LadiesGamers.com's Reviews
Buildings Have Feelings Too! is a game that is great craic to play. At times I wanted to say houl yer whisht as the buildings let their feelings be known on my placement of buildings. I thought I was doing well in my choice of the placement of buildings, the buildings thought otherwise! I have enjoyed the challenge of the game and learning what each building likes and dislikes and where it likes to be placed. A challenge that isn’t frustrating but gives just the right amount of satisfaction when you complete a task. When I next go for a saunter around the city I’m not sure I will never look up at the buildings in the same way ever again, I’ll be disappointed when they don’t say “Bout Ye Mucker” to me.
It’s fun to follow the journey Gust is making with their Atelier games from the Arland trilogy to the Dusk trilogy and now the Mysterious trilogy. And what’s more: all these games are now available on the Nintendo Switch in their definite edition. Atelier Sophie: the Alchemist of the Mysterious Book DX starts the series off in the direction of more sim-like elements, and presents us with a lovely “slice of life” story. No wars or terrible happenings, but a good interesting storyline following a girl who wants to learn how to be a great Alchemist.
No matter how I try, these reviews of Atelier games always end up being long….so if you read all the way through, then thank you for sticking with me. Atelier Firis: the Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey ticks all the boxes of a great coming of age story with good synthesis and turn-based battles. This game has a great sense of exploration in this open-world and makes for interesting and extended gameplay. The prologue is too long (3 hours!) and Firis is a bit of an airhead, but overall: I like it a lot
Is Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2: Bush Fire Rescue HD better than the original? Well, it’s different. Some folk might miss the collectable gameplay but equally, some may welcome the new open-world formula. Personally, I like games that try new things and even though Ty’s voice gave me headaches, I had a lot of fun exploring the world and competing in the karting mini-games. The real success story behind Ty 2 is this is a game clearly loved by fans. The fact that the game came to Switch thanks to the supporters on Kickstarter shows that this series clearly has a fan base that is alive and well and ready to accept Ty onto new systems. I hope they enjoyed this product as much as I did. Let’s hope we see Ty 3 someday.
Unfortunately, I don’t think the game particularly explores themes of ageing and dementia in any clear or substantial way. At least, not other than creating a quiet, lonely atmosphere punctuated by moments of fear. The music mostly rests in gentle, bittersweet melancholia, but occasionally drops a tingling sense of danger. It’s got a lovely main soundtrack, and the visual style is muted but pleasant to the eye. So at least Heal has the mood, if not the words. While disappointed that there wasn’t much in the way of a story, I think Heal holds up well enough as a puzzle game. The art, music and Switch touchscreen controls get a thumbs up.
With 101 levels to complete, Graviter has lots to offer puzzle fans. It’s a game you can do in stages and would be great to occupy your mind with for an hour or so a day. Graviter has a clean art look, well-explained mechanics, and interesting puzzles. If playing with rockets, gravity and saving a kitty is your idea of a fun puzzle game then look no further than Graviter.
Astro Aqua Kitty is another brilliant game from developer Tikipod. An excellent blend of space shooter and RPG mechanics mixed together creating an experience that will surely not sour with time. If you’re looking for a fresh take on the space shooter formula or you’re just looking for something a little different to dip into now and then Astro Aqua Kitty is the Purrfect addition to your Nintendo Switch.
I love Synergia. It is a wonderful addition to my personal collection of noir and Yuri tales. If either of these are your style, then I suggest you check it out as well. You just may need some reading glasses to make it work.
After quite a few hours of fun gameplay with Deiland, I think Chibig studios did a good job in building on the adventure sandbox genre. Complete with a little free roam, small aspects of roleplaying and simulation, if you liked Summer in Mara you’ll enjoy Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition. Some people will enjoy it for its sense of accomplishment. Many others will not like it due to the fact you need to wait some time for plants and trees to grow. Impatient gamers will probably not enjoy it. However, if you’re looking for a game with lots of farming, crafting, and many many quests to complete then Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition is your game. The story is interesting, it’s not the sort of game you will rush through. This is an adventure to take your time with, enjoy the chilled life that your own planet provides, and stop and smell the roses along the way.
