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Little Friends: Puppy Island is a charming little adventure that allows you to explore a wonderful little island with your best pals. Build structures, go on walks, earn rewards and look after nine adorable breeds to your heart's content. Truly, this is a dog's life!
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is chaotic, over the top, very funny, and has an incredible story, however it can get a bit over the top with this energy if you’re not used to it. Shinigami is a prime example of this and is very overtly sexual, so if that makes you uncomfortable, it could ruin the game for you. But if you’re a fan of the Danganronpa series, you’ll enjoy Master Detective Archives: Rain Code as it’s taken the formula and fine tuned everything. You’ll also enjoy the game if you like mystery solving challenges, that’s for sure!
Pikmin 4 does for Pikmin what Super Mario Odyssey did for Mario. It takes the series formula and builds it into a masterclass of itself. Pikmin 4 is easily my favorite of the series, and I highly recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in it. With the release of the first two games on Switch and now Pikmin 4, the entire mainline series is all on one console, and can be enjoyed easily by anyone. There is never a better time for you to get into Pikmin, but even if you don’t want to spend the money on the first three games, Pikmin 4 can most certainly be enjoyed without prior experience.
Killer Frequency is a fun, entertaining horror title with comedy and murder-mystery components that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and yet is also eerie and spooky at the same time (especially the scenery, sound effects, and how you’re isolated with Peggy in the building). I think the idea of being a radio talk show host acting as an emergency operator saving peeps from murder is quite one of a kind(?). The puzzles, surrounding how to assist these callers, are engaging without being overly complicated.
What makes Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo stand out as a memorable visual novel? Like other games in the genre, it is an entertaining tale with interwoven plotlines that make you question your moral compass in life-or-death scenarios, but the developers have also incorporated as much engaging interactivity as possible, within the constraints of the visual novel medium. This fun interaction even involves breaking the fourth wall several times (you’ll know what I mean if you play it). For Japan fans, you may also enjoy the cultural and historical elements, too (another demonstration of the country’s soft power).
The charming Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is a fantastic entry point to the wider Story of Seasons and Harvest Moon universe, especially for younger gamers, as it simplifies and streamlines the gameplay while retaining many aspects that make the beloved franchise so appealing and lovely (and much imitated, e.g., Stardew Valley, My Time at Portia, Harvestella, indie games). I loved the doses of nostalgia that I got from the A Wonderful Life remake and 2020’s Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town.
For graphic novel gamers, Harmony: The Fall of Reverie offers a visually pleasing adventure, with voice acting and animations, that makes you question your Aspirations. The narrative has enough secrets to reveal and decisions to ponder that you’ll likely enjoy your time in Atina and Reverie.
End of Lines is not for everyone (but no game is). That said, if the positives covered in The Good section appealed to you, you can currently download the game from the Nintendo eShop for a really reasonable price. Give it a go, even if you don’t normally play visual/graphic novels. Or share it with your eco-conscious friends. I enjoyed End of Lines’ take on the consequences of neglecting the climate crisis, as shown via the intimate stories and daily struggles of individuals living those very consequences in the future. It’s a warning! Although the game depicts a truly very worst-case scenario, its world is still believable as a possible future reality for humanity – no zombies or monsters, just the fallout of environmental catastrophes and societal disintegrations. The experience would’ve been improved with voice acting, more music (basically, more audio), and different kinds of interactivity.
As a long time Etrian Odyssey fan, it feels good to see that the franchise can flourish outside of the consoles they were initially designed for. Yes, some of the franchise's older issues do show up again, but it’s more than worth having to deal with to play a fantastic collection of games we didn’t expect to ever see again. Here's hoping the success of this collection leads to new entries in the Etrian Odyssey franchise.
Overall, Loop8: Summer of Gods will likely appeal to fans of Persona and similar titles, life/social sims, and visual novels. Its emotion-driven, looping gameplay keeps the characters and plots dynamic (although the conversations do get kinda repetitive). And the game has a pleasant atmosphere and high replayability, which provides good return on investment. PS: I love how Loop8 got an “8” out of 10.
Tin Hearts is a puzzle-filled adventure with a touching story and a relaxing soundtrack. The game does stumble along the way but if you can get around the hurdles, there are still a lot of puzzling stages to get through as you march onwards to your destination.
