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We love our Shoot em ups here at Switchwatch and this one is a welcome addition to the Switch library and one I have no hesitation in recommending. There is a decent story, great audio and decent visuals all in a package with fun gameplay either on your own or with a friend.I like the switching screens mechanic even though it took some getting used too as it adds something different to the genre. You may prefer a single screen experience but until you try this you will not know for sure so bare that in mind. While the game does have a few flaws none of them detracted too much from what is overall a solid package.
I had a blast with Bleed and out of all the indies I have played on Switch, it’s one that I enjoyed immensely. It’s fast and the action never stops. Tight controls, great set pieces, varied enemies and bosses are brilliant but it’s the uniqueness of the control scheme and how good it feels to play that’s the real standout. Throw in the ultra-smooth performance and this is one everyone should consider at some point. It’s just a shame it wasn’t priced a little more competitively.
Crawl is a good example of a classic dungeon crawler with some really clever twists, the randomly generated levels combined with multiplayer madness leads to some fun with friends though, the experience is quite highly priced and didn't keep us entertained for a huge amount of time.
Brawlout is a very fun, fast-paced game inspired by the Super Smash Bros series. It has clean visuals, but the frame rate has occasional stutters that can hinder gameplay when you need precise inputs at all times to perform well. The game incorporates important competitive features from Smash Bros which helps players who have played those games for years feel right at home. Most importantly, it brings wavedashing from Melee while also improving upon the air dodging mechanic which allowed for it. The biggest problem the game suffers from is an unbearable grind to unlock new stages and characters. However, this could be eased if you have four people to play with at all times because the points needed to unlock stages will be acquired a little faster when multiple people play at once. While I do have some complaints about this game, I also had a lot of fun with it because of how similar it is to Super Smash Brothers. It does not exceed its brethren in any way, but it is certainly a fun game to have while we wait for the real deal to be finally released on the Nintendo Switch. If you are a big fan of the Smash Bros. series and would love to have an experience like it on the Nintendo Switch, look no further than Brawlout. It will certainly scratch that itch. I especially recommend it to players who loved Melee because you just can't go wrong with having a solid implementation of wavedashing after the main series has done away with the feature for the past two iterations. I also recommend it if you have other people who could play with you frequently. It is a much better experience than playing it solo. If you don't care for fighting games, loved the party elements of Smash Bros games such as items, or don't want to grind to unlock stages and characters, then I can't really recommend this game. In the end, I had fun with it and will rate it as a solid 7/10.
Yooka-Laylee is a game which brings us back to the 3D platformer retro roots and brings all of what made those games from the 90s great with it. In doing so though, it also brought with it most of the faults which should have been ironed out a long time ago. I have mentioned the camera a few times, but it really hampers what otherwise could have been a great experience and makes the challenge more frustrating than it otherwise should have been. I love a challenge, but I want it to be a fair one and not hampered by game design issues. If you are after a 3d platformer which harks back to the 90s and brings all of the good and bad points from that era, then this might be for you. Yooka-Laylee are certainly adorable characters, the writing is quite funny, the visuals are nice and the music is lovely. It's a shame the gameplay doesn't quite marry up due to persistent niggles.
If you are after a mobile game style farming simulator without cooldowns or microtransactions, then Plantera will definitely fill that role perfectly. It is such a relaxing game overall, with beautiful art direction and sound design that will bring a smile to your face. It is not a game you can really play for hours and is by no means a spectacular game, but it achieves what it sets out to do and is an absolute joy because of it.
Unepic is a Metroidvania game done right. It does for classic games of that genre what Stardew Valley did for farming simulator games. This game feels like it was designed by people who spent years playing Dungeons and Dragons while dreaming up the perfect game. It has years of love for the genre poured into it, and it obviously seeps from every pore. Most of the important elements of RPGs are present here: quests, a great story, a large variety of weapons with different effects, a huge number of potions, dozens of spells, character classes, a huge stat sheet, being able to invest in desired stats when levelling up among many other features. There are scenarios in which you will have to make choices which will determine if you live or die. You come across a room full of gold; do you risk taking the gold or leave it behind? Do you drink the Potion of Trap Visibility to see all of the traps in the room, or do you save it and inch your way forward uncertainly to help put a restless ghost's soul to peace? There are so many different scenarios in this game that you will never bore of it. This game is masterfully put together with great visuals, catchy music, a story that never stops, a huge world, equipment that never fails to impress, fun gameplay, and it is all put together at an incredible price. This is by far the best $10 game I have ever played, and I feel like it is one I will come back to for years. I am going to give this game my highest rating for a review so far. I give it a 9.5/10. I absolutely recommend this game to anyone. It is truly a wonderful experience.
Serial Cleaner is a fun, stylish and polished puzzle game which will force you to be observant in order to evade the cops and get enough cleaned up from each crime scene to advance. The music is top notch and is easy to just listen to. This is great to have as your will be replaying each mission several times to complete all of the challenges, and the excellent tunes makes it more of a pleasure to do so. There is a lot of replay value if you don't mind playing on the same stages repeatedly with various challenge settings, but the lack of leaderboard reduces the incentive to do so. If you enjoy jazz music, satirical humor in small doses, stylish visuals, vacuuming up blood and cleverly evading cops, then this is the game for you. I give it a 7.5/10.
