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Antonblast is a great tribute to Nintendo's Wario Land series with its madcap action and focus on gameplay variety. The cartoonish visuals, high replayability, and overall spectacle of the experience make this one well worth a recommendation, though we'd temper this by saying that it really needs some work on its Switch performance. Whether on Switch or elsewhere, we'd suggest you pick this one up if you're at all a fan of Nintendo's other Italian mascot and are looking for a well-made and fast-paced new 2D platformer-Antonblast has got it where it counts and is well-deserving of a spot in your library.
We liked much of Chernobylite and this is a playable port with a fairly solid frame rate, but too many things held us back from scoring it any higher - the graphical downgrade, the tedious death loop, and most egregiously, the multiple crashes that we experienced throughout. We never lost any progress but almost a dozen crashes in the 15-20 hour runtime are worth noting.
Pine, then, is part of the video game world, but it’s far from 'just a game'. With appealing visuals and a haunting atmosphere, it demands patience and introspection. For those eager to explore its ideas of loss and moving on, it’s worth a look; for others, it might feel like the world’s saddest gardening simulator.
Considering Power Rangers games have more often than not been middling-to-poor, Rita's Rewind is a pleasant surprise. It's been given a lump sum of love and attention from a development team at one with the source material. And, if its obvious polish wasn't enough, it's a game that really understands the arcade format and goes all out with dazzling Super Scaler action stages that work well to stave off the genre's naturally repetitive nature. There are a few aspects to the combat that could have been tweaked, but with its humour, lengthy 15-stage campaign, multiplayer hijinks, and heavy-duty '90s charm, Rita's Rewind is probably the best Power Rangers game we've ever played. It's pretty Morphinomenal.
The result is fun enough while it lasts, but is never wildly exciting enough to ensure you'll come back to it time and time again after the Championship mode is completed.
Though it's an improvement on its predecessor, Fairy Tail 2 is still the epitome of a middle-of-the-road licensed game. It doesn't do anything exceptionally great or innovative, nor does it have any issues or shortcomings that significantly drag it down. Despite poor plot pacing, shallow mechanics, and some lacklustre performance, the lively combat system, rewarding exploration, and heartwarming character interactions ultimately make this one worthwhile. We'd recommend Fairy Tail 2 to franchise fans who played the previous RPG, though newcomers should be more wary of jumping straight in. It isn't a 'run out and buy it immediately' release, but you likely won't be disappointed if or when you do get around to it.
The Thing: Remastered is another splendid remaster from Nightdive. There's absolutely no issue with the enhancements, control tweaks, and other work that's been done here; it's the game itself, unfortunately, that for well over half of its running time leaves much to be desired. A good start, one that digs into the paranoia and fear of the classic movie with a handful of unique mechanics, is all too soon wasted as tension gives way to sloppy gunfights that aren't fun, no matter how smooth they now play or nice they look. It's certainly still a curiosity, and fans of the movie or returning players will enjoy the nostalgia. But beyond that, it doesn't warrant a hearty recommendation.
Though its expressive fix-'em-up modules and its detailed manual made us want to love the game, we left Uncle Chop's Rocket Shop feeling frustrated, having been beaten down repeatedly by punishing, sadistic mechanics and unfriendly controls. It's not a great sign when you come away from a roguelite not thinking "One more go," but rather, "Please, no more."
This remaster treatment faithfully cleans up the visuals, adds some quality-of-life improvements, and stuffs the package with bonus materials, presenting the games at their best, notwithstanding some minor visual bugs.
It's the kind of game that's tailor-made to the tastes of a specific and narrow group of players - if you happen to be the kind of person for whom it ‘works’, you’ll be thrilled at the experience here and probably won’t be able to put it down.
Fantasian Neo Dimension is Hironobu Sakaguchi and Mistwalker at their boldest and bravest, culminating in a JRPG love letter that both delights and frustrates. The stunning world and exploration are a true highlight, and the challenging and rewarding combat will enchant some, but it lacks some of the magic that the game is aiming for and the pacing is uneven. Normal difficulty makes things more accessible for the curious, but make no mistake, this is an RPG for those who want to lose themselves in the mechanics.
The awful music aside, Fitness Boxing 3 brings some much-needed variety to what could have been another by-the-numbers release with new songs and not much else. The Sit Fit Boxing and Mitt Drills modes give options to those who want to be less or more active respectively, and the extra trainer options are ideal for players who like to pretend they're dealing with an actual person. And even better, because Mitt Drills isn't rhythm-based, you can put your headphones on and listen to your own tunes.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure is a perfectly enjoyable narrative adventure, but one which we'd strongly suggest you play elsewhere unless Switch is your only means. Timeline-hopping antics, a compelling murder mystery, and a cosy atmosphere all work strongly in this one's favour, but the Switch's hardware limitations lead to an experience that feels notably blunted due to the various visual cuts that had to be made to fit this one on the humble handheld. The story itself is a fine adventure that fans (especially of the first entry) may find worthwhile, but the value proposition on Switch makes it harder to justify that $50 price tag. We wouldn't say to outright avoid the Switch version, but we'd suggest you wait for a deep sale before diving in.
Overall, as a port to the Switch, the Raven Remastered is a great introduction to the mystery adventure genre. Minor graphical quirks and nasty-looking faces aside, this is a well-developed story with well-integrated gameplay.
There isn’t a huge amount to dislike about Debris Infinity. Being limited to three similar modes may mean that it has the potential to become stale, but we found the variety in gameplay elements pushed us to beat our own scores and strive to progress further, with repeat playthroughs.
In review, Heroes Trials is criminally short, but cuts the fat of many RPGs and gets straight down to the action. If you’re looking for a game to storm through that has solid combat, puzzles, and exploration, you might just find it here.
Overall, Inops offers great puzzle-platforming action. Its creative style, mixed in with some decent platforming and an intuitive way to solve environmental puzzles makes it a bit of a gem.
In review, Utopia 9 offers a volatile experience, indeed. The roguelike elements are fun, and on a good run can lead to some decent action, but with a weak aesthetic and somewhat slow combat, this won’t be for everyone. Good for multiplayer co-op, though.
Divine Dynamo Flamefrit's Pinnochio-esque journey from a throwaway internet joke to a full-fledged real game is commendable in itself. However, the fact that it's as enjoyable as it is may be an even sweeter victory. It doesn't reinvent the wheel in any respect, and its limited action-adventure game mechanics are just about as basic as they come, but the moment-to-moment gameplay is more than satisfying and flashy enough to make up for it. Couple that with a keen sense of humour and a flurry of nostalgic aesthetic callbacks to classic anime and old-school RPGs, and you have quite the gem of a title. Just try to savour those fleeting few hours of runtime as much as you can.
Combat and progression are the best parts of Nine Sols, and they manage to rub away the blemishes occasionally found in the game's map design and exploration. It's a really great blend of systems from other games with a fantastic revenge narrative. While aspects of the world design and 'Taopunk' style feel mismatched, there is always another enemy around the corner to fight, reminding you just how good the core gameplay is.