Nindie Spotlight
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The thing is, other than changing up the scenery and playing with between 2 and 4 players there’s not much more to talk about. Exclusive to the Switch version of the game you do have the ability to play in vertical mode, which I suppose is novel, but even in single-player I found the scale of things a bit too small and I can’t imagine more than one person trying to play this way. Neat, but I’m not sure it’s practical. Overall, while there’s nothing outright awful about SkyScrappers there’s just not very much compelling about it either. If you have some friends available and are looking for something anyone could pick up perhaps it will be a reasonable choice but otherwise there are simply too many solid action games on Switch for this to make a major impression.
I suppose Sleepin’ Deeply has a weirdo novel appeal to it, and with its budget price could provide a few hours of entertainment, but setting your expectations low on all levels would need to be in order. It feels quite a bit like a last-gen (or maybe even more than 1 generation ago) title not just visually but in terms of mechanics and everything else as well. Outside of the environments you find yourself in being weird there’s not very much that qualifies as satisfying, it’s just something to stumble your way through for the most part.
If you’re looking for an experience that in almost all regards feels like it’s a lost NES title, some warts and all (I’m looking at you, fake walls) Alwa’s Awakening does an almost disturbingly good job of it. Though the pacing may be a bit on the slower side there’s a solid adventure to be had with your humble hero Zoe, and the option to reduce downtime retracing your steps is a modern convenience I can really get behind. It may not be for everyone, but it should check pretty well every box for its intended retro-loving audience.
If you’re a fan of Burton-esque stylings and weird characters Pinstripe gladly offers those up over its runtime. It’s story is appropriately a bit on the dark side as well, and the characters you interact with along the way help provide the glue that helps make it all feel worthwhile. Paired with a smart mix of platforming and puzzle-solving it is a terrific bite that you could probably finish in a long afternoon or a few sittings.
Fast-paced, brutal, and full of upgrade and equipment options that allow you to tune your characters to complement your strengths or address your weaknesses, Speed Brawl has a feel all its own. While sometimes the action can get a bit too crowded and confusing for its own good, making it tough to spot flashes on big enemies that mean you need to dodge, the feeling when you overcome all of that to win helps minimize the pain. If the run-of-the-mill nature of the beat-em-up genre has you down this variation on that theme is a terrific shot in the arm, providing ample opportunities for beating a whole lot of bugs ass.
Overall this is a title that will live or die based on how fascinated you are with the premise. Though mechanically it’s not very complex that isn’t to say it’s easy by any means. You’ll have to be smart about how you use your units, learn to always handle calls before anything else (if nothing else time slows down while you’re on the phone), and then experiment with personnel and equipment to figure out what seems to work for you. It may not be very action-oriented, but there is a certain thrill to a job well done and when you throw in some oddball calls you need to deal with it’s certainly a unique experience.
What it all boils down to is whether or not you’re a fan of classic slasher horror and some solid puzzles. If you haven’t indulged in Slayaway Camp you have an additional decision to make since the games are so much alike. I personally prefer the way it was able to paint with a much wider brush and touch on so many franchises. Jason may be a horror legend, and his hockey mask and whisper are both iconic for good reason, but for me he was always a bit lacking in flair. I love the puzzle and the kills are sufficiently ridiculous that it keeps my interest, but next I’d love to see them tackle a killer with personality like Freddy, or best of all just move to a different decade of horror and send up the tropes and series that they’re remembered for.
As a whole younger gamers may really get a kick out of Nickelodeon Kart Racers but I’d say their enjoyment would heavily depend on both their familiarity with Mario Kart and their outright love for these characters. The further they are on the scale towards the latter rather than the former the better hopes that the game will have some longevity. For all of the modes and small touches that it brings to the table, though, it’s impossible to escape the fact that overall it feels like a knock off and without its colorful and popular license it likely wouldn’t warrant much attention at all.
Despite the controls being strange and not very responsive as long as you pace yourself and try to account for them they don’t sink the game. The real issue is simply that it’s dull. You’ll drive somewhere to get a shape, a new area will reveal itself, you’ll try to remember where you saw that before and drive there, lather, rinse, and repeat. There’s an attempt at an odd story of this land you’re trying to restore and how you got involved but it, too, is just not terribly interesting. Given the pacing perhaps it would work out for a more casual audience since it isn’t very demanding but as a package Car Quest is a bit of a clunker.
While it has a retro appeal both visually and in terms of its feel aside from giving you something that’s easy to pick up and put down and that throws increasingly-difficult stages at you there’s not a great deal to it. In terms of complaints other than the limits of what it will offer I will say that the hitbox for your weapon and monsters sometimes feels a little big but with time you get used to the range and can generally compensate. Likely for older or retro gaming fans who appreciate what feels like a pretty authentic arcade experience.
If you have smaller kids in the house who aren’t quite ready for something more substantial the motion controls and easy-to-understand gameplay may make this an excellent starter title. Paired up with some siblings, parents, and perhaps some grandparents this could provide some very accessible family fun. Short of those circumstances I doubt most people would find enough here to warrant a purchase, but I do applaud the fact that this game is extremely accessible and appears to accomplish all it set out to reasonably well.
Word Maze will challenge you to snake through a collection of letters to form words that all share a common theme...
If you haven’t been eager to play Mahjong on the Switch, I doubt a review that has positive things to say about it will likely change your mind (though that would beg the question of why you’re reading it)...
As a warning, for at least the first week after launch online play won’t yet be available but it appears the intent is to have the game patched shortly after launch. Assuming that online play, since the game is pretty straight-forward, won’t have crippling problems I’d consider it a “nice to have” but ultimately availability of other players will be a wild card beyond the first week or two after the game’s release… so there’s no way to predict what net positive or negative effect it will have ultimately. If you’re an old fan from the arcades or are looking for a cheaper and less elaborate sports title you can enjoy with a friend Windjammers plays well and is a solid game for what it is. If online is critical to whether you’re interested be sure to keep an eye out for news on its availability and quality somewhere around the 30th hopefully to get a more refined answer.
This year's Party Pack is, as always, filled with a little something that will hopefully appeal to just about anyone. Whether you've got friends who are trivia buffs, have a hidden marketing and sales skillset, or an inner poet who can throw down some tough slams it's reasonable to assume everyone can be good at something here. If your groups tend towards a more intimate two couple size earlier Packs may be a better bet but if you're rocking a decently-sized party the wide net these games pack should provide for some fun.
While I would have preferred that they’d bundled all of the titles for this series together and let you buy them together. Instead, it appears the plan is to release them one by one (maybe once they’re all done then we’ll see a bundle) and though the price is a pretty reasonable one it’s worth noting the game is available on pretty well any touchscreen device and probably cheaper. Assuming the reason you haven’t already gotten it elsewhere is that the Switch is your preferred device, just keep in mind that though its physical controls offer some added convenience there’s nothing else clearly pointing to this version being superior. That said, I’d say that any self-respecting puzzle fan should buy at least one iteration of this series, as its stellar reputation for quality is well-deserved.
You’re introduced to your eclectic team as a rookie pilot looking to make an impression...
Though I initially struggled with it, wanting it to be a twin-stick shooter, once I got into the unique rhythm of I Hate Running Backwards I became a big fan...
The essence of Sinner is that you’re dropped pretty unceremoniously, and with little preparation (the tutorial involves learning only the barest of fundamentals to kill a handful of ghosts), right into the deep end...
While mechanically this is a sort of shooter adventure in terms of gameplay it's the presentation and story of Zarvot that makes it entertaining...