Nintendo Life

Nintendo Life

Gavin Lane·May 1, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

We can't say that players raised on the likes of Super Mario Odyssey and other modern platformers will respond the same way, but if you dream in 64-bit and your formative 3D games featured visible polygons, you won't regret exploring Cavern of Dreams. Bynine Studios gets in, delivers its payload of fairytale platforming feels with a hint of darkness, and gets out smartish. If you're a Banjo fan looking to recapture that sense of wonder you first experienced exploring Grunty's Lair, this is probably the closest you'll get without time travel or memory wipes.

Nintendo Life

PJ O'Reilly·Apr 30, 2024

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Endless Ocean: Luminous attempts to revive a niche Wii franchise as an online exploration experience, and fails miserably in the process. In comparison to the likes of Subnautica, this is an empty, cold, and boring ocean space to explore, devoid of any real reason to play beyond its generally relaxing ambiance and the opportunity to learn some facts about underwater animals. Even taken on those terms, it's weak, its online play is basic and bland, and its story does little to engage beyond teaching you the ropes. It didn't need to be this boring, but it is.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Apr 28, 2024

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Corn Kidz 64 feels like a genuine title from the N64 era and we commend the developer for their ability to successfully recreate that retro experience. A perfect length, good pacing, and varied design all work in this game's favor, though its sluggish controls and awkward camera hold it back from greatness. All the same, it's only seven bucks-we'd give this one a recommendation to anyone looking for a decent new 3D platformer for their library.

Nintendo Life

Oliver Reynolds·Apr 26, 2024

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is a decent game, but it sits in the shadow of much better Metroidvanias on the Switch. We love the setting and storyline, but as Surgent Studios' first stab at what has proven to be a wildly popular genre over the years, it struggles to set itself apart with rather bland exploration and repetitive combat. Coupled with compromised visuals and performance on Switch, veterans of the genre may want to give this one a miss. For newcomers, however, the breezy gameplay might make for a nice introduction to Metroidvanias.

Nintendo Life

Nathanial Eker·Apr 26, 2024

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Overall, the gorgeous steampunk style with surprisingly great voice acting doesn’t entirely make up for a slow, clumpy puzzler. The music is also great and the concept ambitious, but its mechanics and sluggish pace make it feel dated. Hardcore fans of adventure puzzlers or steampunk stories will likely enjoy it, but it won’t be to everyone’s tastes.

Nintendo Life

Nathanial Eker·Apr 26, 2024

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Crimson Keep is good fun. Its gameplay is enjoyable, its graphics are fit for purpose, and its replay value is high.

Nintendo Life

Nathanial Eker·Apr 26, 2024

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Overall, Marenian Tavern Story is an engaging RPG with hours upon hours of content within it. It is a solid offering with addictive gameplay that can get slightly tedious after a while. For an RPG fan looking for a new fix, however, you won’t go far wrong with this one.

Nintendo Life

Nathanial Eker·Apr 26, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Overall, Desert Child provides high-octane, arcade-style fun, with its quirky story and style providing a delicious cherry on top. The soundtrack is also great, with a unique, funky hip-hop sound that complements its offbeat humour and presentation. Combine this with its retro visuals and you have a great addition to your indie collection, with a high replay value, particularly when playing with friends.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Apr 26, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

El Shaddai feels genuinely more creative and interesting than a lot of the titles it would consider bedfellows today. It shares a place with the likes of ICO, Nier, and Panzer Dragoon in its arcane design and historically inspired symbolism. Elsewhere, it borrows from the likes of Okami and Mizuguchi's Rez for its abstract, acid-trip beauty. It's true that the combat can become routine, the platforming occasionally frustrate, and some of the boss encounters appear slightly samey, but it runs smoothly and assuredly across 11 visually astounding stages. El Shaddai, more than anything else, is a game of moments, and a lot of them. It's certainly one of the most intriguing titles in the action-adventure, hack-and-slash genre, and deserves the attention this time around that it never achieved on its original release.

Nintendo Life

Charlie Wacholz·Apr 25, 2024

Critic40/100

Agreement—

We wish we liked Library of Ruina more than we do; its world and characters touch on clever themes and storytelling devices, but never fully lean into its potential. Slapdash pacing coupled with sluggish, nerve-wracking menus makes playing Library of Ruina an exercise in courting digital whiplash as you cycle between rushed, truncated story beats and glacially-paced menus. If it had more engaging combat and a more efficient narrative setup, Library of Ruina would have really impressed us. Sadly, we don't feel very compelled to see it through to completion.

Nintendo Life

Oliver Reynolds·Apr 24, 2024

Critic40/100

Agreement—

Slave Zero X is an incredibly frustrating release, because it could have so easily been a slam dunk. It's a great game - it really is - with stylish combat mechanics, beautiful 2D sprites combined with 3D environments, and an awesome, cyberpunk-esque storyline. Unfortunately, though patches may eventually turn this lump of coal into a diamond, the game as it stands is a hot mess on Switch, with a wildly inconsistent frame rate that makes the complex, methodical gameplay feel like a chore to play.

Nintendo Life

Jim Norman·Apr 23, 2024

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants is not the steaming cash grab that you might have assumed by seeing the publisher involved. Neither is it anything close to the action-packed highs that we have seen from the heroes in a half-shell in recent years. Instead, we are left with a game that is perfectly serviceable but ultimately forgettable, let down by repetitive levels and combat and lacking any reason to go back for more. If, for some unknown reason, this is the only Turtles beat 'em up that you can access, then you will likely have a perfectly fine 90 minutes of playtime. But the alternatives on Switch deliver much more memorable, satisfying TMNT experiences.

Nintendo Life

Nile Bowie·Apr 22, 2024

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Lunar Lander Beyond is a solid recommendation for fans of the lander sim genre. It performs well on the Switch with no discernible frame rate issues and looks great. But as it stands, its missions too often feel abbreviated at around three to six minutes and too tightly sandwiched between narrative. The issue is not its gameplay mechanics, but the strictures of its campaign structure. It's a problem the developers could solve by staying the course and creating a mode focused squarely on what made the original compelling: flying, landing, and scoring better than everyone else.

Nintendo Life

PJ O'Reilly·Apr 22, 2024

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Grounded is a fantastic survival game, a colourful, unique, and original slice of joyful adventuring that everyone should play if they have the opportunity. It nails the Honey, I Shrunk The Kids vibe, its core gameplay loops are moreish, and its setting and enemies are often breathtaking in how they reframe the mundane. However, and as usual for these big efforts on Switch, this port has plenty of issues. They've had to tank the visuals, the all-important online co-op is flaky, the frame rate is fine until you start going big on bases - just all the stuff we've come to expect at this stage, really. If you can handle the issues, or if Switch is your only way to play, this game can still deliver the goods and the quality shines through. However, if you have another way to play it, we'd definitely recommend you do that instead.

Nintendo Life

Oliver Revolta·Apr 19, 2024

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Kudzu is a good adventure, and we're sure we would have loved it back in the day. We can even imagine kids at primary school asserting that, in some ways, Kudzu is better than Link's Awakening. This is in part because young kids are often deliberately contrarian, but also because Kudzu's character and game world are genuinely noteworthy. This comes through in some tight writing and an enjoyable gameplay experience. Its slight lack of polish might knock a point off, but the Switch pricing is reasonable. We're confident that fans of retro games will find a lot to love, and playing Kudzu on an actual Game Boy would be a genuine treat.