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.
Playing 20XX has an addictive rhythm to everything. You dive into the level, find loot like upgrades and currency bolts, kill bosses to take their weapons, and keep pushing until you die. After dying we'd often suffer from that 'just one more run' itch that's so common in roguelikes and the formula fits an action platformer like 20XX perfectly. The procedural engine does a good job of mixing things up, but after a while you can start to see a little repetition, but that's easily overshadowed by the sheer variety and amount of upgrades and customisation.
Shining Resonance Refrain is the kind of game that can put on a solid performance, but it's also abundantly clear that it doesn't quite have the pipes to hit the high notes; it's a good game, but not a great one. A fascinating setting, live action combat system, and eye-catching cel-shade visuals are all balanced by a slightly dampening feeling of mediocrity that never seems to go away. Fans of RPGs will find plenty to love here, it's a well-rounded, content-rich game that understands its audience well, but it's also a very safe RPG. We'd ultimately give Shining Resonance Refrain a recommendation, especially if you're a newcomer looking for a good RPG to show you what the genre is all about, but veterans may be a bit disappointed with the final product.
Assault Gunner HD Edition is (at the time of writing) the very best mech game available on the Switch. It provides more than enough bang for your buck but sadly doesn't do it in the spectacular fashion one would expect when controlling a gigantic robot. We still heartfully recommend this to mech game lovers out there, but other players will simply not be converted to the genre by this one. The wait for the definitive mecha Switch game continues, and hopefully, DAEMON X MACHINA will fill that gap.
Two Crude is one of the funniest grab-'em-ups ever made and 27 years later nothing has diluted the insane '90s colourful vibe in this package. Data East once more succeeded in adapting popular culture into a video game that ends up being more than the mere sum of its parts. Grab a friend and have no fear plunging into a fun-filled half an hour of pure arcade entertainment. Just make sure it looks like an accident every time you toss your partner around.
Despite being a useful tool in your training, Pocket Rumble's arcade mode is slight, but in multiplayer the game excels thanks to a diverse (albeit small) lineup of characters. Fighting games can be complicated things, off-putting to newcomers with their wide array of moves and techniques, but Cardboard Robot Games has crafted a fun and easy to learn experience here, bundled up in a wonderfully nostalgic audio-visual imitation of the old Neo Geo Pocket Color brawlers. By employing just two attack buttons and simplifying the special moves, it may not offer as much depth as some fighting games, but there's still enough to keep even a genre veteran happy here. As newcomer friendly as the game is, timing and correct move choice are still key, so experience is undoubtably a factor. Working well with any controller, the game is good fun and perfectly suited for quick bursts of play, whether that be in online battles or playing tabletop against friends. Admittedly the Switch is not short of decent fighting games, but Pocket Rumble still provides great entertainment.
Miles & Kilo is another faux retro platforming romp landing on the Switch that adds yet another valuable choice for players looking to get their fix of the genre. It manages to be an equal parts casual and hardcore platform experience while incrementing on the already abundant charming appeal of the previous game with excellent humour.
Inside is a grimly beautiful platform-puzzler that, while brief, is packed full of jaw-dropping highlights. While its dark tone won't be for everyone, it's all been executed brilliantly, with gently taxing physics-based conundrums woven into a haunting wordless narrative.
While its adventure mode-style exploration could do with a little more meat on its bones, we all know why we're here - the Punch-Out!!-style bosses. The exploration sections fail to do the eye-catching visual style (and the story) much justice, but those brilliant big bads more than make up for it. Sprinkle in an '80s-style synth soundtrack that wouldn't feel out of place in Hotline Miami and you've got a rough-yet-ready new contender on the Switch eShop.
A sumptuous feast in multiplayer, but a bit bland and monotonous when going solo, Mushroom Wars 2 is nonetheless an accessible and deep and enjoyable real-time strategy experience. There is plenty to dig into, especially if you enter the online competitive arena. Although the game does show it's mobile roots on occasion as the single-player campaign is ironically 'by the numbers', Mushroom Wars 2 is definitely a dish best served cold, and with a group of fun guys or gals.
Dream Alone tries so hard to capitalise on the inspiration from its formative peers that it forgets to carve out an identity of its own. The poor platforming engine, floaty controls, and frustrating level design leave far too much to be desired for this to be the game of anyone's dreams.
SpiritSphere DX is possibly the closest we may ever get to a tennis game based on The Legend of Zelda series. In fact, in contrast to similar offerings currently available on the Switch eShop, this is a good budget pick. It's got a small but challenging campaign mode with three difficulties, an adequate amount of local multiplayer content for up to four players and does a sound job channeling the spirit of retro games.
Runbow is a great example of a party game that can cater to solo and multiplayer preferences alike, and almost certainly deserves a cheeky purchase on Switch. The gameplay is great fun, the presentation is to die for, and unlocking Nindie heroes through a really nicely put together adventure mode is the icing on the cake. We felt there was a little left to be desired with some elements of the multiplayer modes, and this might just make some think a little harder before jumping in, but we absolutely recommend giving this one a go if you're interested regardless.
All in all, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is a ruthlessly faithful recreation of some of the earliest successes in 3D platforming. Levels are slick, gorgeous to look at, and recreate the feel of the originals superbly. However, newcomers to the series may be put off by the steep difficulty spikes and little to no explanation of some of the finer mechanics. All the fun and the foibles of the original three games are here, for better or for worse, and despite some odd design choices it still manages to be a really enjoyable retread of some old classics, warts and all. This is definitely worth a look if you're a fan of 3D platformers, but just as was the case back in the '90s, Crash isn't in quite the same league as Mario when it comes to playability, inventiveness and entertainment.
The Lost Child is a JRPG with a number of quirky and interesting elements, not least of which is its Pokémon-like monster capture system. However, its dungeon crawling underpinnings are just too dull and repetitive, and its narrative approach too stilted to draw in anyone but die-hard fans of the genre. Even then, you'll need to come prepared to grit your teeth and grind.
