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The Escapists: Complete Edition is not a game that everyone will enjoy and I doubt it will be on anyone’s must-buy list. It suffers, to begin with, and you may think it’s a very one-dimensional sandbox game. But, give it time and it will show you just how much fun you can have planning a prison escape in an 8-bit world.
Super Mario Party manages to get the series back on track in a big way, it’s selection of modes engaging, mini-games exciting and overall sense of fun high. While not every idea is a winner, it nails what fans have been after for many years while also injecting a few new twists of its own. It feels good to be able to say once again that this Mushroom Kingdom party is well worth RSVPing to.
It may never reach the highs of a Mirror’s Edge or even a Jet Set Radio game, but Hover offers an entertaining parkour-skating racer to Nintendo Switch owners. The menu system needs to be fixed, the camera isn’t perfect, and the frame-rate can be a bit rough at times, but there is still fun to be had with Hover.
It’s fantastic to see that Dragon Ball FighterZ transitions as well as it does to the most versatile games console on the planet. The game looks and plays great on the portable home console and stands as one of the best and most faithful anime licensed titles on the market.
Whether you’re a fan of the franchise or not, I would highly recommend Mega Man 11. For those who are as diehard as they come, there’s no better way to upgrade your Nintendo Switch into a fully-fledged Mega Man machine than to top it off with this wonderfully formed little cherry bomb of a sequel.
Last year, FIFA 18 was given a free pass in certain aspects as it was the first FIFA game on a Nintendo console for years and the core gameplay was as good as I wanted it to be. This year, I am not letting FIFA 19 off as easily. Don’t get me wrong, I still have endless amounts of fun playing matches online and my most wanted feature, being able to play online against friends, has been added.
It turns out that Sonic the Hedgehog is still a fun game and, thanks to M2’s input, this is one of the better versions out there. Sure, you could argue the hedgehogs’ best days were yet to come – its three Mega Drive sequels improving on the original in many ways. However, if you’ve yet to experience this classic or fancy a trip down memory lane this is a great way to go about it.
The added co-op adds to the value of the game, but the game’s frustrations hamper re-playability. The stripped down nature of the game is part its charm, but can work against it. Sometimes Mugsters’ sandbox just feels a little shallow.
Surgeon Simulator CPR is a very silly game whether it’s the cartoony vibe it gives off, the wacky situations you’re thrown into or just trying to deal with the loose controls. It’s a mildly funny exercise and something to be enjoyed viewing how others interact with it, however in turns of longevity and depth you’ll find the pair lacking especially as the initial novelty starts to wear off.
Ultimate Chicken Horse effortlessly combines level creation, solid platforming and brilliant multiplayer all into one fantastic package. It’s a game that continues to surprise and amuse in huge measures and if we do end up seeing a Super Mario Maker sequel in the future then Nintendo would be wise to take to note of what Clever Endeavour Games has accomplished here.
The Walking Dead: The Final Season Episode 2 – Suffer The Children was always going to be the more undermined episode in needing to lay down the groundwork for what’s to come. It’s the seasonal point of a series structure that shifts from the introduction of the cast members into the darker depth of what could potentially lie ahead.
Velocity 2X may be four-years-old at this point, but that doesn’t mean that the gameplay has passed its sell-by date. There’s a certain addictive quality to this ultra-fast reaction-based puzzle blaster that can risk making you feel useless at first until something in your brain finally clicks into beast mode. During the time that I spent with the game my fingers slipped, my brain momentarily lapsed, I swore a lot and blamed my age. However, once I did finally submit to the cockpit’s demands, it didn’t take long until I felt like a Jedi on a joyride.
Broken Sword 5: The Serpent’s Curse doesn’t do anything special for the point-and-click genre, but that’s perfectly fine as it does exactly what it sets out to do. As a fan of the first two games, this was what I wanted. Not everything is perfect, such as the animations and some inconsistent voice acting. However, if you’re a fan, you will find a lot more to love than the average player.
The Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion never lacks in the sheer spectacle of its creativity. It’s Nintendo at its best, for sure, taking what we have come to expect from Splatoon 2’s core experience only to throw the rulebook out the window to astound with freshly inked ideas. More, please.
The games in the Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle may be short, shallow and repetitive by nature, but these arcade classics are an important slice of gaming history and still make for a perfect high score wager between friends. In any case, for £17.99, it is an affordable catch up for those that are either interested in the history of the beat ’em up genre or fancy an interactive trip down memory lane.
The Adventure Pals may not be the deepest or most challenging game in the platforming genre. Nonetheless, it still manages to stay fun thanks to its topsy-turvy plot, accessibility and the neat ideas that are sewn into the charm of its art style.
BAFL: Brakes Are For Losers delivers a chaotic, messy multiplayer experience sure to provide a few laughs even if more often than not it’s down to watching others trying to deal with the wild handling of its vehicles. An overall lack of both variety and content, however, prevent this title from reaching its full potential relegating it to a short and shallow distraction.
I am not going to mask it, the only real reason you would actually buy Senran Kagura Reflexions is so that you can look at scantily clad women and see them in seductive positions. However, let us be completely honest here, if that really is your sole reason to play, there are many better and cheaper ways of doing such things.
The Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 03: Vehicle Kit is easily the best all-round experience that I have had so far with Nintendo’s new line of interactive make, play and discover kits. Remarkable to build, fascinating to learn how it all works and, importantly, content rich compared to the last two kits, this could be the start of a cardboard revolution.
Lifeless Planet: Premiere Edition may very well gain a few new fans based solely on its narrative. Unfortunately, the tedious ordeal of having to traipse around the planet for half a dozen hours like a clumsy jelly baby just doesn’t make the plot strong enough to be worth the hassle. While it may not sound like it, I do appreciate the hard work and effort it takes to independently craft an environment of such scale. However, it really doesn’t excuse the fact that this is an incredibly poorly made game, regardless of how interesting its premise may be.