Sunday, August 30
Mini Reviews: August 31st Edition [Nintendo Switch eShop]
Friday, August 28
Mini Reviews: August 28th Edition [Nintendo Switch eShop]
Wednesday, August 26
Mini Reviews: August 26th Edition [Nintendo Switch eShop]
Sunday, August 23
Mini Reviews: August 24th Edition [Nintendo Switch eShop]
Thursday, August 20
Mini Reviews: August 20th Edition [Nintendo Switch eShop]
Monday, August 17
Mini Reviews: August 18th Edition [Nintendo Switch eShop]
Thursday, August 13
Mini Reviews: August 14th Edition [Nintendo Switch eShop]
Faeria [Nindie Choice!] - Truth be told only recently have I been able to play deck-building games of any kind that I’ve found interesting. Usually the inclusion of roguelike elements is what hooks me but as some other strategy card games have come along they’ve begun deviating more and more from the traditional mold and that has made them more interesting. Faeria falls into that “more interesting” category for me by throwing an element of strategy into the mix with land management that adds a layer of complexity to the more traditional aspects of these card battlers. Now you can not only defeat your enemies through sheer force with a better deck (or perhaps some luck), you can outmaneuver them by controlling energy points and with some patience and planning even dodge or divide some of their defensive resources, leaving their hero vulnerable. My main complaint is that the console controls take some getting used to, and though they do ultimately make sense I do think they could have been handled more thoughtfully or at least initially explained better since the right trigger use in particular threw me off initially a few times. If you’re a deck building fan or just appreciate smartly-designed strategy games Faeria is absolutely worth a look and rises above the norm with some new ideas that really add depth to play.
Boomerang Fu - OK, so yeah, it’s another local multiplayer game. Normally that means my jaded family will take some time to check the game out but ultimately find that it doesn’t inspire much fun or excitement. While I wish overall there was more to Boomerang Fu in terms of content I can’t fault what it has going for it though. While it may seem like a very simple distinction (it is), the choice of everyone’s base weapon of choice being a boomerang turns out to make all the difference. While most local multiplayer titles end up with everyone either slashing or shooting each other the boomerang allows for both and since there’s only one throwing it can be a very strategic decision. Will you be able to quickly get it back if you miss? Even if you may kill your opponent will it being out of your hands leave you vulnerable to someone close by who may capitalize on you being distracted? Aside from the weaponry another aspect I appreciate is the variety in the arenas you’ll find yourself in, with some having elements you can trigger to cause some chaos and others having elements like ice to change things up. Throw in options for team play or everyone for themselves as well as a few rule tweak provisions and while there may not be a ton here to enjoy what there is turns out to be quite a bit of fun.
The Ambassador: Fractured Timelines - This is one of those titles that has me a bit torn. On the one hand the action adventure sort of style works, and since you continue to acquire weapons that work a little differently at a reasonable enough pace it keeps you from getting into too much of a rut overall. In addition, the time mechanic is useful and lends itself to smart use against bosses and tougher enemies. That said, there just feels like a lot of meandering around, facing enemies (which do vary from area to area a bit but are pretty generic-feeling), and hacking your way through in general. The weirdest thing is the sort of feast or famine nature of your health and healing. One moment you’ll be maxed out on health and meat for regenerating hearts and then very quickly the tides will turn and you can find yourself dead. If the majority of the game were somehow at a more optimum degree of challenge, not getting quite so dull, and then not spiking to challenging quite so suddenly, it may have been a more consistent experience.
Linn: Path of Orchards - Starting out with Linn was a bit of a challenge because based on its looks and other titles that I thought had a similar look I assumed it would be an active action puzzler with free control. Once I was able to break myself of the habit of trying to constantly control my character and instead bought into the need to be very contemplative with every move and action I took, I did come to appreciate this sort of distinctive puzzler. Each level has 3 objectives that, once you get rolling, you aren’t meant to complete all in one run. Focusing on grabbing all gems, keeping your moves to an absolute minimum, or grabbing the always-tricky elder shard (as well as a few more variations) each requires a different approach so if you like the variations it can provide some challenging longevity. This is a title that caught me a bit by surprise, and while I’m not sure its very specific play style will suit a wide audience for people who enjoy challenging action puzzles where you need to experiment to find success this could be a real winner.
WE ARE DOOMED - This earlier sibling from the developer behind Graceful Explosion and Super Crush KO is a twin-stick shooter that certainly distinguishes itself from its competitors with its very specific visual style. It’s not hard to see some similarities in the enemy types between the games, which is somewhat fun, but where GEM has an enormously sort of clean visual style Doomed goes in pretty well precisely the opposite direction. While there’s a certain flair to everything being blown to bits around you the two words that keep entering my mind when reflecting on the play experience are “visual cacophony”. I can respect the design choice this perhaps may have been but where I object to it is based around the fact that it makes surviving in the game tougher than it should need to be for the wrong reason. The colorful explosions, enemy fire, all manner of enemies… it just tends to overload the senses a bit or outright obstruct your view of your ship for just enough time to get you in trouble and take a hit. Perhaps if there weren’t so many varied and great twin-stick arcade shooters already on Switch this could have made a stronger impression but at this point it’s more of an interesting novelty.
