When Fire Emblem: Three Houses released in the second half of 2019, it thrust tactical RPGs into the spotlight once again. Named in many Switch owners top three games of the last 12 months, fans new and old enjoyed all that Fire Emblem had to offer. It’s only natural then to see interest rise in similar titles that are subsequently released. Queue Narcos: Rise of the Cartels.
Based in Madrid, Team Gotham are a team of five who have, since 2014, developed four games. Two of these are available free via GameJolt: no ONE and Fidelio, another can be found on Steam under the name, The Guest, and the latest title, SOLO: Islands of the Heart, is now made a home on the Nintendo Switch. With home consoles being a goal of theirs, Solo represents a significant moment for the team, and we were keen to see how it fared.
With Hotline Miami dominating the top-down, over-the-top, brutally violent genre in gaming since its introduction in 2012, it was high time a new game tried to get in on the action and take the steely crown. Having started out in 2014, Krakow based developers One More Level have added another game to their catalogue with God’s Trigger. Promising the opportunity to ‘slay enemies with speed and precision in an over-the-top show of blood and explosions’, I was keen to see just how well this one would hold up. Find out here at Rapid Reviews UK!
When Radiation City appeared on the eShop list of titles ‘Coming Soon’, I was excited. The original mobile port release by Atypical Games, Radiation Island, was one that I spent considerable time with during my early days playing the Nintendo Switch. While it was not without its fault, it offered an open-world experience with simple-to-play game mechanics and a crafting system I quite enjoyed. Fast forward then to my first, and last, hour playing Radiation City, and my thoughts on a promising game experience with bags of potential had diminished from excitement to utter, utter disappointment.
Not to be confused with a phrase Kanye West might use when addressing his eldest daughter, Bad North is a real-time tactical roguelike game designed and developed by Plausible Concept. Now, while Kanye references may be less and less appropriate as I divulge my experiences with this title, some excellent links can be made in the opening.
The Gaijin Distribution published title, Blades of Time, is the latest in a long line of ports from the last generation of home consoles to land on the Nintendo Switch. Whilst many have been obvious choices, and some a little less so, Blades of Time was the first that made me truly question why. This hack-and-slash, action-adventure title from 2012 is neither steeped in nostalgia nor back by popular demand. The media opinions were somewhat of a mixed bag, and it seemed that Blades of Time would be left to rest alongside the Xbox 360 and PS3.
Developed by a one-man band hailing from Finland, Super Blood Hockey is a faithful nod to the games of the late 80’s and 90’s. Adding a touch of bloodthirsty violence to the sport of Hockey, Loren Lemcke has looked to remind us all of what made gaming so great way back when. Demonstrating that whilst graphical enhancements and complex storylines are always welcome, you can’t go wrong with a bit of simplistic, wholesome fun. With the backing of Digerati, renowned for their support of independent game developers, the once Steam only title is now available on the eShop.
I’m going to start this review off in a manner befitting of Capcom’s latest behemoth offering on the Nintendo Switch, go and buy Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen NOW. If for some reason you are still here, then let me take five minutes of your time to divulge exactly why this expansive, detailed and beautifully crafted open world role-playing game is worthy of your attention.
Apparent from my extensive collection of sports-based video games, I am a huge fan of sporting titles. From NBA to Madden, and NFL to FIFA, I have always been a follower of sport and the competitive gameplay that these video games provide. One of my favourite memories of my teenage years was playing Brian Lara International Cricket 2005 – what a game that was. Now, that being said, my eclectic mix of sports games has never extended as far as Baseball.