Tag: Reviews - Page 2
Review Berserk Boy (Switch) - An Upbeat, 16-Bit Throwback, Not As 'Mega Man' As It Looks
Maddeningly good fun
Berserk Boy has been tipped as a Mega Man-inspired 16-bit adventure, but it’s actually closer to Inti Creates Gunvolt series, and even then feels markedly different. Taking place in a future world where a scientist named Dr. Genos has gone rogue, you play Kei, a young boy who teams up with firebird Fiore to battle his way to...
Review Top Racer Collection (Switch) - Three Classic Racers And The Odd Backfire
One for the Gear-heads
Racing game fans who’ve been around since the SNES era are likely to be familiar with the Top Gear series. Developed by Gremlin Graphics (later Gremlin Interactive) as the SNES equivalent of its Lotus games on other consoles, it’s the closest Nintendo’s 16-bit system got to its own version of Sega’s classic arcade game...
Review Balatro (Switch) - Devilishly Compelling Cardplay, And A Clear GOTY Contender
A full house
Editor's note: Following the publication of this review, it has come to light that the game has been removed from European Switch eShops following a ratings change from 3+ to 18+ which, according to publisher Playstack, came "without any advance warning". <related ids="162972"> You can read the publisher's statement in our story...
Review Penny's Big Breakaway (Switch) - A Furiously Fast & Fun Platformer With Sega Spirit
A Penny for your thoughts
It’s now been nearly seven years (yes, really) since the release of Sonic Mania, which indisputably marked a high point for Sega’s troubled blue mascot. Much of the game's success could be attributed to the team of passionate and talented fans (led by Christian Whitehead) that came together to develop it, but rather...
Review Ufouria: The Saga 2 (Switch) - A Cheerful Throwback To Sunsoft's '90s Platformers
At your leisure
This is, for lack of a better descriptor, charming; a rekindling of an IP and a platforming vibe not seen rendered in such authentic fashion for some time. Ufouria: The Saga 2’s simplicity is to its credit, keeping it real to the source material and the vast catalogue of action platform games that informed much of the Nintendo...
Review Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster (Switch) - Another Must-Play From Nightdive
Rebels' gun
Following its stellar remaster work on the likes of Quake, Quake II, and the Turok series, Nightdive Studios is back with another glimpse into the world of retro first-person shooters. This time, we’re heading into the Star Wars universe with Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster, an intriguing game in more ways than one. On the one hand, it...
Review Pentiment (Switch) - Obsidian's Medieval Murder Mystery Is Portable Perfection
Renaissance, man
Listen. We've already reviewed Obsidian's superlative Pentiment over on our sister site Pure Xbox, where we gave it an excellent 9/10 score. However, now that we've been given the opportunity to return to 16th-century Bavaria all over again in this fantastic Switch port, we daresay it's better — worthy of a slight amendment to...
Sweet little mystery dungeon
It’s nearly guaranteed that during any online discussion about a game of the ‘rogue’ genre, at least one sweaty person will eagerly emerge from the woodwork to say, “Well, ackshually, this game is a roguelite, not a roguelike.” Eyerolls aside, the distinction isn’t without merit, though ‘pure’ roguelikes...
Review Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On! (Switch) - Game Freak's 3DS Gem Is Still A Prize Pony
Yay or neigh?
When the 3DS eShop closed back in March 2023, we were sad for a number of reasons. We were sad at the thought of losing the wonderful Virtual Console library. Sad at the prospect of never seeing the little orange bag mascot again. Sad at the understanding that we'd soon be returning to the silent eShop of the Switch without a...
Review Piczle Cross: Story Of Seasons (Switch) - Dependable Puzzlin' With A Faint Farm-Sim Flavour
A bountiful harvest
Fans of Nintendo’s long-running Picross series are well aware that there’s no shortage of nonogram puzzlers on the Switch, with developer Jupiter and the Big N’s franchise alone accounting for over a dozen games and counting so far. Even so, there’s an addictive simplicity to the core concept that ensures that further...
