James Sweeting's Reviews
This isn’t “authentic” pinball, but it isn’t trying to be. Pinball FX3 embraces that it is video game pinball and is more enjoyable as a result. And isn’t pinball about getting high scores and having a good time anyway?
Stick It To The Man is a perfectly functional but forgettable experience due to the tedious elements of the game. The Tim Burton-esque visual style and black humour fails to catch up to its influencers, but offers just enough to be worthwhile to those who share these interests.
Cat Quest is a purr-leasing experience that pits cats against dragons in table-top action adventure. The combat provides engaging feedback whilst the cat-izens offer plenty of – mostly humorous – cat-based puns that both draw you into the world of Felingard.
With the very welcome addition of themed card decks - featuring Ubisoft characters - providing an additional flourish to the game, UNO for Switch is a digital recreation of the popular card game, which is all you can ask for.
Moon Hunters is more than the retro-styled action game that screenshots would lead you to believe, but it is also less than the “personality test RPG” that it sets out to be. A fun evening with friends could be had, but don’t expect to find a lasting experience.
The Switch eShop is attracting a fair few match up puzzlers of late, but Ironcast should be the first one to be considered. It might be a port, but you would be forgiven for thinking this was designed from the ground up for the Switch.
Fate/Extella The Umbral Star is a great addition to the Switch, but not a great addition to either genre it tries to emulate.
Already there has been no shortage of excellent Switch games, and Death Squared is definitely one of them. It might not be the most inventive of all puzzle based games, but it certainly utilises the strengths of Nintendo’s hybrid system, and is a thoroughly enjoyable experience that is deeply rewarding after having completed a particularly challenging level. There are plenty of games vying for attention this year, but Death Squared on the Switch is worthy of receiving it.
As an experience, Tokyo 42 is worth your attention, but unfortunately, its gameplay and mission design become a hindrance as you progress, losing the spectacle that was notable from the start. It might at times feel reductive due to heavy reliance on other references, but it does manage to construct an identity of its own in spite of this. Tokyo of 2042 provides plenty of distractions, and it’s likely that it is this that will help it stand out amongst its contemporaries.
NBA Playgrounds is a conflicted game, it tries to cater to two different audiences at once, but in doing so weakens the overall experience and therefore appeals to neither. It did succeed in making me want to play an NBA game; just not this one.
Gnog is a pleasing and relaxing experience; one that understands what its strengths are and focuses making them the best they can be. Plus, it is the perfect length for escaping the dull and drab realities of the real world, and diving into the pastel-drenched absurdities of Gnog.
The temptation with Snake Pass might be throw the controller down in frustration and walk away, when faced with sheer befuddlement at the controls and the absurdity of wiggling Noodle around some tricky environments. But if you persevere with it – and you really should – you'll find the gameplay 'clicks' surprisingly quickly. And once it does, Snake Pass is a thoroughly enjoyable riff on the retro 3D platformer, brought to life in charming style and with a genuinely innovative approach to traversal and problem solving.
Loot Rascals, like other roguelikes, might not be for everyone, but it is the game's charm and engaging approach to stat loadout and item management (as dull as that sounds) that make it enjoyable and helps turn what otherwise might have been frustration into a learning experience. Ultimately you might not get very far, but you won’t regret the time spent trying.
Players who like hardboiled detective stories will likely find something of interest here as well, but most of all, for those familiar with the work of Suda51 – especially Killer7 and Flower, Sun, and Rain – The Silver Case will be an essential 'new' Suda51 trip.
At this stage, it feels incongruous to state whether or not this is the best Ace Attorney game. A lot of the aspects in the game are nothing new, but whilst there are elements that separate it from its predecessors, there is nothing that instantly makes it significantly better than the rest. In part, this is because the main series has been so continuously strong. Even though there has been an increase in the number of visual novel type games to come to the West, Ace Attorney is still one of the best, and Spirit of Justice does not detract from that. The fact that it holds its own against previous entries, as well as providing the most engaging overall narrative in the series makes it worth playing. What's more, it retains the humour and character (and not to forget great music) that makes the Ace Attorney series so exceptional. Now if there aren’t any objections, the verdict can now be given…