Chris Scullion

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Dec 21, 2019

Critic70/100

Agreement—

The third Football Manager on Switch is a relatively minor upgrade to an already entertaining and compelling game. The controls are still unwieldy and the new features, while welcome, aren't exactly transformative: as such, we'd usually recommend you consider buying last year's game for a slightly lower price. However, since Sega's pulled the 2018 and 2019 editions from the eShop, you don't have much choice but to pay full price for this one.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Dec 19, 2019

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Gensou Skydrift is one of the few karting games on Switch to come even slightly close to Mario Kart in terms of its racing mechanics, and when it all comes together it's a fun time. Unfortunately, the lack of meaningful single-player content and the fact that the online is dead on arrival means this should be strictly considered a local multiplayer game if you want to get your money's worth.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Dec 14, 2019

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Buried deep within Neverwinter Nights' loins remains an entertaining, engrossing and lengthy RPG adventure, bundled with oodles of extra campaigns and one-off adventures. But to enjoy that you're going to have to put up with some of the most stuttery, bug-riddled nonsense we've seen on the Switch. Fun and frustrating in equal measure.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Dec 12, 2019

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Yet another fantastic rhythm game to add to the Switch's ever-growing repertoire. It may be a tad on the expensive side, but its core mechanics are rock solid, its minimalist visuals are a treat to behold and the fact it's got to much to play through and unlock means you'll be happily tapping your toes to this one for months.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Nov 11, 2019

Critic20/100

Agreement—

We always knew Garfield was something of a rebel, but taking a bad six-year-old game, making it even worse to play, pretending it's a sequel and charging Switch owners more than double the price to suffer it is some pretty subversive stuff. The original Garfield Kart is extremely cheap on Steam: considering this is a more broken version of the same game, you might as well buy that instead. Even if you don't have a PC, you'll have wasted less money.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Nov 8, 2019

Critic80/100

Agreement—

New Super Lucky's Tale is a solid port of an underrated platformer with a greatly improved camera. It's a little on the short side and may not provide much of a challenge to more hardened gamers – and if you already own it on Xbox One there really isn't enough new here to warrant a second purchase – but what makes it worth a look is its uncanny ability to make you smile, and this is something that can't be overlooked, especially in modern times.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Nov 6, 2019

Critic40/100

Agreement—

Putting our opinion on the cynical Ryan phenomenon to one side, the resulting game is nevertheless a slightly below-average kart racer that handles reasonably well but generally underwhelms, from the pitifully small number of tracks to the uninspired, floaty-light weaponry. Give your kids a Mario, Sonic or Crash racer instead; they may be young, but they aren't stupid.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Oct 31, 2019

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Hamster's done the very best with what it had to work with, but the reality is that VS. Castlevania, while still essentially the same fantastic game at its core, is more frustrating to play than the NES version. You're better off buying Castlevania Anniversary Collection, unless you're a diehard fan of the series.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Oct 22, 2019

Critic80/100

Agreement—

If you're a gym addict you probably shouldn't throw out your membership card just yet, but for everyone else looking to get fitter, this is a fantastic way to do it that won't bore you senseless. Play it properly and you'll definitely feel it the next morning – a sure sign that it's at least doing you some good – while the compelling adventure mode with its RPG elements will ensure that you'll keep coming back for more.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Oct 7, 2019

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Asphalt 9: Legends is a free and surprisingly fun arcade racing game with mobile microtransaction free-to-play gubbins that could potentially ruin the experience for you, unless you've played enough mobile games to know how to ignore it. The reasonably priced Starting Racer Pack significantly lessens their impact, making it feel more like a 'normal' premium product, so if you try the free version and enjoy it, this – and this alone – is the sole purchase you should consider.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Oct 3, 2019

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Donkey Kong Country fans rejoice: this is the spiritual successor you've been waiting for. The worst thing you could say about it is that the overworld exploration may prove to be too involved for those who are in it purely for the runny-jumpy stuff, but those who are happy to mix platforming with top-down adventuring and don't mind adapting to the constantly changing pace will find the best of both worlds here. Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a fantastic sophomore effort that pays tribute to Rare's past and establishes Playtonic as one of the UK's most exciting studios.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Sep 30, 2019

Critic40/100

Agreement—

FIFA 20 is a cynical attempt from a publisher to completely cease support for the Switch while still having the gall to suggest it deserves to be rewarded with a near-premium fee for its lack of effort. If you want to pay good money to get insulted, go heckle a big-name comedian instead: at least you'll get a smile out of it. If you don't already own a FIFA game on Switch and aren't bothered about having the latest kits and team rosters, just get last year's version on the cheap.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Sep 21, 2019

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Track & Field remains as endearingly entertaining as it was when it first appeared 36 years ago. It's a little on the pricey side considering it only has six events, one of which (the high jump) is a bit of a stinker, and is obviously a one-trick pony given its subject matter. But it still does that one trick better than most games that have succeeded it, so if you're looking for a quick button-basher this is a good choice.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Sep 19, 2019

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Golazo! is a competent love letter to '90s arcade football games, accurately capturing both their strengths and weaknesses. Playing alone against the CPU can be a frustrating affair, but get some pals involved and this one's got post-pub entertainment written all over it.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Sep 18, 2019

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Sayonara Wild Hearts is the video game equivalent of Prince: it's extremely short and its journey maybe ends a little sooner than you'd hoped, but it packs so many varied and beautiful ideas into its brief life and masters so many different styles that even though there's a real disappointment it's over so quickly, what it did give you will remain with you for an extremely long time. A true creative masterpiece.