Review Splatoon 3: Side Order - An Addictive Roguelite Just Shy Of Excellence
Starter for Eight
Splatoon 3’s Side Order has been dangling just out of reach since it was revealed in 2023, but Wave 2 of the DLC has finally landed for Splatoon 3 Expansion Pass owners. Nearly five years after the release of Splatoon 2’s Octo Expansion, Agent Eight’s story continues in the drab and colourless world of the Memverse, but is it...
Review Blast Corps - An Absurd, Exhilarating, Explosive Gem From Rare's N64 Days
Time to get moving
This review originally went live in 2013, and we're updating and republishing it to celebrate the game's arrival in Switch's N64 library via the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. Long before the massive mainstream appeal of video games that exists today, successful developers were surprisingly free from the shackles of big...
Review Bandle Tale: A League Of Legends Story (Switch) - A Cute Crafting RPG That Needs Untangling
Legends never die
Last month, Riot Games announced a substantial number of layoffs within the company, and one of the casualties was the Riot Forge publishing arm. Over the last few years, Riot Forge partnered with various indie developers to produce a diverse lineup of single-player games set in the world of Runeterra, and these games all proved to...
Review Promenade (Switch) – Imperfect But Pleasant (And Punishing) Puzzle-Platforming
Cog-nitive
In games, we often talk about ‘levels’ and ‘levelling up’. Promenade takes that to the – ahem – next level. France-based Holy Cap Studios and Red Art Games bring us this 2D puzzle-platformer collectathon that connects a mix of lands via a Great Elevator. Inspired by other titles, it may not be the most original, but true to...
Review qomp 2 (Switch) - The Spiritual Successor That Pong Deserves
Ping-Pong
When Atari first announced qomp2 as a reimagining of the arcade classic Pong, we must admit to feeling somewhat sceptical of the similarities. Yet after completing all 30 levels in the Graphite Lab-developed puzzler, we’re convinced that it is very much the spiritual successor that Pong deserves. It’s a game that only increased its...
Review Inkulinati (Switch) - Inky & Entertaining Turn-Based Battles, With Butt Trumpets
Die bard
When you’re going off to battle, you want to bring your best and strongest warriors with you. In most games, these fighters come in the form of muscle-bound, gun-toting avatars of destruction. In Yaza Games' Inkulinati, your champions are the odd animals that litter the pages of medieval manuscripts, led across the battlefield by the hand...
Review PlateUp! (Switch) - A Tasty & Chaotic Roguelite Cooking Sim
Kitchen nightmares
The biggest challenge facing PlateUp! is the striking similarities to the other culinary stress simulator, Overcooked. Ghost Town Game’s hugely popular series has been fairly unique in its genre up until now. Making sure all orders are right, delivering dishes to tables in time, and washing up after — this rhythm will be...
Review Arzette: The Jewel Of Faramore (Switch) - An Adroit Homage To The Worst Zelda Games
You'll need a Philips head for this
You can’t move for retro-inspired games these days, to the extent that a developer saying “Hey, this looks like an old game!” has started to feel less like a selling point and more like a hop onto a crowded, pixelated bandwagon. If you’re after something that looks a bit like a modern NES or SNES game...
Review Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Switch) - An Easygoing, Kid-Friendly Remake That's Just Fine
Junior Jungle Japes
Ok, let's see. The original Donkey Kong first released into arcades in 1981, where it became a smash hit that also happened to introduce us to two of Nintendo's most enduring mascots in the form of a great big agitiated ape and some springy little plumber guy. The game, in this very first incarnation, involved bounding around...
Review Tomb Raider I-III Remastered (Switch) - The Best Way To Rediscover A Gaming Idol
When old becomes new
Not many game franchises manage to ascend to the status of ‘iconic’, but Tomb Raider is undoubtedly one of them. Despite the original trilogy being released for multiple platforms, Lara Croft quickly became synonymous with the PS1, standing toe-to-toe with Crash Bandicoot as one of the console’s mascots. Since then, of...
