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Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee offers a varied and enjoyable experience, though it is guilty of showing its age in multiple facets of its design. The controls and the camera are the worst offenders and I can imagine that they’ll cause a few frustrating moments for some players. Still, with each character’s varied skillset, the clever puzzle design, and the charming and quirky world, there’s also plenty to love about Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee. It might not necessarily hit the heights of its 2D predecessors, but it still manages to offer a neat adventure that’s more than worthy of the Oddworld name.
Ion Fury is a brilliant love letter to the shooters of the 90s thanks to its satisfying gunplay, old-school level design, and creatively brutal weaponry. It does have some imperfections here and there with the boss battles in particular standing out as one of its more underwhelming features, but overall there’s plenty here for nostalgia-loving shooting fans to enjoy as they blast through the game’s lengthy campaign.
PONG Quest mixes the classic PONG formula with RPG gameplay – it sounds like a weird mix, but it actually makes for a pleasantly enjoyable experience. Sure, it can get a little repetitive in places and the visuals are a bit too simple in design, but it still has this undeniable charm that’ll keep you hooked in until the very end of your quest. Who would’ve thought that PONG could make such a quirky yet fun return to player’s screens in 2020?
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix brings more of the series’ enjoyably addictive rhythm-gameplay to the Nintendo Switch in one impressively meaty package. With over a hundred songs to play through, multiple difficulties to tackle, a whole new way to play the game, and an assortment of unlockable costumes to earn, there’s PLENTY to keep you singing with the vocaloid star for some time. Whether you’re a fan of Hatsune Miku or just enjoy the rhythm-based genre, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix is guaranteed to offer hours upon hours of glitzy singing fun.
Indivisible offers a brilliant mish-mash of genres that doesn’t only look beautiful, but also just so happens to be a heck of a lot of fun to play. Between the effective Metroidvania-style exploration and the entertaining combat, there’s plenty on offer to get you completely absorbed into the adventure. It does have some imperfections, most notably with the in-game map and the easy difficulty of the game, but they certainly don’t hamper what is otherwise a fantastic experience that Nintendo Switch gamers will definitely want to be a part of.
Fury Unleashed offers a brutal and action-orientated romp that’s a blast to play both solo or with a friend, with the destructive gunplay and over-the-top showdowns with enemies proving to be mighty satisfying throughout. Admittedly, the tricky difficulty can be a bit off-putting early on, but there’s a rewarding sense of progress to the experience as you earn more skills and gear. Fury Unleashed is simply a really fun game to play and one that’s easy to recommend to all old-school action-packed shooting fans.
Spirit of the North offers a novel and charming adventure, but there were a few too many annoyances to be found within its gameplay to make it essential playing. Whilst the puzzles were clever in design and the environments both stylish and vibrant, the awkward controls and some dull gameplay mechanics just held things back a bit too much. Despite these flaws, I did have fun with Spirit of the North – I just wish that some aspects of its design were a bit more streamlined and accessible to make the experience that bit more enjoyable.
Fledgling Heroes is a simple, fun, and addictive experience that takes a tried-and-tested formula and adds a charming adventure to it. There’s a decent amount of variety to be found throughout the game, whilst the level editor gives players something to play around with once they’ve cleared it. It is a little bit easy though, with Fledgling Heroes easily cleared in a handful of hours. It’s not a big problem by any means (especially since the game isn’t too expensive), but it’s worth bearing in mind if you were hoping for a lengthy experience. Still, with its fun and accessible family-friendly gameplay, Fledgling Heroes is easy to recommend to players of all ages. It might be a bit simple and places and won’t take you long to beat, but you’ll have a good time leading your sextet of avian heroes on their pleasant journey.
Ministry of Broadcast offers a thoroughly entertaining platform-puzzling experience that’ll hook you in with its uniquely grim (and often comical) narrative. The puzzle design is clever throughout and some of its enigmas will take some real thinking to solve, though it’s possible to rely on a bit of luck at times too. The platforming is also solid throughout, even if it could be a little unforgiving in places – just be prepared to die a lot if you don’t hit every jump perfectly… If you loved the likes of the Oddworld titles or the original Prince of Persia, Ministry of Broadcast will certainly tick plenty of boxes for you. It’s old-school, challenging, and intricate in design, but it’s also so damn fun to play.
Streets of Rage 4 marks a superb return of the famed franchise, with the stylish combat, the slick visuals, and the nostalgic charm proving incredible throughout. The story mode is a little short in length and a few tough difficulty spikes caught me off guard, but it’s still packed to the brim with enough unlockables to keep you hooked in for a long, long time – well… provided you’ve got some friends to experience it with over and over again, that is. Whether you’re a new face to these deadly streets or a returning fan that wants to dish out some more beatings, you’re going to have one HELL of a good time playing Streets of Rage 4.
