Dave Aubrey's Reviews
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening looks gorgeous, sounds beautiful, and tells a twee and compelling tale. While the game can be played through in around ten hours if you know what you're doing in advance, new players will find a lengthy and engaging Zelda game to love. Whether it's your first time playing Link's Awakening or your dozenth, you will still find a gripping Switch game that you'll remember for another twenty years.
Gears 5 is excellent, albeit with a major narrative downfall. While the finale of the campaign definitely left a sour taste in my mouth, the game was so good that I want to keep playing the Horde and multiplayer modes just to get more Gears 5.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses might be the best Fire Emblem game yet, and the best strategy JRPG I've played in years. Whether you're totally new to the series or a lapsed fan, this is an essential Nintendo Switch game for any JRPG fan. The links above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Wccftech.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
I'm sorry Kill la Kill fans, but IF is not the game you were waiting for.
Judgment is an excellent Japanese adventure that feels incredibly familiar, yet engrossing all the same. With Judgment, RGG Studio has managed to create an excellent entry point for the Yakuza series, and a fantastic standalone adventure. While it's familiar to myself and Yakuza fans, if you're new to the series this might just be the very best place to start. A wonderful, though sometimes slow, adventure from beginning to end.The links above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Wccftech.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Super Mario Maker 2 is another Nintendo Switch essential. With more things to create with, more unique stages to play and better online functionality, this is the definitive Super Mario Maker experience. Honestly, the game is good enough to have the story mode sold separately, but the fact that it's bundled with such a powerful stage creation tool is incredible. This is one of the best Mario games of all time.The links above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Wccftech.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Cadence of Hyrule ends up being a shocking blend of a rhythm game, action game, puzzle game, dungeon crawler, and roguelike, all in one. It's actually pretty stunning how well the developers have managed to blend all of these elements together and still come out with a cohesive and refined experience. The game looks amazing, plays marvelously, and the music is not only the most important part, but it's the part that delivers the best. The Crypt of the NecroDancer formula isn't for everyone, but this game is borderline unmissable.
Boxboy + Boxgirl is perfectly pleasant platforming that anyone can enjoy. If you're looking for a new puzzle game to play on Nintendo Switch in bitesize chunks, look no further than Qbby and his new friend in Boxboy + Boxgirl.
The Nintendo Labo VR Kit is a work of genius, for the most part. The Blaster and Elephant are particular highlights which transforms the way the Nintendo Switch works, but the Fan and the Bird ToyCon are just… somewhat useless. Great for the family, great as a weekend crafting project, and definitely the best Labo kit yet.
Yoshi's Crafted World is a game utterly dripping with charm, but not that much challenge. It definitely can keep experienced and younger gamers occupied for hours, but this isn't a Switch essential. If you've got a soft spot for the green dino, then this might be worth your while. A great game for kids and younger gamers, but if you're looking for a challenging 2D adventure, this ain't it, chief.
If you're looking for a hack and slash game, Fate/Extella Link is a fantastic one, even if you're not a fan of the series, though if you are, that's another good reason to jump in.
With One Piece: World Seeker it feels like we are finally getting higher quality licensed anime games, but it still has a way to go to be truly incredible or essential, even for fans of the series. Still, if you want to run and rocket with Luffy and the crew, this is a great place to do so.
Dead or Alive 6 has a great fighting system and a bunch of small extras that enhance the experience. Is it better than Dead or Alive 5? That's harder to determine. As it stands this is an awesome fighting game, but the character roster feels a bit light and the story is predictably rubbish. At least the games I played in the Online Ranked mode were incredibly solid, which is sure to please fighting game fans.
X-Morph: Defense fixes the tedium of tower defense games by blending it with high-octane twin-stick shooter gameplay, and the end result is great. Definitely worth playing portably on Nintendo Switch.
Crackdown 3 is a weird one to review, because it feels distinctly out of date. The delays and changes in direction have resulted in a modern game with design sensibilities that feel over a decade old, but they hold up incredibly well. While not a long campaign, the time I spent with Crackdown 3 was a lot of fun, and recommended to fans of the original. Just make sure to play as Terry Crews to improve the experience.
Jump Force has major problems, but it can actually be really fun. It feels tedious when playing missions, and repetitive at times in combat. But using your favourite characters' abilities in battle remains fun throughout. It's going to be an acquired taste, but anime fans will actually find a lot to enjoy here. Just stick to the online play, where you can remain blissfully ignorant of the awful cutscenes and animation.
While God Eater 3 has its share of problems, it's still an incredibly fun action RPG that I found myself playing for hours on end. While it's not quite up to the quality of Monster Hunter World, it's worth playing for fans of anime aesthetics and JRPG tropes.
There is nothing about Vane that redeems it. This review reads like a list of complaints instead of constructive criticism because there isn't even anything to be constructive about. It's a game that's a challenge to play simply because it challenges your patience.
No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Back is not a complete failure, and there's a lot to love here, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I was somewhat disappointed. While playing I skipped between being in love with the game's style and personality and sick to death of actually having to play. A fascinating experiment from Suda51, one I'm glad he made, but not the best game. Add a point to the score if you love Japanese eccentricity, take one away if you have no time for it.
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is a great Mario package, although still feels incredibly familiar. Multiplayer chaos is fun for a short while, but testing your skills against difficult stages is where Super Mario excels, as always. If you've not played a 2D Mario platformer in a while, this is well worth it, though Wii U fans who've played it before should think twice before purchasing.