Review Eastward: Octopia (Switch) - A Great Farm Sim Expansion That Edges Out The Base Game
Another great Octo Expansion
A few years ago, a cute new action-adventure game called Eastward released on most platforms, blending some appealing EarthBound-esque visuals with a narrative-driven game loop that’s vaguely reminiscent of the older Zelda games. We really enjoyed it, despite its flaws, and it seems that developer Pixpil had some more...
Review Alisa Developer's Cut (Switch) - An Excellent RE Homage That Nails The '90s Vibe
Hey, doll
Some of the best retro-style games are almost indistinguishable from the real deal; games that could have been buried in a time capsule in the ‘80s or ‘90s, long forgotten before being unearthed, completely intact, in the modern day. It’s tough to pull off, though we can say with absolute confidence that Alisa Developer’s Cut is...
Review GRIME Definitive Edition (Switch) - A Poor Port Of A Superb Soulslike Metroidvania
Pretty rocky
The best thing we can ever say about a game is that we wanted to keep playing it on our own time after we’ve wrapped up a review. We wish we could tell you that’s the case with Grime. It should be; there’s a really great Souls-inspired Metroidvania here. But a number of technical aspects turn what should be a chip off the ol’...
Mini Review Rising Lords (Switch) - Medieval Strategy That Fails To Rise To The Occasion
What is this, the Dark Ages?
There is a king’s ransom of strategy games on Switch, so it takes a lot for one to stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately, Rising Lords from developer Argonwood is memorable for all the wrong reasons. With hollow, tedious gameplay and a combat system that tries to combine too many elements, we were ready to leave...
Go, ninja, go!
Nintendo fans may be familiar with Good-Feel, a Japanese developer that collaborated with the Big N to produce titles such as Wario Land: Shake It!, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, and Yoshi’s Woolly and Crafted Worlds. Yet despite its work with Nintendo, Good Feel is still an independent company and occasionally produces new games with its...
Review Bahnsen Knights (Switch) - Perhaps The Best Yet Of The Brilliant 'Pixel Pulps'
Demons on the road
Within seconds of starting Bahnsen Knights, the third in LCB Game Studio's ‘Pixel Pulps’ series of games, we found ourselves inspired. We turned the lights down low, put on some headphones and, with the clear aim of savouring every moment, held the Switch’s OLED screen so close to our face that we became fully immersed in...
Review UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH II Sys:Celes (Switch) - A Deep, Addictive Anime Fighter
EXS to impress
Japanese developer Frenchbread's phenomenal anime fighter, Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late, impressed the heck out of us when it dropped in its final revised form on Switch back in 2020. Nabbing a 9/10 score in our review, it quickly became one of those very special games that we just straight-up refuse to ever delete off our SD cards...
Review Hitman: Blood Money - Reprisal (Switch) - Small But Potent QoL Additions Keep 47 Spry
Fibre-wired
Before IO Interactive blew everyone’s socks off with the sublime World of Assassination Trilogy, Hitman: Blood Money was widely considered to be the crown jewel of the stealth franchise. In fact, many consider Blood Money to be the progenitor of World of Assassination; a game that thrives on freedom of choice, offering up a total of 14...
Review The Legend Of Steel Empire (Switch) - A Classic Steampunk Shmup Gets A Lick Of Paint
Full steam ahead!
We believe it quite impossible to be a shoot-'em-up lover and not have stumbled upon HOT-B’s cult classic Steel Empire, the 1992 Mega Drive-exclusive horizontal shmup that mesmerised players with incredible steampunk aesthetics, an epic soundtrack, and a stiff challenge. Far from forgotten, there have been in the past two...
Does Apollo justice
After the success of the original three Ace Attorney games, series creator Shu Takumi was ready to end Phoenix Wright's story. But the world wasn't done with these surprisingly intriguing lawyer games, and so he had to figure out how to make a new game without re-treading old ground. Thus, Apollo Justice, pointy-haired greenhorn...
