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Ultimately, Everspace is a really fun roguelike/action game. The by-the-numbers space shooter gameplay is amplified by the roguelike elements, and it's the perfect game to pick up and play in short bursts. Unless we're lucky enough to get FTL on the Switch, it's the closest thing you can get. Unfortunately, the limitations of the Switch show through in the port and can drag down the overall experience. It's worth playing if you can look past its foibles, but it may be too big of a barrier for some players.
Katamari Damacy Reroll succeeds in replicating the magic of the original title, with only minimal improvement needed to make it appealing to modern audiences. The core concept remains unique among the greater swath of games, and the simple act of using everyday objects to create a whimsical ball of destruction never gets old. The goofiness remains, as does the wonder of seeing what kinds of random things you'll pick up. Katamari Damacy Reroll is a classic and a must-have for just about every Switch owner.
Throughout Mugsters, Reinkout has created a game that solidifies how well interactivity and fun work together. The addition of a simple goal and no instructions makes this game an absolute blast to play. While the controls can sometimes be wonky, Mugsters still works well. In general, even the game's side missions (collecting people to save from the levels, destroying certain weapons, etc.) are fun, intriguing, and feel like they're worth the time. Coupled with the vibrant aesthetics and minimal tone and sound, this makes Mugsters a fascinating puzzle game that feeds the player's curiosity like few other games have.
Déraciné has equally surprised and disappointed me. It's a gorgeous, story-driven experience, but the story has a few pacing issues and can drag along while not making the most of its gameplay mechanics. It's a slow burn, but if you enjoy eerie stories and atmosphere, Déraciné may be worth checking out. It certainly pulled me in and punished me for my naivete as the story grew darker by the minute.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate lives up to the name because it's the best Smash game to date. The absurd character roster, immense amount of content, and general amazing gameplay make it fun in a way that's tough to beat. There are minor quibbles here and there, and the poor online component is a genuine black mark on the rest of the game. Still, Ultimate is a joy to play and a must-buy for anyone who has ever enjoyed smashing some bros. Even considering the Switch's amazing lineup, Smash Ultimate is one of the best the system has to offer.
In Lamplight City, you aren't led around from room to room, clickity-clicking your way to success. For the most part, logic and reason are at play. Brush up on those skills, and you will find your way. Take your time, enjoy the well-themed music and ambiance, enjoy the story, solve the crimes, and for goodness' sake, listen to Bill.
Four years after its initial Steam release, Freedom Planet still stands as a good modern interpretation of the classic platforming formula. The multiple characters play differently enough that it's worthwhile to replay the game to see the different pathways and use different strategies to beat bosses. The two main modes do a good job of pleasing players who value narrative and those who prefer action, and the nice presentation solidifies Freedom Planet as a good choice for platforming fans.
Steel Rats presents an interesting idea to the player: an affable biker gang hounded by metal fiends, combining two wildly different game genres by using your bike as a weapon while riding through a dingy, destructible world. This all sounds incredibly intriguing on paper, but unfortunately, it falls flat on the delivery. Tate Multimedia tried to pack too much into Steel Rats for all of its parts to work together in a fun and cohesive way. It can be done, as proven by roguelike rhythm game Crypt of the Necrodancer, which stuck to the core elements of each genre. Frequently in Steel Rats, the solution is to use one tactic and move on, or skip it entirely rather than fumbling through the different genres. When this kind of gameplay meets the unassuming visuals and banal audio, the title becomes lackluster.
Despite some gameplay flaws, Wasteland 2 gets a lot of things right for the genre. Fans of isometric, hardcore RPGs will find a detailed world to explore in the title. inXile Entertainment provides deep attention to detail on an awe-inspiring level. Creation of independent currencies and social hierarchies in the game create a living environment. Fully fleshed-out NPCs with voice-overs add to the detail of the wastes and make characters more than just placeholders. Interacting with the environment may lead to new clues and options for gameplay. Wasteland 2 is full of player choice and replayability that will keep players busy for a while. With gameplay easily exceeding 80 hours of content, Wasteland 2 is not for the faint of heart. Those who appreciate challenging experiences and detailed world-building will find Wasteland 2: Director's Cut an important installment in their RPG library.
