John Friscia's Reviews
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
While you're here, check out our review of Shovel Knight: King of Cards too!
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.
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!
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.
(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.)
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.
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.
Ultimately, Grandia HD Collection is two games that play very similarly but with opposite tones. Grandia is for bright-eyed young kids, and Grandia II is for their cynical older siblings. Yet they both have excellent dialogue, open dungeon design, and battle systems that invite customization.
Ultimately, Strikey Sisters is an excellent value for its price, with exciting arcade gameplay that is as accessible to adults as it is to children. This could be a great game for bridging a generation gap.
Cinders is a short but highly replayable visual novel with dynamic characters and sharp writing. The visuals and soundtrack aren’t revolutionary but serve the narrative well. However, slowdown, while infrequent, can be a game-breaking experience when it appears.
Etrian Odyssey Nexus is Christmas morning for dungeon crawler lovers, thanks to its incredible party customization and abundant maps.
Octopath Traveler isn't perfect, but its major faults mostly pertain to the story. Beyond that, the game looks beautiful in a distinct way, interacting with NPCs in the game world is goofy fun, and the combat system is a multifaceted and rewarding revamp of Square Enix's previous offerings. When you put it all together, Octopath Traveler is an engaging RPG with a unique identity that it can be proud of, even if its narrative falls far short of Square's other classics.