Review Another Code: Recollection (Switch) - A Welcome Return For A Pair Of Cult Classics
Another chance
Our first big Switch exclusive of 2024 arrives nice and early and, rather than assuming the form of one of Nintendo's bigger franchises — we got Fire Emblem Engage this time last year — we are instead winding the clock back to 2005 and 2009 respectively, to dive into swish remakes of a pair of cult classic adventures from the DS...
Review Golden Sun: The Lost Age - More Of The Same, Which Is No Bad Thing
The return of the prodigal sun
This review originally went live in 2014, and we're updating and republishing it to celebrate the game's arrival in Switch's Game Boy Advance library via the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. Back in 2001 (2002 in Europe) some players were left feeling short-changed when Golden Sun reached its abrupt ending...
Review Golden Sun - A Radiant RPG, Once It Gets Going
Magic hands make light work
This review originally went live in 2014, and we're updating and republishing it to celebrate the game's arrival in Switch's Game Boy Advance library via the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. Golden Sun expands on proven genre archetypes to deliver an experience that both pays tribute to and refines the classic...
Review Pocket Auto Catch Light - Petit Pokémon GO Companion Packs A Punch
Small but mighty
Pokémon GO auto-catch companion devices are a top-tier way to ensure that you never miss a 'mon while out and about. Since 2016, these devices — which automatically spin PokéStops and catch the critters you pass — have come in a variety of shapes and sizes, with designs to wear on your wrist, clip to your bag, or (in the case...
Review Pocket iRecatcher - A Neat Pokémon GO Device In Theory, Awkward In Practice
Two devices are company, three's a crowd
Since the launch of the Pokémon GO Plus back in 2016, the market for auto-catching companion devices has become a pretty crowded one. Whether it's on a wrist, clipped to a bag, or stuck straight onto the phone screen, when it comes to finding a bit of kit that will automatically spin PokéStops and catch...
Review Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown (Switch) - Slick, Stylish, And 2024's First Must-Play
The original Fresh Prince returns
Way back in 1989, Jordan Mechner's original Prince of Persia represented one of the first and best examples of what's become known as the 'cinematic platformer'. It's a traditionally challenging genre, one that combines strong art, fun storylines, and fluidly animated protagonists to bring us adventures that test...
Mini Review Knights Of The Rogue Dungeon (Switch) - Shallow And Fun, Like Q*Bert
Knight club
Atooi's Knights of the Rogue Dungeon follows closely in the footsteps of Q*Bert, the popular isometric platformer from the golden days of the arcade. The goal of each randomly selected level is to simply hop onto every single tile (changing its color) while avoiding any of the roaming enemies that randomly drop onto the stage as you...
Review Terra Nil (Switch) - Satisfying Climate-Cleansing Strategy, With Some Switch Issues
Make a little life in your spare time
Video games are usually based on a power fantasy. We wish we could slay the dragon, overthrow the evil king, or run faster than any hedgehog ever should. Possibly the biggest power fantasy of all, though, is offered by Terra Nil, which allows you to tackle the overwhelming existential dread of climate change...
Review Hammerwatch II (Switch) - Feels Like A Rough Draft Of A Fantasy Epic
Be ready to fight powerful enemies, and terrible menu design
Gather forth, mighty heroes, for there is a world to be saved. Evil dragons are lording over humanity while a necromancer has usurped his brother’s throne. We need adventurers with great skill and power to fight through dungeons and battle monsters to give the world a spark of hope...
Review Harvest Moon 64 - Rose-Tinted Specs Recommended For This Beloved Farm Sim
Aged like a fine bottle of milk
To paraphrase a bunch of anti-Nazi singing nuns: How do you solve a problem like reviewing a game that's almost 25 years old? The nuns never came up with an answer, but we have to, because this is a review, not a convent, and it's the issue at the heart of this review, after all. Harvest Moon 64 came out in 1999 —...
