Nintendo Life
HomepageNintendo Life's Reviews
Unfortunately, while Turnip Boy Robs A Bank is an easy recommendation based on its gameplay and visuals, the Switch version currently struggles significantly under the weight of its fast-paced mechanics and busy encounters. If there are multiple enemies on screen or there happens to be a bunch of trip lasers blocking your path, the frame rate will drop to unacceptable levels for lengthy periods, making large chunks of your heists feel like you’re moving underwater. We were told this would be fixed via a day-one patch, but it's still MIA at launch. If these performance issues were eliminated, we'd have no qualms in telling you to don your best balaclava and get ready to bag some cash.
The saving grace is that Shinorubi works far better in handheld mode. It doesn’t look as displeasing, the boss designs are pretty heavy-duty, the frame rate doesn’t seem to be as messy, and your ship, while still overly quick, can travel the screen with greater ease. If you’re playing it portable, there’s some fun to be had with its various modes, of which it’s stuffed to bursting: boss rushes, caravan trials, a Muchi Muchi Pork-inspired rebounding pig score game (more interesting than the default, honestly), and a three-loop Journey event. The music, too, if you enjoy endless guitar solos, is well-executed and appropriately heavy.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a slick return to the roots of this franchise that serves up clever 2.5D action wrapped up in a delightful art style and satisfying story. There's a smart balance here between old-school levels of action and challenge, moreish combat, and neat puzzles, all mixed with accessibility options and fine-tuning that open things up to newcomers and casual players. We knew Ubisoft Montpellier was a pair of safe hands and the team hasn't let us down, serving up the first must-play of 2024 in a Switch port that absolutely does the business.
If you’re looking for a simple, fun, somewhat shallow arcade-like game for your Switch, Knights of the Rogue Dungeon is definitely something that’ll satisfy that need. It's over quickly, but this is an overall enjoyable experience—though we’d recommend you try the iOS game first to see if this is really for you.
Despite its technical flaws and short gameplay, we found ourselves unable to put down Terra Nil on Switch. The simple act of rebuilding a broken and polluted world is so satisfying and well-crafted. From the moment you put down your first wind turbine to watching your airship remove any evidence of your hard work, the game gives you a sense of hope for our own climate crisis without needing to explicitly say a word. This is pure relaxation in video game form and is worth picking up, particularly once that promised first patch is rolled out.
Chico and the Magic Orchards DX is an excellent callback to simpler days, featuring authentic retro visuals, tight level design, and a surprising amount of variety for such a small package. It’ll only last you a couple of hours at most, but anyone who misses the days of the OG Game Boy will want to give this one a look. It’s lots of fun, plenty charming, and a great use of a fiver.
Hammerwatch II picks up right where the first game left off but its narrative and technical shortcomings make it feel like the rough draft of a fantasy epic rather than the final version. The open world is big enough to get lost in for hours at a time and you will die repeatedly while doing so. Still, if you need a game to do a bit of mindless grinding in, the combat is fun and easy to pick up, which keeps this sequel from being a complete disappointment.
Palia isn't really anything special, but it doesn't necessarily have to be. There's a fun gameplay loop to engage with here that fans of farm sims will be sure to enjoy, and though the MMO elements feel rather underbaked in this pre-1.0 release, the microtransactions don't feel overbearing and there's enough solo-focused content here to make it worth trying out. It would be tough to recommend you pick this one up were it a full-price retail release, but you're sure to get at least an afternoon or two of good fun if you choose to try it out. At the end of the day, it costs nothing but time and storage space to give Palia a shot; we'd suggest you download it and see if it's for you-especially if you can't get enough of farm sims. We'll be back to see how this shakes out in 2024.
Potion Craft is bound to be a gem for the right audience and is ideal for dedicated completionist crafters who enjoy sim games with strategic elements and cosy, magical aesthetics. It's a heady concoction, just one that doesn't go down very well on Switch.
Tasked with saving a business rather than allow it a peaceful death, DoDonpachi DaiOuJou strove for excellence back in 2002, and achieved its goal. Whether fuelled by desperation or a desire to one-up the competition, the balancing and execution here comes closer to perfection than any other in the bullet-hell sub-genre. When you tap into its rhythm and begin to bend the game to your will, Hypers raining down, giant lasers decimating the screen amidst an epic hell-storm, it's poetry: the kind of unbroken euphoria and beat-by-beat accomplishment that gaming was created for. And, if a game can be played infinitely, its power and genius never diminished, its achievement never lessened, when does a 10 stop being a 10? Never.
