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Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe is a fantastic remake of one of our favourite Kirby adventures. With slick new visuals, some meaningful gameplay tweaks and two excellent new modes to dig into, this is a big, loud and colourful celebration of all things Kirby that should delight new and returning players alike. Magalor's Epilogue is a surprisingly chunky addition to the core action that gives the campaign a nice boost, whilst Merry Magoland ensures that you and your pals are kept busy with plenty of minigames, missions and online challenges to best once you're done with the main story mode. It's another win for everyone's favourite pink puffball.
As irreverent and disruptive as one has come to expect from the mind of Jeff Minter, Akka Arrh is a game that, rather than based around all-out cattle space warfare, requires a certain level of restraint to wring the most from its scoring potential. Learning to dally with its diverse and ever-changing threats is almost mathematical, but still liberating and rewarding to overcome. It may struggle to appeal in the long-term in the same way as Tempest or his recent Polybius, owing to its slightly less absorbing construction; and those uninitiated in Minter's unusual thought processes may find it altogether abstruse. Nevertheless, it certainly earns a rightful place in his catalogue of psychedelic, slightly barmy, and altogether addictive score-based challenges.
Octopath Traveler II is a triumphant and confident follow-up to its predecessor, building on the established foundation with welcome new ideas and tweaks that make for an overall excellent experience. A strategic combat system, open-ended character progression, well-written stories, gorgeous visuals, and an incredible soundtrack all coalesce into one of the finest RPGs available on Switch to date. Though it may be more of the same, Team Asano demonstrates mastery of its craft at every turn here. We'd give Octopath Traveler II a high recommendation to anybody looking for a beautiful new RPG to add to their Switch collection.
Elderand is another solid entry in the Metroidvania genre, though it doesn't push any new boundaries where gameplay is concerned. It does manage to stand out somewhat thanks to its strong enemy design and worldbuilding, as well as a good soundtrack. For a debut game, it's impressive to see something as well realised as this, but there's precious little here you haven't seen elsewhere in this crowded genre. Perhaps it needs a second entry to fully live up to its potential.
We're admittedly a little mixed on Tales of Symphonia Remastered. Though the story is compelling, the character building is satisfying, and there's lots of content to experience, Bandai Namco's near-nonexistent efforts to scrub out the rough edges of this 20-ish year old game definitely hold it back from greatness. Things like the stiff combat, dated visuals, and awkward writing limit the appeal here, which makes this remaster feel like a missed opportunity. It's easier to recommend this to those who have nostalgia for the original and want to relive those memories, but it's tough to say whether newcomers should pick it up. This is far from the best action RPG on the Switch, and it's arguably not even the best Tales game on the Switch. We'd give this one a light recommendation as its positives do outweigh its negatives, but with the caveat that you should probably wait for a deep sale or buy it used. There are much better RPGs to play on the Switch today, and this one doesn't quite deserve a spot near the top of your list.
Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is an utterly addictive, perfectly tuned celebration of all things Final Fantasy. It's a deceptively simple-looking game that, once you get under the hood, you'll discover it has teeth and demands practice and patience if you want to unlock everything. It gives back what you put into it, and we're struggling to put it down even now. We couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the series' 35th anniversary, and this makes it a must-buy for Final Fantasy fans and rhythm game enthusiasts. How other storied, sprawling game series' haven't followed suit with their own rhythm games is baffling when the results can be this magical.
Ten Dates is a solid improvement over its predecessor, proving that more is indeed better in some cases. The addition of an extra protagonist, along with the five extra suitors that this naturally brings with it, makes for a more diverse cast of characters and a deeper overall experience for the player. Some of the conversations are a bit lacking in depth and challenge, and the game is currently bogged down by a pretty severe glitch that cycles all conversation scenarios, but Ten Dates is otherwise a fun, relaxing experience that's easy to recommend for fans of the first game.
Blanc is a pleasant, easy-going co-op experience that will provide a couple of hours' worth of enjoyment along with a few frustrations. The camera can be a bit messy at times due to the two-player setup, and the game could definitely do with a hint system in some areas, as we imagine children in particular would struggle with the overall lack of direction. That said, it's a lovely-looking game and an entirely inoffensive experience that anyone can pick up and enjoy with little fuss. If you're looking for a new, emotionally driven co-op game, then Blanc is an easy recommendation.
Nadir: A Grimdark Deckbuilder succeeds in delivering a visually beautiful experience, but the game around these gorgeously metal images doesn't feel like it had the same care as the art design. It is frustratingly difficult, a fact exacerbated by the inconsistently presented information and issues around how the game's controls were ported to the Switch. This is a game that feels unfinished, despite the visual flair it offers.
With Metroid Prime Remastered, the seemingly impossible has been achieved: a masterpiece has been made even better. The minor issues we have with the motion controls and the occasional visual hiccup pale in comparison to the enhancements that have been made here. The visual improvements are extensive, right through to the minor details, and it all comes together to create one of the best-looking games on Switch, remaster or not. The new twin-stick control setup works flawlessly for both veterans and newcomers, but if you're itching to go back to the original GameCube controls, that option is there too. With an expanded gallery feature to round things out, Metroid Prime Remastered feels like a new benchmark in how older games can be thoughtfully revitalised for the modern age.
