Justin Nation Avatar Image

Justin Nation

Windsor, PA
The Nindersect
Nindersect

Favorite Games:
  • Rocket League
  • Neon Abyss
  • Wreckfest

5066 games reviewed
70.5 average score
71 median score
43.7% of games recommended

Justin Nation's Reviews

Strangely enough this isn't my first rodeo, back in the day I wrote for the N64HQ as well as a few other outlets on freelance gigs but then when the HQ closed I decided to step it up and started The 64 Source. As the first word of a follow-up system to the N64 began to swirl I then decided to venture out into completely new territory and started OperatioN2000, where I had very little regular reputable news to share. With no other options I decided create my own content focused on profiling key developers and their current relationship with Nintendo or "dream games" where I saw opportunities for Nintendo to dust off classics or recently-made games and do something new with them on improved hardware. This was all going pretty well until my wife and I decided to have our first child and I then decided that it was time to hang it up and focus on my family. As I closed down both sites I did decide to partner with Billy Berghammer, another former N64HQ writer, who had created his own site, PlanetN2000. We agreed to move over the relevant content from the older sites to his and on top of that I had taken a grad school class in programming in ColdFusion and decided to offer to code the front-end and back-end for a new version of his site. Through these efforts the newer and more complete Planet GameCube was born! While I would occasionally contribute to that site, helping do things like working out Louie the Cat doing rumors and other odd things, I eventually decided to stop as my family obligations grew. While I had continued to follow Nintendo through both the Wii and Wii U eras my TV time was limited enough that I began playing more PC games again. It is in the PC space that I began to play a number of independent games and they started to be the games I enjoyed the most. Between their lower price, their often less traditional gameplay and approach, and their great variety I was hooked! With the launch of the Nintendo Switch I was already excited by the possibilities. The portability factor alone meant that I would have far more options and places I could play away from the TV, and games like Breath of the Wild looked impressive. With my oldest daughter poised to start her senior year in high school and my youngest finishing out junior high I started to see an opportunity to get back into amateur games journalism once again with what is now Nintendo World Report as well but I'd initially just thought about writing some editorials periodically. Then, right before the launch of the system, Nintendo had their Nindie-focused presentation and I saw my two most beloved gaming worlds colliding. The games I had been playing on my PC could now be played in a portable way and on Nintendo hardware! Being the type who tends to work against the normal current the concept behind Nindie Spotlight was born!
2 / 10.0 - Cubic Riders
Aug 3, 2026

A pretty well utterly pointless experience with poor controls, and seemingly absolutely zero point of playing at all

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4.4 / 10.0 - EBOLA VILLAGE
Aug 3, 2026

While it has some survival horror appeal, pretty frequent long pauses, and an overall pervasive jankiness in most areas make it tough to want to stick with

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6.7 / 10.0 - Assoluto Racing
Jul 31, 2026

Given the lack of more purist racing sims in the eShop, this does manage to reasonably help fill the void, but that isn’t without some big caveats

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7.8 / 10.0 - Turnip Mountain
Jul 31, 2026

While visually it may have a pretty simple look, once you get into the swing of things this provides a surprising but accessible challenge

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7.6 / 10.0 - Wake Up, Lia!
Jul 30, 2026

A pretty brutally challenging budget platformer that has a decent side order of some storytelling

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Jul 30, 2026

A pretty unique roguelike strategy title that brings some creativity and challenges to bear, but the console interface and controls are unfortunately an extra hurdle to contend with

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Jul 29, 2026

While there have been quite a number of titles looking to repeat on the success of Hotline Miami by copying its style, few have gotten as close as Kusan: City of Wolves

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8.5 / 10.0 - Truxton Extreme
Jul 29, 2026

With a combination of great looks and a distinctive flow of play, Truxton Extreme has a great base of classic arcade shooting that it then builds on, and throws in some story beats for good measure

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8.1 / 10.0 - High Times
Jul 28, 2026

Mixing together a coffee shop sim with a dating element, and sprinkling in characters with plenty of personality, makes for a reasonably tasty time

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Jul 28, 2026

With undeniably gorgeous looks, and fast and intense play, this is a distinctive fighter, it just does a terrible job of getting you properly up to speed with its unique mechanics and the CPU is an unapologetic ass-kicker

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Jul 28, 2026

A striking monochromatic puzzle adventure that grabs you, but shows some signs of issues which lead to frustrations the further you get into it

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3.8 / 10.0 - Zombie Legion
Jul 27, 2026

A lack of any effort to rise to the occasion and take advantage of the game’s basic setup, instead content to just let you get bored as it quickly gets repetitive, make this one to skip

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7.2 / 10.0 - Wabisabi SushiDerby
Jul 27, 2026

While I’m not sure how long the game’s quirky charms and unique semi-active racing can maintain interest, I give credit for it plotting its own unusual path

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9 / 10.0 - Splatoon Raiders
Jul 27, 2026

Nintendo’s more single-player-focused spin-off from their unique multiplayer shooter retains its excellent mechanics, and makes for a consistently challenging good time, even if sometimes a grindy one

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Jul 27, 2026

While I appreciate people finding new types of games to give some roguelike twists to, Barda does too poor a job of helping the player get on board with what it’s trying to do

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4.8 / 10.0 - Max Speed
Jul 24, 2026

While it may somewhat work out for people looking for a more casual take on racing, the game’s plainly obvious mobile origins that haven’t been sufficiently removed make it feel like a bit of a bummer on the Switch

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6.2 / 10.0 - Mechaconda
Jul 24, 2026

While there’s no question that this provides a challenge, the very constrained movement controls too often feel like the hardest thing to survive in the game, and that’s not a good thing

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Jul 24, 2026

While there’s something to be said for adopting a minimalist look when designing a game to give it a certain feel, failing to back it up with well-honed mechanics and overall polish just make it appear to be sloppy

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Jul 23, 2026

Somehow feeling less intuitive for getting started than its predecessor, and feeling like it bites off far more than it can chew in terms of scope, this struggles to be fun

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6.8 / 10.0 - Blast'N Bounty
Jul 23, 2026

While it does provide a reasonably-challenging shooter experience that feels somewhat distinctive, a lack of polish and likely longevity keep it from being more memorable

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