Jay Kittelson
While a decent RPG experience I enjoyed the dungeon exploration and the mystery sleuthing the most. I grew tired of the battles early on but they became much more challenging as Hayato progressed to the end. The price is a little high for what you get so waiting for a price drop or sale may be a safer bet. That said, definitely a game I would want in my collection and a satisfying experience overall.
WORTH CONSIDERING - The Princess Guide is fun at first, overwhelmingly complicated overall, and a little weird to be scolding or praising princesses in their training. It has some great points like crazy button mashing combat, but also has clunky menus and severely repetitive gameplay.
WORTH CONSIDERING - Time limits and ridiculously repetitive gameplay are the bane of Lapis x Labyrinth. The redeeming qualities are the explosive Fever episodes and the totem pole like party formation. After the first area, the game’s difficulty spikes and can make for some frustrating failures. Proceed with caution, but for the right type of player it can be a fun and rewarding experience.
WORTH CONSIDERING - Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath is a high definition remake of a game that was originally released in 2005 and plays like it. Third person games from that era had camera issues that were really frustrating to work with so expect that going in. The story is cool and the character design is very good. If you can forgive the controls being very touchy then you can have a lot of fun with this game.
WORTH CONSIDERING - Overall, the story is worth playing through. It is touching and has an ending that is quite good. The manga panel presentation of the story telling is very cool, and the music is absolutely wonderful. However, with all the unnecessary padding, inability to destroy or at least incapacitate enemies, and the insanely idiotic control scheme that is enough to drive you crazy, it may not be worth the initial price tag of $30.
With a cast of characters that are forgettable and challenging gameplay that punishes you with load times and long waits between game over screen to starting at the last check point, I would steer clear of this title unless you are a fan of the previous titles. I believe there are gamers out there who are more forgiving of these things than I am, but I couldn’t recommend it to someone without outlining the frustrations I had.
An excellent game filled with all the things to love about video games. Cool characters, great music, sweet story, and graphics that fit the game perfectly. It’s just too bad that the difficulty spike absolutely killed the experience for me. I don’t rage quit very many games, but when I do… a controller usually dies a horrifying and disturbing death. Don’t worry. No controllers were harmed in the process of this review.
Fans of the series will no doubt find a lot to like here. As a newcomer I found many of the gameplay systems to be lacking, the story boring, and just couldn’t get into it. There are plenty of other NIS America RPGs to enjoy on the Switch (Ys VIII and Disgaea 5 Complete to name a few) instead of this one.
MEDIOCRE - A rather bland experience that is tainted by technical issues that almost render the game unplayable on the docked Switch, but made slightly better with some published workarounds. Once the game is patched and cleaned up it might be worth checking out, but I’m not sure that’ll be enough to make the game fun.
MEDIOCRE - While it’s the most ambitious motorcycle racing game that I have played, the limitations of the Switch and its controllers will make this a frustrating experience for many gamers. Unless you have no other choice of console and figure you can put up with the lower framerates, scaled back graphics, and difficult control because you absolutely love the sport then, by all means, give it a try because the craftsmanship of RiMS could be well worth it for you.
Crush Your Enemies had the potential to be a fun strategy title that would be interesting to play with a friend. The controls make it difficult to enjoy because of time goals that get destroyed by futzing with the control stick to make selections and direct your little army to conquer each level. Avoid this one unless it goes on sale and you think you can tolerate the control schema.
Looking for an amazing racing game that involves combat, thrilling speed, stellar controls, and rewarding excitement? I'm sure there is a game out there that can offer that to you, but Road Redemption is just not it. With graphical and game play issues that frustrate more than exhilarate there are far more worthy titles of your time and money.
BAD - The most appealing aspect of The Caligula Effect: Overdose is the battle system which does a pretty good job at being fun for a few hours into the adventure. The game is bogged down by too many problems from boring interaction with NPCs and troublesome game mechanics to be considered something to invest your time or money into.
BAD - No. Just…. No. Find something else to play. Terrible controls on top of poor writing on top of confusing and boring gameplay makes Disaster Report 4 a game I wouldn’t pick up in the bargain bin where they give you 99% off.
AWFUL - Look elsewhere for a rogue-like adventure game. With sloppy controls, terrible combat, and irritating noises that will drive you insane, Away: Journey to the Unexpected will begin your journey to the loony bin.