Stray review for Nintendo Switch
Posted on 2 days ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: November 19, 2024
Developer: BlueTwelve Studios
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
The life of a cat has perhaps been romanticized to some extent, but there’s no getting around the fact that it has been quite effective. Whether you love them or hate them, cats are the epitome of coziness in mainstream media, making them the ideal protagonists for more laid-back and comfortable video games. There aren’t many titles that will allow you to play as an ordinary cat, which is what makes BlueTwelve Studio’s Stray such an appealing title in many ways, putting you in the shoes (or rather, paws) of a regular cat in a cyberpunk setting. After two years since its initial release, the game has now finally made its way onto Nintendo Switch.
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Mario & Luigi: Brothership review for Nintendo Switch
Posted on 1 week ago by Edan(@@Virtualboi92) in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: November 8, 2024
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Acquire / Nintendo
The last year or so has been a remarkable year for RPGs, especially ones with “Mario” in the title. We’ve already been graced with lavishly produced remakes of both Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door – and now, Nintendo is closing out the year with a brand new, wholly original RPG in the form of Mario & Luigi: Brothership. The Mario & Luigi series was originally helmed by Alphadream before their unfortunate closure in 2019, for Brothership, Nintendo has tapped Way of the Samurai and Tenchu developer Acquire to carry the torch forward. While the franchise’s new stewards have done an admirable job adhering to the series’ identity, some considerable missteps prevent the latest Mario & Luigi entry from reaching the lofty heights of its predecessors.
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Tetris Forever review for Nintendo Switch
Posted on 1 week ago by Nicholas Serpa in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: November 12, 2024
Developer: Digital Eclipse
Publisher: Digital Eclipse
It’s easy to take Tetris for granted. Tetris games have been released on, apparently, over 65 different devices. Many have described it as the perfect puzzle game. Very smart scientists have even performed psychological studies about how Tetris affects the human brain. It has, incredibly, been about 40 years since the release of the very first Tetris title. To help celebrate such a monumental anniversary, the historians at developer and publisher Digital Eclipse are releasing Tetris Forever, a package that’s as much a digital museum as it is a compilation of retro Tetris games. While it’s hard to argue with the core quality of the experiences available in the package, overall I found the focus of Tetris Forever to be narrower than I had hoped – not just in terms of the history being shared, but the games themselves. It’s a good glimpse into the origins of this massive franchise, but not quite the definitive Tetris package it could have been.
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S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy Nintendo Switch review
Posted on 2 weeks ago by Edan(@@Virtualboi92) in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: October 31, 2024
Developer: GSC Game World / Mataboo
Publisher: GSC Game World
As a platform, the Switch has treated us to some serious wildcard franchise appearances over the last seven years. Few would have bet in 2017 that the hybrid console’s library would eventually be bolstered by almost every Saints Row, Sniper Elite, Metal Gear Solid, and Resident Evil game – to name but a few. However, here we are, being machine-gunned with ports and re-releases that continuously cement the Switch’s status as a Nintendo all-timer. As if our collective Switch-port bingo cards weren’t already full to the brim, GSC Gameworks have emerged forth, bringing the entire S.T.A.L.K.E.R trilogy lovingly nestled under their arm. Hang on – what?
Super Mario Party Jamboree review
Posted on 2 weeks ago by Nicholas Serpa in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: October 17, 2024
Developer: NDcube
Publisher: Nintendo
Like clockwork, roughly about every three years, Nintendo releases a new Mario Party game. That may seem like a lot, but it’s easy to forget that that for most of the series’ life these titles were getting cranked out on an annual basis. Nowadays though, Nintendo is spending more time and resources on these games than ever before – and it shows. While 2021’s Mario Party Superstars felt like a refreshing trip down memory lane, Super Mario Party Jamboree raises the bar for the series on multiple levels, from its clever and dynamic game boards to its robust suite of online options and modes. My nostalgia for the older entries aside, this one represents easily some of the most fun I’ve ever had in a Mario Party game, and it’s secured a spot as my new go-to title for multiplayer madness on the. Switch Lite players will want to pause before picking this game up – but everyone else has a lot to look forward to.
