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Mechanic Battle has an internal battle of wanting to be a halfway average game or a terrible excuse for a cash grab. Either way I hope the lessons learned from the making of this game is that you get as much love as you put in, and this one is still waiting for their parents to come back with the milk.
Mr. Prepper fulfils the bunker survival simulator competently. The personal Cold War I was having with the way it controls and the treaties I wanted to break for it being so pedantic – even on the Switch – left a lot to be desired however. If this genre is of interest and you own a Switch you may be able to enjoy what it has to offer, warts and all.
The potential behind Way of the Hunter is there to give the likes of the Cabela series a run for its money. It’s just marred with a few too many technical issues that prevent it from being a fun and immersive experience overall. Stuff it and move on to the next quarry instead.
Arcade Paradise is a cracking laundry / arcade simulator that rewards you for your patience and dedication to the cause. Once the arcade opens up you’ll have an absolute blast finding your new favourite game in a huge selection of unique takes on old school classics. There’s a road to get there, but this one is all about the destination. A hugely rewarding, feel-good experience you have to play.
Digimon Survive is a solid blend of Visual Novel and Tactics RPG. It has great moments, but Survive’s combat encounters lack any real depth or challenge to keep them engaging over its runtime. Its story, however, remains interesting enough to push it along, even if it hits its peaks early on. A little more variety could’ve pushed Digimon Survive from good to great.
Before We Leave is a comforting and accessible city building simulator that will entice and equally challenge you. The momentum occasionally stutters and micro-managing your ever-expanding cities can be a pain at times, but your Peeps will never cease to entice you back in. Helping this fledging society of tiny cute figures colonise islands and planets from neanderthal to fully-developed modern society is a fundamentally lovely experience. Saving them from space whales is certainly tough, but it’s also a wholesome, worthwhile endeavour.
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town continues the same charming cutesy aesthetic as its predecessors, although at times feels discombobulated in organisation. A decent enough farming management addition to the genre, the game features a depth of gameplay but is light on narrative. Prepare and expect to be in it for the long haul if you want to see any real results from your hard work.
A genuine diamond in the rough kind of game. Sword and Fairy: Together Forever constantly had my attention with varied gameplay, diverse and gorgeous locations, fantastic pacing and some genuinely touching character moments. If not for a handful of technical issues and a wonky but still understandable translation: Sword and Fairy: Together Forever would’ve scored higher. I loved it, regardless.
By design, Postal: Brain Damaged is a relic of an era that passed about 20 years ago. It captures some of the best of the 2000s through lightning quick, buttery smooth and challenging gameplay, but also soils itself by relying on tired old tropes for comic relief and some rough edges with balancing. Postal Dude has a penchant for pissing himself and this Postal entry unfortunately can’t escape the dregs of his urine, but when did a little pee stop him causing havoc?
With assured writing and gorgeous pixel art visuals, Mothmen 1966 is a compelling start to the Pixel Pulp series. A few clunky puzzle elements are the only blemish on a fast paced and engrossing story that helps pass two hours in the blink of an eye.
A cute coming of age space robot story and a fine addition to the cosy game genre, Growbot is a short and sweet puzzler with an ethereal soundtrack. This is one for those who want a short story, a beautiful art style and relaxing gameplay.
Offering a fine balance of easy-to-play and dungeon challenge attitude, Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos is an enticing game for all comers. It’s not doing anything new or particularly original with its story, in fact using elements of classic games, but that’s not a bad thing. Sometimes it’s nice to get lost in some new-age nostalgia, even more so with friends.
Loopmancer has all the hallmarks for a phenomenal game, but is just let down by some mechanical issues and a middling story. It’s stellar visual design will reel you into its Cyberpunk world and its fast-paced combat will hook you into trying out even more outlandish varieties of weapons. Unlike most dystopian cities, the rot only occurs at the top and in patches, leaving a healthy and exciting core to explore for a few loops. Just don’t look at the faces, even Dredd couldn’t make them any more hideous.
The game has had twenty five years to be transformed into something to wow fans of the series. Instead, it just feels like a lazy port with ugly character models, awkward controls, and an assumption you’ve played it before. Perhaps one for the hardcore Blade Runner fans, but not the newcomers.
SpellForce 3: Reforced is a valiant effort to mesh RTS and RPG into a functional package on console. In theory, it shouldn’t work at all, but for the most part it succeeds more than it fails. There’s plenty of issues, whether it be the shallowness of the tactics for success, the visual oddities that plague your journey or the overabundance of burdening dialogue to cut through, but the essence of this fantasy game is good enough to shine through.
MADiSON channels the best instalments of the first-person horror genre to deliver a frantic, nerve-shredding and atmospheric tale of demonic possession. It delivers the scares often and will have you tentatively looking over your shoulder at that shadow that definitely wasn’t there before. It’s been a while since I felt this much trepidation moving through a cursed home, but it feels frighteningly good to test this demonic presence again. A must play for horror fans this year.
Offering up something more lighthearted than a Milestone sim, MX vs ATV Legends does racing competently, be it bike or quad. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the UTV’s, or the game’s complete lack of anything outside out of its racing career modes. It’s certainly one for MX fans, but not for those looking for more content and fun in a mud-racer.
It’s by no means a bad game, but Yurukill just never manages to hit the same heights as its contemporaries. There’s solid groundwork here for a sequel, it has its unique selling point in the shmup sections, and the puzzles are mostly fun. I wanted to love it, but its story didn’t come together in a satisfying way and too many mechanics felt half-baked or redundant.
Neon White is a video game vision executed with the kind of immense creativity and skill the industry needs more of. Intensely satisfying gameplay combines with a well-executed story, engaging characters and a crisp art style. Every facet compliments another area of the title with a serene cohesion which culminates in an adrenaline pumping, high-octane blockbuster of a game. Neon White is a very strong contender for my game of the year, and if you own a Switch or PC you owe it to yourself to experience this incredible title. Failure is common in Hell, but only through trial can you reach the salvation of Neon Heaven.
Pocky and Rocky Reshrined is a gorgeous run-and-gun shooter, lovingly and faithfully reimagined. It’s just as much fun as it was back in the nineties, but little in the way of extra content and decidedly old-school controls hold it back from greatness.