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On a platform that already has dozens of acclaimed platformers, like Celeste, Shovel Knight, and Sonic Mania (I could just go on and on), Shadow Bug is a genuine surprise addition to such esteemed company. It crept up with the makings of a sleeper hit, and it deserves greater recognition. The default control scheme is delightfully intuitive and the level design takes great advantage of it. The lack of story and short length are the only downsides to an overall fun, short-but-sweet escapade. For your next Switch platforming fixation, at the bargain price of $8.99, Shadow Bug is the successor apparent.
In the end, I don’t regret my time with Edo Blossoms. While I am disappointed, I did enjoy getting to know these people. The tale of the Shinsengumi men is one that I will not soon forget. Nor will I forget the struggles Chizuru had to go through. However, I expect better from both Idea Factory Japan and especially Idea Factory International. Hopefully, the company decides to bring over Hakuoki: Shinkai – Fuukaden for the PlayStation 4 and give Hakuoki the treatment I know only IFI can.
Still, while Attack on Titan 2 does have issues, I can certainly recommend this even to people with only a passing interest in the show. It’s a little janky, and the repetitiveness eventually overshadows the novelty, but it’s a fun ride. I got about 35 hours out of it before I put it down, and that’s not too shabby. There could easily be folks out there that could get far more out of it, as I didn’t even touch the higher difficulty mode you unlock after beating the game. I think the only thing that would give me pause is the game’s price. It’s currently $60, and I’d personally wait until you could get it for maybe $40 or so.
I can’t say I really enjoyed my time with Assault Gunners HD Edition. I think the control scheme is terrible, the music is bland, the mission variety is lacking, and the story is uninteresting. I spent about six hours with this one and completed all 35 missions and the 12 DLC missions. Inferno mode is also included. This is a horde mode where enemies come in waves, so if this gameplay is your cup of tea this will extend playtime quite a bit. If you’re really starved for a mech game you might find some enjoyment out of this if you can look past all these issues, since it’s not very expensive at $11.99 with the DLC. Otherwise you should likely wait for a better offer down the line.
While there wasn’t a huge drop in the art quality, you can still tell that the full Studio Ghibli backing was not there because of how few monster designs there are. More noticeable was the serious drop in music quality. The only really memorable song in the game was a remastering of the theme song from the first Ni No Kuni. The music isn’t exactly bad, it’s just nowhere near the quality that I was expecting after the first game. And that’s my overall feeling with this game. I do sincerely hope our readers have more fun with this game than I did, I likely would have had more fun if I never played the first title. This is not a bad game, just uneven and has a lot of different ideas thrown in without spending enough time in the oven. I wouldn’t call it a waste of your $59.99 even with the much shorter story. 30 hours is still not bad for a game, even a JRPG, and if you want to max out everything in the game it is double that. But if you end up going through the game and like it at all, I strongly recommend you go back and play Wrath of the White Witch, that is a true classic. Hopefully there will be a third game in this series that can get back to those heights.
The game only offers four acts which are a bit shorter than what you find in games like Ace Attorney (the game can be completed in 3 hours), but the quality of the art, music and writing compensates it. The fourth act also features several endings which depend on choices previously made. If you are looking for an entertaining adventure with unusual and beautiful art, Aviary Attorney is a good adventure game sold for $14.99 on Steam.
Pit People is a wild ride from beginning to end, and I can only wonder what The Behemoth will show us next. But for now I really recommend this game if you’re already familiar with previous games made by this developer, fans of strategy in general, or if you wanna have some fun in a senseless world filled with charming little people.
An ominous feeling of despair and lunacy prevails over The Long Reach, with Calvin trapped in a mad game that gets more insane the deeper it goes. Between the lives lost and minds gone insane, it all builds up to a mid-game twist that will most certainly amuse you. The Long Reach is ultimately short and to the point. Repeat playthroughs should clock in at two and a half hours, while your first time through should be longer as you figure out puzzle solutions and experience the story for the first time. Gameplay and the presentation are mostly solid even with some technical issues notwithstanding. With the resurgence of point-and-click adventures in the wake of Thimbleweed Park, you could do a lot worse.
Overall, Alphadia Genesis will provide a satisfying JRPG experience, with just enough story intrigue, compelling character interactions, a strong, yet overly familiar gameplay mechanic, and satisfying 2D visuals. Despite its missteps, fans of the JRPG genre and those intrigued by the Alphadia series can be assured that this will serve as an excellent stand-alone adventure, a worthy addition to the series, and a solid starting point for all newcomers.
Planetoid Pioneers is a pretty fun and cool little game, made by the same folks that made Cortex Command. The game has no time limits and allows the player to explore and build freely, so you can progress at your own pace. The Primoid can take 10-20 hours or more to complete, depending on how much you focus on progression as opposed to playing around with exploration, building, and physics. The other levels will add to this, and the Steam Workshop can make your play time nearly infinite. Planetoid Pioneers is available on Steam for the higher price of $19.99 now that it’s out of early access (was $9.99 before). The game’s current technical issues drag down the experience significantly, but hopefully the developers will get them ironed out as they continue updating the game. For now, it seems they may have left early access a bit too soon.
