Nintendo Life
HomepageNintendo Life's Reviews
It's difficult to get across exactly why Danganronpa V3 is so good without spoiling vast swathes of it, so we'll keep it simple. You'll come into the game baffled as to what the writers were thinking with some of these characters, and walk away loving each and every one of them. There isn't a single moment of slack throughout the whole 40-hour playtime, it has the most extensive post-game of any title in the series, and one of the best endings to any game ever made. Go in blind and we promise you'll be in for the ride of your life.
Ultimately, Real Boxing 2’s gameplay falls way too short of the standard expected on a console like the Switch. Without the option to use the touch screen, attacking with the analogue stick feels clunky, with no weight behind the attacks. It makes the fights feel boring and a bit of a chore to get through. In addition, while the visuals look perfectly fine on smaller screens, pop your Switch into docked mode and it really highlights how janky some of the models and animations look.
Thanks to the skill of the M2 team, two very important shmups have enjoyed a range of thorough and brilliantly authentic ports - as have two Toaplan oddities. But compared to many of the previous ShotTriggers releases, Toaplan Arcade Garage appears just a shade less ambitious. Still, if you enjoy purebred '80s 2D shooters, obsess over the shmup form, or have a soft spot for arcade preservation, it absolutely deserves to take up a little of your shelf space.
NASCAR Heat feels like a game right out of the mid-2000s. The visuals alone are poor enough - with blocky textures, featureless environments, and a frame rate that struggles to maintain a solid 30FPS - but when you have a completely unremarkable career mode forming the main bulk of the game, there's really no recommending this to anyone but the most staunch of NASCAR fans. Nintendo gamers have been without a true NASCAR experience for several years now, but if this is any indication of the quality we're likely to expect, we reckon it should probably retire in the pits.
The Wild at Heart borrows several of its mechanics from Nintendo IP, there's no question about that. This could have presented a bit of a problem had it not been for the exquisite visual style and presentation, not to mention Moonlight Kids' excellent execution of those mechanics. With a story that's equal parts amusing, intriguing, and emotional, alongside genuinely stunning 2D visuals, you'll be sucked into this world in no time. Minor frustrations with combat and loading times aside, this is an adventure you'll be glad you embarked on.
Even if you don't want anything to do with League, we would highly recommend that you give Ruined King a shot; this is a spectacular JRPG that consistently demonstrates mastery of all the ingredients needed to make a great entry in the genre. The core campaign is just long enough to feel satisfying, there are dizzying amounts of character customization, and the combat system is one of the finest we've encountered in a turn-based RPG in a long time. If you're a fan of RPGs, you'd be doing yourself a great disservice to pass on Ruined King. Even if you're a newcomer to the genre we'd still absolutely encourage you to give this a punt; it's an excellent effort.
Death’s Door is a modern classic, utilizing old gameplay ideas in a new setting to make for a short and sweet experience you won’t want to miss.
Unsighted combines some very familiar ideas: it's a top-down, roguelite, sci-fi Metroidvania with a strong 16-bit aesthetic. Its time-is-ticking, post-apocalyptic scenario is brought to life by the enchanting palettes of its pixel art, making a world you want to explore, full of characters you want to know. Far from punishing, it leans more on the 'lite' than the 'rogue', letting fun prevail – as it will, thanks to the addictive rhythm of the controls, backed by punchy sounds. The cooperative multiplayer is icing on top of an already well-iced cake. Combining flavours of Super Nintendo classics with modern playability, Unsighted is the game 1995 desperately wanted to make but just didn't know how.
Though Klang 2 has its issues, we feel that it still offers up a satisfying and unique enough take on the rhythm genre to at least be worth your consideration. This isn’t necessarily a title that we’d recommend to anyone looking to get their feet wet with rhythm games, but fans will likely find enough to love here that it’s at least worth the relatively low price of admission.
Epic Chef is heaped with charm and humour that will undoubtedly put a smile on your face as you start your life as Ambrosia's hottest chef. Unfortunately, while the cooking and farming mechanics are simple enough to grasp, the bloated nature of the game makes every task feel more arduous than it needs to be. Add to this the needlessly lengthy dialogue and bizarre limitations around the save function, and Epic Chef feels like a game that can't quite match up with the other life sims available on the Switch. It's not unenjoyable, just more Little Chef than MasterChef.
