Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is a fine example of the metroidvania sub-genre. Depth-wise, it does not quite reach the heights of Hollow Knight, but it far surpasses the likes of Xeodrifter. It's strengths lie in the action, and its charm. This is a fairly bite-sized affair, when compared to the competition, but it is a bite worth trying. With all the basics set in place for such a polished and well crafted entry, hopefully this will get a successor that expands on such a strong foundation.
Resident Evil 2 on PlayStation in 1998 was one of the most enjoyable survival-horror games ever released. The remake continues that tradition and improves on all the aspects that made it great and the result is what could be the best Resident Evil ever made. It may even be the best horror title ever made just going by the sheer level of craftsmanship and detail. Is it the scariest? It is scarier than the 1998 original, but on current platforms such as PlayStation 4 one would be hard-pressed to find anything that's even half of its calibre. This is one that keeps on giving; highly repayable and full of interesting ways to keep playing, even after completing two campaign variations.
Remothered: Tormented Fathers is wasted potential. This is supposed to be the start of a trilogy, and hopefully the designers will learn from this mulligan and make something that has a bit more polish next time. Chris Darril's heart is in the right place, and he is proven to be a very capable game designer - the next effort just needs to be more carefully thought out and play-tested.
Transference is wasted on Xbox One, since it does not support VR. It is not only unbelievably short, it is lacking in content and substance. It is a perfect example of a "one and done" kind of game where you never look back after completing it, and then forget all about it. It might get brought up later in life, but even then, memories of playing it will be foggy at best. Half-remembered dreams are more memorable than Transference.
Is this the worst game on the Switch? It is very close. Ark: Survival Evolved is easily the most poorly converted game on the system, which makes it feel like it could be the worst. If things worked and it didn't look like computer generated vomit, it might have been an average survival game at best. Nothing would distinguish itself. It is unfortunate that the one aspect it has that makes it stand out is just how much of a porting disaster it has proven to be.
Even the most hardcore Swery fans will be put off by how sloppy and tedious The Missing is. Much of the appeal of past Swery games was interacting with interesting and colourful personalities. The Missing has none, unless reading text messages counts, and even then the writing is the same movie-referencing material from past games from this director, and its interrupting of the flow of action. The Nintendo Switch has so many better options for puzzle-platformer adventure games - Limbo, Inside, Flashback or Another World, to name a few. The mediocrity of The Missing might have been a bit more tolerable if it weren't such a janky and busted mess. Swery is not the David Lynch of video games; at best he is Ed Wood or a dime store Suda Goichi.
Okami HD might still have some of its original niggling annoyances, but in a way, it wears these on its sleeve.
Death Mark is a solid horror text adventure game. With all the hallmarks one would hope for in a survival horror, compounded with excellent writing that sparks the reader's imagination, anyone who is interested in a low-stress horror game that is actually very creepy will enjoy this. The presentation may be unimpressive and the art just adequate, yet the sound design makes up for it. If this went the extra mile with the visuals and animation it could have been a real cult classic.
Beneath the promising concept, Home Sweet Home is as generic and bare bones as it gets for horror titles on PlayStation 4. Playing it with PSVR might be a game-changer, but without it, expect a mediocre and pedestrian first-person adventure. With only a few cheap jump-scares and some clever space twisting, this is only for people who are desperate for some scares.
Full Metal Furies can be fun with friends, but then again, what isn't? With some enemies becoming annoying and forcing a play style, compounded with visuals that have player-characters being a bit too small, playing this can be slightly irritating. At best, it is on the same level as something like Castle Crashers - not Scott Pilgrim VS The World: The Game. Expect a somewhat shallow guilty pleasure that has more pros than cons, but is otherwise forgettable.
Rogue Legacy is an indelible game to play on the Switch. It has a very fast-paced, pick-and-play cycle to the action,which is perfect for experiencing on the go -and the seemingly endless puns and dad-jokes will make any cynical and tired gamer smirk warmly. This is one of the few indie titles which show the potential of rogue-lite game design and how it can be made appealing. While it may look a bit on the cheap side, it's is fun where it counts and is definitely recommended to every Switch owner.