All in all, I feel Kirby Star Allies was well worth my time. For $59.99, I got around 16-20 hours out of the game and managed to 100% it. It did have some disappointing features, such as lacking a hidden unlockable final world (a mainstay for the series) and no Hard mode for the Story, but it makes up for it with a lot of variety and even more heart. It’s easily better than Kirby’s Return to Dreamland, but I don’t know if I prefer it to the duo of Triple Deluxe and Planet Robobot. The 3DS really did a great job of showcasing the potential of the series, though I do feel this is a step in the right direction for the console games. If you’re a fan of the series, you’ll definitely get more out of the game, especially if you play it with friends. But even if you play it solo, Kirby Star Allies is a joyful and entertaining romp in the beloved series. Now for me to just cross my fingers and pray for a Kirby RPG next…
RiftStar Raiders has a lot of neat ideas on how to expand on the scrolling shooter with its penchant for upgradeable ships and densely packed levels. The difficulty gets in the way of that fun, however, and it’s not just because it’s a space shooter. Challenge should be handed out at a fairly steady clip, but RiftStar Raiders is punishing from the very first level. If replay value is your thing, then you’ll be kept busy for a good while replaying these nine levels for new high scores and farming currency to power up your ship. It’s clearly built for co-op, which would explain away the overwhelming odds you face in solo play. You’ll be kept plenty busy with the progression loop, but you’ll want to check yourself before you wreck yourself should the game’s high octane challenge be worth your time.
I will admit that I was simply unable to beat Super Hydorah for this review. Some may think I gave up too quickly, but I easily put in 8-10 hours and countless continues in my attempt to beat a 2 hour game and probably got through 80-90% of it. While reasonably priced at $19.99, I can’t recommend this to any besides truly hardcore fans of the SHMUP genre. I appreciate what Locomalito and Gryzor87 were attempting here. There’s a lot of good in this game and it is a fond nod to the genre, but sadly the good is hidden behind hardcore game design and frustrating decisions. Ultimately, I was more of a fan of Cursed Castilla EX. That said, I appreciated the opportunity to tackle Super Hydorah, and will look forward to the next game by this team.
All in all, I rather enjoyed my time with both Bayonetta games on Nintendo Switch. Altogether, I spent a combined 20 or so hours playing the games, and felt it was time well spent. Though the first game did have some questionable design choices that kept it from a perfect score, the sequel does a great job of balancing things out. As far as replay value, there’s a bunch for both titles, though the second offers more incentives to play again such as unlockable Jeanne and other goodies. While I enjoy the costume changes in both games, I only tinkered with them a little on the original, since it was less work to just select from 5 preloaded Nintendo costumes than hunt for specific amiibo for Bayonetta 2. Overall, I would suggest any fan of crazy action games or Platinum get both Bayonetta games on Nintendo Switch, just to experience them all over again. Now I’ll have to play some more to while away the hours until Bayonetta 3 gets a release date…
I was a bit torn complaining as much as I did, since I truly did enjoy Mercenary Kings Reloaded. But often I am more critical on things I enjoy, especially when I feel they didn’t fulfill their utmost potential. That said, for $19.99 I got 20 hours of gameplay out of it, which is pretty impressive for a smaller indie title. I can still appreciate all the hard work and heart that Tribute Games put into this, and would still recommend Reloaded for those who missed out on the initial release. It’s a fun game hampered by some design issues, but it’s still a fulfilling experience if you can look past its flaws.
All in all, I really enjoyed my time with Space Dave! It’s retro done right, and it’s just challenging enough without being overwhelmingly hard. Pattern recognition and fast reflexes are important on higher difficulty levels, but you could always stick to Easy Peasy and still have a lot of fun. I spent about 5 hours with the game, most of that spent on just beating the main game. Afterwards, the game loops, so if you get really good, you can rack up incredibly high scores that way. For $9.99, I would recommend this to any fan of classic gaming that owns a Switch. My only minor complaint was that there was nothing to unlock, though there are a ton of hidden achievements and purportedly some truly super secret stuff. Space Dave! impressed me far more than Woah Dave!, and I’m looking forward to which classic game Choice Provisions does justice to next!
Despite my complaints, I had a mostly positive experience playing through Dandara. For $14.99, I got about 15 hours of playtime. The mixture of creative world design, unique gameplay mechanics and challenging bosses make this a worthy game, despite the oppressive difficulty of a few sections and occasional lack of balance. While I never felt like I got to know Dandara as a person very well, the world of Salt was still one of haunting beauty that I’d love to return to. I’m impressed by this first mainstream release by Long Hat House, and look forward to what else they’re able to create. Dandara isn’t perfect, but it’s a laudable attempt, and one that I won’t soon forget.
All in all, I was truly impressed with Iconoclasts. I spent 11 hours playing through the game, and that’s without even finishing all the side quests or finding all the deviously hidden chests. It’s not often an indie game comes out of nowhere to surprise me, but that’s just what it managed to do, proving itself a new indie gem. If you have a PS4, Vita or Steam account, go buy it. It’s easily the best indie I’ve played so far in 2018, and one I highly recommend.
I mentioned at the beginning of the review that short length doesn’t mean a game fails to leave a lasting impact, and I left Shu pleased with my time. Even though I was able to beat the main game in less than an hour, and the DLC in about 20 minutes, I enjoyed every minute of my time with Shu. It’s charming, creative and accessible to all levels of gamer. While some may be discouraged by how quickly I beat the game, I would venture my speed is a bit unusual, as the devs confirmed most players beat the game in 3-4 hours. Regardless, Shu is a wonderful game and a delight on the Nintendo Switch. If you enjoy fun platformers or are just looking for something new on your console, I would recommend it strongly for only $9.99. I just hope it’s not the last we’ve seen of this vibrant game world.
In summation, after 5+ hours, I have somewhat mixed feelings about The End is Nigh. On the one hand, it’s fun in a brutally challenging way, and it’s utterly unlike most other games I’ve played, other than those developed by Ed McMillen. On the other hand, the balance feels a bit skewed in the latter half of the game, and even the first half might prove too much except for truly hardcore fans. I would say that for those who like a hefty challenge and enjoy platformers, The End is Nigh is worth getting. For everybody else, it’s really not for you.