[Review] Monster Hunter Rise
Posted on 4 years ago by Amit Dhindsa(@Agnezenn) in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: March 26, 2021
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Monster Hunter Rise has been a long time coming. With the continued success of the series on 3DS and the immediate, roaring success of Switch as a handheld and home console hybrid both in Japan and around the globe, a new entry in the series early in the console’s life cycle seemed like a given. While the system did receive an enhanced port of Monster Hunter Generations awhile back, the original Monster Hunter so many expected eluded the system for a number of years. Now finally, four years later, Monster Hunter Rise is set to deliver on those expectations.
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[Review] Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town
Posted on 4 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: March 23, 2021
Developer: Marvelous
Publisher: XSEED Games
Farming simulators are games that you either get or you don’t, and the evolution of technology has led to an expansion of the genre that has gone beyond the typical routine that involves simply planting a seed and selling crops. We’re now visiting these worlds where farming is complementary to everything else you can do rather than being the core focus. After having revisited the likes of Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town and Return to Popolocrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale, it’s clear that Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is moving forward and embracing growth and change now more than ever, which mostly works to its benefit. However, there are clear inspirations from other titles that feel like a dull copy rather than a platform to launch off of. Either way, Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town does well to incorporate new ideas and polish up the old, while having a serene time playing in an environment I keep thinking about and coming back to, even if it’s far from perfect.
[Review] Sea of Solitude: The Director’s Cut
Posted on 4 years ago by Campbell(@CampbellSGill) in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: March 4, 2021
Developer: Jo-Mei
Publisher: Quantic Dream
After making only the faintest of splashes in its initial release on other consoles in 2019, the emotional indie game Sea of Solitude has returned on Switch. However, bearing the familiar “Director’s Cut” subtitle that can be found on so many other Switch ports, this re-release promises to add new features like rewritten scenes, additional voice acting, and refined mechanics to the base game. Whether this will be your first time setting sail or you’ve already voyaged with the game, the question remains: does Sea of Solitude’s Director’s Cut make waves in its Switch debut, or is it best left stranded at sea?
[Review] Bravely Default II
Posted on 4 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: February 26, 2021
Developer: Square Enix / Claytechworks
Publisher: Nintendo
It’s hard for me to reflect on the 3DS without thinking about the fond memories I’ve had playing Bravely Default, spending over 150 hours to fully complete everything the game had to offer – from getting all jobs and characters to max levels, to seeing credits roll, completing all dungeons and sidequests, and just about everything until my cartridge became no more than a paperweight by the end of it all. It was a part of the genre I had so deeply missed, and while I love the innovation and how far role-playing games have comes since the days of Final Fantasy Adventures and Chrono Trigger, sometimes you can’t help but “go back to the basics” to a simpler time where you could strategize more, form a party of warriors and mages, and go on a fantastical adventure. Now with the power of Unreal Engine 4, Bravely Default II looks as beautiful as ever, as your party of four shines in battle with a more 3D-esque approach compared to its predecessors, yet still retaining its artistic integrity and stunning environmental design. The series’ Switch debut is a massive leap forward for the series on both a mechanical and technical level, even if there are some tweaks made this time around that may or may not be questionable to those who have played the entries before it.
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[Review] Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection
Posted on 4 years ago by Campbell(@CampbellSGill) in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: February 25, 2021
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection makes one thing immediately clear: it hates you. As the current-generation revival of Capcom’s infamously brutal series of action platformers, Resurrection is just as punishing as the games before it. It delights in throwing obscene amounts of hellish enemies at you from every angle, requiring deft platforming and lightning-fast reflexes – not to mention unshakeable endurance – to make it to the end of every level. The game does make a handful of modern additions, including the advent of much-needed difficulty options, but Resurrection remains a hardcore Ghosts ‘n Goblins game to the core. It’s sure to satisfy longtime series fans, but anyone hoping for a more modern design sensibility might need to take their boxers elsewhere.
