[Review] Mon-Yu
Posted on 7 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: September 21, 2023
Developer: Experience
Publisher: Aksys Games
If you’re a fan of anime or light novels, you’re probably familiar with the interesting trend of giving a series an overly long and descriptive sentence for a title. Mon Yu: Defeat Monsters and Gain Strong Weapons and Armor. You May Be Defeated, but Don’t Give Up, Become Stronger. I Believe There Will Be a Day When the Heroes Defeat the Devil King (hereafter referred to simply as just Mon-Yu for obvious reasons) is the latest in a long line of DRPGs from Experience, and has clearly been inspired by this trend in some ways, with its colorful chibi character art style suggesting a light-hearted, easygoing adventure to rid the world of evil. However, beneath this seemingly cheerful aesthetic lies a core of steel that cuts a little too sharply to be appealing.
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[Review] Curse Crackers: For Whom the Belle Toils
Posted on 7 months ago by Elias in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: August 24, 2023
Developer: Colorgrave
Publisher: Colorgrave
Side-scrolling platformers are a classic genre – in fact, for many players they’re the first kind of game ever picked up. As a child in the 90s, my introduction to video games was a classic NES Mario title, and upon booting up Curse Crackers: For Whom the Belle Toils, I had a wave of nostalgia wash over me, reminding me of what games looked like when I was small. The intro sets up the back story just like what I was used to, and seeing character portraits and pixelated text felt like a blast from the past. The chiptune soundtrack made me crack a smile immediately. Diving a little deeper, I wanted to know if Curse Crackers was more than just an homage to bygone times, or if it could stand by games of the modern age.
[Review] Fae Farm
Posted on 7 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: September 8, 2023
Developer: Phoenix Labs
Publisher: Phoenix Labs
The farming/life sim genre has exploded in recent years, and with an abundance of high quality titles now available on Switch, it is becoming increasingly difficult for new entrants to stand out from the crowd. Fae Farm, which comes from Phoenix Labs, is the latest to have gathered some attention prior to its launch thanks to its magic-focused premise, RPG elements, and quality-of-life features that make the pains of the genre more bearable and accessible. While Fae Farm takes several steps in the right direction towards this end, there are some design choices that make the overall experience less magical than it could have been.
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[Review] Blasphemous II
Posted on 7 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: August 24, 2023
Developer: The Game Kitchen
Publisher: Team17
Blasphemous was a smash hit when it released in 2019, two years after a highly successful Kickstarter campaign. Two years after the first game wrapped up with The Wounds of Eventide DLC, developer The Game Kitchen is back with this direct sequel. At this point you probably know if the Soulslike Metroidvania genre is one you enjoy, and Blasphemous II won’t be changing your mind. However, it stands out from the crowd and is a marked improvement on the original game, and one I would definitely recommend that you pick up if you’re on the fence.
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[Rapid Review] The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood
Posted on 7 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: August 16, 2023
Developer: Deconstructeam
Publisher: Devolver Digital
It’s not uncommon these days to see a game with a choice-based narrative, which allows players to engage with the story on a deeper level by placing themselves in the role of the character they play as, allowing them to shape that character’s personality and interaction as they see fit with little regard for the consequences: if you make the wrong choice, you can reload and try again, or make another choice to steer yourself back to the ending that you want. But it’s rare to find a game that doesn’t clearly signpost which choices are the “right” and “wrong” ones, and instead lets you decide for yourself and force you to live with the consequences, whatever they may be. The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, developed by Deconstructeam, lets you take fate into your own hands, for better or worse, in a way that results in a highly personal experience that has as much meaning as you choose to give it.
[Rapid Review] Samba de Amigo: Party Central
Posted on 7 months ago by Edan(@@Virtualboi92) in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: August 29, 2023
Developer: SEGA
Publisher: SEGA
Look, I don’t want to seem ungrateful – but out of all of the franchises SEGA could have thawed from cryo-sleep in 2023, Samba de Amigo was not the one I would have expected. The fan-favorite rhythm action celebration of Latin American music and culture last graced our consoles a whopping 15 years ago, and even that was just a Wii port of an even older title. Nevertheless, SEGA has seen fit to resurrect the franchise with a brand new entry exclusive to Switch, and they’ve even attached series creator Shun Nakamura as the game’s director and producer. You would hope that this pedigree coupled with the the console’s maraca-adjacent control method would result in a pleasantly breezy party-game smash – the reality however, is anything but with Samba de Amigo: Party Central.
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[Review] Sea of Stars
Posted on 7 months ago by Elias in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: August 29, 2023
Developer: Sabotage Studio
Publisher: Sabotage Studio
Another successful Kickstarter project, Sea of Stars was fully funded only seven hours after being live on the platform. Canadian-based developer Sabotage Studio mapped out several stretch goals only to see them continuously blown away. Now with the release of this retro-inspired turn-based RPG, a nostalgic wind blows for older gamers that remember the golden age of SNES and SEGA Genesis titles – RPGs that Sea of Stars pays homage to in myriad ways. As a prequel to their previous game, The Messenger, Sea of Stars expands upon Sabotage Studio’s ability to tell a story, and this time they’ve taken a bit more of a lofty approach. Going from an action platformer to a storied RPG is quite a change, after all.
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[Rapid Review] Vampire Survivors
Posted on 7 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: August 17, 2023
Developer: Poncle
Publisher: Poncle
Every now and then a game will be released that breaks away from the labels that we use to define titles and will become a thing entirely unto itself. Vampire Survivors is one such game, having been met with massive success when it first launched last year. Part rogue-like, part bullet-hell, and entirely self-contained, it has already inspired several other titles that have tried to capture its unique magic. It is magic, I am very pleased to say, that is a perfect fit for the Switch, and a game that is more than worth your time.
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[Rapid Review] Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical
Posted on 8 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: August 10, 2023
Developer: Summerfall Studios
Publisher: Humble Games
Greek mythology has been a popular inspiration for video games for some time now, with both AAA series and indie titles placing us into the world of the pantheon of gods and their various conflicts, which are typically resolved with violence. Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical brings with it a different approach, giving us a modern-day setting and challenging us to resolve our differences through the power of song. The result is something that probably won’t be winning over the hearts and minds of those averse to breaking out into song with the flimsiest of excuses anytime soon, but will have anyone else singing its praises.
[Review] Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
Posted on 8 months ago by Nicholas Serpa in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: August 18, 2023
Developer: Team Reptile
Publisher: Team Reptile
Jet Set Radio is one of SEGA’s classic Dreamcast games – its combination of fast-paced rollerblading, urban vandalism and high-energy hip-hop have remained unique in the decades since the original release. Sadly, it’s a title that’s become increasingly inaccessible these days, and the franchise has been dormant for a long time. Well, if SEGA were to make a Jet Set Radio game in 2023, it would probably look a lot like Bomb Rush Cyberfunk – the developers at Team Reptile have taken everything you loved from the titles that inspired it, revamped it all with modern controls, and repackaged it with some incredible music and a high-energy cast of characters. This is the game Jet Set Radio fans have been waiting for – and for everyone else, it’s one of the most creative, exciting skating games released in decades.
