Gekido Kintaro's Revenge did not win any awards when it was on the GBA, and it won't win any on Nintendo Switch, yet there is something enjoyable about it. Perhaps it is because it was made during the golden age of game development: the late 1990s to mid 2000s. It may be a mediocre brawler of its time, but it does have a certain energy to it, and the light adventuring elements do make it unique from anything else of its ilk. The bonus dungeon mode is the real main attraction and playing with a friend makes things more interesting. Kintaro's Revenge can only be recommended, though, to gamers who understand that this is a port of a Game Boy Advance title that has not had much done to its presentation. It still looks and plays like a GBA game, for better and for worse.
Outlast 2 does not quite reach even the average moments of the first game. However, what saves this is Red Barrels' talented artists and voice actors. [Albert Lichi separately reviewed the PS4 (5) and Switch (6) versions. The scores have been averaged]
Sedna paints a bleak future for this series. It is a sloppy mess that gets off on the wrong foot, only to shoot itself in the foot right after. It is a weird hodgepodge of body horror, cyberpunk sleaze, and secret agent shenanigans that, in theory, should work, but don't.
Captain Flinthook is a fun character to play as and the way the procedural levels are generated, they just do not do him justice.
Poisoft Thud Card goes past the standard for being bad; it becomes anti-entertainment.
PAC-MAN Championship Edition 2 PLUS could have been the definitive version of an already almost perfect game. The damming frame-rate drops are bad enough to affect the game's playability and oftentimes lead to unfair losses. In spite of the technical shortcomings, though, those who manage to adapt or compensate for this unyieldingly flaw will still find that this is a wonderful version of an already beloved arcade classic. The music and sound effects are all distinctively very Pac-Man, but with a techno flair to it that gives it a bit of extra synth-crunch. Anyone who loves the arcade original will love this new take on it, but be warned that it does have some pretty bad chop and would be best to wait till it gets patched.
Over the years, Outlast has aged well thanks to its production design and ultra-violent spectacle. The simple act of hide-and-seek is still engaging and the adventure's length does not overstay its welcome, something that hurt the overly long sequel. Mount Massive Asylum is a memorable and grisly place and the wide cast of maniacs to meet in the core game and DLC chapter leave a lasting impression. This is a very linear horror game that is heavily scripted and is elevated thanks to the imaginative scenario. There are tons of weapon-less horror games these days and more often than not they tend to be more annoying than scary. Outlast is one of the few that just barely gets by without irritating too much. Perhaps it's because of the brevity and pacing of the game that keeps things tense and exciting so its more obvious shortcomings become much less apparent.
The highest compliment that can be said about Pop-Up Pilgrims is that it is not broken. At best, this is an extremely uninteresting and dull game. It plays like some kind of first-year student project that is only slightly elevated by some competent, yet generic art assets. VR is capable of so much more, yet here is a perfect example of a gross misuse of the platform.
Owlboy is impressive if anything for its amazing visuals and animation. The gameplay gets by thanks to it being competent enough, but won't really inspire anyone. This is a pretty straightforward 2D action-adventure game that does a bit more heart than the average. Do not expect much replay value since it seems the developers poured their heart and soul into the main story and could not spare much more to have side content or any diversions to mix up the action. Also, do not go in expecting a metroidvania, because it is not.
Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition adds two new characters and expands the weapon building but the missions are not balanced for an enjoyable single-player experience. The amazing sprite art and animation is the real star here, but sadly not so much the gameplay. The co-operative mode is definitely how Mercenary Kings was intended to be experienced. The visuals and characters just barely keep this engaging enough to keep people playing solo.
As far as auto-runners go, ATOMIK: RunGunJumpGun is solid. It does not really do anything to win over anyone to partake in games like this but will be worth having around when there are a lot of guests around and can be a DJ understudy for the soundtrack alone. Maybe if the art was repurposed for a more interesting genre, ATOMIK could have been a real winner. Only fans of auto-runners need apply - for everyone else, just go and buy the soundtrack instead.
It's hard to believe that Aperion Cyberstorm has a story with characters and text to read. Most of the time players will likely be fighting the urge to skip every line of dialogue since the story is completely frivolous and separate to the gameplay. Why so many interruptions for dialogue in what is essentially a bullet-hell shoot 'em up? It is this kind of unintuitive and backwards decision-making that has led to Aperion Cyberstorm in the first place. This comes recommended to those with sleep disorders.
Aegis Defenders is an average, run-of-the-mill indie game. It had some worthwhile goals, like hybrid tower defence and action gameplay mechanics with Lost Vikings character puzzles. The most interesting quality is that there is a two-player co-op mode, which changes the dynamic of the game drastically. The real shining moments are during the defending the target portions of the levels, since teamwork actually matters and doing these alone can be a bit much to manage. With a bit of polish and tighter balancing, this could have been a real darling. It is hard to say where the rest of the backer money went to… With more than double the requested goal acquired, the end result is a janky, yet mildly enjoyable, diversion that is fun for children.
Anyone who enjoyed Super Meat Boy is likely to have a good time with The End is Nigh.
There is nothing appealing about Out of Ammo. It has no character to it at all and even less polish to its name. This is a huge shame since the idea of an RTS that has a gameplay shift to first-person action does have potential. This is not how it should have been, though. This current build of Out of Ammo is not an Early Access version or an alpha or beta, (even though it plays like it); this is version 1.0. This is a monumentally rough and broken product that had several instances of controls failing to respond and even a crash in the span of only 90 minutes. Out of Ammo is an unplayable disaster.
The Inpatient is one of the most disappointing games ever made. Even when detached from the excellent Until Dawn, on its own it's a shallow walking sim with glossy production values. This might be okay for a one and done play-through, if acquired for free, and even then it is hard to justify the cost of the time spent playing this husk of a game. This is at best a glorified and expensive demo reel for talented 3D artists and VR programmers - not really a game worth playing at all.
Nine Parchments can be enjoyable in small doses with others. Playing alone can feel depressing as the grind of pressing on feels strongly palpable. There really isn't anything wrong with the mechanics since it controls nicely and feedback is satisfying. The art direction is top-notch and fantasy atmosphere has a much more colourful Magic the Gathering vibe going on. It is the sheer unimaginative level design and pedestrian scenarios that will bore most people. There is very little variation from the first stages to the end game stages and there is desperately a need for something to mix up the action.
The cinematic platformer had a very simple formula to follow and it isn't hard to make an appealing game in this genre. There have been so many over the years and the recent influx of independent developers doing their take on the whole 'kid in a nightmarish world' sub genre, there are more options now than ever. This should be at the very bottom of that list of options as it feels more like a Chinese boot-leg than anything of artistic merit. Dull, buggy, unpolished and, most of all, Albert & Otto is criminally derivative - its best quality is that it is over in about 90 minutes.
There is not much to Mom Hid My Game! - the game promises everything it has to offer in its title. It ends far too quickly for it to be recommended to anyone other than small children. What it does offer, though, is some surreal puzzles and amusing sound design. The fun factor comes down to enjoying escape the room style puzzles with a silly coat of paint and not much else.
Battle Chef Brigade is very entertaining and no Nintendo Switch owner should be without. The production quality is a bit on the cheap side when the story is being presented, and some of the background art can be a bit on the amateurish side, but there really is nothing else like this. Mina is a very likeable character and proves to not only be an awesome cook, but a decent fighter, too. This is an unlikely recipe that turned out to be a real hit. Whether it is in the kitchen or the battlefield, nobody can beat Mina.