Lowell Bell

Nintendo Life

Lowell Bell·Sep 19, 2024

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Performance issues on Switch, at least at launch, bury an amazingly clever and charming adventure that we would wholeheartedly recommend otherwise. The Plucky Squire is certainly playable on the Nintendo Switch, but in no way can we recommend picking it up here if you have other means to play it. The fact that the Switch-branded trailers looked so great and that advance review copies weren't available on the platform - despite them being sent out for other systems - indicates that this version of The Plucky Squire needed much more time on the drawing board before release.

Nintendo Life

Lowell Bell·May 25, 2023

Critic80/100

Agreement—

We still have a lot of adventuring left to do in New Wirral, and we're in no way upset about it. More monsters to record and remaster, a few more mysteries to uncover, characters to grow fond of, and about 13,970 more fusions to see. Some (hopefully pre-launch-only) performance issues, wonky balance, and overly complex battle mechanics did little to affect how much we enjoyed Cassette Beasts. In fact, it's one of the better monster-battling games not starring a little electric rodent that you can enjoy on your Nintendo Switch.

Nintendo Life

Lowell Bell·May 18, 2023

Critic60/100

Agreement—

If you're itching for some classic action platforming with a Mega Man flavour, Bat Boy will satisfy. It has a fun sports theme, some great tunes, and vibrant levels to navigate. As fans of that genre, we enjoyed most of our time with it outside of a few sudden spikes in difficulty and a handful of bugs – particularly one that lost us progress if we dared to use the pause menu. A patch or two post-launch might alleviate these issues, but in its current state, Bat Boy doesn't hit a home run - though it doesn't quite strike out, either.

Nintendo Life

Lowell Bell·Apr 27, 2023

Critic60/100

Agreement—

There's a lot to like about Bramble: The Mountain King. Through its narration and fantastical environments, Dimfrost Studio does a great job at making you feel like you're taking part in an unsettling, if a little too long, fable laden with mythological creatures. The game's puzzle-platforming segments do nothing extraordinary, yet strike a nice balance between simplicity and challenge, and though the set camera and cumbersome movement can often get in the way, frequent checkpoints alleviate much of the frustration. However, depending on how much performance issues annoy you – stuttering, pop-in, frame rate drops – this is an adventure that might be best played elsewhere.

Nintendo Life

Lowell Bell·Apr 25, 2023

Critic70/100

Agreement—

While we did grow a little weary of the overwhelming amount to explore and backtrack through in Afterimage, we didn't grow tired of whacking its wide range of enemies, nor did its gorgeously hand-drawn environments - which Switch unfortunately struggles to do justice to when docked - ever disappoint. It's best experienced elsewhere if you're playing on a television, but if you primarily play your Switch handheld, Afterimage offers a lengthy, lovely-looking Metroidvania adventure.

Nintendo Life

Lowell Bell·Mar 29, 2023

Critic50/100

Agreement—

With a slick aesthetic, some great synthwave tunes, and intense cybercycling through dilapidated space tubes, Gripper gets a lot right and we enjoyed those parts of it. We can forgive repetitive voice acting, but the other half of the game - the arena boss battles - is egregiously frustrating. The main gripping mechanic fails to work far too often with so much happening on screen, leading to a difficulty level that requires grudging patience rather than player skill. Thus, by the end of the game, our patience for this sci-fi mashup of genres had run out.

Nintendo Life

Lowell Bell·Mar 22, 2023

Critic80/100

Agreement—

While our hopes for some secret, extra-hard levels or some post-credits challenge were quickly dashed, Storyteller features a small tease of the possibility of more in the future, and after just this short taste, we sincerely hope Benmergui and Annapurna give this clever premise a sequel.

Nintendo Life

Lowell Bell·Feb 27, 2023

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Meg's Monster is a one-of-a-kind adventure with a lot of heart, well worth a chunk of your weekend or to play for an hour or two before bed. Sure, some of it is predictable and the novelty of protecting Meg during battle fades near the end, but if you're anything like us, you won't want to put it down until you see how Roy's heartwarming adventure to reunite Meg with her mother concludes. You might even shed a tear or two while keeping the little girl safe.

