Arc of Alchemist is an RPG/ Adventure game, according to the info on Nintendo’s web page it has been newly polished for a western release. Released from a publisher and developer who have a lot of RPG games in their back catalogues. I thought I was in for an enjoyable RPG adventure when I took the game on to review. Unfortunately, that was not to be the case! In my opinion Arc of Alchemist should never have been released in the eShop or advertised as “Newly Polished” in Nintendo’s blurb for the game, and priced at $40. It did get an update on the day of release but I can honestly say it has made no difference to how the game runs and preforms.
Ember is about as old school RPG as can be, it has touches of most of the elements of RPG though on a smaller scale and not as in-depth. For a player that has never played an RPG it would be a good introduction game for them. However what I have written above would only be recommended if Ember had received an update as in its present performance state of shutting down and stuttering during play I can’t recommend it to anyone. I’d be disappointed if I had bought Ember with the way it preforms at the moment.
Puzzles and Dragons is probably best know as a mobile game and the 2015 3DS release of Puzzles and Dragons Super Mario Edition. I played both versions over the years and I particularly enjoyed the 3DS Super Mario Edition. When Gold was released on the USA Eshop, with no European release scheduled I downloaded it from the USA shop. The story mode is very short, but after it’s finished you can play against the AI and unlock more teams and believe me, there are plenty to unlock. Visuals and sound effects are top notch and the core gameplay is interesting and enjoyable.
Originally released a few years ago on PC, World of Magic Planar Conquest has now been released on the Nintendo Switch. A 4X strategy game which for those that don’t know stands for eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate with the games goal to Explore the world around you, I feel the five minute tutorial isn’t long enough to equip the player with the knowledge they need to play this style of game. If you’re trying the 4X genre for the first time this is not the game to start with, otherwise you will loose interest in it before you’re completed the first game. For those that have played this genre before you might find something you like in World of Magic Planar Conquest.
In the year 2590AD the Atlas corporation is excavating for crystals in an asteroid which is orbiting Earth. Something horrendous has gone wrong in the asteroid and it’s orbital correction has been disabled. The Technosphere is the only hope to reload the asteroid system and restore its orbit around earth before disaster strikes and wipes out Earth and all its inhabitants…..and one other tiny detail: you have 10 hours to succeed in saving Earth. Yes that’s right 10 hours….. that certainly add’s a sudden sense of urgency to the gameplay. Nice enough gameplay until the glitch...
Robots under Attack! is an entertaining and enjoyable puzzle game that has given me more than a few hours of amusement as I blew up robots or watched them being cut in half by a saw. The game brought a smile to my face as I watched their demise!
Is there a better way to start a New year than taking a holiday on a tropical island? The Touryst is all about going on a relaxing holiday. Well it was, until the unnamed protagonist wearing his Hawaiian shirt steps on to the sunny sands of the Touryst Island and speaks to a sunbathing blocky NPC and discovers there is more to the his holiday island than he was expecting.
While the original game is a solid platform game reminiscent of a mixture of 8-bit titles from the days of the NES and the expansions following suit the whole package. As it now stands in Treasure Trove it is a brilliant retro platform romp that is full of charm and humour with characters who each have their own personalities and different moves. Personally platform games are not my go to genre. However Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove has been an exception to the rule. While writing this review I wanted to check something in the game so I picked my Switch up to check something and a while later after completing a level or two I remembered I was meant to be writing and not playing the game. A sure sign of a great game if it sucks you into it and you totally forget what you were meant to be doing.
Regions of Ruin is a refreshing and different take on the usual setting of fantasy and lore. For once the dwarfs take centre stage and for an indie game there is certainly plenty of hours worth of great gameplay. It will keep you interested enough to continue playing it. If you’re a fan of 2D side scrolling RPG with settlement building elements as a bonus, then maybe it should have a home on your Nintendo Switch.