Justin Nation Avatar Image

Justin Nation

Windsor, PA
The Nindersect
Nindersect

Favorite Games:
  • Rocket League
  • Neon Abyss
  • Wreckfest

4489 games reviewed
70.8 average score
71 median score
43.6% 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!

Who knew that games that are heavily centered around working out math problems could at least be a bit interesting?

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8.1 / 10.0 - A Juggler's Tale
Sep 29, 2021

With its marionette characters and associated string-based challenges, rhyming narration, and a healthy dose of charm A Juggler's Tale is certainly unique...

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Sep 29, 2021

Taking classic arcade titles and trying to give them new life in the modern era tends to be a challenge, and I’ve definitely seen both great successes and utter failures to date on the Switch...

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8.5 / 10.0 - Steel Assault
Sep 28, 2021

Run-and-gun shooters were absolutely a consistent staple in the arcades and on consoles back in the day, and that puts a certain amount of pressure on developers in the current day to do anything that feels new and exciting...

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8.5 / 10.0 - UnMetal
Sep 28, 2021

While we hardcore types love our games, that isn’t to say that when confronted with examples of the silliness we regularly accept without question we can’t have a good laugh...

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8 / 10.0 - Dandy Ace
Sep 28, 2021

While I’ve been a fan of roguelikes for quite some time it’s only been in the past few years with top-tier titles the likes of Dead Cells, Hades, and more that they’ve really been catapulted into more mainstream gaming circles...

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7.8 / 10.0 - G-Darius HD
Sep 28, 2021

It’s always a bit tough to evaluate re-releases of classic arcade-style shooters coming to the system...

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6.4 / 10.0 - Antonball Deluxe
Sep 28, 2021

As someone who has a deep love for classic arcade titles and loves games that mix things up, in principle I'm in the target audience for Antonball Deluxe...

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Sep 24, 2021

While I've never been much of a Dragon Ball Z fan, I had some interest in this title after playing the excellent fighting game that graced the Switch a while ago...

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6.3 / 10.0 - Spacebase Startopia
Sep 24, 2021

When it comes to management simulations there's no question that the pickings on the Switch are pretty slim, indeed, so when any new ones come along I have no doubt genre fans are immediately curious for details...

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5.9 / 10.0 - Haustoria
Sep 24, 2021

Credit to developers who do things that are just a bit different out there, but when the experience stumbles pretty consistently no amount of originality will necessarily redeem gameplay struggles...

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Sep 24, 2021

When games are relatively simple, both visually and in terms of play, they really need to knock it out of the park with execution or things can go downhill quickly...

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8 / 10.0 - Suzerain
Sep 23, 2021

If you’ve ever pondered what it would be like to take control of the reigns of government, or perhaps that being in charge is all upside and basking in the adoration of your country, Suzerain is here to give you an education...

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7 / 10.0 - Embr
Sep 23, 2021

As people who’ve been following the site for quite some time should be well aware, if there’s an oddball game out there to play I’m generally down for it...

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6.8 / 10.0 - The Plane Effect
Sep 23, 2021

This really feels like one of those games where people will walk away with wildly different opinions depending on their tastes...

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6.7 / 10.0 - Fisti-Fluffs
Sep 23, 2021

There's nothing wrong with taking what would traditionally be a more hardcore genre, adding cats and some silliness, and running with it... but the problem with Fisti-Fluffs is once the initial hit of catnip passes, it lacks in staying power...

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6.4 / 10.0 - Shadows of Kurgansk
Sep 23, 2021

One of the game styles that has been plagued by the most inconsistencies on the Switch has been survival horror, and the causes of the core issues have varied from game to game...

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6.2 / 10.0 - Staxel
Sep 23, 2021

Playing Staxel you can see the thought process that produced it all around...

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Sep 23, 2021

Digital conversions of traditional desktop gaming experiences have a tendency to be hit or miss...

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6.8 / 10.0 - Crisis Wing
Sep 22, 2021

Back in the days of arcades and even earlier consoles vertical shmups were in their heyday, and while not all of them were necessarily special they could be counted on to at least be consistently engaging...

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