John Friscia's Reviews
Alien: Isolation might be one of the best licensed games ever made, and Feral Interactive has succeeded in preserving its harrowing gameplay on Nintendo Switch. Rare bugs and frame rate drops aside, this is the same intensely atmospheric and frightful game it was in 2014. The difference is that now you can play it on the go — as long as you crank the screen brightness settings way up.
The base management is a little inconsequential, the interface has some clutter, and the persistent online connection requirement will be a wall for some, but none of that changes the fact that Volta-X is an outstanding strategic combat experience. Building new loadouts and testing new strategies is addicting and delightful, and a perfect online experience means there is tremendous replay value if you have a friend with the game or if the PvP scene continues to grow. GungHo has produced a quirky little gem here for Switch.
(One last note for Nintendo Switch players: Cyber Shadow actually plays best with Joy-Con, not the Pro Controller. The control pad on the Pro Controller sometimes incorrectly registers "forward" inputs as "down" inputs, which makes parries and dashing frustratingly more difficult.)
Ultimately, Lost in Random succeeds at telling a modern coming-of-age dark fairy tale that can be enjoyed by players of almost all ages, and the character and world design perfectly complements the zany and clever writing and voice acting. The gameplay is likewise unique and engaging, and even though combat doesn't offer extreme depth or challenge, it fits the scope of the adventure. However, the graphics and lighting suffer on Nintendo Switch, and if you have the ability to play it on another platform, you probably should.
NAIRI: Tower of Shirin is a gorgeous and entertaining puzzle adventure with charming characters. It lasted me, a puzzle novice, 8-10 hours, but mileage will vary. If you can forgive the awful cliffhanger ending, this is a game worth buying. But wait a couple weeks so the developer can fix the serious game-stopping bugs!
Project Nimbus: Complete Edition can be a very repetitive experience, but for only [a few dollars], it’s still an experience fans of the mech combat genre will enjoy. The controls just feel really good, and blowing stuff up is satisfying. And with three difficulty levels, you have a reason to stick around even if Warpath gets too redundant. Consider giving this a shot.
While you're here, check out our review of Shovel Knight: King of Cards too!
The Complex offers commendable acting and writing and a genuine sense of excitement to go with its interactive movie experience. However, most of the endings are quite similar and unsatisfying, and player choices often don't have much effect on the overall narrative. Still, considering the game costs the same price as a weeknight movie theater ticket, but with the added benefit of some novel interactivity, The Complex could make for a refreshingly unique, albeit short, movie night.
Despite the litany of technical issues I just outlined, this quirky licensed brawler is one of my favorite games I have played all year. Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues delivers a satisfying combination of engaging beat 'em up gameplay, authenticity to the TV series, and preposterous humor that results in an experience unlike any other on Nintendo Switch. "Cobra Kai never dies" thanks to bonkers extensions of the IP such as what Flux Games has produced here.
When you set aside the little performance issues on Nintendo Switch and the lack of some quality-of-life additions, Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is still an excellent dungeon crawler with tons of demons to experiment with and several different endings for hardcore players to find. The game feels like it's dragging on sometimes by so heavily emphasizing gameplay over story, but when the gameplay is this solid and with the world renewed in HD, it's not much of a complaint. This is quite the appetizer from Atlus as the wait for Shin Megami Tensei V continues.
Realistically, adults who want to program are just going to go learn an actual programming language and/or pick up a tool like GameMaker. But for impressionable preteen children, which arguably seems to be the prime demographic for this software, Game Builder Garage on Nintendo Switch can provide a comprehensive and accessible introduction to programming, despite a few glaring oversights. However, not just anyone is going to instantly click with and love this game. It takes time, determination, and raw passion to get the most out of Game Builder Garage. But maybe that's a good thing.
Hoa is short and contains rather basic platforming and flawed controls. However, Hoa is also one of the most beautiful video games ever made, with preposterously strong visuals and music that will be remembered for years to come. It's up to you if the latter can make up for the former, but personally, I would recommend this game to almost anyone.
My enthusiasm for Elli ebbed and flowed over the course of my run, from boredom to excitement to finally settling for something in-between the two. It’s not a game that does anything you haven’t seen before, but it puts together a decently enjoyable experience with its time-tested mechanics.
Ultimately, Half Past Fate is a game about walking and talking for a few hours. Optional Achievement hunting can extend the game's length if you so choose, but this is without a doubt an interactive movie with some gameplay tossed in to glue plot segments together. Your general predilections as a person will ultimately dictate if that's worth the price point. Nonetheless, with its gorgeous art, energetic soundtrack, and breezy narrative, Half Past Fate just exudes positivity from top to bottom. That should count for something.
Shinsekai: Into the Depths is a game worth playing. Its large world is addictive to explore, its oxygen mechanics are innovative and create dramatic gameplay moments, and its audio is a real delight.
Some people will absolutely love Telling Lies. The type of person who can watch five minutes of a movie and then has to watch the entire thing will surely be absorbed into this game's mystifying world. However, for other people, sifting through hours of footage and being forced to jigsaw a narrative out of it will just feel like a chore, even if the characters are well depicted. It's up to you to decide which category you're most likely to fall under.
With enjoyable sim gameplay, an engaging element combat system, and excellent boss fights, Smelter is a game with a lot of good pieces across 12-15 hours of play. Unfortunately, it never becomes more than the whole of its parts. The platforming level design feels a bit unremarkable, and the Trials ruin the pacing. Still, if you love ActRaiser or Mega Man X, there's enough to make Smelter worth recommending.
Ultimately, Mundaun is a creepy Switch game with creepy secrets to uncover across its creepy landscape, and it's easy to recommend to fans of adventure and horror. Others who don't typically play such games might just be bored to death with it though, especially if they get stuck on an objective they can't figure out. So basically, if your gut tells you that you might enjoy this game, it's probably right - and vice versa.
Ultimately, Mythic Ocean is a unique experience with its charming god-guiding gameplay and its exotic and atmospheric ocean to explore, and it is utterly immersive in the best way for the few hours that it lasts. However, the endings are not as memorable as the rest of the game. When you combine that with the tediousness of re-collecting pages on future playthroughs and going through many of the same conversations over and over again (though there is a fast-forward option), there is little incentive to replay Mythic Ocean as many times as it would like.
Ultimately, Button City delivers a deceptively poignant story wrapped up in an extremely adorable package. The playable arcade games also add some brief extra fun and novelty to what is otherwise a straightforward adventure. In total, it adds up to be a unique, memorable piece of art. But the slow walking speed is a drag, and the game's so buggy right now that maybe you should wishlist it and wait a few weeks to play it.