SwitchRPG's Reviews
Let me be clear: Tanzia is not a bad game. In fact, it is a good game in many ways. The storytelling is on point, with the supporting cutscenes and voice acting doing a wonderful job of portraying the scenario at hand. While the graphics may not sit well with all parties, it was right down my alley and had me reminiscing of the early days of World of Warcraft. Regardless, any RPG, especially if labeled as an action RPG, must have properly structured combat in order for the package as a whole to stand on its own. While there may be those who can look past the points I’ve made throughout my review, I simply cannot do so. I hate to be so critical of a $16USD title because there is value to be had here. And if it weren’t the combat holding it back, we would have a much different situation on our hands.
While it doesn’t necessarily boast many modern conveniences found in more recent JRPGs, Shining Resonance Refrain offers players an engaging story full of interesting characters in a world that’s as fun to play as it is pleasant to look at.
If you would have told me a few weeks ago that I’d now be invested in helping a pack of squids of varying shapes and sizes thwart an oozy corruption hellbent on destroying their homeland, I would have thought that you were crazy. Heck, I still think I’m crazy for what I’m about to say about this game.
In Banner Saga 2, the creators manage to keep all the aspects that made me fall in love with the first game while tweaking enough elements to make this title feel even more polished, challenging, and beautiful.
The Lost Child has the ability to take you on a roller coaster ride, complete with highs and lows, when glossing over the structure and execution of its systems. On one hand, it does well with its dungeon diving system, though possibly playing it safe when viewed by those who eat these kind of games for breakfast. The combat itself is engaging enough, backed by a decent crafting and loot progression system.
I wish that there were more for me to discuss regarding Fallen Legion, but that is more of a fault of the game’s content than my review. Outside of town sections and battles, there is nothing else to do except browse the glossary and mess around with your (limited) equipment options. The most damning criticism I can give of the game is that, at its core, its content feels akin to a mobile game, despite my confidence that its battle system would never be executable on a system lacking buttons. Even so, the difficulty spikes in the game force the player to practice stringent Perfect Blocking or return to earlier stages in order to grind out Exemplar tributes, which kills any sort of narrative momentum established up to that point. When your game is all grind and no side-content, it tends to grate on the nerves, which is exactly what Fallen Legion ended up doing. While the idea of having two full-blown narratives may sound enticing, outside of the decisions made, both characters end up facing the same enemy types and using the same group of Exemplars. If you are looking to test the limits of your ability to enjoy new and creative combat systems, I might halfheartedly recommend Fallen Legion. With the ability to replay scenarios there’s no shortage of combat to be had, but you’ll only get so far before the flaws in its execution start to wear you down.
In my opinion, Ys VIII falls just short of being a masterpiece, but is still an amazing game despite its shortcomings. I found the island of Seiren to be an absolute blast to explore, as it is chocked full of action, adventures, wonders to explore and mysteries to uncover. Ys VIII is my favorite Switch RPG to date, and has made me a fan of the series to boot. While it may not have the same performance quality as its PS4 counterpart, it is still an excellent version all around. Be right back while I install Ys Seven on Steam.
The Banner Saga offers an expertly crafted narrative buffered by fun combat and addictively painful player decisions that could not be more worth your time.
Knights of Pen and Paper is a game oozing with tabletop RPG-inspired nostalgia. Those that love customizing and building their own teams while blasting through a ton of turn-based battles will immediately fall in love with this game. You will gravely disappointed if you’re looking for anything beyond that though (ie. a story with depth, or varied forms of content). All in all, it does a pretty good job simulating a night around a game table with friends, minus the pile of Cheeto crumbs and half-consumed mountain dew cans.
All in all, Saturday Morning RPG provides a memorable jaunt down RPG paths with solid role-playing mechanics that are as effective as they are zany.
Battle Chasers: Nightwar does turn-based combat with a level of finesse that isn’t seen enough anymore.
FHUL is not a good game, but I don’t have regrets about trying it. Sometimes you can find hidden gems regardless of what mainstream reviewers say. This time, however, it amounted to nothing but a shiny turd. I’m more disappointed than anything because FHUL does have some interesting mechanics. But the logic behind those systems must make sense in order for them to come to fruition, and thus, make you as a player actually desire to play it. I can easily recommend a “skip” here, even if you like action RPGs.
Eternal Edge is a new action adventure RPG from indie developer Righteous Weasel Games that presents lofty concepts mixed with a heavy dose of familiar genre conventions.
Coming into Asdivine Hearts, I was cautiously optimistic due to my experiences with Antiquia Lost and Revenant Saga. I can honestly say that this game trumps both of them in all aspects, and is certainly worth the time of those individuals looking for an old-school JRPG that won’t take 50 hours to complete. It won’t be as memorable of a ride as the classic RPG titles we all know and love, but is a good enough experience to recommend at the price given you temper your expectations a bit.
Super Daryl Deluxe succeeds on a multitude of levels and in many ways, could change how many indies approach RPG passion projects in the future.
Despite its flaws, I actually found Devious Dungeon to, for the most part, be enjoyable. Its mechanics and overarching gameplay loop are nothing special, but it is a nice enough package that complements the pick-up-and-go style of the Switch well. Devious Dungeon currently sits at $6.79USD until April 9th, when it will go up to an undisclosed price (I’m guessing $9.99). Either price may be hard to digest given the mobile version is only $1.99 on Android and $2.99 on iOS, but both of those versions had in-game purchases as well (I don’t think they exist in the Switch version). Devious Dungeon isn’t going to offer a ton of content and definitely not any of the truly engaging nature, but it is a fun enough title to pick up on a sale and play for a short while. If it wasn’t for the slight input lag while docked and the short gameplay lifespan, I would have considered rating it a little higher. Given its current iteration, however, I feel like it may be expecting just a little too much from your wallet.
If you are a fan of cash and bribery mixed with chaotic battles against hordes of enemies, traps and maze-like dungeons, then keep reading.
Through its fun, witty writing and its grounded, sometimes challenging gameplay, Blossom Tales offers an adventure you honestly don’t want to miss out on.
Amnesia is among the most common RPG tropes today. In that aspect alone, The Longest Five Minutes is highly successful, putting a fresh spin on an otherwise overused plot point.
Earthlock does, for the most part, succeed in going beyond its nostalgically-inspired roots.