[Preview] Two Strikes brutal ballet of bloody combat is a blast to play
Posted on 10 months ago by Nicholas Serpa in Previews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
Typically when I’m playing a fighting game, it doesn’t take much to recover from a sloppy combo or a mild beating from an opponent; there are usually plenty of chances to get my fighter back on their feet when my skills inevitably lapse. Two Strikes, on the other hand, isn’t quite so merciful. This upcoming fighting game from Retro Reactor promises exactly what it says on the tin: take damage twice, and you’re dead, often in gloriously gory fashion. I had the chance to demo the game briefly at Day of the Devs in San Francisco, and while I didn’t have enough time to get wholly acquainted with the nuances of battle, I enjoyed familiarizing myself with the tense, careful dance of Two Strikes’ vicious combat.
[Interview] Botany Manor’s creative director discusses upcoming game’s narrative, inspiration
Posted on 10 months ago by Nicholas Serpa in Interviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
Back in 2022, a cozy-looking first-person puzzle game named Botany Manor was highlighted during one of Nintendo’s Indie World showcases. I had an opportunity to preview the game at PAX West last year, and enjoyed its gardening-based puzzles and the warmth of its lush locale.
Ahead of its release for Switch on April 9, I met with the game’s creative director Laure de May at Day of the Devs San Francisco to chat more about her inspiration for the game, its development, and more. You can read our full discussion below.
More: Balloon Studios, Botany Manor, highlight, top, Whitethorn Games
[Review] Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story
Posted on 10 months ago by Nicholas Serpa in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: March 13, 2024
Developer: Digital Eclipse
Publisher: Digital Eclipse
There have been some outstanding documentaries about video games released over the past few years, chronicling the development of major games like Psychonauts 2 and The Last of Us at a level of transparency that is quite rare in the secretive modern industry landscape. And while I adore these types of projects, what better way is there to experience a slice of gaming history than by playing through it? Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story is the latest attempt at an interactive history lesson from developer Digital Eclipse, and this project focuses on telling the story of the rise of the studio behind classic score-chasers like Gridrunner and Tempest 2000. This package compiles over 40 of Jeff Minter’s programs – not all of them are games, interestingly – alongside a swath of video interviews and documents to pore over. While I didn’t find every piece of the package inherently interesting, overall this a great glimpse into the mind of one of gaming’s earliest avant-garde developers, and there’s plenty of fun to be had along the way.
[Review] Death of a Wish
Posted on 10 months ago by Nicholas Serpa in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: March 11, 2024
Developer: melessthanthree
Publisher: melessthanthree
As I journeyed across the nightmarish, apocalyptic world of Death of a Wish, slaughtering through the countless waves of monstrosities that crossed protagonist Christian’s path, my journey to help him hunt down the forces that had decimated this place became a substantially more mysterious one than I had expected initially. This may be a combat-action game through and through, but beyond its narrow and polished gameplay focus lies a narrative web of opposing forces that’s just as compelling to untangle, even when the power of its relentlessly brooding atmosphere begins to fade. Death of a Wish is tightly-designed, fiendish action experience that rewards players who fully engage with its mechanics and world building, and despite some missed opportunities here and there, I enjoyed the time I spent with it.
More: Death of a Wish, highlight, melessthanthree, top
[Review] Ufouria: The Saga 2
Posted on 11 months ago by Nicholas Serpa in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: March 1, 2024
Developer: Sunsoft
Publisher: Red Art Games
Back in 1991, video game developer Sunsoft – perhaps best-known these days for its Blaster Master series – was trying to get a new franchise off the ground, in part to help cement a new mascot for the company. Ufouria: The Saga was the result – a quirky 2D platformer whose main gimmick was its ability for players to swap between four different characters. While the game did well enough to spawn a series of puzzle games featuring the same oddball cast and charming presentation, the original title been almost entirely unavailable for western players outside of a now-inaccessible Virtual Console rerelease and a limited run in Europe. That’s why it’s such a delightful surprise that now, over thirty years later, Sunsoft has released a sequel – and fortunately, an excellent one. Ufouria: The Saga 2 not only tightly modernizes the satisfying gameplay of the original, but imbues its world and characters with a sense of whimsy and humor that had me smiling from start to finish.
