SwitchRPG's Reviews
Between the myriad of built-in options – the single player campaign, arcade, and puzzle modes – and the user-generated content that will assuredly continue to stream into the game's library, fans will likely find themselves coming back to Wargroove repeatably to see what new adventures may be in store.
If unlocking multiple weapons and enhancing every aspect of the game via a constant experience grind sounds like an enjoyable prospect, then I would strongly recommend the title. In terms of how forgiving its experience and currency system is, it is easily one of the more accessible rogue-lites out there. This doesn’t mean, however, that the game isn’t difficult – maybe on its normal difficulty, but its harder settings will put your understanding of the title’s mechanics to the test. If you’re the sort of person who enjoys putting limitations on themselves and seeing where a randomizer can take you, then RemiLore might have the magic that you’re looking for.
As for Warframe, it’s a pretty simple choice if you’re a fan of the modern western RPGs in the same category as Mass Effect or Skyrim. The same goes for gamers that enjoy squad based, online combat. I’ll reiterate that Warframe is a FREE download – if you have fear that the game is weighted with micro transactions, let it go. Are they there? Yes, but they never feel necessary in the least bit. Warframe offers an experience on the Switch that you can’t experience with any other game on the console. I would recommend making sure you have an SD card before downloading it because it certainly does absorb a ton of space. I can’t think of any other reason to avoid giving Warframe on the Nintendo Switch a download.
Tangledeep is a game that drips not only with 16-bit nostalgia, but also a myriad of complex and interwoven game elements that offer hours and hours of replayability. All that would be moot, of course, if the core combat and exploration mechanics weren't so enjoyable. Thankfully, Impact Gameworks has created just the right balance of story, difficulty, strategy, consequence, and progression to keep players coming back, even after sinking multiple hours into each character. Tangledeep is without a doubt one of, if not THE best roguelikes to currently grace the Nintendo Switch.
Games, like Alvastia Chronicles, are the reason why I continue to get excited about the next RPG release from EXE Create and KEMCO. When the team gets it right, it is hard to find a better experience within the budget tier of the traditional JRPG market.
All downsides considered, Feudal Alloy is still a fully functional game. The game runs silky smooth in almost every scenario, the medieval landscapes look nice despite suffering from a lack of variety, and combat can be challenging at times due to inclusion of the cooling mechanic. All classic Metroidvania traversal mechanics are here, but little is done beyond providing that baseline of perks. A fun, lighthearted story with an endearing leading fish is set up, but is not fleshed out enough to really amount to anything in the end. All systems work, but many are marred by questionable design decisions (like the gear and talent tree issues). Simply put, Feudal Alloy does little to truly excite a Metroidvania fan outside of its unique aesthetic, and no amount of love for fish-piloted robots will change that. It is still a decent buy if you’re fresh out of Metroidvanias, however.
I don’t know if I can recommend Away unless I say this, so here it is: If you find rogue-lites to be too unforgiving or are looking for a beginner rogue-lite for your child, Away is a suitable choice. It allows the player a great deal of freedom, but one they realize how broken the robot with the missile launcher is, the illusion of difficulty is wiped clean. The narrative is bizarre and certainly unexpected, with the final… “boss…” being unlike anything the game has yet to offer, but players might feel cheated by the lack of options present. It’s a game that has so many good ideas individually, but fails to put them together to form a cohesive and substantial challenge. If you’re not really looking for challenge, though, and you love the game’s aesthetics as much as I do, you might be able to find something to love here. While I love the way this game looks, I cannot say the same about the way it plays, and that’s an unexpected disappointment.
Reverie excels by evoking that nostalgic feeling while at the same time making every location feel like something completely new and innovative.
I like this game, and if you like roguelikes you will probably like this game as well. It’s a solid and high SwitchRPG GOOD for me. Grab a friend and get to blazing through those Caves!
Overall, how much you love BQM will depend largely on how much you like this particular type of game. Super Mario Maker, despite fulfilling the dreams of many, was not beloved by all. User-generated content comes with a mixed bag of benefits and pitfalls, masterpieces and cow dung. That being said, BQM provides a robust game-making system, with untapped storytelling potential and an ever-expanding library of clever dungeon designs and fresh ideas. While it certainly has a few hiccups, including some unintuitive tools and the occasional glitch or freeze, BQM's strengths far outweigh its weaknesses.