If you love a brutal challenge and don't mind dying over and over again then this will be the game for you. If you don't find that fun then stay well clear. There are no difficulty settings here, it is what it is so you either live with that or you don't. It's a shame the developers didn't include a casual setting to at least make the game a little more accessible to people. I am fine with a brutal challenge like this but many will just give up and won't sink the required hours in which is a shame as there is lot's to see. A stunning visual style accompanied by a great metal soundtrack and gameplay which feels satisfying when mastered make for a really nice little package.
The End Is Nigh is a game with very clear purpose. Its a razor focused game with a strong identity that isn't for everyone but offers a thrilling challenge for those who enjoy a tough platform experience.
While the game does nothing original or unique in the genre it doesn't matter. If your after a traditional arcade racer to satisfy your racing urges then look no further. For $10 you are getting a game which is full of polish and overall is fun. This has an online mode to race against others and locally you can race with up to 4 players splitcreen. There is a great little career mode which feels satisfying. This is another tidy Indie game to add to the already vast Switch library and one which is easy to recommend at this price.
Crimsonland is a top-down arcade shooter which is great fun in short bursts. You will spray bullets and other projectiles through waves of enemies gaining perks and using temporary power ups along the way. The game is a great couch co-op game to play with your friends and you will spend a lot of time playing the survival mode trying to get higher on the leaderboards. It lacks online multiplayer, so don't expect anything of that nature. Quest mode won't take long to complete, but it's three difficulties will keep you occupied. Each quest does not take long to complete, so there is a nice flow to progressing through the mode. Overall, Crimsonland is a fun, stable little game which is a blast to play. It might be a little expensive at $14, but if you enjoy killing hundreds of enemies in twin-stick shooters, then you won't go wrong with it. I will admit that when I first looked at Crimsonland, I didn't expect much. However, the game grew on me as I played it.
Worms WMD pays homage to its roots and the addition of crafting, buildings and vehicles add a few interesting twists to this classic. Worms is all about multiplayer and the lack of online play with friends is a real shame though getting pals together for a local match is as fun as its ever been and the best worms in a very long time.
This game was released first on the Wii U in March of 2016 and it was well received then and while it's not an old game I doubt many people would have played it and that's a shame because it deserves your time and attention. Here is a second chance for Star Ghost and me for one am really glad I have this one in my collection. It's deadly simple but has an addictive quality that just kept me coming back for one more go. A great way to have a blast cleansing the galaxy of the Metagon empire! Commander, it's over to you!
Aces of the Luftwaffe is a solid Shoot Em Up and plays out particularly well in multiplayer or when playing solo on the move. For a first Nintendo Switch game, Handy Games have done a fantastic job in producing a game without many technical hick-ups, as a result, if you are in the market for this type of game you can't go far wrong here.
This is a game I am thoroughly enjoying and due to the nature of it, it's a game I will play for many more hours taking down countless more of those bosses and crafting more armour. They are the parts I enjoyed the most but I think there is something here for everyone, you may like to build great buildings or just dungeon crawl. You may like to just mess around with friends online which is great. The point is there is something here for everyone and it's a great little package which is very easy for me to recommend. Temper that at the moment though with the memory issue which is plaguing the game for some users. A patch has been submitted which should fix the problem and I am glad the developers have looked to fix it quickly. My score is a 8 on the basis that this patch fixes the game. You buy the game at your own risk until that point.
The Sparkle 2 EVO has nicely colored environments set against minimalistic, highly contrasted backdrops. There isn't much variety in the stage designs though, and some of them are fairly empty. The audio is simple and pleasant but there are two stages with some constant audio crackling. You get to experience seeing the many stages this creature goes through as you progress through the relatively short campaign which will take you roughly two hours. The game is short, but it encourages you to play through it multiple times so you can try to end up with a differently evolved creature by the end of your subsequent save files. There are few differences between these final evolution's other than their base form. Those being the carnivore, herbivore and omnivore. It is a game with virtually no story and doesn't have much to draw players to it other than its nice visuals. However, being a $5 game, not much more should be fairly expected of it. If you want a slow-pace, simple game with nice visuals, then you might consider buying this game
Skyrim is an absolutely phenomenal game. It has aged, but that is hardly a detriment to such a content-rich experience. The animations are somewhat stiff, but the game greets the player with such stunning views at every corner that this is easy to overlook
The game for me suffers from some flaws one of which is not entirely it's fault in that there is hardly anyone playing this online right now. Unless a significant amount of people buy this in the coming weeks then you will struggle to get an online game, however, Voofoo has made every possible effort to include friends whether online or locally which is commendable. The soundtrack was not to my tastes and everything in the game is solid if unspectacular, the campaign is large so there may be enough here to tempt people who are not interested in the online modes. Some may find this too repetitive initially and while it gets better as you delve deeper, nothing can alter the fact that there needs to be a few more tracks and more variation in the landscapes. For those who were big fans of Micro Machines and need that dose of nostalgia then this will scratch that itch. For £15 you can't go too far wrong as the game does offer some fun racing with tight controls which is all packaged up in a game which runs at a buttery smooth 60FPS.
I found Moon Hunters to be a game I really wanted to love, the clever world building that takes place over generations and the stat and skill building that is on offer leads me to want a deep and rich experience that never quite materialised. There are some fantastic moments and clever storytelling but the loading times, bugs and such short campaign runs hold back what could have been a very good game with a few tweaks.