Review In Progress Palia (Switch) - Is It Worth Playing At Launch?
A promising new sprout
Two years ago, a new developer called Singularity 6—comprised of various ex-Riot, Sony, and Blizzard staff—announced Palia, a “Massively Multiplayer Community Sim” that would aim to bring together the best parts of Stardew Valley and World of Warcraft. Since then, the title has been in early access on PC, and even...
Review Dodonpachi DaiOuJou Blissful Death Re:Incarnation (Switch) - Poetic Bullet-Hell Perfection
Get Hyper
Cave, a shoot-'em-up developer assembled from the ashes of Toaplan, was preparing to fold in 2001. The arcade scene was moving in new directions, relying on increasingly ostentatious Taikan cabinets to compete with the emerging technology of home consoles. For Cave, the 2D shoot 'em up, no matter how unerringly creative, was struggling to...
Review Outer Wilds (Switch) - A Sublime Spacewalk That Stutters Can't Spoil
Loop-the-loop
What’s the meaning of life? Are we alone in the universe? How do you know if the fridge light goes off after you close the door? It’s questions like this that have driven humankind to explore the planet, the cosmos, and ourselves. And the kitchen. This irresistible drive of curiosity and the addictive high of discovery are what...
That's why they call it the blues
What is The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero? That was probably the question on most players’ lips after the Expansion Pass for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet was revealed. Part one, The Teal Mask, was just an appetizer, taking players to a new land in Kitakami and introducing new characters who might just end up being...
Review Born Of Bread (Switch) - An Enjoyable, If Underbaked, Paper Mario Homage
Ma(rio) baker
It’s been rough out there for Paper Mario fans. Over the past several entries Nintendo has tested new ideas that haven’t come together anywhere near as well as the original games did, and there's good reason for the joy surrounding the return of Thousand-Year Door in 2024. Some indie developers, however, have tried to recapture the...
Review Turok 3: Shadow Of Oblivion (Switch) - A Quality Restoration Missing Its Multiplayer
A feather in your cap
Turok first appeared in 1954 in Dell Comics, an American publisher notable for World War II-themed fiction and Warner Brothers licenses. Back then, Turok, dubbed Son of Stone, was indeed a dinosaur hunter, using wit and muscle to overcome a clashing of the species. In 1992, Valiant Comics rebooted Turok with more of a sci-fi...
Review 1080° Snowboarding - Effortlessly Cool Shredding That Demands Perfection
Shreddin’ the gnar
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to celebrate the game's arrival in Switch's N64 library via the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. Originally released for the Nintendo 64 in 1998, 1080° Snowboarding was Nintendo's attempt to bring the snowboarding experience to its home...
Mini Review Batman: Arkham Knight (Switch) - One Of The Worst Ports We've Ever Played
Chicks dig the car
The final game in the Batman: Arkham Trilogy is Batman: Arkham Knight, which launched on the PS4 in 2015. This entry expands further upon its predecessor, Arkham City, taking a game which was already plenty big enough thank you and adding a little more of everything. Although the series' combat has seen some more refinement here,...
Mini Review Batman: Arkham City (Switch) - The Best Port Of The Trilogy
P.N. Guin? Wait a minute... the Penguin!
With Batman: Arkham City, the second game in the Batman: Arkham Trilogy, Rocksteady finally allowed players to freely soar above the streets of Gotham, providing the full Batman experience that we didn't quite get with its predecessor. The Switch port provides the biggest positive shock of the package with...
Mini Review Batman: Arkham Asylum (Switch) - A No-Frills Port Of A Superhero Classic
Gotham's Finest
2009's Batman: Arkham Asylum laid the foundations for Rocksteady's incredible trilogy, introducing us to the series' iconic combat, which combines slick parries, dodges, blocks and countermoves into a stylish and super-fun combo-based system that makes you feel like the Dark Knight at his most badass. Add in a novel detective mode...