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With Nintendo’s unique charm, Ring Fit Adventure is a great fitness RPG for those who enjoy exercising at their own pace. Its sensitivity to movement, ability to estimate your heart rate, and wide range of things to do within the game keeps your daily workout routine feeling invigorated and fresh. And since the Ring-Con is so versatile, it’s easy to get carried away with different pushes and pulls. So, we’ll finish on this; is your body ready?
When playing through Breath of the Wild with the VR Goggles, with the Joy-Cons slotted firmly into the sides (as they would be in handheld mode), a head strap wouldn’t go amiss. Leaning back into my chair, propped up by a few pillows, was certainly the most comfortable way to play. And though the visuals stutter every now and then with weather transitions, Breath of the Wild performs nicely in VR. Besides, it’s pretty neat to feel fully immersed in the game – even if the visuals don’t quite take your breath away. I only wish we could use the wind pedal – or any of the other Toy-Con – as a way to glide through an updraft. Can we get a Toy-Con Sword next time, please? You just know there’s some grass itching to be cut.
With all Toy-Cons considered, Labo VR is a mixed bag of playability. Its replay value relies on competing with others, and there’s no rewards or special unlockables if you beat the high score. The focus on quantity over quality is a little unorthodox too, given how scarce the content for Labo has historically been. But, when all things are said and done, Labo VR is a good bit of fun for the kids, especially with its ability to be used in conjunction with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey on April 26th. And don’t worry, we’ll be writing a mini review of how they shape up in VR very soon. But for now, that’s all folks.
Molly Maggot is an unfinished abomination that oozes over with poor design, lack of quality control, and little effort — an all around rotten experience.
Monster High: New Ghoul in School attempts to recreate a spooky universe, but only succeeds in bringing over its interesting characters, as dull game mechanics pave inevitable doom.
Outside the Realm on the Wii U eShop is a short, easy, unpolished, and uninspired effort that struggles to even achieve basic gameplay elements.
Kadokawa's interpretation of Rodea the Sky Soldier on Wii U misses the mark on so many levels, and it's a prime example of how to butcher a solid idea for aerial action.
Cutie Pets Pick Berries is a fast-paced and challenging puzzle game that offers plenty of juicy fruit but not nearly enough hairless-chested Mandeer.
Shadow Puppeteer is an admirable attempt at a fun, unique co-operative experience, but is ultimately let down by its lack of technical polish.
Fans of the original from 10 years ago, or Origins that released on Switch last year, will most certainly enjoy what’s on offer. Newcomers, however, will find it hard to look past its many flaws even if the storytelling is compelling and the conclusion is ridiculously extravagant. Deadly Premonition 2 is up there with Travis Strikes Again levels of weirdness, but much like Suda 51’s hack ‘n’ slash Switch exclusive, Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise isn’t really a blessing for Nintendo’s hybrid console. If this second title in the Deadly Premonition series sacrificed its Switch exclusivity and had more development time, it may have been saved from being a sloppy mess that doesn’t deserve its otherwise fantastic story and loveable cast of characters.
Go Vacation doesn’t do the best job of trying to appeal to everyone, but party game fans might find enough enjoyment to hold them off until Super Mario Party arrives later this year. While the staggering amount of things to do may be appreciated by some, it’s another example that demonstrates how quantity shouldn’t always be a priority over quality.
Mario Sports Superstars doesn’t quite manage a hole-in-one, its bare bones nature provoking harsh comparisons to other games in the series. The basic gameplay is certainly fun to play, but anyone looking for a deeper sporting experience would probably be better tracking down another Mario sports game. Place your bets elsewhere, Superstars is down for the count.
Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash serves up a feast for the eyes, but Camelot has lost too much of the charm and character that made its predecessors so special.
As an antisocial college student in my 20s, I’ll admit that I’m probably not the target audience for Everybody 1-2-Switch. With the right group of people, like at a family reunion or an elementary school pizza party, I can see that there is certainly a few hours of fun to be had here. However, in a smaller group (who were all enthusiastic to play at first) we quickly found that we would rather be playing something like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Nintendo Switch Sports, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, or one of the many Jackbox Party Packs instead. If you happened to be a fan of the original 1-2-Switch, getting the sequel is probably a no-brainer, but otherwise, you’ll likely find it to be a mediocre package that’s equally as entertaining as it is bad.
Q.U.B.E: Director's Cut is too flawed to recommend, and its audience will have already grabbed it at a fraction of the Wii U eShop price in a Steam sale or similar.
Fashion Dreamer is a game that offers a wealth of customisation options that will keep you busy for hours on end, and the promise of future content updates from the developer make it a game worth keeping an eye on, even if you’re on the fence because of its missing items and features. If you have a creative itch to scratch and want to feel like part of a global community, then this is definitely a good option for you, as the gameplay loop complements online play perfectly. Fans of the Style Savvy/Fashion Boutique franchise looking for a spiritual successor may find that Fashion Dreamer doesn’t live up to their expectations however, as the lack of a narrative and extremely slow progression in solo play make this feel like a tedious grind that actively hampers your creative freedom with extremely high costs for customization. I enjoyed my time with the game for what it is, but your mileage may vary.
The Teal Mask is, for better and for worse, more of the same. It tells an enjoyable story with some excellent lore that makes Kitakami feel as alive as any past region, and offers the same freedom of exploration that made Paldea so captivating. Unfortunately, it also comes with all the performance issues and poor optimisation that made Paldea so frustrating, and its short length, poorly-designed level scaling, and failure to deliver a proper conclusion to its story make it a less satisfying experience than it could have been, particularly if you’re coming into it from an endgame save state with a powerful team. The value of The Hidden Treasures of Area Zero as a package will of course be determined by both parts of it, but The Teal Mask is not as strong of a start as it could have been.
Chocobo GP has a lot of decent ideas with its Magicite attacks, and a large roster of recognisable characters that each have their own unique ability. You can play a good chunk of the game for free, and Square Enix promises Season Pass DLC, but racing as Cloud Strife won’t shift the bad taste from unimaginative race tracks Chocobo GP has to offer. The Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass may not be far away, and this won’t do the Final Fantasy kart racer spin-off any favours, but the free version of Chocobo GP offers a mediocre alternative to Nintendo’s crown jewel with plenty of modes to enjoy, even if the road is a little on the bumpy side.
As it stands, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are faithful remakes in terms of storyline and post-content material. However, there are real issues here with the game’s level balancing, pared down content and overall user experience that does not go unnoticed. There’s no denying that these games are still enjoyable, especially for youngsters that haven’t experienced the originals. But for veterans yearning for a polished remake, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are a beautiful disaster.
Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl – GOLD will appeal to those gamers looking for something unfamiliar to dive into. It won’t take more than 25-30 hours to complete, but you’ll get more out of this if you want to capture every Snack and complete every side quest. If you’re tired of roaming the Galar region, have explored every inch of Diablo 3 and Yo-Kai Watch is gathering dust then this will cater for some of your adventurous needs. But don’t expect an expansive and enchanting world that you’ll itch to jump back in to. What has the ingredients to be a compelling RPG with roguelike side dishes, unfortunately, boils down to a mediocre cold buffet of half-baked ideas and passable visuals that never fully gets the taste buds tingling.