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This is a deeply immersive, elegant, intelligent take on Tetris, and the best example of it since the original on Game Boy, all that time ago
It's a pity that everyone that doesn't have a VR headset will miss out, because Déraciné is really quite remarkable. It's rare that a game developer has attempted to make time a thing to explore to the same extent that we usually explore space in games, but FromSoftware succeeded there, and esoteric as it is, the darkly emotional story that is spun around Déraciné's unique structure makes for something truly compelling.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with Mercenaries Wings: The False Phoenix. When you're in the mood for a tactics JRPG, but not necessarily concerned with narrative, then this no-frills approach to the genre will scratch the itch.
Of course, it's also "just" another match-4 title, and perhaps that's why the developers didn't feel like putting the price up to something more appropriate to the size of the game. Lucky us, then; because while Swap This! is by no means going to end up on anyone's favourite games of all time lists, it's bright, pleasant, and perfect for those times that you do want a quick burst of puzzle action. And all for the cost of candy bar.
In that context, 11-11 Memories Retold is something precious; it’s a rare foil against the lies about war that the likes of Call of Duty and Battlefield get away with far too easily.
Nonetheless, Bandai Namco now has access to a formula that can be overhauled for years to come. Should sequels never see the light of day, One’s Justice is still excellent comfort food for fans of the series.
While it might make you uncomfortable, as far as extreme horror goes, Death Mark also offers an unparalleled sense of atmosphere and a genuinely engrossing mystery to follow along with.
If you’re after a rhythm game that’s heartwarming, bold, and a hell of a lot of fun to play at parties, then you don’t have to look any further than this latest offering.
For this collection to be really worth the price of admission, SNK needed to dip into its more recent history, and particularly the fighting game genre, where the company has a genuine leadership position. It didn't do that, so it's hard to shake the impression that you'd be better off with a couple of the dozens of Neo Geo Classics that are available as individual purchases on Switch.
It's a simple game built on a simple premise, but its focus on getting the fundamentals right means it delivers where it needs to. It's fun, relaxing escape, and sometimes that's just what you need.
It's not without its issues, but these are the kinds of experiences that really stick in the mind, and I'd rather that that yet another stock-standard action game that neatly fits within structures that we've already seen dozens of times before.
Hidden Folks is good as a mild diversion, but doesn't offer much beyond that. The development team seems to have missed what made Where's Wally books truly special - it wasn't simply in packing the books full of stuff, and then challenging people to find the proverbial needle in the haystack. It was in filling the books with vibrant, exciting, and imagination-stirring scenes. Hidden Folks doesn't do that.
Still, Project Highrise is the ultimate example of efficiency. Coming in at around 150MB to download, it's actually one of the smaller games available on the PlayStation 4, and that's because it cuts corners in the presentational elements to focus on the quality simulation. It's a delight to play, and replay, to come up with different tower designs, and I expect that I'll keep coming back to this for quite some time to come.
The gravity mechanics are certainly cool to see, but they aren't exactly innovative or game changing enough to overcome the shortcomings after the initial allure wears off.
You probably came for the retro nostalgia, but in Save me Mr Tako! you'll get something far more robust.
Home Sweet Home isn't a classic that transcends its genre roots, but the developers behind the game show that they understand how fear works, how to build tension, how pacing should work in a good horror game, and how to create some shocking imagery. I wanted more of the promised delve into Thai ghost stories, but overall, as a genre fan I found this an engrossing enough diversion.
Gal Metal is a unique experience that combines cute high school girls, galactic adventures, evil aliens and metal music together in one unmissable experience. The characters all stand alone in their own right and the story line is engaging with a few plot twists mixed in which has you wondering as to what will happen next. The game took about five hours to complete however mastering the rhythms and besting those difficult scores aided in my eagerness to replay levels factor and kept me coming back for more.
Call of Cthulhu is the Cthulhu RPG I never realised I needed in my life. From the moment the atmosphere shifted upon entry to Darkwater, I was hooked. The Cthulhu mythology is presented with obvious appreciation for the source material, crafting a story of cosmic horror and the cults being crazy enough to worship those beings. Aside from some difficulty with sneaking, the game makes the descent into madness... fun? Can one have fun when descending into madness?
It's truly impressive just how substantial the Anabasis expansion is; by rights it could be an entirely separate game in the Battlestar Galactica Deadlock series. But Black Lab Games and Slitherine opted to make it an expansion, so it's an excuse to go back to that base game if you've put it down for a while, or finally pick it up if you somehow missed it the first time around.
There is a glut of rhythm games on the Switch already, but none of those subsequently inspired me to pull out my keyboard and brush up on some of the music that I've learned over the years. Pianista did, and while it might not encourage you to take up music lessons, at the very least you'll walk away from this with a better sense of "classical" music. That is something valuable.