Switch eShop Game Reviews
Review Marvel Cosmic Invasion (Switch) - Up There With Best-Ever Arcade Marvel Games
The prequel to the sequel to the sequel to the prequel
It’s been over three years since Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge was released, and Tribute Games has been really busy. Stuffed like a return-trip suitcase, Marvel Cosmic Invasion’s enormous cast of heroes and villains is here united in a rapturous beat-'em-up fanfare. Its...
Searching for scraps
A scared mouse scurries through an unforgiving landscape packed with abominations that may be friend or foe. This timid squeaker can join forces with Morsels, strange creatures with offensive abilities that fight at their side. With this help, the mouse travels upward toward the domain of the evil overlords who control this...
Review Viewfinder (Switch) - Reality-Shifting Puzzler Is A Chilled, Mind-Bending Experience
From a certain point of view
With a name like Viewfinder, you might be forgiven for thinking that somebody finally decided to capitalise on the picture-hunting format perfected by Pokémon Snap. Perhaps a chilling new instalment in the Fatal Frame series? Developer Sad Owl Studios is going for a different vibe here. The viewfinder in question is a...
What do you see?
Note. At the time of writing, there has been a delay to Forestrike's planned Switch release date. We didn't encounter any performance problems during our time with the game, but if you're looking for it on the eShop, it should be there "in a matter of days." We'll let you know when it does go live, but in the meantime...
Review Demonschool (Switch) - Jokes, Gore, And '90s Vibes Set Necrosoft's Tactical RPG Apart
School's out for the apocalypse
Demonschool is a tactical RPG that follows a demon hunter named Faye and her collected companions as members of the Black Magic Club at a poorly-ranked university on a peculiar island by the same name. The school element of Demonschool should be taken with a big grain of salt, as Faye and her group of weirdos find...
Review Blippo+ (Switch) - An Uncanny Channel-Surfing Sim That Perfectly Captures '90s TV
Surprise and Deee-Lite
If you want to really understand (or remember) what TV looked like before the internet, Blippo+ is just the ticket. This unique little time capsule launched on Panic's Playdate in May and landed on Switch and PC in September. Now in full colour, this remarkable collaboration between the band Yacht, Telefantasy Studios,...
Mini Review Hitman: Absolution (Switch) - A Decent Port Of The Series' Black Sheep
Sins absolved?
Hitman: Absolution is widely regarded as the ‘black sheep’ of the series thanks to its focus on cinematic storytelling over player freedom. This is very much still the case with this fresh release on Switch from Feral Interactive, but now that original developer IO Interactive has righted the ship with the excellent World of...
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...
From Puck to Pac
In my review for Atari 50’s ‘The First Console War’ DLC, I said that Digital Eclipse had “seemingly completed its mission to present the most comprehensive interactive documentary on Atari possible”. Note the word “seemingly”! Yes, we’re back with another expansion – The Namco Legendary Pack – which adds a...
Review Winter Burrow (Switch) - Cosy Survival, But Doesn't Go Deep Enough
Scariest creature in this wood
Developed by Pine Creek Games and published by Noodlecake, Winter Burrow is a cosy woodland survival game where you play as a mouse who braves frigid weather, collects food and resources, and rebuilds their childhood home. It begins with the death of our young mouse protagonist's parents, prompting a return to the...
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Mini Review Simon The Sorcerer Origins (Switch) - A Faithful Return To A Classic Adventure Series
Simon says spells
If you're an adventure game fan of a certain age, you’ll have a place in your heart for Simon the Sorcerer. Part of the first major wave of point-and-click adventures back in the late '80s and early '90s, Simon offered a goofy British counterpart to Monkey Island’s swashbuckling comedy. The series now returns with a faithfully...
Mini Review Silver Bullet (Switch) - A Gothic Arcade Shooter Full Of Tricks
Treat or Treat?
Silver Bullet’s aesthetic is dark, cartoony, and full of Halloween charm. But beneath its playful premise of a pint-sized Van Helsing rescuing puppies from the forces of darkness lies a razor-blade-stuffed apple - an arcade game with a wicked edge. Mashing genres into something unique, its crosshair shooting setup is reminiscent...
Mini Review Lumo 2 (Switch) - A Delightful Celebration Of British Retro Gaming
An Impossible Mission?
Sitting down to play Lumo 2, as a gamer of a certain vintage, I fully expected to be treated to a few touching moments as developer Triple Eh? transported me back to the sweet innocence (and unbelievable stupidity) of my gaming childhood. A few nostalgia button pushes and I'd be happy enough. Sit that alongside some decent...
Mini Review Xenotilt: Hostile Pinball Action (Switch) - The Balatro Of Pinball Games
Cyber-nudge
Demon’s Tilt deservedly received praise for its occult-themed gameplay, with many deeming it a worthy spiritual successor to Devil’s Crush. Now, sole developer WIZNWAR is back with Xenotilt: Hostile Pinball Action, a cyberpunk-inspired twist that improves upon its predecessor in almost every conceivable way. Simply put, this is one...
Review Bye Sweet Carole (Switch) - An Enchanting, Occasionally Frustrating Animated Adventure
Once upon a time
Before spinning us an enchanting and emotionally charged yarn, developer Little Sewing Machine opens with a simple dedication in lowercase: for mom. It’s a reminder that, despite the scope of the journey ahead, this is a deeply personal tale. Little Sewing Machine lead Chris Darill is no stranger to artistic horror or cinematic...
