Overall, we’d say that if you enjoyed Aqua Kitty UDX, then you’re likely going to enjoy Astro Aqua Kitty, too. Heck, even if you didn’t play the first game, we’d still recommend checking this one out. It’s a solid shoot-em-up, and while it doesn’t feel as immediately engaging or replayable as its predecessor, it’s nevertheless a fun ride throughout.
To an extent, we feel we’re being hard on Moon Raider, but compared to the plethora of excellent Metroidvania titles on Switch, this title is just 'all right'. It’s not bad, but its various flaws mean it's certainly not great, either. At around three hours in length, there are absolutely worse ways to spend your time, and the game does also include a neat co-op option to increase its longevity somewhat. Ultimately though, if you’re after a thrilling, memorable 2D action title with a dash of originality, this sadly isn’t it.
Narita Boy joins a plethora of entertainment franchises that pay homage to '80s culture. But where others have failed, Narita Boy transcends its inspiration with exceptional world building, a complex yet thoughtful narrative, and stunning combat gameplay. It occasionally feels a little too vague and abstract in its structure, and ultimately this holds it back from being a true masterpiece, but if you're longing for a great Metroidvania title, then Narita Boy is absolutely what you've been waiting for.
Everhood is one of the most memorable games we've played in recent years. Its utterly bonkers plot and weird cast of characters is reason enough to check it out, but the instantly accessible rhythmic combat will keep you hooked from the very first battle to the epic final boss encounter. Some may be put off by the minimal visual design and deliberately vague sequence of events, but for those after something a bit different, Everhood delivers originality and unique gameplay in spades and absolutely deserves a place in your Switch library.
Ultimately, while the game mostly succeeds as an engaging, fun multiplayer experience, there’s only so much you can squeeze from the four modes available. They all feel relatively similar to each other, and despite the individual tasks presented, the gameplay feels the same across all of them. It’s unlikely to be a game you’ll go back to after a couple of sessions, and take it from us, don’t even consider purchasing Can’t Drive This if you don’t intend on playing local or online multiplayer.
One area in which the game is severely lacking is its options. There are the obvious audio settings in which you can alter music and sound levels, but there's no sign of crucial gameplay options. What this means is there is no way of altering the often excruciatingly slow aiming speed, and (rather sinfully) no option to invert the Y-axis. For a first-person experience, these should be in there as standard, and will be a deal-breaker for many. With this aside, however, Kill It With Fire is a fun little distraction that, while only a few hours in length, will keep you entertained with its myriad array of gameplay opportunities and selection of weapons.
Azur Lane: Crosswave is a game that was best left on smartphones. The visual novel sequences are perfectly fine, and the story itself – while utterly bonkers – is interesting enough to keep you engaged, while the characters are both charming and unique. Sadly, the naval combat sequences bring down the entire experience. They're slow, repetitive, rarely require much strategic thought, and look incredibly bland all at once. This is a game for hardcore fans of the genre only; everyone else ought to look elsewhere for their naval combat needs.
Taxi Chaos feels very much like a proof of concept; it's certainly evidence that a taxi game has its place in 2021, though it's lacking that vital spark that would truly make it a must-play title. The city itself is well-made, with plenty of sights to behold, but the overall visual design feels a bit generic and lacks its own voice. There are few incentives to play for extended periods of time, so how long the game lasts is largely dependent on your own willingness to climb the online leaderboard. Nevertheless, Taxi Chaos is an admirable revival of a genre that's been dormant for far too long, and a good foundation for a potential sequel down the line.
Ultimately, we have to ask ourselves one crucial question when it comes to Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing: do we really need yet another reminder of the truly awful situation we’re all still in? The story being told here is an uplifting one, but it’s also stuffed with terms we’ve become all too familiar with over the course of the past year: social distancing, flattening the curve, remote meetings… we could go on. Games are – perhaps more than ever – a means of escapism, and Serenity Forge’s new title strays a bit too close to reality for our liking. We’d probably recommend other developers try again in a few years time when the dust has settled.
