Nintendo Insider
HomepageNintendo Insider's Reviews
On the whole, the Jurassic Park Pinball collection is a nice addition to Pinball FX3. All three tables have their own flow and your favourite will mostly depend on which one you dig into the most. I found myself playing the original table more than the others, solely because it’s the one I originally had the most difficulty with. I would go as far to say that it’s more of an intermediate skill package as none of the tables are ever quite as easy to play as the Family Guy cabinet. However, that increase in difficulty did have me returning for many hours, with plenty more to sink into once I had finally finished this review.
There can be no doubt that 60 Seconds! ranks among the more hilarious and unexpected additions to the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch. But it’s also a game that isn’t without its shortcomings, whether that be ever so awkward button input or worries around its longevity. There’s still fun to be found in surviving a world now ridden with mutant cockroaches, but your enthusiasm to exist in it is likely to last for as long as the family survives in the shelter before giving up.
As you continue to cross off Explorer Medallions in your Explorer Book, it’s hard not to come to the realisation that Poi: Explorer Edition is a great introductory platformer for those that are new to the genre. This grand adventure may never achieve the dizzying wonder of the early 3D Mario games that it looks to for inspiration, but PolyKid has built a solid enough experience that stands on its own merits – even if the simplistic presentation and sound design needed a little more imagination.
Pixel Maniacs’ effort might share an awful lot in common with Valve’s Portal series but those parallels are only skin deep. At its core, ChromaGun takes something as simple as colours (something we’re all familiar with) to craft an inventive puzzler unlike anything currently on Switch. Outside its short runtime and sometimes frustrating difficulty, ChromaGun is still a smart and entertaining challenge perfect for those that like their brain being truly tested.
There are achievements to hunt down and unlock which incentivises your time with the game, which have presumably been carried across from the Steam version. But, in speaking to the broader issue that I found with One More Dungeon, I never really felt entertained nor engaged by the experience. The idea to fuse old-school first-person shooter and roguelike genres is sound, but the developer perhaps needed more time and player feedback to refine their vision. As it stands, we’re left with a game that is packed with enough character but lacks an addictive enough gameplay loop to keep you hooked.
Ultimately, The Coma: Recut’s biggest problem might be that it is a bit too simple in design and maybe having a few other gameplay elements would have pushed it a level higher. But in the end, I never expected to like it as much as I did and I thoroughly enjoyed my five or so hour playthrough. With a sequel teased, I’m eagerly awaiting what is to come because they have a base already there to make something truly wonderful.
As a newcomer to Payday 2, my time spent descending on Washington DC to start a crime spree has been filled with as much genuine laughter as it has with successful heists. While the whole experience can feel more than obtuse, those that take the time to learn the gameplay mechanics that underpin it will soon find this a game that’s worthy of the endless hours that they will spend with it. It’s a shame that performance niggles readily detract on occasion, but with a little more spit and polish, I am sure that anarchy can reign once more with hindrance.
Tiny Troopers Joint Ops XL is one of those games which is perfectly fine. It isn’t a bad game and it isn’t going to blow the doors off of the barn. It’s an ideal game to burn ten minutes in between other experiences and there are some nice little moments throughout. Playing isn’t going to change your life or deliver any deep narratives, but if you want to blow stuff up and shoot mindlessly for a while, you could do a lot worse.
Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Plus is a perfect fit with the Nintendo Switch. It’s easy to pick up and impossible to put down – especially when trying to hit that target score. With plenty of variety and levels to play through, there’s quite a lot to get stuck into. However, if you are anything like me, you will probably spend days alone fine-tuning your run, just trying to get that S rank on the first map.
So, a Wave Race substitute this is not. Aqua Moto Racing Utopia tries to imitate Nintendo’s classic racer but it never comes anywhere close to it in all honesty. Which is a massive shame because this could have filled a gap for a lot of Nintendo 64 and GameCube era Nintendo fans like me. This is an improvement on the developer’s other recent racing game, Snow Moto Racing Freedom, but I think that might only be because racing on water with a jet-ski is much better than racing in the snow on a snowmobile. The main thing that this game does more than anything, is that it makes me want a new Wave Race game more than ever.
The style is lacklustre, the sound design adds very little to the overall package and it all feels very bland. This is one of those games where, when it loads I found myself uttering ‘Oh’ out loud, because it failed to capture any part of me. Had there been some humorous narrative, a few jokes scattered throughout, maybe even just some puns, I might have enjoyed my time with Puzzle Puppers. As it stands, it’s completely forgettable, which is a massive shame considering the wealth of memes and jokes that exist and the fact that the actual puzzle design is decent.
For every thrilling moment that you experience from the game’s cinematic aspirations and standout puzzle design, Max: The Curse of Brotherhood fumbles soon after. It’s an uneven adventure, but one that can still celebrate many successes – even if it fails to rival some already strong competition on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch.
Disc Jam offers the ideal balance of simplicity and depth you’d want from an arcade-like sports experience. The action is fast and matches often tense but sadly the overall package is let down by some rougher edges and gross microtransactions. Windjammers might still reign as king of the fake Frisbee-style sports genre but Disc Jam is a decent enough imitation for the Nintendo Switch.
Fe is unlike anything that I have played in a long while, rekindling memories of the games from which it has openly drawn inspiration. As brave a creation as it is emotive, it’s an experience that I won’t soon forget and a world that I will forever long to explore once more.
The amount of modes that Snow Moto Racing Freedom has to offer is great, but the most important thing is the gameplay and it is rather bland with some dubious controls and a big framerate issue. This is a genre of racing games that the Switch doesn’t have yet, it stands alone. So by default, it is the best winter racing game on the system. However, in no way does that mean that if you really love racing games of this ilk, you’re going to enjoy this one, because truth be told, you probably won’t.
Within these images, we see the steps of life being laid out. A man meeting a girl. Surprising her with a boat trip. Nothing in these images is interactive, but they each encapsulate a sense of wonder and nostalgia. They reward exploration and intrigue in the scenes. Small mannerisms and gestures from the central character, before and after these images are shown, add a wealth of personality to his two-dimensional form and go a long way to creating a rounded persona, and experience, that is entirely endearing.
Even after all these years, the original Bayonetta never fails to impress. It is stylish and sexy with a deep combo system for you to master. There’s so much to unlock giving you plenty of reason to go back, and the music is harder to get out of your head than putting a Rowntree’s Fruit Pastille in your mouth without chewing it. Needless to say, if you have never played the original Bayonetta, then what are you waiting for? For those who have, well, you probably already know how awesome the game is. So, again, what the hell are you waiting for?
Bayonetta 2 remains a phenomenal thrill-ride from start to finish, each new encounter you face more outrageous and epic than the last. The fact that you can now take this experience anywhere with you easily makes this ultimate version of the game. Sure, it may not dramatically alter the formula laid out in the original, but it’s still a bigger and better package overall and easily one of the best examples of its genre. The wait for Bayonetta 3 just got a whole lot tougher.
Your road to becoming a master of the piano in Frederic: Resurrection of Music is entertaining, but one that is riddled with shortcomings. While you may rally against the soulless music labels and mass-produced popstars that have hindered all creativity, more conviction is needed to deliver a more rousing performance. That, and more content is needed, because Chopin bows out long before the curtain call.
Night in the Woods is an incredible, heartfelt journey that goes above and beyond anything currently on Switch when it comes to its character development and storytelling. While the pacing might not be to everyone’s tastes, Night in the Woods is a truly unforgettable experience and one I’m sure we’ll be talking about for years to come.