WayForward Game Reviews
Review Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution (Switch) - A Cool Time Capsule Of A Game
Better late than never
Though Shantae has become well-established today as a recognisable indie gaming icon, there was once a time when the purple-haired half-genie hero struggled to find an audience. The original Shantae released for the GBC in 2002 and suffered poor sales, which led to publishers being unwilling to pick up the tab for funding the...
Review Clock Tower: Rewind (Switch) - Pre-RE Survival Horror That's Elevated By Extras
Snip, snip
Video game preservation still has a long way to go, but it’s difficult to imagine a re-release of Human Entertainment’s Clock Tower ten, or even five years ago. Yet thanks to rapidly growing interest in retro gaming and the resulting explosion of compilations and re-releases over the last few years, this curious SNES survival horror...
Mini Review RetroRealms: Halloween (Switch) - A Fun & Faithful Slasher Romp
Everyone's entitled to one good scare
The Halloween franchise is a complicated beast. You’ve got the original timeline, the Thorn timeline, the H20 timeline, the Blumhouse timeline, the Rob Zombie remakes and, finally, the adorably weird loner that is Season of the Witch. It’s all a bit overwhelming at the best of times, so thankfully,...
Mini Review RetroRealms: Ash Vs Evil Dead (Switch) - A Gorgeous & Gory 16-Bit Throwback
Groovy
Given the sheer absurdity of the Evil Dead franchise, it’s a wonder we haven’t received anything quite like RetroRealms: Ash vs Evil Dead in the past. Yes, there have been a handful of video games featuring everyone’s favourite boomstick-wielding drunkard Ash Williams, but this latest effort from developer WayForward and publisher Boss...
Review Yars Rising (Switch) - A Stylish, Ambitious Revival Of An Atari Classic In Metroidvania Form
Qotroidvania
Over the past few years, Atari has been revisiting its storied history with compilation titles, remakes, reboots, and surprise sequels. So while a revival of Yars’ Revenge really shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise, we have to admit to being a bit taken aback by Yars Rising. After all, what was once a stylish, yet basic...
Review Rose & Camellia Collection (Switch) - An Enjoyably Absurd Yet Frustrating Slapathon
Slappiness is the truth
Certain problems cannot be solved through careful discussion or compromise. Sometimes it isn’t enough to give a verbal beatdown to your rival – you must throw hands as well. The Rose & Camellia series was built upon the idea that not only is a good old-fashioned slapfight fun, but it is often the only dignified way a...
Review Contra: Operation Galuga (Switch) - Does The Series Proud, But Best Played Elsewhere
Aggressively attacked
With Konami seemingly devoid of both in-house developers and any kind of passion to revive their beloved IPs, WayForward, predominately a licence mule during the '00s, is by far the best option for a new Contra entry. Its work on 2007’s brutally hardcore Contra 4 cemented the developer's prowess, allowing the player to...
Mini Review Xtreme Sports - A Switch Return For Some Gnarly But Limited GBC Minigames
California dreaming
2D sports titles have had their place since Konami’s Track & Field rattled arcade screws loose with its fiercely competitive button rapping. WayForward’s Xtreme Sports draws influence from California Games, a summery seaside boardwalk of hip events and addictive tap-a-thons. You have two characters to choose from, dude or...
Review Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp (Switch) - A Pair Of Strategy Gems Delightfully Reimagined
Black Hole Sun
After two lengthy delays to its original release date of December 2021 — a combination of last-minute fine-tuning and "recent world events" (aka Vladimir Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine) — Wayforward's Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp is finally here. This pair of Game Boy Advance classics have stood the time incredibly well...
Review Lunark (Switch) - The Love Letter The Cinematic Platforming Genre Deserves
That's both a moon AND a space station
Lunark sends players into the retro-future we all thought the '80s would be. It brings a world of flying cars and corrupt mega-corporations to life with vibrant pixel graphics and rotoscope animation. At its best moments, Lunark is an effective love letter to the cinematic platformer, a genre of gaming that...
Review River City Girls 2 (Switch) - The Girls Are Back With A Strong, Albeit Safe, Sequel
No relation to the Scottish soap opera
Wayforward is on the top level when it comes to long-standing indie developers. Sure, not every game is a winner but when they do land, the studio knocks it out of the park. A long history of bangers has made it one of the most respected developers in the game, and one genre it consistently excels in is the...
Review RWBY: Arrowfell (Switch) - Passable Action Platforming With Buried Potential
Not the Grimmest of outcomes
About a decade ago, Rooster Teeth launched a new anime web series called RWBY, which went on to spawn a reasonably successful media franchise. Yet—aside from a rather unfortunate hack ‘n’ slash game that bombed—RWBY’s only representation in video games consisted of a handful of mobile games and cameo...
Review Spidersaurs (Switch) - A Love Letter To Contra And A Fun Ride While It Lasts
Contrasaur
WayForward Technologies has made a name for itself as one of the best developers out there when it comes to retro-flavoured projects, from their excellent beat-em-ups like Double Dragon Neon and River City Girls to Metroidvanias like The Mummy Demastered and its signature Shantae series. The studio excels at that throwbac
Review Dawn Of The Monsters (Switch) - Superior Co-Op Kaiju Combat With Pacific Rim Vibes
Kaiju feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last
A belt-scroller starring kaiju and Tokosatsu-style giant mecha isn't exactly an original idea. SNK's not-that-great King of the Monsters series did it first, but here's the scoop — Dawn of the Monsters does it better, with a game that'll make you feel five hundred feet tall. And scaly. And...
