William Murphy's Reviews
If you love open world games that let you loose to just play with things and see what kind of mayhem you can create, there's no better series than Just Cause 4. And while this holiday season is filled to the brim with new games, I would strongly advise against sleeping on Rico's latest adventure. It's one you'll be guaranteed to have dozens of hours of fun with. Recommended.
A hugely content-rich look at life as a survivor in a war-torn country, This War of Mine deserves all the praise it receives, even if it's controls and pacing are often a bummer.
Still, it’s clear to see that Civ 6 is going to be one of my most-played Switch games, because that’s just the kind of game it is. You can’t say no to one more turn, and I can already foresee many times where my feet fall asleep in the bathroom. TMI?
RDR2's start is slow, measured, but as the layers begin to unfold and the scope of the game's sandbox is known, you see just how impressive it all really is. This is easily a top candidate for one of the greatest open world RPGs of all time.
If you've been waiting since DQVIII for a Dragon Quest title to hit your PlayStation, you'll be glad it's finally here. It may not do a lot to push the genre forward, but like the game's design so clearly sets out to do, Dragon Quest XI is an homage to the JRPG and its fans. It's an immense, addictive, and joyful experience from the first moment on. I cannot recommend it enough.
The new Angel Island Zone is just icing on the cake. If you've already played through Sonic Mania before, there's ample reason to pick Sonic Mania Plus up too, especially if you're a fan of the Blue Blazer. There's enough new content to digest, and the art book is pretty great, even if it's just a little trinket. Now... how long do we have to wait for a proper sequel?
Shining Resonance: Refrain is, I hope, the beginning of the Shining series' return to the US and EU as a SEGA mainstay. Its systems are top-notch, its action is uniquely its own, and lord knows we need more solid JRPGs back in the West.
I love that Warframe continues to grow and evolve into something ever greater than it was with its humble beginning.
There's no doubt, Mooncrash is a must play for anyone who enjoyed Prey. But it's also a must play for any fan of roguelike games. The RPG aspects, the procedural content, the mystery of the story... it's all so on point that it's hard to knock for anything but the similar faults of the original game. Prey: Mooncrash is, simply put, the best stab at a roguelike a Triple-A studio has ever tried, and it's proof that there's room to expand on the format.
Castlestorm is a light-hearted, fairly in-depth Tower defense game that offers some unique mechanics, quirky story, and fairly solid controls. It is hampered a bit by the Switch analog sticks and repetitiveness due to the nature of the genre, however overall it's a fun title and if it's one you've never picked up, I would recommend picking it up on the Switch. It's a great title to play on the go.
We Happy Few is going to go down as a cult hit. If you can muster the strength to get past its janky gameplay, there's a whole lot to love here in the world and characters. But the fact remains that this adventure is one that could have used a bit more refinement.
The loop of crafting new gear, finding new locations, and crafting slightly new gear gets tiresome eventually, but the story and exploration is just enough to keep you going to see this quest to its end. A sequel is supposedly coming from Butterscotch Shenanigans in the near future, and for now I'm happy to revisit the 2016 game on the Switch, because it reminds me just how good an original take on the survival genre can be.
Cosmic Star Heroine is an homage to classic 90s sci-fi RPGS, and it works really well to evoke that sense of adventure. It may be a short affair, but its combat mechanics are tight, the drudgery of traditional JRPGs is wiped away by clever design decisions, and at fifteen bucks, it's well worth the price of entry. Recommended.
Pinstripe was an excellent game when it launched earlier this year on other consoles, and remains an excellent adventure here on the Nintendo Switch.
If there's anything really "meh" about Ys VIII it's that the story takes a good long while to get going. It crawls along with dream sequences that don't really generate interest, and the first hour or more is just you running around the soon-to-crash ship talking to people. But once you're adventuring on the island, fishing, crafting, learning new skills, finding new secrets, and meeting new survivors, Ys VIII becomes a very memorable experience. It makes me hope we don't wait so long for a Ys IX, and that it's given the care and attention it deserves.
If you're a fan of Steven Universe, and you own a Switch, this is a no-brainer. It's an excellent take on the Paper Mario RPG formula with a few tricks of its own up its sleeve to boot. Given that the PS4 and XB1 version's tech issues are solved here, it's well worth the price of entry on Switch.
Hand of Fate 2 was an excellent spin on the ARPG when it came out in late 2017. It's even better now that it's on the Switch. The same issues are still present, namely that combat can be too simplistic, and there are just so many games on the console that Hand of Fate 2 could easily be overlooked. I hope that instead, Defiant's sequel sees a lot of new players, as it's a series I hope to see continue to evolve.
As a chilled, low-stress experience that strikes the right blend of cuteness and charm, Deiland certainly delivers, even though it lacks the depth and complexity of sandbox games that appeal to an older audience. Yes, there are a few bugs, but they don't get in the way of the magical fun on offer.
Sadly, RBI Baseball 18, while ahead of last year's edition, is still obviously hampered by porting the mobile version to consoles and charging 300% more. It's not worth your time or your money, unless you're really hard up for a Switch baseball game. If you have access to any other console, play something there instead. Keep an eye on RBI Baseball as a series though, as they're making strides. It's got a long way to go, but they're clearly trying to make a great game.
If you didn't like Valkyria Revolution, or any entry since Valkyria Chronicles 1 for that matter, you're going to love Valkyria Chronicles 4. If you've always missed out on this series, but want something to whet your Fire Emblem appetite and enjoy a pseudo-WWII setting, you're in for a treat. Valkyria Chronicles 4 shows that SEGA does listen to the fans and that the series has plenty of life left in it.