Justin Nation's Reviews
Playing out as puzzle platformer, Nihilumbra is all about making use of a variety of abilities you’ll acquire as you move through each world to survive a variety of scenarios and try to escape the ominous Void...
While there are elements of Rogue Aces that work well, and I can appreciate the effort put into setting up some variations with multiple modes, I also found it better suited to short and moderately-long play sessions over long ones. A periodic break helped to keep it all from feeling quite so repetitive. Aside from the challenges with landing I think the balance strays too quickly to the extremes rather than having a tough but more fair sweet spot in the middle. Either I’d have a run in the Normal Campaign that ran long and felt too easy or I’d go to the Frontline Campaign and have significant leaps in difficulty by about the third island. There are some fun and crazy moments to be had like the first time you jump from your damaged plane into the cockpit of an enemy fighter to give yourself a new lease on life, but in the end there’s not all that much variety. If you’ve been itching for something that feels very arcade-like, this can be fun, but if you were hoping for something deep it doesn’t fare as well.
Overall, while Guilt’s appeal won’t be universal it at least makes a clear effort to quirk its way into your heart, rather than roll the dice and pray. The injection of humor and a dash of genuine creativity help it rise above some of the more average offerings out there but there’s no getting around the fact that there simply isn’t that massive an amount of content to play with in the end. While it has solo options this is another title that’s simply far better to play with some friends.
If you’d like a trip down the 80s memory lane with some decent RPG gameplay layered on top you probably will enjoy Saturday Morning RPG, warts and all. The jokes are punny, some of the renaming to protect the innocent is clever, but the experience really hinges on how you react to this. If you reject it there’s pretty well no chance it will be fun, but if you embrace it there’s just enough there to keep it consistently entertaining. This feels like an experience that hit its target objectives well, just by its nature it’s a thoroughly niche experience so enjoyment is in the eye of the beholder.
For the most part the level designs are straightforward and traditional but some variety gets thrown in at times like levels that are more vertically-oriented where you’ll need to fly upwards in stages and underwater levels where you’ll need to carefully dodge nasty traps and aquatic enemies...
All in all Jotun is a gorgeous and well-made game that plays quite well as a boss battle challenge with decent elements in-between. The scale of those fights is absolutely memorable, and while they can be challenging I’d say that for the most part they’re also fair. If you are in the mood to take down some giant bosses it’s an enjoyable ride.
Overall, DragoDino is hardly a bad game but I’d say people need to be careful in their decision to get it, making sure it’s for them. In many ways its bright and colorful animated looks don’t naturally pair with its level of difficulty, meaning more casual players who could like the style could find it too punishing and people who love a meaty challenge may overlook it because it “looks” like it would be simpler. This, paired with the load times and tough continue system, make it more of an acquired taste even though it has its merits in terms of gameplay.
The game’s action thus revolves around aiming Bob’s jump to get up to higher ground, bouncing off of zombies’ heads, flying into power-ups that will periodically refresh, and flapping his arms wildly to exhibit what little control he can to prolong his life and the current run...
I must say that on pretty well all levels Late Shift is an amazing exercise in interactive storytelling. While I’d imagined it would be a lot like The Bunker, sharing quite a bit in common with the likes of laser disc games ala Dragon’s Lair and its ilk, it instead has made an appropriate generational leap ahead. Nothing will change the fact that your ability to interact with and control the events taking place in the game is limited, but it is all handled so deftly, and without hesitation, that you get much more immersed in the story. The fact that the production values and acting are easily on par with even middle of the road TV and movies then pulls you in even further. I think that Late Shift really represents the future vision people dreamed about when they were making those original FMV games, and that if more titles at this level of quality continue to be made it is a genre set for a comeback.
Regardless of some quirks and small issues A Robot Named Fight is plain brilliant and consistently pulls me into a “just one more run” mentality with ease. To a degree feeling like a new Metroid-ish chapter full of exploration and surprises every time you play makes it pretty unique and consistently challenging. Of course people who are less accustomed to the way roguelikes switch things up every time may struggle with this, though since the seed is shown for every run you do you could opt to keep entering it so you could play the same instance repeatedly. Truly taking the Metroid experience to the next level, A Robot Named Fight is easy to recommend to anyone who was ever a fan of the original series.
