Tag: Hands On - Page 4
Hands On Overland Is A Game Where You Don't Always Get To Save The Dog
"We broke most strategy game rules"
Overland has been in development for a long time now. Developer Finji – which began life back in 2006 when it was founded by Adam and Rebekah Saltsman – has been involved in several major releases over the years, including (deep breath) Canabalt, Gravity Hook, Hundreds, Feist, Panoramical, Runaway Toad and...
Hands On The Most Fun Game At PAX Was About Helping People Move Out
Making the move
Here are the most dreaded five words in the English language: “Can you help me move?” So hey, why not make a video game about it? Australian developer SMG is doing just that with its upcoming Switch game, titled Moving Out. It takes the concept of helping people move and puts it on its head... and its side, and its face, and...
Hands On Trust Us, You Guys Are Really Going To Dig Shovel Knight Dig
It rocks, honestly
You know what Shovel Knight needs? More digging. At least that’s what developers Yacht Club Games and Nitrome (developer of Bomb Chicken) seem to have on their minds with their recent announcement of Shovel Knight Dig, a Shovel Knight spin-off game for the Nintendo Switch, promised to fans early next year. Unlike the spry...
Hands On Sayonara Wild Hearts Is Pop Perfection In Video Game Form
Say goodbye to your eShop credit when this launches
“Sayonara” is Japanese for “goodbye". Alright, you probably didn’t need help with that one. On the other hand, with Sayonara Wild Hearts, a new video game on the Nintendo Switch developed by Swedish developer Simogo, you’ll probably need some help, both to understand it and to master it...
Hands On We've Played Witcher 3 On Nintendo Switch, And It's A Work Of Magic
"It’s the same as you’ll find on other platforms, how it looks and feels"
Switch has the pick of extraordinary, open-world RPGs. With Nintendo’s own The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim from Bethesda, both story-led and user-guided experiences are gloriously catered for. While Switch gamers may have held out...
Hands On Enter The Gungeon's Physical Edition Is Sure To Brighten Up Your Gaming Shelves
Pew! Pew!
Devolver Digitial and Dodge Roll's twin-stick roguelike Enter The Gungeon launched on Switch all the way back at the end of 2017 and has finally received a physical release thanks to Nighthawk Interactive and Special Reserve Games. Beyond the case and game card (which includes the full game, all of its previously released DLC, and an...
Hands On This $50 Handheld Plays Pretty Much Every Game From Your Misspent Youth
The BittBoy Pocket Go really is something
We've covered previously BittBoy handhelds on the site before, so you guys should know the drill by now. These are super-cheap emulation-focused portables that feature off-the-shelf SoC tech and cost peanuts, and the latest addition – the BittBoy Pocket Go – is no different. Where this new version...
Hands On Creature In The Well Is The Most Beautiful Game We Played At E3
Stick with us on this one
You read that title right. Creature In The Well is indeed the most beautiful game we played at E3. Yes, we're aware of the shiny, toy-box wonderland that is the Link’s Awakening remake. We all know Cyberpunk 2077 is next level. Mosaic, the upcoming, multi-platform indie game that transforms
Hands On Mosaic Is A Game That Wants You To Feel Insignificant
Rage against the machine
There’s this split moment right after you wake up where you aren’t completely awake, but you’re not totally asleep. Mosaic, an indie game by Krillbite Studio, wants to take you there. In fact, it strongly suspects you’re probably living that moment right now. Mosaic is a single player, semi-linear narrative game...
Hands On Empire Of Sin Is A Complex Crime Caper Created By Video Game Royalty
"Prohibition strategy" is a genre now
During one of our E3 appointments, we sat in a tiny, packed room to observe a 20-minute gameplay demo for Empire of Sin, the upcoming 1920s-themed strategy game slated to release Spring 2020. Surrounding us were no fewer than five developers, including John Romero, famed creator of the original DOOM and Quake...
Hands On Zelda: Link's Awakening On Switch Treads A Fine Line Between Remake And Reimagining
Impressions from the E3 show floor
Wouldn’t it be cool if you could play a Zelda game on the go? Okay, okay, we know what you're thinking. Today, you could fill up a whole stadium with portable Zelda games alone. But in 1993? How would anyone ever get a Zelda game to fit onto a Game Boy cartridge? Impossible. Well, they obviously figured it out...
Hands On Luigi’s Mansion 3 Is Shaping Up To Be The Best In The Series
Can someone get Luigi a real estate agent?
Luigi’s Mansion 3 for the Nintendo Switch is exactly that: the third entry into the bizarre Nintendo series where brother Luigi is left to scour haunted locations in search of missing friends. It’s a game where you use a vacuum cleaner (The Poltergust 3000, mind you) to suck up ghosts, sort of like a...
