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There's an absolute treat of a game in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, and the ways in which it reminds me of Hollow Knight, Metroid Dread, and of course the original Prince of Persia from 1989 are palpable. The almost-Spider-Man-like traipsing around ruined temples, a frozen sea, and majestic historical cityscapes only got better and better as Sargon's repertoire of moves grew, and even if some of the mid-to-late game bosses ramp up the difficulty a fair bit, there's more than enough fun in returning to exploration to bolster your stats and capabilities. The Lost Crown is a title that I hope people remember at the end of the year when recalling the standout video games of 2024 because there's no doubt this should be among them.
The art is spot on in its reverence to the Junji Ito works that inspired it, and the soundtrack matches the game's 1-bit graphics with a collection of fantastic 8-bit style jams, all of which come together to create a visual experience you're not likely to get anywhere else. I was also pleasantly surprised at how well the game's interface can be navigated using a gamepad as opposed to a mouse, though if you still prefer using a mouse cursor that is also an option built in as well. I'm not sure I would overall recommend the Switch version over the PC version of the game, but if portability is a big factor for you (an aspect this game lends itself to very well), then the Switch is a perfectly acceptable platform for stopping an old god from engulfing this sleepy Japanese town in madness.
So we'll see where they take it from here. With all the winks and nods to Unova I'm holding my breath as they seem to be gearing up to remake my personal favorite titles. So here's to hoping they won't screw it up.
So we'll see where they take it from here. With all the winks and nods to Unova I'm holding my breath as they seem to be gearing up to remake my personal favorite titles. So here's to hoping they won't screw it up.
All of the usual Nightdive options are available to tweak to your heart's content, and they have done a wonderful job porting this oft-forgotten N64 game to modern systems. Shadow of Oblivion is, however, barely a Turok game, and the levels are much shorter and more directed than they were in Dinosaur Hunter or Seeds of Evil. You can probably breeze through the entire campaign–for one of the siblings, anyway–in a couple sessions. An interesting curio, but not a particularly memorable one.
Even with Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi succeeding this game, they truly don't make them like this wacky, bizarre game anymore. The playful vibe fits so well with the slightly off-brand Mario world that makes this game, with the grimy Wario-like Booster, goofy Axem Rangers, and evil wedding cake, unforgettable. Your mileage may vary with how much the straightforward adventure and unique brand of basic RPG works for you, but I walked away from this remake feeling like Super Mario RPG is solidly one of my favorite games ever.
undefined.After its strong first impression I quickly started to see the cracks in Sonic Superstars, but I kept pushing forward in the hopes that when all was said and done the game would rise above its flaws. This never happened; the more I dug into the game, desperately hoping for it to pull everything off in the end, the more frustrated I became as I realized it was never going to do that. I don't like to directly compare a game from a totally different franchise in a review, but given how Superstars released only three days before Super Mario Bros. Wonder, it feels inevitable. Super Mario Bros. Wonder nailed its gameplay while reimagining Mario's look for a new era, setting what could be a new standard for its franchise for years to come. Meanwhile Sonic Superstars looks back, basing its look on the animated shorts accompanying the retro aesthetic of Sonic Mania and Sonic Origins. Superstars should've been the new standard to live up to Sonic's Genesis run, which just makes it sad that the game fails to even match the standard that was set over twenty years ago.
It's more of a dream machine for those kids in empty parking lots, but it's not really a video game. Would I recommend Skater XL to most folks? Probably not, just like I wouldn't recommend my own mother to step on a skateboard. As a sandbox for skaters to hone their skills, however, it's second to none, with some Switch concessions, of course.
Prison City is a fun game that nails the look and feel of 80's action platformers. For fans of that era, this is a no-brainer. Now, for the sequel, I'm hoping for an Echo the Dolphin parody featuring that cybernetic cetacean.
As well, the game is certainly visually impressive but lacks depth to its mechanics and character growth. I'm incredibly happy to see more cultural representation in games, but I wanted more from the story than what Thirsty Suitors was giving me. It's an outlandish take on the Scott Pilgrim story but lacks the same kind of fun.
This is a game that is about optimizing your way through the mountains but also grapples with the reality that that level of optimization isn't feasible. That ethereal otherworldliness lingers throughout every engrossing hour, beckoning you to find the most efficient path to the lighthouse while also tying up every loose end. This is a beautiful, gorgeous game that shouldn't be missed.
undefined.Though I have minor gripes, mostly concerning the early hours of my experience, such as some environments feeling basic or less enjoyable and the initial slower pace affecting combat, persisting through reveals the absolute gem that is Tevi. I had such a good time that I'm eager for a second playthrough, despite its lengthy runtime, taking dozens of hours to complete. After experiencing a metroidvania like Tevi, I wouldn't rabbit any other way.
And with each one of these you'll be picking up buildings and moving them from one part of the city to another to meet that unit's specific needs. Once you make it underground, SteamWorld Build is a delight, but any time spent on the surface is filled with mild frustrations that slowly add up and leave me yearning for the mines. It should come as no surprise, I suppose, that SteamWorld is at its best when you're digging.
Even aside from its technical and artistic weaknesses, there isn't an abundance of strength in its story pacing, even if a few beats do land fairly well. The activity you'll spend most of your time with, the turn-based battles, are pretty good but feature little in the way of variety. If you're a diehard tactics fan, Arcadian Atlas may be worth looking up on another platform if the performance is better there, but games like Triangle Strategy and Tactics Ogre Reborn are much stronger options if you've yet to play them.
If you're just in the market for a metroidvania, there's dozens you could choose from that are a little more worthy of your time than Yohan the Parhelion -BLAZE in the DEEPBLUE-, but it does have that signature Inti Creates style that fans of theirs will dig. The experience isn't altogether bad, but it does leave something to be desired. The ideas don't come together in a way that makes this title stand above the property it's based on.
Terror of Hemasaurus is a great "remember when?" kind of game. The way most good indies do, it takes that foundational experience of an underserved genre and tries to flesh out the experience to make it more substantive while retaining the good feelings from playing its inspiration. But with limited gameplay options and a game which can't handle more than one person on screen, this'll be relegated to the "fun if you like this kind of game" category.
Ultimately Super Crazy Rhythm Castle is a flawed but interesting game that is wildly creative yet doesn't always live up to its ambitions or other Konami rhythm games. Still, this was a fun experience that I'm glad I was able to try. I'm hoping this game is only the first of more rhythm game experiments by Konami (or other developers!) because I'd love to see this Castle more polished or with a better tracklist.
It does a good enough job of capturing the look and feel of the animated series, and even after completing the four episodes, my kids keep going back to mess around in the world. There's a framework here that could make for some electric little kid gaming experiences and I hope to see the world of Bluey in video game form expand beyond this opening salvo. Bluey the Videogame is the kind of game Bandit would roll his eyes about but begrudgingly play with Bluey and Bingo anyway, and that's okay, because Bandit's the kind of dad that recognizes not everything is meant for him.
If there were more depth and longevity to the core experience–with a complete run taking about an hour–this would be an easy recommendation. As it stands this is a game for fans of the genre who are dying for something new to try. Like making a delicious soup out of the bones of leftover thanksgiving turkey, this is an excellent experience, but it will have you hungry for more; Alina comes up just short in that regard.
I never got into Mario + Rabbids despite multiple attempts, mostly due to the Rabbids, but throwing characters I care about into this formula worked really well for me. Persona 5 Tactica is certainly the most replayable Persona game in years for someone who doesn't try to see every romance option, and if Atlus can get out from the crunch for Persona 3 Reload to fix up the load times this could be a sleeper for best strategy game on Switch.