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Overall, I quite enjoyed my time with Shantae: Risky’s Revenge – Director’s Cut. It was a fun little Metroidvania-style adventure that took me the majority of 10 hours to complete. I collected all of the Magic Jams and got all of the abilities and perks from the shop. I had a lot of fun with the game, and it still holds up pretty well by today’s standards for the most part. The biggest flaw is probably just that it could use a better map system. You can download a copy from the Nintendo Switch eShop for $9.99. Can you put a stop to Risky Boots’ evil plot in order to save Sequin Land, Scuttle Town, and your uncle?
I have to say, I had a lot of fun with Gal*Gun Returns. I really loved all the characters and the story. The gameplay is still a ton of fun, and the Collection mode actually has some really awesome CGs that are well worth unlocking. I spent about 10 hours with this one and was able to complete all four heroines routes with one ending and Doki Doki Carnival a couple of times. To get all of the endings and complete all the girls’ profiles will take you a bit longer, but this adds a lot of replay value to this one. If you’re a fan of the series, buying this is a no-brainer at $49.99. You will love this one just as much as the previous releases. If you’re new to the franchise, this is the perfect place to start and see why folks adore this over-the-top series.
I really enjoyed playing No More Heroes and No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle on Nintendo Switch. It had been a hot minute since I had played either of these games, but I felt right at home the minute I started, and remembered right off why Suda51 makes some of the most unique games out there. Each game will set you back $19.99, and you’ll get 8 to 10 hours of gameplay out of each with some decent replay value playing the harder difficulties. If you loved these games on the Wii, you should certainly pick up these great Switch ports. And if you’ve never tried out one of these games before, you should do so. There is nothing else out there quite like them.
At $19.99, Ogre Tale is a hard one to recommend, especially over Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds, a game that is not only cheaper, but features more gameplay modes, playable characters, better difficulty balance, a more satisfying upgrade system, and tighter boss battles. On its own, it’s not a bad game, but a really underwhelming follow up to what was a really solid beat ’em up.
Picklock is a fun little indie puzzle game, but, unfortunately, its execution is significantly marred by the grating issues discussed above. The game just feels unpolished and also too short after its abrupt ending. For the most part, Picklock is just a series of missions to beat. You can try to get a perfect run on each one, but this won’t add much extra gameplay. I beat the game with all missions cleared with a perfect score in around 5 hours. In addition to being short, another issue is that all of the stuff you can buy is just cosmetic and has no real effect on the game. Getting a new car just changes what car you see in the cutscenes when you go to locations on the map. Redesigning the interior of your house just changes how it looks. The four exotic properties you can purchase are just static scenes showing your character relaxing, with one or two other animated characters, and maybe some animated water. All you can do when you go to one of these places is listen to a relaxing, tropical themed music track until you decide to open the pause menu and leave. They are accessed via the real estate agency in town. Some players may also be annoyed that once you’ve gotten all the money you can in the game, it’s not enough to get everything. As a result, you’ll have to forego at least one thing in the shops. If you’re interested in the game, it’s one that you may want to wait for a sale on. Picklock is available on the Nintendo eShop for $7.99, as well as on Steam.
Moss is a great game, not only for VR but in general. Quill and the characters she meets are charming, and the storybook nature of this tale are a great hook. The story itself is nothing especially groundbreaking, but it’s well-written, and I love the presentation. The only other animal protagonist I’ve found as endearing as Quill is Trico from The Last Guardian, and that is high praise. I love her. Please give me all the merchandise of her. My biggest complaint is, simply, that the game ends so soon! You can easily finish Moss in about three to five hours, depending on how determined you are to find all the hidden items across the game’s seven chapters, and each chapter is an easily-digestible 20-30 minutes. Since the puzzles always have the same solutions, there isn’t a lot of replayability, but that didn’t stop me from thoroughly enjoying the time I spent with the game and its DLC. This is a must-play for anyone interested in VR and a great showcase for the medium’s strengths.
Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy is just a great game from start to finish. The characters are amazing, the world is very intriguing, and gameplay is just fantastic. I’ve played a lot of games in this series over the years, and this one is certainly one of my favorites. Gust has done something a lot of folks fail at. They took a very well-received title and made a sequel that is even better. It will take you right round 35 to 40 hours to complete the story here, and it’s worth every penny of the $59.99 retail price. I can’t wait to see where Ryza and her crew go from here!
Pendragon has me a bit conflicted; there’s nothing about it that’s bad, I just wish there was more of it. It’s a bit difficult for me to recommend, too. I feel like you really gotta be into the idea of a dynamic narrative and doing playthrough after playthrough to learn more about it. Had this been a more unique setting with unique characters, it might be a different story. It all being Arthurian mythology means that I have at least some familiarity with what happened and who everyone is. How long this game lasts is gonna vary wildly. You could be like me and luck out on your second playthrough and get to the end, and decide that’s enough, but that’s not really a full experience. You could spend a few hours or maybe upwards of 10 hours if you’re into the concept enough. $17 on Steam is a pretty reasonable price, if this sounds like your thing.
Overall, I can’t recommend Tears of Avia at all. At the price of $20, there’s far more tempting offers on Steam than this. It doesn’t bring anything new to the table, and it doesn’t do the things it borrows from other games particularly well either.
At the end of the day, if you’re looking for a basic but fun fighter for your Nintendo Switch, you can’t really go wrong with Fatal Fury First Contact at the mere $7.99 price tag. The fighting is very smooth and the great roster will have you wanting to play around with them for many hours on end. It may not have a ton of modes, but it has it where it counts, and Mai makes a super cute chibi as well!
