Joel DeWitte
But who can blame people for not gravitating toward this when there is a larger, more expansive, and much smoother gameplay experience out there at a negligible price difference on the Switch in Daemon X Machina? Override Mech City Brawl asks a lot out of potential customers for a much more flawed game. Even if it were a budget title, the framerate valleys, constricting scale, limited customization options, and a completely dead online presence would make it tough to recommend. In its current state, you'd do best to walk past the smoldering pile.
Hello Neighbor: Hide and Seek is a one-trick pony that had a game built around the premise of drawing a reaction out of the player via jump scares, which it does very well. If the levels and puzzles were more focused and honed-in, there could be a logical and interesting foundation for an experiential dread and tension. Forget moving out of the neighborhood, I'd suggest moving to the next county over.
The story of Surmount on Switch is a sad one, a pleasant, cute, challenging, uncomplicated, and fun bite-sized adventure that gets completely cratered by insurmountable show-stopping bugs that completely throttled my momentum and made me ask several times "what am I wasting my time for?" I have to balance giving the developer a chance to produce a minimally disruptive experience and a guidepost of whether to spend hard earned money on a game. Regretfully I have to recommend you find your sense of adventure elsewhere, whether giving the PC version a flyer or turning to a much more serious title like Jusant.
Rayne as a character is a cardboard cut-out of female action stars of the time, and the story would be laughably bad if it weren't there already. As well, the action has aged poorly with its unrefined hack and slash nature, even if you can wring a few drops of fun out of it. It's hard to recommend Bloodrayne to anyone other than people who've played it and have a fond nostalgia for it.
A decent sense of speed with maniacal track design and near flawless drivers. Visually inconsistent style that just highlights the problem areas. Music that is in the right genre but is somewhere between lacking and outright horrifying. I had high hopes for Future Aero Racing S Ultra, but instead i'll be playing more Fast RMX.
Candidly, the story itself is nonsensical in a way that is tough to follow and really kind of non-consequential.
The highest praise and most damning criticism I can give Devious Dungeon is that it is functional and something I could burn time with at a doctor's office or in a plane. With the consistent stream of games coming to the Switch, you're better off waiting to see if one of its better contemporaries gets released.
undefined.I find myself having a hard time recommending Atomine to anyone but those looking for a repetitive game and feel like the different ways in which you shoot the enemies isn't enough to sate your interest in a twin-stick shooter. I understand there are those who appreciate the feedback loop of going through a run, seeing how far you can go, and then trying to do better in your next run, but that alone wasn't enough to keep me engaged in this one.
It's actually pretty disappointing that Thea 2: The Shattering shoots itself in the foot on Switch. The world is unique and mysterious to me. There's a ton of things to tinker with in the overworld sections, and the combat is engaging enough to mix things up. But this game proved to me what I didn't want to hear - to me the inherent sluggishness of Thea 2 was enough to sink it.
Colossus Down features a grating protagonist going on a childish, fury-fuelled rampage, one with a wide set of levels that don't have any throughline other than her being inconvenienced. The neat aesthetic can't cover for shoddy-feeling combat and ill-instructed puzzle segments that sadly are further bogged-down by an endless stream of blathering by Nika, who has an infinite store of smugness. With so many great brawlers on Switch old and new that include sound fighting, killer soundtracks, and charming characters and worlds, Colossus Down should stay in the scrap pile.
The Serious Sam Collection undeniably has a lot of content, but the purchase decision will hinge on what fondness you have for it. This is likely an easy buy for the devotees or those who hold nostalgia for it, but as a first timer the flaws inherent in game design, technical performance, and audio design make the experience for me death by a thousand cuts. The Switch has better classic shooters and many well-made homages to them; seek out those before you settle for this.
That fleeting moment of fun was solitary, and not indicative of the overall experience I left with. Moonfall Ultimate has the framework for what could have been a better game if given more time to iron-out its strange difficulty scaling, slippery and unresponsive controls, and oddly enough, spell-checking. With a partner and expectations set properly, it could be a suitable rainy-day game, but I cannot recommend it to a solitary soldier.
It's that coagulation that makes the experience so unique, if a little shallow. That said, the Switch version is so tainted by the oppressively bad technical performance that it tanks the entire experience. Don't play it here unless it's your only option or Massive Monster resurrects it with a patch.
I like Monster Sanctuary for what it tries to accomplish, I just wish I liked the execution as much as the concept. I could see the threads of its attempt weaving into a better cohesive whole, but instead each different ingredient feels incomplete or misses the mark of what makes each genre it pulls from so compelling. There's still fun to be had if setting expectations right and wanting a unique twist that is no muss, no fuss, but I was hoping for more that Monster Sanctuary wasn't quite there to give.
The core battle system is too thin, and the activities and charming character interactions aren't enough to paper over that problem. This is the most robust mii maker, but it's all at a price that's downright terrible. I wanted to like Miitopia more than I did, but it's more like a Mii-nopia.
Whether this is for you depends on how much fondness you have for games of this era. This is no remaster or remake; it's a direct port. For me, the pieces come together just enough to find fun in spite of itself.
Its systems are light enough to not be overwhelming, and even if they become too much for you, a well-defined tutorial does a good job of holding your hand as you get a grasp of things. The core problem and one that brings this down from a great game to simply fine is just how little control you get over actual launches. If there was more agency in that side of things, then this would be a no-brainer recommendation.
In my two saves, I spent enough time to acquaint myself with the systems, understand the way the world works, and became a better survivor in the world of ATOM RPG. What makes it special is the world building through the character dialogue, learning how to play characters against each other to meet your needs, and leaning into your character strengths to uncover the outcomes you're looking for. ATOM RPG isn't going to make you a cult follower in the church of CRPG, but those who are already ordained there can likely overlook its dated look and flaws to find an enjoyable experience on the Nintendo Switch.
Hyperparasite leans heavily on its setting to stand-out from other top-down shooters, and in that sense, it succeeds in having a great, dark, B-movie tone that feels distinct and engaging.
Dungeon Village is a perfectly pleasant mobile building sim with a quirky premise, but the problems with this township may make you reconsider growing roots here.