Latest Reviews
Review Steel Assault (Switch) - 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 (Switch) - 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...
Review Hot Wheels Unleashed (Switch) - Probably The Best Hot Wheels Game Ever
More die-cast fun than a game of D&D
There are few licences out there that are better suited to a video game than Hot Wheels. After all, when the whole brand revolves around collecting a wide variety of tiny cars then creating over-the-top tracks for them to race on, it’s fair to say that any game that manages to capture that essence of pure fun...
Mini Review Project Winter (Switch) - 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 (Switch) - 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 Colors Live (Switch) - A Basic Art Application Elevated By Clever Hardware
The Sonar Pen is mightier than the thumb
Note: Special thanks to Sasha Stowe for acting as consultant for this review. You can find her art on Instagram and Twitter. A fair few ‘applications’ have made their way to the Switch, usually just stuff like YouTube, Calculator, Netflix, that sort of thing, but now we have a full-blown digital art...
Review RiMS Racing (Switch) - A Poor Switch Port Makes For An Uneasy Rider
Brake drag
In order to very quickly condense exactly what kind of motorcycle sim RiMS Racing is, consider this: There are over 500 fully licenced vehicle parts in this game and just eight actual bikes. This isn't a sleight on Raceward Studio's game, far from it, the eight bikes here are very obviously authentically detailed and lovingly crafted,...
Review Metallic Child (Switch) - 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 Kitaria Fables (Switch) - A Delightfully Cute, Fantasy Life-Style RPG Adventure
One for the grinders
It's been seven years since Level-5's toylike RPG masterpiece Fantasy Life came to the 3DS in the West, and like addicts seeking our next hit we've been searching for something that replicates that feeling ever since. Between games like Ni No Kuni (also Level-5) and cutesy Rune Factory-likes such as Littlewood, we've come...
Review Active Life Outdoor Challenge / Family Trainer (Switch) - Fit Enough For Purpose
Wii think we've seen this before
There used to be a time during the Wii era where you couldn't move for fitness games. The enormous success of Wii Fit led to a steady stream of imitators, from well-known established publishers all the way down to the shovelware merchants looking to cash in on the latest fad. One of the more unique offerings was...
Review Eastward (Switch) - 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 Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (Switch) - A Sublime Port Of An Awesome Adventure
Ding Dong Delightful
Level-5's Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom originally released on PS4 back in March 2018 to pretty much unanimous critical praise, and playing it now in this latest Switch iteration, it's really not too hard to see why. This is a wonderfully well-crafted adventure that hits the ground running, nails pretty much every single...
Review NBA 2K22 (Switch) - Loading Aside, This Baller's Got It Where It Counts
Hoop Dreams?
With another year's NBA season not too far away, a brand new edition of NBA 2K makes its way onto Switch just in time to give b-ball fans a wealth of slam-dunking sports action to get stuck into. This time around developer Visual Concepts has made a few neat changes to shooting and defence, improved upon last year's controversial shot...
Review SkateBIRD (Switch) - 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...
Review Cruis'n Blast (Switch) - An Arcade Racing Icon Returns In Spectacular Fashion
A Blast from the past
Long-time Nintendo fans will know that the Cruis’n series has an interesting history with the company. The original arcade version of the first game, Cruis’n USA, was said to be the first title running on Nintendo's upcoming Ultra 64 hardware, a claim which ultimately turned out to be a bit of a porky pie. Its subsequent...
Review Espgaluda II (Switch) - Localisation Issues Can't Spoil This Superb Shmup
There’s a fly in the full extent of the jam
Espgaluda II’s originally a 2005 arcade game by legendary developer Cave, responsible for the already-released Switch ports of Mushihimesama and Progear (via Capcom Arcade Stadium), the upcoming Deathsmiles I & II collection, and before that a string of high-quality arcade shmups stretching all the...
Review Residual (Switch) - A Deep, Vibrant 2D Survival Platformer With Just A Couple Of Issues
One small step for man and bot
Booting up Residual for the first time can feel a tad overwhelming. You’re chucked head-first onto a strange, seemingly barren planet with nothing but a few bits and bobs to get you started. You step out of the comfort of your ship into the harsh, unforgiving 2D environment and you can actually see your hunger and...
Review Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions (Switch) - Comes Out Swinging On Switch
That’s how winnin’ is done!
The Rocky series has deservedly cemented itself as one of the most iconic franchises of modern cinema. It naturally spawned a number of games over the years, with developer Survios turning out the latest efforts: the 2018 VR title Creed: Rise to Glory and Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions. The latter is a departure...
