[Review] Detective Pikachu Returns
Posted on 1 year ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: October 6, 2023
Developer: Creatures
Publisher: Nintendo
Detective Pikachu first released in Japan in 2016, although it wouldn’t be until two years later that western audiences would get their hands on the game. It might be an exaggeration to say that it was a bolt of brilliance, but it clearly left enough of a lasting impact to warrant a sequel on the Switch to tie up loose ends in the plot. The aptly named Detective Pikachu Returns is more of the same, and although for many it will be a game that has arrived a little too late (especially if you’ve seen the movie) it is a game with an abundance of charm that is an easy recommendation to make for younger players and for those looking to kick back, relax, and watch a gruff, overdramatic, coffee-loving Pikachu get himself into all manner of trouble and save the day with his deductive reasoning skills. With a little help from Tim, of course.
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[Review] Fate/Samurai Remnant
Posted on 1 year ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: September 29, 2023
Developer: Omega Force
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Although Koei Tecmo has slowed down in recent years with numbered Dynasty Warriors games, one thing it has not let up on are crossover titles, which takes the familiar hack-and-slash formula and gives it a unique twist drawn from another franchise. The latest such crossover is Fate/Samurai Remnant, which takes its inspiration from Type-Moon’s Fate series, an exhaustively convoluted amalgamation of various media that started life as a visual novel in 2004. Despite a few visual hiccups on Switch, Fate/Samurai Remnant is far greater than the sum of its parts, and is a fantastic experience that is an easy recommendation for both newcomers and series veterans for both franchises.
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[Rapid Review] Faerie Afterlight
Posted on 1 year ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: September 28, 2023
Developer: Clay Game Studio
Publisher: Mastiff
There is an abundance of Metroidvanias on the Switch at this point, and it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd when some of the most critically acclaimed titles in recent years are your direct competition. Clay Game Studio’s Faerie Afterlight feels like a unique and noteworthy experience thanks to its truly stunning visual design and excellent terrain-based puzzle platforming, but ultimately falls short everywhere else, making it a hit-or-miss experience at best.
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[Review] Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong
Posted on 1 year ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: September 28, 2023 (Europe) / December 5 (North America)
Developer: Big Bad Wolf
Publisher: Nacon
Vampire the Masquerade is a series that has been around for a surprisingly long time, lurking in the shadows of tabletop roleplaying games since the early 90s as part of the larger World of Darkness series. It has been adapted into video game format a few times over the years, and Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong is the third of these games to come to Nintendo’s console. Unfortunately, it has not been worth the extremely long wait, and is something I wouldn’t recommend to even the most avid fans of the series.
[Rapid Review] A Tiny Sticker Tale
Posted on 1 year ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: October 4, 2023
Developer: Ogre Pixel
Publisher: Ogre Pixel
One of my main hobbies when I was a kid was collecting stickers. They were significantly cheaper than trading cards, and getting duplicates was slightly less frustrating because I could usually find a use for them, whether that was plastering them onto anything that had an inch of space, or swapping them with my friends. A Tiny Sticker Tale, the second game from Ogre Pixel to make its way to the Switch after a successful Kickstarter campaign, takes the idea of collecting stickers and runs wild with it, letting you change the world around you by placing and removing them with some creative environmental puzzles. Although it is over far too quickly, sometimes the most pleasant experience you can have is the one that doesn’t overstay its welcome.
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[Review] Cocoon
Posted on 1 year ago by Nicholas Serpa in News, Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: September 8, 2023
Developer: Geometric Interactive
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
Cocoon’s mechanical brilliance is the subtle kind, the kind that sneaks up on you. I knew going into my playthrough that this was the next project from Jeppe Carlsen, the lead gameplay designer of highly acclaimed side-scrollers Limbo and Inside; that type of pedigree sets high expectations, which for me were amplified further after a summer media demo left me with more questions than answers. The most important distinction to note with Cocoon is that it’s more outwardly a puzzle game than either of its forebears, and a very clever one; its trippy, entangled web of worlds is one big metapuzzle that’s true depth astonishes the deeper one dives into it. It’s also a game that somehow builds atmosphere masterfully, but frustratingly refuses to contextualize its world or provide any real stakes, narrative or even lore to engage with. Having rolled credits, I’m still unsure what exactly was the point of my little mechanical bug’s world-bending journey; this, combined with some technical issues on Switch, results in a game that somehow manages to both impress and disappoint at once.
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[Review] The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails
Posted on 1 year ago by Elias in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release Date: September 19, 2023
Developer: Falcom
Publisher: NIS America
In The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails, Nayuta is a young lad returning home from studying abroad. Summer vacation is to be spent back with your friends, after all. Getting back to his home of Remnant Isle, Nayuta and his best friend Cygna decide to spend their summer starting their old business back up. Sort of jacks of all trades, the two gallivant as handymen, taking on any kind of job thrown their way with glee. Eventually their work leads them to a mysterious set of ruins, and it is there that they find that they’ve perhaps stumbled upon the most daunting job yet. While Nayuta and Cygna start out hanging around for a simple summer vacation, a fateful encounter with the mysterious fairy Noi sparks a lot of questions and a lot of discovery. Exploring the ruins, Nayuta soon discovers an entire other world – Lost Heaven.
[Review] Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest Adventures of Dai
Posted on 1 year ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: September 28, 2023
Developer: Square Enix / GameStudio / Kai Graphics
Publisher: Square Enix
Although it isn’t quite as influential in the west as it is in Japan, there’s no denying the impact that the Dragon Quest series has had upon RPGs over the years. With eleven mainline entries and several spinoffs, it is one of Square Enix’s more enduring series, and has branched out into other media during its lifetime. Dragon Quest: The Adventures of Dai started life as a manga based upon the franchise, and has received two anime adaptations, with the most recent one wrapping up last year. Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest the Adventure of Dai comes full circle, being a video game adaptation of that anime. Although it loses a little in the transition, it serves as an excellent gateway into the series, but is unfortunately incomplete and rough around the edges, and is difficult to recommend solely on its own merits.
[Review] Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless
Posted on 1 year ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: October 3, 2023
Developer: Nippon Ichi Software
Publisher: NIS America
Disgaea games have always been a bit overwhelming. Their nonsensical plots, zany casts, and seemingly impenetrable walls of systems upon systems that have stats going into the millions and damage into the quadrillions can make them seem unapproachable to newcomers at the best of times. Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless, the latest in the long-running series, shares the same foibles as its predecessors to varying degrees, but is by far the most accessible game in the series to date, and is an easy recommendation to make for anyone looking to sink their teeth into an experience that never takes itself too seriously but offers strategic depth easily on par with the best the genre has to offer.
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[Review] Silent Hope
Posted on 1 year ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: October 3, 2023
Developer: Marvelous
Publisher: XSEED
Some of the most recognizable video games in history have had silent protagonists, and although their success might not have been determined by this choice, it is nonetheless a very effective mechanic to facilitate player immersion. In the absence of a defined personality, the imagination is free to run wild, and the player can insert themselves into the game’s world and story using that character as a proxy. However, what if your player character’s silence wasn’t a choice? Silent Hope, the latest game from XSEED Games and Marvelous, takes this idea as its basic premise and thrusts you into the heart of the mystery, and while its gameplay is fun and enjoyable in short bursts, there is less to be said about it the longer that you play.