Hands On Pokémon Sword And Shield’s Dynamax Mode Has Us Shook
Adding a whole new dynamic to battling
As our first Galar stadium demo battle began – our on-screen character stepping into the crowded arena to a roar of cheers – the ground was quite literally shaking beneath our feet. No, that’s not a metaphor. Thanks to the subwoofers installed in our station at Nintendo’s E3 booth, and the more...
Hands On Building Upon A Solid Foundation In Super Mario Maker 2
Making the Wii U look like a Super Mario Faker
If there’s one thing that still gives the Wii U life, it’s the excellent Super Mario Maker. That’s all about to come to an end now though, at least if our time with Super Mario Maker 2 is any sort of authority. The user-created colossus is making its way to Switch, and if you hadn’t quite...
Hands On Tucking Into The Meaty Challenge Of Automachef, A Tasty Puzzler Headed To Switch
A Switch console exclusive, actually
Today, Team17 has announced that it will be adding Hermes Interactive's puzzle game Automachef to its ever-growing games label. Thanks to this partnership, the game is headed to Switch this summer as a console exclusive, and we were lucky enough to check out an early build at Team17's lovely HQ. This one looks...
Hands On Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild VR Made Us Want To Puke
A link to the barf
It always seemed too good to be true. A virtual reality update to Breath of the Wild that enables you to play the entire game with the Labo VR Goggles? Blimey Charlie! Despite all our nagging doubts, the very fact that Nintendo was putting it out meant it must pass a minimum quality threshold, no? At the very least it wouldn't...
Hands On Third Time's A Charm With Dragon's Dogma On Switch
Back to Gransys, yet again
I've got quite an odd relationship with Dragon's Dogma. When it was originally released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 way, way back in 2012, I was fresh off the back of Dark Souls and was hungry for a similar swords-and-sorcery experience. With its grim fantasy setting and frenetic third-person combat, Capcom's...
Hands On Going Beyond The Blaster With Nintendo Labo VR On Switch
A deeper dive
If you’re a long-time reader of the site, you’ll probably know that we’ve spent a decent chunk of time talking about Labo VR already when we got a chance to have a go with it at Nintendo UK’s headquarters. But now we actually own the blooming thing and have spent more time than we’d deem healthy having a good old rummage with...
Hands On There's More To Nintendo's Labo VR Than Meets The Eye
Virtual Reality, the Nintendo way
Maintaining a healthy degree of scepticism is always a wise policy in life, especially when you're faced with a seemingly endless number of companies trying to tempt you to spend your hard-earned cash. It's a practice we regularly employ in both our personal and professional lives here at Nintendo Life, and it's...
Hands On Getting Our Hands Dirty With My Time At Portia On Switch
Your next Switch time sink?
Team17 has revealed that its RPG/crafting sim My Time at Portia is building up to a 16th April release on Nintendo Switch. Being the lucky so-and-sos that we are, we were recently invited to the studio's headquarters in sunny Wakefield, UK to spend some quality time with the game, giving us the chance to see what all the...
Hands On Should You Buy Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker's Special Episode DLC?
Time to explore (again)
Just yesterday, Nintendo released the full DLC package for Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker on Switch and - being the ever helpful folks that we are - we thought we'd give it a go and share our findings with you lovely lot. The DLC, called 'Special Episode' contains 18 new challenges (some new, some remixes of old) among five...
Hands On Getting Arty In Yoshi's Crafted World On Nintendo Switch
Where there's a will, there's a PVA
When we first clapped eyes on Yoshi’s Crafted World, we’d be lying if we said our first thoughts weren’t something along the lines of ‘oh look, another Yoshi game’. That’s not to say we didn’t like what we saw, but the Yoshi series has always played things a little bit safe in the past, and at first...
Hands On Hacking Into The Cyberpunk World of Observer On Switch
With Blade Runner's Rutger Hauer, no less
Recently we were invited down to Kraków, Poland, to have a bit of an old hands-on with Observer, courtesy of its creator, Bloober Team. After Layers of Fear scared the nonsense out of us, we had high hopes for this new game, based on the promise that it builds heavily on what Bloober's previous Switch game...
Hands On Digging Deep Into The Weird And Wonderful World Of The Unlikely Legend Of Rusty Pup
Dog days
First impressions are important, and The Unlikely Legend of Rusty Pup wastes no time in underlining how refreshingly unique it is. This mechanical puzzle-platform game – which was originally slated for the Wii U and 3DS but is now on the way to the Switch – has been developed over the past four years by UK studio Gory Detail, which is...