Kingdom of Arcadia is not the most original platformer out there. It’s a simple formula that has been done before and doesn’t bring anything new to the action platform genre. Not bad but not wonderful either. It does play well and comes at an appealing budget price. Just right to pass the time or maybe make a nice little gift for a friend that needs a mood boost. It would have been nice to see more depth added to the formula but if the game has taught me one thing it’s that you really should not go snooping in your Dad’s garage.
Stitchy in Tooki Trouble is a solid game, ideal for platform fans looking for a more manageable experience. The game doesn’t do much to set itself apart from the crowd except for its charming Scarecrow protagonist. But in terms of the performance and controls of the game, this is as good as the titans in its field. This is a decent first entry in a platform series.
My initial impressions were very good. MazM: The Phantom of the Opera has cute sprites, a good atmosphere and art, and is downright creepy at parts. However, I cannot render any sort of final verdict (or much of a review) as I was unable to get far in the story. I will update this should I hear back from the developer. I hope I do because I was very intrigued by this game until I couldn’t go any further!
Rain on your Parade is a feel-good game that will hopefully make you smile as much as it did for us. While light on a challenge, if you’re having one of those rainy days yourself, this game might just be the ticket to bring a little sunshine to your day. Rain on your Parade is funny, charming and overall brilliant, one of my favourite gaming experiences this year so far.
I found that Train Station Simulator is too limiting on what you can do in the game. If you are looking for a game that allows creative freedom, this is not it. All you are doing is placing prebuilt objects into a station. Having to set the timetable every night regardless of whatever else you are doing in the game wears thin quickly. I did enjoy my playtime with Train Station Simulator (in between squinting). It does need a far better tutorial than the one in the game at the moment. I have been told that the developer is planning to keep updating the game so we can hope the tutorial is one aspect that will be improved. If I was to buy the game I would buy it on Steam, for two reasons. It is less expensive on Steam and you might be able to read the text on a bigger screen without having to squint!
Root Film lives up to the idea of mystery and suspense. As a visual novel alone it is worth the purchase, but to add icing to the cake this game has fantastic visuals and an amazing soundtrack to go with it. There are several chapters, and the different character’s stories and perspectives keep the game fresh. If you like a good murder mystery story full of suspense, then this is the visual novel for you!
Let’s be honest, if you haven’t been sold on the Cold Steel series by this point it’s unlikely the forth game is going to change your mind. If you’re new and the Switch is your only option I would suggest picking up the third entry first (or waiting and pray that the first two games get localized for Switch in the West). While more of the same, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV really stands out as one of the best jRPGs I’ve played in a long time, even if the story got a little much at times. Falcon have done a stella job as always and hopefully the fans will enjoy the experience as much as I did. Now I think I need to go lie down.
I’ve had an entertaining time reviewing Potion Party, the game was interesting enough for my non-gaming partner to be drawn into it to want to try and play it. Though it is a relatively short game, with a group of friends you would have a great time playing it. The controls system is accessible to any age group, making Potion Party available for the younger members of the family to be able to join in.
So I hovered between giving the “Not Sure” and “I Like It” rating. I like MMS2 just enough to want to try other Kairosoft games, to see if they’ve done better with the simulation formula elsewhere. I like it just enough to think, “I bet I could do a better job on a second playthrough!” But no, I don’t like it enough to sit through it again, even if Fast mode eliminated the eternity of screens and waiting and dragging shops around (though the touchscreen function performs wonderfully for this final task). Maybe the thing about Kairosoft games is that you’re expected to play one and move on to the next? In the end, bearing in mind MMS2’s roots as a mobile game for casual gamers, I guess it’s okay. Just okay.
My Universe – Cooking Star Restaurant is a decent simulation game for the age range the game is aimed at. I enjoyed my time with the game even if the mini-games ended up being rather repetitive. I think young children would have a lot of fun and get quite a bit of enjoyment with My Universe – Cooking Star Restaurant. It would be a great game to introduce a young child to the simulation genre as there isn’t anything difficult or challenging about the game!
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD may not be the most original boomerang in the 3D platform genre, but this is a very good HD remaster. The performance of the game is solid in handheld and TV modes and I actually found myself quite enjoying what this game had to offer. It’s not without issues and feels very much like the first entry in a game series but if you’re curious and enjoy your collector type 3D platformers Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD is well worth sinking some time into. Insert shrimp on BBQ joke here.