Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered review for Nintendo Switch
Posted on 3 days ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: December 10, 2024
Developer: Crystal Dynamics
Publisher: Aspyr
One of many series that I have mourned the loss of over the last two decades is Legacy of Kain. After the disastrous Nosgoth spinoff was cancelled and the IP was passed back and forth over the years with various acquisitions, it seemed to be a series that would be eventually forgotten about. The Soul Reaver duology received widespread critical acclaim at the time of their release, and even though this was 25 years ago, their resurrection on the Nintendo Switch as Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered shows that time has done little to dull what made them such noteworthy titles when they were first released.
Fantasian Neo Dimension review for Nintendo Switch
Posted on 1 week ago by Elias in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: December 5, 2024
Developer: Mistwalker
Publisher: Square Enix
After talk of retiring with the original release of Fantasian on Apple Arcade in 2021, Hironobu Sakaguchi, previously of Square Enix’s golden age of RPGs, has decided that he’s not quite ready to stop doing what he loves. As a joint project between his studio, Mistwalker, and Square Enix, Sakaguchi’s latest effort brings us Fantasian Neo Dimension – an enhanced full release of the RPG. While the game was already seeing acclaim on mobile, this new version takes it to new platforms with improved features, making the experience more accessible than ever. If you’ve been curious about Fantasian but had no avenue to play it due to its Apple Arcade prison sentence, now’s your chance to finally dive into this unique RPG.
More: Fantasian, highlight, Mistwalker, Square Enix, top
MySims: Cozy Bundle review for Nintendo Switch
Posted on 3 weeks ago by Edan(@@Virtualboi92) in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: November 19, 2024
Developer: EA
Publisher: EA
When is a “cozy” game not, in fact, a cozy game? EA’s surprise re-release of the Wii-era MySims games for Nintendo Switch is a curious case of historical revisionism, given that both the original game and its follow-up MySims: Kingdom both pre-date the term by at least a decade. Nevertheless, the original games’ twee 2000’s aesthetic and alleged cozy credentials have merited a quick and dirty remaster job for the Nintendo’s hybrid. Nostalgic pull aside, the awkward holdovers that come with Wii Remote controls, and stiff competition within the genre dull the franchise’s grand re-appearance.
Stray review for Nintendo Switch
Posted on 1 month 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.
More: Annapurna Interactive, BlueTwelve Studio, higlight, Stray, top
Mario & Luigi: Brothership review for Nintendo Switch
Posted on 1 month 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.
More: Acquire, highlight, Mario & Luigi: Brothership, top
Tetris Forever review for Nintendo Switch
Posted on 1 month 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.
More: Digital Eclipse, highlight, Tetris Forever, top
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy Nintendo Switch review
Posted on 1 month 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 1 month 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.
More: highlight, NDCube, Super Mario Party Jamboree, top
[Review] Sonic x Shadow Generations
Posted on 1 month 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.
More: highlight, SEGA, Sonic Generations, top
[Review] Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered
Posted on 2 months 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?
