William Murphy's Reviews
Jotun: Valhalla Edition may not be the longest game, but at a nice $15 price for a solid 5-hour experience, it's more than recommended. If you've played it before on other platforms, it may not do much new that begs you to buy it again, but if you're looking for an excellent adventure on the Switch you could do a whole lot worse.
If you missed out on the Wii U Hyrule Warriors, I'd more than suggest buying the Definitive Edition here on Switch. Not only is it one of the best Warriors spin-offs to date, but chances are you're a Zelda fan if you own the Switch and it's just a great spinoff of Link's adventures altogether. Can it get repetitive? Sure, but that's the nature of Action RPGs like this – Warriors games are essentially 3rd-Person Diablos without the loot hunt. Playing coop is a joy, the Adventure Mode is an awesome addition, and raising your own fairy is surprisingly cute and meaningful. With all the content on display, it's worth the full price of entry.
If the price drops to around the $20 mark, this title would be a quirky gem. As it stands, the cost of entry and the lack of true depth to Penny-Punching Princess make it a hard game to recommend to anyone. As it stands, it’s just not a very good time to be had. The price, combined with the repetitive nature and lack of level design make it a resounding “meh” of a game. It feels like it was meant for the 3DS, and was quickly ported to the Switch to cash in, and that’s not a good thing.
Where Mario Odyssey demanded player skill, Kirby 180’s and demands you just have fun. It won’t challenge most of you reading this, but I bet you’ll be smiling and having a good time regardless.
When the title credits roll, you’ll be hard pressed not to feel bittersweet to know this is the end of Kiryu’s long tale. Where the series goes next is anyone’s guess, but it’s hard to imaging it without our scarlet-shirted protagonist. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is not only a great game, but a fitting closure for the long and turbulent story of Kiryu Kazuma.
As it was in 2016, D-Pad Studios has crafted an excellent adventure that should be played by all. If you’ve already experienced Owlboy on another platform, there’s nothing here you haven’t yet seen. But if, like me, you never did play it before – now is the perfect time to experience one of the best indie adventures in modern memory.
Crossing Souls may still be a game I revisit when I need to be comforted by the sheer joy of its characters, world, references, and music. Fourattic clearly loves the era as much as many of us do, and it shows. For all its references, the callbacks to different pop culture events never feel forced. Crossing Souls is a helluva fun ride, and a game I'd strongly recommend to anyone with a love of He-Man, coin-op arcades, and bitchin' synth tunes.
I can’t recommend Darkest Dungeon enough. Its hallway crawling, madness suffering, darkness fighting, dungeon romping is some of the best RPG play I’ve had in recent years. The game shines on the Switch, despite a few minor setbacks in the font and controls. If you’re a veteran of the game or have never tried it, put it on your want list because Darkest Dungeon is very easily added to the Switch’s growing list of “Best Games”.
SteamWorld Heist was an excellent game when it launched in 2015, and it's still excellent today on the Switch. Offering a familiar world and style with a new way to play amid the robots, it's a strategy game that belongs on every Switch
The story of SteamWorld Heist is set a few hundred years after the original Dig, when robots have been forced into space when the earth was destroyed. As captain Piper, you’ll traverse the galaxy, collect crew members, and take down the Scrappers while uncovering as deeper, more sinister secret. The levels are randomized too, meaning no two playthroughs will be the same. This is excellent because SteamWorld Heist is definitely a game you’ll enjoy playing enough to try it again and again. The only thing that could have made this Ultimate Edition even better would have been a co-op and head-to-head multiplayer mode.
If you’re looking for a classic top-down Zelda experience on Nintendo’s new console, you really don’t need to look any farther. Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King is a pitch-perfect homage to the SNES/Game Boy era Zelda games, and it also manages to stand on its own two feet by the end of the adventure. Would we have liked some more surprises out of Blossom Tales? Surely. And hopefully that’s what’ll come in a sequel. Grandpa has more stories to tell! And the best part? No breaking weapons!
While it doesn't quite stand as tall as the Mario Odyssey masterpiece, Yooka-Laylee is a game every Switch owner should consider. Fantastic fun for all ages, and tons of content to boot. [William Murphy separately reviewed the Switch (8.5) and PC (8) versions. Their scores have been averaged.]
The End is Nigh is one of the premiere indie gems on Nintendo Switch. Difficulty and rewards issues aside, this one's immensely replayable, hilarious, and genuinely well designed in both sound, visuals, and gameplay. It's the kind of game that may drive you nuts with its difficulty, but only because you know that you're the one making the mistakes.
We've had Breath of the Wild, we got Skyrim, and Disgaea 5, but for many JRPG fans, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 will be the first really exciting release on the Switch. And I'm here to say that it's been worth the wait for the follow up to the Wii's original classic.
If, like me, you missed out in 2011 when LA Noire first launched, I highly recommend trying it now on Switch (or on PC, PS4, and XB1 where it was recently released. The Switch version feels right at home and has me clamoring that somehow Rockstar will bring more of its catalog to the console.
if you’ve got kids or a significant other who loves to whack LEGO minifigs with you, you’re golden. If that’s the case, you could do a whole lot worse than LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2.
Skyrim may be aging, but it's still easily one of the best RPGs ever made, and a pure joy to play on the Switch. Add-on support would be nice, and the PC version is still definitely the most "complete" version because of the modding, but if you've ever wished you could have Skyrim on the go - Bethesda and Nintendo just granted that wish.
I'm officially a fan, and having Destiny 2 on PC is exactly what I'd hoped for all along.
On top of the original base game, Ittle Dew 2 + on the Switch has the Dream World which adds 5 new dungeons with their own difficulties to conquer, a new boss, and cards to collect. It's a great way to make a somewhat short game last a little longer. And trust us, Ittle Dew 2 is so charming you'll want it to last as long as it can.
I can’t imagine anyone beating Giants’ offering when it comes to Farming Simulator 18. If you’re looking to relax and feel the digital earth between your digital hands, this one’s a keeper. Recommended.