Wales Interactive Game Reviews
Mini Review Dead Reset (Switch) - A Gory, Sci-Fi Take On Groundhog Day
What if there were no tomorrow?
Developer Wales Interactive is back with another FMV game, this time joining forces with movie studio Dark Rift Horror to present an Alien-inspired sci-fi romp with Dead Reset. Much like previous titles such as The Bunker and Five Dates, this latest effort has you make key choices at frequent intervals to influence...
Review Into The Restless Ruins (Switch) - A Marvellous Meld Of Dungeons, Deckbuilding & Auto-Combat
Celtic connections
It's possibly becoming a bit of a hard sell these days, the old roguelike dungeon-crawling adventure, replete with retro/pixel visuals. We know it. However, as busy and as overstuffed with pale imitators to the greats as this genre is, it's still well worth keeping an eye out for the odd gem. And here we have an example of said...
Review Ten Dates (Switch) - A Surprise Second Date Where More Is Better
"What's yer name and where d'ya come from?"
Looking back on Wales Interactive’s Five Dates in 2023, more than two years after its debut, reveals a fascinating glimpse into what life was like during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a game that leans heavily into the idea that the dating world has migrated online, forcing singletons to...
Mini Review Five Dates (Switch) - An Amusing Dating Sim That Doesn't Seem To Know Its Audience
“Are you courting?”
Lockdown in 2020 has undoubtedly forced us – as a society – to rethink a few things. Gone are the simple pleasures of attending a concert or a sports game, and even the anxiety-inducing dating scene has largely migrated to the online world. With this in mind, Wales Interactive has concocted a surprisingly funny, authentic...
Review Simulacra (Switch) - 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...
Review Time Carnage (Switch) - A Silly But Mildly Enjoyable Tribute To Classic Light Gun Shooters
Time to kill
It’s surprising there aren’t more VR ports on Nintendo Switch. Sure, you can’t enjoy the sensory immersion of wearing a headset, but with the support for motion-controls via the Joy-Cons there’s a huge amount of potential to utilise the console’s unique hardware features. Thumper made a fine port from VR to Switch and Surgeon...
Review Moonfall Ultimate (Switch) - A Failed Attempt To Update Sega's Golden Axe For The Modern Age
Hack. Slash. Repeat.
A good 18 months in and Nintendo Switch isn’t struggling for content - especially when it comes to role-playing games. Be they turn-based affairs or action-RPG romps, owners of this plucky hybrid machine have a buffet of long-form adventures to gorge on. So when a new entry tries to hack and slash its way into this packed...
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 Late Shift (Switch eShop)
Tuck your shirt in, mate!
That grandiose term ‘interactive entertainment’ has been bandied around for decades, usually rolled out when the word ‘game’ feels too throwaway or restrictive. Sure, it’s highfalutin, but sometimes it’s simply a more accurate descriptor. FMV release Late Shift is a case in point – it’s likely to garner...
Review The Bunker (Switch eShop)
Underground in Siberia, James?
If you’re old enough to remember the sound of dial-up modems with fondness, you probably have a similar wistful nostalgia for full motion Video games. The mention of Night Trap or Wing Commander III will elicit memories of an era when new-fangled CD-ROMs enabled actual video in our video games, and FMV seemed somehow...
Review Coffin Dodgers (Switch eShop)
Race for your life
Whenever a kart-racer is released on a Nintendo platform it’s pretty impossible to avoid comparing it to the Mario Kart franchise; the mustachioed plumber’s sublime series of games is almost incontrovertibly the best option available in the genre, and it would take something pretty special to knock it off the podium’s top...
What are words worth?
Would you say that you like the solutions in your games spelled out for you? In that case, Typoman is here to punish you for your careless use of language. This side-scrolling platform-puzzler spells things out for you alright. Its protagonist, antagonists, and essential level furniture are all quite literally made up of the...
Review Don't Knock Twice (Switch eShop)
Seriously, don’t
Don’t Knock Twice is a first-person horror game, based on the film of the same name that was released last year. The story sees you take the role of Jess, a mother who had to give away her child at a young age but is now hoping to reconnect with her. Your daughter, Chloe, is in a bit of a pickle with some paranormal forces and...
Review Soul Axiom (Wii U eShop)
It's got soul, man
Soul Axiom is a spiritual successor to Master Reboot, a rather decent and interesting Wii U eShop title from Wales Interactive. They're not directly tied together, but thematic and stylistic crossovers deliberately nudge and wink at those with experience of the previous release, while Soul Axiom also goes its own way. Ultimately,...
Review Infinity Runner (Wii U eShop)
Keep on running...
Wales Interactive has become a new name to Nintendo gamers in the Wii U generation, with Gravity Badgers being a fun but 'casual' game and Master Reboot being a rather intriguing, story-driven experience. Next up is another typically diverse approach with Infinity Runner - as the name makes clear it's a runner title, utilising a...
Review Master Reboot (Wii U eShop)
Or Enaid Coll, if you prefer
With its continual growth the Wii U eShop library is bringing us a diverse range of games across various genres, yet Master Reboot from Wales Interactive nevertheless succeeds in delivering something unique to the platform. Previously released on PC and PSN, it's an ambitious effort that has moments of brilliance and a...
Review Gravity Badgers (Wii U eShop)
Out of this world
Badgers and space are certainly two things we would have never expected to see together, but then here's Gravity Badgers, a game all about badgers in space. Originally released for PC, this relatively unknown game has now received a Wii U port, but is it worth your time? The plot in Gravity Badgers is almost non-existent, but...