Lonely Mountains: Downhill offers a brilliant bike-riding experience that demands skill and precision, but offers plenty of thrills and spills with each run. I had a whole lot of frantic fun speeding down each of its beautiful mountains, whilst the tricky challenges constantly kept me coming back for more – regardless of how many times I failed some of the tougher ones… It does have a few little flaws, with the physics system seemingly having a few hiccups here and there and the challenging difficulty feeling a bit unforgiving in places. Fortunately, they’re minor issues that don’t ruin what is otherwise a thoroughly entertaining and incredibly addictive experience.
Sakura Wars is an undeniably quirky game, but its charming blend of stylish mech action and visual novel-style storytelling kept me completely invested in its adventure. Sure, the combat mechanics were a bit simple and some of the game’s lewder content felt a little cringey in places, but neither stopped me from having a blast whilst restoring the Imperial Combat Revue’s Flower Division to its former glory.
Predator: Hunting Grounds isn’t perfect, but it does a good job of offering a fun action-packed multiplayer romp with one of cinema’s deadliest warriors. It’s enjoyable playing as both the Fireteam and the Predator, so you’re in for a good time no matter who you play as. There’s plenty of gear to earn through progression too, so you’ll always have new weapons, perks, and equipment to customise your loadouts with. It is a shame that there aren’t more maps to play through though, whilst some performance issues and inconsistent gameplay mechanics do hamper the experience in places. Overall though, Predator: Hunting Grounds certainly has more good than bad and it’s easy to find yourself completely engrossed into the experience. Let’s just hope that Illfonic keep supporting the game with additional content and updates over the coming months…
Daymare: 1998 is made by a small studio on a small budget, so it is easy to be more forgiving towards some of its problems. However, when you consider that it’s competing against both the Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes for survival horror supremacy on modern consoles, it’s also easy to see how short it falls of the mark in comparative quality. With its clunky controls, poor narrative, and performance issues, it’s just a little difficult to really recommend Daymare: 1998. In fairness, it never felt awful or unplayable whilst the unnerving atmosphere and neat old-school puzzles were highlights of the experience, but overall Daymare: 1998 just felt a little underwhelming – especially when there are much better survival horror titles available on the PlayStation 4 that you can get for much cheaper these days.
Moving Out offers a zany and fun approach to one of real-life’s most unenjoyable tasks, with its multiplayer orientated gameplay keeping me hooked in for hours on end. Honestly, if you’re looking for a game to play with your friends and family during this crazy lockdown, Moving Out will be perfect for you – its multiplayer-focus encourages you to work together, cause plenty of destruction, and laugh a ton along the way. It does have a few glitches here and there and its lack of online multiplayer is disappointing, but overall Moving Out is another multiplayer hit from Team 17 that gamers will DEFINITELY want to check out.
ITTA’s unique blend of the boss-rush formula and action-packed schmup gameplay makes for a really enjoyable experience, though a lack of depth stops it from striving towards greatness. I found that a lot of the boss battles just started to feel a bit too samey in design over time, whilst the fact that I spent the majority of my time just using the shotgun shows that the weapon variation wasn’t necessarily up to much either. That’s not to say that I didn’t have a really good time with the game though and I had a ton of satisfyingly challenging fun seeing the intriguing tale through to its conclusion. I just wish there could have been a little bit more variety on offer across each showdown with the game’s epic foes.
With its nostalgia-fuelled antics and varied gameplay mechanics, Pixel Ripped 1995 is an absolute blast to play. It manages to capture the vibe of the 90s perfectly, whether that’s with the video games it allows you to play or within the world around you. The gameplay formula feels more clever than ever too, and it has clearly been refined and improved upon when compared to its predecessor. If you appreciate virtual reality titles that do something unique and entertaining, you really ought to check Pixel Ripped 1995 out – it’s a fantastic homage to the games of the 90s that retro fans are sure to appreciate. I can’t wait to see what year Pixel Ripped sends us to next…
Trials of Mana is a compelling and charming RPG that feels old-school in design, but offers plenty of fun with its action-orientated combat and wonderful world. There’s a fair bit of variety on offer with its character choices and levelling up system too, with players having to play through the game at least three times to see everything it has to offer – this isn’t an RPG you’ll be finished with quickly!
Boot Hill Bounties doesn’t do a whole lot original as far as old-school RPGs go, but its neat Wild West setting and fun gameplay ensure that it’s still worth checking out. Sure, it can get a little bit repetitive in places – especially within the combat against standard enemies – but the attractive world and the varied gameplay mechanics do enough to make it stand out as another enjoyable RPG to add to the Nintendo Switch’s ever-expanding library.
Billion Road offers a unique and addictive board game-like experience for Nintendo Switch players to get stuck into, with its zany investment-based gameplay, its monster collecting antics, and its quirky mini-games and events coming together to make for a heck of a lot of fun. Add some friends into the mix in local multiplayer too and you’re in for a really, REALLY good time. I didn’t expect to have as much fun with Billion Road as I did, but I’m completely hooked – if you’re a fan of digital board games, you’ll definitely want to check it out.