Craig Majaski's Reviews
Layers of Fear: Legacy is a solid horror effort on the Switch. It combines psychological creepiness with jump scares and tells a disturbing story. There’s not much in the way of action, so if you’re not into the “walking simulator” types of games this one probably won’t be for you. For everyone else, dive headfirst into this mad world.
Raging Justice takes what you love about classic brawlers and marries it with current day sensibilities. With multiple difficulty levels and settings, leaderboards, and extra stage challenges, there’s more to this game than meets the eye. While it doesn’t do anything revolutionary for the genre, it’s still a great deal of fun and well worth your $15.
Pool Panic brings something truly unique to the Nintendo Switch and with it comes some zany characters, crazy levels, and off the wall animations. The game is a joy to play, but even with a plethora of levels to go through, the gameplay hook overstayed its welcome by the end. Still, if you’re up for something different on the Switch, look no further.
If you want an accurate port of Sonic the Hedgehog on your Switch, then this is your ticket! It’s fun to play on the go or at home on the TV and there are enough little bells and whistles added in to make it worth your while – even if this is your tenth time buying the game!
GOOD - Team Sonic Racing is a fun alternative to other competitive racers on the Switch. It features bright and detailed graphics, easy to learn controls, and a cool team-based approach to racing not seen in other titles. It seems a little sparse on tracks and characters, but perhaps we’re just spoiled by MK8 Deluxe. It’s well worth the $40 asking price!
GOOD - Yoshi’s Crafted World is creative in its set designs, but could have used some fresh ideas in the gameplay department. The game is still really fun to play, although it seems a little on the short side, unless you’re OK with playing the levels three times through to find all of the collectibles. A solid effort from Good-Feel and Nintendo, but I was hoping for more.
GOOD - Double Cross is a fun action game that allows your character to gain upgrades by finding secret crystals. Some of the stage designs are really great and traversal of the world is fun. Combat becomes rather boring very quickly and the story really isn’t all that compelling. Luckily you can button mash your way through the not so great parts and still have a good time with the rest of the game!
GOOD - Odallus does a good job replicating old-school 8-bit NES adventure games of yore. The lack of button mapping and the inability to remove the scanlines dampened my experience with the game, but it’s still a fun and challenging title that should appeal to veteran gamers.
GOOD - Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo includes six classic games of varying quality. My personal favorite was the side-scrolling shmup Samurai Aces II: Tengai, with Gunbird 1 & 2 also high up on my list. I was surprised and delighted to spend time with Gunbarich, a brick breaking Arkanoid clone. With limited lasting value this collection is still a fun time…while it lasts.
GOOD - La-Mulana 1 & 2: Hidden Treasures Edition should appeal to those gamers who enjoy difficult gameplay and cryptic hints set in a Metroidvania style universe. Those that grew up during the ‘80s and liked adventure games on the NES are the target market for this one. Just be prepared for obscure puzzles, tons of death traps, and challenging enemies!
GOOD - Inmost is a dark and emotional 2D puzzle adventure featuring three playable characters via an intertwining story. Detailed pixel art and a moving soundtrack help sell the story and the puzzle solving is rewarding. Some of the action segments fall a bit short and the last half hour or so of the game seems rushed, but overall it’s an experience I won’t soon forget.
GOOD - If you like puzzle games like Sudoku, you’ll probably find a lot to enjoy with Tens! It’s a bit simpler than some puzzlers, which should appeal to a wider audience. With appealing audio visuals and a somewhat lengthy adventure mode, this is a fun puzzle game to whittle away the time.
GOOD - Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is a fun puzzle game that I can heartily recommend to newcomers as it features bright and colorful graphics, happy music, and a plethora of game modes to enjoy. However, it does very little to improve upon the original game, which can now be purchased for half the price of this one, which gives owners of Puyo Puyo Tetris very little incentive to plop down another $40 for such a similar experience.
Subsurface Circular is a unique storytelling device and one that gives the illusion of player choice, when in reality the narrative is rather linear in nature. The gameplay is purely dialog tree choices consisting of various questions and answers. It won’t be for everyone, but it’s great to see a deviation from typical game design.
Pic-a-Pix Deluxe is a fun puzzle game in the vein of Picross. It adds a dash of color, which creates a new layer of strategy. A slightly confusing UI doesn’t get in the way of some seriously enjoyable and challenging puzzle solving.
Super Daryl Deluxe is a really funny game that features outstanding visual presentation and unique and creative areas to traverse. Unfortunately it falls short in the gameplay department, with repetitive and boring combat. Still, the game is worth a shot if you like mysteries, comedy, and want something completely strange on your Switch.
Bad North is a fun game with light RTS and tower defense mechanics. The levels are short enough to be played in small bursts, which do lend themselves well to the handheld mode. However, the lack of meaningful tactics and strategies left me wanting more.
Great ports, awesome extras, and both arcade and NES versions make this a good game that many will enjoy.
GOOD - Normally when a company goes through the trouble of converting a game to HD they choose the best in the series, but Sega has decided to bring Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD to current video game consoles. While not a bad game by any means, I think most would consider the first two GameCube games the best in the series. This one is still just as zany and does deliver in the fun department, but sensitive controls, needless boss battles, and ho-hum multiplayer mini-games hold it back from true greatness.
GOOD - Stories Untold combines the old-school text adventure with modern day sensibilities. This one isn’t for the action fans out there – you’ll be mostly reading and solving small puzzles to progress. With four different stories and point and click interactions, fans of adventure games should consider picking this one up.