Call of the Sea can be described as: a forgettable adventure, sprinkled with fun, but easy puzzles. The exposition-heavy "narration" of the main heroine ruins the atmosphere of this journey, which isn't that strong to begin with, especially for a story dealing with eldritch terrors from beyond. The only reason to play this are the puzzles, although they too fail to keep you invested, as you won't really care about reaching the end, especially if a fan of Lovecraft, which will instantly turn the plot into an extremely predictable one. It has its moments, sure, and the visuals are beautiful, but this is generally a mediocre experience.
Mario Golf: Super Rush plays as well as it should and introduces some exciting elements to the long-running series. Playing with the right people can make for a fun time… but that's about it. A poorly executed Adventure Mode, overall lack of creativity and no incentive to keep playing all make for a disappointing package that is more of a step backwards for the franchise. The promise of free DLC updates may alleviate some of these issues, but when looking at it as a full-priced first-party Nintendo product, Super Rush simply isn't up to par.
The Xbox brand has taken great strides in diversifying its portfolio of first party offerings, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps is quite literally genre-defining. Slightly more linear in nature than its predecessor, Will of the Wisps still manages to make exploration feel fresh and traversal fluid. Stunning graphics, a wholesome and immersive soundtrack, tight controls and fun varied combat truly make Ori and the Will of the Wisps a must-own for Xbox Series X|S owners.
NEO: The World Ends with You is a good RPG in its own right, but it does not live up to its predecessor's legacy. Combat eventually opens up to become chaotically fun and the series' sense of style is as fresh as ever, but the story leaves a lot to be desired. Beyond spotty pacing at times, the script lacks the strong character focus that defined the original. There's too much focus on world building and epic plotting instead of the intimacy that made TWEWY compelling to begin with. The fact that Final Remix's A New Day epilogue plays such a foundational role in the narrative doesn't exactly help matters either. NEO: The World Ends with You has a frantic battle system that only gets better, but the story is sure to disappoint.
By far the most polished and interesting Ace Attorney title to date. It perfects the formula and offers a compelling narrative that bridges not just one but two games. The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is a masterpiece of "Courtroom drama" and one in which fans and non-fans will find a stunning experience. Heartily recommended to not only Switch owners but to anyone who owns a console on which the collection will release!
Red Colony 2 offers even more fun and titillating campiness than the original, and slightly improves its gameplay formula. The "upgrade" isn't that substantial, to be honest, so the game is better described as 'more of the same,' but it's hard being hard towards this indie, super-low-budget tribute to Resident Evil and Dino Crisis, and how it manages to offer a tale that can take some pretty dark turns, and at the same time look and feel so utterly ridiculous, but in a good way. It's a '70s sci-fi pulp magazine with monsters and busty girls in video game form, and that's never a bad thing.
For those who didn't make the Neo Geo leap with the excellent SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium (which is included here anyway), Neo Geo Pocket Colour Selection Vol.1 is where to start. With an excellent range of titles as well as the only way currently to play two superb Metal Slug titles outside of picking them and a handheld up, it's an easy decision to p-p-p-pick up a pack. It's always going to be a tough sale to take a leap if not familiar with the handheld and lacking that deep nostalgic love, but even with some strange additions outside the recognisable (honestly, Dark Arms is bonkers, fantastic fun), there really is a lot to make that purchase totally justifiable.
Mighty Goose won't push players to their limit the way Blazing Chrome does, but it is satisfying to play, thanks to all the mayhem and destruction to be had. The impressive sprite art and animation go a long way at elevating the experience from being just another run and gun action title. There aren't many like this that have so much pandemonium on screen. The harder, unlockable mode definitely seems like it would have been the standard difficulty if this had come out in the era that inspired it, and it feels like the intended way to play. For some reason, causing havoc as a goose is one of those things that makes a lot of sense in a video game.
Cubed3 adored DOOM Eternal for Nintendo Switch when it first released and having The Ancient Gods DLC Part 1 come to the console is another cherry on the cake for the handheld hybrid system. The difficulty will be the biggest barrier to overcome for many; this is a rock solid DLC pack that will test even the most veteran players out there. The three stages on offer might sound like the DLC is lacking, but there is enough content there to warrant the price tag for an extra chance to smash up some demons. Bethesda have already stated that DLC 2 will be coming later in the year, so it is not that much longer to wait!
Balan WonderWorld deserved to be far more than average, as the final game is a marked improvement over the demo. It's beautiful a lot of the time, character designs are mostly wonderful, the unique ideas that appear in each level are great fun… however the overall execution is simply lacking something important. The repetitive bouts, rough edges, and the sometimes awful physics make this a much harder title to recommend. It is full of bubbly unique charm, and is mostly heart-warmingly fun, but many will be put off by the slow, restrictive design, despite this being designed around it. Hopefully, the game will get some traction.