Switch eShop Game Reviews
Review Cassette Beasts (Switch) - An Inventive Monster Battler That's Far More Zelda Than Pokémon
We'd die for Traffikrab
There’s something that feels right about a monster-battling creature-collecting game coming to a Nintendo console. Originally released for PC on 26 April 2023, Cassette Beasts has made its way to the Nintendo Switch where it belongs. At first glance, Cassette Beasts clearly draws quite a lot of inspiration from Pokémon,...
Review Fights In Tight Spaces (Switch) - A Fresh-Feeling Roguelike With Turn-Based Tussling
Wham, bam, thank you ma'am
There are an almost infinite number of roguelikes on the Switch, so it could be easy for you to miss the release of Fights in Tight Spaces. First released on PC and Xbox in December 2021, this is a tactical deck-builder that offers visceral violence and surprisingly deep strategy. The concept of one person against a room...
Mini Review Nightmare Reaper (Switch) - A Roguelite, Boomer-Shlooter Bloodbath
Psychoactive
Nightmare Reaper’s procedurally generated stages are as rawly aggressive as the thrash metal motifs that drive it. Coined a looter-shooter, it’s a roguelite that revels in retro visuals, blazing speeds, and the ensuing spectacle of its bloodbath. In a novel move, it procedurally generates levels, meaning each time you die or start...
Review Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! (Switch) - Bubbles Over With Charm (And Useless Bots)
PAYONPAH!
One of the biggest games to dominate the scene of the golden age of arcades was Bubble Bobble, a cute Japanese action platformer centered around little dinosaurs that could shoot bubbles out of their mouths. While that original game eventually went on to spawn a ton of sequels and ports that iterated on the concept, it also led to the...
Positively shocking
Confusion abounds with this one. This isn’t the same Shockman that was originally released for the TurboGrafx-16 back in 1991, which was a localisation of Japan's Shubibinman 2. This, Cyber Citizen Shockman, is a new 2023 translation of the original Shubibinman game from 1989; and frankly, that’s the most special thing about...
Review Bat Boy (Switch) - 'Mega Man With A Baseball Bat' Is Fun, But Not Quite A Home Run
Shohei Ohtani meets Rockman
There’s something refreshing about playing a Mega Man-like action platformer in 2023. Instead of expansive open worlds to explore, you get a handful of themed stages to leap through. There’s no deep narrative or lore to invest in, yet the colourful cast of bad guys and allies draws you in all the same with their fun...
Review Molly Medusa: Queen Of Spit (Switch) - A Frustrating, Wind Waker-Inspired Throwback
Didn't float our trireme
Molinike is in a bit of a pickle. All she wanted was to learn how to be the best sculptor ever, but instead, she’s got snakes in her hair and turns everyone who gets close to her to stone. Molly Medusa: Queen of Spit starts with a fun concept but it strains against its own ambition in almost every direction. Coming from...
Review Super Dungeon Maker (Switch) - A Promising 'Zelda Maker' That Needs More Time In The Oven
Prematurely hatched
Ever since Nintendo gave players the tools to develop their own levels with Super Mario Maker, there’s been talk about the Big N expanding the concept to other franchises, especially Zelda. This was allegedly discussed at greater length behind the scenes and eventually led to the addition of the Chamber Dungeons concept in the...
Mini Review Wild Dogs (Switch) - Solid Contra-Style Running And Gunning
Contra addiction
Wild Dogs borrows almost everything from Konami’s classic Contra series, and this is a good thing. Initially glowing in perfect shades of monochromatic green and formed like a beautifully detailed Game Boy title, it’s both visually pleasing and successful in its nostalgic reimaginings. Playing as mercenary Frank Williams and...
Review Nuclear Blaze (Switch) - A Neat Little Action Platformer, Small And Cool
I don't want to set the world on fire
In April of 2021, the beloved Ludum Dare game jam took place with the theme of 'Deeper and Deeper'. Participants had 48 hours to throw together a game, and Sébastien Benard—known for working on Dead Cells—decided to give it a shot by making a firefighting game called Nuclear Blaze. After the competition was...
