Tag: Reviews - Page 2
Review Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story (Switch) - A Dazzling Trip Into A (Gold) Master's Mind
Yak in time
With its efforts on Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration and The Making of Karateka, developer Digital Eclipse is cementing itself as a true pioneer in the interactive documentary space. Truth be told, it’s a niche that the studio completely owns at this point, and though we’re surprised other major players in the video game...
Review LEGO Animal Crossing - Kapp’n’s Island Boat Tour - Is It Any Good?
Aye, Kapp'n
The five Animal Crossing-themed Lego sets which launched on 1st March 2024 bring a selection of Animal Crossing: New Horizons characters to life in minifigure form. They range in price from $15 to $75: Julian's Birthday Party is the most affordable, while Nook's Cranny and Rosie's House
Review LEGO Animal Crossing - Julian’s Birthday Party - Is It Any Good?
Party of one
The LEGO Animal Crossing sets bring Animal Crossing: New Horizons to life in plastic brick form, featuring minifigures of some of the series' most beloved characters at home and around their island. The first wave of sets launched in March 2024, with Julian's Birthday Party among them. This is the cheapest set in the range (at launch),...
Review Snufkin: Melody Of Moominvalley (Switch) - A Joyful, Dreamlike Adventure With An Edge
Snufkin compares to you
Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley opens with a goodbye. The music swells and this goodbye pulls hard on the heartstrings. It’s a goodbye to a Moomin, so perhaps you’d think it’s not an important goodbye – just a Moomin, after all. But it sets up the main arc of a well-paced and imaginative musical adventure. For the...
Review Contra: Operation Galuga (Switch) - Does The Series Proud, But Best Played Elsewhere
Aggressively attacked
With Konami seemingly devoid of both in-house developers and any kind of passion to revive their beloved IPs, WayForward, predominately a licence mule during the '00s, is by far the best option for a new Contra entry. Its work on 2007’s brutally hardcore Contra 4 cemented the developer's prowess, allowing the player to...
Review LEGO Animal Crossing - Nook’s Cranny & Rosie’s House - Is It Any Good?
The Rose and Cranny
The LEGO Animal Crossing range brings a variety of Animal Crossing: New Horizons characters to blocky life across five sets (initially, at least) that enable you to connect them and create your own Animal Crossing island in Lego form. Keen Lego fans will spy a similarity to the defunct Fabuland theme, now with a Nintendo...
Review LEGO Animal Crossing - Isabelle’s House Visit - Is It Any Good?
House call
The LEGO Animal Crossing sets released in March 2024 feature a range of different minifigures and island elements bringing back memories of 2020's Animal Crossing: New Horizons in the form of everyone's favourite plastic bricks. As we run through each of the sets to see which one is best, here we're looking at Isabelle's House Visit —...
Review Expeditions: A MudRunner Game (Switch) - Performance Bumps Can't Run This Sim Off The Road
Fancy a winch? Oh, you call it a shift? Same difference, baby.
When we first got wind that Expeditions: A MudRunner Game was on its way to Nintendo Switch, we gotta admit, we were a little bit surprised. This new entry in Saber Interactive's superb off-road sim series takes the whole mud-running malarkey to a new level, with larger maps, loads more...
Review Unicorn Overlord (Switch) - A Crowning Tactical RPG Achievement For Vanillaware
My kingdom for a unicorn
How do you follow up a game like 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim? Before that ambitious, phenomenal sci-fi adventure, developer Vanillaware found its niche in creating rich, beautiful-looking worlds with a magical, medieval twist. Sometimes it was traditional Western fantasy, while others it jumped back to Edo Japan.
Review Ancient Weapon Holly (Switch) - Serviceable But Shallow Roguelite Action
Hey, everybody. Want to kill all humans?
There is no shortage of terrible things buried deep underground, but, in Ancient Weapon Holly, you get to be the worst of them. This roguelike from Acquire, one of the studios behind the Octopath Traveler series, puts you in control of a powerful robot that seeks revenge on the humans that buried it for...
Review LEGO Animal Crossing - Bunnie's Outdoor Activities - Is It Any Good?
New Horizons on the block
Nintendo's latest collaboration with Lego has resulted in a handful of Animal Crossing sets, a crossover that fans have been begging for ever since the firms' first collaboration, the LEGO Super Mario sets, were announced back in March 2020 — coincidentally Animal Crossing: New Horizons' launch month. In the years since,...
Review New Star GP (Switch) - A Stylish, Moreish Homage To The Likes Of Virtua Racing
We've certainly Senna lot worse
Every now and then you get an indie developer who you can rely on to deliver a banger pretty much every time. New Star Games is one such developer, having already scored healthy scores on Nintendo Life in the past for New Star Manager (which scored 8), Retro Bowl (9), and Retro Goal (8). Alongside its Switch...
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...