This is a game where I wish the Nintendo Switch had a true multitasking system, because I would 100% run EGGLIA: Rebirth in the background while I planted my crops in Sakuna and did my daily challenge in The Binding of Isaac, then returning to EGGLIA to harvest my berries.
While it’s far from the worst visual novel I’ve ever played, I think you need to want something sweet and lusty in order to fully enjoy it, and I have a hard time getting into that headspace while holding my Switch. Come for the premise, stay for the game icon of two women kissing on your Switch home screen, and then enjoy a ton of maid outfits that only fulfill a fetish incidentally, not purposely. But please remember: if a woman kisses you and then demands you go out in a storm to look for her doll, something has gone wrong with your life.
What I loved the most was that Infernax did something that almost no retro-inspired game has done up to this point: it took me back. It made me appreciate and get excited over the exploration and discovery like no other game has in decades. It didn’t just look like a game from my childhood, it felt that way, and it drove me to keep going forward, to find out more, to see what I could do and even if I had the power to do it.
All those laurel wreaths of indie accolades mean nothing in the full scope of it all, because it’s only based off of seeing the end result and playing a portion of the game. Though the total playtime is less than three hours, it could be as little as 90 minutes if the execution was more humane and player-focused instead of posture-based. It’s a damn shame, and I’m sad that it took a beautiful concept and delivered it in the most minor key possible.
This is a truly randomized dungeon crawler with low stakes and low gains, good presentation but barebones gameplay, and appeals mostly to those who love Japanese indie titles. Approach with caution, but don’t be surprised if you find it to be a great pick-up-and-play title for every once in a while.
I can see What Lies in the Multiverse becoming a well liked puzzle game for a wider audience with just a little bit of exposure, and I hope it does. It’s got the heart, the mechanics are simple but solid, and the handling allows for enjoyment even on the Nintendo Switch. It never reaches the level of complexity that I found with Braid or Fez, but it kept the narration moving in a way that let me dive into the puzzles while still feeling satisfied and activated.
If you sincerely want to play the original, go get the original: it’s free, and it aligns with your memory significantly better. If you want to force a game on your kids because “I played this as a child!”, then get Chex Quest HD and be prepared to apologize later. But if you or a family member are curious as to what the hell caused this to be unleashed upon the world, then buckle up and dive in: it’s about to get soggy.
My final thought is that Gal*Gun: Double Peace is the best one I’ve played out of the series, and I don’t know what that says about me, the world, or anything else. It’s perfectly encapsulated: a full game from start to finish takes a little over an hour, you unlock a ton and it really challenges you to be a good shot.
All issues about graphics and cameras aside, the largest fallacy of Hotel Transylvania: Scary-Tale Adventures is that it’s got nothing to it when all is said and done. If you really want to be a completionist and get awesome scores on each level, or find all the monster trading cards, you can with minimal effort, just more time.
This may not win the hearts and minds of hardcore gamers everywhere, but it’s a wonderful bridge between casual and serious, between indie and mainstream. It certainly isn’t Mary Skelter, but it isn’t Quest 64 either. It’s a pleasant blend, and it really could be a nice reset in the middle of a world that’s honestly too hardcore for me as it is.
All the frill and filler is optional; you’ve got an amazing world to explore and plenty to play and see. It’s got smarts, it’s got heart, but mostly, it’s got guts. If you want to see Kirby with a good dash of wonder mixed in, then Kirby and the Forgotten Land will transport you to someplace truly wonderful.
In the end, I just had a bad time playing B.I.O.T.A. I should have been thrilled to be fighting my way through aliens and mutants and blowing things up, like when I was a child. Instead, I was watching the clock and figuring out if I’d put in enough work to stop, like when I’m an adult. A game should never feel like a chore, and there was just too much being asked by B.I.O.T.A. for me to have a good time.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim should be tried by everyone. If you’ve got a Switch and literally thirty minutes, try it. Give it a genuine go and see what happens in the first half of the hour long tutorial. If you aren’t at least mildly intrigued, fair enough, walk away. But if you can enjoy that thirty minutes, you’re on the hook for hours upon hours of fighting, upgrading, exploration, beautiful design, amazing soundtrack and just some of the tightest coding the Switch has had the privilege to house. You cannot go wrong here, and I cannot recommend it enough.
Jumping online to play something, fair enough, that’s everyone’s responsibility. But Chinatown Detective Agency is asking players to commit, unfailingly, with the penalty of wasting your own time. That’s a stopper for me, and I think that it should be for anyone else who has a life outside of their computer.
Samurai Bringer is amazingly unforgiving while still being so accessible, and its frustration is matched only by its charm and variety. I would recommend this game for roguelite enthusiasts who want a bit more meat on the bones in terms of play and education. Definitely put aside some time to ferret out this game as a whole before making a decision, because there’s simply no quickly dipping in and out.
The name Wildcat Gun Machine feels like it should evoke something positively thrilling and explosive, like the movies and games that clearly inspired this twin-stick shooter. Instead, you just nod along and play, hardly getting more irritated than modest frustration at an untimely death. But there’s no permadeath, no chance to lose it all, and no moment that delivered a Woah. Instead, you charge ahead, shoot, upgrade, and shoot some more. For some, that might be enough. But while I was waiting for Wildcat, I just got a tabby.
Basically, if you have a handful of friends who also love Rifftrax, this is a home run, no question about it. It plays to the audience it wants to attract, and that’s all we can ask. If, though, you are less familiar with the branding and the concept, then it can get flat pretty quickly, so keep that in mind before purchasing. Still, I’ll be running this a bit more to see how deep the references go. I wonder if Torgo will make an appearance…
For Prinny Presents NIS Classics Vol. 2, I think we have a better showcasing of what NIS is capable of in both good and bad servings.
Rogue Legacy 2 is a masterwork in taking something already great and elevating it without getting lost in ambition and abandoning the core interest. It’s Mega Man 2. It’s LeChuck’s Revenge. It’s freaking Super Smash Bros. Melee. This is the way all sequels should be, and I’m ecstatic to finish my review so I can go back and play it again.
With a forgettable soundtrack and decent, if somewhat generic, graphics, Soda Crisis feels as middle of the road as you can get without it being inherently bad. I can see what they were going for, and I get glimpses of success, but that’s all it is: just glimpses. The input lag from controllers, the fidelity going to hell, and the pretty mundane nature of it all just left me very nonplussed about the entire game.