For fans of the series, Just Cause 4 ends up being one of those virtually critic-proof titles. The story is forgettable, and the repetitive mission types can feel like a chore. With that said, the chaos that all of your tools can cause creates a type of destructive madness that few other games can replicate, and the fun springing from that anarchy is undeniable. It isn't a masterpiece by any means, and it could certainly stand to be improved in the area of graphical presentation, but the moment you get your hands on the game, you might not care so long as there's something you can blow up.
Heroki is a serene platformer where you take your time and discover every secret at your own pace without much danger involved, making it a relaxing experience. It has pacing issues in that it takes a long time before you get to do anything different, but if you're fine with that, play Heroki between some of the more hectic titles out there.
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is a charming, fun and well-made game with plenty of humor and excellent gameplay. It's an example of how you can expand on a tried-and-true formula in a way that makes it distinctive and exciting. The only thing that drags it down are some bugs and occasional difficulty spikes that feel more frustrating than fun. If you're a fan of XCOM-style games but want a new approach, you should absolutely try MYZ, which is one of the best surprises of the year.
When looking at the episode alone, The Council: Episode 5 - Checkmate is fairly weak. Its brevity feels rather unfulfilling, and that feeling is only reinforced by some of the abruptness of the decisions made here. When looking at this episode as the conclusion of the season, the abrupt changes aren't enough to cancel out the intriguing story that has developed over the course of the season. Despite the low score given to this episode, the game as a whole lives up to the promise of being different and interesting, and there is hope for the development team's next effort (whatever it may be).
Wizard of Legend may not be your all-time favorite roguelike dungeon crawler, but it's very good at what it does. The fast-paced, action-oriented angle is exciting, and the addition of co-op makes the game as fun as solo runs. The item system suffers from a lack of descriptions until it's too late, but the many combinations you can conjure up give the game some replayability. Both genre fans and newbies will like Wizard of Legend.
At the end of the day, Astro Bot Rescue Mission is an incredibly fun platformer that plays great and is even greater in VR. While not consistently mind-blowing, it often surprised me by its inventive level design and VR implementation, making it easily the title to own if you want a quality experience that is as innocent as it is fun to play.
As long as you can accept its learning curve, Battery Jam is a fine multiplayer game. There are plenty of things that can be done, and it takes a while to get everything down before you can start playing and enjoying yourself. Once you understand the game, you'll find that there's some depth to the chaos, and even though there's no real meat to the game beyond local multiplayer, you'll enjoy the short bursts of fun it provides as a buffer between other multiplayer titles in your possession.
This is what makes Fallout 76 painful: many worthwhile moments surrounded by a game with just as many nagging issues. The bare-bones plot and general lack of direction mean you must make your own fun. It's set in a largely static world that doesn't care about the choices you make, and the few times when you can impact the world may be lost to you or circumvented by others with a mere server hop. There's fun to be had if you enjoy the thought of poking around a Fallout wasteland with a friend. Otherwise, very little here feels new, and it feels like a lot of content is missing in comparison to previous games in the series.
All in all, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams - Owltimate Edition is a well-made and enjoyable platformer. It doesn't break the mold, but it does what it does very well. It's easy to pick up and a lot of fun to play. There are some minor flaws here and there, but nothing really drags down the game. If you're a fan of old-school platformers, then you'll likely enjoy Giana Sisters. It's not quite on par with some of the greats, but it's a comfortable and fun romp for players of all ages.
There is no doubt that Darksiders III is a flawed product, but series fans who are accepting of the changes will find it to be a good entry in the series. The camera is a source of constant frustration since it causes a number of issues where you get sucker-punched in combat while you're still relatively weak. With that said, the combat becomes enjoyable once you come to grips with the Dark Souls-style system and the more open level design takes the sting out of having to fight through closed spaces for most of the game. One has to wonder how different the possible fourth game could be.
This review began before with a parallel to early man, so why stop now? Narcosis, in its own way, brings humanity's drive for survival to the forefront of the player's mind, showing that the will to live is truly a harrowing war of attrition. The game is unrelenting in its goal of putting you into the shoes of someone haunted by the depths of the sea, both figuratively and literally. The story is simple but well-written, with even the flavor text of the fallen co-workers showing humanity in a couple of sentences each. The visuals are good, the controls are formidable, and the audio is stunning. Sure, the gameplay and story can be a little slow, and the narration is somewhat gauche and not well mixed, but these are minor issues in an otherwise intriguing, original game that shows the potential of human helplessness in a visceral and highly informative way. Narcosis is a mystery that plays on how little we know about our own world, as the game aggressively reminds us with elements of supernatural terror.