The charming Game Boy style sprites can only go so far until all that is left is a very mundane platformer. Forgettable at worst, but mostly just extremely bland, Save me Mr. Tako fails to hit that sweet spot where retro and forward-thinking game design collide. Anyone who might be interested in this would be better off downloading actual Game Boy titles off the 3DS' Virtual Console eShop, as this is sadly not as exciting as the older games it apes from, and is an imitation from somebody's memory of the quaintness of those titles. The reality is that the 'real deal' is still out there, and is still fun to play. Don't settle for this hollow interpretation.
One day, Dragon Quest may succumb and drop turn-based combat. Thankfully, that is not today. Echoes of an Elusive Age may play it very safe, but the carefully balanced combat and wealth of ways to build the characters keeps things from getting boring. The sheer density of content in the main quest means it will take a staggering amount of time to complete. Compounded with some entertaining and charmingly written side-quests, this journey breaks the 100 hour mark easily. There can be a few too many instances of catering to the lowest common denominator that even the hard mode modifiers can't fix, but if it means more people can enjoy this amazing game, then so be it. The only thing holding back what could be almost a masterpiece for the genre is its terrible soundtrack.
Other than the amusing boss battles, Nefarious is barely competent. Controlling bosses from various genres is a novel spin on the concept of the boss battle and if this was just a series of battles, like Cuphead, there could have been something worth playing here. Everything else, which is about 90% of the game, is just soul-crushing. It is the kind of title that feels like work, and continuing is just exhausting because of how poor the playbility is.
The Low Road is an incredibly standard point-and-click adventure that only manages to stand out thanks to some interesting visuals and its variety of splash screen style puzzles. The automobile corporate espionage plot begins with promise, but unfolds into an incoherent farce that fails to keep any emotional investment. Unappealing character designs and laughable animation give a very amateurish and childish impression, clashing with a mature plot. The Low Road would have made for a more interesting movie than a videogame.
The nightmare that is Final Fantasy XV will continue as Square Enix patches and updates content to it while producing more pointless DLC episodes. Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition HD is not so bad since it cuts out so much of the agony that bogged it down. Is Pocket Edition HD worth it? Yes, it is since it tells the exact same story with greater efficiency. It is missing a lot of the finer qualities, like the fishing and the attention to detail, in exchange for a more focused story experience that lasts about 10 hours. The lack of scope, however, really does underline how weak Noctis' quest really is when all the car riding and fetch quests are cut. The meat of the story involves running a few errands and a few climaxes later on, with only a smidgen of character development.
Hyper Light Drifter: Special Edition is a must-own for anyone who enjoys a quality action title. Fans of 2D Zelda games will adore this for how it pays lip-service without being derivative. Heart Machine has triumphed by focusing on what people loved about action-adventures, while refining combat and challenge. In the beginning, some might be overwhelmed by the lack of direction; but those who dare to actually play will be greatly rewarded. The Switch Special Edition extras are neat, but the meat and potatoes that make up the sum of Hyper Light Drifter is still what makes it so great in the first place.
Morphie's Law is not without its good points. The game does run pretty well and the cosmetic customisation options do offer enough flexibility to make a unique dummy. What is worse than having to endure matches of Morphie's Law, though, is how its balanced since having to buy anything with the in-game currency takes an absurd amount of time to accrue. Just stick to Splatoon 2 and its DLC.
No Man's Sky: Next can be impressive at times. It is dense with features and the sensation of lift off and breaking/entering a planet's atmosphere is genuinely magical. It is a mixed bag of mostly good things, but has some really low lows. Sean Murray's project brings the age old saying of "Art is never finished, it is simply abandoned." Good on him and the crew at Hello Games to continue to support what was a disaster at launch to what is a pretty good, if a bit simplistic space sim. "Art" may never be "finished," but when art is shown to an audience... that is going to be the first impression and the first impression is the most lasting. Next does have room for improvement; getting caught in invisible geometry and weird graphical anomalies does happen frequently and the scope of the setting still is not even half the level shown in pre-release gameplay footage. No Man's Sky: Next proves that space does not have to be a lonely town.
It's not clear why Code of Princess on 3DS was ever a cult hit; maybe because it was the only action RPG on the 3DS at the time? Organising a local multiplayer session ends up taking up more time than the time spent playing together since the core gameplay of Code of Princess EX is very shallow and very tedious. Battles just drag on for an eternity as heroes constantly wail on goons, making everyone who is playing feel only regret. What a waste of excellent character designs that they have to be used in such a milquetoast beat 'em up.