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Chronicles of Teddy: Harmony of Exidus is a somewhat satisfying puzzle platforming adventure game. Its puzzles are sometimes smart and the use of music to figure those puzzles out is interesting. The gorgeous retro-inspired pixel art gives the game life, and hints at a wonderful fantasy world that's light on story but big on adventuring. What it's not is a great action game. It falls short of being more highly rated due to a combat system that interrupts the flow of gameplay, and lots of backtracking from dungeon to dungeon can make the game feel slow and tedious in spots. There are also issues with glitches to be mindful of which can truly hinder the enjoyment of the game.Overall this is still worth consideration despite its flaws, even if they deprive this one of its full potential.
Essentially, Japanese Rail Sim 3D Journey in Suburbs #1 Vol. 3 is exactly what its predecessors were, nothing more, nothing less. If you enjoyed any of the previous ones, you will also enjoy this one, as it's virtually just a glorified DLC pack. If you were put off by the previous games, then we'd advise you to stay well away from this. Ultimately, we wouldn't recommend you pick this one up as both the footage and gameplay are severely lacking, which gives one little reason to invest a significant chunk of time into this. It's best you just let this train roll by.
Sometimes you want to go on a journey to vast, fantasy worlds, sometimes you want to fight your way through hordes of terrifying enemies and sometimes you want to just sit down with some friends and laugh for hours. Chompy Chomp Chomp Party can only offer you one of these – the latter of course – but it does a great job of it. The addition of one or two more modes would have helped to make this game even better – eventually you will start to feel like you've had enough and move on to doing something else – but there's a lot of fun that can be had in the modes that already exist.Grab some friends, grab some controllers and give this colourful, chompy craziness a try.
There are so many JRPGs to choose from that it would be easy to overlook Asdivine Hearts, but it is definitely worth a try. Although simple in terms of graphics and battle style, the game has strengths where needed with its story and humorous characters. There is plenty to do for those who take the time to complete all the quests, and the addition of features such as the rubix system and the trust bar allow Asdivine Hearts to be a little different. Plus, there's a God trapped inside a cat, and how often does that happen?
Lovely Planet may look cutesy, but its streamlined shooting is built for dedicated speedrunners (you can even watch a speedrun of it via Games Done Quick). Players who live for training, repetition, memory and self-achievement will find a quite solid and refreshingly different-looking shooter here, even if it's not completely perfect. With no story or bonuses or really any other elements to speak of, however, the widespread appeal feels limited. Definitely try the demo first if you can.
Like any good game show, U Host is a little cheesy, a little crazy, fit to burst with questions and stars a host with a power complex. It's a robust little gem that makes excellent use of the GamePad, while championing an accessible party experience that can be adapted to fit almost any crowd. Some extra polish and a little more glitz and glam would have helped presentation, but designing and hosting your own quiz is great fun regardless. We'd recommend U Host to anyone looking to re-invigorate game night with something a bit different, as long as you have plenty of willing contestents to COME ON DOWWWWWN!
The Beggar's Ride is a cool little game to play if you just fancy a few hours of escapism. The shortcomings lay in the execution of some of its puzzles, within the slow pace of the protagonist and its basic platforming aspect. Despite these niggles, it is a solid and clever game with colourful graphics, a charming story and pleasantly challenging game play which will appeal to both experienced and casual gamers. The coins are a good option for anyone looking to play longer, and the narration is a smart touch. Definitely one to enjoy on a rainy afternoon.
All told, Japanese Rail Sim 3D Journey in Suburbs #1 Vol. 2 is a disappointing and uninteresting experience. While the idea behind it is solid enough, the execution is so poor that we couldn't recommend this to anyone. The trivia included is interesting enough, but it certainly does not compensate for the mindless gameplay and poor camera quality. Do yourself a favour and don't get on this train.
In conclusion, The Grumpy Reaper isn't going to win any awards for originality; there's a distinct 'Rare'-esq feel to the cartoony graphical presentation and the fuzzy nostalgia feeling that comes with the basic gameplay is initially quite endearing - the simplicity feels refreshing. Most players won't find it too difficult to breeze through all forty stages, which means it's not going to be a lasting experience, especially as there's no multiplayer or scoreboards for additional replayability. That said, if you're in the market for a quick pick-up-and-play game there's fun to be had, although (as is the case with most of these slightly throwaway titles), don't expect the fun to last for too long.