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[Review] Persona 5 Strikers
Posted on 4 years ago by Nicholas Serpa in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: February 23, 2021
Developer: Koei Tecmo / Omega Force
Publisher: Atlus
Less than a month after the Switch launched in March 2017, Atlus and P-Studio released the critically acclaimed RPG Persona 5 on PlayStation platforms – and since then, fans of the franchise have been begging the powers that be for a Switch release of the high school simulator/interdimensional dungeon-crawler. That has yet to happen, but the launch of Persona 5 Strikers is perhaps the next best thing – a sequel that shares the iconic characters and sense of style of Persona 5, but featuring an entirely new story and style of gameplay that’s even faster and flashier than the original game. Strikers is an excellent action game with an engaging narrative that is sure to captivate any fan of the franchise – but newcomers to Persona may have a hard time jumping in without playing the original.
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[Review] Little Nightmares II
Posted on 4 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in Reviews, Switch, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: February 11, 2021
Developer: Tarsier Studios
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Little Nightmares quickly became a much beloved hit among fans of horror and side-scrolling adventure gameplay, beautifully melding this sense of intense atmosphere with some of the most innovative and unique environmental designs the medium has seen. It had everything it needed to be, well, nightmare fuel, and capitalized on that artistically. Its big draw-back, however, was simply how short it was. Thankfully, Tarsier Studios went on to develop DLC in a perfectly priced package that expanded the game up to three additional hours, putting us in the shoes of The Runaway Kid as they too tried to escape from The Maw. Now with the release of Little Nightmares II, feedback was taken to heart and Tarsier Studios has made a bigger and better adventure, emphasizing more so the nightmare portion of its name with a stellar experience that gives everything I wanted the first time around, and goes even further with its disturbing themes and atmosphere that, with excellent sound design, brings together a must-play horror package.
[Review] Gal Gun Returns
Posted on 4 years ago by NE Staff in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: February 12, 2021
Developer: Inti Creates
Publisher: PQube
The House of Dead, but with high schoolers. Time Crisis, but with teens. However one might try and describe it, there’s no getting around the fact that Gal Gun Returns is a very niche title – in a nutshell, it’s a rail shooter/dating-sim hybrid where you play as a high-school boy who must fend off swarms of desiring anime girls, all while pursuing the love interest of your choice. If that description makes you feel uncomfortable, then this game is decidedly not for you – but for those looking for a lighthearted, promiscuous romp through a Japanese high school, Gal Gun Returns is a competent but unremarkable experience.
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[Review] Haven
Posted on 4 years ago by Nicholas Serpa in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: February 4, 2021
Developer: The Game Bakers
Publisher: The Game Bakers
Playing Haven, a game about two lovers surviving in space together, often feels like dancing. Whether the game’s protagonists are careening across floating islands, fighting corrupted wildlife or engaging each other in conversation, almost every component of Haven’s gameplay has a rhythm to it that makes the experience feel like a spectacle. While it suffers from occasionally tedious systems and a bloated structure, Haven’s focused story, striking presentation, and innovative combat make it of the most unique third-person games I’ve played recently – despite some technical issues.
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[Review] Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy
Posted on 4 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: January 26, 2021
Developer: Gust
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Our beautiful and charming resident concocter of potions and alchemy returns in a follow up to the most successful entry in Koei Tecmo’s long-running Atelier franchise, which sees alchemists go on fantastical adventures of self-discovery and wonder as they achieve their goals in heartwarming tales. Nearly 25 years later, the series is bigger than ever and one of its most popular protagonists, Ryza, returns with her own sequel. Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy builds upon the foundation of what made the original such a hit with both old and new fans alike, and while it still doesn’t necessarily do anything to reinvent the wheel or push the genre or technical limits of hardware, the game continues to do what the franchise does best: provide us with wholesome adventures in a relaxing JRPG setting with a cast you can’t help but love and grow with.