Ken Talbot

Nintendo Life

Ken Talbot·Aug 27, 2024

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Gori: Cuddly Carnage's hyper-violent, comic book spin on the character platformer is fun and easy to get to grips with. It's an entertaining ride, though the sheer volume of comedic banter will overwhelm as much as it entertains, and performance issues plague the experience throughout. Otherwise, it just about holds everything together and will no doubt appeal to some. Others may tire of the scattershot humour long before Gori has defeated the Adorable Army.

Push Square

Ken Talbot·Aug 13, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Not since P.T. has PlayStation seen such an effective single location horror experience. With its simple setup, looping story, and inventive scares, Mortuary Assistant is borderline essential for genre fans.

Push Square

Ken Talbot·Jul 26, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Earth Defense Force 6 brings the series back and better than ever. It offers the same bug-smashing action with a time travel twist in the tale. Classes remain as satisfying as ever and multiplayer spreads the joy. Don't go in expecting a graphical powerhouse, though.

Nintendo Life

Ken Talbot·Jul 25, 2024

Critic70/100

Agreement—

An ode to the arcade hack-'n'-slash genre, Abathor offers an old-school experience, for better and worse. There's extra novelty in taking the four-player co-op anywhere with an undocked Switch, simple controls mean that four Joy-Con are more than comfortable, and the gorgeous pixel art looks great on the smaller screen. It sounds great, too, and co-op is huge fun with a few couch-based adventurers.

Push Square

Ken Talbot·Jun 25, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

A bona fide classic remastered with love and care. This edition brings smooth visuals, a beautifully recreated musical score, and well-presented supplemental materials. It certainly shows its age, but like all great art, Beyond Good & Evil weathers the test of time with grace.

Nintendo Life

Ken Talbot·Jun 24, 2024

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Echo Generation is a fun homage to several different flavours of genre greats. An exceptional aesthetic and sound design balances the eerie with the nostalgic well, and good writing goes some way to making up for dull mechanics and lacklustre progression.

Nintendo Life

Ken Talbot·May 8, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Corponation: The Sorting Process offers a glimpse into a life where the lines between employee and slave blur. Moody, slow, and intentionally repetitive, you may reach your limit with the task at hand, but it is an experience worth clocking in for.

Nintendo Life

Ken Talbot·Apr 24, 2024

Critic70/100

Agreement—

SaGa Emerald Beyond has a deep and satisfying combat system that gets its hooks into you from the jump. There's a lot of narrative content across its five adventures, as well as a diverse collection of characters, but very little that truly grips the attention.

Push Square

Ken Talbot·Mar 25, 2024

Critic60/100

Agreement—

A sporadically fun co-op brawler, South Park: Snow Day is a step back for the franchise. Card collecting and gag-filled combat will keep fans entertained, but there are plenty of better ways to have good times with weapons.

Nintendo Life

Ken Talbot·Mar 21, 2024

Critic70/100

Agreement—

If you give yourself over to Warhorse's muddy opus, it will reward you with a hundred hours of grueling and enjoyable trial and error. It's buggy and rough around the edges on Switch, but Kingdom Come Deliverance is a singular RPG experience. The pacing and constant juggling of mechanics is not for everyone, but invest the time and you'll experience an engrossing, grounded adventure.

Push Square

Ken Talbot·Mar 13, 2024

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Much like last year's The Making of Karateka, Digital Eclipse’s format sets a high standard for retro collections going forward. It's made the story of these games accessible to all audiences. As a portrait of Jeff, it’s a heartwarming and educational depiction of a personality every gamer should know about.

Nintendo Life

Ken Talbot·Feb 15, 2024

Critic70/100

Agreement—

PlateUp! successfully differentiates itself from the cooking sim next door. While its roguelite elements encourage repeat attempts and reward your failures, fiddly controls, and awkward UI hinder its appeal as an undocked co-op experience. Fortunately, on a big screen, it's great fun.

Push Square

Ken Talbot·Jan 24, 2024

Critic70/100

Agreement—

As much as this engages as a sobering alternative to the likes of Two Point Hospital, a large chunk of it just sees you cycling through familiar motions. The rich atmosphere and worthy setting are compromised by a narrow vision.

Push Square

Ken Talbot·Dec 12, 2023

Critic40/100

Agreement—

Another miss for the Rings franchise, then. There are bursts of quality here, and the potential for fun when playing with others. However, it ultimately fails as an adaptation and a survival game.

Nintendo Life

Ken Talbot·Nov 20, 2023

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Worldless attempts to differentiate itself from its peers by adding satisfying turn-based combat to the usual Metroidvania loop. It largely succeeds, helped by an intoxicating art style and varied puzzle mechanics. Some difficulty spikes interrupt the flow and knock the dreamlike exploration off balance, but you'll feel compelled to overcome them.