If you can overlook the technical challenges – and we could – Outer Wilds remains a wondrous experience on Switch. With almost no gating and a free rein to investigate a rich corner of the universe, it captures the quest for learning in the most direct way possible: the only reward for progress is knowledge. Starting with no information at all, you come to understand the intricacies of this little solar system better than its inhabitants. Having soared through such an epic, introspective, and existentially inquisitive adventure, we probably came to understand ourselves a little more, too.
The Indigo Disk takes a few steps forward for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. There's some genuine challenge, a nice variety of activities, and a fun new world to explore in the Terarium; if you love Pokémon, you'll absolutely enjoy what's on offer here. But the DLC drops the ball in terms of narrative, offering an unsatisfying and rushed conclusion to Scarlet & Violet's story, along with the grindy BP system and those ever-present performance issues. It's fun at best and disappointing at worst, with a lot of missed potential left on the picnic table.
Born of Bread is a fine spiritual successor to the Paper Mario games of old, with a lighthearted story, hands-on combat system, and charming characters all coming together to make for a worthwhile experience. That said, it can feel kind of rough around the edges with a long list of bugs (at least at launch), confusing level designs, and occasionally oddly paced story. We'd recommend Born of Bread to any fans of Mario's traditional RPG adventures, as the positives here do outweigh the negatives, but just bear in mind that this loaf feels like it could've spent a little more time in the oven.
Nightdive Studios' killstreak continues with yet another superbly executed restoration. Fulfilling its promise to complete the Turok series, this final entry may be the most appealing to FPS fans with a taste for brisk action, violent, bloody bullet decapitations, and stealth kills by way of bow and arrow. On one hand, Turok 3 teases, offering a glimpse into the future of the genre, a fusion of combat and Half-Life-style traversal. On the other, though, it's also home to something since lost: the searching, quick-fire task elements that engage the grey matter, as opposed to the Halo-influenced pure-combat escapades that challenge you only with clearing increasingly cluttered corridors of entrenched enemies. This makes it doubly disappointing, then, that its crucial multiplayer mode has been inexplicably left out of this remaster, losing it a point on our scale.
1080° Snowboarding will provide plenty of entertainment, particularly in two-player mode. The controls do a good job of making you feel like you are weaving, sliding and jumping your way down snowy courses, whilst sound effects, rumble and decent animation help enhance this experience. The main problem is the low number of tracks and competing against a single opponent makes playing the courses in Match Race similar to just tackling them in Time Trial. The tracks are very enjoyable to play, whether alone or with a friend, and the other game modes add some variety. This is still one of the best snowboarding games around, but if you're flying solo then you might want to consider something with a bit more meat on the bone.
Honestly, it's hard to see how they can fix Batman: Arkham Knight to a satisfactory degree, and it feels like a step too far to have even included this final chapter in the collection for Switch. A great ending to an amazing trilogy, but just completely broken for now.
Rocksteady's phenomenal Arkham series needs no introduction at this stage - three of the finest superhero games you'll ever play with a top-notch cast and writing, and sublime gameplay that put you right into the bat-boots of the Dark Knight. Asylum is an all-timer, City still stands up as one of the best open-world games we've ever played and Knight, although slightly less successful, is still a strong final chapter. It's a shame that Knight is completely unplayable on Switch. Very little TLC has been shown to any of these games and better decisions weren't made when it became clear just how poorly one of the games here ran on Nintendo's console. If you only have a Switch and have never played the first two games, Batman: Arkham Trilogy is still a decent way to play those two titles, at least.
It may not have a great big open world to play around in like Arkham City, but Batman: Arkham Asylum is still our favourite game of the bunch. It introduced everything that's great about the trilogy; the combat, the dark tone, the endless Riddler puzzles and detective work, whilst also serving up a story that didn't waste any time. Asylum is a tight and taut thrill ride, one of the all-time great superhero games and, over a decade later, it's still a must-play.
Arkham City can still stand shoulder to shoulder with any modern AAA open-world game, and even though you've got to contend with some unfortunate stutters from time to time, and it doesn't look nearly as good here as it does on other platforms, this is still the full-fat experience running rather well all things considered. If you've yet to experience this one it's another must-play.
Jet Force Gemini is a really enjoyable game but has its fair share of flaws that tend to hinder the experience a little too much. That being said, at its best, it's certainly an incredibly entertaining title that will definitely raise a few smiles; if you're just looking to blast through a few levels without hoping to complete the game then there is a tonne of fun to be had. Just be aware that there will be a lot of frustration and challenge, and you'll get through a fair few controllers should you play this one out to the end.