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!
While you could find the story of some interest, or enjoy the game’s general look, when it comes to gameplay there are just some problems
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An intense competitive mash-up of Tetris and Go that works to a degree, but whether or not you’ll get addicted to it is a fair question
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A very pleasant and generally chill mix of using various tools to clean areas with some pretty light puzzle elements to boot
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A first-person platformer with overly-sensitive controls, and some other general mechanical issues, that frustrates far more than it thrills
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It’s great to see the classic franchise return with some feels that are true to its roots mixed with roguelike challenges, but it can also be an acquired taste in some respects
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With many well-implemented versions of the Picross formula out there, Solid Void’s implementation feels lackluster, and its addition of simple jigsaw puzzle elements do nothing to help close the gap
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If you’re willing to be patient on the more suspenseful moments and scares, there’s at least some payoff here, but there’s also a lot of downtime and general disappointment in between
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Repetition, controls that feel a little sloppier than they should, and quite a few bugs prevent this title from ascending terribly high
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While it’s a pleasant enough hidden image game with its own special features, not everything is quite as easy-to-use as it could be
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While driven by an undeniably different and creative concept that blends together classic RPG beats with arcade shooting, it somewhat struggles to make either as satisfying as they could be
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While it has some cool ideas and style to spare, a combination of stiff and sometimes awkward controls, as well as level design that tends to exacerbate those problems, keeps it from reaching it potential
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Not necessarily a bad little action adventure roguelike of sorts, but not a particularly polished one either
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While its visual presentation is more minimalist, the mystery of the machine in front of you, and the many entries it has hidden within it, are compelling if you have the proper mindset
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While it has a cool elevator pitch of Word Game meets Balatro, and plays well, it also makes some odd choices
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While I applaud the concept of mixing mini golfing with roguelike elements, in execution there are simply a few too many critical issues to ignore
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What could have easily devolved into a silly one-note action game instead shows surprising nuance and smart design
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While you could perhaps fault it for feeling a little too clearly inspired by Bubble Bobble, it has also made critical changes to the formula that give it more nuance and challenge
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While perhaps not every idea works as well as the others, this blend of homage to the past and refined modern touches is easy to get invested in
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A punishing boss rush-type experience that feels like it offers very little incentive to care or continue with it other than just because it’s there
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A pretty solid roguelike romp that’s may lack in the flair of bigger titles, but that still satisfies to a good degree
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