Darkestville Castle feels at home on the Switch, and with a strong narrative and clever puzzles cements itself as a decent point-and-click adventure, despite some niggles.
A breath of fresh, bright and breezy air after a summer of hard-hitting AAA’s, Fall Guys cements itself as an essential addition to your party library. Believe the hype.
As a remake that you can enjoy as a farming game and very little else, there’s plenty to enjoy about Mineral Town. Fans of the original will enjoy the modernised visuals and most – not all, sadly and obviously – will appreciate the aforementioned marriage options. There’s little else to differentiate the two, Mineral Town doesn’t feel like a new game by any stretch of the imagination and whilst we can focus on the various plus points (the marriages, the farming festivals are a delight and the overall sweetness of the game can’t be ignored as a tonic to daily life), it’s difficult to recommend over the likes of Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing.
Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated is probably one my favourite 3D platformers of the generation, offering up an experience that’s more Ratchet & Clank than Yooka-Laylee.
Koa and the charming world of Mara is enough to keep an eye on this one, but it’s too big with not enough depth and that makes Summer in Mara far from essential.
However rigid it may want to be, up against the big hitters already available on Switch especially, and with a way-too-short campaign? It doesn’t have a leg to stand on.
It’s one of those games I never really knew I needed until it came along and thankfully, exploring the story of Alice through her headphones was as cleansing and as wondrous as I had hoped it would be. The music is wonderful, the art style is remarkable and the story wants me to keep going back and discovering what may happen if I chose the left option instead of the right. Did I do right by that character? Was I listening correctly when I made *that* choice? Across the Grooves is stacked full of decisions that leave question marks on your conscience.
I certainly felt that once I got my head fully and completely bamboozled by the intricacies of Do Not Feed The Monkeys, it was over. Fortunately the game is replayable to the nth degree due to its central mechanic of playing the game particularly how you want to, no matter how stressful each playthrough was always going to be.
It’s just a shame there’s no sign of the Minecraft’s primary mechanic, which would have been a great addition to the overall experience. It’s a good laugh and as is so often with co-op games, you’ll get the most out of it with your pals/family.
It’s a cracking good time with friends but on your own, it’s a meanderingly frustrating tiresome glitch-filled experience.
There’s a glorious amount of fun to be had with What The Golf? and I’m delighted it’s finally on Switch, in particular. It’s a perfect blend of game and console, something I’ve said in various Switch reviews beforehand. When a game lands on Switch and feels completely at home, it’s well worth investing in.
Your enjoyment of The Eternal Castle will weigh heavily on either having fond memories of the era or wanting to leave it buried. It’s difficult to see how younger players will react to its visuals and punishing difficulty, but it serves as stark reminder that we’ve come a long way, baby.
You’re going to want a pen and a pad nearby to keep track of your characters, the threads and the keywords you’ll want to search for, and some questionable design decisions hold the game back from being an all-out classic of the genre – with the shocks and twists of Her Story towering over Telling Lies’ endgame – but it’s still well worth exploring if you’re looking for an interactive mystery to untangle.
Come for the delightful artwork, stay for the level editor. You’ve seen everything else before.
Dread Nautical is a solid and intriguing turned based, tactical roguelike RPG, just don’t expect your tense horror itch to be scratched, because you’ll be very much looking in the wrong place. The gameplay isn’t too overbearing for newcomers and the games primary characters certainly are fun to explore this doomed ship with, the story is twisty and keeps you engaged, and the hard mode will test your metal beyond much else around at the moment, but there’s very little here you haven’t seen before elsewhere and executed with more panache.
There’s a ton to love about Moving Out and it comes recommended as a new title to place in your party playlists next to Jackbox and Overcooked. It’s just a shame you don’t have the option to also move out that enormous online shaped elephant in the room.
There’s certainly fun to be had with a mate/partner/postman in Biped, but there’s very little here to have you playing for any more than a weekend. Once the levels are complete there’s the odd unlock that doesn’t justify prioritising Biped over the likes of Jackbox or Overcooked. If you’re on your own you’ll find little joy in ploughing your way through the adjusted solo campaign, which is more infuriating than infatuating.
This bus journey offers little thrills and a whole lot of frustration. Much like a normal bus journey then, I suppose.
The narrative is by far the most engaging and wonderful I’ve had the pleasure to experience this year so far.
Saints Row IV still offers exactly what it ever has, because there’s nothing new to see. If you desperately need it wherever you go, then go nuts. You aren’t going to be disappointed. If you’ve never played a Saints Row IV, you’ll find vastly superior versions on other systems.