Review BloodRayne Betrayal: Fresh Bites (Switch) - Sheer Bloody Style Atones For Poor Platforming
Bloody re-vamp
The customer is always right, so the saying goes. But when BloodRayne Betrayal: Fresh Bites presents to you its wares, it’s not quite ready to concede that much. If the customer thinks there’s actually a few too many monsters on screen, well, they’re wrong. If they think those platforms are a bit too narrow, that’s also...
Review Shantae (Switch) - A Dated Dance That Completes The Set On Switch
It doesn't cost hundreds to play it anymore!
Though Shantae has gone on to become an indie gaming icon, her origins were much dicier. The original Shantae was potentially planned as a SNES or PC release before it finally settled on the Game Boy Color. Production went well, but the game required an expensive cartridge which caused many publishers to...
Review Bakugan: Champions Of Vestroia (Switch) - The Kids Deserve So Much Better
Pokemon: Let's No
The great big battle beasts of Bakugan, alongside their pint-sized schoolkid handlers, have been doing the rounds on TV and in various video/card games since 2007's Bakugan: Battle Brawlers series. This latest outing sees developer Wayforward attempt to shoehorn this universe into a Pokémon: Let's Go-style monster collectathon...
Review Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut (Switch) - Showing Its Age, But Still A Fun Ride
Risky click of the day
Though Shantae has become a mainstay in recent years, it wasn’t too long ago that this franchise was scarcely more than a niche curiosity. The original Shantae was an indie game in a time before indie games were in vogue, and its release at the very end of the Game Boy Color’s lifespan didn’t do it any favors in...
Review Trollhunters: Defenders Of Arcadia (Switch) - WayForward Take A Big Step WayBack
You're trolling us, surely?
Call off the hunt, the trolls have been located. Somehow they have infiltrated WayFoward, usually purveyors of fine digital entertainment, and forced them to create this, the drabbest platformer in recent memory. Worse, it is cynically wrapped in the skin of a TV show that is, by all accounts, legitimately wonderful (this...
Ret-2-go!
About 20 years ago, few probably could’ve guessed that the Shantae series would be firing on all cylinders by now. The initial release of this charming Metroidvania series saw a release late in the life of the Game Boy Color and never received the spotlight it deserved, but after about a ten-year hiatus, the series came back and has been...
Mini Review Cat Girl Without Salad: Amuse-Bouche (Switch) - A Surprisingly Fun Shooter
You want fries with that?
Boasting what is quite possibly one of the most ridiculous titles ever, Cat Girl Without Salad: Amuse-Bouche actually started life as an April Fool’s joke back in 2013. Skip ahead seven years, and it’s now an actual, tangible game; a really good one at that. It’s a shoot-em-up at heart, but its gameplay is also...
Review Vitamin Connection (Switch) - A Charmingly Unique Co-Op Experience, When It Works
Co-op cure-'em-up is a mostly sweet pill to swallow
It might sound like a health supplement conference, but Vitamin Connection turns out to be one of the zestiest Switch exclusives of the year so far – which shouldn't come as too much of a surprise when you consider that the developer behind it, WayForward, is responsible for the joyful Shantae...
Review River City Girls (Switch) - Streets Of Rage 4 Has Some Real Competition
A girls' fight out
The Kunio-kun series has been around for more than three decades in Japan, delivering a steady stream of quality titles mostly featuring its trademark art style: chunky characters with big heads. Some of the games made it to the west under various guises – Renegade, Super Dodge Ball, Crash ‘n The Boys, Nintendo World Cup and...
Review Mighty Switch Force! Collection (Switch) - A Great Bundle From A Classic Series
Ne-naw, ne-naw!
When Mighty Switch Force! released on the Nintendo 3DS back in 2011, it became somewhat of a sleeper hit. Displaying Wayforward’s flair for originality with a dash of eccentricity, it soon spawned a sequel, a spin-off title and its very own HD remaster, all in the space of just 4 years. Now, the series has been brought together on...
Review Shantae And The Pirate's Curse (Switch eShop)
It hasn't aged a day
Back in 2014, Shantae And The Pirate's Curse graced Wii U and 3DS, and many hailed it as the best Shantae release yet. Since then, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero saw a release, and while that was met with similar acclaim, some fans were displeased with the slightly more linear direction taken by the gameplay. Now, WayForward has opted...
Review The Mummy Demastered (Switch eShop)
A run 'n stunning monster mash-up
There are a few different ways this review could have started. Lamenting that officially licensed video games based on blockbuster movies have had a rough history (to put it politely), or the even more disappointing tales of movies that have used gaming franchise IPs as source material. Whichever way you cut the...
Review Shantae: Half-Genie Hero (Switch eShop)
Your wish has been granted
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero was a standout release on the Wii U late last year, bringing an excellent and whimsical Metroidvania adventure to the platform which we deemed to be arguably the best entry in the Shantae series yet. Given the game’s pedigree and WayForward’s great relationship with Nintendo, it seemed a...
Review Shantae: Half-Genie Hero (Wii U)
Genieus
Immediately upon seeing the title screen and hearing the game's main theme, you know that Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is another step forward for this series. Back in 2002, Shantae made her debut on the Game Boy Color to rave reviews but disappointing sales — hardly a shock when you take into account the GBC was on its last legs — but the...
Review Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut (Wii U eShop)
Risky business
Late in the life of the Game Boy Color, the world received Shantae, the first in WayForward's flagship series. A love letter to fans of 16-bit action platformers, the game was highly praised and developed a cult following, but it didn't do terribly well due to being released after the launch of the Game Boy Advance. Eight years later,...
Review Goosebumps: The Game (3DS)
Player beware, you're in for mediocrity
As one of the latest in a long line of recent nostalgia-driven reboots, the Goosebumps franchise has managed to drag itself out of the grave for another attempt at success. R.L Stine's series of horror novellas aimed primarily at children was a smash hit during the 1990s, quickly going on to spawn a television...