Review The Outer Worlds: Murder On Eridanos (Switch) - A Fun Final Slice Of 'Whoddunnit' DLC
Set your impertinence levels to "flagrant"
The final slice of DLC for The Outer Worlds, Obsidian's superb action-RPG, Murder on Eridanos attempts to switch things up by ditching the mostly combat-centric action of the main game in favour of a narrative-driven whoddunnit that throws you into a tangled web of intrigue on a floating island of treachery...
Review Ultra Age (Switch) - Surprisingly Satisfying Devil May Cry-Style Hack-And-Slash Action
Devil May Try
Fans of hack-and-slash games in the Devil May Cry / Bayonetta mould don't have a particularly large library of titles to choose from on Switch, although with both of these famous franchises, plus the excellent Astral Chain and a (two-thirds dodgy) Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection port on the console, the quality of what is available is...
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 WarioWare: Get It Together! (Switch) - More Magnificent Microgame Mayhem
Wario always win!
We've all been waiting a good long while now for a brand new WarioWare game to dive into as, in terms of a proper fully-formed entry in the series — one that isn't a greatest hits compilation or experimental spin-off — it's been well over a decade since the last mainline addition to the franchise dropped. However, the long wait...
Mini Review The Magnificent Trufflepigs (Switch) - A Metal-Detecting Sim Short On Magnificence
beep beep beep BEEBEEBEEBEEP
From day one, The Magnificent Trufflepigs — a game about metal-detecting and romance — came out swinging for the fences with prestige TV powerhouse AMC (of Walking Dead, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad fame) as publishers. But is it the equivalent of a stash of rare Roman coins, or just another rusty bottlecap? The story...
Review Monster Harvest (Switch) - Poor Execution Of A Promising 'Stardew Valley X Pokémon' Premise
It hurt itself in its confusion!
It must be tough to be a hopeful dev working on a farm sim project. Stardew Valley—a simple looking project made by one guy—has so effectively raised the bar for what a pure farm sim can be that matching it seems almost impossible by this point. The only way that a new game could feasibly beat it would be by...
Review Baldo: The Guardian Owls (Switch) - Exquisite Ghibli-Esque Art Can't Hide Tortuous Gameplay
You Died
Since this review was originally published, patches and updates have reportedly addressed or improved one or more of the issues cited. Unfortunately, cannot revisit games on an individual basis, but it should be noted that the updated game may offer an improved experience over the one detailed below. Excruciating. It's not a word you...
Mini Review Necrobarista: Final Pour (Switch) - Decaf On Switch, But Still A Potent Blend
Could be robusta, but has strong notes
While video games often provide a very different storytelling experience to books and of course TV / cinema, the continual growth in the popularity of visual novels demonstrates that different mediums can blend to excellent effect. Necrobarista: Final Pour is another welcome entry in the genre on Switch, and it...
Review Dodgeball Academia (Switch) - Impressive Presentation, But Lacks Depth On Court
A True Underdog Story
It's very difficult to make school appealing. Persona gave it a go, and Lego Harry Potter took its best shot, but in general we just don't want to go to school ever. Dodgeball Academia is up against it from the off, but compelling gameplay could have brought it back from the brink of enforced educational apathy. Sadly, it's...
Mini Review Golf Club: Wasteland (Switch) - Surprisingly Engaging Post-Apocalyptic Putt Putt
Not a birdie in sight
If the world were to become a wasteland, chances are your main priorities will be obtaining food, water, shelter, and perhaps an abandoned Game Boy to pass the time (because you know those puppies can last for decades). It’s unlikely that playing golf would be at the top of your bucket list at that point, so it’s a good...
Review Sonic Colors Ultimate (Switch) - The Best 3D Sonic Game Gets A Respectable Remaster
Just take my hand, we're gonna reach for the stars
Being a Sonic fan is hard. The Blue Blur has starred in quite a few legitimately great games over the years, but he’s also been in just about as many clunkers that tanked his reputation. Sonic has especially struggled when it’s come to his forays into 3D environments, yet there was an all too...
Mini Review Doctor Who: The Lonely Assassins (Switch) - The Best Doctor Who Game Ever Made
You were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.
Have you ever wanted to receive text messages from the Doctor Who universe? No, us neither. That’s not to diminish the long-running sci-fi telecast as a whole; more of a sad acknowledgement that its current incarnation perhaps doesn’t represent the programme at its best. We were surprised, then, to find...