Crying Suns [Alt Shift] (Nindie Choice!) - When it comes to strategy games, on a general level it feels like the Switch hasn’t been terribly well-represented as a whole, though there are some standouts. One advantage of the lack of competition is that when well-made entries show up, they should be able to hope to clean up a bit from people starved for a bit of a challenge. On pretty much all fronts Crying Suns should satiate that hunger, delivering an outstanding sci-fi story, some decent ship-to-ship tactical combat, and a bit of nail-biting suspense as your ground parties attempt to collect artifacts planetside while hopefully not being annihilated. With loads of potential encounters to either help or harm your efforts the roguelike elements really help provide some longevity as you try to make your way through each chapter, perhaps running into a bit of luck one time and crashing and burning the next. All in all, it feels pretty unique on the system and demonstrates the power of the roguelike formula to spice up just about any genre.
Friday, May 28
Mini Reviews: May 28th Edition [Nintendo Switch eShop]
Crying Suns [Alt Shift] (Nindie Choice!) - When it comes to strategy games, on a general level it feels like the Switch hasn’t been terribly well-represented as a whole, though there are some standouts. One advantage of the lack of competition is that when well-made entries show up, they should be able to hope to clean up a bit from people starved for a bit of a challenge. On pretty much all fronts Crying Suns should satiate that hunger, delivering an outstanding sci-fi story, some decent ship-to-ship tactical combat, and a bit of nail-biting suspense as your ground parties attempt to collect artifacts planetside while hopefully not being annihilated. With loads of potential encounters to either help or harm your efforts the roguelike elements really help provide some longevity as you try to make your way through each chapter, perhaps running into a bit of luck one time and crashing and burning the next. All in all, it feels pretty unique on the system and demonstrates the power of the roguelike formula to spice up just about any genre.
Tuesday, May 25
Mini Reviews: May 25th Edition [Nintendo Switch eShop]
King of Seas [3DClouds] (Nindie Choice!) - Whenever you embark on a journey while raising your Jolly Roger on the high seas, pretty well everyone out there is going to evaluate the experience against the genre-defining Sid Meier’s Pirates. I wish it didn’t have to be that way, and there’s no doubt that going back and playing that title now isn’t all that hot, but it set a crazy bar long ago and the fact is nobody has hit all of the things it did right since. Out of the gate King of Seas actually shows quite a bit of promise and captures the essence of fun seen in that classic title with solid ship-to-ship combat, plenty of incentive to explore, latitude in how you want to get your business done through trade or more violent means, and an amusing sense of humor. The problem is it doesn’t feel very ambitious to break too far beyond that, leaving it with a feeling of some potential unfulfilled. Throw in some general glitchiness and hitches from time to time and while it’s the most satisfying swashbuckler on the system, to be fair it doesn’t have much in the way of respectable competition either.
Monday, May 24
Mini Reviews: May 24th Edition [Nintendo Switch eShop]
SnowRunner [Saber Interactive] (Nindie Choice!) - Realistic all-terrain driving games are an odd breed that has emerged in popularity in more recent years, and to date hasn’t been represented too well on the Switch. They can be hard to get used to at first as your enemy isn’t another driver or often even the clock, instead the focus is on simply overcoming the elements and a variety of horrible driving conditions to break through and deliver your loads. There’s no doubt that the controls in SnowRunner aren’t perfect, for instance trying to figure out how to turn on the headlights was an odd challenge until finally the game prompted me on how to use them after I’d been struggling in the dark for quite some time. I wouldn’t say this is a mainstream sort of experience by any means, but recognizing that it’s a legitimate form of play in the genre a chunk of the public appreciates, it would be a shame to dismiss this pretty challenging and engaging driving title that will reward people who stick with its often slow pacing.
