Nintendo Life

Nintendo Life

Oliver Reynolds·Oct 11, 2020

Critic60/100

Agreement—

On its own, Falcon Age for the Switch is still a fun experience, but when held up against its VR sibling, it’s an objectively lesser game. Nevertheless, we’d still recommend giving it a shot if only for its remarkably unique premise; after all, it’s probably the closest most of us will get to owning a pet falcon.

Nintendo Life

PJ O'Reilly·Oct 11, 2020

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Let's Sing Queen is a straight-up, no-frills entry in the series that throws you into the legendary super group's awesome back-catalogue of hits across the same selection of modes you'll be accustomed to from previous titles in the series. There are absolutely no surprises here and a definite lack of variety when compared to other offerings in the franchise; however, with thirty (mostly) excellent tracks, accompanied by their highly entertaining original music videos and an official app that turns your mobile phone into an impressively robust mic, this is a solid good time for fans of the titans of rock, karaoke fiends and anyone who just loves to warble along to some classic rock anthems while re-enacting the best bits of Live Aid 1985 in the comfort of their own sitting room.

Nintendo Life

Henry Stockdale·Oct 10, 2020

Critic30/100

Agreement—

Each level is also beatable within 5 minutes, meaning you could finish the story in just over an hour, though considering the extremely low price point, that’s more forgivable. Ultimately though, whilst the N64-era aesthetic will appeal to some, Macbat 64 just isn’t worth your time. Diploducus Games seem to be relying on little more than nostalgia as it’s selling point, but when it utterly fails to deliver on gameplay, we can’t recommend this to even the most die-hard platforming fans.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Oct 9, 2020

Critic70/100

Agreement—

After the disaster that was the first game, this is a remarkable turnaround. With far more Nickelodeon series represented, improved track designs and a power-up customisation feature that lets you enhance your personal racing style, Nickelodeon Kart Racer has gone from one of the most disappointing racing series on the Switch to probably the best one that doesn't feature plumbers or hedgehogs.

Nintendo Life

Oliver Reynolds·Oct 9, 2020

Critic40/100

Agreement—

We commend the approach taken with this game. It’s a thoughtful take on a real-life murder mystery, and although the stealth sections felt a bit unnecessary, the experience as a whole at least felt relatively authentic. Ultimately, though, the gameplay and visuals just aren’t up to scratch at all, and there are far better examples of the genre on Switch that you’d be much better off playing.

Nintendo Life

Stuart Gipp·Oct 8, 2020

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Warsaw's a disheartening experience through and through, and normally that would be enough for a low score and some harsh words. But we think that, here, the futility is rather the point of the exercise. It's not going to be for everyone by any means, but fans of Valiant Hearts or This War of Mine will get a kick out of its stark, unforgiving world. War is hell. Warsaw is hell. But it's a pretty good hell, which makes it at least a seven.

Nintendo Life

Stuart Gipp·Oct 7, 2020

Critic40/100

Agreement—

Is Umihara Kawase BaZooKa! fun to play? Sure, a little. It's inoffensive, but it never grabbed us. Even though it's a short game, we never felt that burning desire to get to the end that is typically present in other titles. There are many characters, but none of them was really interesting. Cute, yeah. But not enough to mitigate the central problem that this isn't an interesting game. We're not sure why this is the direction the series has gone in, but could it go back to the lovingly-crafted, intricate rope courses, please? Far be it for us to call for a regression, but sometimes going back to the well is a good idea.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Oct 6, 2020

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Castlestorm II is a mixed bag; a combination of some equally intense highs and lows which almost feels worse than if it was simply not a good game. The issue is that it is a good game on a fundamental design level. The integration of several strategy elements alongside the hands-on gameplay makes for a thrilling and fun experience that is truly unlike anything else out there. That level of quality and innovation, however, is hamstrung by frequently poor controls, performance, and presentation which dramatically lowers the pedigree of the experience. Unfortunately, Castlestorm II feels like a step back from its predecessor, as it acquires more new problems than it fixes the old. Even so, we still feel it's worth a light recommendation as a 'buy it on a deep sale' title. There's always a chance that patches will fix up the rough edges, and if you can get past the issues in execution, there's a legitimately great game to experience here.

Nintendo Life

Brett Posner-Ferdman·Oct 5, 2020

Critic40/100

Agreement—

Lost Ember attempts to be an artistic experience, yet struggles to be an enjoyable game. The story is uninteresting and predictable, the gameplay is boring and sometimes frustrating, and the huge performance issues on Switch makes this game close to unplayable at times. While there is clearly potential here, Lost Ember fails to deliver on nearly every front. There are plenty of other artsy games on Switch to pick up over this one.

Nintendo Life

PJ O'Reilly·Oct 4, 2020

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Rivals of Aether is a deep and addictive platform fighter that borrows its base concepts from Super Smash Bros. and then runs off in its own direction, resulting in a surprisingly complex indie alternative to Nintendo's brawling behemoth. There's a fantastic roster of characters here each with their own special moves and unique abilities to dig into, every one of which is wonderfully animated in the game's crisp and clean 16-bit graphical style. Solo and local party play are well served with a bevvy of fun and flexible modes for up to four players and, if the developer can get the currently problematic online aspects of things in order, this all amounts to a game that can stand shoulder to shoulder with Smash or any other platform fighter we've played on Switch thus far.

Nintendo Life

Stuart Gipp·Oct 4, 2020

Critic50/100

Agreement—

A greedy price tag, poor performance and an incredibly short campaign make Goosebumps: Dead of Night more likely to be dead on arrival. It's a shame, because it's a well-constructed and entertaining lite survival horror adventure that's probably perfect for kids. Even then, we'd recommend either waiting for a deep, deep sale, or simply renting the excellent 2015 movie. There's a lot to like here, but unfortunately, it's buried under a lot of ugliness. Much like, say... a scary ghoul! Wooooo! Or something.

Nintendo Life

Stuart Gipp·Oct 3, 2020

Critic80/100

Agreement—

The Long Dark is an onerous experience, but a memorably and powerfully atmospheric one. Its Survival mode stands out as something of a singular achievement on the Switch – and one we'd urge you to try if you don't mind freezing to death more than a few times before you've got a grip on how to last a couple of nights. It's difficult to call it outright fun given its sheer hostility, but it's certainly absorbing and at times downright terrifying game. Just like real life, nature is the real enemy.

Nintendo Life

Oliver Reynolds·Oct 3, 2020

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Super Blood Hockey is an entertaining sports game, but not necessarily one that will hold your attention for very long. Even with the abundance of options and game modes, the actual matches themselves play out rather similarly to one another, and there’s very little strategy at play here. Nevertheless, it’s a fun ride while it lasts, and you’ll undoubtedly blow off a bit of pent-up steam with this one.

Nintendo Life

Oliver Reynolds·Oct 2, 2020

Critic40/100

Agreement—

Ultimately, though, racing games need to be fun, and this really isn’t that fun. It’s a shame, because the game isn’t broken in any way, and actually runs very well for the most part. But the gameplay just isn’t up to scratch, and you’ll be better off leaving this at the pit stop

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Oct 2, 2020

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Super Mario Bros. 35 gives Nintendo's most iconic game a jolt of life and it's massively welcome. Its matches could do with being a little shorter and it's difficult to see whether it's actually going to have changed much a few months down the line, but it says a lot about the quality of the experience that the biggest problem we have with it is that come April 2021 it won't exist anymore.