Switchaboo
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Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered is faithfully miserable to play. It's exactly how I remember it playing as a kid but with some extra bells and whistles. I know the Godzilla fanbase are pretty rabid and this game in particular has its fans but personally I do not believe this deserved to be remastered.
Look Outside is a game that’s more enjoyable than not. There are some frustrations, particularly with how it handles the Switch controls, though they’re few and relatively minor overall. It’s not revolutionary in anything that it does but it finds a way to blend a lot of different influences into a wonderfully morbid and arguably non-traditional approach to cosmic horror. There is a little bit of Lovecraft in there, to be sure, but mostly as cosmetic trappings (perhaps, save for something that’s spoiler territory.) The idea seems like it was born out of early internet creepypasta, however, or at least the iterations that have arisen in the years since, which roots it in something like a modern urban legend. There’s otherwise a smorgasbord of various game and media influences that shine through in how the narrative and visuals come together. Now, where’s my knife? The sun is glaring through the window right now and there’s an itchy feeling in my stomach…
I waited a long time for Tormented Souls 2 and it did not disappoint. Yes, there’s nothing particularly original and/or innovative compared to the original, and yes, some of the game design felt a bit arbitrary, but as long as Duel Effect keeps making these games, I’ll keep buying ‘em. They know exactly what survival horror fans want to see, and they’re not afraid to dish it up in the most predictable way possible, but I, for one, love them for it.
Capturing the world of One Piece in a restaurant building game is a challenge; however, it was executed flawlessly and everyone is fully identifiable with their manga counterpart. It can definitely feel overwhelming in the late game and gets more repetitive with the actions, but the game is charming and an entertaining experience for fans. An experience that is best suited for people who are caught up with the anime with some of the best pixel art food I've seen in a game.
I think Final Fantasy Resonance is a fine game, fun even, and a wonderful celebration of the franchise. The whole thing feels like a love letter to both the series as a whole and to fans of the oldest games, especially. It’s just in service of a format that isn’t really for me, and that’s okay. The game doesn’t try to shy away from its turn-based JRPG roots but instead embraces them, attempting to present the best version of those old systems as they could. Ironically, I feel like the Resonance design has a potential future in itself for combat systems that aren’t this, and that has me more excited than anything else. It feels weird to say but I like Resonance more for the potential it represents than the celebration that it is. Still, if you’re a lifelong or diehard fan of the series, there’s a lot here to love and I’d still recommend it.
Big Walk feels like something the world needed five years ago when lockdowns were at their all-time high. Many people have grown to accept online as their primary way of socialising and that works for them, but outside of recreating the Australian outback and throwing some mediocre puzzles in there, it may be difficult to warrant as opposed to simply going outside. That being said, there is still an audience for this, especially if hiking and camping are something you’re not able to do, and the world and characters that House House have created are full of wonderful charm. I can see my wife going back to this the next time one of us is away, just to simply have a way we can watch the sun set together. And for a video game to be able to do that - well, that’s pretty special.
Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight was a blast. Exploring Gotham City felt like a family-friendly Grand Theft Auto, and that’s not a bad thing at all! The story was engaging and the humour spot-on, meaning I was rarely left without a smile on my face. Everything is awesome? Pretty much!
While I enjoyed my time with Toy Story: Retro Roundup, I don’t expect this will be for everyone. I see this more as a museum display rather than a game collection and I feel Digital Eclipse feels the same way since that was clearly their intention. If you want to learn a thing or two about the early days of Traveller’s Tales before they became the go-to dev team for Lego games, then I’d suggest picking this up but if you’re more interested in the games on offer, I think you should just pick up an old PS1 copy of Toy Story 2 if you can find one and leave it at that.
I can see why people still talk about this game to this day. It may look like a simple movie tie-in but under the hood it is a game with a lot of love and care for the source material put into it. It's a real shame we don’t get stuff like this very often these days, because games like this were the backbone of the gaming industry for decades and it is sorely missed.
I can respect what Ratatan has set out to do by reigniting the classic Patapon formula while providing a new take with its roguelite approach, but the resulting execution feels haphazard and tedious. Don’t get me wrong, players can get some entertainment from Ratatan, especially if you’ve been starved for a new Patapon entry for over 15 years, but by trying to create a point of difference, it’s ultimately fallen short on being a solid standalone video game.
