[Review] Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Posted on 11 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: January 18, 2024
Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown came as something of a surprise when it was announced during Summer Game Fest last year. The series had been in an odd state of partially suspended animation up to that point, with the last mainline entry on consoles being 2010’s The Forgotten Sands, and the only other activity being largely ignored mobile spinoffs and the vague promises of a remake of the first game in the series. A brand new 2.5D entry was probably the last thing anyone expected, and while The Lost Crown won’t be the game that many fans were asking for, it nonetheless stands out as a fantastic entry in the series that is more than worth your time.
[Let’s Talk] What are you playing? – January 2024
Posted on 11 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 0 comments
A new month – along with a new year – started up this week. Now that we’re in January, we want to know what you’ve been playing.
With game releases slowing down in December, have you started anything in your backlog? Maybe you’re now going through something you received during the holidays? No matter the case, let us know in the comments.
[Preview] Dome-King Cabbage
Posted on 11 months 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
[Review] Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince
Posted on 11 months ago by Elias in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: December 1, 2023
Developer: Square Enix / Tose
Publisher: Square Enix
There has been a resurgence of great turn-based RPGs over the last decade – the Switch itself becoming somewhat of a bastion for fans of long stories and level grinding, with no shortage of adventures to unwind with as the system moves ever onward in its lifespan. Monster taming games have been around for quite some time, emerging in 1987 with Megami Tensei, a mature-themed romp through a world of demons and pacts, but soon joined by more lighthearted franchises like Dragon Quest V’s monster recruiting mechanic, Pokemon’s Game Boy games launching to huge success, and the lesser known series Monster Rancher’s disc-related gimmick spurring many monster-taming fans to action placing every CD they could get their hands on into their PlayStation in order to spawn a new and potentially powerful creature. Dragon Quest Monsters’ titles play more like your classic castles and dragons adventure, just with a team you raise and strengthen a little differently than you might if you were playing something like Final Fantasy. The series now returns with Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, and players will get to see another side to a mainline game’s most evil villain character while simultaneously becoming a very powerful monster wrangler.
[Preview] Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story
Posted on 11 months 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.
[Preview] 6 compelling indies we played at Day of the Devs 2023
Posted on 11 months ago by Nicholas Serpa in Previews, Switch | 0 comments
Earlier this month, Nintendo Everything dropped by the Day of The Devs indie showcase event in Los Angeles to demo some upcoming Switch games from small teams all over the globe. We played a staggering variety of games and had a chance to chat with some of the developers behind unique titles like Dome-King Cabbage and Resistor, and will be publishing dedicated previews for some of these games over the coming week; Still, with more games present on the show-floor than we could dream of covering individually, we thought we’d compile a list of some smaller titles that might not be on your radar yet. Here are six Switch-bound indies we played at Day of the Devs 2023 to keep an eye on!
[Let’s Talk] 2024 hopes and dreams for Nintendo
Posted on 11 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 0 comments
Only a few days remain in 2023, so it’s time to start thinking about 2024. What are your hopes and dreams for Nintendo next year?
When we enter March, Switch will be seven years old and starting its eighth year. Nintendo doesn’t seem to be abandoning the console anytime soon with a number of games already confirmed for 2024. We’re getting Another Code: Recollection in January, Mario vs. Donkey Kong in February, Princess Peach: Showtime in March, and Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door later on. Obviously there should be even more to come.
If you believe some of the rumors out there, we could also be getting a Switch successor in 2024. It’s a logical possibility given how old the current system is, but no announcements have been made so far.
With all of that in mind, let us know how you’re feeling about Nintendo as we head into 2024.
[Preview] Hands-on with Resistor, an ambitious racing RPG
Posted on 11 months ago by Nicholas Serpa in Previews, Switch | 0 comments
It feels like racing games are often excused from needing to tell stories; even as players, we’ve been trained to expect little more from the genre than schlocky tales of midnight street racing, if there’s even any context to the action at all. That can be just fine as many players only care about the feel of the driving, but there’s so much potential for fresh ideas. That’s why I’m curious about Resistor, an upcoming racing RPG whose lead developer, Violet McVinnie, previously worked on cinematics and narrative for titles like Mass Effect and Dragon Age. There’s a lot of potential for Resistor to be something unique, and while my brief demo only let me preview a small slice of the game, I’m hopeful it will prove that racing games can indeed tell deeper stories than they typically do.
More: highlight, Long Way Home, PQube, Resistor, top
[Preview] Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes
Posted on 11 months ago by Nicholas Serpa in Previews, Switch | 0 comments
It always seems to happen the same way: just when I think I’m ready to take a break from playing big, sprawling JRPGs that threatens to suck up every ounce of my free time, along comes a game like Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes that immediately makes me reconsider. After spending the past few years deep in development following an immensely successful Kickstarter campaign in 2020, the turn-based RPG will finally land on Switch next spring and will hopefully help scratch the Suikoden itch that Konami has ignored for over a decade. I was fortunate to have a chance to demo the game in Los Angeles recently, and while I only got to experience a small sliver of the opening chunk of the game, I really enjoyed what bits of the story, combat, and exploration I played.
[Let’s Talk] Favorite E3 memories
Posted on 11 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 0 comments
With E3 officially coming to a permanent end this week, now’s a good time for reflection. The expo was home to some of the most memorable moments and that’s something we want to dive into.
For Nintendo, there were plenty of memorable moments over the years. It was where the company showed off new hardware like the 3DS and Wii U. It also gave us some massive announcements such as The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which may never be topped in terms of reaction. Even outside of reveals, there were other memorable moments such as Reggie Fils-Aime’s first major appearance. When Nintendo moved to digital presentations in later years, we still got some special presentations like with Robot Chicken and The Jim Henson Company.
So what were your favorite E3 moments over the past couple of decades? Let us know in the comments.