Nintendo Life

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Aug 25, 2020

Critic60/100

Agreement—

No Straight Roads isn't a bad game at all, but it's one that consistently falls short of the tremendous potential that it often hints at. The world, characters, music, and overall idea of its gameplay are ripe for a groundbreaking beat 'em up game, but this, unfortunately, is just a so-so one. Performance problems, camera issues, and repetitive gameplay are all factors that hold this one back from greatness, but these issues are often balanced out by the spectacular boss fights, excellent soundtrack, and charming writing. We'd recommend this one to beat 'em up fans looking for an interesting new entry in the genre, but with the big caveat that you consider this release's flaws before taking the plunge. It's certainly a worthwhile experience, but one that will likely disappoint if you come into it with the wrong expectations.

Nintendo Life

Oliver Reynolds·Aug 24, 2020

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Despite its flaws, Bite the Bullet is a fun experience that we’d recommend if you’re a fan of franchises like Metal Slug.

Nintendo Life

PJ O'Reilly·Aug 24, 2020

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Evergate is a wonderfully designed puzzle-platformer that starts off strong and goes from strength to strength over the course of its campaign. Every new world you encounter here adds a new twist to proceedings, gradually becoming more complex as it layers mechanics on top of one each other, enabling you to experiment and come up with your own unique ways to bound across its intricate levels. Speed-running here, for us, feels like it was tacked on for no real reason but, besides this one little misstep, this really is an essential purchase for puzzle/platforming fans and a standout example of its genre on Switch.

Nintendo Life

Jon Mundy·Aug 23, 2020

Critic70/100

Agreement—

A highly original puzzle-platformer with a compelling body-manipulation mechanic at its heart. Helheim Hassle's particular sense of humour and occasionally fiddly controls might make you bristle from time to time, but you'll keep plugging away thanks to its inspired mechanics and varied challenges.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Aug 22, 2020

Critic70/100

Agreement—

It may feel like it's a few years too late, but Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is a worthwhile experience that properly celebrates a beloved IP while being a darned good action game in its own right. A striking art style, well-executed combat mechanics, and a challenging level of difficulty make this one an easy recommendation, but with the caveat that it's a little light on original ideas and that performance can often dip to sub-par levels. It may not be perfect, but Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time acts as a great companion piece to the legendary cartoon; don't dismiss this as just another tie-in.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Aug 21, 2020

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Another key title in Nintendo's arcade history making its way to the home for the first time, Super Punch-Out!! is more eminent than it is entertaining. It's still a fun enough game for a while, but it's probably the weakest in the series: play the SNES Super Punch-Out!! on Switch Online first, and only get this if you're itching for more.

Nintendo Life

Gonçalo Lopes·Aug 21, 2020

Critic90/100

Agreement—

The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED] is a neo-retro masterpiece. Even if you play the game from start to finish just once in a single sitting and never come back to it, this minimalist post-apocalyptic epic will stay with you for years to come. If you already have Another World and Flashback in your Switch collection and are looking for the next true evolution of the genre, look no further. They just don't make them like this any more… and we found ourselves wondering 'why not?'.

Nintendo Life

PJ O'Reilly·Aug 20, 2020

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Peaky Blinders: Mastermind makes clever use of its licence, incorporating Tommy Shelby's knack for scheming and planning into the core of its time-manipulating gameplay as well as working each and every one of the gang from the hit TV show into proceedings. It's a shame that it takes quite so long for it to up the ante to the point that missions are really satisfyingly complex but what's here is certainly both fun and highly replayable for those who want to perfect each job on offer and grab gold in every mission.

Nintendo Life

Stuart Gipp·Aug 19, 2020

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Lots of care has gone into the creation of this game, and it shows with the gorgeous graphics and atmospheric soundtrack. It's a game that feels vast, and a slow burn experience for the patient gamer. It's possible that its difficulty will take some time to get used to, but it's worth persevering with this truly rewarding and excellent game. Phoenotopia: Awakening is a thoughtful, coherent game which, if you click with it, doesn't lose a step. A marvellous surprise.

Nintendo Life

PJ O'Reilly·Aug 18, 2020

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Inmost tells its dark and troubling tale with plenty of style and there's an expertly handled mixing of narrative elements and satisfying gameplay mechanics for the most part that only really loses its way in the final stretch, unwisely wrestling control away from players and brute-forcing a rather neat and tidy ending that's at odds with how deftly the multi-layered story is handled early on. This and a few control niggles aside, however, are not enough to derail what is a genuinely haunting and memorable experience that's well worth checking out.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Aug 18, 2020

Critic80/100

Agreement—

It may be a handheld game from the late '90s, but there's a solid fighting system in King of Fighters R-2 and genre fans should check it out if it passed them by the first time around. It may be a tad pricey given that it's lacking in the sort of special features many other retro releases get these days, but gameplay's where it counts and in that respect we have no complaints.

Nintendo Life

Stuart Gipp·Aug 16, 2020

Critic60/100

Agreement—

There's plenty to commend Double Kick Heroes for; it's an ambitious game, with great-looking pixel graphics, plenty of songs and modes, an enjoyable story and a general vigour to it that underpins its heavy metal aesthetic very appealingly. Unfortunately, we feel like it tries to do a little too much and ends up being rather confusing and slapdash in execution. We found the central rhythm-action gameplay to be the worst part, and that's not a great thing in any game. The disappointing soundtrack only compounded this problem, but we do appreciate that it's going to be a matter of taste in this regard. This leads us to a bit of a conundrum; Double Kick Heroes clearly has an enormous amount of love poured into it, but it's not enough for an unqualified recommendation when we just didn't quite have enough fun with it. A sequel could refine its more confused elements into something wonderful, but for the time being, you may get a (Double) kick out of this effort.

Nintendo Life

Stuart Gipp·Aug 13, 2020

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Along with the expected multiplayer modes (ranked and casual battles), Faeria delivers a compulsive, interesting and frankly enormously fun card battle experience. While not the easiest game to explain, it's an impressive teaching tool for itself, but never feels overwrought or tiresome in said education. Of the card games we've enjoyed on Switch, Faeria is easily the highlight of the bunch so far, and it deserves to do well. It's a full-featured package and stands out as an excellent card/board/strategy experience. If you want to play a fantasy card game on Switch, buy this one first.

Nintendo Life

Pete Davison·Aug 10, 2020

Critic70/100

Agreement—

If you've been curious about the property, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? - Infinite Combate is a good way to get involved, as it allows you to explore the first season of the anime and some supplementary material in an enjoyably interactive manner. Series veterans will also appreciate the opportunity to "date" their favourite characters in the Extra mode as both Bell and Ais, and the array of beautiful artwork and fun events to unlock provides good incentive for continued engagement — as does the progression system, which only really shows its depth once you've cleared the story. It's just a bit of a shame the game feels like it was developed on the cheap; it's likely some will find the simplistic dungeon graphics in particular somewhat off-putting. If you can look past that, though, this is a good adaptation of a well-loved series, with plenty of content to keep you busy in the long term.

Nintendo Life

Oliver Reynolds·Aug 9, 2020

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Longevity will ultimately depend on how often you’re able to play Spitlings with friends.