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[Review] Fae Farm

Posted on 9 months ago by in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments

Fae Farm review

System: Switch
Release date: September 8, 2023
Developer: Phoenix Labs
Publisher: Phoenix Labs


The farming/life sim genre has exploded in recent years, and with an abundance of high quality titles now available on Switch, it is becoming increasingly difficult for new entrants to stand out from the crowd. Fae Farm, which comes from Phoenix Labs, is the latest to have gathered some attention prior to its launch thanks to its magic-focused premise, RPG elements, and quality-of-life features that make the pains of the genre more bearable and accessible. While Fae Farm takes several steps in the right direction towards this end, there are some design choices that make the overall experience less magical than it could have been.

One Piece Pirate Warriors 4 DLC Yamato Kaido

Original (9/6): One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 has announced its next wave of DLC characters, with Yamato and Kaido joining the fray.

Both will be included in the game’s “The Battle of Onigashima Pack”. The same DLC will add Onigashima Battle Luffy, who was previously announced. All of these characters will be available in September.

Four more games have just been added to Nintendo Switch Online, with Kirby’s Star Stacker, Quest for Camelot, Downtown Nekketsu March: Super-Awesome Field Day, and Joy Mech Fight having been made available.

This is an especially notable update as three of the games were originally released just in Japan and never translated to English. Out of the bunch, Quest for Camelot was the only one that was made available in the west.

Original (8/30): Sea of Stars has only just come out, yet it seems to be doing quite well for itself. Reviews for the title have been favorable, and Sabotage Studio have just announced that the game has sold 100,000 copies across all platforms within one day of its release.

Sea of Stars is an indie turn-based RPG, inspired by many older JRPG classics such as Super Mario RPG, Illusion of Gaia, and Chrono Trigger. For being a relatively small production, reaching this milestone on the first day of release is something to be celebrated, with the developers having gone online to thank fans for their support of the game.

You can check out their thank-you message below.

[Review] Blasphemous II

Posted on 9 months ago by in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments

Blasphemous II review

System: Switch
Release date: August 24, 2023
Developer: The Game Kitchen
Publisher: Team17


Blasphemous was a smash hit when it released in 2019, two years after a highly successful Kickstarter campaign. Two years after the first game wrapped up with The Wounds of Eventide DLC, developer The Game Kitchen is back with this direct sequel. At this point you probably know if the Soulslike Metroidvania genre is one you enjoy, and Blasphemous II won’t be changing your mind. However, it stands out from the crowd and is a marked improvement on the original game, and one I would definitely recommend that you pick up if you’re on the fence.

In the eleven years since New Super Mario Bros. U first released, 2D platformers have changed a lot. Not only are there a lot more of them overall – thanks to some very creative projects by small teams – I’d argue the genre has broadly shifted towards increasing the complexity of the overall experience. Many sidescrollers today embrace popular added-depth systems; rougelike elements, skill trees, sprawling and interconnected maps, Soulslike combat, or perhaps all of the above. These can all be great things, and I’ve certainly made some amazing memories with some out-of-left-field projects over the past decade, but sometimes it’s nice to experience a platformer where the joy comes not necessarily from overcoming a complex challenge or system, but from something simpler. For me, in the case of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, that joy came from being surprised. And in my recent 30 minute demo session with the game, I found myself being surprised at almost every turn. 

Switch OLED Mario Red Edition

Original (8/31): During today’s Super Mario Bros. Wonder Direct, the Switch OLED – Mario Red Edition was announced. It’s due out on October 6, 2023.

The system features Mario-related designs including the Mario silhouette on the back of the red dock. If you open the back of the dock, you will also find an illustration of hidden coins. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is not included, so you’ll need to pick that up separately if you’re interested.

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Company of Heroes Collection

Today, Feral Interactive announced that the studio is developing Company of Heroes Collection for Switch. A release is planned for this fall.

Company of Heroes Collection includes the base game and both expansions – Opposing Fronts and Tales of Valor. It will be single-player only at launch, but a post-release update will add multiplayer.

PAX West 2023 was made a little more special this year thanks to the presence of Nintendo Live, a massive fan-focused convention celebrating iconic Nintendo games, franchises and hardware. While a similar event has taken place in Japan in recent years, this marked the first time the event has been held in North America. And while tickets were free to the public, they awarded at random to interested PAX West attendees (and people who entered a lottery system via Nintendo’s website), so not everyone who was interested in going was given the opportunity to attend. Fortunately, I was able to check out the event on behalf of Nintendo Everything, and there was a lot to see and do for those willing to wait out the massive crowds.

Charles Martinet not retiring

Charles Martinet, known for previously being the voice of Mario, has now commented directly on his new ambassador role with Nintendo – and also confirmed he hasn’t retired.

As it so happens, Martinet shared a few words about this during Galaxycon Austin 2023. Regarding the Mario Ambassador position, he said he “doesn’t know what that is yet”. He also confirmed that he’s not retiring from voice acting as a whole.


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