Dragon Age: The Veilguard is fantastic. It feels great to play, the length of the story is perfect and doesn’t break the pacing. It may not 100% capitalise on the darkness of previous games but it feels like this more positive angle was deliberate with the game and how the story is designed around it. Additionally, the way the game handles consequences for choices is great and really made the main decisions hit where it mattered so that the endgame was all the more worthy and emotional. Recommended to anyone wanting a fun action RPG that follows up Dragon Age’s existing story.
Romancing SaGa 2: Return of the Seven is a fantastic remake. It keeps the soul of the original alive, while refreshing it in a way that makes it a great modern RPG experience. Though the time hopping could sometimes feel surprising, as it is not obviously communicated with the player it effectively presents an epic time spanning story and having the heroes of old be the antagonists is still a fun angle even in 2024. Combat and other gameplay overhauls make this a joy to play and the definitive Romancing SaGa 2 experience.
Crow Country is a delight to experience. It leverages a unique style that has obvious inspirations and successfully pays homage to them while sporting its own fun story. The overall adventure is a little marred by sub-par combat controls but it has so much intrigue and so many cool puzzles that it’s still a blast. The journey of Mara as she explores a strange dilapidated theme park is something worth experiencing and the Switch is a fantastic platform to do it on!
Epic Mickey Rebrushed is a great time. It carefully revives Epic Mickey with great quality of life changes to the control scheme and tasteful visual upgrades that preserve the original style. The darker twisted storyline is a delight to experience and feels decidedly taboo given the properties at play so it’s really worth experiencing for Mickey or Disney fans.
FAIRY TAIL Beach Volleyball Havoc is a fun little game that does exactly what it set out to achieve. There is one singular focus and one single arena but it’s well crafted that has a tremendous and sometimes fairly deep set of Fairy Tail characters from across its full anime roster. Seeing some truly perfect and bizarre match-ups smack each other around is quite rewarding for fans of the anime, however, with a limited set of unlockables and short form content it may not have wider reaching appeal. A real “I have 5 minutes” title that you can quickly jump in and out of.
Bounty Hunter is still an incredible bit of Star Wars media, officially part of the canon story it tells a compelling ,if light, story that cements Jango as a badass. Though it can be a bit clunky and old fashioned to actually play, it does have some great depth and naturally puts choices in the players hands. The game is definitively a product of the era in which it released and yet it feels like a breath of fresh air with its tight platforming, focus on actual bounty hunting and frantic combat. Just be aware that it’s not easy to beat with it’s unforgiving life system. A must have for any Star Wars completionist and a fantastic addition to Aspyr’s Star Wars catalogue!
What does go bump in the night? Lots of things really, but in Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD it’s a variety of fun to fight ghosts, a moderately challenging adventure and a fun comical story. It’s a delight to return to the world of Luigi’s Mansion in his second outing! Though longer play sessions might get a little repetitive with the entrance and exit cutscenes for each mission, the game more than makes up for this with unique dialogue and fantastical level designs. It succeeds in expanding the scope of Luigi’s Mansion without losing the charm. An excellent entry to any Switch library regardless of age, just don’t bother going for the 100% unless you adore it.
Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door on Nintendo Switch is a fantastic game. It breathes new life into what is widely considered the best entry in the series with a very tasteful graphical overhaul. While the main mechanics of the game remain unchanged, they were not broken or in need of any particular tweaking to begin with so it’s really a win-win for those purests out there with their 5HP Mario runs. This is also the first time TTYD has been available as a portable title so no matter what, this is a must have game for fans of Paper Mario or even just RPG fans. They really hit the right notes for this reviewer!
A really strong title for those who have a love of Endless Ocean’s many trappings. The sealife on show is fantastic and researching them by scanning and cataloguing feels quite satisfying. Storymode presents a fairly expected and oddly structured set of missions that are not too shabby but do feel impacted by the interim menus and grinding to progress. It’s a serviceable game with lofty goals that it doesn’t quite meet meaning it lacks the long lifespan that was being aimed for.
A great first appearance for No Rest for the Wicked, especially on strong enough PCs. A beautiful, intriguing and mesmerising game that revels in supreme artistic vision while offering a gameplay style that mixes and merges the best of the genre into something quite unique. It’ll be really interesting to follow the future development of the game and to see where the stories will go over time. We can’t wait to experience further beautiful graphics and fun combat!
Tomb Raider I – III Remastered is a tour de force for the franchise. Revitalising the original games and thrusting Lara back into the limelight. These games not only stand the test of time but highlight some of the best of their original era as well with tight level design, cool stories that showcase a badass heroine and sound design that is iconic. Nintendo Switch is a great platform to revisit these three titles as the games run excellently and play quite easily into the pick-up and put-down nature of portable gaming. Pick this collection up!
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is quite the adventure. The dark fantastical take on the three kingdoms conflict is exciting to experience while also being tough as nails. The balance struck between difficulty and will to push forwards is just about right to keep players invested throughout the quite substantial runtime of the game. That coupled with the online and the excellent time that is experimenting with character builds mean that Wo Long is well really quite long!
While the Iron’s Hot is a fantastic little indie game that really does put its heart into FORGING an identity. It STRIKES a nice balance between all of its elements and fits them into a space with a very pleasant atmosphere. Where it really HITS THE NAIL ON THE HEAD is in its characterisation and all of the silly little incidental character interactions the player will have across the whole experience. There is a lot to do and with all of the focus on the key art of smithing the developer managed to design around that key concept in a fun and interactive way. It’s just a really good time!
Atelier Marie: The Alchemist of Salburg Remake is a fantastic game, it faithfully recaptures the original in a modern style while offering players a fine tuned gameplay experience without sacrificing its identity. The new soundtrack is excellent and the game takes a super streamlined approach with the well established formula of the series. This title may just be the best game in the series with its perfectly pitched length and tremendously addictive gameplay loop.
Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE is an incredibly intriguing experience. It offers a solid set of mysteries and a fun and somewhat unpredictable overarching plot. The unique way the story is presented and the cool gameplay elements like piecing cases together and the battles really make this a fun time. It’s not perfect, but it is a solid recommendation for Switch owners looking for a dark and mysterious title that will make their brains work hard.