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What will likely either attract people to Octodad or scare them away will be its unorthodox control and style of play. If you’re looking for a serious challenge with tight controls and impeccable level design you will very much come away disappointed. If, however, you’re open to the experience and the humor of it all Octodad is an excellent representation of the genre as a whole and plays very well as a handheld game to boot. If you’re looking for a major change of pace on the Switch Octodad will be happy to help you out with that!
Keeping in mind the budget price of admission Rock ‘N Racing Off-Road DX is a tough one to call. It makes fair attempts at providing some variety with multiple track layouts mixed with jumps and uneven terrain but at the same time racing physics being tricky at times can make for unintended challenges. While there is likely an element of personal taste to control in the 5 vehicles I found that the Highlander class (the first you’ll unlock) to be far superior to most everything else in terms of overall performance and handling. It may just take some tweaks but collisions are inevitable in the game and can royally screw you up, more than I’d expect. This can detract from some of the fun of the tracks that overlap themselves and that’s a shame. While there are some positives to be had in the game it’s also quirky enough that it’s tough to recommend.
Thankfully, in the end the elements that don’t work as well are greatly outnumbered by what Itte Dew 2+ gets right. Its dungeons are absolutely a loving answer to the call put out by classic Zelda fans who’ve been itching for some cleverly-constructed puzzles in the classic vein. The length is also worth the price of admission (and if you get it physically it comes with a great classic manual and a map as well), including the base 8 dungeon experience as well as a host of additional dungeons you can complete for collector’s cards in the added Dream World that will push your skills even further. Overall, Ittle Dew 2+ was a very pleasant surprise and is, without a doubt, the best homage to classic Zelda gaming on the Switch!
You’ll notice that over the course of the review thus far the focus hasn’t been on how the game performs on the Switch, and moreso just generally on what it offers, and there’s a good reason for that. DOOM has done something I think most people would have considered impossible a year ago, bringing a full-featured AAA gaming experience to a device that you can take anywhere. That isn’t to say that it didn’t need to make compromises to work on the hardware and to avoid filling your SD card, but having played this on a high-end PC I am in awe of how few concessions you are able to perceive on the Switch. Visually it isn’t quite as jaw-dropping but the flow of the game is as smooth and solid as it is anywhere aside from a very limited number of hitches I ran into over hours of play. DOOM has come to the Switch not as a hamstrung and watered-down port but as a top-of-the-line experience that can be taken anywhere, and it is worthy of your attention.
DOOM has done something I think most people would have considered impossible a year ago, bringing a full-featured AAA gaming experience to a device that you can take anywhere...
Overall I’m actually very impressed with Tallowmere and would recommend it strongly to any roguelike fans out there looking for a great way to spend some time on something a bit light but still challenging. In many regards, though the style of play is very different, it reminds me of Quest of Dungeons, a sort of gem of a title hidden in an unassuming package. If you like your opponents and your loot drops random, your average run to end in utter disaster, and to constantly feel like you’re on top only to have the rug pulled out from under you Tallowmere delivers a high-quality challenge at a budget price.
Overall, Spellspire is a nice game to knock around casually while you’re either in-between things or possibly doing something else like watch TV. It is challenging, will keep your brain firing to figure out all of the possible words your set of letters has to offer, and provides you with some opportunities for strategy as well. While lefties and the vocabulary or spelling-challenged may want to think twice about it 10 Tons has brought over yet another quality casual title to fill out the Switch line-up.
It almost goes without saying that Farm Simulator is a pretty heavily niche title that isn’t likely for everyone. If you have a real appreciation for sandbox games that free you to generally do things your own way and you don’t mind the often limited pace there’s some enjoyment to be had. If you have a real itch for the farming life, and gaining an understanding of some of the everyday work involved, you may find it interesting.
I think the game’s title of Perception works out to have a double meaning, obviously concerning your main character’s lack of sight, but it also applies well to whether you’re likely to enjoy the game as a whole. If you’re in it for the action or actual horror you’ll very likely walk away disappointed. But if you like a slow burn of suspense, periodic things that will make you jump, and some stories that will reveal themselves to you slowly and through a variety of means as you wander an ever-changing house, it will offer several hours of enjoyment. I’ve never played a game quite like it, and there’s something to be said for a title working earnestly to challenge gamers with something new, even if it may not have hit all of the marks it was likely aiming for.
While this is very much a genre game there’s very little, overall, I can say that’s negative about it. The gameplay is challenging and though from song to song the level of complexity can change significantly at times you can’t accuse it of not setting the bar high. With some repetition and practice, just like with classic games like Guitar Hero in the past, even the most insane-looking songs can be conquered. It’s possible people could balk at the asking price, which is pretty high, but I’d argue that the load of 68 generally diverse tracks you’re getting in the game are what that brings to the table and it’s just a practical reality when you want to have great music as part of the experience. If you’re a big music and rhythm game fan, and don’t completely abhor J-Pop tunes, I have few hesitations to recommending it.