Hands On Starlink: Battle for Atlas Feels More Like A Star Fox Game Every Time We Play It
Foxy stuff indeed
Ubisoft's upcoming Starlink: Battle for Atlas is so much more than the latest attempt at a toys-to-life game. Starlink is, if our recent hands-on preview is anything to go by, a family-friendly space opera with compelling characters, interesting worlds to explore and - for Nintendo Switch users - the best Star Fox game since Star...
Hands On Getting Fancy With Shovel Knight: King of Cards And Showdown
Hail to the king, baby
It’s not often that you see a preview for a four-year-old game, but in the years following Shovel Knight’s original release, Yacht Club has kept busy introducing add-ons to the popular retro platformer, each as good as - if not better than - the last. We already deemed the game a must-have, and if the time we spent playing...
Hands On Rolling The Dice With Super Mario Party On Switch
Mario shows us his new party trick
At PAX West this week we were given the opportunity to play the latest entry in the Mario Party series, Super Mario Party. We played a handful of minigames and spent some time in the newly-announced river survival mode, but what was most striking about this new Mario Party is how much it drew us in. Based on what...
Hands On Streets Of Rage 4 Is A Grand (Upper) Revival
Nostalgic hearts a-Blaze
It’s been a wild ride for fans of SEGA fans the last few years. Lately, it seems as though the forgotten series of their past are returning in spades, thanks to the efforts of smaller indies the world over: Wonder Boy, Shenmue, Monster Boy, and finally, Streets of Rage. That last one is a big deal for a particularly loyal...
Hands On Things Are Hotting Up In The Kitchen Thanks To Overcooked 2
Are you a professional cook?
Anyone who has played Ghost Town Games’ indie darling Overcooked is sure to harbour a love-hate feeling for the little cooking simulator. It’s a game where you must work together inside a kitchen to piece together meals for needy customers. The only problem is you are timed, you bump into each other a lot,...
Hands On Starlink Scratches That Star Fox Itch, But We're Not Sure Who It's For
Getting to grips with Ubisoft's space shooter at Comic-Con 2018
Starlink: Battle for Atlas is a homage to the sci-fi games of right this very second. Or, you could also choose to see Starlink as mostly a rip-off. Or instead, maybe as a really cute entry point into planet spelunking spaceship genre. After some hands-on time with the game at the San...
Hands On Taking The Path Less Traveled In Octopath Traveler
Yes, it's just as good as you've hoped
In 2018, it can be rather difficult for a JRPG to set itself apart from the crowd, even more so if it attempts to emulate the style or look of the grand adventures of the 8-bit and 16-bit eras. Still, if there were ever a company that could pull it off, it would be Square Enix. With Octopath Traveler, the...
Hands On Falling Into Endless Spike Pits In Mega Man 11
It's good to have you back, old friend
In the aftermath of the dramatic departure of Keiji Inafune from Capcom back in 2010, it seemed that he had taken Mega Man with him. Capcom cancelled all existing projects and relegated the Blue Bomber to a footnote in the broader company portfolio. There was hope that the spirit would live on in Inafune’s...
Hands On Settling The Score In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Ridley and able
There are certain games you can count on making an appearance on every Nintendo console: Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and more recently, Super Smash Bros. Since the N64 days, Smash has been one of Nintendo's major tentpole franchises drawing millions of new fans into Nintendo's orbit, so the company's announcement of a new Smash...
Hands On Catching A Curveball With The Poké Ball Plus, The Switch's Latest Must-Have Accessory
I Choose You!
Since my first playthrough of Pokémon Blue back in 1998, I’ve had a bit of an on-again, off-again relationship with Game Freak’s monster-collecting magnum opus. I certainly consider myself to be a fan, but I haven’t finished a main game since SoulSilver, and a 2016 summer spent scouring the countryside for Kanto critters in...
Hands On Revisiting Kanto With Pokémon: Let’s Go! Pikachu And Let’s Go! Eevee On Switch
Blending the new with the old in fresh ways
Suffice to say, fans were suitably surprised when Nintendo lifted the lid on Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee!; instead of the follow-up generation to Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon that many expected, Nintendo teased a reimagining of one of the first games, with some Pokémon GO...
Hands On Shantae: Half-Genie Hero - Ultimate Edition
Worth the double dip?
About a year ago, WayForward released Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, the fourth entry in the studio’s popular platforming franchise. Since then, the developer has been busy working on various side campaigns that were promised during the original Kickstarter run, releasing a new one every few months. Now, WayForward has bundled...
Hands On The Future Of Gaming Is Cardboard, Thanks To Nintendo Labo
First impressions of Nintendo's latest left-field revolution
Whenever an invite is extended to check something new and interesting at Nintendo's offices immediately after a Nintendo Direct broadcast, it's easy to fall into the trap of making rash assumptions. Given that it has just been confirmed that Dark Souls is Switch-bound, we took it almost as...
