Nintendo Life

Nintendo Life

Michelle See-Tho·Nov 16, 2023

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Spirittea serves up a creative and addictive (after)life-sim loop of attending to bathhouse spirits and helping townsfolk. The tools and menus don't offer the most fluid experience, and the minigames are often overwhelmingly complicated, but there's enough to do here that means you can dip in and out of things when you don't like them. Anything you do like, you can soak in for hours.

Nintendo Life

Alana Hagues·Nov 15, 2023

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Super Mario RPG is here in all of its weird, wonderful glory for a new generation to experience, and sets a new standard for how to do a faithful remake right. Delivering a beautifully preserved, pure experience for fans of the original and an accessible entry-point for genre newcomers, the game's infectious charm, writing, and polished gameplay do so much to elevate this beyond what might have been merely a simple RPG starring Mario.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Nov 14, 2023

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Astral Ascent is a prime example of a game that amounts to more than the sum of its parts. Its strong character design, hi-bit visuals, tight combat, memorable bosses, and broad build variety have all featured in games you've probably played before-there's nothing 'new' here. But to write it off as just 'another one of those' in a crowded genre would be to miss out on one of the most delightful and surprising releases of the year. Astral Ascent is comfortably one of the best roguelites available on the Switch today, and we can easily recommend it to anyone with a passing interest in the genre. Don't miss it.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Nov 14, 2023

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Persona 5 Tactica is a thrillingly varied tactical RPG that fans of the Phantom Thieves and the genre should take note of. It's a little on the easy side, but the varied gameplay, excellent soundtrack, striking visuals, and lovable characters all make for a very easy recommendation here.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Nov 13, 2023

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Halberd Studios has crafted a Metroidvania with a really encouraging number of unique elements. We have no issue in declaring it A Good Game™ and a great time thanks to its careful crafting and implementation of a number of original ideas that elevate the gameplay, rather than stifle it. It is just another Metroidvania at heart, yes, and it doesn't revolutionise the genre; but, while there are a few scrappy bits where you can see a thinning of the budget compared to works by larger studios, it holds its own as an inventive, pretty, and consistently enjoyable adventure.

Nintendo Life

Trent Cannon·Nov 13, 2023

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Thirsty Suitors is a great example of what happens when a developer's ambition outstrips the ability to fully realise that vision, for whatever reason. The story and visual style here are top-notch, but the actual mechanics lack the depth needed to make this one of the best indie games on Switch. Despite its flaws, the heart and humour of these characters still make it one of the most fun narratives of the year.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Nov 10, 2023

Critic40/100

Agreement—

Unless you're one of the biggest DreamWorks fans on the planet, you'll struggle to fall in love with DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing. Its attempts at authenticity and its numerous references are admirable, but it really lets itself down on the track with frustrating design choices, unstable performance, and a forgettable range of power-ups.

Nintendo Life

Oliver Reynolds·Nov 9, 2023

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Judged on its own, the final wave for the Booster Course Pass is another perfectly fine, if slightly uneven addition to the expansion. The Tour courses remain reasonably good fun, but are ultimately forgettable, while Daisy Circuit stands as one of the most boring tracks in the entire game. Nintendo could have just adapted Airship Fortress instead, y'know? That said, there's still a lot to enjoy here, including four great new character additions, making Wave 6 a solid finale to the Booster Course expansion.

Nintendo Life

Jess Elizabeth Reed·Nov 8, 2023

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Fashion Dreamer's main focus of creating outfits is enjoyable, but there isn't a whole lot else going on in the game. Some players might be able to spend hours just collecting clothing items and putting together different combos for their muse and other avatars to show off. However, those who enjoyed the more mechanics-heavy and story-influenced elements of the Style Savvy series aren't going to find the same charms in Fashion Dreamer. Either way, it's probably worth waiting for the price to drop before trying this one on for size.

Nintendo Life

Alex Olney·Nov 7, 2023

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 has the potential to be a strong platform fighter, but on Switch it's wrapped up in a frankly incredible amount of poor performance and presentation. Fighters feel weightier, and the new campaign adds context and charm to the package, but it'll take a miracle patch to save it from being a choppy, blurry, flat-looking barrel of disappointment on Nintendo's console.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Nov 6, 2023

Critic60/100

Agreement—

While we were desperate to love Air Twister, it feels like an undernourished Space Harrier homage full of missed opportunity. For Sega fans who want little more than a Space Harrier experience in new clothes, there's little to complain about… except maybe that soundtrack. But, while the extra modes expand the game's longevity and encourage a clear, they feel tacked on. It's fine to go back to for a quick blast now and then, but sit with it for a day or two and its lack of inspiration starts to gnaw. The arcade hardcore are most likely to reap the greatest rewards, but even then there may be a nagging feeling of uncapitalised promise.

Nintendo Life

Alana Hagues·Nov 6, 2023

Critic70/100

Agreement—

It's impressive just how AstralShift has managed to weave together all of these different parts so effectively in Little Goody Two Shoes. The atmosphere is unmatched and the story is genuinely intriguing, with Elise making a great protagonist who – despite appearing selfish and bratty – just wants a better life for herself and whoever she falls in love with. We're so close to being in love with this game, but a few frustrations just hold this game back from having a fairy-tale ending for us. Still, for the unique ideas alone, we'd recommend checking this out.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Nov 5, 2023

Critic80/100

Agreement—

World of Horror is one of the most unique roguelites we've seen on the Switch eShop to date, its expert fusion of text-based adventure, survival horror, and roguelike mechanics makes for a difficult, harrowing, and spooky adventure that we'd recommend you give a shot. Not everyone will be charmed by its extremely retro aesthetics, but if you can get into the right mindset for giving this one a playthrough, you'll find there's a lot to love.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Nov 5, 2023

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Alien Hominid Invasion's setup won't appeal to everyone. We were disappointed to find the mission objectives recycle far too often, and their random nature seems to rob the stages of any real individuality. But in terms of its handling, execution, and additions, Invasion feels much superior to the original. And, while ultimately repetitive, its chaos is fun for brief single and multiplayer arrangements, and we enjoyed dipping in for a quick bout of raucousness.

Nintendo Life

Trent Cannon·Nov 3, 2023

Critic40/100

Agreement—

We wanted to enjoy Ebenezer and The Invisible World far more than we did. The combat is solid and the platforming is tight, with the right balance of accessibility and challenge. Combine that with a fun concept and art that does a great job of recreating Dickens' iconic novel and it should be a recipe for greatness. Unfortunately, a host of bugs ranging from slightly annoying to game-breaking sucked the Christmas cheer right out of us. Future patches might fix these issues and give us the game we know is hiding just beneath the surface here, but that game isn't here at launch.