In many ways survival games represent the ultimate conclusion of the open-world ethos - the experience is entirely about moving around a large space and scouring it for "loot", while largely doing away with elements like storytelling, character and any purpose beyond existing with that big space. In the interest of being entirely frank, this kind of thing just isn't for me, but with that being said I do think that Subnautica: Below Zero is one of the better examples of it in motion. It's not perfect, and the game is so weighted towards aesthetics that if you've got an alternative to the Switch you're better off seeing the full, uncompromised creative vision on that platform instead. However, this Switch port is still more than adequate, especially for those that want to craft, build, mine and craft some more while on the go.
The Famicom Detective Club games are excellent, highly traditional detective mystery stories. Some might see that as "quaint", "old", "antiquated" or even "simple." That's simply our cultural experience talking. The reality is that these games are highly relevant to the Japanese understanding and interest in the genre, and the core storytelling experience is so modern it's easy to forget that they're remakes of NES-era classics. Throw in some of the most stunning VN art from the very masters of the genre, and this little collection of two titles has every chance of becoming one of the sleeper hits of the year. And, who knows? If it finds the audience it deserves, it might just inspire Nintendo and Mages to make a new one. I'd be up for more Famicom Detective Club.
Neither the competent structure nor reasonable aesthetics are enough to save Beach Bounce Remastered. Once again: fan service is great, when it's in service of something. A game like Max's Bigger Bust, despite being all-in with the fan service, writes in plenty of excellently Australian humour to contextualise it. Date A Live: Rio Reincarnation is one of my favourite visual novels of all time, and it, too, is very heavily focused on fan service, while still giving me a reason to actually want to see the girl's skirts blow up (I heart you Tohka). Beach Bounce Remastered has absolutely nothing going for it, other than those spread legs. It's utterly boring.
Total War: Rome was the really big breakout moment for the series, and as a bona fide classic, the remaster makes sense - even if it is just for the sake of nostalgia. I don't think the strategy genre necessarily lends itself to modernisation when the thing that needs moderising the most would have taken Rome Remastered and turned it into Total War: Rome 3, but if you remember what it's like to enjoy older strategy games like Rome, the remaster is going to be quite the rush.
As someone who does enjoy poker and likes fan service, Poker Pretty Girls Battle checks off all the boxes, and as a budget-pitched Switch title, I had a ball with this. It's the perfect low-demanding game to play while watching TV or between more dense games, and given that I've been playing murder mysteries like Famicom Detective Club, the grindy (however delightful) New Pokemon Snap, and the existential nightmare that is Shin Megami Tensei III on my Switch recently, Poker Pretty Girls Battle has been the perfect "in-between" thing.
I never wanted to stop playing Village
New Pokémon Snap is a delight to play. It's bright, colourful, and overflowing with personality and while it does become a little too "grindy" for its own good, the core gameplay hasn't evolved much from the N64 original, and that's a very good thing indeed. Nintendo may have launched this in and around a lot of big blockbuster stuff (Returnal AND Resident Evil Village has been a big win for Sony over the last week), but then those games are so darned hardcore that New Pokémon Snap is exactly the antidote to them that I have needed.
World End Economica is written with great technique, and across the course of the trilogy it forms a true epic in structure and tone. It's really unfortunate that for a game with a lot to say it doesn't end up saying much, and I was left desperate for a character I could truly like as I played, but the strong, creative vision make this a visual novel that fans of good storytelling should add to their "to-do" lists.
Crime Opera's grand ambitions aren't limited to one game. This is the first of six (yes, six) titles that the developer has envisioned as a series. Having played this first chapter, I will be looking forward to the next one. It is a pity that the developer didn't consider presentation and aesthetics more closely for a game that is quite serious in tone and theme, but the narrative value of this game is excellent, distinctive, and original, and ultimately, for a visual novel, that's the first-and-foremost goal.
Scratch beneath that surface and the game doesn’t say much to justify its existence, and it is going to be far too challenging for a lot of players, but within its fairly narrow scope, for the audience that it was made for, Returnal is going to be a vividly entertaining ride.