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympics for the 3DS is not exactly a bad game - especially if you liked previous entries in the franchise - but it could be so much more. This is the fifth iteration of the series and by this stage the team should have nailed down what makes a game click and what doesn't. Sadly this effort just doesn't come together in the way it should do, and feels just like another sloppy effort to cash-in on a lucrative license. Bring out the pewter medals for this one.
Cutie Clash is a missed opportunity by Yazar Media Group. There is a skeleton of a fun experience here, but without any single player options or any other content besides the main game, along with poor controls, it feels rushed and unfinished. Cutie Clash has a big personality; it's a shame the scope is so small.
Cutie Pets Go Fishing is an unremarkable little game that should either have been released on mobile or as a compilation with the other Cutie Pets titles. With nothing unique or interesting to set it apart, Cutie Pets Go Fishing doesn't measure up to other match-3 puzzlers. If you're a fan of the Cutie Pets, you might enjoy giving this a go, but otherwise it's hard to recommend.
Bird Mania Party is essentially the same game that we saw in 2012 on 3DS, albeit with the very welcome additions of multiplayer action and with online leaderboards for those with a competitive streak. Despite this game arguably being better suited to a handheld device thanks to its time-filler nature, this Wii U title stands out as being the best of the series so far thanks to the extra content.This game does its job as some laid back fun for you to pass the time, and possibly get addicted to. With leaderboards to challenge and achievements to unlock you will find reasons to keep playing this one for some time, and considering its welcoming price it's very hard to not recommend giving this a go.
Infinity Runner offers some slapdash, silly fun for those that like the idea of a first-person runner with some werewolf segments thrown in. Rather like a straight to TV movie, however, its entertainment-factor is betrayed by sloppy presentation and some technical shortcomings. It's worth a punt if the concept is appealing, but falls well short of its full potential.
We'd almost want to recommend Dreamals on the concept of three adorable, bickering animals alone, but unfortunately the waking world didn't quite live up to expectation. Once the initial burst of cutesy charm wears off it's still a decently satisfying puzzler with a steady difficulty curve that starts off tough and slowly implements new mechanics as you progress. There isn't enough within the story or characters to keep the player interested beyond that however, so make sure you're up for a challenge and want a simple little distraction before diving in.
All told, Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut is a solid update to the DSiWare classic. While there may not necessarily be enough here to justify a double dip for those of you that picked it up the first time around, there's never been a better way to experience this game. For those of you that have never played it, we'd give this game a strong recommendation; it's creative, clever, and colourful. This is a retro action game you won't want to miss out on.
Alphadia definitely does what it says on the tin, serving up an old-school JRPG with turn-based combat, a familiar story and a SNES-era aesthetic. Unfortunately, it does so without ever really aspiring to any sort of excellence, and with a few telltale trappings of a mobile port, including jittery movement, noticeably compressed sound and a lack of stereoscopic 3D. Alphadia isn't a bad game — and players looking for pure comfort-food gaming will certainly find some old-fashioned fun here — but on a system with what is hands down the best library of JRPGs in recent memory, 'not bad' isn't enough to stand out.
Blast 'Em Bunnies is not worth your money or your time. The cute exterior can't hide the gameplay problems and ridiculous pricing structure, and the DLC is not worth it. While it's always nice to see a new IP, Nnooo is going to have to go back to the drawing board if it wants this property to succeed in the future. Unfortunately, Blast 'Em Bunnies just doesn't earn a recommendation.
Ultimately, The Hand of Panda is a rhythm game that almost manages to achieve mediocrity. Its campaign lacks both depth and longevity, and while the soundtrack is actually pretty good it's not enough to save this bite-sized game. We'd recommend that you skip this one; there may not be a ton of rhythm games to choose from on the eShop, but there's little reason one should settle for this.
Even if the old movie jokes and spoof characters aren't to your taste, REPLAY: VHS is Not Dead nevertheless offers a clever, enjoyable puzzle experience. It can be a mind-bending challenge to set three characters on carefully timed movements to clear stages full of contraptions, and figuring out those machinations requires patience and practice. For those up to the challenge this offers great value and interesting playtime; this is one to enjoy rather than overwrite.