Nintendo Life

Nintendo Life

Trent Cannon·May 8, 2023

Critic40/100

Agreement—

Molly Medusa: Queen of Spit takes a great idea and, unfortunately, fails to deliver on its promise. The throwback camera is a mistake and needed far more refinement, and the controls feel clumsy as a result. Molly's lack of reaction to her curse takes away any emotional impetus or impact from the plot. There is a potential gem here, but despite a handful of inspired ideas, it feels antiquated and is very difficult to recommend, at least in its launch state.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·May 3, 2023

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Super Dungeon Maker has a lot of potential and perhaps with time it'll become something great. For now, it feels like an egg that still needs significantly more time to incubate before it can hatch. Intuitive creator controls, an endless well of community-crafted content, and charming visuals are all big positives here, but the lack of any overarching progression, no touchscreen controls, and it feeling generally unfinished really hold this one back from being anything exceptional. If you have faith that the developers will eventually realize the full scope of their vision, then we'd certainly encourage you to crack this one open, but those who are more wary of early-access titles will want to wait and see. Super Dungeon Maker is just an average experience for now - here's hoping that it eventually delivers on its promise.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·May 1, 2023

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Despite the bullet-soaking and clunky vehicle sections, we like Wild Dogs. It’s a Contra tribute in an unexpected but genuinely eye-pleasing style that mostly hits all the right notes and will satisfy any die-hard fan of Konami’s series or retro gaming generally.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Apr 30, 2023

Critic80/100

Agreement—

It may not last very long, but Nuclear Blaze is a cool action platformer that does a good job of exploring its core idea of prioritizing fighting fires over fighting enemies. Things like Hold My Beer Mode and all the hidden cats help pad out the replayability a bit, while the strong level design and tight gameplay makes the moment-to-moment action feel worthwhile. For 15 bucks, Nuclear Blaze feels like it does just enough to justify the price of admission, especially if you're a fan of 2D action games; we'd recommend you give it a go.

Nintendo Life

Brett Posner-Ferdman·Apr 29, 2023

Critic80/100

Agreement—

After a decade of waiting, Teslagrad 2 is undeniably a great follow-up to the original. The game is gorgeous, movement feels excellent, and the world is a joy to explore. What's here is very strong, but the short length means it's all over too quickly, which may come as a disappointment given the 10-year gap between this sequel and the original game. Despite that, if you are a fan of the original Teslagrad, or games with great mobility in general, you will surely enjoy Teslagrad 2.

Nintendo Life

Trent Cannon·Apr 28, 2023

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Strayed Lights is something rare in the gaming industry; a game that genuinely surprises us. The combat is unique and accessible. The story is told in a subtle, heartfelt way. The music and visuals are stunning. However, a string of technical bugs, repetitive combat, and inconsistent platforming sections mar what would otherwise be a stellar offering from a new studio. If it ran better on the Switch, we would be giving it a much better score.

Nintendo Life

PJ O'Reilly·Apr 28, 2023

Critic100/100

Agreement—

Just like it did with the excellent Torna – The Golden Country, Monolith Soft has given us a carefully refined prequel experience here, adding to and improving upon core combat and exploration elements that were already best-in-class. Xenoblade Chronicles 3's delightful battle system feels better than ever, its stunning landscapes are packed full of exploration that's been reinvigorated thanks to the new Affinity system and there's enough emotion and revelations packed in to satisfy the most ardent of Xenoblade fans. It also provides something of a clean slate going forward for this most intriguing of franchises. Where will the world of Xenoblade take us next? We cannot wait to find out.

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

Roland Ingram·Apr 26, 2023

Critic70/100

Agreement—

With charm and polish and great respect for the player's time and ability, Desta: The Memories Between manages to land a clever and touching concept. The story and voice acting keep the levels ticking by and elevate what could have been a very rote affair. The dodgeball gameplay does let the story do the heavy lifting after about halfway, becoming rather repetitive, but it also provides a realistic touch of conflict and aggression whenever the dialogue leans into super-niceness, and the roguelike strategy plays smoothly enough to be a pleasant delivery mechanism for the tale of Desta unpacking and coming to terms with their emotional conflicts.

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

Mitch Vogel·Apr 25, 2023

Critic40/100

Agreement—

Minecraft Legends, at least on Switch, is an average game at very best, but frustrating controls, terrible AI, and repetitive gameplay all come together to make for something that feels substantially beneath the quality of the Minecraft brand. Though we commend the developers for trying something new here, this is easily the worst Minecraft spinoff Mojang has produced. We'd recommend this one to only the most enthusiastic of Minecraft fans, and even then, only if you opt for the PC version. If you don't have a PC or don't want it there, then we'd suggest you pass; Minecraft Legends on the Switch simply isn't worth your time or money.

Nintendo Life

Trent Cannon·Apr 24, 2023

Critic80/100

Agreement—

JRPG fans can rest easy knowing that Trinity Trigger will meet their lofty expectations; this is a nostalgia trip worth taking. While not perfect, with beautiful art and music and a combat system that will feel both fresh and familiar, it is a strong contender for one of the best JRPGs of 2023 so far. The plot isn't anything to write home about and it's a tad on the easy side, but it remains engaging, especially for Mana series enthusiasts. Hopefully its proximity to the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom doesn't see Trinity Trigger overshadowed before it gets a chance to shine.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Apr 22, 2023

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Degica's work here is commendable. Not only is this the best of the series, but it's now the ultimate version out there. Castle of Shikigami 2 comes easily recommended to fans of bullet hell shooting games, and while it might not be up there with the very best, it's certainly original, deviously devised, and layered like crazy. With all the characters, their individual assets and stories, as well as all-new modes to toy with, this is how we like to see publishers handling re-releases of arcade titles, rather than slapping out another no-frills port-of a-port.

Nintendo Life

Oliver Reynolds·Apr 21, 2023

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Tin Hearts is a lovely little puzzler that's engaging and emotional in equal measure. It takes all the right inspiration from Lemmings but manages to stand on its own two feet with a unique visual style, clever mechanics, and a wonderful narrative told effortlessly during gameplay. Technical hiccups pull it back from true greatness, including a choppy frame rate and jarring camera movements, but if you're after a relaxing puzzler that's not too taxing on the ol' noggin, then you really can't go too wrong with this.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Apr 20, 2023

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Considering the overall quality, intriguing historical period settings, and stunning visual splendour throughout, it's disappointing that the emulation quality and certain pivotal features drop the ball. These deficiencies don't make these games unplayable. Quite the contrary, there are still countless hours of enjoyment for enthusiasts of these types of games. But it's a shame that titles like Demon Front haven't received that final lick of polish to make it a collection to be remembered. Yes, you can overlook the suspect slowdown and audio warble if you're not nitpicky, and, for the price, it still offers an incredibly good deal. Nonetheless, with more attention it could have been the best representation of IGS's back catalogue. As it stands, it falls short of that achievement. Fingers crossed for a patch.