Anyhow, that's an aside. The point here is that Death End re;Quest is an excellent game, with a narrative with a depth that might surprise some players who go in assuming that fan service is the limit of it. And, sure, the Switch port is not the perfect version of the game and struggles to run smoothly at times, but that doesn't stop it from being highly playable, and for Idea Factory, putting this on a handheld platform is a worthwhile endeavour.
Unfortunately, though, I just didn't enjoy my time in Infinite Adventures. The first-person dungeon crawl is a favourite genre of mine, and the Switch already has plenty of those, so for Infinite Adventures to stand out it was going to need to do something special. Sadly, misfires in terms of presentation and the mistaken belief that procedural dungeon layouts are something desirable to the dungeon crawler make this game flawed on every level, from concept right through to execution.
I know I've said this at least a dozen times now, but I do think Shantae deserves better than the platformer genre. She's just too good of a character to waste on a genre that doesn't really do narrative. Give her an RPG or something, WayForward. In the meantime, though, while this might not be the biggest release of the year, it's certainly a worthwhile celebration of one of the most niche - but loved - platformer heroes out there.
I guess the big question we need to answer here is whether they're worth another dip? If you've missed the Mysterious trilogy so far (perhaps you're a newer fan due to Ryza), then absolutely. If you are an Atelier fan, then having Firis and Sophie on the Switch for the first time is a nice deal, and the photo mode and art books, in particular, are a bonus worth playing with. These are all genuine five-star games and that needs to be remembered... though its also worth remembering that these are all JRPGs, with time commitments to match, and we're being inundated with those this year. That's the only possible dampener for what is otherwise an excellent collection of wonderful games.
I've had fun playing this game again. It goes to show the strength of the material that Ravensword is based on that a low-budget, massively stripped-down take on the formula can still be enjoyable. I have fond memories of playing this through on my iPad over my Christmas holiday back in 2012, and there was a rush of nostalgia from doing so again on the Switch.
Livestream is on the cusp of being something really special. It has the right setting, the right concept, the right character designs and the right themes to give players something special. Unfortunately, the execution's a little off, and while the game is a lot of fun, it doesn't say as much as some of the greats in the genre do. It is, ultimately, just an entertaining and fanservicey horror game with some enjoyable puzzles to throw at the player. There's nothing wrong with that, and I must emphasise that this game is hugely entertaining. It's just unfortunate that it's too shallow to be remembered as one of the greats.
The biggest pity is that the developers were so modest in their scope. Perhaps this little experiment is just to test the waters and get some money together for a more ambitious second project. I hope so, because Toree 3D has a lot of potential to be a more full-featured homage to B-tier platformers. As it stands here, though, it's a moment or two of fun. Nothing more, nothing less.
Be sure to give it a look, though. SaGa Frontier is a frivolous and irreverent little JRPG that eschews grand narratives and philosophies to instead focus on a charming sequence of absurd juxtapositions, genuine humour, and playfulness. It's a well-made game, and the effective, challenging and entertaining combat system stands as proof of that. It's just that it's also nothing like most other Square Enix JRPGs, because the developers clearly wanted to deliver something that defied the expectations of the JRPG genre. SaGa Frontier was such a resounding success at that that it has become a "cult classic" and while this will never appeal to the mainstream, hopefully it will find itself a new audience through this remaster.
Even more than Monopoly, The Game of Life is a board game from a bygone era. Once upon a time, the nice, meandering journey through suburban life and expectations thereof that the game depicted was considered a representation of a happy, wholesome life experience, but in 2021 lionising that seems incredibly passe. Sticking a "2" next to the title while not doing much to address this dissonance doesn't paper over the fact that very few people actually want to play The Game of Life these days.
There are moments where Fata Morgana becomes very uncomfortable to witness, and a little like when I played Saya no Uta, I did need to put it down from time to time. This game is nowhere near as explicit or extreme as that one, but thematically it is, if anything, more demanding of the player. It's a little like how the real Grimm brothers fairy tales are deeply uncomfortable to read, though it's certainly not of the extreme, overt violence of a Marquis de Sade novel. If you want to see how a visual novel could be elevated to something approaching "high art," you owe it to yourself to play The House in Fata Morgana. The fact that the Switch release comes with even more stories and features as a "complete" edition just makes it all the more essential.