Friday, May 21
Mini Reviews: May 21st Edition [Nintendo Switch eShop]
Layers of Fear 2 [Bloober Team] (Nindie Choice!) - “Walking simulators” that play out as horror titles on the Switch, more often than not, have tended to be a bit of a bust for me. Whether reliant on cheap jump scares that quickly grow tired, an overabundance of objects you can examine pointlessly dragging things down, or simply by outright being dull they just have been lacking the right combination of elements to make them stand out. By contrast, Layers of Fear 2 more often than not gets the formula right, slowly teasing out details to clue you in to what is going on, relying more on a sense of building dread than cheap thrills, and integrating in puzzles in a variety of ways that are often novel. If you’re looking for action, blood, gore, or quick frights it won’t likely do it for you but if you’re willing to let its slow burn style get going you’ll find it’s a satisfyingly creepy and unnerving journey.
Backworlds [Skymap Games] (Nindie Choice!) - The Switch has thankfully been blessed by a number of notable puzzle action titles, and more often than not each has chosen its own distinct path vin terms of style. Backworlds is another to add to that list, and while it generally keeps its core mechanics pretty simple it does a fine job of leveraging them to create novel puzzles which require some thought and often a bit of dexterity as well to get through. I will say that I wish the controls were a bit more intuitive in how they’re mapped, while I was able to get used to the control scheme I wouldn’t consider it ideal. That said, for its budget price this is a smart and increasingly challenging puzzler that satisfies by simply bringing a feel that’s just a bit different into the eShop.
Quantum Replica [ON3D] - Stealthy action games have had their ups and downs over the years and actually haven't been that strongly represented on Switch, leaving fans a bit thirsty for their handheld fix. While Quantum Replica has many of the necessary elements to help pull you in with the narrative and genre fundamentals it also has some execution flaws that stumble on its way to finding success. In particular the pulled out camera and very dark environments can make even simple pathfinding a problem at times, likely next to hopeless if you're playing in handheld mode in particular. Even without that though the general play feels pretty stale and lacking in innovation or excitement. It does manage to deliver a genre experience that's in short supply on the system but it's also a weak entry among its peers in the eShop.
Cosmic Top Secret [Klassefilm] - While traditionally people think of games as an active means of engagement and entertainment, over the years it has also emerged as a means of sharing narratives as well. That's definitely the focus of Cosmic Top Secret, a collection of thoughts, media, and information to create a sort of interactive autobiography of sorts. Weird and different is usually my bag, and I can appreciate the attempt to do something different with a gaming format but it's also impossible to ignore the shortcomings of the actual game design and mechanics while trying to appreciate the art and quirk of it. If you're interested in something more avant garde and to learn some details about foreign intelligence in the Cold War era it could work for you, but just don't expect much more than that.
Thursday, May 20
Mini Reviews: May 20th Edition [Nintendo Switch eShop]
Jetboard Joust [BitBull Ltd] (Nindie Choice!) - As an old-school arcade fan I'll admit I've been a big fan of indie titles that have come to the Switch putting a twist on classic gameplay. Jetboard Joust undoubtedly cribs heavily from the likes of Defender from back in the day in particular, but by adding roguelike elements, different weapons, and even bosses it differentiates itself quite nicely. Make no mistake, this won't be easy at first, even if you're familiar with the general mechanics of trying to keep innocent people from being grabbed by enemy craft and flown to the top of the screen... then turning into more formidable foes you'll need to deal with. The alternative weapons are different enough from one another that I'd imagine people will have strong opinions about their most and least favorite, and I appreciate the way they can change how you play and add a wrinkle of strategy to the mix as well since their ammo is limited. This won't be a game for everyone but for a budget-friendly price anyone who appreciates classic arcade games and a challenge should absolutely pick it up!
Tuesday, May 18
Mini Reviews: May 18th Edition [Nintendo Switch eShop]
Space Commander: War and Trade [7Levels] - Budget-friendly titles can often tend to be difficult to evaluate when their competition carries a higher price tag and something like Space Commander highlights the problem well. What you’re getting is a reasonably-good space sim that does have a general story but will give you more than one path to follow, with both combat and shipping stuff around being viable ways to get things done… or certainly a mix of both. That said, the interface and space combat are certainly rough around the edges. Dogfighting is not just lacking in visual flair but also in depth as your maneuverability is pretty hamstrung and your aiming to shoot down enemies is a bit too automatic. The result is only moderately satisfying combat, so for space sim fans looking for that sort of thrill there are better options out there. That leaves you with the conundrum of the price, with the general quality of the title fairly matching what you’ll pay. So while there are faults, if you’re on a budget it provides a fair deal.
