[Review] Unicorn Overlord
Posted on 1 year ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: March 8, 2024
Developer: Vanillaware
Publisher: Atlus
It’s not very often you find a developer that is so truly passionate about their game that they will fund it out of their own pocket when the budget runs out, so determined are they to realize their creative vision that money ceases to be a factor. But this is par for the course for Vanillaware, who have delivered consistently excellent titles for over twenty years now. With Unicorn Overlord, a game ten years in the making, the company has crafted one of the most intricate, engaging, and mechanically dense tactical RPGs I’ve played in years.
More: Atlus, highlight, top, Unicorn Overlord, Vanillware
[Interview] Botany Manor’s creative director discusses upcoming game’s narrative, inspiration
Posted on 1 year 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 1 year 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 1 year 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
[Let’s Talk] What will Nintendo release for Switch in the second half of 2024?
Posted on 1 year ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 0 comments
About a week ago, Nintendo announced the release dates for Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD. They’ll be launching in May and June respectively. Some had thought that they could be coming in the latter half of the year, but it turns out they’re dropping fairly soon.
The second part of 2024 is now wide open for Nintendo. As things stand now, the company has no announced titles for the rest of the year. Some banked on a new Pokemon game coming out this holiday given how it seems Switch 2 won’t be arriving until 2025 (at least based on rumors), but even that isn’t happening with Pokemon Legends: Z-A confirmed for next year.
Obviously Nintendo won’t go the whole second half of 2024 without a new Switch game. What do you think the company could have in store? Do you think Metroid Prime 4 will finally arrive this year? Let us know in the comments.
[Review] Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley
Posted on 1 year ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: March 7, 2024
Developer: Hyper Games
Publisher: Raw Fury
Finding out that The Moomins is not only still an active franchise but is in fact still doing quite well for itself is one of the more surprising things that has happened to me this year thus far. As a child of the 90s I have fond memories of The Moomins (both the novels and the 1990s TV series) and I was eager to revisit that world in Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley, which appeared to capture the essence of Tove Jansson’s original works perfectly through its beautiful hand-drawn art style and relaxed, adventure-focused gameplay with a melodic twist that complemented the titular Snufkin. The “cozy gaming” space is packed with top quality titles at this point, and although I couldn’t necessarily recommend Snufkin over some others to those without that sense of nostalgia that drew me to it on the basis of its gameplay, it is nonetheless a title I find difficult to fault and would urge people to pick up as few are as immersive or charming as this one.
Examining the pros and cons of a Mother 3 localization
Posted on 1 year ago by Ethan in Features, GBA | 0 comments
The past couple of months have been both great and terrible for EarthBound fans. On one hand, we’ve received so much — a huge wave of Porky merchandise and plushes, a bunch of EarthBound icons for Nintendo Switch Online profiles, and even a release of Mother 3 on the Switch’s Game Boy Advance lineup. The problem is that Mother 3 release was only in Japan.
There’s a lot of discussion surrounding a potential Mother 3 localization – it seems to become a talking point every few years, mainly around the game’s anniversary in April. Though there are far more reasons why Nintendo wouldn’t want to release Mother 3 in the west, there are a couple of (admittedly quite hopeful) reasons that a localization is still possible. Today, we’re breaking down all of the reasons why. We’ll be discussing some light spoilers here, so if for some reason you’re avoiding them, please keep that in mind before you continue reading.
More: EarthBound, highlight, Mother, Mother 3, top
How will Pokemon X and Y’s story tie into Pokemon Legends: Z-A?
Posted on 1 year ago by Ethan in Features, Switch | 0 comments
When you ask a Pokemon fan which set of games has the best story, they’ll probably say Black and White (or their sequels). You likely won’t get many fans telling you that Pokemon X and Y’s story is their favorite, and it’s easy to see why! It’s safe to say that a good chunk of X and Y’s development time was dedicated to the new 3D graphics — which meant a lower emphasis on story. That being said, X and Y does have some interesting lore that isn’t often discussed. With the recent announcement of Pokemon Legends: Z-A, we think lots of threads from X and Y are going to be fleshed out into something special. Today, we’re going over Pokemon X and Y’s lore and what kind of plot points you could expect to see in Pokemon Legends Z-A next year.
More: Game Freak, highlight, Pokemon Legends Z-A, Pokemon X, Pokemon Y, top
[Let’s Talk] What are you playing? – March 2024
Posted on 1 year ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 0 comments
A new month just started up last week. Now that we’re in March, we want to know what you’ve been playing.
Have you played some of the releases from the new Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase? Are you now starting up Unicorn Overlord? No matter the case, let us know in the comments.
[Review] Mediterranea Inferno
Posted on 1 year ago by NE Staff in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: March 5, 2024
Developer: Eyeguys / Lorenzo Redaelli
Publisher: Santa Ragione
Mediterranea Inferno is an intense visual novel to play through; despite technically being a slice-of-life story, it revels in its own nihilism and hedonism relentlessly, never letting up during its short runtime. Well, at least some of that nihilism seems to have rubbed off on me by the end of my playthrough, as I found myself wondering: what was the point of witnessing all of the suffering that Mediterranea Inferno so eagerly shovels at the player? For a game seemingly so focused on trying to utter profound social commentary on heavy themes like sexuality, psychological abuse and mental trauma, it disappointingly seems to have little to say beyond depicting just how low people can stoop and how crappy they can be to each other. A strong sense of visual identity aside, Mediterranea Inferno was a game that I actively did not enjoy experiencing, and I struggle to understand who this story is even for.
