Kate Gray

Nintendo Life

Kate Gray·Oct 2, 2021

Critic90/100

Agreement—

The Forgotten City is a brilliant piece of narrative work that feels like a time capsule of Skyrim's jank, revitalised with a gripping story that's just long enough that it never loses momentum. It is, as always, hard to fully recommend a Cloud Version of a game that's available elsewhere in a more concrete form, but if you're accepting of the associated 'risks', this is a well-presented and brilliant time loop game and well worth a play.

Nintendo Life

Kate Gray·Sep 26, 2021

Critic60/100

Agreement—

But those brilliant moments, like the one where we played three matches in a row with someone named Malo, who was kind enough to show us the ropes and protect us only to have us betray his trust and murder him at the end, were priceless.

Nintendo Life

Kate Gray·Sep 19, 2021

Critic80/100

Agreement—

A fantastic tribute to Fantasy Life that nails the kind of grindy combat that many people love, Kitaria Fables is genuinely sweet and impressively well-made for a three-person team in under three years. If Fantasy Life is a Wagyu beef steak, Kitaria Fables is a really, REALLY good burger. If you're jonesing for a tasty action-farming-adventure, Kitaria Fables has you covered.

Nintendo Life

Kate Gray·Sep 7, 2021

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Overall, Trufflepigs is a little too short, a little too slow, and a lot too much of the unlikeable Beth. As a proof-of-concept of what Thunkd can do, it's promising, but limited graphics, poor accessibility options (although text size is changeable), and unskippable dialogue that grinds the entire game to a halt make it hard to recommend.

Nintendo Life

Kate Gray·Aug 22, 2021

Critic70/100

Agreement—

As one of the surprise drops of the Nintendo Indie World showcase, we couldn't wait to get our hands on Garden Story, one of the most hyped "wholesome" games of the past few months. What we were expecting was perhaps not what we received - and it certainly has its flaws - but nevertheless, we couldn't help being won over by Garden Story's charm as well as its systems.

Nintendo Life

Kate Gray·Aug 14, 2021

Critic30/100

Agreement—

It's hard to quantify whether The Silver Case 2425 is a good game. Certainly, we didn't enjoy it in the slightest. But it's extremely purposeful with its Suda51-ness - his work might be an acquired taste, but for those who've already acquired it, this may well fill in the gaps in his back catalogue that you've been waiting for. In the case of anyone new to Suda's work, this visual novel is just too hard to recommend.

Nintendo Life

Kate Gray·Aug 11, 2021

Critic70/100

Agreement—

It may be short, and it may not quite deliver with its puzzles, but Fire Tonight is a rather lovely ode to the '90s that pulls off a lyrically-inspired narrative with panache. Maya and Devin's retro-styled love story is something we'd like to see more of in future, and if you're looking for a game you can tick off the list in an evening, and if you've got affection for the time era it depicts, you'd do well to spend your time in their world for a bit.

Nintendo Life

Kate Gray·Jul 26, 2021

Critic90/100

Agreement—

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is two brilliant games for the price of one, and it not only gives us more of what we love, but gives us something that is visually, narratively, and historically deeper than ever before. There's a bit of a learning curve that you'll have to get on top of to meet the game where it's at, but honestly, we couldn't have asked for a better version of the game we've been wanting for years.

Nintendo Life

Kate Gray·Jun 30, 2021

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Don't discount Doki Doki Literature Club because it's cute, because it's pink, or because it's an anime dating game - this is one of the most unnerving, effective horror games on the Nintendo Switch to date. The extra content adds nicely to the creeping anxiety and the heartbreaking story, but the Switch version does end up feeling slightly inferior to the PC version, despite fantastic effort on the port. You won't lose anything by playing this version, though - if it's the one you want, go for it!

Nintendo Life

Kate Gray·Jun 22, 2021

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Throughout LEGO Builder's Journey, we found that the aim of the game was to make you feel like a kid - whether or not you are one. Getting back in touch with the pre-manual-following version of yourself is a delight, and having the story be about a parent and a child connecting through child's play is as touching as it is smart. Despite occasional misfires and what can feel like padding, this is a LEGO game which plays with the fundamental philosophy of creativity far more than the average LEGO-branded title, and we hope this is an indication of new games to come.

Nintendo Life

Kate Gray·Jun 20, 2021

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Where 80 Days was about the broad implications of travelling the entire globe, Overboard! focuses instead on the minutiae of a single day, and the intricacies of interaction. It's a glorious study in how to create a delicate Rube Goldberg machine of dialogue and dependencies, as a cast of mostly terrible people waltz around each other with ulterior motives and pre-existing feelings about everything, including our Veronica and dear, departed Malcolm. It's excellent: play it.

Nintendo Life

Kate Gray·May 22, 2021

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Rise of the Slime has some accessibility issues, mostly because of its occasionally iffy controls and the ridiculously small text, but if you can look past those, then you'll find a pleasantly bitesized little roguelite deckbuilder. It's no Slay the Spire, but it doesn't need to be; it keeps to its small scope well enough.

Nintendo Life

Kate Gray·May 13, 2021

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition is a good-enough-for-now game to tide over Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon fans, but its insistence on drip-feeding you content on its own schedule misses the "self-sufficiency" angle that its predecessors nailed.

Nintendo Life

Kate Gray·May 2, 2021

Critic40/100

Agreement—

Castaway Paradise is hardly the first game to take inspiration from Animal Crossing, and it certainly won't be the last - but its unoriginal adherence to the Animal Crossing formula is bad enough, without the added veneer of in-app purchases, hastily reskinned and demonetised for a full-price release. It began life as a Facebook game back in 2014, and it still feels like one seven years later.

Nintendo Life

Kate Gray·Apr 9, 2021

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Cozy Grove measures out its game sessions in snack-size portions, and its gorgeous artwork and genuinely laugh-worthy dialogue almost make up for its metered-out gameplay. Sadly, with a few technical issues on Switch, and the game's refusal to let players set the pace, it's one best played on a mobile device for now.