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Narita Boy is a feat of imagination, one of the most conceptually interesting games I’ve ever played. The retro world of the Digital Kingdom – its pixelart, design and art direction – are some of the most eye-catchingly beautiful ever committed to code. Its soundtrack is mesmerising, truly special synthwave. Narita Boy ends up more than the sum of its parts, going beyond the source code to deliver a game that should take its place alongside the greatest indies.
The classics are here, all gleamed up for the current gen of consoles. If you’re dropping in now, you’re in for a treat. But if you bought last gen’s standard version of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2, be mindful of that crafty upgrade cost.
A unique and complex gem, Spacebase Startopia is an engaging and constantly interesting take on the management genre. The Sims in space is selling it very short, because it is much much more. On console however, it’s intricacy and scope are its undoing, causing severe slowdown, frame-rate issues and regular crashes. Its campaign is a fun set of tests, but free mode (just running your station without parameters) is easy to get completely engrossed in.
What’s good about Black Legend is very good. The gloomy atmosphere and the novel turn-based combat based on 17th century medicine are well designed and smartly implemented. Everything else about this game is either bland, rough around the edges or straight up poor. Diehard fans of turn based strategy games that can overlook the issues will still get something from Black Legend. For everyone else, there are better alternatives.
Early impressions are poor and don’t really get any better from there. Tennis World Tour 2 – Complete Edition is a sterile, sluggish experience from start to finish, and has little in the way of reason to stick with it long-term. If you absolutely must play a tennis game, you might need to dig an older console out of the cupboard. Avoid.
A must for any Doctor Who fan, The Lonely Assassins is a captivating and exciting found phone adventure that will delight the hardcore. Far and away the best Doctor Who game ever made.
Taken as a whole, PolyAmorous doesn’t get everything right with Paradise Lost, with some maddening technical issues too often dragging me out of potentially powerful or touching moments, but there are enough terrific little touches here that – when combined with a compelling narrative, haunting sound design and some interesting background storytelling – serve to make it worth a playthrough. Just be prepared to do a bit of squinting.
A unique blend of social deduction game and visual novel, Gnosia is a mixture of both and something new entirely. A strong narrative that’s unveiled little by little combined with a looping logic and deduction game make for a very compelling proposition and damn near essential for fans of either genre.
Not the deepest of racing games, but then it doesn’t claim to be. Can’t Drive This has one core concept, and it does it well. It’s just a bit lacking if you have no one else to experience it with.
Kaze and the Wild Masks bounces right into that 2D platforming void left by Rayman. It’s full of vibrant level design, challenging and varied gameplay, ambidextrous ears, and lovely pixelart that will satisfy even the most demanding players. There’s not a lot left to do after you’re done, but the experience is a good one. Perhaps we’ve found a new platforming mascot?
A flawed gem that’s an obvious labour of love, Mundaun combines unique hand pencilled visuals with an intriguing narrative that’ll keep you intrigued until the credits roll. It has a few issues and the game play can be a little reductive at time but there’s a lot more to love than hate with this game.
What Synergia lacks in play, confining its players to a single advance-dialogue action, it makes up for in engrossing characters and story. Its cyberpunk world, lore, mysteries and soundtrack will draw you in, even if the central android/human love story is problematic and its ending very abrupt.
Despite a few niggles, Space Otter Charlie is a delightful, creative and fun game. There’s so many old school influences shining through here – a splash of family friendly Conkers humour, a structure similar to classic Zelda, traversal that feels like a modern day take on the Spectrum classic Jet Pac – that this game reminds me of the ‘good ol’ days’. If you’re in the mood for an old school action platformer game that benefits from modern day games design, this is the one.
A satisfying reimagining of the classic ice-block puzzle with ninja and a revenge narrative, Red Ronin adds a slew of interesting takes on a formula thought exhausted. It’s tightly designed and demands your concentration. Revenge is a dish best served ice cold.
Blind Drive is unlike anything else out there at the moment. It’s unique, innovative and hopefully the start of something new. As a proof of concept, this game demonstrates that it’s possible to create an absorbing, exciting experience based purely on sound. As a game in its own right, it’s thrilling, funny and a triumph of audio game design.
Battle Brothers has remarkable freedom that’s rare to see in the RPG genre. It truly feels like your decisions and actions have weight and that the responsibility for your band of warriors rests in your hands – quite literally on the Switch. That’s backed up by a deep turn based battle system that’s deceptively strategic. Unusually long load times and a frustratingly steep learning curve, compounded by a lack of an adequate tutorial, means that some players will bounce right off this game however, never getting to experience its best aspects.
Teyon’s Monster Truck Championship succeeds as a result of its excellent handling model, which makes every race and every event a fun experience, free of the frustration that more sim-style racers can often elicit. Whilst it features a somewhat sparse range of modes, meaning you’re unlikely to stick with it long-term, it’s a really good arcade-style game that you can chuck on for 20-30 minutes every so often and pretty much be guaranteed an enjoyable time.
Carving a destiny through The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is a surprisingly heart-rending and engrossing experience. It won’t be for everyone – it’s a text heavy game and it navigates some heavy subject matters – but if you have a soft spot for interactive fiction, this is one of the best examples of the genre for quite some time.
Despite a few issues, Wind Peaks delivers 2 hours of zen-like, chilled gratification like only a hidden object game can. Games like this aren’t traditionally ‘fun’ or engaging but they scratch an almost primordial itch to find the missing things. If you need a Switch title to fill a boring train journey, this one would fit that bill.
Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 is less of a monster truck racing game and more a celebration of the most famous of the colossal vehicles and the bonkers things they can do. Almost every game play mode feels underdeveloped, you can wrestle with the handling and lose, and the tutorial is very poor. On the other hand, you can race around a dog bone shaped race track in a truck shaped like a shark. It’ll please its intended audience but for everyone else, there are alternatives worth exploring.