Hands On RiME Lights Up On Nintendo Switch
Time to shine
RiME is a secluded, visually stunning adventure arriving on Switch soon. If you managed to miss its original release a few months back on various systems, then that may end up becoming a blessing in disguise. Undocked the game lights up the screen, lending its art-style nicely to the Switch screen. Tequila Works may have...
Hands On Super Mario Odyssey Looks Set To Continue Switch’s Year of Hits
We get to grips with the game at Fan Expo Canada 2017
In January 2017, at the Nintendo Switch reveal event, Producer Yoshiaki Koizumi touted that the upcoming Super Mario Odyssey would follow in the footsteps of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. For long-time fans, this announcement of Mario’s return to an open-world sandbox adventure was a...
Hands On Hey! Read These Hey! Pikmin Impressions
Hey! Listen!
This week - in New York City - Nintendo invited us to play Hey! Pikmin, the first title in the series developed outside of Nintendo's internal teams. Hey! Pikmin is being developed by Arzest, the studio behind Yoshi's New Island, which failed to make a big splash with 3DS owners. Hey! Pikmin takes a totally new approach with the...
Hands On Striking a Chord with Yooka-Laylee
UPDATE: Switch version reconfirmed, coming "very soon"
UPDATE: Mere moments after we published this feature, it was confirmed during the Nindie Direct that the Switch version of Yooka-Laylee will be launching "very soon" and will feature all of the game's multiplayer modes. ORIGINAL STORY: The employees over at Playtonic have been through a lot to...
Hands On Trying Out the Nintendo Switch on its Public Tour
The UK console tour comes to Manchester
Whilst we're counting down the final two weeks before the Nintendo Switch launches on March 3rd, Nintendo has been hosting special hands-on events in which the public can get their first experiences with the console and several of its games. We managed to grab ourselves some tickets for the first of the three...
Hands On Creating a Quest in RPG Maker Fes
World-building
It's no secret that the 3DS is an RPG paradise, with new entries in both fresh and familiar franchises coming out faster than most fans can keep up with. It's an almost infinite bounty of adventure. But could it be more infinite? Enter RPG Maker Fes. A portable version of the long-running RPG-creation toolkit that lets players...
Hands On Putting the Nintendo Switch Hardware Through Its Paces
We consider its features, build and general performance
As you're no doubt aware, press events are currently taking place to showcase the Nintendo Switch, with some also open to the public this weekend. We attended the London event and took the opportunity to put the hardware through its paces, testing out its varied control options and functions...
Hands On Pokémon Sun and Moon - Special Demo Version
Demonstrative indeed
Demos have come an awfully long way over the years, even to the point where these bite-sized chunks can be considered full games in their own right; you only have to look at the Bravely series to know what we're talking about. So it was no surprise when Nintendo announced the arrival of a demo for the upcoming Pokémon Sun &...
Hands On Checking Out A New Generation In Pokémon Sun and Moon
Talking 'bout our generation
From the off it's clear that here's been a tremendous level of effort from Game Freak to make Pokémon Sun and Moon another notable evolution of the Pokémon series; whilst the jump from Black and White to X and Y was like a Bulbasaur becoming an Ivysaur, the jump to this generation is more like a Magikarp becoming a...
Hands On A Blast From the Past With Gurumin 3D: A Monstrous Adventure
Monster Masher
You're probably not alone if you've never heard of Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure. First released as a PC game way back in 2004 and a PlayStation Portable title shortly after, Gurumin has stayed largely off the map since its initial launch. Despite the favourable reviews that it received, this action-adventure RPG never saw a sequel,...
Hands on Getting Down With Chicken Wiggle
An unlikely pairing, together at last
We recently reported on the disbandment of indie developer Renegade Kid and followed it up with an interview featuring both founding members, Jools Watsham and Gregg Hargrove. As part of their surprisingly amicable split, both devs have already formed new teams and star
Hands On Painting a Clearer Picture of Paper Mario: Color Splash
"This is more of an adventure game"
There was an elephant in the room inside of Nintendo's off-site Comic-Con Nintendo Play Lounge. Not to be confused with a small stage shaped like an oversized Nintendo 3DS console, or the mammoth, room-sized inflatable Kirby set up to greet guests, this elephant took the shape of a video game kiosk. The game was...
Hands On Squashing Space Pirates in Metroid Prime: Federation Force
Insane in the Mother Brain
It's safe to say the general - or at least loudest - response from Metroid fans upon the reveal of Metroid Prime: Federation Force was one of disappointment. One year on and things have calmed down a little bit, but is there enough in this game to sway those who spoke so strongly against it at E3 2015? First and foremost...