The overarching story within NUTS is probably worth experiencing on its own, despite the repetitive gameplay. It’s reasonably well written and is just about compelling enough to hold your attention for its 2-3 hour duration. There’s nothing here that you’ll connect with on an emotional level, but the voiceover work really helps drive the mystery. Unfortunately, there also a number of framerate dips throughout the experience that will really hamper your enjoyment; hopefully, this will be ironed out in the future.
If you’re after something challenging and, shall we say, different, then PUSS! could well be right up your alley. Its gameplay is simple enough for anyone to pick up, but the difficulty ramps up quickly to outrageous levels. Nevertheless, it remains strangely addictive, and will likely hold your attention for a good while as you pour blood, sweat, and tears into progressing through its levels, inch by inch.
With smooth, stable gameplay, Glyph is truly a joy to play. The exploration levels in particular are incredibly creative, with plenty of collectables to keep you occupied. The accompanying soundtrack deserves a special mention too; the ambient music really suits the tone of the game, and the way it swells when you’ve collected all of the required keys is excellent. The only major downside is the time trial levels; if you enjoy this kind of thing, you can bump the score up by one point, but there were a few too many of these levels for our liking.
With striking gold, blue, and green colours, Disjunction certainly looks the part, and depicts its cyberpunk setting successfully. There’s plenty of atmosphere, and this is further elevated by an ambient soundtrack that really sets the tone in every level. The game’s overall length is a tad disappointing; you’ll rinse it in just a handful of hours, and there’s little incentive for multiple playthroughs. If you're itching for a decent new stealth title though (and aren’t quite willing to go for the cloud version of Hitman 3), then Disjunction is a glorious homage to the entire genre.
With a bit more variation to its gameplay, Colossus Down could have been an easy recommendation. Despite its unlikeable main protagonist, there’s a heap of potential here that could well be realised if the developer decides to go for a sequel. As it is, it’s a great looking game that unfortunately falls foul to repetitive and shallow gameplay.
Timothy and the Mysterious Forest is absolutely a case of style over substance. It definitely looks and sounds the part; the developer has gone to clear lengths to emulate the feel of a classic Game Boy game. The problem is that when attempting to emulate the difficulty of a retro adventure title, they’ve gone one step too far and made the game a chore to play thanks to a number of unreliable mechanics and unfair enemy encounters.
It’s a tough game, particularly in the later stages, and if you’ve not got the patience for it, then it’s not going to be the game for you. To start off, you can select individual stages, starting with relatively easy scenarios and building significantly in difficulty from there. Once you’ve reached a certain level, you can start tackling ‘campaigns’, which are just several levels grouped together. There’s no overarching plot to bind the levels together, which is a shame, but not a deal-breaker. Finally, you can also generate random levels by selecting various parameters, such as size, number of enemies, and so on. There’s a lot to be getting on with, and if you’re a fan of tactical games, this is definitely one to watch out for.
Graphically, the game is technically decent, though the frame rate could have been bumped up a bit more. From an artistic perspective, the environments and characters are all a bit ‘samey’, blending together from one level to the next, with little variation. It’s a shame, because Hong Kong is undoubtedly a visually striking city, but the buildings showcased in The Hong Kong Massacre could have been plucked from literally any town in the world.
Although not quite as meaty as its older sibling, Professor Lupo: Ocean boasts the same engaging puzzle gameplay, albeit with often unwieldy controls. It’s a short game, and not one you’re likely to come back to soon after completion, but with a relatively small price tag, it’s one you’d do well to pick up if you’re after an original puzzle title.
As with any roguelite, Synthetik: Ultimate requires an abundance of playthroughs in order to progress further into the game. Its overall length very much depends on your own commitment, but the strong gameplay is more than enough incentive to keep coming back, despite the poor menu system and less-than-stellar graphics. The addition of an Arena mode on top of the main ‘Citadel’ mode is welcome, though it doesn’t offer anything particularly new, so you’ll likely just stick to the main mode.
Despite the lack of a single original idea to call its own, Landflix Odyssey is saved by its gameplay, which is both challenging and fun. Each stage is just the right length if you want to drop in and out, and there’s enough here to keep you busy for a good four or five hours altogether. If you’re willing to forgive the poor translation and weak attempt at parody, then Landflix Odyssey is a solid 2D platformer worth checking out.