Justin Nation's Reviews
While the experience will likely only last you a few hours I think the style of the game and the options to enlist enemy grunts or new powers after each level (but not both) help make a case for its replayability. While some of the enemy types can be a bit more frustrating (looking at you, weird rappers with your words that attack) and the bosses can be a challenge for the most part because of the depth of the moves you have available to you it feels really good to play… and can be even more with a friend BTW. Even with as many great brawlers as there have been on the system this year it seems there’s room for yet another that’s notable and has a style (both in terms of visuals and gameplay) of its own.
At best Coffee Crisis has a severe case of style and flash over substance. It generally looks terrific, giving serious retro-modern vibes and displays a sense of humor. That said, as a beat-em-up it’s a bare bones affair and pretty well devoid of serious strategy or opportunities for much enjoyment. With so many quality brawlers on the Switch there’s no reason to have to settle for less, I’d recommend the majority of other genre titles available over this one.
While in general you’ll want to have some base combat skills for the most part you can go a passive route, if nothing else you can tone down the challenge pretty easily, and choose to simply experience the game the way you want to. The loop of exploring, finding new areas and items, acquiring new skills, and doing things like upgrading your den should seem very familiar and for the most part it’s wonderfully laid back. Seasonal events and a changing landscape help provide some extra charm and variation but in the end this game is all about making the most of being a cat and finding the experience you’re looking for, whether through domination, making friends, or just being the scourge of the bird and rodent communities. While Cattails won’t be for everyone, it offers a light and relaxing experience that’s full of charm and just plain feels a bit different.
While it likely won’t win any awards Escape Doodland seems to accomplish what it set out to do, provide a somewhat challenging runner that includes some silliness and a lot of weird characters and settings. There are some sections and situations where the hitboxes of your character and elements on the screen can be a bit too large, which is annoying, but for the most part success is all on you getting your execution down and letting your muscle memory get you through tough sections with a little repetition. Since there aren’t too many titles like it on Switch perhaps it’ll satisfy your need for precision jumping, with a bit of weirdness thrown in.
I hate having to compare Harvest Life to Stardew Valley or Harvest Moon or any other game of this type because I feel like it harms them by association. While I rarely get on a tear about games because I worry about being unfair, Harvest Life just offends me because the games that inspired this one are just so much better by both ambition and execution than this. Nobody should be settling for a game like this in a library of choices as vast and full of quality as there is on the Switch. Even if you’ve burned through Stardew and other games like it already and are thirsting for that next fix, this game simply isn’t worth your money or your time.
Since there haven’t been a ton of games in this vein on the Switch to date if you’re a fan of some scares and a sense of unease Bendy and the Ink Machine delivers nicely and should scratch that itch. The fact that it’s not bloody or over the top could work as a pro or a con depending on what you’re looking for but I like how effectively the setting and strange characters created a real sense of unease throughout. While it may not be for everyone Bendy and his friends make for a very strange and enjoyable experience.
Don’t let its somewhat cutesy appearance fool you, Gelly Break is going to challenge you...
To think that when this title snuck onto the eShop I almost missed it...
This War of Mine encompasses most of the difficulties you’d expect from the survival genre and throws on a pretty grim and depressing layer of reality to boot. The tests here aren’t just of your ability to figure out what the best crafting paths or things to prioritize in gathering may be but also of your ability to manage very human problems as well. There will be many ways the game can frustrate you as you try to figure out how to survive in this bleak situation but it’s the glimmers of hope, small successes, and human stories in this horrible situation that also make it memorable.
When it comes to arcade racing there’s simply nothing out there as impressive or as complete as Horizon Chase Turbo. Not only does it look and perform great, aside from a lack of online multiplayer it really offers up everything you could ask for and more. Incentives to return to unlock new areas, tracks, sweet rides, and upgrades is fair motivation, matching your times against buddies or the world are icing on the cake. While it may offend the sensibilities of more modern racing fans who have a taste for realism, I’m happy to say the spirit of Out Run and its contemporaries is alive and well in this outstanding title that’s chock full of terrific content.