Friday, May 14
Mini Reviews: May 14th Edition [Nintendo Switch eShop]
Retro Machina [Orbit Studio] - With a pretty cute protagonist, a generally steampunk look, and a mix of puzzles and combat that at least feel novel, Retro Machina has some things going for it. You'll play from an isometric view, moving through areas, breaking up objects for loot, getting into an occasional tussle, and then either destroying or taking control of enemy robots in order to progress. At times the puzzles can be a little tricky because of the view, with occasional issues with objects being obscured, but at least the approach is novel. Expect some left/right brain challenges in the mix as well, as you'll need to keep both yourself and the robot you're controlling moving at once, sometimes needing to avoid some peril somewhere as well. I'd say the game's biggest weakness, in general, is the combat, which feels a bit stilted and disappointing as you dodge and counter a bit sloppily. An odd choice was also tying your health to the robots you control, making the potential fun of taking one over and then mowing down the other enemies less workable, which feels like a missed opportunity for mischief. It's a reasonably good experience, it just can't quite cross over into the territory of greatness in my eyes.
Tuesday, May 11
Mini Reviews: May 11th Edition [Nintendo Switch eShop]
Flowing Lights [gFaUmNe] (Nindie Choice!) - As someone who celebrates games that take chances to do something new, to a degree Flowing Lights feels like a game made just for me. Mashing together the unlikely pair of a shooter with a puzzle game, I’ll admit that initially I found myself caught a bit off guard as it was showing me the ropes. That said, once it clicked, I became a fan, enjoying the challenge of some bullet dodging and strategy mixed with the challenge of dealing with curved surfaces and how the bullets’ paths will bend with the landscape. Certainly the look is a bit bare bones, though I enjoy the light neon-lit TRON vibes so I didn’t mind, and the concept won’t likely work for everyone but I applaud the effort to swim against the current and chart out new territory. Throw in the inclusion of leaderboards for each level, incentivizing you to work harder to come up with better ways to beat each level and the old school arcade fan in me really dug this unique, and often challenging, experience.
Friday, May 7
Mini Reviews: May 7th Edition [Nintendo Switch eShop]
The Colonists [Codebyfire] - Strategy titles come in all sorts of varieties, and while the genre’s representation on the Switch isn’t quite as strong as I’d prefer there’s at least some diversity to be found. The Colonists adds a bit of more casual-friendly flavor to the mix with a blend of relatively low-stress civilization building and some cute robots who’ll be doing the grunt work. Through the main campaign and the sandbox mode you’ll get a fair amount of content, though I’ll admit that the interface is a bit much to take in at first and the organization of buildable elements isn’t perhaps as intuitive in a few cases as I’d like. Aside from that it plays pretty well, though I’d say there are some choices like forcing roads to be a certain minimum length that feel arbitrary and put in place just to be a bit of a pain. All in all though if you’re a more casual strategy fan or enjoy building things up it should be a solid choice.
Tuesday, May 4
Mini Reviews: May 4th Edition [Nintendo Switch Edition]
Legend of Keepers: Career of a Dungeon Manager [Goblinz Studio] (Nindie Choice!) - In order to keep things fresh developers have a constant challenge to mix and match genres and play styles in new ways. Sometimes this game alchemy can go awry, but with some luck they can result in glimmers of hope in the form of something unexpected and fun. Starting with the mold established by titles like the glorious Dungeon Keeper 2, a great first step is that you’ll find yourself on the other side of the coin, working to thwart heroes in their quests for glory and protect your amassed horde of riches. From there it charts its own path pretty much though, and the result is a blend of strategy, a bit of tower defense, turn-based combat, and resource management. Now, at first this is a bit rocky as you’re let loose with only a moderate level of direction, and your first run will likely show growing pains as you not only try to understand how to make effective decisions, but even some fundamentals around what pitfalls to avoid and where to spend your resources most effectively to suit your preferred style. Being a roguelike, unpredictable circumstances will make this a challenge but thankfully the game’s humor and bits of originality help it to distinguish itself with plenty of flavor to enjoy for strategy fans.