While some of the slower elements of the original games have been fixed, and The Grand Underground makes up for the comparatively weak Pokédex, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl's new art style and a few other stumbles make this pair of games a somewhat disappointing retread of Generation 4. They're also very clearly in the shadow of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, the upcoming open-world-like Pokemon game that has fans hoping it can take the series in exciting new directions beyond 20-year-old mechanics. If the remit of these remakes was to remain faithful to the original Gen 4 pair, we wish they'd also stuck to the pixel-art aesthetic. Aside from The Grand Underground – and the connectivity with the current games in the series – there's very little reason to play Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl over your original DS copies.
The best thing we can say about Toree 2 is that, as with its predecessor, we enjoyed every minute of our time with it.
Beyond Blue has noble intentions, with an urgent and vital message about our impact on the Earth. However, it doesn't do itself justice. Although there is some decent content in here – videos, music, sound design, gameplay, narrative – those parts do little to support or enhance one another. Gameplay is soothing but one-note, the video documentaries don't frame the missions and neither are well connected to the narrative. While there are moments of majesty in exploring the ocean, the limited draw distance and pop-in frequently interrupt the awe. Edutainment's a hard one to pull off, and Beyond Blue feels less like an awesome rock concert about dolphins and more like your science teacher trying to do a rap.
A Boy and His Blob hasn't changed since its release back in 2009, but it's still well worth checking out if you're after a decent puzzle platformer. The visuals still look incredible after all these years, with spectacular animation to boot. Some aspects of the game feel a bit outdated by comparison, with the inability to map certain abilities being a key culprit. Nevertheless it remains a fun, breezy experience, and one that the younger generation of gamers in particular will adore.
Airborne Kingdom is a perfectly fine city builder that puts a nice spin on the genre by focusing on weight and balance to ensure the survival of your community. The act of gathering resources and building structures feels easy, although some may wish for a bit more depth in the overall management of the city's population. A few gameplay quirks might also frustrate, with a camera that feels way too slow and a UI that's just a tad confusing at times. If you're after a city builder that feels a bit different, though, then this might just be the one for you.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic may have lost some of its luster as the years have gone on, but the foundations of a well-written and enjoyable RPG haven't aged a day. If you can get past things like awkward controls, middling presentation, and a complete lack of handholding, the 30-ish hour campaign offers up an engaging romp through the beloved Star Wars universe. We'd give KOTOR on Switch a strong recommendation to any fans of Star Wars or RPGs in general, just with the caveat that you'll get more out of it if you can stomach archaic game design elements.
Happy Home Paradise makes Animal Crossing: New Horizons feel like a 'definitive' edition, especially when considered alongside the substantial free additions of version 2.0. It's beautifully polished - and that's not a reference to the ability you earn here - and provides even more variety and depth to your daily AC island life. You may discover new villagers to call friends, and perhaps even learn a little about how to better decorate rooms and homes. Most importantly, it simply makes us smile - that alone is the best recommendation we can give.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition on Switch delivers three of gaming's true greats in a shockingly rough package that manages to suck pretty much all of the fun out of Rockstar's stellar crime epics. This is a poor port, a shoddy, stuttery, low resolution mess full of bugs, glitches, audio problems and more besides. If can grab this one on any other platform, we'd advise you do so or, at the very least, hold off until it's been patched and hopefully improved in the future. As things stand, this is a very, very long way from 'definitive' - this isn't the way we want to remember these games.
If you enjoy party games but aren't too keen on the board game mechanic seen in titles like Mario Party Superstars, then My Singing Monsters Playground offers up a more streamlined experience that focuses purely on the minigames themselves, which might prove perfect for families with younger gamers. If you're looking for a meatier experience, however, the lack of any overarching campaign harms the game's overall longevity. Frame rate struggles in some of the more chaotic minigames, but for the most part, developer Big Blue Bubble has cooked up a nice addition to the party genre here.
As a small, short experience, it's not entirely without merit, but if you enjoy lightly randomised action then the Switch already has the likes of Enter the Gungeon, Dead Cells, and Hades for you to play. Heaven's Machine is sadly best left for collectors to keep safely sealed away.