Evoland Legendary Edition successfully throws back to many scenarios along the adventure / RPG timeline, and is something that I think everyone should experience.
If you’re looking for an impressively varied strategy simulation title, there’s little else on the Switch that compares to Thea. Its mechanics take a solid amount of time to pick up, but once you have a good grasp on things, you can settle into a nice and comfortable gameplay loop. Your ultimate goal might be a large town, or a dedicated group of high-level warriors. Whatever it is, Thea gives you a great deal of freedom to do it, as long as you trust and prepare for the unexpected. For fans of simulation titles, Thea is an easy recommendation – for Role-playing enthusiasts, it might be a bit of a risk. If you’re willing to submit to the gods and take risks, you’ll find a game with satisfying depth, mixed presentation, and a lengthy and fun campaign loop.
For some, these performance issues will be a bit too much to handle. While they didn’t entirely ruin my experience with Halcyon 6, I could see it being a problem for others. The addictive “one more turn” aspect of the gameplay was enough to get me hooked, as you are almost constantly making micro – and macro – management decisions in order to improve the efficiency of your dealings, as well as keep your galaxy safe. If it weren’t for these technical hurdles, I would go as far as to say that Halcyon 6 is a must-own for the Switch, but you’ll have to watch some gameplay in order to see if those hiccups are worth the entry price. Either way, I can’t recommend it enough, as long as you know what you’re getting yourself into.
Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force is a fairly deep JRPG that is, unfortunately, held back by several key components. The story and cast are just not good enough to incentivize long-term play despite the excellent character customization and combat systems. Unless you adore lazy, food obsessed-men and a healthy dose of boob-jiggling physics, then you’re in for a real cinematic treat. Furthermore, the performance issues and overall poor quality of graphics in the field prevent you from fully appreciating the exploration and combat aspects of the game – that of which will make up the majority of your game time. Although you can easily get dozens of hours out of this game, I cannot wholeheartedly recommend it on Switch unless you know exactly what you’re getting in to first.
Mages of Mystralia is basically Zelda with wands, and that’s not a bad thing. Probably the worst thing about that fact is that it isn’t what I would consider an RPG, but the game was not marketed as one either. However, when I saw spellmaking my mind immediately went to Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and I simply hoped that Mystralia would end up having more elements of the RPG genre than the occasional weapon and resource upgrades. Regardless, I laid in the bed I made and found Mages of Mystralia to be a good action adventure game. The occasional dips in performance, shadow-based glitches, and lack of side quest tracking are minor annoyances, sure, but are annoyances nonetheless. And despite the story being well fleshed out, I found the combat and puzzle solving to be the more interesting parts of the game. Most importantly though, Mages of Mystralia makes you feel like an actual mage with its spell creation system, and who doesn’t want to be a freaking wizard from time to time?
There is so much about this game that left me feeling that it was close to being the love letter to old school RPGs that it aspired to be. However, it manages to come up just short with its best features while going way overboard with its worst. LeGrand Legacy will provide you with about 30 or so hours of gameplay, but you can stretch it out to 40 if you care to comb through limitless walls of text to find the deepest details of the history of LeGrand. There is a respectable amount of content here that will only cost you about $20 USD, but unfortunately, I simply can’t recommend the Switch version at this time.
All in all, if you’re a big fan of the source material, whether Lovecraft or the board game, there’s something to appreciate in Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics, but for those looking for a bit more complexity or variety, your time is best spent elsewhere.
While Double Cross doesn't break any new ground in game development, it regardless offers an honest and engaging adventure from start to finish. What this game does, it does well, providing excellent art direction, satisfying platforming, a sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking story, and just enough exploration and customization to encourage repeated playthroughs. This action platformer – infused with a measured dose of RPG elements – delivers on exactly what it promises: a fun adventure for $20 or less.
In all, Into the Breach is an impressively well thought-out package. Fans of tactical RPGs and roguelikes will find much to love – from the masterful gameplay/story integration, variety of combat options, or the myriad of achievements and unlockables. Having already put 30+ hours into this $15 title (while barely scratching the harder difficulty settings), I can confidently say I could easily put in dozens more without the experience growing stale. Into the Breach is without a doubt one of the finest indie games currently gracing the eShop.
Tales of Vesperia is an epic adventure that only marks the beginning for the series on Switch.