JRPG fans can rest easy knowing that Trinity Trigger will meet their lofty expectations; this is a nostalgia trip worth taking. While not perfect, with beautiful art and music and a combat system that will feel both fresh and familiar, it is a strong contender for one of the best JRPGs of 2023 so far. The plot isn't anything to write home about and it's a tad on the easy side, but it remains engaging, especially for Mana series enthusiasts. Hopefully its proximity to the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom doesn't see Trinity Trigger overshadowed before it gets a chance to shine.
Strayed Lights is something rare in the gaming industry; a game that genuinely surprises us. The combat is unique and accessible. The story is told in a subtle, heartfelt way. The music and visuals are stunning. However, a string of technical bugs, repetitive combat, and inconsistent platforming sections mar what would otherwise be a stellar offering from a new studio. If it ran better on the Switch, we would be giving it a much better score.
Molly Medusa: Queen of Spit takes a great idea and, unfortunately, fails to deliver on its promise. The throwback camera is a mistake and needed far more refinement, and the controls feel clumsy as a result. Molly's lack of reaction to her curse takes away any emotional impetus or impact from the plot. There is a potential gem here, but despite a handful of inspired ideas, it feels antiquated and is very difficult to recommend, at least in its launch state.
ust ten hours in and I am in love with Tears of the Kingdom’s grand experiment. It is chaotic and silly and easily the most fun I’ve had with a game in years. While the graphics and the story are both near copies of Breath of the Wild, it makes up for it by trusting its players to entertain themselves. It is the best implementation of the sandbox game design philosophy I have ever seen, leaving me constantly itching to find out what is over the next hill.
It takes a lot for a roguelike to feel truly fresh on Switch, but Fights in Tight Spaces does a great job of taking a well-worn format and making it feel just that. The turn-based combat means you'll constantly be weighing up the right strategy while the unique difficult levels mean that completing your first run is only the start of the fun. Though it isn't quite optimised for the Switch, it still looks and plays very well. Recommended.
Games like this give me hope for an industry that is becoming more homogeneous and, honestly, boring.
Tears of the Kingdom delivers on the promise made in that opening screen in 1985, giving you a huge world of almost endless possibilities to explore.
There is fun to be had in Farming Simulator 23: Nintendo Switch Edition, but those who find it will need to be intimately familiar with the farming process. This version feels like a significant downgrade over the PC edition released in late 2021 and has some gameplay quirks that hinder the actual experience of running a farm. Unless you are desperate to take your farming on the go with the Switch, there are better entries in this series out there to play.
A surprisingly solid Soulslike, Bleak Sword DX does exactly what it sets out to do and nothing else, which makes it hard to fault. Once you get the timing down on the limited actions at your disposal, you’ll find the monsters full of character even as they try to beat you to death. You’ll die often but the game does a great job of making each death feel like a learning experience rather than a punishment. Short and sweet.
Despite the graphical issues and the most bare-bones of tutorials you'll find in a historical simulation sandbox, Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening offers plenty of great moments. We loved the historical vignettes that played out as events unfolded and certain conditions were unlocked. Even on Easy mode, the game will make you surrender and start over multiple times before you can achieve Nobunaga's dream of a united Japan. The Switch version is far from perfect, but if you're willing to work with it, there's a rich, deep, addictive strategy sim to get lost in here.
WrestleQuest is a surprisingly wholesome game that is laser-focused on appealing to a specific demographic and will likely fail to capture the attention of anyone else. If you grew up watching the likes of Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan, and Ric Flair throw each other around the ring and you also happen to love 16-bit RPGs, you'll probably be charmed enough to overlook the repetitive combat and empty world. We certainly fall into the target demographic here, but the concept is better than its execution.
The good points of Mugen Souls Z are certainly there, but it does its best to keep them from you for entirely too long. With a tutorial that drags on for hours, a frustratingly repetitive plot, and walls of dialogue that feel endless, only the most dedicated fan will have the patience to enjoy the game. Unless you love grinding and crafting more than plot, this is probably one you should avoid.
It isn't often that war is a cozy affair, but Wargroove 2 manages to pull it off. We loved the game's colourful, vibrant art and playful writing, and there is enough depth and variety in the main campaign to satisfy most tactics fans while the Conquest mode will offer an even greater challenge for those seeking it. It doesn't change much from the previous game; it just tightens up some of the existing mechanics and adds a couple of extra wrinkles to an already great formula. It's a brilliant sequel, and yet another worthy successor to Advance Wars.
Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai suffers from a chronic lack of focus. The vibrant visuals and fun combat can't make up for the fact that you'll spend hours doing little more than watching static images tell the plot of the anime. The result is a game that will frustrate action RPG fans with a lack of action and fails to do justice to the story it is trying to tell. Unless you're desperate for a new Dragon Quest game to play, you're better off just watching the anime and skipping this spin-off entirely.
The gameplay and tone of Company of Heroes hold up wonderfully more than two decades after its initial release, but the lack of any multiplayer options a launch makes Company of Heroes Collection feel sadly incomplete. The updated controls take some getting used to but still let you feel like a general moving their troops across the fields of Europe. Even with these flaws, though, this game is well worth investing in if you're an RTS fan looking to step back into a classic title. Fingers crossed for the planned multiplayer update.
The combat kept us from enjoying Front Mission 2: Remake due to its over-reliance on dice-roll luck to succeed, but the plot has some decent story beats if you aren't bothered by obvious localisation errors. We did enjoy the customisation options of the Wanzers, but battles felt slow and dull when the RNG gods weren't on our side. Just like with the first game, this one will service longtime fans of the series and its combat adequately if they can overlook this remake's rough edges.
While not quite the best game in the franchise, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed - Ecto Edition douses its thoroughly serviceable online 4v1 gameplay in positively charged psychomagnotheric nostalgia slime. From small touches in the visuals to snippets of dialogue, the detail and care that has gone into recreating the Ghostbusters' world here made us forgive the occasional visual glitch and basic, predictable plot. If 'busting makes you feel good, you'll have a great time.
We wanted to enjoy Ebenezer and The Invisible World far more than we did. The combat is solid and the platforming is tight, with the right balance of accessibility and challenge. Combine that with a fun concept and art that does a great job of recreating Dickens' iconic novel and it should be a recipe for greatness. Unfortunately, a host of bugs ranging from slightly annoying to game-breaking sucked the Christmas cheer right out of us. Future patches might fix these issues and give us the game we know is hiding just beneath the surface here, but that game isn't here at launch.
Thirsty Suitors is a great example of what happens when a developer's ambition outstrips the ability to fully realise that vision, for whatever reason. The story and visual style here are top-notch, but the actual mechanics lack the depth needed to make this one of the best indie games on Switch. Despite its flaws, the heart and humour of these characters still make it one of the most fun narratives of the year.
Hammerwatch II picks up right where the first game left off but its narrative and technical shortcomings make it feel like the rough draft of a fantasy epic rather than the final version. The open world is big enough to get lost in for hours at a time and you will die repeatedly while doing so. Still, if you need a game to do a bit of mindless grinding in, the combat is fun and easy to pick up, which keeps this sequel from being a complete disappointment.