Morphite is a game with high ambitions and while you can see many of the elements needed to meet them not everything gels fully almost across the board. The low-poly environments can certainly lack detail and textures but that shouldn’t mean that so much of the space you explore is barren. While some of the larger creatures are impressive they also have a tendency to clip through walls and have some other complications. Boss fights are interspersed and a nice challenge but patience mixed with even your pea shooter is usually the solution to all problems so strategic combat never really comes into play. The more you stick to the story, though shortening the experience, the more refined and finished Morphite feels. If you stray too far off the path the game makes a fine attempt to make play rewarding but unfortunately the rough edges also tend to take more definition. While it may not be fully realized if you walk in with modest expectations set and a desire for some exploration Morphite is a decent game to give a try.
Keeping in mind price, presentation, and the amount of content in Maria the Witch is appropriate and even pretty compelling. What it will likely come down to to the individual player will be the control and the pretty unforgiving big picture level design. Controlling Maria’s thrust and momentum, in particular, when needing to pause or maneuver can be a bit maddening, especially when paired with her pretty wide turn radius when looping. It just never feels very tight, though I’d imagine that’s the idea. Pairing that with a checkpoint system that can be hit and miss in sections you’ll either enjoy and embrace the challenge Maria the Witch presents or just move on and find something else to play since that’s all there is to the game.
Overall Monster Jam: Crush It is a hot mess of a game that is coming to eShop in a state that’s simply baffling. While on paper the license mixed with the various modes sounds like a lot of fun the execution of not just the graphics but the overall gameplay makes it feel more like a game from a previous generation… and I’m not only talking about the previous one. It’s really hard not to believe that this has been slapped together and is being sent out to market to simply ride on the assumption that Monster Truck fans, and more likely their parents, will buy it on sight. That’s a shame and especially when you throw the $40 asking price onto the package Crush It is a disappointment.
From top to bottom Chess Ultra is a complete package and perfect for anyone who either loves or would like to develop a greater appreciation for chess. Not merely giving you an excellent presentation for playing matches, but also providing for a multitude of ways to play by yourself or others, it really checks probably all possible boxes for you getting a good game rolling. When you then pile on the excellent tutorials and challenges that will help you improve and refine your overall game there really isn’t much more that you could ask for if you have an interest in this classic board game.
Overall, I really have enjoyed the time I’ve had with Super Beat Sports and would easily recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good rhythm game. There’s a reasonable variety of playstyles, a load of levels to complete (including Pro levels that amp up the challenge substantially), some entertaining unlockable costumes and implements to hit the balls with, and some simple but catchy music that helps you feel the beat. Specifically, though it requires the least sense of rhythm of the bunch I found BuddyBall to be a real highlight and a competitive game my friends and I will likely continue to return to for its variety and creativity. Harmonix has really hit it out of the park with this relatively simple but well-executed collection of mini games!
Wheels of Aurelia plays out as a hodge podge of ideas put together in a package that is hard to define a target audience for...
For the budget price of admission King Oddball actually provides quite a lot of content that would take you several hours to likely be able to work through. Once you add on the levels in the additional modes and the challenge of some of the more unusual achievements you could likely double that time. The question will be whether you’ll want to stick out the ride long enough to enjoy it all. That will ultimately come down to tastes, what you’re looking for, and how you’re planning to play the game. Using it to fill gaps in your day 15 minutes at a time would probably be great, playing for hours at a time probably not so much.
The shame with Violett is there’s something interesting about the experience as a whole that I’d love to enjoy. The artwork is terrific and some of the puzzles, while odd, are refreshingly different. That said, the number of puzzles where progression isn’t guided so much by thought and intuition and instead by a sort of aimless string of trial and error shots in the dark make it a bit aggravating and diminish the feeling of accomplishment in making progress. If you can overlook issues like these and want something different give it a look, just be aware of the substantial number of caveats concerning it.
This Is the Police ends up being a pretty fascinating character study of a man with good intentions who’ll need to make a lot of bad decisions. You can try to maintain your integrity but the game seems to be written in the direction of not letting you do so for long, or at least not without paying such a steep price that you see the wisdom in picking and choosing when you’ll need to go dirty with good intentions… or at least you’ll tell yourself that. Games like these ask you to put yourself in a different position and then force you to play out events in a world where the deck is stacked against you and you don’t have the luxury of surviving without doing some unsavory things and pairing with terrible people. While it isn’t a perfect game in execution and it can be frustrating, often on purpose, it does make for a fascinating ride.
Splasher is simply a whole lot of challenging platforming fun, requiring you to be on top of your game both mentally and physically. Once you get into the flow of things it is pretty amazing how fluidly you’ll be able to move through the levels, aiming and shooting mid-air while you dodge between traps and enemies. What sometimes starts out seeming to be a formidable challenge will fall with some repetition and tuning and the sense of accomplishment when you complete some of the levels is substantial. If you’re up to the challenge you’re in for a lot of fun!