[Review] Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes
Posted on 2 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release Date: June 24, 2022
Developer: Koei Tecmo / Omega Force
Publisher: Nintendo
Warriors games have done exceptionally well at providing a strategic hack-and-slash experience, and Koei Tecmo has done a wonderful job at adapting many different properties into that format. In the case of Fire Emblem, it’s primarily been under the umbrella of strategy RPGs since its inception, but throughout the years we’ve seen it grow and become something more, turning into quite a deep experience. With so much to take into account when expanding on the Fire Emblem universe and given that Warriors games typically provide a straightforward experience, it’s incredible to see Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes essentially become a semi-sequel to Three Houses, as this is not just Fire Emblem Warriors 2, but genuinely feels like a brand-new Fire Emblem game where the battles are essentially replaced with Omega Force’s prowess in action-focused combat. Fire Emblem and Warriors titles both have a long history and have seen some fan favorites, yet marrying them together once more has created arguably one of the best games for both properties.
[Review] Yurukill: The Calumniation Games
Posted on 2 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release Date: July 5, 2022
Developer: IzanagiGames / G.rev / Esquadra
Publisher: NIS America
Yurukill: The Calumniation Games is almost a wonderful new version of the Danganronpa formula, this time pitting a bunch of a group of prisoners and executioner’s against each other as the former try to prove their innocence to the latter in a sequence of mini-games and theme park attractions that closely resemble former moments of their lives – most notably the crimes they’ve committed. It’s a fantastic amalgam of murder-mystery-driven plot devices, shoot ’em ups, visual novels, and questionnaires that works exceptionally over a beautiful explosion of colors and flair that makes the game as a whole an attraction of its own.
[Review] AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative
Posted on 2 years ago by Elias in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release Date: June 24, 2022
Developer: Spike Chunsoft
Publisher: Spike Chunsoft
As a core gamer, I’d never thought I’d find my bearings at the helm of a murder mystery title, much less a point-and-click adventure, but AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative is out now, and sometimes its just the right time to break the mold and start something new. I’ve spent a full week delving into the secrets and story twists, so let’s take a look together and see what I’ve been missing out on.
[Review] Mario Strikers: Battle League
Posted on 2 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: June 10, 2022
Developer: Next Level Games
Publisher: Nintendo
With its previous outings on GameCube and Wii, Mario had his own take on soccer (or football) that felt exciting and fresh at the time. A cast of characters from the franchise made up a roster for players to choose from and jump into a field with the basic rules of the sport in place, but with a few more mechanics that would further excite the gameplay – elements like specials, tackles, and specialized stadiums that certainly made the entire experience feel very, well, Mario. With little to no fouls to worry about, Mario Strikers was always a frenetic perspective on the traditional sport. Mario Strikers: Battle League has increased that chaos tenfold mechanically but does little elsewhere to warrant any sort of prolonged investment that prior entries to the series had before. While the game has a lot going for it, there feels like untapped potential has been left on the table.
[Review] Lost Ruins
Posted on 2 years ago by Nicholas Serpa in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release Date: June 6, 2022
Developer: Altari Games
Publisher: Dangen Entertainment
As I navigated the dark, sprawling catacombs and trap-filled dungeons of Lost Ruins, I was always deftly aware of the stakes at play. My protagonist – a plucky, somewhat oblivious schoolgirl who had somehow gotten herself transported to this strange land – was almost always a few missteps away from a grisly demise, be that via a hidden environmental trap or by the claws of a fast-moving zombie-like beast. Inevitably, I would falter and reload at my last checkpoint, often frustrated at myself for getting cornered or something similar – but every time, I was eager to jump back into the challenging world of Lost Ruins to explore more of the map and uncover its many secrets.
