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Overall, Bridge Constructor Portal is a fun game if you like physics-based puzzles. It requires thought so you will get some decent length playing, but there is often a lot of setup in getting the bridges ready and testing if it works. It’s a nice, fun, solid puzzle game.
Fear Effect Sedna has suffered from an internal conflict over whether to stay true to the originals or start over. There is an authenticity in approach that lifelong Fear Effect fans will no doubt appreciate, but, taking a step back to look at the game as a whole, even they may come to lament the many flaws that it is riddled with. It’s a shame, therefore, that it can’t outrun its demons.
Image & Form have continued to impress with their output on Nintendo's newest toy as of late, however, it's nice to see the developer hasn't forgotten its handheld roots either. SteamWorld Dig 2 on 3DS is a great version of the excellent sequel making it an ideal alternative for those that have yet to take the plunge on a Nintendo Switch.
The Deer God had me saying “Oh Deer.” A game this artistically beautiful shouldn’t be so lifeless and outside of its opening moments I really can’t think of many redeemable segments of the game. It’s slow, repetitive and has no clear direction for where it wants to go or what it wants to be. Not only is it not worth your money, it’s certainly unworthy of your time.
Typoman: Revised is a good little game to kill a few hours with. It would have been nice to see more use of the platforming component and a bit more variety in how the puzzles are handled. Its atmosphere works well within its motive, if not a little too close to LIMBO. I did have fun with it all in all though, along with one or two real head-scratching moments. Just don’t expect it to last that long, or even really care when it does finally come to a close.
Slickly presented, striking in design, and thought-provoking in the conversations that it unravels, Subsurface Circular marks another welcome addition to the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch. Its narrative focus makes it a little different to everything else that has hit the digital storefront and that’s by no means a bad thing, as the game’s shorter format makes it the perfect distraction between games that demand more of your time.
A Hole New World is decent enough to blast through for some nostalgic kicks. While there’s certainly a challenge to this title, the difficulty balance between the bosses and levels do seem worlds apart. It’s a brief experience on the whole, but the New Game+ and Challenge mode you unlock once you beat it do provide some longevity aside from collecting the 150 gems, at least. The upside down element does give the game an interesting spin. Although, the lack of platform puzzling that could have easily taken advantage of the mechanic can, unfortunately, leave it feeling a bit gimmicky overall.
Short but sweet, Bleed should be praised as an achievement, especially for a one-man studio. You could wait for that sale, but surely you should support the little guy, right? There’s guaranteed fun if you do.
Layers of Fear: Legacy is more about the story than anything else, so make sure you’re prepared for that when you go in. It’s a game that if you allow it to, will just completely grip you and won’t let go, and because it is up to you to uncover a lot of the story by searching around, you will want to explore the mansion for just that bit longer. It is also very creative and clever with its use of set-pieces and, on the face of it, random room setups, which helps the game from ever becoming overly dull or boring. I can now say, with ease, that the Nintendo Switch has its first great, proper horror game. It may also be one of the best horror games of the last few years on any platform.
Aqua Kitty UDX does one thing really well and it sticks with it from beginning to end. The upbeat music and jolly visuals go hand in hand with that sentiment as while they’re a pleasure to behold at first, you’ll slowly start to feel like you’ve seen it all. Perhaps it’s a good thing the game ends so soon as any longer and this Kitty might have just fallen to the bottom of the ocean. It’s by no means an unenjoyable game – quite the opposite in fact – but there are just other games out there that do more interesting things with the genre. Those games may not feature underwater cats but contrary to what the internet may have you believe… cats don’t always make everything better.
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.