Latest Reviews
Mini Review Evertried - An Engaging Roguelite, Half Tactics, Half Puzzler
Try, try again
Some games just cut right to the chase. No set up, no indulgent intro, just a fast cutscene and you’re tossed in the deep end. Evertried is one of those games. Here you’re placed in the role of a cute little undead creature with a scythe who has to climb “The Tower”. See, in this world, lost souls that haven’t proven...
Mini Review A Little Golf Journey - A Relaxing If Repetitive Round
Just over par
Golf games tend to come in a variety of flavours. You’ve got the realistic sim games such as PGA Tour 2K21, the more arcade focused romps like Mario Golf: Super Rush, and abstract, minimal titles like Golf Club: Wasteland.
Review Crysis 3 Remastered - The Best-Looking But Shortest Game In The Trilogy
Game, Ceph and Match
The final instalment in Crytek's Crysis franchise is the best-looking of the bunch by quite some distance, a big budget action extravaganza that looks and sounds incredible as you blaze through its five hour long campaign. But can the Switch handle it? Well, we're happy to report that yes, it can. Saber Interactive has delivered...
Review Crysis 2 Remastered - A Solid Port Of A Spectacular Shooter
The Manhattan Project
After surprising us in the best possible way with a thoroughly impressive Switch port of 2007's original Crysis, Saber Interactive return with this remastered version of Crytek's second Nano-suited super soldier adventure. But can the Switch handle the stress of this big budget sequel? Well, yes it can. In fact this is a...
Review Crysis Remastered Trilogy - A Slick FPS Package That Runs Fine On Switch
Nothing to cry about
When we first heard that Crytek was bringing Crysis to Switch in remastered form, we seriously doubted that Nintendo's dinky little console could handle the stress of running this PC-melting behemoth, even if it was now 13 long years down the line in terms of technology. As our review of that game points out, however, we were...
Review Aeon Must Die! - An Aggressively Repetitive Beat 'Em Up That Tries Way Too Hard
As long as it DOES die
Do you have that friend who'll compromise the enjoyment of the group in order to indulge their own ego? You know, the 'wacky' friend who not only has to do everything just a little differently, they need you to know that they're special and unique and out there and WILL YOU JUST ORDER A NORMAL COFFEE, CLIVE? Ahem, sorry...
Mini Review Inked: A Tale Of Love - A Beautifully Drawn Experience
Ink between worlds
In the current era of impressive development tools and talented studios of all sizes, there can be download-only games that are just as eye-catching as big-budget contemporaries while having a focus on a small, carefully constructed experience. Inked: A Tale of Love is a good example of what can be achieved by small but talented...
Review The Good Life - Cats, Dogs, And The Best Version Of Britain We've Seen Since Galar
She's more of a dog person
White Owls Inc. really buried the lede in their Kickstarter description of The Good Life. We’ll do the same here and see if you can spot it: The Good Life is a “daily-life debt repayment RPG” in which you play as an American woman in a pastoral English village, enjoying day-to-day activities such as taking...
Review Gang Beasts - An Adorably Janky Brawler Arrives Late To The Switch Party
Boneless brawler
In the Party Game Hall of Fame, Gang Beasts is one of the OG big dogs, alongside Nidhogg, Jackbox, and Overcooked. Gang Beasts is a chaotic, wonky physics brawler that relies on the utter incomp-itude of its players to create mirth and merriment, and much like a massive chocolate cake or a puppy, it's always been a huge success...
Mini Review Gleylancer - 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...
Review Disco Elysium: The Final Cut - Still An Absolute Triumph On Switch
Where is my mind?
Every now and then, a game comes along that feels completely unique. Now, we know what you’re thinking: you’ve seen the same thing said about countless titles over the years — what makes this one so different? We get it; more often than not, when a game is described as ‘unique’, you can probably identify at least a few...
Mini Review A Juggler's Tale - Stylish But With Some Strings Attached
I got no strings to hold me down
A Juggler's Tale will feel instantly familiar if you’re a fan of PlayDead’s Inside and Limbo. A narrative-driven 2.5D adventure game, A Juggler’s Tale share’s much of the same DNA as its critically acclaimed siblings (it even feels a bit too familiar at times). Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,...
Mini Review Beast Breaker - A 'Pinball RPG' With Surprising Depth
A breakout hit
Beast Breaker places you in the role of Skipper, a brave little mouse who’s tasked with killing giant (well, to a mouse anyway…) beasts that threaten the peaceful lives of the towns and settlements populated by other adorable animals. You do so by engaging with gameplay which is one part pinball game, one part strategic RPG, which...
Review SGC - Short Games Collection #1 - It's All In The Name
Not really shorts weather
Gaming and gamers aren’t what they used to be. In the '80s, strict gatekeepers foisted action-flick-derivative moneyspinners on children; now, one-person indie devs suggest conceptual art experiences to midlife wage-slaves. Nerd Monkeys is hunting that time-poor customer with games “that you can play through from start...
Review Tetris Effect: Connected - Mizuguchi's Masterpiece Finds Its Ideal Platform
Better connected
Has there ever been a more perfect marriage of hardware and software than Tetris and the Game Boy? Despite not being an original Nintendo IP, Tetris felt like it was made for the monochrome portable, and it's hard to imagine either of them being anywhere near as successful without the other. However, Tetris is very much its own...
Review Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan - A Novel And Very Twee Paper Mario-Alike
Billy Yes Mates
We’ve seen some twee stuff here in the Nintendo Life zeppelin, but Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan may be the twee-est thing ever created by human hands. It’s so ruddy twee that it might as well have been coded by the Teletubbies, all crowded ‘round Po’s little belly computer trying to punch in line after line of...