More: Altari Games, Dangen Entertainment, highlight, Lost Ruins, top
[Review] Neon White
Posted on 2 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release Date: June 16, 2022
Developer: Angel Matrix
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
A couple of months ago, we had the absolute pleasure of being invited by Annapurna Interactive to a private showing of Neon White with creator Ben Esposito to showcase everything the game had to offer and pick his brain about all of the creative inspirations. It was a telling and exciting preview event that increased excitement tenfold about what to expect. The game was immediately striking thanks to its flashy art direction and fast-paced nature of platforming and speedrunning that saw a group of people referred to as Neons that were formally alive be introduced into heaven and having to compete to prove their worth by ridding of all the demons that have been plaguing heaven. The most impressive part about it all is that Neon White feels like a divine adrenaline rush that is proud of its finesse and panache without ever feeling like it’s being cocky or overbearing, creating a seamless speedrunning experience that surprisingly lends itself to the Switch beautifully.
More: Angel Matrix, Annapurna Interactive, highlight, Neon White, top
[Review] Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles
Posted on 2 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in Reviews, Switch, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release Date: June 10, 2022
Developer: CyberConnect2
Publisher: SEGA
Demon Slayer is just the latest to tag alongside the likes of My Hero Academia to record numbers for its manga and animation distributions, and by this point in time, anyone who has even the smallest of interest in anime has probably heard about it. It’s no surprise then that its popularity has led it to getting a game. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaibi – The Hinokami Chronicles showcases most of what’s been presented in the anime and manga at this point, including its feature film, Mugen Train. With its cast of over thirty characters present and compiled in what is effectively the definitive version of the game with all DLC included, The Hinokami Chronicles gives a hearty round of content for both fans and newcomers alike a great way to play on Switch with an exceptional port.
[Review] OPUS: Echo of Starsong – Full Bloom Edition
Posted on 2 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release Date: May 11, 2022
Developer: SIGONO
Publisher: SIGONO
OPUS: The Day We Found Earth introduced me to the wonderfully talented SIGONO and the studio’s clear ambition to tell stories in a way that was equal parts refreshing, wholesome, and evocative. Roughly a year later and not long after its PC release, the developer brought us a follow-up of sorts (though not a direct sequel) with OPUS: Rocket of Whispers, which was more of an atmospheric point-and-click experience where you’d look through a telescope and locate different planets utilizing and coordinates and data you had at your disposal. The ambition for SIGONO was clearly to push their talents forward while still being able to tell this extremely palpable and moving story, and they excelled once again. Now comes along OPUS: Echoes of Starsong, which is once again vastly different from the other two entries in the series they’ve produced, but the gap in time and growth within the studio is put on display in such a way that the game is not only the best of an increasingly joyful series so far, but could easily be considered one of the most stunning, emotionally-driven, and unique visual novels of all time.
[Review] Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising
Posted on 2 years ago by Elias in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: May 10, 2022
Developer: Natsume Atari
Publisher: 505 Games
CJ is on a coming-of-age quest handed down to her from her family’s storied history as treasure hunters. Seeking out fabled riches in the recently booming adventurer destination, New Neveah, she finds out that the town is in a bit of a pinch. Using her talent for fighting and exploring, CJ begins to chase not only treasure, but the sense of community in helping the town rebuild after a recent quake. Mending the town’s ties between the villagers and the newly-arrived adventurers, a story unfolds that introduces us to the Eiyuden Chronicle universe, which is set to feature a turn-based RPG, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes from a legendary development team featuring Yoshitaka Murayama (Suikoden I, II) and Junko Kawano (Suikoden I, IV,) of Rabbit & Bear Studios. While this is not the main feature, they do have a lot of fans picking up this smaller companion game. So how does Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising reveal to us this new frontier of adventure?
[Review] The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story
Posted on 2 years ago by Nicholas Serpa in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release Date: May 12, 2022
Developer: h.a.n.d.
Publisher: Square Enix
Say what you will about Square Enix, but it’s impossible to deny that they’ve got a knack for publishing offbeat experiences that few other major publishers would touch. Their latest oddity, the lengthily named The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story, is an ambitious interactive detective story framed almost entirely through full-motion video (or FMV) – a style of presentation that really thrived in the 90’s but is only now experiencing a small resurgence in popularity. Despite its niche presentation, the game delivers an intimate and intelligent mystery that is well worth seeing through to the end, if players can endure its slow pacing and only moderately interesting characters.