Review Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed (Switch) - A Stunning Denouement, Utterly Essential
We're really feeling it
Nine months on from the release of the stunning Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and, true to form, Monolith Soft has once again delivered a hefty chunk of story-based DLC for fans to sink their teeth into, this time in the shape of Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed. We’ve already had a bunch of fun new heroes and an all-new...
Review Strayed Lights (Switch) - A Genuine Surprise, Imperfect But Enchanting
Colour us impressed
As soon as we booted up Strayed Lights, we were rooting for it. The sights and sounds were beautiful and haunting, making this freshman offering from developer Embers one of the most enchanting games we’ve played all year. Unfortunately, a string of visual bugs and long loading times marred what was otherwise a glorious...
Review Desta: The Memories Between (Switch) - Dreamy Dodgeball That's Surprisingly Emotional
Balls well that ends well
There’s an approach to relationship counselling where there’s a ball, and whoever is holding the ball gets to speak. Having said your piece, you toss the ball to another person and they get their chance to express themselves without interruption. But here’s an idea: what if you just threw the ball as hard as you could...
Review Afterimage - An Attractive, Sprawling Metroidvania That Struggles On Switch
Don't walk away, Renee
There’s nothing quite like a good Metroidvania. Dense labyrinths to traverse, many kinds of demons/undead/monsters to slay, new equipment to find, hazards to leap, and, most importantly, abilities to acquire that allow you to explore even more. We’ve gotten quite a few stellar genre entries in the last decade, but now we...
Review Castle Of Shikigami 2 (Switch) - A Fine Version Of The Best Game In The Bullet-Hell Trilogy
Something familiar
Shikigami no Shiro, or Castle of Shikigami in localisation, is a shooting game series by Alfa System, a studio that once upon a time pitched in on the likes of Wonder Boy III and several Ys ports for the PC Engine CD-ROM. Castle of Shikigami’s main series spans three games, and, despite the third entry’s intriguing Hi-Tension...
Review Tin Hearts (Switch) - An Engaging Little Puzzler That Tugs On Your Heartstrings
Heigh ho, heigh ho
Remember when Lemmings was all the rage? It’s hard to imagine that the studio that would go on to develop the monumentally successful Grand Theft Auto franchise made such a quaint little puzzler. Lemmings was a darn good game, spawning multiple add-ons and sequels over the years. It’s honestly a little surprising that the...
Review IGS Classic Arcade Collection (Switch) - An Excellent Selection, Poorly Presented
Romance of the Arcade Kingdom
IGS, or International Game System Co., Ltd — not to be confused with '90s Japanese developer IGS (Information Global Service) — is a dedicated arcade developer hailing from Taiwan. Still going strong after 25 years in the industry, it maintains an incredibly strong foothold in both Taiwan and China, producing...
Review The Mageseeker: A League Of Legends Story (Switch) - An Enthralling Hack-And-Slash Spin-Off
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but chains and whips excite me
It’s a shame that League of Legends has become such a meme for being a source of toxicity, as Riot Games has consistently shown that the world of Runeterra has quite a bit more potential than the MOBA lets on. Through its Riot Forge publishing arm, the company has enlisted...
Six not-so-final Final Fantasies
Few series are as beloved as Final Fantasy, and given how many re-releases, remakes, and remasters we’ve gotten over the years, Square Enix knows this. Often these remakes and re-releases have questionable quality and design choices that diehard fans lament. Enter the Final Fantasy I-VI Pixel Remaster, which...
Review Disney Speedstorm - Great Courses And Characters, But Stutters On Switch
Super karting, quite artistic, FPS atrocious
It’s hard to review a game when it has something that doesn’t bother some players but is considered a dealbreaker for others. Disney Speedstorm is a particularly tricky course to navigate, then, because it has two of them. Let’s get this out of the way first, then, so as to not waste some...