Tuesday, August 11
Mini Reviews: August 12th Edition [Nintendo Switch eShop]
Double Kick Heroes - As a big fan of metal, rhythm games, and zombies this is a title that has been firmly on my radar since I first played it at PAX East 2 years ago. So starting with the positive there’s a lot to love here if you’re into all of the above. Tunes covering the gamut of metal styles are represented, once you get into the swing of things you’ll often find the rhythm element satisfying and challenging, and in terms of zombies there are all manner of them to be seen here ranging from generic to be-hooded to even massive dinosaur varieties. The Story mode is a bit weird and silly as you go along and while some of the character likenesses and jokes can be fun I could see where some could see it as an obstacle to the action. Arcade mode will be for those who want to trim the fat and just get to tunes. Hellgate is for enjoying some tracks that weren’t part of the original lineup from some different bands. Finally there’s Fury Road which provides a bit of a roguelike spin on things but using the same basic original content. All of it is pretty solid and engaging. But then there’s the main issue… trying to figure out an ideal control scheme with the Switch joycon or controllers, and it’s a bit of a doozy. The default scheme I simply don’t consider viable, mapping the low and high toms (which are mostly what you deal with) to face buttons. You can hang for a bit but when you get tough rhythms your thumbs aren’t likely to keep up. Thankfully there’s quite a bit of versatility and you can use motion controls (they’re decent but probably not for people looking for accuracy, more for fun) or remap to whatever you like. I think moving the high and low toms to the triggers is the best bet, and works much better, but then there are songs where the snare (which you’ll map to the face buttons) will get an intense rapid succession of beats as well and then you’re right back into the same issue. Sadly, on PC a keyboard is really the ideal as your fingers hitting keys can simply be so much faster with less issue than trying to do the same thing while holding a controller. It’s a really fun game if you’ll stick through the control issue but it’s also a glaring problem that holds it back from greatness unfortunately.
Spitlings - This is a title that has me a bit torn since it’s just a bit of an oddball. Visually it’s pretty cute, featuring little squared characters with all sorts of faces and sorts of mini personalities those faces imply. That makes it feel like it will be a light and sort of fun family affair. Well, but it really isn’t, and that’s both good and bad. What’s great is that when you go through the Story mode you’ll find there are all sorts of challenging stages to complete, overall featuring an odd mix of platforming, Pang-like vertical shooting that can involve splitting enemies, and a variety of other surprises. Completing these stages will slowly allow you to continue to grow your menagerie of unlocked characters to play with and open the door to even more levels with more Spitlings to unlock. You can then also opt for Party mode where you can play levels that vary from pretty basic to outright challenging with some friends. I’ll say that given my own arcade roots I actually enjoy what can be difficult stages you’ll hit along the way, though admittedly they vary a bit wildly up and down as you go. As I noted though the game’s aesthetics may turn away people who like tougher games, mistaking it for being easy, and people who are more casual may pick it up and be disappointed that it’s too tough. Just be sure you know what you’re getting into and take a look at it to decide whether it’s a fit for you.
RogueCube - You know what genre I can’t ever get quite enough of? Roguelike shooters, at least when they’re as rock solid as many we’ve had the great fortune to enjoy on the Switch. But hey, if you’ve either burned through all of the top-shelf ones already or are working with limited financial means is there anything out there on the lower end of the spectrum that’s at least somewhat worthwhile? That’s where RogueCube manages to come in, not really delivering anything original or innovative, but for a mere $5 asking price it has more longevity and overall quality than I would have expected… and that’s at least saying something. Granted, it can’t compete with the likes of Isaac or Nuclear Throne or Gungeon or a few others that are pricier (though on a sale you never know) but if you’re just looking for something pretty cheap to kick around with and eke some enjoyment out of (though it can be a bit uneven in places) it’s better than its asking price would infer.
Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? - Infinite Combate - When you think of great action RPG dungeon-crawlers a number of titles tend to come to mind, but no matter what your overall tastes are the best in the genre stand out with exciting, deep, and engaging gameplay. Approaching Is It Wrong...? purely from a gameplay standpoint it isn’t even close to that level. Outside of the trappings of the anime license it carries there’s no getting around the fact that its levels and enemies are overly repetitive, the combat is just too lacking in variety or excitement, and in general your greatest motivation for digging in and carrying on is to follow what story is offered between battles. Just boy is it all bland. This is one of those titles that has an existing anime property backing it where I have no doubt that fans will get a kick out of some additional story content with familiar characters but for everyone else it’s just not going to give you much of a return on your investment.
Crowdy Farm Rush - While there’s nothing wrong with casual games I’ll
concede for those that aren’t fans that they can sometimes feel out of place
on a dedicated gaming device. At least rather than being a very simple and
overly-familiar puzzle game of some kind Crowdy Farm Rush has an element of
strategy to it, even if basic. Your goal is to provide your animals a route to
their barn that avoids obstacles and the paths of other animals. While at
first this is exceedingly simple as you get further in new elements are
introduced to further complicate your efforts. It isn’t amazing necessarily,
and I’ve played variations on this sort of game on tablet that are probably
better and more challenging, but if your goal is something cute and
approachable it’s at least engaging for what it is.