Nindie Spotlight
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There’s always a bit of a challenge when reviewing games that are distinct in their release but that are obviously related...
All said Flat Heroes is a complete and deep package whose unassuming appearance belies a wide variety of challenges and opportunities for fun. Even if you’re unable to get some friends together the massive 300 levels of the single-player campaign, Survival levels, and pretty competent bot support for Versus mode could keep you occupied for quite some time. If you’ve been looking for something that’s satisfyingly different and impeccably crafted you’d be making a mistake by overlooking this indie gem.
In an effort to go beyond the mere shooting it’s apparent that there’s a bit of a Groundhog Day-esque mystery going on, with your character caught in a perpetual cycle on the same day after each death...
While it boasts online play, which certainly could have been a substantial win, there’s simply not much to it and too often there aren’t very many people playing...
Aside from noting that the story revolving around the anthropomorphic BunnyLord, who is serving up your missions, is absolutely bizarre there’s not much more to say...
All in all Salt and Sacrifice delivers what it set out to do admirably, and for myself the comparisons to the Souls series are a positive since they mostly overlap what I appreciate in roguelikes...
Nobody would comment on the game without mentioning the outstanding pixel art and top shelf soundtrack...
For the most part the concepts here are simple: Take your humble troops, claim territory, multiply their numbers, utilize opportunities to upgrade them to better units whenever possible, and overwhelm your enemy...
If your goal when playing 1979 Revolution is escape and fun you’ll be sorely disappointed, but not all experiences have to have that purpose...
The first thing you’ll notice is that aside from the somewhat unusual style of play the game has a wicked sense of humor at times...
Rather than just rest on their laurels and deliver only more of the same Picross S first introduced the Mega Picross style that will sometimes show numbers representing 2 adjacent columns or rows...
Another sequel that took what worked in the original and then made it better on all levels, this side-scrolling zombie-blaster is terrific fun whether you're solo or playing with friends...
The challenge of making due with what you get (there’s no ability to change weapons aside from alternating from the 2 you currently possess) I suppose helps to keep up some variety...
All games in this genre struggle to varying degrees with “the grind”, and throwing out a bunch of options of who to fight with was definitely the focus in this title...
When it comes to gameplay there’s a creative aspect to it, just rather than the intent being for you to create elaborate worlds to explore the goal is really to design your own levels to shoot people in...
Taking everything into account, including its surprisingly high asking price, and considering the title’s age, Titan Quest on the Switch is simply not a very good deal. I’m trying not to be cynical but given the lack of anything from this general genre on the console this feels like little more than an attempt to capitalize on Diablo fans starved for a shot at even a facsimile of that play in a portable form before something less dated (and hopefully showing more care) arrives. Despite my misgivings with the care and quality of the port this is still a very playable game that offers a reasonably good experience considering there currently are no alternatives. Regardless, given at least one other competitive title that’s planned for Switch in the coming months I’d be more inclined to advocate a “wait and see” attitude and hold out little longer before taking the plunge.
Iro Hero isn’t a particularly bad shmup, it’s just a thoroughly uninspiring one. Given the abundance of classic Neo Geo shooters, Ikaruga itself, and a hodge podge of others on the Switch already it really doesn’t distinguish itself. If you’re a genre fan you’ll no doubt be able to get some hours out of trying to get through its increasingly-challenging stages. Unfortunately, for anyone who isn’t intent on proving their chops on every shooter possible there’s no compelling reason to recommend Iro Hero over its competition.
Overall, I wouldn’t say there’s anything terribly flawed about Star Story but at the same time, especially in light of the strength of the Switch lineup, it’s just not terribly notable. People searching for action won’t find it here, its role playing elements are pretty limited, and the variety offered with your choices simply doesn’t carry enough consequence or interest to be compelling. There are worse offenses, certainly, than being a bit dull, but there’s just nothing here than stands out to generate any enthusiasm over.
Where the problems begin is that within the confines of the game itself there’s pretty well no direction, hints, or clues to what it is you’ll need to do...
The glue that would ideally hold this experience together is a thorough understanding and love of 80s pop culture, though there are some scattered modern references to be had as well...