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.
Despite a couple of blemishes, The FRAMED Collection is a clever and stylish addition to the Switch library. Inevitably, it's much smoother to play with touch controls, but it's worth seeing the bold characters and more vibrant set pieces play out on a big TV. A couple of iffy puzzles and a fairly short run time for both games shouldn't put you off too much, as there are some excellent ideas here and a refreshingly cool overall experience. If you've never played them before and you like puzzle games with a dash of charisma, you should definitely check them out. Hideo Kojima can't be wrong, right?
With so few football games on Switch, Legendary Eleven might be tempting, but be prepared for a scruffy 0-0 draw rather than a 5-4 thriller. There are some highlights that impress, but the game's many technical flaws, lack of depth and unbalanced gameplay will most likely cause you yearn for something more refined and exciting. It really is a game of two halves.
Super Sportmatchen deserves some praise for including online leaderboards to help prolong the replay value of the individual experience. A lot of games of this calibre fail to add this feature. Competing against the A.I. will definitely get old, fast, so this is a great way to sustain interest. For some, this still might not be enough. The main contest here is the local multiplayer. Provided you have friends or family around, this is another one of those titles that is fun for brief sessions in between more prominent multiplayer titles.
Shape of the World is a very different offering on the Switch's eShop, and one that we are glad to have experienced despite its shortcomings. Describing it as a video game doesn't feel quite right; it's more of an interactive playground that lets you take a couple of hours out, switch off, and be treated to some thought-provoking aesthetics along the way. It's definitely not for everyone, and it's all over a little too quickly, but Shape of the World is a nicely put together piece of art that deserves the attention of those most intrigued.
Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn is a solid side-scrolling brawler. We were unsure of what to expect from this whole 'Settle the score of '94' tagline, but were pleasantly surprised with the amount of fun it offers. While it lasts, it serves up a fun-filled ride with silly dialogue, politically incorrect humour and excessive amounts of 'Shaqness'. You might even be entitled to get this game for free but those who must part with their money and are on the market for some mindless brawling, you could do far worse than this Shaq attack. It's official then: Shaq-Fu: A legend redeemed.
The sheer verve of Just Shapes and Beats is infectious. True to its name, the elements are simple, but Berzerk Studio explores and executes on its modest premise with an exceptional level of polish. It injects pure joy into the oppressive, pulsing panic of Super Hexagon and creates a celebratory explosion of the audio-visual in video games. Challenge mode and the hectic multiplayer will keep you occupied after you've conquered the refreshingly breezy story. Grab some decent headphones or, better still, some friends and hook your Switch up to the hi-fi. The neighbours will love you.
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 Deluxe Edition is a wonderful example of a licensed adaptation doing just about everything right; if you've ever read or watched One Piece and thought, "this would make a great video game!” this is that game. While it doesn't spend nearly enough time on its story beats to fully immerse new players into its world, we'd still recommend it even if you're new to the Straw Hat Crew — there's plenty of rollicking fun to be had throwing elbows (and swords, and staves, and…) with Luffy and co., and longtime readers will have a blast revisiting their earliest days. A recommended romp for One Piece and Warriors fans alike.
Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido is a crazy, over-the-top experience that gets better the more you play. The game feels incredibly polished, with a mostly satisfying battle system that gets surprisingly deep, and beautifully presented cutscenes that progress the story along nicely. The focus here is definitely on the lengthy campaign, although we can imagine top online players becoming intensely competitive with practice. It might not be able to completely blow you away, but our playthrough has left us with a pleasingly satisfying aftertaste. Make sure to give this a go if you're intrigued.
Battling your way through screens of mechanical enemies to reach the final boss won't take very much time at all, but exploring the compact yet detailed world around you is enjoyable. Hidden are some thought-provoking snippets of narrative that touch on the hardships of developing games, for example, and the clever delivery of its storytelling is, at times, ingenious. However, the simplistic approach to battle and a confusing and convoluted story plot could prove bothersome for some who are looking for something a little more in-depth. ICEY does, however, succeed in providing quick, tight blasts of fun that's sure to please fans of the genre that are looking for something a little different.
Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory is an action-RPG with a snappy, timing-based combat system and well-written dialogue. However, it's a little messy and repetitive in both gameplay and narrative terms, and the game could do a lot more to explain itself.
With a sci-fi twist on an old formula, Songbringer is almost a breath of fresh air. Occasional stereotypes aren't as welcome as all of the new ideas the game brings forward, including a tongue-in-cheek style of humour to accompany a truly unique experience and a gorgeous visual style. With so many options and routes through the story, this is a game begging to be replayed for months to come.
Pirate Pop Plus does a fine job of emulating the laser-focused Game Boy games of 25 years ago. It owes a massive debt to Pang and a whole host of other single-screen highscore chasers, but with a couple of subtle twists of its own. For some it will be too brutally straight-forward, and it's arguably a little too in thrall to the past for a modern Switch game. For those after a no-nonsense retro challenge, however, it's a budget-priced treat.
All told, Yonder is that kind of game that has value, but only a very specific kind of gamer will be able to find it. Yonder isn't a bad game by any means, but it's clear that it tries to do too much at once and doesn't stop to make sure that anything is that fun in practice. Mediocre gameplay mechanics aside, it's a relaxing game to play with your coffee in the morning, and the presentation value is a definite plus. We'd recommend this to anyone looking for a relatively shallow game that doesn't take a whole much of a time investment; for what it is, Yonder is a decent game, though it's hardly a must-play.
While the central conceit sounds promising as an FMV experience, The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker fails to find a consistent tone or fully engage the player in its story. It offers a couple of nice ideas and the odd smile, but if you don't care about the central mystery, you're left with madness, and the disparate threads never weave together in a satisfying way. The two ominous notes of the soundtrack (only a mild exaggeration) are left to supply tension, and with The Bunker and Late Shift showing how the genre can be relevant and entertaining in 2018, it's hard to recommend this over the alternatives.
