Digimon Survive is one of the best visual novels to come out so far this year, with plenty of heart and tension to carry you through to the final act. Fans looking for an engaging story with well-written and presented characters that deal with life-and-death situations will enjoy the ride, while players focused on the combat will probably find that the game comes up short. Despite its sluggish, padded start, Digimon Survive is well worth the long wait.
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is the strangest thing you'll play from Nintendo, bringing with it laughs and creativity in abundance. But even with improvements over the 3DS game, it follows a familiar structure that isn't always enthralling or hilarious.Tomodachi fans will certainly be living the dream with this new entry, but I'm not desperate to keep coming back to my island. A little more variety would've been welcome, but the customisation, and the thought of my cat being best friends with DMC's Dante, will have me peep in every so often for a little pick-me-up.
Every now and then, a game comes along that captures our hearts and reminds us why we love the medium in the first place. Forager is the latest in a line of stellar independent games to grace the Switch, featuring wonderfully designed crafting mechanics, addictive progression systems and more charm than you can possibly handle.
Trine 3: Artifacts of Power is by no means a bad game. It's visuals are exemplary, the characters charming and delightful, and the overall tone of the game is very well suited to the Switch. Unfortunately, in transitioning over to fully 3D environments, the poor depth perception and limited sense of progression really hurts the experience. If you enjoy collecting items, there's just about enough here to warrant a purchase, but everyone else would be wise to hold off until the upcoming Trine 4.
Picross: Lord of the Nazarick certainly proves to be an odd addition to the Picross canon, but it proves itself worthy through the consistently excellent puzzle design and rewarding gameplay, which is every bit as great as that which has come before.
Mighty Switch Force! Collection is a great way to bring Wayforward's 3DS series to the Switch that will undoubtedly appeal to both fans of the series and newcomers alike. The decision to separate the first game and its HD remaster is one we're not fully on board with, and we'd love to have seen some extra content like concept art and soundtracks. Nevertheless, every game included features superb gameplay and level design, making this a collection that every Switch owner should experience.
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is one of the best additions to the tactical RPG genre years; a well-written and rewarding experience that combines the creative use of stealth found in the legacy of its ex-Hitman developers with a world that's full of interesting characters and ideas. Almost every game in this genre lives in the shadow of XCOM, but Mutant offers enough new ideas to set itself apart. The visual downgrade on the Switch version can be a little hard on the eye, but considering how this sacrifice has preserved the quality of the game within, we'd call that a worthy trade-off.
Raiden V: Director’s Cut quietly lands on the Switch with little fanfare, and yet feels right at home along with all the numerous other bullet hell shmups currently available on the system.
Unless you're a fan of the anime, Kill La Kill: IF is not the game for you. While the story mode is beautifully presented, it's not as lengthy or engaging as the hours-long experiences offered by other arena fighters. While the potential of an Arc System Works arena fighter sounds promising, this 3D fighting game ends up being a bigger disappointment than many of its contemporaries. The visuals are pristine, the animation is gorgeous, but everything else feels barren. Kill La Kill: IF feels like a budget title – too bad it costs $50.
With support for all manner of local and online setups for co-op and competitive multiplayer – and lots of extra DLC content bundled in – this is a rewarding yet potentially intimidating simulator that's only really diminished by a lack of official licensing and a proper training mode.
If you're not a fan of multiplayer games, then once you've beaten Lethal League Blaze's story mode and arcade mode, there's little to entice you back into the fray. Nevertheless, the gameplay itself is remarkably versatile, allowing newcomers to get stuck right in whilst more seasoned players can tinker with the game's many intricacies. Throw in an amazing soundtrack and some fantastic cel-shaded visuals, and you've got a competitive game that's engaging in terms of both its presentation and its instantly accessible gameplay.
There was a lot riding on it, but we can confidently say that Fire Emblem: Three Houses has managed to live up to the hype and will stand as a highlight in the series for years to come.
Fantasy Strike isn’t going to blow anyone away aesthetically and its arcade mode is a little barebones. However, in terms of gameplay, it absolutely achieves what it sets out to, offering fun and accessible fighting action to newcomers whilst at the same time possessing enough technical depth in its roster of characters to keep more seasoned fighters interested.
Pawarumi is a tough-as-nails shmup with a unique central mechanic that takes time to master. Stick with it though and you'll be rewarded with a slick, fast-paced shooter that looks and sounds amazing and will test your skills to the max. There's really nothing else like it out there right now and, even with slight reservations over the difficulty, a lacklustre story and paucity of game modes, this is an easy recommend for fans of the genre looking for a proper challenge.
Automachef is absolutely not for everyone; it's a puzzle game that overwhelms you from the start and only piles on more complexity as you progress through its 45 stages. There's a degree of satisfaction to be found in spending hours putting together large, elaborate automated set-ups, troubleshooting their flaws then finally seeing them work as intended, but you need to put in a hell of a lot of work for that payoff and for many the toll it takes on the old noggin won't be worth it.