Review Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories (Switch) - A Witty Little Nostalgia Trip
Melondramatic, in the best sense
We are living in an unprecedentedly competitive attention economy, one in which time and energy are increasingly finite and precious. Because of this, it can be easy to overlook games which appear simple and unassuming at first glance: retro monochromatic Game Boy-style graphics, cute-but-childish anthropomorphic...
Review Cannon Dancer - Osman (Switch) - The Bold, Concise Strider Sequel You Always Wanted
Strider Too
Following his departure from Capcom, director Kouichi Yotsui was burdened with expectation following Strider's success. Sadly, despite his inventive, risk-taking approach to game development, he would never again win the limelight. In the mid-'90s he had a fling with Mitchell Corporation, a studio formed of ex-Capcom staff that coaxed...
Review TRON: Identity (Switch) - A Tight Visual Novel That Fans Of The Films Will Love
Griddy with anticipation
The world of Tron is filled with intrigue, opposing forces, and not-so-subtle hints at the influence humans have on the programs living within their computers. While the two films followed humans who made their way to The Grid, TRON: Identity is a visual novel that offers a look at how programs interact when there aren’t...
Review Batora: Lost Haven (Switch) - An Interplanetary Action RPG That Plays It Too Safe
That's no moon!
Italian-based studio Stormind Games came onto the scene in 2016 alongside the announcement of Remothered: Tormented Fathers, a decent survival horror game that eventually found its way onto the Switch. After its more critically panned sequel dropped two years later, the studio decided to pivot to another genre with a new project,...
Review Lunark (Switch) - The Love Letter The Cinematic Platforming Genre Deserves
That's both a moon AND a space station
Lunark sends players into the retro-future we all thought the '80s would be. It brings a world of flying cars and corrupt mega-corporations to life with vibrant pixel graphics and rotoscope animation. At its best moments, Lunark is an effective love letter to the cinematic platformer, a genre of gaming that...
Review The Last Worker (Switch) - Well-Packaged Satire That Doesn't Always Deliver
Stand and deliver
First announced for Switch in March 2021, news of parcel-shipping immersive sim The Last Worker has been fascinating. Over the last two years, there’s been plenty of time for interesting little info trinkets to be packed and despatched from the Wired Productions warehouse. There was the time the game competed at the Venice Film...
Review Saga Of Sins (Switch) - Beautiful Stained-Glass Visuals, But Lacks The Divine Touch
Confession time
Rejoice, sinners, for redemption is on its way. Saga of Sins puts players in control of Cecil, a battle-weary cleric who has recently returned from the Crusades. Rather than receive a joyous reception when he arrives, he sees his home village of Sinwell has become infested with plague and its citizens consumed with their sinful ways...
Review Gripper (Switch) - Slick, Akira-Style Biking Action With An Equal Measure Of Frustration
The music's good, though
Heart Core’s Gripper has a lot to like at first glance. Motorcycle slides inspired by the classic anime, Akira? Yes, please. Starring a stylish half-cybernetic young man named None? Weird name, but cool. A slick art style and a heavy synthwave soundtrack? You’re speaking our language. The opening cinematic introduces an...
*spooking intensifies*
It’s remarkable how easy it can be to see the effects of developers' genuine passion when playing a video game. In Kraino Origins—the product of one man, Angel Dorantes—you can just feel how much appreciation the dev has for classic retro platformers. Better yet, it turns out that he clearly understands what made the...
Review Have A Nice Death (Switch) - Delightfully Dark, Brutally Tough Roguelite Action
Dead good
In 2019, Magic Design Studios—a new team comprised of many ex-Ubisoft staff—put out the Rayman-esque Unruly Heroes, which we thought was a great platformer with some amazing visuals. For the next few years, the team went quiet while working on its next game, revealed in late 2021 as Have A Nice Death, a tough action roguelite about the...