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[Review] Sonic x Shadow Generations
Posted on 3 weeks ago by Edan(@@Virtualboi92) in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: October 25, 2024
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: SEGA
The original release of 2011’s Sonic Generations felt as much like recompense as it did celebration. The unsteady gait that Sonic had developed since his switch to 3D was slowing him to an unwieldy crawl, and developer Sonic Team felt it was time to earnestly look back at their legacy to plot a path forward. The result was about the best a 2011 Sonic fan could have hoped for – lashings of nostalgia without being overly condescending to the long-term fan, and with just enough tongue-in-cheek, self-referential humor to disarm the stern melodrama that had worked its way into Sonic’s latter outings. Sonic Generations was intended to serve as a launch pad for the next 20 years of Sonic, however, its mechanical jitteriness and saggy latter half dampened its appeal to fans old and new. Sega and Sonic Team are now back for another crack at it, with Sonic x Shadow Generations seeking to tighten up the overall experience and inject a jet-black dose of edge into one of Sonic’s more memorable recent outings.
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[Review] Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered
Posted on 3 weeks ago by Nicholas Serpa in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: October 31, 2024
Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture / Engine Software
Publisher: NetEase
When a game is given the label of “cult classic,” in my experience, this is typically due to one of two possible scenarios occurring. The first is that the game itself was generally deemed above average in terms of quality, but for business or marketing reasons never found a huge audience; this is the optimistic perspective. The second, more cynical perspective is that the game itself ended up as a middling experience due to creative or technical decisions, but managed to find a small fanbase in spite of these issues. Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered boldly labels itself as “a cult classic born from the most creative minds in the industry” on its store pages, so it begs the question: exactly what type of cult classic is this 2011 third-person shooter, and how does it hold up 13 years after its initial release?
[Review] Yakuza Kiwami
Posted on 3 weeks ago by Edan(@@Virtualboi92) in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: October 24, 2024
Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Publisher: SEGA
Ask any cohort of gamers what their favorite aspect of SEGA’s Yakuza series is, and you’ll doubt that each person you’ve involved in your study is talking about the same game. Some will highlight its accessible yet more-ish combat, or perhaps the unshakeable morals of the series’ most illustrious protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu. Quiz anyone who owns a Switch, however, and they will likely bemoan the free-roam brawler’s absence on Nintendo’s hybrid console. With the machine now coasting through its autumnal years with a continuously stacked release schedule, SEGA has opted to bring Switch owners into the family by porting Yakuza Kiwami – a remake of the series’ inaugural outing – to the console that just won’t die.
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[Review] Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven
Posted on 4 weeks ago by Elias in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: October 24, 2024
Developer: Square Enix / Xeen
Publisher: Square Enix
Square Enix’s SaGa franchise has seen quite the return over the last few years. With almost as many entries as the mainline Final Fantasy games, the series has had a lot of time to define itself – resulting in a focus on non-linearity, exploration, and a unique take on character advancement and customization that in the modern age is still surprisingly addictive and proves that the SaGa renaissance is in full swing. Heading in to a game I first experienced on Switch when it was first ported to the west in 2017, I was incredibly excited to return to the world of Avalon in beautiful 3D with Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven.
[Review] Card-en-Ciel
Posted on 1 month ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: October 24, 2024
Developer: Inti Creates
Publisher: Inti Creates
If there’s one thing I don’t think we get enough of these days, it’s video game crossovers and character cameos. There’s something delightful in watching characters from different series interact with one another in “what if” scenarios. Despite being a deckbuilder, which is a far cry from the 2D action games they are better known for, Card-en-Ciel feels like a love letter to Inti Creates’ catalog of releases up to this point, and it delivers a surprisingly deep combat system that somehow manages to stay fresh despite the repetition and roguelike trappings that occasionally throw off the pacing.