More: highlight, Red Art Games, Sunsoft, top, Ufouria: The Saga 2
[Review] Mario vs. Donkey Kong
Posted on 11 months ago by Nicholas Serpa in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: February 16, 2024
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
For as much as Mario’s continued success can be traced back all the way to his debut in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong, outside of the occasional professional sporting tournament, kart race or fistfight, he and the famous ape rarely share the screen these days as much as they used to. And it really isn’t Mario’s fault, now is it? How concerned can we expect him to be with a banana-obsessed gorilla while Bowser is off transforming into floating sentient castles in Super Mario Bros Wonder? That said, I’m pleased to report that the characters’ rivalry is still alive and well, brought to the forefront once again with this release of Mario vs. Donkey Kong. A remake of the titular 2004 Game Boy Advance puzzle-platformer that spawned its own series, this game sports both enhanced visuals and some new stages and modes. But is that enough to warrant a revisit and bring in new players, and how does this enhanced package hold up twenty years after the original?
More: highlight, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, top
[Review] Another Code: Recollection
Posted on 1 year ago by Nicholas Serpa in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: January 19, 2024
Developer: Arc System Works / Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
It’s really a bit remarkable that, of all the long-dormant franchises Nintendo could have chosen to resurrect next, it was Another Code that they decided to give another chance. I’m totally here for it, both as a fan of narrative-driven adventure games, and as an advocate for the preservation and accessibility of older titles; I’m just surprised that it actually happened. Another Code: Recollection is a full remake of the 2005 DS game Another Code: Two Memories, as well as its Wii sequel, Another Code R: Journey into Lost Memories – the latter which never released in North America. While these puzzle-tinted mystery games have always been well-regarded by fans for their compelling premises and overall atmosphere, they never sold particularly well globally and generally received mixed reviews from critics; furthermore, the original development studio no longer exists, and both games were built around hardware features unique to their original platforms. Well, against all odds, we now have a reimagined collection of both titles sporting improved visuals and presentation, and even some narrative and gameplay changes. While I ultimately enjoyed my time getting to know the game’s charming protagonist and unraveling a moderately captivating mystery, Another Code: Recollection’s toothless writing and shallow moment-to-moment gameplay makes it a slightly niche recommendation.
[Preview] 1000xResist
Posted on 1 year ago by Nicholas Serpa in Switch eShop | 0 comments
1000xResist begins, like many good mysteries do, with a murder. Or, rather, an assassination. Mere moments into my demo, I watch as a woman named Watcher plunges her knife in the body of a woman who looks just like her. But the act isn’t without purpose: it’s a necessary part of a ritual called a Communion, which allows the executioner to relive the memories of the person they just killed. That dramatic opening is just the start of what seems poised to be a complex story in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi world, and it left me curious to see more of this experimental take on a time-travel adventure.
[Preview] Dome-King Cabbage
Posted on 1 year ago by Nicholas Serpa in Previews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
“My first memory is of a toy… at least, I think it is.” Those are among the first words uttered in Dome-King Cabbage, a surreal visual novel that has a wholly unique sense of style unlike anything else in the genre. Created by solo developer Joe Buchholz (also known as Cobysoft Joe), Dome-King Cabbage feels like the type of strange, psychedelic project that could only come from the indie scene, and has quickly become one of my most anticipated indies.
More: Cobysoft, Dome-King Cabbage, Hyper Real
[Preview] Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story
Posted on 1 year ago by Nicholas Serpa in Previews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
The historical preservation of video games has increasingly become a widespread concern in recent years, due in no small part to the closure of legacy digital storefronts, the frequent delisting of digital games and server shutdowns galore. But beyond that, there’s a real risk that decades of game history from the 20th century will eventually be lost or widely inaccessible – not every game is going to end up preserved via a retro-focused service like Nintendo Switch Online or Antstream Arcade. But developer Digital Eclipse – now a subsidiary of Atari – is experimenting with preservation in a unique way with its Gold Master Series. These interactive documentaries combine games, video clips, scans of game design documents and more into a package that’s not merely a compilation of old games, but also a historical archive of specific chunks of the industry’s history. Following this year’s The Making of Karateka, the studio’s next title focuses on game developer Jeff Minter and his studio Llamasoft, and it’s poised to be a fascinating memoir of a bygone era of game development.
