David Poole's Reviews
As mentioned before, the Blizzard Arcade Collection is a great way to look at the company history. With three unique games, each with three different versions, behind-the-scenes artwork, videos and more, there’s plenty to enjoy here.
Overall, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury is still a great game. While it does have some flaws, this two-for-one package is still very worthwhile. It’s unfortunate that the online multiplayer limits progress to the host player, but it’s still fun for quick sessions. Even if the length of Bowser’s Fury is somewhat underwhelming, it’s a fun experience that makes for a cool experiment.
Despite the limitations of the hardware, it’s hard not to be impressed with what SNK created here. Even with slight performance issues, this is a fantastic retro fighter, and I’m thankful that Code Mystics managed to bring it over. If you’re even slightly interested in the SNK vs. Capcom crossover series, for $8, this is a worthy pickup for your Switch.
As the game tackles dark subject matter and an intriguing mystery, The Medium offers a solid plot to absorb. It also gives the player an ending that they can interpret in a number of ways, though it might lack satisfaction. It’s not the scariest horror game out there, even by Bloober Team’s standards, but it’s frightening enough to get a few scares, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. If you have Xbox Game Pass, you should experience this game.
It’s a lot to take in, but Atelier Ryza 2 manages to succeed more than it falters. Even with the fan service, it’s hard to hate this game. With a heartwarming story and an emotionally powerful ending, this is an enjoyable RPG experience from start to finish.
If you’re a fan of the graphic novels or the film, you’ll likely have something to love about the game. Come for the fantastic pixel art style, stay for the Anamanaguchi music. This is still the classic we deserve after half a decade.
To my surprise, I really liked Airborne Kingdom. I wasn’t expecting to beat the game in one sitting, but it was an enjoyable experience from start to finish.
Overall, Fatal Fury First Contact is a good first attempt at a Neo Geo Pocket Color fighting game. It may be simple, but it really just makes me appreciate the effort in SNK Gals’ Fighters even more. This one is severely lacking in the presentation department, making it purely a fighter for fans that want to play it.
While I didn’t have as great a time with Sackboy: A Big Adventure as I did Astro’s Playroom, this was still a fun time. It’s definitely a much longer platformer, and it offers a lot more challenge as well. It doesn’t take as much advantage of the DualSense controller on PlayStation 5, but this is likely due to the game being available on PlayStation 4 as well. Either way, Sackboy is still a strong platformer for friends and families to play together this holiday season. The levels are diverse, the music is catchy, and the charm is excellent.
Overall, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is an excellent successor to the original Hyrule Warriors. When it comes to being a Breath of the Wild prequel, it captures the spirit and essence, but it also somewhat tarnishes the story that game told. Despite that, the gameplay is fun and inventive enough to see this new story through, and it should still be enjoyable for fans. If it means this will fill the void till we get the proper sequel, then so be it.