Overall though, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a fun, engaging hack-and-slash take on the world and characters of Breath of the Wild, and I very much enjoyed my time with the game, sans fighting with the camera. While the restrictions placed on exploration and travel did occasionally make me long for the freedom of the game’s more open world counterpart, it was still beautiful in its own right, with a wonderful soundtrack, fun, memorable characters, and a predictable but sometimes surprisingly moving story. I will always be happy when I get to see Zelda’s struggles and accomplishments, and this game provided that in a delightful package.
Everyone wants to be the hero of their own story. Whether it’s taking care of loved ones, overcoming hardship, or grasping for a dream, I can think of no one who isn’t seeking some sort of place in this world. To say 2020 has been a bit rough for a whole lot of people would be an understatement, and Ichiban Kasuga was definitely the hero I needed this year. His strong heart, unwavering resolve, and unconditional love for those most important to him were the sort of positivity I craved. He would have been my favorite protagonist of all the games I played this year regardless, but he shone extra brightly in the darkness, and I adore him all the more for it. Ichiban’s struggles and triumphs were relatable and heartbreaking and beautiful, all at once, and helped propel his game not only to Game of the Year status, but also ousted Yakuza 5 from its pedestal as favorite game in the series. Ichiban is the hero everyone deserves, and I think his absolute banger of an anthem puts it best: “You may have nothing, yet you’ve got the bravery to go forth and lead a wonderful life.”
When the Past was Around is an incredible experience. A charming, yet melancholic, duet of love and tragedy played in perfect harmony. The game will only take about 2-3 hours to complete, but has every feel of a song of which you’ll never get tired. Perhaps that musical repeat symbol in its title art isn’t just for show, as it will be a pleasure to experience this melodic tale time and time again.
Overall, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is a very unique experience. The game mixes an action game with a pretty robust farming simulator and the results are pretty solid. The farming is very tedious at first, but it is great watching Sakuna grow and improve with each harvest. The combat is fast and fun, even if there are some issues with platforming aspects. The storytelling is great with a cast of likable characters that you will grow to love in your over 20 hours of gameplay. I think this one needed just a bit more polish, but I still think it is worth a go for anyone looking for something a bit different. Its charms really do outweigh its faults by a lot, and is well worth the $39.99 asking price.
THE LAST BLADE: Beyond the Destiny gives you a lot of game for a small $5.99 price tag. It will take you quite a few hours to grind out all the unlockables, and the mini games are always fun to pick and play for a few minutes. The graphics and sound are top notch, but most importantly, the game is a ton of fun to play. While I think some folks will be turned off by its retro look, gameplay is king here. I think fans of the series and folks that love fighters will find a lot to love here.
At the end of the day, UPPERS is a solid beat ’em up with a ton of Kenichiro Takaki style fanservice. It’s over the top and bombastic in all the best ways possible, and fans of his previous works will love this. You should buy this ASAP, you will have a ton of fun. Folks that like beat ’em ups in general should check this one out as well. While it doesn’t turn the genre on its head, there are plenty of solid mechanics here for those players to enjoy as well. There is enough content here for fans of beat ’em ups and fan service games to make it a worthy purchase at the $29.99 price tag. All of the DLC included here as well, and it’s great to see Daidōji-senpai back in action.
Ultimately, if you are an existing Trails of Cold Steel fan and you want to finish the story, you have no reason not to pick this game up. This is the ending you’ve been waiting for and more of what you love. If you’re only a returning Cold Steel III fan, you also might as well finish the story and see where Class VII ends up and what happens next. Despite not surpassing the greatness that was CS3, I had a fun time with Trails of Cold Steel IV. It’s a ton of content for the money and well worth playing at least once.
I have to say, Onee Chanbara Origin is a solid series entry. The new art style looks great, the music is fantastic and the gameplay is really fun. The problem here is I feel like the pricing on this one is a bit much. The base price of $59.99 for a six hour story mode is steep. Also, there are no unlockable costumes in the game. Those have to all be purchased as DLC. They do offer a Deluxe Edition for $74.99 that includes all the DLC costumes and missions. This is a much better deal than just buying the base game since there is quite a bit of DLC content, but I’m not a big fan of this pricing structure. The PC port has some issues as well, but I do feel like most of these will be taken care of with patches down the line. If you’re a fan of the franchise, you will probably want to jump on this one ASAP. You’ll find a lot to love here, and since it’s been a while since you got to cut up some zombies with the girls, you’ll be more than satisfied. Everyone else may want to wait a bit for them to line out some of the bugs or a sale before diving in.
Overall, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted can be a fun game in spite of its flaws. I imagine most players will want to play it in a darkened room for improved atmosphere, but you’ll get used to the jump scares fairly quickly. I like horror games, but I personally have no desire to play them in VR! So I really wasn’t too bothered by this version of the game not being in VR. If you really want to play this one in VR, you can get the original Steam version of the game, which also happens to be cheaper. The Nintendo Switch version is available on the eShop for $29.99. It is also available on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. I got through all of the normal mode levels and collected most of the Faz Tokens in around 10 hours or so, but there is a lot more content in hard mode. A few of the Faz Tokens and cassette tapes are hiding in hard mode too, so there is a bunch of additional gameplay beyond normal mode. Can you survive the night and avoid the rogue animatronics that are out to get you from the shadows?
At the end of the day Moero Crystal H does keep a lot of the same assets as the previous game. The monster designs are basically the same and some of the music is remixed. The game does add some amazing new monster girls and the system changes make everything flow better. It is much less frustrating trying to get good equipment this time around, since it’s not based on potluck. For the $39.99 price tag you get 50 to 60 hours of monster girl goodness. I feel like fans of the previous game should jump on this ASAP. You will find a lot to love here. If you’re a newcomer to series this is the perfect place to give it a try. The game’s systems are more welcoming and you need no knowledge of the previous title to fully enjoy this one.