Justin Nation's Reviews
What may or may not add appeal, depending on both availability and your preference, is that this game can be played with other people...
Since Generations is actually composed of 4 different experiences we’ll start with the core game, Shelter 2, which is the main event...
What you’ll find as you play is that while you can certainly work through enemies one by one the key to success is getting them into groups and killing multiples at once...
While we'll overlook the fact that for the most part it utterly ignores gravity as you loop through the air, Skies of Fury DX is an excellent and often exciting dogfighting game...
Given its very reasonable price, overall weirdness, and intense bursts of excitement #Breakforcist Battle is a pretty entertaining variation on the classic Breakout...
Starting out the game with only the game’s main character Wilson as an option you’ll find yourself dropped into the wilderness with pretty well nothing and not a whole lot of direction...
All that said Super Daryl Deluxe is a pretty substantial (easily in the 20+ hour range), challenging, action-packed, boss-filled, weird and wild adventure-action-rpg-metroidvania. Its hilariously odd soundtrack is a labor of “Daryl”-filled love, its art is like something straight out of a trippy comic book and yet looks great in motion, and it has more jokes and feel-good nods than you’d believe. Just like its title character there’s much more to Super Daryl Deluxe than some video or this review can fully convey, and its a trip (perhaps acid?) well worth taking.
Overall, Bombslinger is one of those titles where it feels like a crime if the world isn’t shouting from the rooftops about how much fun it is. Seeing only a few screenshots and a short description the possible impression would be that it’s merely a pixel art Bomberman clone and that’s a pity. Flat out, Bombslinger absolutely puts all attempts at the single-player Bomberman experience to shame, and confirms the sneaking suspicion I’ve had for years that the potential was always there for it to be much better than it was. Throw in a great generally classic multiplayer mode and the package is a real winner!
Since it isn’t a very long experience (maybe 2 - 3 hours, total) I suppose you could go back through to try to find everything or see how it could play out differently but I found my one run to be satisfying enough. Overall, if you’re down for an experience in this bleak sort of setting, with a story that intrigues and an outcome that may telegraph a bit but is still interesting to watch unfold, The Bunker is a very different kind of experience you haven’t yet had on the Switch.
It’s likely any and all criticism of the game would be centered either on the cutesy nature of it all or its more modest level of difficulty but given the abundance of brutally-hard platformers on the system already The Adventure Pals is a welcome change of pace. While it can easily be enjoyed as a solo experience the inclusion of co-op in the game is a great touch, and given its more modest overall difficulty it would seem perfectly suited to being played with someone younger or less experienced. If you’re able to play the game without cracking a smile at the sheer joy of it all you may be dead inside.
While Infernium presents itself very well, has a certain unique sense of ambiance, and can certainly be conquered given careful observation, its trial-and-error nature and pacing will likely lead to polar opposite reactions in people. For people who enjoy the puzzle adventure aspect, exploring the spaces and working out an optimal path to success while staying a few steps ahead of doom it may scratch an itch. Unfortunately I would imagine for just about anyone else it will likely be an exercise in frustration and burn through the patience of people hoping for more immediate gratification. Just be sure to go into the experience with the proper expectations and you’ll improve your chances of enjoying it.
Overall, if you’re looking for something fast and fun to play with your friends Super Rocket Shootout can be a lot of fun. While it has a few quirks, and perhaps has nuance most people will likely throw away in the heat of battle, the variety in stages and options to tune the battle settings are a value add that’s appreciated. Pick your character, grab some items, and commence the shooting of faces and other body parts!
Overall, though the lack of competition in this specific space give Urban Trial Playground some appeal be warned that its a relatively lackluster affair. With courses that never really get very technical it lacks a satisfying challenge on that level and the general lack of variety in stunts fails to scratch that itch as well. What remains is a collection of courses for you to clear with gameplay that quickly becomes repetitive and a bit dull. It can make you work hard to be successful, and force you to repeat the same course multiple times to work out the kinks, but without room for much variety its sadly lacking in fun.
What it all boils down to is that there are 10 very picturesque Japanese landscapes featured for you to make puzzles from...
It’s always a joy to see something new and different arrive to check out and Sling Ming really fits that bill. Not quite like anything else I’ve played to date Ming herself it an entertaining character making her way through a pretty tough collection of levels that really make you work. Mixing basic problem-solving with more physics-based conceptual challenges with momentum it has a style all its own and is entertaining (though sometimes frustrating) throughout.
Though at its core PPP is a top-down brawler what it does differently is introduce a healthy dose of capitalism to the mix...
Overall I’ll say I was pleasantly surprised by this title, and it has far more redeeming qualities than its adult-skewed content. Once I got immersed in this world and met my first bad end I was quick to give it another go, to try to find the combination of actions that would improve my outcome. While I was able to trigger different story elements and I thought I was in the clear on my second run it turned out that, in general, I’d been a very bad boy in the past and that path had it all catching up to me. In general I’m a fan of the noir style so while on its surface some of the content can seem excessive within the context of the story they’re telling it at least seems pretty natural. While there are better puzzle games out there the story is what makes or breaks the game above all else, and it is a fairly satisfying one.
Regardless of the amount of total content in the game the fact is that if it feels like a chore to get to the bulk of it, and the overall play isn’t satisfying, it really drains all enthusiasm out of the process. Spartan has some glimmers of hope here and there but the overall experience simply comes up short through a combination of shortcomings. If you’re out to grind through an experience for the sake of saying you did it you may find some appeal but for the vast majority of people out there the Switch has far better offerings than this in the same price range.
The decision point in this game should heavily factor in how well you believe you can put up with some dated gameplay concepts against your appreciation for a game that is absolutely incredible to look at. A nifty add-on feature allows you to toggle both the graphics and the music to their original versions and play through the game that way. Even though the original look is obviously much simpler I was surprised at the level of care put into its look even way back when. If you get frustrated remember you can always look up old save codes and start out a bit more juiced up, another nice classic touch thrown in for good measure. All said, Wonder Boy is a nostalgic romp accented by a memorable reskinned look worth checking out.
If you love great music and want to have something to simply groove to and enjoy Floor Kids comes pretty highly recommended. The soundtrack is superb, the flow for the most part feels very natural, and it can be very satisfying to play. If you’re more in search of objectives and challenges though, it won’t be a great match as that really doesn’t fall into its style of design. Overall, it’s a solid game that I’d love to see get a more directed sequel, one that could help provide some needed motivation.