Review Aeon Drive - Celeste Goes Cyberpunk In This Satisfying Speedrunner
Gotta go fast
Speedrunning has been an integral part of the gaming community for decades. People might lean on glitches or exploits to 'break' a game, but often it’s simply a case of learning the mechanics, inside and out, to nail down the most efficient route from A to B. Aeon Drive is all about speedrunning; that’s its hook, and it's a good...
Mini Review Antonball Deluxe - Fun With Friends That Like Arkanoid
Wario Meh
Simpler, smaller games live or die on the strength of their central gimmick, an idea to grab hold of the player and force them to pay attention. Sadly, Antonball Deluxe's grand design doesn't quite live up to its WarioWare-esque presentation. So what’s the deal? You’ve got a pretty strong central idea in Antonball; think Arkanoid, but...
Review The Forgotten City - Cloud Version - A Skyrim Mod Turned Gripping Narrative Time Loop
Romanes eunt domus
Note: Minor early-game spoilers feature in this review, so if you want to go in totally blind, skip down to the conclusion. Let's get the elephant in the room out of here before we begin. At this point in the year, the "Cloud Version" suffix is nothing new — and neither are the criticisms. The Forgotten City is a seriously...
Mini Review DELTARUNE Chapter 2 - Undertale's Successor Continues In Thrilling Style
"Wow, peachboy, you went all out!!!"
Nearly three years on from the release of Deltarune Chapter 1, the long-awaited release of Chapter 2 is finally here. Available as a combined download on the eShop with the previous chapter, it’s far from a conclusive follow-up, and it introduces more questions than answers, but this generally feels like a...
Review UnMetal - A Surprisingly Robust Metal Gear Parody Brimming With Ideas
UnFunny, but UnExpectedly good regardless
Comedy video games. This writer's blood runs cold just to think of them. In a medium that sees you define your own pace, how can comedy possibly work without fundamentally transforming the medium from interactive to inert? The comedy and the gameplay are necessarily completely separate and so few games have...
Review Lost In Random - A Rich Audiovisual Treat With Inventive But Limited Combat
Finely diced
Lost in Random tells a story of two sisters, Even and Odd, who inhabit a fantastical storybook world of woollen chess pieces and steampunk teapots and the like. They’re separated by the Queen in accordance with a draconian tradition that sees children roll a dice on their twelfth birthday to determine their station for the rest of...
Review Castlevania Advance Collection - Utterly Essential Thanks To Aria Of Sorrow
You're out there playing your high class games
Konami has been bringing back some of their older Castlevania titles recently. While 2019's Castlevania Anniversary Collection focuses mostly on the “Classicvania” style of games (stage-based progression, limited lives), this one features the “Metroidvania” style (open-ended exploration, RPG...
Review Steel Assault - A Quick Bite To Savour With Classic Castlevania Flavour
*furiously shreds guitar*
Steel Assault is a pretty simple game. You play as a badass good guy whose job is to kill the badass bad guys, and you do so by violently blowing up a lot of minions, ninjas, and mech suits with the power of a lightning whip. It’s hard. Like, really hard. And just when it feels like it’s running short on ideas, the...
Review Actraiser Renaissance - A Noble Attempt At Resurrecting The Godly 16-Bit Classic
In the lap of the gods
The original Actraiser was a truly seminal release. Launched alongside the Super Famicom at the close of 1990, Quintet's skilful blend of platforming action and Populous-style world-building was immediately lauded as a stone-cold classic, and it's striking that in the 30 years that have passed since, it has never been...
Mini Review Project Winter - Social Deduction That Survives But Doesn't Thrive On Switch
Snow close, yet snow far
Project Winter is an interesting combination of survival and social deduction — think Among Us mixed with The Long Dark — that's brilliant in its best moments, but sadly kneecapped by the compromises you'll have to make to play it on Switch. The pitch may sound familiar: a team of between five and eight people, a few of...
Mini Review Fisti-Fluffs - A Cute But Limited Kitty Brawler With Control Issues
A whisker away from competent
Cats can be devilish creatures. They can be cool as a cucumber one moment, nuzzling their squishy faces into their owners’ neck, before flipping and ripping the furniture apart in a rage that would make even Gordon Ramsay quiver in his boots. Fisti-Fluffs is the latest game to feature the furious felines, focusing on...
Review Metallic Child - A Robot Smashing 'Roguelite' Anime Adventure
Isometric action inspired by Mega Man
The venerable hobby of “games” has borne witness to innumerable robotic sprogs. Metallic Child attempts to be a definitive answer to the likes of Mega Man, Astro Boy and - most formidably of all - Mighty No. 9. We jest, of course. Inafune's infamous crowdfunded project (resulting in an incredibly mediocre...
Review Eastward - A Creative Zelda-Like Adventure With Absolutely Killer Art
East? I thought you said Weast
The line between an homage and a copycat can often be a blurry one, and it feels like all too often that new games borrowing ideas from old games fall on the wrong side of it. Instead of offering creative new takes on favored concepts, these games are more content to prod you with a sharp elbow as they say...
Review SkateBIRD - A Chirpy, Charming Tony Hawk-Alike That Fails To Stick The Landing
Flip the bird
The skateboarding game, as a genre, has been under-explored. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater defined it with such finesse in 1999 that there has barely been any room for improvement – as borne out by the continuing appeal of that first game two decades later. But considering how much it has in common with a 3D platformer – open...
