Nintendo Life

Nintendo Life

Alex Olney·Apr 27, 2022

Critic90/100

Agreement—

"NINE OUT OF TEN," Alex bellowed as he wrote. "A thoroughly enjoyable expansion of an already classic game treated with love, care, and most importantly a meta awareness that pays tribute to everything that made The Stanley Parable so beloved. It may leave a small few questioning more than they'd like, but we wouldn't want it any other way."Alex wondered if this small sound bite could be considered a complete review, but he was certain that if he needed to, he could find a way to pad things out.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Apr 26, 2022

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Dungeons of Dreadrock is a well-designed puzzle game that cleverly builds on its formula throughout its brief run. Those of you looking for a good game to wind down with before bed may want to give this a look, though we would encourage investigating the smart device version if you're happy to play on mobile.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Apr 25, 2022

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Despite us making numerous comparisons to the Super Nintendo game, Pocky & Rocky: Reshrined is, for the vast majority, a completely new entry in the series. And that's worth celebrating for several reasons. Tengo Project, well aware of the original's pedigree, was smart enough to only use it as inspiration, rather than attempt to follow its lead beat-for-beat. Within this modern framework, the developer has constructed a thrilling tapestry of light, colour, and action-packed junctures for hardcore gamers to get their teeth into. Is it better than Natsume's venerable 1992 outing? No, but it's about on par, albeit for slightly different reasons. Pocky & Rocky: Reshrined is a blessing, a gorgeous-looking, delightfully artful new interpretation of a much-loved classic, and a noteworthy example of what can be achieved, creatively, with the 2D medium. If you're even mildly into the application of old-school gaming disciplines, it should be snapped up without a second thought.

Nintendo Life

Stuart Gipp·Apr 24, 2022

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Blast Brigade is a difficult game to review. It's a lot of fun and we enjoyed our 20 or so hours with it, mopping up secrets and collectables. We can't recommend it enough if you've still got a hankering for Metroidvanias, but those exhausted with the formula aren't going to find any major deviations here. Perhaps we would feel differently had the game come out a couple of years ago, but now? Blast Brigade is still a terrific Metroidvania, and one of the best we've played outside of the very tippy-top tier (Symphony of the Night, et al). Get it straight away if you even slightly think you will enjoy it, because you almost certainly will. It has the same affection packed into it as the likes of Kaze and the Wild Masks, a real love letter to Metroidvanias. Truly exceptional it isn't, but Blast Brigade remains a great time if you're not suffering from genre fatigue.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Apr 23, 2022

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Similarly to the many doggos it stars, it’s tough to find much to dislike about The Last Friend. Fast-paced tower defense action, a gorgeous art style, satisfying progression, and a goofy story make this one an easy recommendation. Plus, you can pet all the dogs! What more could you want?

Nintendo Life

PJ O'Reilly·Apr 22, 2022

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Zombie Army 4: Dead War is a surprisingly solid Switch port of one of our favourite Rebellion titles thus far. There's a ton of zombie Nazi-slaying sweetness to get stuck into here and, although the graphics have taken a hit and the frame rate has been halved in comparison to other platforms, what's here is eminently playable in both docked and handheld modes. Whether you're taking on Hitler's undead hordes alone or with a few friends in tow, this one's a ton of schlocky B-movie fun that gets a great big thumbs up from us.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Apr 20, 2022

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Is Star Wars: The Force Unleashed worth picking up? Eh… potentially. What we have here is a shallow, short, and rather mediocre action game that's relying awfully hard on nostalgia and the popularity of the Star Wars IP to draw in players. Based solely on its own merits, there's little here that's really worth your time. Simplistic level designs, weak combat, frequent quick time events, and low replay value make this one hard to recommend. It's got a decent story and soundtrack, but neither of these things are good enough to outweigh the negatives. If you're just looking for another Star Wars game to add to your collection, this certainly fits the bill; if you're looking for a high-quality hack 'n' slash, it doesn't. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is simply a passable game; not one we'd actively avoid, but you're not missing much if you choose to skip it.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Apr 19, 2022

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Formula Retro Racing is far from a bad racing game. It's perfectly fine, it handles well enough and it does a good job of replicating the art style of the early '90s arcade era. But its performance issues on Switch and the frustrating AI behaviour means that it should only really be considered if you've absolutely rinsed everything to do in Sega Ages Virtua Racing and are looking for something else to scratch a similar itch.

Nintendo Life

Trent Cannon·Apr 18, 2022

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Neptunia x Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars is a solid, fun hack-and-slash that doesn't take too long to finish and looks gorgeous while you're playing it, but it never reaches the heights of some of the classics from either franchise. What's here feels polished, but a lack of extra modes and features will be disappointing to fans of both series. Still, the game's charm lies in the Neptunia and Senran Kagura characters and their interactions, with writing that delivers great, unexpected punchlines that help give the game some focus. If you are a fan of either series, this is definitely worth playing despite its lack of depth. It just might be one to wait for a sale before picking up.

Nintendo Life

Roland Ingram·Apr 18, 2022

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Overall, Toodee and Topdee is fantastically imaginative puzzle game with exceptional variety wrung out of its core conceit. It struggles most when it asks for dynamic execution of puzzle solutions, but even then it’s pretty decent. This side-on / top-down puzzler is one that other games should look up to.

Nintendo Life

Oliver Reynolds·Apr 15, 2022

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Ultimately, Demon Turf: Neon Splash is a much better game than its predecessor thanks to the complete removal of the underwhelming combat. Not only that, but the experience feels more focused and streamlined without the requirement of a hub world or mandatory collectibles. This is Demon Turf at its best, and we sincerely hope to see more of the same in a true sequel later down the line.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Apr 14, 2022

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Nobody Saves the World is a thrillingly well-paced and enjoyable action adventure that Switch owners won't want to miss. An addictive quest system, surprisingly deep class system, attractive art style, and punchy combat all come together to make for a varied and engaging experience that oozes quality at every turn. If you're a fan of RPGs with a lot of customization, old-school Zelda games, or classic arcade beat 'em ups, Nobody Saves the World is absolutely a title you need to add to your library.

Nintendo Life

Oliver Reynolds·Apr 13, 2022

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Ultimately, although Tormented Souls is a commendable homage to classic survival horror games, its focus on the past is unfortunately its biggest downfall. Advertisements for the game bill it as a "modernisation" of the genre, but the mechanics within feel as archaic as the games it's emulating. At around seven hours or so in length, you'll have a decent time here if you're a die-hard fan of horror games that wishes some of the big names would revisit their origins, but for everyone else, the fixed camera angles and limited combat may prove more frustrating than nostalgic. Add to that some technical hiccups in the way of dodgy cutscenes and animations, and you've got a game that very much plays second fiddle to the more established survival horror games on Switch.

Nintendo Life

Kerry Brunskill·Apr 13, 2022

Critic90/100

Agreement—

The blend of all-out action, deep strategy, and Ancient's irreverent humour is as enjoyable as ever here, and smashing a huge castle-tank into evil things never stops being fun. Gotta Protectors: Cart of Darkness plays its story for laughs but the game itself is an expertly crafted challenge with lots to do and plenty more to keep coming back for.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Apr 8, 2022

Critic60/100

Agreement—

When it all works like it should, The House of the Dead: Remake is a fun update of a Sega arcade classic. The performance can be janky and the controls clunky on its default settings, but if you're willing to put the time in to tweak them you should get something you're happier with. You shouldn't have to do that with a light gun shooter, though, and the fact you do has to go down as a failing on the game's part.