Despite all my complaints, I did enjoy the game, especially the latter chapters when I was much less frustrated. However, I would suggest anyone that is interested in this game to try the demo on the Switch or Steam to see if you have the same problems. The cosy space is incredibly crowded and I applaud them for trying to do something unique, but I don’t think it’s enough. Unlike other cosy games, I didn’t find the pull to play with Woodo like I did with others. Had it not been for this review, I probably wouldn’t have bothered playing it again after the first chapter. I’m hoping that they use experience to improve their next game.
Bluey's Happy Snaps is the perfect love letter to the Australian phenomenon that is the animated series Bluey. Gameloft Brisbane showed a lot of care and attention to detail that this franchise deserves. A wonderful experience for the family and I will forever be recommending this game to anyone with their own little Bluey fan.
I honestly can't recommend The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival to anyone but hardcore fans of the show, and even then it's a hard sell. While visually a gorgeous game, that is nowhere near enough to save it from the poorly designed gameplay. Committing some cardinal sins of beat ‘em ups of a single combo to execute and no multiplayer unfortunately has left Streets of Survival surrounded by a zombie horde, doomed to be turned into the one thing they swear to fight.
The Master Collection Vol 2 doesn’t feel quite as big as its predecessor; certainly, there are fewer than half the titles of that first lot. What it lacks in volume, however, it makes up for in quality by bringing some of the least accessible titles of the franchise to modern platforms. The Switch 2 port runs just about as fast as it did on my PC and I don’t feel like anything was lost in terms of graphical fidelity, which isn’t surprising given the long generational gap between it and the PS3. The only negative things I have to say are around the ways these games haven’t exactly aged well for one reason or another. The collection itself, though? More or less exactly what you’d hope it would be. If you’re a Metal Gear, however, fan then this is an easy pickup, and being able to play it on a portable handheld? What a thrill.
TOEM 2 is the kind of game you fire up and all of your problems go away, at least temporarily. Your mind will get lost in its whimsical world and, suddenly, mooching about and taking photos is all you need to worry about. Call it therapy, call it fun, call it what you like, but TOEM 2 is delightful and good for the soul.
I didn’t hate it. It’s not actually bad. But no game should be just plain boring. MONOWAVE isn’t a bad game thrown together haphazardly with a bunch of bugs, but there’s just nothing below the surface-level gameplay and the (admittedly very neat) aesthetic. Isn’t it a tragedy when you can tell someone was made with care and it still whiffs? I am still fumbling for anything else to say, and I think that just about sums up MONOWAVE. I wish that I liked it, but this is just the most “Meh. It’s a’ight, I guess.” state of mind a game has ever put me in and there’s just no escaping it. I hope that Studio BBB will put this level of care and polish on something more interesting next time they give it a shot.
Not only is Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave a fantastic entry point for newcomers to tactical RPGs and Fire Emblem in general, but it also is a must-play for any fan of the franchise. While the singular save file is a problem, it is completely outweighed by all of the incredible experiences throughout your time with the game. Fortune’s Weave has a genuine opportunity to make Fire Emblem a more mainstream experience in the gaming world, and I for one welcome our new tactical overlords.
Powerhouse Capcom has been knocking it out of the park with its releases this year, and Onimusha: Way of the Sword is no exception. This game has it all: stunning cutscenes and character models, phenomenal Japanese voice acting, impressive performance on the Switch 2, and an incredibly smooth combat system that makes it hard to put the controller down. So, free up your schedule and sharpen your swords, because there is Genma to slay!
I was really on the fence between a 7 and an 8 for Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster. That might sound like small beer, but I think those scores hold very different perceptions. I went for a 7 in the end because, while I mostly enjoyed my time in Arborea and the environments and characters are gorgeous, there were significant elements that felt clunky and/or derivative, but these could be fixed with some tweaking and patching over time.
Hot Wheels Infinite Rush is yet another fantastic game by a development team that knows what to do with the IP but the change to an open-world format holds it back from being truly incredible. If you’re looking for the kind of thrill you’d get from their previous titles, you may not get that itch scratched here but if you’re looking for something a bit more laid back, then this is for you.