. They have since trekked their way over to Steam and Wii U, now returning for the ‘Ultimate Edition’ on Nintendo Switch. So is this truly t
Review One More Dungeon (Switch eShop)
Monsters from the id
One More Dungeon may look like an old school RPG from screenshots, but really it harks back to id Software's early first person shooters in its focus and pacing. Wolfenstein 3D and Doom were tense, claustrophobic affairs that encouraged you to creep around their blocky environments, expecting an ambush at any time. So it is with...
Review Plantera Deluxe (Switch eShop)
Flex those green fingers
Gardening is said to be good for your health. It can relieve stress, help combat anxiety and depression, and improve your overall mental wellbeing. Studies conducted in the past have proven caring for a plant or garden is therapeutic and can better a person’s quality of life. So how does a video game about a virtual garden...
Review Squareboy vs Bullies: Arena Edition (Switch eShop)
Stand up to bullying
Squareboy vs Bullies: Arena Edition is an action-fighting game for one to two players. It was originally released on mobile devices (without the ‘Arena Edition’ tagline) and is inspired by Game Boy era brawlers; the mobile version’s user interface actually uses a Game Boy-like border to house its controls. The game has...
Review 36 Fragments of Midnight (Switch eShop)
A (very) quick stroll in the moonlight
The Nintendo eShop is a weird and wonderful place; some games are absolute gems, some are whatever-the-opposite-of-gems-is, and some leave you with more questions after completion than when you first started. 36 Fragments of Midnight falls into that latter category and, whilst it might work successfully if...
Review League of Evil (Switch eShop)
Up the wall
Platformers are deceptively simple and addictive beasts. Ever since millions of '80s kids discovered the hard way that walking in to a brown, eyebrow-sporting mushroom was unceremoniously fatal, jumping, spinning, dodging and stomping has become as synonymous with growing up as lunch boxes and grazed knees. The genre has evolved, changed...
