Mitch Vogel

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Dec 27, 2021

Critic40/100

Agreement—

Dungeon Munchies is the kind of game that feels like it might be good in another two or three years. Despite the shoddy visuals, awful performance, sloppy movement mechanics, and unoriginal crafting systems, it feels like there could be a good game somewhere in here. With a few tweaks, this combat system might have some promise, and the core loop of crafting-fighting-repeat seems like an interesting riff on the main idea of Monster Hunter. Unfortunately, that potential has yet to fully present itself here - this is an Early Access release with all the issues and lack of cohesion that implies. We'd recommend you pass on Dungeon Munchies, and instead suggest either looking into Dead Cells or Dragon: Marked for Death. There are some quality traits here, but it's not enough to redeem Dungeon Munchies.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Dec 9, 2021

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Loop Hero proves to be a fascinating and creative take on an RPG, distilling the genre down to its most important gameplay elements and throwing in some fresh ideas. Though some may be put off by the obviously repetitive nature of the core gameplay, Loop Hero is a consistently rewarding and engaging game that'll easily get its hooks in you. The light deckbuilding elements, anti-tower defense gameplay, and solidly paced loot system make Loop Hero easy to love and we'd give this one a high recommendation to anyone interested in trying something a little different.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Dec 3, 2021

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Is BloodRayne 2 a better game than its predecessor? Absolutely. Is it a game that you need in your collection? Eh. Tighter controls, better level design, and more enjoyable combat make BloodRayne 2 far and away the superior entry in the series, but it loses a lot of its luster when stacked up against contemporaries like Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, or the original God of War. There are worse things you could buy for twenty dollars, but this is the kind of unremarkable game that you play once and then never again. If you have a special affinity for the more simplistic and occasionally messy game design of the era, BloodRayne 2 may be worth a shot, but even then we'd suggest you wait for a sale.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Dec 3, 2021

Critic30/100

Agreement—

We won't mince words here, BloodRayne is a joyless and frustrating experience that's a complete waste of both your time and money. The combat is dull, the level designs are uninteresting, the graphics are merely passable, and all of this is dragged down even further by rampant performance problems and crashing issues. The value BloodRayne has in modern video game discourse is largely as an interesting reminder of how far we've progressed in game design over the past couple decades. We'd recommend you give this one a hard pass; if you're looking for a horror-tinged, combat heavy adventure featuring a titillating and badass female lead, we'd recommend you go with Bayonetta instead.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Nov 24, 2021

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Even if you don't want anything to do with League, we would highly recommend that you give Ruined King a shot; this is a spectacular JRPG that consistently demonstrates mastery of all the ingredients needed to make a great entry in the genre. The core campaign is just long enough to feel satisfying, there are dizzying amounts of character customization, and the combat system is one of the finest we've encountered in a turn-based RPG in a long time. If you're a fan of RPGs, you'd be doing yourself a great disservice to pass on Ruined King. Even if you're a newcomer to the genre we'd still absolutely encourage you to give this a punt; it's an excellent effort.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Nov 23, 2021

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Death’s Door is a modern classic, utilizing old gameplay ideas in a new setting to make for a short and sweet experience you won’t want to miss.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Nov 19, 2021

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Though Klang 2 has its issues, we feel that it still offers up a satisfying and unique enough take on the rhythm genre to at least be worth your consideration. This isn’t necessarily a title that we’d recommend to anyone looking to get their feet wet with rhythm games, but fans will likely find enough to love here that it’s at least worth the relatively low price of admission.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Nov 8, 2021

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is a game that certainly won't appeal to everyone; this is one that you have to come into with an open mind. It's pretty short compared to most RPGs and doesn't take many chances with its gameplay, yet the card aesthetic remains consistently interesting, it's supported by extremely strong presentation, and that gameplay ultimately proves to be quite satisfying. For thirty bucks, this card game is one of the best concise RPGs you can buy on the Switch, and if any of its art or concepts pique your interest, we strongly recommend you give it a shot.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Nov 4, 2021

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Shin Megami Tensei V is a modern masterpiece. It successfully delivers on all the aspects that have made the series thus far so popular with fans-namely through its high difficulty, heavy narrative themes, and expansive team-building options-while polishing up and tightening the weaker aspects. Things like a more easily navigable map and more difficulty options to cater to players of all skill levels comfortably make this the most approachable entry in the series, and it feels like there's more things to do in the world than ever before. If you are at all a fan of RPGs or have been looking for a good entry point into this oft overlooked series, we would strongly encourage you to pick this up as soon as you can. Shin Megami Tensei V was worth the wait, Atlus has successfully stuck the landing with this one.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Oct 24, 2021

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Dying Light on Switch is quite a remarkable achievement, and we're happy to report that Techland has mostly stuck the landing with this one. Its ambitious open world full of zombies is unlike anything else in the Switch's library and, between the core campaign and six years of constant DLC updates, there's potentially hundreds of hours of enjoyment to be had here. Granted, all of this comes at the cost of performance that can be middling compared to other platforms, but this is neatly balanced out by the convenience of playing in handheld mode. We'd give Dying Light a strong recommendation, though with the caveat that Switch owners who rarely play in portable mode may want to pause and consider buying it elsewhere. Wherever you may fall, we'd strongly encourage you to consider this Switch port; it really is quite good.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Oct 21, 2021

Critic80/100

Agreement—

If we were to name any complaint, it’s that the core gameplay in Evertried can feel a little stale after extended sessions. Skills and traps mix up the way you play somewhat, but you’re ultimately still confined to pressing one of four directions for the whole game, which gets a little samey given enough time. Still, we’d give this one a recommendation; there’s lots of replayability, the concept of its gameplay is something we haven’t seen before, and (most importantly) it’s fun.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Oct 12, 2021

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Astria Ascending may not be a flawless release but the solid combat system, spectacular visuals, deep character skill building, and wealth of content make for an experience that JRPG fans will feel right at home with. We'd give this one a recommendation to anybody looking for an original RPG to sink their teeth into; the writing and plot could have done with more development and attention, but there's lots to love about Astria Ascending and we're eagerly anticipating whatever Artisan Studios does next.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Oct 10, 2021

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Beast Breaker is the epitome of a hidden gem, and we would highly recommend you give it a shot. Like its main character this game may be small, but it proves to be exceedingly effective at what it sets out to do. Creative, engaging gameplay and a surprising amount of depth combine to make for an experience that may surprise at just how much it hooks you.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Oct 5, 2021

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Monster Crown is a decent game that falls short of greatness in a few areas. Legitimately cool ideas with breeding and an overall solid combat system are let down by lackluster monster designs and performance issues. Then there's the elephant in the room, which is that Monster Crown ultimately feels like a jankier and less addictive version of the oldest Pokémon games. We'd still give this one a recommendation, as the bones of the experience are good enough that its worth a punt for big Pokémon fans pining for the 8-bit days, but you might want to wait for a sale with this one.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Sep 28, 2021

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Steel Assault is like a bite of an extremely delicious, well-seasoned steak. Just one bite. It lingers in your mind and makes you wish for more, yet in some respects, that's much better than if you were given the whole thing and took it for granted. If you liked the snappy action and ridiculous difficulty of may old arcade classics, then Steel Assault is absolutely something you should look into. It's absurd, it's fun, it's hard. And it's short. It doesn't offer up much more once you've reached the end, but what's here is intensely well-executed, and we'd definitely recommend you give it a go.