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A passionate love letter to a bygone age, 198X celebrates 2D, arcade-based gaming brilliantly and wraps it up in some of the best hand-drawn art we've seen in years.
If you consider the fairly sparse selection of FPS titles on the Switch, Hypercharge: Unboxed is a genuinely tempting prospect, boasting solid gameplay that is an absolute blast with friends. There are a few issues with the gameplay that may need addressing with patches, and as a whole the game feels like a bit of a walk in the park for the most part, but otherwise it's an impressive, unique title that you'd do well to check out.
To The Moon is a powerful interactive story. It deals with issues and situations we'll likely all experience in our lifetimes and does so honestly and within a brilliant narrative setup that allows us to watch a lifetime deconstructed, layer by layer, revealing the very human mistakes and unavoidable interruptions of fate that shape how our lives ultimately turn out.
Whichever way you play, Vertex Pop has done it again. Not unlike Karen's various food treats that power-up her move set, Super Crush KO offers short-term satisfaction but it's very sweet while it lasts. Despite the compactness of the experience, it looks great and plays even better – so what are you waiting for? Go forth and save your kitty.
There’s a genuinely brilliant game hidden away somewhere in AO Tennis 2, but you need to have the patience of a saint to put up with its horrendous frame rate issues and the impact they have on its already tricky stroke timing system.
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore is one of the most colourful, approachable and downright endearing RPGs you'll find on the Switch. Its new story chapter, music tracks and character assists improve on the original to an extent, but not enough to greatly affect its overall quality. Thankfully, what was there was already fantastic, meaning those who missed out on it the first time around really have no reason not to get stuck in now.
If you're a fan of the Atelier series you'll already know whether or not this trilogy release is for you, but, if you're thinking of jumping in for the first time rest assured this as solid a place as any to get acquainted with the Atelier franchise.
Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk DX is a great jumping-in point for newcomers to the series. It's a welcoming start to the Dusk trilogy which hits the ground running whilst dialling back the traditional time limit aspect of the game, gently easing players into its core alchemy as well as firmly establishing the gameplay loops and systems which are carried on throughout the two follow-up games.
Atelier Escha and Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky DX gets off to a pretty turgid start with exposition-heavy scenes punctuated with lots of tutorials; however, once it gets its bearings, it's another satisfying tale with two strong lead characters to choose from, a great cast of supporting characters and that deep and satisfying alchemy sat right at the centre of it all, pulling the weaker strands of its gameplay together into a satisfyingly unified whole.
Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea DX is the strongest entry in the Dusk trilogy.
The passage of time has not been kind to Gigantic Army, but we do hope this is won’t be the only Astro Port game to see a Switch re-release.
If you’re after a cheap and cheerful fighting game, Drunk-Fu: Wasted Masters more or less ticks the right boxes.
If you're a fan of the Princess Maker series you'll already know whether or not Princess Maker - Faery Tales Come True is your bag. You'll probably be able to overlook the complete lack of tutorials, abysmal translation job, sometimes backwards attitudes towards women and repetitive nature and get down to enjoying a strange little sim/management game that's unquestionably suited to the portable nature of the Nintendo Switch.
There is very little to complain about with SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays because what it does, it does very well indeed, with no other game on the system to compare it against, other than its previous non-English entry.
What's here is entertaining enough, but you're likely to have lost interest within a month; if ever there was a series that Nintendo should have turned into a mobile game instead, it's this one.
Overall, Blacksad: Under the Skin is both a faithful adaptation and a frustrating example of modern adventure game pitfalls. Fans of the original comics will enjoy seeing Blacksad himself brought to life so accurately, but some inconsistent performances in the voiceover department and some frustratingly unresponsive controls make it a far less enjoyable experience. There's a really intriguing mystery to unfold and solve, but with some technical problems and a little too much blurring for our liking, you'll have to grit your teeth if you really want to crack this case on the go.
Princess Maker Go!Go! Princess has a reasonable enough idea at its core, taking the central gameplay elements of the Princess Maker series and adapting them to a four-player board game. However, in reality, this shift only results in removing all of the narrative interest, skill and strategy from the main games and leaves you with a very simple experience which quickly becomes tedious and repetitive. Rounds are much too long, everything is 100% dependant on dice rolls and really, once you've spent about thirty minutes with this one, you'll have seen everything it's got to offer and more.
Sadly a very mediocre racing game.
LastFight lifts the classic gameplay of Capcom's Power Stone series and dumps it into an established comic book universe which it then entirely fails to utilise. It's sorely lacking in game modes and inexplicably fails to provide any online co-operative gameplay options.
Whilst the game won’t compete with rally behemoths like Dirt Rally 2.0, Rush Rally 3 is a great alternative that won’t break the bank, yet offers an authentic take on the sport that newcomers will really appreciate.