Wildfrost is not for everybody. The deckbuilding genre is already a niche market, but I’m afraid that the game’s difficulty will shoo away even more potential players. It’s a shame really because the game clearly has a lot of love put into it with its charming art style and clever combat systems. I personally will continue to come back to Wildfrost to climb the mountain that this game has challenged me with, but I personally wouldn’t blame someone for being turned off by it. In this sense, I can at least say that the game is affordable, so trying it won’t break the bank.
Ultimately, Advance Wars 1+2: ReBoot Camp is a faithful remake and, dare I say, the definitive experience for this GBA classic franchise that people can finally place their assist trophy from Super Smash Bros. Brawl and 4. While there are some improvements that would be welcomed for accessibility, and maybe a bit more of a dynamic soundtrack that varied, especially on those longer matches, there are still plenty of features to love here for fans of the tactical genre. So go train up those units, capture some cities and push out those forces as you march your way into Advance Wars for maybe the first time, or return to the franchise after a very long delay in releases.
Probably, I’m a bit biassed in my score, as I prefer turn-based JRPGs over action ones, but I realise this isn’t the case for everyone! Also, as much as I wanted to, I just couldn’t get past the background graphics. They would be fine if the game were released 20 years ago, or if it were a remaster. Despite this, Trinity Trigger will induce nostalgia in fans of Secret of Mana and similar titles. It’s also a great choice for gamers who relish modern reimaginings of 90s ARPGs, with contemporary additions (e.g., the co-op and voice acting).
I've really enjoyed playing Aliens Fireteam: Elite on the Nintendo Switch. It's my first game I've ever played on the cloud and I have to say, I'm impressed by the experience. It's not going to be for everyone, and if you don’t have a stable connection, it's not worth the risk. On the other hand, the sights, sounds and constant fear of getting an alien facehugger attached to your face makes you feel alive! It's not the longest game out there but there’s plenty of stuff to unlock, and hopefully it can be expanded past its first round of DLC, capitalising on a pretty solid foundation.
I really wish I had more good to say about Tales of Symphonia Remastered, because I was really excited to get a review copy, but was ultimately let down by the experience. It’s hard to say who this remaster was made for because it’s identical in almost every way to the original (which will probably shatter some rose-coloured glasses for original fans) and too dated for a new audience to really sink their teeth into. The world of gaming already moved on from this style of game decades ago, and this love letter to 90s JRPGs which was appropriate in 2003 falls flat completely 20 years later. This was a remaster, port, whatever it is, that ultimately doesn’t feel warranted. The combat and character study are the saving grace of this game and without these beacons of quality, the whole game would be a dud. Releasing so close to Metroid Prime Remastered has only shown more clearly how short Tales of Symphonia Remastered falls.
While Front Mission 1st: Remake is a fun game, it shows its age. I do recommend picking this game up if you’re a fan of tactical RPGs or mecha but personally, I’m hoping they’ll improve upon this formula in the announced remakes of Front Mission 2 and 3.
Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly feels like a warm welcome home. The characters are familiar as ever and the addition of new characters helps to expand the story. Although slow in parts, this doesn’t majorly impact the gameplay and, more than anything, just makes it a little frustrating, taking you out of the overall experience now and then. For those unfamiliar with the whimsical coffee shop featured in the game, it is best to go back and play the first Coffee Talk entry (and maybe read our review) so that you are able to get the most out of this sequel. Still as charming as ever, Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly is a complete and well formed example of what a sequel should look like.
While I adore the idea of God of Rock, in execution, it feels a little clunky. Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of fun playing and ultimately came out with a positive experience, and I can definitely see the passion behind the game’s development. I just feel like it needs a bit more revision with its user interface and general gameplay, make all the relevant information around the note highway and cut it down from a four button highway to three.
I loved Harvestella’s cosy scenery, relaxed gameplay, and unique fantasy styling for which Square Enix is known. But the animal interactions could’ve been developed a bit more. If you want a challenge, Harvestella likely isn’t for you. If you want to unwind with a cosy game that doesn’t demand too much of you or your nerves, or you love Square Enix’s design aesthetics, then Harvestella is a pleasant choice.