Nindie Spotlight
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Looking at the general state of things the key to whether you should invest in Disc Jam or not comes down to your tastes and whether you either have friends to play with or can put up with online play being hit or miss in terms of opponent availability. Playing against the CPU does have some variation but always feels quite different from a live adversary. Throw in the pretty blatant attempt to extract more money from people who’ve bought in and it isn’t a game without merit but it struggles to stand out as a game that’s suitable for everyone.
All in all Neonwall is an interesting bite of inventiveness that may be over a bit too soon but also doesn’t overstay its welcome. Its slow and consistent slope of added difficulty, with new elements being introduced consistently throughout the majority of the game, manages to keep you engaged and in a “just one more try” kind of way. More than just its cool aesthetics, it delivers a gameplay experience I’m interested to see more takes on in the future.
While Spiral Splatter is hardly going to take the Switch by storm that isn’t to say it’s a bad game. While I’d consider its appeal likely to be niche everything looks good, the level design is sound, and though it is humble everything works quite well. If you like testing your core skills and can deal with some aggravation it may not be a bad bet. At the low, low cost of admission it might be a good game to kick around to cleanse the palate between other meatier titles.
On top of the somewhat anemic gameplay there are just so many things in the game that same half-baked...
Of course there’s the classic mode, where everyone has a card and can take a reasonable amount of time to identify whether or not they have the number that has been called on their card...
While I enjoyed playing through Coffin Dodgers to a degree even against the other somewhat lackluster kart racers that have already released on the Switch it fails to differentiate itself significantly. The best hope would be that you and some friends could get some silly enjoyment out of the local multiplayer but that will come down to people’s tastes. While it is good for kicking around and having some fun with for a while aside from the multiplayer angle it won’t likely hold your attention for very long.
Overall, as the first pure bullet-hell shooter on the platform, Danmaku Unlimited 3 hits the Switch with a firm level of difficulty and style to spare. While you’ll often end up cursing it as you get so close to getting further there’s a quality in it that I couldn’t ever put it down for long before taking another crack at it. With a gorgeous look, intense gameplay, and plenty of room for technique if you’re a genre fan you shouldn’t hesitate to pick it up!
I’ve deliberately been vague about the game’s story as some of what happens is much more interesting and mysterious the less you know about it. I appreciate the lore and the way revelations about what has happened reveal themselves to you, though at times it can also be disorienting as you try to understand what is going on. Though the ultimate finale to the game might not be as satisfying as I would have hoped KONA has a story to tell and uses a unique means to do so, making it a terrific addition to the diverse Switch indie library.
All said I’m a big fan of Spy Chameleon and its fresh take on stealth action puzzling. Never settling in for too long each mission feels just about the right length before the game throws some new things at you to get the hang of. Later in the game the puzzle element really begins to kick in as you’ll need to work carefully and methodically to avoid detection in a variety of ways. If you love creative action Spy Chameleon could just sneak its way into your list of favorites.
All in all Earthlock is a solid JRPG experience that should be quite welcome on the platform since it is currently a bit lacking in the genre. While it’s hardly revolutionary it does a fairly good job of delivering on what’s most important in terms of combat mechanics and fun. While it may be priced a bit high for an indie title for the most part it’s a reasonably-good investment.
The developers additionally threw in provisions for co-op and even some 4-player battle modes as well but while these add some value the core experience is what defines the game for good or ill. As a platformer it has over 100 varied and increasingly challenging levels, some with just a simple time limit and some that the screen will stay on the move, forcing you to keep up. If the game had just focused on that it would be a reasonably good, if forgettable, experience. Unfortunately with the extra layer of menus, screens, and complexity to sort through it trips over itself while ultimately offering very little benefit for the investment. While Turtle Pop has some good ideas and novel gameplay, it is also a bit of a mess.
As a total package for roguelike fans Flinthook is among the most satisfying and challenging I’ve played in the genre. I love the flow and the variety of enemies, rooms, and traps you’ll need to learn to contend with. Getting good in this game requires some real investment and effort, the fact that there’s a system for progression sitting on top of the individual runs is just good design. Throw in a distinctive sense of visual style and a memorable soundtrack and you’ve got a terrific game that it right at home on the Switch.
All things considered for the pretty low asking price Midnight Deluxe isn’t too bad a game if this sort of experience is what you’re looking for. It will certainly take some time to get through all of the game’s 70 levels, and if you choose to go back and be efficient to earn 3 stars on every level (though I don’t see where that would be appealing), you could obviously extend its life further. Considering the previous iteration of Midnight on the Switch this is a far better implemented and polished, even if a bit bland.
Starting with the story itself, I’m afraid “ruining it” would take little more than two sentences...
I’ve personally had a great time playing Steredenn and would immediately recommend it to anyone who enjoys intense shooters and roguelike sensibilities. It’s a combination of bullet hell, crazy power-ups (you can get a sword that lets you stab enemy ships), and risk-reward decisions that most often ends in complete failure but still puts a smile on my face. If you’re up for pushing yourself, and don’t mind the taste of defeat, I heartily recommend it.
All said while the number of levels is a bit on the short side I, Zombie has quite a lot to like about it, especially at it’s very budget-friendly price. The mix of action, puzzle, and strategy elements is novel and can be challenging in places. While I wish there were more of the levels where you remotely control your zombies to bring your army towards you I found their inclusion to be a particular stroke of genius and am hoping people are inspired to make more of them. Assuming the community at least modestly supports the game with new levels I think it is a great value and well worth giving a look.
While the themes and subject matter the game is supposed to be trying to tackle are interesting the implementation of the product itself is poor without question. There are absolutely brilliantly-told stories using simple mechanics, a few that I’ve reviewed recently, that prove you can do a lot with a little. Unfortunately North’s ambitions didn’t extend to its execution, leaving instead a forgettable mess trying very hard to make a point.
If you’re a big run-and-gun fan there are very few titles on the platform that I hold in as high regard as Bleed 2. The action is intense, character movement is fluid, and there’s something new thrown at you at every turn. Perhaps more critically with multiple skill levels and a pretty lenient continue system the game is also surprisingly fair, and thus accessible, to gamers of just about any skill level. That isn’t to say beating the game on Easy is a cakewalk, you’ll still need to earn it, but with so many games that default only to brutal it is great to see a game that scales down effectively.
All said I was very pleasantly surprised by World Conqueror X and even impressed. While it isn’t everything this age-old Civilization fan was hoping for I realize that’s an extremely high bar for anyone to even attempt to reach. While its city management and world building are lacking it does a very respectable job of playing as a strategic World War 2 sim and is absolutely the only game in town if that sort of thing appeals to you. Add in the layer with leveling up your base units and managing various generals from throughout history and it is a pretty polished product strategy fans should check out.
While many times I find throwback titles like this to be tedious, failing to inject enough modern touches into classic gameplay styles, once I got rolling I found A Hole New World to be very satisfying. With some creative level layouts, a diverse set of enemies, and some memorable boss fights the developers behind it put very visible effort into giving you an incentive to forge on and get through the tough sections. If you’re itching for a mix of the old, new, and the unexpected A Hole New World is easy to recommend.