Nintendo Life

Lowell Bell·Jan 18, 2023

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Despite the runtime being padded out by some meandering requests, A Space For The Unbound is a perfect little adventure title to curl up with on a rainy day. The myriad puzzles, while never overtly challenging, switch things up often enough to keep from growing tedious. At the same time, we wholeheartedly recommend it for its bittersweet, sombre narrative alone. It never veers too far into melancholic territory yet handles some heavy topics with grace. We didn't come away gloomy from the potentially depressing themes depicted via the wonderful inhabitants of this beautifully rendered snapshot of Indonesia. Rather, we came away genuinely touched and inspired.

Nintendo Life

Lowell Bell·Dec 21, 2022

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Much like a shimmering ghost seen for just a fleeting moment, The Outbound Ghost flirts with taking the corporeal form of a great Paper Mario-style game but it never fully materialises. The heart is definitely there, with some great music and environments to go along with adorable little ghost characters, but a shallow battle system, a meandering narrative, and fuzzy presentation left us wanting in just about every ghostly regard.

Nintendo Life

Lowell Bell·Nov 29, 2022

Critic70/100

Agreement—

How much you'll enjoy Ship of Fools comes down to whether or not you have someone to play with. If you do have a friend that enjoys roguelikes and/or tower defence - and has a penchant for sea shanties - then we can guarantee Ship of Fools will give you a handful of hours of frantic fun. And if you have few friends but enjoy this addictive genre, you might eke out enough nautical miles whacking giant crab bosses with your paddle while enjoying the endearing presentation to warrant jumping onboard. Co-op is where it's at, though, so make sure you enlist a mate for this voyage.

Nintendo Life

Lowell Bell·Oct 26, 2022

Critic50/100

Agreement—

We like the Oddworld series, and we wish Soulstorm were better. The ingredients are there: the world itself and Abe's story have a uniquely grimy charm. No section of Soulstorm's 15-hour adventure feels quite like the last, with enough new enemies and mechanics introduced to keep things both interesting and challenging. Yet at the same time, technical issues mar the experience much like the dirt and rust that covers Oddworld, and small inconveniences add up to make completing the game much more trying than it should be. We hope one day an Oddworld game will be a must-play adventure worthy of the series' late-'90s prestige, but Soulstorm on Switch hasn't quite freed Abe and the Mudokons from the fetters of poor performance and archaic design.

Nintendo Life

Lowell Bell·Sep 27, 2022

Critic80/100

Agreement—

You'd be wrong to assume the cute fox-like protagonist and colourful world implies Tunic is a relaxing little adventure for all ages – it's anything but. Tunic requires a lot of intuitive thinking and patience to navigate its beautiful world with its brilliant in-game instruction manual. Coupled with an unforgiving combat system that punishes impatience and rewards measured study of opponents, Tunic is a game designed for those versed in old-school adventuring and experienced in difficult, sometimes frustrating swordplay. Given all this and its evident Hylian inspirations, and even with some unfortunate performance hitches and obvious downgrades from the versions on other platforms, Tunic feels right at home on a Nintendo console and we recommend it as a creative and concise adventure that both draws and expands upon some prestigious inspirations.

Nintendo Life

Lowell Bell·Sep 21, 2022

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Still, these aren't major issues. In fact, we can’t think of a legitimate reason not to recommend OneShot: World Machine Edition to anyone with a passing interest in point-and-click adventures. There are, after all, much worse ways to spend an afternoon or two than guiding Niko through one of the most endearing and creative indie titles available on the Switch.

Nintendo Life

Lowell Bell·Sep 14, 2022

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Even without the endgame content, Temtem is worth a look for anyone who has enjoyed a Pokémon game in the last two-and-a-half decades, especially those who have wanted a steeper challenge to go along with their critter collecting. It's a familiar, imitative experience in so many ways, yet we came away satisfied with just about every tweak made to the well-established formula. Sure, the main quest becomes a bit of a slog, and yes, the Nintendo Switch does struggle to keep up at times. Despite these qualms, Temtem's engaging battles enshrine it as one of the most innovative additions to the genre in recent memory.