LadiesGamers.com's Reviews
It was a fun game while it lasted, and the variation between the characters was lovely to experience. While I wasn’t a huge fan of Standard mode, I can appreciate a lot of people will enjoy that style of gameplay. The inclusion of visual novel mode is something that I wish I’d see more of in games like this, so that people can enjoy the story without needing to be good at the balancing act. I’d have liked the game to be longer because it didn’t take me that long to go through every story in visual novel mode – I understand and appreciate that it was an experimental add-on, but it should’ve been carefully tested and potentially expanded before being included in the final product. That said, if there happened to be a fully-fledged visual novel version I can see myself double-dipping without much hesitation! I had a lot of fun with Nicole, and would definitely recommend it for any visual novel fan.
You can control Brightstone Mysteries: Paranormal Hotel either by the touchscreen or the joy-cons. I played the game using both control systems and they both work well. My personal preference after trying both controls was to use the touchscreen controls and these I found to be intuitive and responsive. While the story is quite intriguing and some of the puzzles can be a little challenging to complete you won’t find anything new to the genre in Brightstone Mysteries Paranormal Hotel. That’s not to say that it should be overlooked as it does offer a decent puzzle game for fans of the genre to pass a few hours of time with.
The time stop mechanic is used in clever ways to solve environmental puzzles and it feels a shame this just isn’t utilized a bit more. The Ambassador Fractured Timelines is a game that kinda grew on me the more I played it. I liked the strategic gameplay where every hit counts. It’s just a shame there’s not more variety in the level design bar kill all the enemies. Still an entertaining experience from a small development team. I look forward to seeing what tinyDino Games works on next.
An adventure Indy Jones would be proud of. While Curious Expedition may not dress to impress, this game’s the real deal when it comes to a fun experience with replay value. Tough but entertaining, it will scratch the itch for folks who like decision-making dilemmas. Like with any roguelike, you’ll fail often and there’s lots to learn—but that’s exactly where the fun is. I would have been glad to pay more than $15 for it.
Sports games absolutely have a home on the Switch and there’s a sizeable audience hungry to get off their sofas and enjoy some active games. Graphical limitations can be easily overlooked but controls are essential and sadly Instant Sports Summer Games doesn’t quite hit the mark. What could have been a fun game to enjoy with the family feels more like a mixed assortment of okay and not so. Fun to be had? Sure. But it’s hard to ignore this concept has been done better on older systems.
All in all, I think the existence of Need a packet? demonstrates why I have a fondness for video games which are utilized as a kind of realistic teaching tool simulation with social commentary underneath. The ending for Easy Mode is reaching a manager position. *Feigns celebrating*. If playing as a cashier experiencing a breakdown in a bleak world accompanied by hard to see text alongside inconsistent controls interests you, take a gander at Need a packet?
Mittelborg: City of Mages has a pretty interesting premise, it’s a real pity that that is all it is. It plays like a straight port from pc or mobile. What art there is in the game looks well, I just wish there was more of it instead of a static image of the city. The translation of the text needs work to help the game story along and help to make it more interesting for the player. There are bigger and better simulation, strategy games to choose from on the eShop sadly this isn’t one of them.
Heroes of Hammerwatch is a game that grows on you. While definitely more fun with others I still had a lot of fun alone. It may have minor faults but I loved how I kept discovering something new about the game whether it was discovering a new mechanic or mastering the games traps. This is easily a title I’ll return to for years to come.
Terrorarium deserves praise for it’s originality but it still feels like a game that needs a little more polish in places. Frustrating level design and awkward mechanics keep this from being something I was able to really enjoy. Hopefully the game will continue to receive patches following its full release. But in its current form I would say to approach this garden with caution.
Steam Tactics nicely fits into the hidden gem category with some rough edges. Brilliant design with memorable characters and surprising depth to the gameplay. Frustrating difficulty spikes and repetitive grinding to level up broke the experience for me. However, if your a fan of the genre and looking for a pick up and play experience this is an easy one to recommend. Also if I get a dog I’m totally naming it Benedictus Maximus.
I got through the majority of the story quite easily, but that’s due to my bad habit of power levelling. Even then, I did still die during some major encounters, so be prepared for some challenging battles. The only bit I found too easy for me, was money: it was too easy to get tons of that, I found I rarely spent on anything but ethers. I have enjoyed this game so far and am still enjoying it, I am looking forward to seeing how the story comes to an end. I hope others will see KEMCO’s Miden Tower for how good it is and give it a try.
