A unique direction for the Digimon franchise comes with growing pains and flashes of greatness in equal measure.
Nintendo Switch Sports is a great way to satisfy any urge to play motion control games. Unfortunately, it doesn't make any effort at being more than that.
Conan Chop Chop is the video game equivalent of running in place. For every fun inclusion, there is another aspect that feels left behind.
Headland is a functional experience, but it lacks enough clever ideas or impact to make a lasting impression.
Grow: Song of the Evertree is three different games crammed into the same one. Its mechanics clash too frequently for Grow to stand out despite some bright spots.
In my final attack on Frog Village, I found farmer frogs tending to their fields in between fights with enemy frog soldiers. Odd Bug Studios including them shows that even the big enemy isn't only evil; this is a civilization that unfortunately happens to hate Redgi's. The care and attention to world building would have been enough to keep me playing Tails of Iron, but the tight combat made it a joy to play the whole time.
This is still a perfectly playable game, which is a strong compliment for a remake of a freeware 2009 release. The concept of Spelunky is timeless, even if the game itself is not. I just think that recently developed roguelikes will give players more.
" You have to be the type of person who likes this gameplay loop, and there are a couple of forced memes in the writing. You also have to look past the large number of bugs. If those notes don't sound like a dealbreaker for you, Button City is a very good game.
Rise of the Slime isn't a bad game or a great one. It's fine. Ultimately, nothing here feels special. Switching gameplay modes from deck-building combat to the pseudo-platforming sections really feels close to being groundbreaking, and I would love to see that explored more in a future game from Bunkovsky Games. Taken for what it is, Rise of the Slime is just okay.
I'm floored by how much I enjoy Knockout City. Despite the first trailer for the game being a bad way to sell the concept of the game, I always thought it looked good. I never would have guessed that Knockout City would be excellent. I haven't had this much fun with my Switch or any other game console this year. Velan Studios has made an outstanding experience in Knockout City.
No other game is going to make moving a rock across a room take three minutes and dozens of button presses. I just don't know if I think that wanting to play a different video game while waiting for another video game to play itself is good. Should an entertainment product be constantly engaging? I don't really know. However, I do know that I wouldn't change a single thing about The Longing.
If you do only have a Switch, download it to see what all the hype is about. The game is free, and maybe the performance issues aren't a big deal to other people. Whatever you do, make sure to turn cross play off.
Anodyne 2 is a game that the farther away I'm from playing it, the more I'll think about it fondly. In a year I'll only remember the amazing atmosphere and setup that led to the scary chase sequence and forget how difficult to control that section of the game was. Right now, I'm living with all the great things and the frustrations simultaneously.
The new characters and mechanics of the DLCs are available upon starting the game. Overall, the game also runs like a dream. The kind of care to give Switch players an experience as good as other versions is really nice to see. I do have problems with the gameplay, like it being obtuse at first or the overall length of a run being way too long, but in the end, I enjoyed my time with Cultist Simulator.
This is a game built around the idea that emergent gameplay is fun, and it is. That's why the technical problems are such a bummer. Empire of Sin is a good game, but the Nintendo Switch is the worst place to play it.
I understand why someone would enjoy Unto The End. I'm sure that some players out there like being kicked in the teeth with their hands tied behind their back. That, personally, sounds like a bad time, much like Unto The End wasn't a good time. If I wanted to play a game that didn't function as described, I would at least play a game that kind of wanted me to like it.
The frequent slow down significantly hurts my ability to recommend Wildfire on Switch. The back half of the game features a near constant lag that had me hoping for the experience to end. There is fun to be had still; I liked going back through early levels trying to puzzle out how to make it through while completing the optional challenges. However, the amount of joy I gained from those experiences doesn't negate the fact that Wildfire just runs poorly on Switch. If you're interested, it's probably better to play this on PC.
I have a real feeling of regret knowing there is a lot of content here that I will never see. There are numerous aspects of Shiren the Wanderer that I couldn't find a way to jam into this review like how allies function, the over 100 optional sokoban puzzles, the Minesweeper-like dungeon, creating new items at the Tanuki lottery house, fusing items together for new effects, and much more. For anyone wanting to dive into a game with real depth, this is a great one.
Pressing jump at the same time and in the same way will give you two different arcs of jump, and I can't tell you why. The big goal for the developer isn't successful. It's unfortunate since there are some good things here, but unpolished movement controls among other negatives are holding it back.
This is a game designed with a vision which was successfully executed. Playing Ring of Pain to see that execution alone would be worth it. Fortunately, there also happens to be a decently compelling dungeon crawler in there despite some pain points.