I really appreciate the love and effort into bringing the R-Type experience to the Switch. While playing it old school has a nostalgic appeal seeing it all gussied up in 3D is a blast. I’d say it’s worth experimenting with the various looks they offer as not all of them may be great or practical, but they can be novel. In particular the 3D Crazy Camera looks really cool, just since it affects your depth perception a bit I don’t know if it’s practical in some sections. All said though it offers up many ways to experience the same terrific core game and fans of classic arcade shooting action should have a great time with it, and quickly become reacquainted with how tough it can be.
Given the theme and morbid action of the game it’s absolutely not something for everyone. With its pixel art looks it never gets terribly graphic but playing a game in the role of a mass murderer won’t be for everyone. The fact that every time you hit a party you can’t count on any specific element being in the same place or present at all is a terrific touch that guarantees there’s no consistent path to success, you’ll just need to improvise sometimes. I’ll give Party Hard credit, it’s a unique and challenging spin on a puzzle game that delivers some fun if you’re on board with its style… and have a fair amount of patience.
While it works and is the only game in town of its type in the eShop I still would consider the Sudoku included with Brain Age back on the DS to be my personal gold standard in terms of functionality and feel. Additionally while 240 puzzles is certainly a fair amounts of puzzles again for real Sudoku fans that may not amount to much if the simpler challenge levels aren’t very rewarding. It’s a solid Sudoku experience but it’s all relatively simple as well.
As a whole Ms. Splosion Man is a brilliantly twisted, splosion-powered action extravaganza. There’s something enormously satisfying when it all comes together and you manage to string a long chain of splodes to success, blowing up scientists and anything else in the environment along the way. The balance of challenge to both your abilities to analyze as well as improvise is pretty substantial and consistently rewarding. While not everyone may dig the constant flow of excited pop culture references (some being pretty dated at this point) I actually found it funny. Regardless, if you’re looking for a game that’s refreshingly different and challenging Ms. Splosion Man is a powder keg of fun, you just need to bring the matches.
While YouTubers Life is certainly a novel experience and there are aspects of it I can appreciate somewhat personally given what I do it’s also not a terribly deep experience either. While it has some fun aspects like creating your videos this really just gets to be a grind after a while as your focus is far more on maximizing your numbers and not too much about creativity. While you have the ability to change your character’s clothes and surroundings to a degree that can also be expensive and it competes with putting money into new equipment so it really takes a back burner, though the game tries to incentivize you buying new fashions to unlock some content. While there’s certainly nothing like it on the Switch and it can be fun in some regards the simple and grindy roots of the experience coming from the mobile space aren’t hard to spot. But if you’ve ever wanted a sort of window into the world of building a social media empire perhaps you’ll find it of interest.
The premise has you trying to save the city of Steamburg, as well as your fiance, from a robotic invasion...
Overall there isn’t too much to know, you’ll start out in one of eventually 5 different arenas (you’ll unlock new ones as you level up), and your objective is to rack up as high a score as possible within the time limit...
Overall I really can’t find any significant fault of note in the game, it plays well, borrows some classic concepts while still doing things its own way, and even offers hidden bonuses in each level that more obsessed fans should enjoy trying to find. The branching paths don’t simply make you choose to move ahead, you can circle back and hit everything if you’re determined to give yourself as many options as possible. Make no mistake, this has old school arcade sensibilities so while it won’t be stealing your quarters the first time you try to get through some stages you’re going to get taken down by some environmental surprises in some stages. All in all it’s a great arcade shooting experience that feels like it was lost back in the 80s and just rediscovered. Highly recommended for classic arcade shooter fans!
With a community of people playing the game as intended I think Trailblazers could have had potential to be quite interesting. If you’re able to play with friends you can begin to see what the goals were and it is at least a different way to race. Unfortunately, as a single-player experience it is hard to feel the teamwork vibe working with bots and that makes for a pretty bland driving experience. Despite looking great and having a cool soundtrack there’s no escaping the somewhat ho-hum results in a typical race in Trailblazers.
While Toast Time: Smash Up works reasonably well as a very different single-player game and an oddly chaotic multiplayer experience it falls into the “acquired taste” category. If you’re seeking something arcade-ish that’s cute and a bit different it may well do the trick. Mixing action, some physics, and a minimalist art style in a new way was ambitious, whether or not that will equate to sustained enjoyment will likely vary in this case.