Not to be alche-missed
When it comes to the Atelier series, variety is the spice of life. One might think that more than 25 games deep into developer Gust’s long-running RPG series, the sheen of that trademark gameplay loop of collecting materials, learning recipes, and crafting items via alchemy would start to dull a little. Yet, with the...
Review Shujinkou (Switch) - Words Whup Sticks & Stones In This Innovative Dungeon Crawler
School is in session
In all the world, few things are as powerful as language. We use it to communicate all our hopes and fears and inner thoughts to each other. Words have a power all their own, which is why Shujinkou struck me as such an interesting concept; a JRPG that aims to teach players the fundamentals of Japanese. While I applaud the...
Mini Review Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Switch) - The Stars Align Again In This Cosmic Sequel
More is more
How do you follow up a game like Mario Galaxy? Well, with its direct sequel, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Nintendo refined and expanded upon the original’s outrageous gravity-based gameplay. The result is one of the finest 3D platformers of all time; one that constantly pushes you down surprising and thrilling new paths. After its exclusion...
Mini Review Super Mario Galaxy (Switch) - Still A Stellar Achievement
Defying gravity
Super Mario Galaxy is one of those games that doesn’t need a whole lot of work done to update it for modern platforms. It’s a sublime experience with timeless gameplay and visuals that still look magical to this very day. So booting it up on Switch or Switch 2, you might be hard-pressed to find anything ‘new’ here...
Review Star Trek: Resurgence (Switch) - '90s Trek Fan? This'll Transport You
Starship mine
Star Trek: Resurgence presents, essentially, an episode of the sci-fi show in interactive, visual novel form. Where Starfleet combat sims focus on phaser battles and starship strategy, and often struggle to capture the many facets of the show beyond the iconography, Dramatic Labs threads life's moral quandaries, familial and political...
Review Earthion (Switch) - A New 16-Bit Shooter That's Bold, Inventive & Hugely Enjoyable
It means the world
While not entirely dormant for the last 30 years, Yuzo Koshiro’s Ancient Corp — responsible for Streets of Rage II, Story of Thor, and the Master System’s superb Sonic the Hedgehog — is finally back in the public eye with the release of Earthion. What’s significant for the small studio is a return to the console that...
Mini Review Gloomy Eyes (Switch) - If Captain Toad Were A Cosy Horror Game
Zom-besties
Growing up, I absolutely loved MediEvil on the PS1. The spooky yet lighthearted aesthetic really spoke to me as a child and would ultimately help foster a lifelong passion for the horror genre. So when I saw trailers for Gloomy Eyes from developer Fishing Cactus, I was instantly enamoured with the Tim Burton-esque vibes. Drawing...
Review Strange Antiquities (Switch) – A Wicked Good Occult Puzzler & Sequel
Little antique shop of horrors
In 2022’s Strange Horticulture, you ran a little shop of horrors, dealing plants with an occult edge to the inhabitants of a mysterious dark town. Now, Bad Viking and Iceberg Interactive’s follow-up, Strange Antiquities, takes us back to Undermere. Again, something strange is afoot. Again, you hear residents’...
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 Bubsy In: The Purrfect Collection (Switch) - Limited Run Cleans Out The Kitty Litter
What could possibly go right?
When the Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection was announced, the news received hundreds of thousands of shares and millions of cumulative views. This, friends, is a stark reminder of the strength of nostalgia, an evocative sensation that can stir the heart and cloud the memory. Let’s be clear: Bubsy the Bobcat has never...
Not all songs are silky
Spare a thought for Adventure of Samsara, Atari’s newest retro-styled Metroidvania. Developed for over a decade by the Brazilian studio Ilex Games, it has the unlucky distinction of releasing on the very same day as ultra-anticipated Hollow Knight: Silksong, which is bound to take all the oxygen out of the room among the...
Review SHINOBI: Art Of Vengeance (Switch) - A Beautifully Crafted Return For Joe Musashi
Knives out
Regarding modern augmentations, SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance and Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound — released not even a month apart — have a lot of overlap. Yet, after 45 minutes of play, I was convinced that Art of Vengeance is one of the finest 2D Ninja action games ever made. Perhaps the finest; and such praise doesn’t come lightly. After...
Review SHUTEN ORDER (Switch) - An Audacious Swing That Doesn't Quite Connect
Aw, shoot
Leave it up to Kazutaka Kodaka to come up with one of the weirdest stories in gaming, huh? Following on from the outrageously ambitious The Hundred Line - Last Defense Academy, the creator has now joined forces with developer Neilo on the new visual novel Shuten Order. I say ‘visual novel’, and that’s absolutely the overarching...
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 Roadwarden (Switch) - A Fascinating And Quite Special Text-Based RPG
And I'll take the low road
Cast your minds back, if you're still able, to the year of our lord 2022 and the release of Moral Anxiety Studio's tremendous Roadwarden. Yes, you know the one, that PC game you may not have played but certainly heard plenty about, as it garnered a whole bunch of Very Nice Reviews™. And here, to be blunt, is another for...