Another Lost Phone continues on the path that the original set, but it doesn’t really break any new ground aside from telling a different person’s story. If you enjoyed the original’s mechanics and would like to explore someone in a very different set of circumstances it’s easy to recommend. If you’re unfamiliar with the original and this sounds interesting I’d say the original, with a story tying to someone in an alternative lifestyle, is probably more compelling but it also more likely to make people feel uncomfortable comparably. Above all, as a commentary about what people can learn about others through only their phone, this series continues to be interesting and scary. How much “fun” you can have with them is likely a matter of wildly different opinions though.
As a whole package Sky Rogue is very attractive in a very retro-esque kind of way and manages to set itself apart from the other aerial combat titles already on the system. With its focus generally concerning larger and tougher targets, rather than skirmishes with other smaller and quicker aircraft, it’s more of a planning and execution title than a “seat of your pants” one. You can certainly be reckless and try to make an aggressive run while ignoring everything but your target but that strategy only works for so long before you’ll get lit up badly. If you’re looking for a wide variety of aerial combat that’s a little lower on thrills per minute but can be satisfying in its more methodical nature Sky Rogue is a solid option.
When Light Fall is firing on all cylinders it feels absolutely incredible, and it’s easy to see where it will be terrific for people looking to get their speedrunning put to the test. The ramping up of challenge from stage to stage feels just about right and the boss battles force you to put all you’ve learned to good use. I think it’s Act 4 and the pretty abrupt change in style that will divide people, with some people undoubtedly liking the sudden stepping up of challenge and others throwing up their hands at the rug being pulled out from under them. The shame is there are some great challenges to be had off the beaten path but the game seems intent on punishing you for checking them out without offering a sufficient reward in return. Light Fall has quite a lot working for it, it just feels like it gets in the way of its own success before the story is completed.
While getting into the technicals a bit may be boring I think it’s worth noting that, for the most part, the control in Glaive actually feels mostly right...
In the end I think this is a style of game that people will tend to either love or hate without much of a middle ground. Even gamers who are nostalgic for a lost age could find it to be a refreshing but are just as likely to find that there are some styles of play better left behind. Younger gamers who appreciate a challenge may enjoy the odd mix of action and puzzles but may well get hung up on some of the dated mechanics. Regardless, The Way Remastered does a fine job of helping to revitalize a deserving title that has its merits, how it is received will just likely be in the eye of the beholder.
Your mode choices are single-player Challenges, where you can try to get hot lap times or completely avoid hitting any walls for an extended distance (good luck) to earn flags...
Where it can get tricky is in spots where you’ll need to use it to get to an enemy and then time your follow up jump correctly to traverse a gap...
As a total package if you enjoy space combat there’s quite a lot to like about Manticore as long as you reign in expectations you may have from other series...
As a complete package Don’t Starve is an excellent survival title whose Tim Burton-esque art style and morbid sense of humor give it an easy appeal. An extensive crafting menu, a menagerie of weird and wild creatures (most of which will kill you), and the risk of death around every corner help reinforce that appeal if you’re into survival games. What really sets it apart, though, is the degree to which you can customize the world and tune scarcity and challenge either up or down to suit your tastes and skill level. This helps to make what can often be an unforgiving and walled off niche title into something that can be toned down and more easily enjoyed by less hardcore audiences. Whether you’re a survival veteran or have always been curious but afraid to try it out, Don’t Starve has a ton of content and surprises to offer on the Switch.
Overall I’d consider this pack among the best available. In terms of overall theming it may actually be the strongest, with each of the Bethesda franchises well represented in terms of visuals, sounds, and trying to tie in as many elements of the games as possible. While the runaway top table is easily DOOM Skyrim may be a big winner if you’re willing to invest some time in getting your character to be viable. It’s another pack where care has been taken to make each table distinct not just in terms of theming but in flow and play as well. I look forward to whatever the Zen Studios people have in store for us next, their track record to this point has been quite impressive!