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.
Express Raider remains a fun 2-in-1 game, with the fighting stages standing head and shoulders above the shooting ones, which is something of an oddity considering the Wild West setting. As such we recommend it to anyone who was a fan of the original or who played the home conversions and want to have the original on their virtual arcade Switch museum. But if you have an itchy trigger finger, we recommend you buy a ticket to a more steampunk kind of Wild West.
There's nothing particularly revolutionary about Bomb Chicken, it's enjoyable predominantly because of its classic approach and how refined each aspect of the game is including the core bomb-laying mechanic. Each level is intelligently designed and has a great sense of flow. The puzzles and enemies are fair but challenging and the controls are precise and responsive. Unlike fast food, this isn't a cheap, quick and nasty solution that will leave you regretting your purchase - this is a blast.
Octopath Traveler is a special RPG, the kind of game that keeps an eye on the past while walking bravely into the future. Indeed, we'd even go so far as to say this is the best RPG you can find on the Switch to date, all elements of this game link together perfectly to make for a harmonious and immersing experience that you'll find difficult to put down. We'd recommend Octopath Traveler to both fans and newcomers of RPGs; the game does a fantastic job of straddling that line of accessibility and depth, satisfying both camps with its dizzying amount of content. Classic-inspired gameplay, an orchestrated soundtrack, and a unique approach to storytelling make this a game that you won't want to miss. This is an absolute must buy.
Sonic Mania was a true return to form for the mascot, in his 2D 'Classic' guise at least, and celebrated the glory days of the original games while also enhancing their qualities and taking on new ideas. From new areas, imaginative second acts and some delightful boss encounters, the development team poured a lot of passion and talent into the project. Sonic Mania Plus takes that solid foundation and - in all honestly - doesn't do a great deal to mess with it. The new characters and modes are welcome, and there are some neat tweaks which iron out some of the kinks present in the original release, but on the whole this is an enhanced edition of the game rather than a feature-rich update. If you've still not sampled the delights of Sonic Mania then this is clearly the version to get, but if you're an existing owner then the low asking price of the DLC update make this well worth a look; we'll take any excuse to dive back into one of the best 2D platformers of recent memory.
All-Star Fruit Racing takes a unique karting weapon system, throws it into a blender with some cute presentation ideas and an unfortunate series of technical annoyances, and ends up with a pretty mixed bag as a result. This is a competent racer, and there's just about enough content to make you want to keep playing, but it never realises the potential that it could have had and doesn't really stand up to the heights that other titles can offer. It's just a little on the weak side to justify its asking price, so bear that in mind before jumping into a fruity purchase.
Overwhelming for newcomers and probably too generic for genre aficionados, Touhou Gensou Wanderer Reloaded is difficult to recommend to all but die-hard series fans. The beautiful hand-drawn presentation and high production values are hindered severely by a contrived and intrusive interface, unimportant dialogue with very little character development and derivative mechanics. It certainly looks the part, but there are more fun and interesting adventure roguelikes such as Crypt Of The Necrodancer on the eShop right now.
Despite its unyielding nature and curiously juxtaposing approach to its characters, Bomber Crew is a sometimes thrilling and constantly rewarding title. Favouring roguelite progression, strategy and resource management over frantic arcade-style combat, if you can get past the simple, cute visuals and steep learning curve you'll find a rich, intense and satisfying experience here.
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.
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.
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.
