Guts and Glory isn't the first, and won't be the last title that lost its playability being ported to the Switch (WWE 2K18 comes to mind). It's another example of all ports not being equal as developers still struggle to discover all of the ins and out of the porting process. If getting sliced in half or impaled by a buzzsaw is a can't miss experience, I would recommend looking at another platform to play it on.
It's not difficult to find new games that are designed with the 16-bit era in mind, but it is rare to find ones that develop new and enjoyable game mechanics. While the writing could have benefited from some additional depth, the expansive party and combat options provide hours of entertainment, making Cosmic Star Heroine a worthwhile addition to your Switch library.
Moving forward, any developer looking to create a point-and-click adventure would do well to look at The Journey Down as an example of the genre done right.
Sleep Tight has the structure and form to be an absolutely fantastic game. Its impressive visuals, delightful music, and endearing concept make it easy to recommend to all ages. A little bit of variety such as additional environments and maybe a co-op mode hold it back from greatness.
The biggest draw for me was the challenge of figuring out the best strategy for survival. After that first successful journey my interest suffered frostbite until it succumbed to hypothermia only a few hours after that. I'd still recommend playing it but just like trying to play pond hockey on a negative forty day, it probably can only last a few hours.
Apart from the dated combat, Shining Resonance seemed to have the right elements to be a success but just missed a certain chemistry to really hook me in. Fans of previous titles in the series and seasoned RPG players may find the enjoyment that alluded me. I wouldn't tell you to avoid this game, but there's a whole lot I would recommend before it.
With all the great titles on the horizon it can feel difficult to circle back to a one year old game, but Donkey Kong Adventure is a can't miss experience that so far ranks as one of the best for 2018.
Although there may be plenty of options in this genre, Shift Quantum stands out with its polished look, unique concept, and a soundtrack though unremarkable, never wears out its welcome.
undefined.It would be an easy task to find faults simply by focusing in on individual aspects of The Lost Child. The vast majority of the game can be traced back to another JRPG that probably did it better, and if you can't get passed that, than you probably aren't going to enjoy it. But what I can't deny is that when I just stopped caring about how much was borrowed from previous titles, I had a lot of fun, and that's all that really matters.
The quests and battle were fairly standard, the majority of my enjoyment came from the onslaught of ‘80s and ‘90s culture that blended perfectly within the game. From the ability to hire Master Splinter as the dungeon master, to purchasing Johnny 6 as a pet, there's plenty to keep a smile on your face. While some of the humor went over my head, there's enough chemistry to keep you entertained regardless of the amount of Dungeons and Dragons experience you have.
I had enough fun with Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition that I can recommend it as a fun guilty pleasure if you've got some extra coin but it's not a must play experience.
Strange Journey is a stark contrast. I never found myself confused on what I was supposed to do next and after committing to some light reading of the tutorials I felt like I had grasp on all of the different mechanics available to me. I can wholly recommend this as a litmus test for fans of Persona 5 who haven't yet gotten into the main Shin Megami Tensei series.
The sheer amount of content that they were able to pack into Regalia is incredible and the fact that they were able to make it all work is nothing short of outstanding. Apart from the onerous loading times that could alienate a few, the chemistry of blending time management with a complex and engaging battle system while tying it altogether with an engaging story and brilliant voice acting is an achievement that has eluded large development teams with years of game creation experience. I wholly recommend Regalia to fans who enjoy RPGs and I will be the first to put my hand up for the review of the next game this developer comes up with.
From the animation to the structure of the combat and progression, most aspects of Earthlock can be traced back to an earlier game that just did it better. Without its own original or unique hook, Earthlock just feels bland and dated. For a independent developer to be able to carve out a piece of the RPG market dominated by big players like Atlus and Square Enix you need to bring something new and unique to the table and unfortunately this is something that Earthlock doesn't accomplish.
iTunes: The Thirsty Mage
I went through a flood of emotions in my first run through, from the calm peaceful walk through the forest to shouting at my TV for the aliens to leave my friends alone. This expertly paced journey through nature provides a similar spiritual cleansing that one gets on a summer hike, and that's a wonderful feeling if you're currently stuck with the winter blues.
As with most JPRGs, a lot of progression options are present, related to special powers and weapon upgrades. Since they don't make the combat any easier to digest, it doesn't feel relevant to get too detailed about them. Not mentioning that you manually have to click through endless English dialogue while listening to Japanese voice acting doesn't really change the fact that Fantasy Hero ~Unsigned Legacy~ is a title that can and should be ignored.
Looking past the aesthetic issues, Ambition of the Slimes provides a unique and fresh experience for strategy combat enthusiasts. Elements I thought would feel redundant actually added to the layers of complexity that made the game all that more interesting. One word of caution, if you have a particularly sensitive gag reflex you may want to close your eyes and cover your ears that first time your Slime finds its way into the throat of its opponent.
For an open sandbox game that relies on the user to enjoy the experience utilizing their imagination, the journey to the goal just isn't enjoyable enough. My hope going in was that I would be spending time coming up with creative ideas to fool guards and bypass security. Instead, what I found was that I would often pray that my first plan would work so that I would have to go looking for more tape and files.
The whole experience ended up being a few hours long. The likelihood is that this is a one--and-done playthrough, as once you've figured out the puzzles there really isn't a reason to play again unless you'd like to go back and look for clues to figure out the back story. I wouldn't say it's the best puzzle-platform title available, but it's unique and was worth the short time investment.