Cubed3's Reviews
Far more complex and stressful than it lets on, Nuclien is a delightful tap 'em up that genuinely challenges players to focus like little else on Nintendo Switch. Unlike most games on the console, the gameplay actually takes advantage of the touch screen by removing the use of buttons during stages.
Nearly eight years later, Super Meat Boy remains a master class in balancing difficulty into engaging level design.
While serious sim-racers tend to have quite specific interests, and will probably make the purchase with one itch in mind to scratch, there's a good amount of joy to be found here across the board for Project CARS 2 fans.
More of a refinement of the original than seeking to right its wrongs, The Escapists 2 on Nintendo Switch adds more of what fans enjoyed in the first place, whilst still not quite advocating enough time to entice a newer crowd.
While dying in the same place over and over gets frustrating after awhile, Son of Scoregasm does a great job pushing the player to try one more time. Bite-sized levels are so chaotic that it feels like each one was a major achievement, even if the next level is patiently waiting to show you what the real definition of difficult is. Any twin-stick fan would be remiss not to pick up Son of Scoregasm, as it's just a delightful entry to the Vita catalogue, through and through.
There is not much to Mom Hid My Game! - the game promises everything it has to offer in its title. It ends far too quickly for it to be recommended to anyone other than small children. What it does offer, though, is some surreal puzzles and amusing sound design. The fun factor comes down to enjoying escape the room style puzzles with a silly coat of paint and not much else.
Against all odds, Energy Invasion manages to take its almost too simple Breakout-inspired premise and spin it into something truly original and engaging. Adding the ability to fire off miniature, bouncing balls from the main ball is an ingenious addition that elevates the gameplay from just a mere homage. While there are only 50 stages between Linear and Invasion mode, the difficulty curve allows progress to feel earned, and Endless offers an unlimited amount of levels to bounce through. Along with Nick R 61's fantastic soundtrack, Energy Invasion is a surreal, and strangely addictive, evolution of the Breakout formula.
Despite being a piece of downloadable content separate from an already pricey season pass, the Project CARS 2 Japanese Cars Pack is a reasonably priced add-on for the content present. Slightly Mad Studios has done an excellent job bringing some of Japan's most iconic automobiles to life in videogame form. For less than it costs to buy a sandwich, there's no reason fans of Project CARS 2 should pass by this solid piece of DLC.
In conclusion, the Fun Pack for Project Cars 2, the first of four content packages making up the season pass, is a solid offering. There's no doubt that Rally and Rallycross fans will be over the moon with the additions here.
The ending to Little Nightmares: The Hideaway is very creepy indeed, and looks to tie things together with the exploits of Six from the main adventure, perhaps in the next piece of DLC. For now, though, this finely crafted puzzle-platform-adventure is highly enjoyable and truly gripping and tense in places. More laidback than The Depths, though, this makes for a better experience overall as the whole atmosphere can be appreciated more. A few minor gameplay hiccoughs cannot take away from the fact this will definitely be a few quid well spent, and hopefully the wait for the next episode is not too long.
This review is of the PlayStation 4 version of Romancing SaGa 2, and this is something of a negative in the grand scheme. This new remaster is hitting almost every possible platform and this may not be the best option. While the upgraded graphics look a great deal better, they really don't require an HD TV and it feels like this would fit better on Nintendo Switch or Vita. Despite that, there is a great and original experience here, one that hardcore old school RPG fans may have completely missed out on. It may not be for everyone but this is a perfect opportunity to try a classic and unique Japanese experience.
The interest in learning Japanese has always been large for fans of gaming and geek culture, and tangential learning is a fantastic gateway into understanding the language. However, Hiragana Pixel Party works only in a tangential sense to memorise the easiest part of the language. With just a few tweaks, and some greater focus on learning more of the language, this could have been fantastic as either an actual teaching tool or learning aide. Sadly, though, instead it's about as useful as a deck of flash cards.
Human: Fall Flat on Nintendo Switch is neither good if labelled as a purposely "bad" game, nor as a physics puzzler. Why? It is purely because the controls make things more aggravating than hilarious, and, secondly, due to how uninspiring the puzzles themselves are. That's why.
Equin: The Lantern certainly isn't a bad roguelike, but it does come across as rather confused in regards to what it's trying to achieve as a videogame. The main Lantern system is totally unexplained and stamina as a concept, while good overall, can lead to moments where it feels like it was implemented for difficulty purposes over gameplay ingenuity. The RPG elements are all fairly standard, inventory management is simple enough, and the five classes do add a degree of replayability, but the randomness of the procedural generation is what really makes or break a run. It's entirely possible to run through several floors with minimal enemies, but all that means is that the player won't be properly levelled or geared for higher floors. More than anything, Equin is stuck in a miasma of genre conventions with unique mechanics that barely scratch the surface of true individuality.
Ridiculous fan-service aside, Caladrius Blaze is a very enjoyable STG. Each action-packed stage is filled with exciting moments, and they are all capped by thrilling boss battles. The eight pilotable ships offer a myriad of strengths and weaknesses, ensuring a high amount of replay value. While the graphics are far from cutting edge, at least they aren't unpleasant to the eyes. Everything from enemy ships to their bullets is clearly visible, so there's no chance that something life threatening will get lost in the chaos. The sound balancing is also a little suspect, so feel free to crank the music up, while turning the sound effects down. All in all, this is a worthwhile pick-up, so give it a shot sometime.
SteamWorld Heist: Ultimate Edition brings together everything that made the original release such a breath of fresh air in a crowded turn-based strategy field, and adds in all the post-release content to well and truly make this live up to its name. With perfect touch-screen controls throughout in handheld mode, added to the already excellent controller support from other iterations, this is easily one of the most accessible games in the genre, and definitely one of the most enjoyable on Nintendo Switch, full stop.
Super Hydorah is a great spaceship shooter with plenty to explore and see. Realistically, though, its difficulty can come across as a bit too much early on, and first time players of the shooter genre are unlikely to enjoy the game as much. The smaller screen of the Vita also makes the game slightly more difficult to play, so if you can, be sure to try it on a bigger screen. It can all be a bit overwhelming, but fans of the genre are very likely to view this as one of the better modern takes on the classic shooter.
36 Fragments of Midnight is over far too quickly, and the limited number of traps means players will likely see everything there is too see before an hour has passed. Perhaps for a child or a new gamer, this would be an enjoyable introduction. However, gamers have become used to platformers offering a wealth of content, and that's not what will be found here. Instead, this is the trimmings, the parts of the turkey thrown from the table to the dog without much care. The worst part? It sets up this awful joke. Ready? 36 Fragments of Midnight? More like 36 Minutes of Game! No, that won't do at all…
Chaos;Child is a deviously clever visual novel from start to finish. It plays the reader like a fiddle by presenting all the ingredients for a mystery novel, but without some of the necessary tools to solve it. A megalomaniac mystery fan will look for a logical solution finding none as the important pieces are hidden away from the protagonist, and by extension, the reader. It might seem insane and risky, but it works extremely well and creates a memorable read that, while perhaps annoying for some due to certain choices made during the prose, will impress many others. Like most visual novels, it is not a crowd-pleaser, but for the intended audience it is a must read, and one that will not easily be forgotten.
There's nothing intrinsically wrong with Shantae: Half-Genie Hero - Friends to the End and the new mechanics it introduces. There's only one major issue with it, though, which makes it hard to recommend. Similar to Pirate Queen's Quest, it expects players to remain entertained by the same levels, which many, even fans, will find hard to do so.