Tales from the Dragon Mountain: The Strix is a great puzzle game for those who typically get stressed out by puzzles. The scenery is beautiful and there are plenty of options that can help you get through any puzzle without pulling out your hair. I would recommend this game to anyone that wants to be engrossed in a puzzle game without having to worry about the typical problems that come with them. This is an enjoyable entry into the genre if you want to try it out!
Kingdom Rush is very well balanced, charming and with enough difficulty in it to even keep the veterans of Tower Defence games coming back for more. And with the extra modes and challenges Kingdom Rush offers the player a lot of content for replayability. Kingdom Rush is a classic example of tower defense, it combines elements of old and new and brings it to the Nintendo Switch as a very fluid battle simulator. Really, if you’re looking for a solid, amusing and satisfying Tower Defense game you should pick this one up.
The in battle appearance is acceptable but the maps can seem a little sparse and samey. Though as you spread through the continent you’ll come across different terrains. Like the swamps in the Holy Gustava Empire’s territory. The leaders of each nation have an in battle appearance, while any other Rune Knights are only shown with a class model. While there’s a lot of characters it does make the game look lower budget. Which is difficult to consider as the American price is between budget and full retail. In Australia it’s only a couple dollars away from a full price game. I didn’t have much in the way of technical issues but it did crash once in the save screen. Thankfully there’s an autosave. Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia packs a continent’s worth of gameplay for strategy fans. As you have six different sides to play as and the challenge mode. Which is just enough to make up for the lower budget looks. Though I find it hard to tear myself away from the team with the robot. Asides from that the only thing I’d like to see in this game is an ability to customize difficulty options more.
Fairy Tail is a very fun and enjoyable game even if it’s not the deepest experience. The game is a decent adaptation of the source material that even adapts the theme of friendship and bonds that is readily present in the source material into the various side-story content to strengthen your characters. It’s a game that fans can enjoy. However, if you are a newcomer I recommend you either read the manga or watch the anime first before diving into the game to get yourself up to speed.
Wreckin’ Ball Adventure is a simple and straightforward title that provides entertainment for only a few pounds in the eShop. I think it would make a great game to play with the family, its easy enough for children to be able to pick it up and play. Even if you can only play Wreckin’ Ball Adventures in single player, you will find this a decent puzzle game to while away a few hours on.
The story of Country Tales is definitely cute, but you are not going to play this game for the story. While it is nice that the story adds additional tasks to the levels, such as rounding up cows or getting rid of bandits, it does not really add anything to the game. Overall, it is a fun game to play if you enjoy time and resource management strategy games, but if you are just looking to try out the genre or get invested in a great story-line, it may be better to look elsewhere.
I also managed to pick up all but one of the collectable objects on my first pass without really looking for them, so they can’t be that difficult to complete. Some of the puzzles made me pause for a while, which was nice, but the majority I just breezed through. This isn’t unusual in this type of game, but I’m sure someone less accustomed could get quite a bit more time out of each puzzle. I spent most of my time playing annoyed at either the off-track story, dodgy controls, or lacklustre animations, which is a shame because with a refresh (which really, should be done as standard when porting such an old game to such a new system) it could be a pretty decent bit of fun. As it is, I’d have been sadly disappointed at paying for this short, badly-ported adventure. However, if you’re looking for a game to sink a few hours in to and exercise your brain while you’re at it, it’ll fill that need nicely.
What I found frustrating, however, was that sometimes the garishness of the background in the puzzles would be too strong and it would actually be quite difficult to differentiate the puzzle itself from the images in the back. Despite my criticisms, I don’t think Infini is necessarily a bad game. I think it’s a game that is trying to tell a story in a very non-linear or traditional way. I just can’t say that this was done effectively. However, I do think the puzzle mechanics are quite interesting and sometimes even refreshing. This is definitely a game you would play for its puzzles rather than any story its attempting to tell. With that said though, it feels to me like either a hit or miss. Personally, it was a miss.
The main critique of Aeolis Tournament is that it lacks some depth to its content. All 6 modes feel quite solid but some could do with fleshing out a bit more than others. It’s a shame that each session only has a single map. It feels like some could benefit from different arena designs with the exception of the Football and Hockey maps. These two seem absolutely fine as they are. While the experience is fun this will probably only be a game I pull out to play with friends which will hopefully be sometime in the future. Other than that I only see myself and the bots. Of all the party games I have covered Aeolis does a lot of things right. Simple controls suitable for everyone and the game modes on offer are a lot of fun. It’s just a shame the content is a little light. But who knows maybe that will come later down the road. What is present is a solid party game well worth playing with friends and family a like when you get the chance of course.