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.
At the core of TerraTech is an extensive mechanical construction kit that presents an interesting canvas for creative players. However, the Switch's significant UI shortcomings, a cumbersome console control scheme, and a limited-feeling campaign will ensure that only persistent players stick around long enough to find the fun.
Some might write off Realm Royale as a Fortnite wannabe, and occasionally it can feel like one if you choose to play it that way, but the core principles of its gameplay bring enough new features to help differentiate it from its BR fellows.
Crystal Crisis isn't going to dethrone the kings of the falling block genre anytime soon. It's a solid puzzler with a heart of gold, but it doesn't have the decades of improvements that its peers have. With a solid amount of content, an amazing cast of characters and fantastic presentation, though, we recommend this as a fun alternative if you tire of Tetris 99.
Overall it feels a little like death by a thousand cuts with American Fugitive, with one too many niggling little problems letting the whole thing down.
Little Friends: Dogs & Cats invites comparisons with the Nintendogs series with its structure and overall presentation. However, once you've enjoyed petting your fill of digital 'good bois', you'll be left marvelling at how little there is to do even compared to that most lightweight (though fondly remembered) of Nintendo offerings.
It's a rare game that can start off tense and then continuously ratchets up the mood to almost unbearable levels until the final moments of the final chapter – and an even rarer one that has enough alternative characters, dialogue, and endings to make it worth playing through more than once – but Death Mark succeeds where it really counts. There's plenty on offer here for both horror fans as well as those looking for a mystery that requires more than hoarding knick-knacks and waiting patiently for your character to officially notice something before you can proceed.
It feels harsh to draw so many comparisons between Back in 1995 and the classic survival horror games of the '90s, but then again, the former is an intentional attempt to replicate the latter, so it's unavoidable. Unfortunately, by staying so rigidly faithful to the typical survival horror tropes – like tank controls and fixed camera angles – the developer has left out important elements like plot and art direction. As it is, Back in 1995 only succeeds in reminding you why its ancestors were so good in the first place – but perhaps more importantly, why some of them should be left back in the '90s.
Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland proves to be a great entry in Gust’s long-running series, and much like the many concoctions made by Lulua, this is a refined final product that reflects several of the best traits of the predecessors that came before.
Guilty Gear 20th Anniversary Edition is a fantastic addition to the Switch’s roster of fighting games and sits right up there with the very best examples of the genre the platform has to offer, mostly due to the fact that XX Accent Core Plus R is just about the strongest, most technically refined entry in the series.
If you're a fan of classic run 'n' gun action games, then Gunlord X is an absolute pleasure to play from start to finish. It joins the ranks of must-own retro-inspired titles for the Switch, delivering blistering action, stunning visuals and an absolutely stellar soundtrack. It could be argued that there's little originality on offer and the longevity of the game is also questionable thanks to the fact that it's 'built' like an old-school coin-op release, but honestly, when the experience is this good, it seems churlish to grumble.
Baba Is You is like a compilation of gift shop brain teasers; they’re not for everyone, but some people can’t get enough of them. And while it may sound like just another sketchy smartphone game, it’s surprisingly one of the most unique puzzlers you can find on the Switch and the way in which it encourages you to break its rules and create your own ones is refreshing and unique.
Capcom's shady cart-based practices aside, there’s ultimately no better way to sample that original survival horror formula in 2019, provided you’ve got the stomach - and the space on your system memory - for it.
Project Nimbus: Complete Edition is a game that sports tight, engaging gameplay, but fails to back this up with compelling reasons to play for the long haul. On the surface, there's a generous serving of modes, missions and weaponry, along with impressive visuals and three difficulty options to sink your teeth into. Unfortunately, repetition sets in far too soon, and eventually you'll want to store this mecha back in its hangar. The wait for the Switch's first truly comprehensive 'Big Robot' game continues.
Taken on its own merits, Team Sonic Racing is a fun karting game that doesn't quite match Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in terms of either performance or sheer level of content, but still offers satisfying handling and should still keep Sonic fans entertained for a while. It's impossible not to compare it to its predecessor, though, and in all the areas where Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed excelled, Team Sonic Racing is merely competent. By no means a bad game, then, but when we look back years from now it won't be standing on any karting game podiums.