Like its own mysterious underground complex, Colossal Cave is obscure and unfriendly, trickily hiding some scarce but valuable treasure. If it wasn't for the fascinating source material, it would be jaw-droppingly bad. However, the source material is fascinating, and this remake is one way to engage with it. If, for that reason, you are willing to overlook both the outdated design elements you would expect and the bad design decisions and sloppy implementation you wouldn't, there could be something here to enjoy. We certainly wouldn't judge anyone who discovered an egg-sized emerald of fun in Colossal Cave, but neither can we seriously recommend it.
Akai Katana is one hell of a game. Black sheep it may be, but in our opinion its thrill factor and scoring satisfaction is superior to the likes of Deathsmiles, making it another shooting game favourite among an already long list. It's soft enough to encourage rookies and deep enough to send the hardcore into a digit mining frenzy. At the same time, it's absolutely beautiful-looking; a stunning panorama that fuses the historical and futuristic into a bombastic theatre of war. Whether soaring over snowy mountain ranges, hillside forests, sunset-bathed railways, or across the ocean floor, it's a feast. With three superb modes, years of depth, and an incredibly satisfying scoring apparatus, Akai Katana is not just Shinobu Yagawa's most accessible shooting game, but also one of Cave's best horizontal efforts.
The Pathless does one thing extremely well, which is to create a sense of racing – almost dancing – through its huge open world. The player's journey is mainly one of getting to know that sensation and learning to harness it to traverse epic environments. However, the protagonist's journey has little to do with that feeling, which is perhaps why the story doesn't land. The game sounds exceptional and looks great in this impressive port. However, the puzzles rarely stimulate the imagination and are fussy to play, while boss encounters are overlong and repetitive. Although it has its significant successes, The Pathless unfortunately doesn't manage to become more than the sum of its parts.
One thing that is sorely missing, however, is gyro aiming. I don’t think we can stress enough what a match made in heaven gyro would be in a game like this, but it’s made doubly disappointing by the stiffness that the standard dual analogue setup. It’s not a dealbreaker, and there’s still a roaring good time to be had here, but oh how we ached to wave our controller around and have it actually do something in-game.
Oddballers is a super fun little multiplayer party game that's got plenty of modes, lots of invention about its minigames, and a chaotic colourfulness that's hard not to enjoy. Grab some pals, boot into the couch co-op action here, and you're guaranteed a good time, especially for the asking price. However, be aware that in the immediate post-launch period, the online is a wasteland, a total bust in terms of finding a match. If you've got friends or family on hand to jump in, this is a great way to spend a fun few hours. For those who don't, well there are very capable bots to help you out, but the state of the online mode at launch is certainly an issue to take into consideration before giving this one a purchase.
Fashion Police Squad is a fun indie romp that does some clever, colourful things with the often rather samey DOOM clone genre. It's bright and breezy stuff, chock-full of very silly humour and, bonus points, you get to slap people in their faces with a Belt of Justice whilst shooting actual fashion onto their badly-dressed bodies. If you're looking for a few hours of knockabout retro FPS fun with its own unique style and take on the usual shooter mechanics, you could do a lot worse than bagging this stylish bargain. It's simply fabulous, darling!
Life is Strange 2 is a worthy entry in the narrative series that improves upon the first game in meaningful ways with a story that's both thrilling and emotional. The gameplay hasn't changed much and we'd argue that some areas have a few too many objects to interact with, but the dialogue choices remain just as fun as ever. Bar some annoying load times on Switch and some visual hiccups, Life is Strange 2 is definitely worth picking up if you're a fan of narrative adventures.
SpongeBob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake is a triumphant and varied 3D platformer that no fan of the series or the genre will want to miss. It's not the game that'll change your mind if 3D collectathon-style games aren't your thing, but it demonstrates at every step that it's not just some half-hearted cash-in. Focused level design, lots of gameplay variety, tight controls, and a charming cast voiced by the original voice artists all combine to make this one of the best SpongeBob games yet. Though it's occasionally let down by performance issues, we'd still give this one a strong recommendation to anyone who likes a 3D platformer and a Krabby Patty.
At just a handful of hours, Trek to Yomi sadly still manages to outstay its welcome. It asks its visuals to carry the gameplay, but their novelty wears off before the final act. This is particularly true on Switch, where dropped resolution and simplified scenery steal some of the magic and ugly character close-ups blemish the overall aesthetic. As imaginatively as Yomi is realised, the game still feels like a trek.
Team Ladybug is really demonstrating its programming expertise with Drainus. It's both dangerous and brave to attempt a shooting game on the scale of Gradius V or Einhander, yet for the most part, the developer pulls it off in convincing fashion. It's not entirely perfect, arguably overly easy, and various aspects will sit better with some players than others. But, at the very least, it's a spectacular sci-fi action epic that constantly evolves, creates, and showboats. To that end, Drainus will land well with both hardcore and casual players alike.