Nintendo Life

Nintendo Life

Francisco Dominguez·Aug 14, 2023

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Moving Out 2 may not quite be your multiplayer forever home, but its good vibes and intricate challenges are going to cause many joyful whoops of celebration, cries of frustration, irreparably broken furniture, and wild accusations about how the hell a bookcase fell off the balcony. Sounds like coming home to us.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Aug 12, 2023

Critic70/100

Agreement—

It's hard to fault the presentation and delivery of M2's ShotTriggers collections. Hellfire and Zero Wing are both excellent old-school shoot 'em ups, representative of Toaplan's then-burgeoning creativity. They look good, sound great, and are super fun to learn. Emulation quality is on point, and the little extras, like the visual gallery, are very welcome. But again, it's lamentable that this can't just be a complete collection of Hellfire and Zero Wing, with all its home console port variations, without requiring people to pay for them as DLC. It's the one thing that feels wrong about the way M2 have handled their ShotTriggers releases, and it's not particularly fair to fans.

Nintendo Life

Em Stonham·Aug 10, 2023

Critic70/100

Agreement—

The visuals are fun and lively, and the sound design is great. The marbles sound incredibly realistic and the noise of them on ice is oddly satisfying. While the gameplay loop of this title might not be for everyone, it does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a vibrant, snappy game that offers a nice handful of content for both single players and people looking to play with friends. Super Monkey Ball fans will get a kick out of it, too.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Aug 9, 2023

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara isn’t exactly a bold reinvention of the 3D platformer, but it repeatedly proves that it’s got it where it counts. Smooth controls, decent level variety, and lots of collectibles all make this one a fairly easy recommendation, even if it is a little simplistic looking. If you're after 7-10 hours of solid, colourful 3D platforming, we’d suggest giving this one a shot.

Nintendo Life

Thomas Whitehead·Aug 9, 2023

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Legend Bowl is a game packed with charm; an interesting hybrid of retro style and attempts at Madden-esque depth in the playbook and mechanics. It's full of heart and raises a smile with its humour and attention to detail; sadly it doesn't convert all of these positives across the board. Performance is improved following patches but still has space to get better, while some odd design and UI choices are hard to ignore. If you can look past the flaws, which could be dealt with in future updates, there are some real merits to Legend Bowl for fans of the sport; it just needs to get over the longest yard to reach its full potential.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Aug 7, 2023

Critic70/100

Agreement—

It may be a little uneven, but Adore nonetheless stands out from the pack as an innovative new entry in the monster-catching RPG subgenre. The fast-paced combat, detailed team customization, and high level of replayability all make this one easy to recommend, though we say this with the qualifier that performance could be better and the gameplay loop can get pretty grindy. All the same, we'd give this one a recommendation to anyone looking for an interesting new monster catcher - it's a welcome addition to the genre and we hope to see its ideas further explored in future games.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Aug 3, 2023

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Tiny Thor is a well-crafted retro platforming adventure that no fan of 16-bit gaming will want to miss. Though its controls can be a tad frustrating and its difficulty can be occasionally inconsistent, there's no denying that this a thoroughly enjoyable experience from stem to stern, especially for those who enjoy a fittingly old-school challenge. We'd give this a strong recommendation to anyone looking for another solidly built neo-retro platformer to add to their collection, though we'll caution anyone with slower reflexes to brace yourselves for a rough time. In all the best of ways, Tiny Thor feels like a lost Sega Genesis game, easily worth your time and money.

Nintendo Life

Michelle See-Tho·Jul 31, 2023

Critic80/100

Agreement—

In Venba's short play time, the narrative-led cooking game conveys so much of this family's experience. The stirring story is presented in snackable chapters, each with an emotional tale tied to a dish. The puzzles aren't too challenging, making for a comforting, cosy playthrough as you prepare each meal. Be warned though: this game will make you hungry. And it may also make you cry.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Jul 27, 2023

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Double Dragon Gaiden is beholden to some unique ideas, and they're fairly well-applied. You can experiment with mix-ups and tag team advantages, and multiplayer makes things altogether more enjoyable, although it's restricted to local co-op. But, being associated with Double Dragon is arguably to its detriment. It's a game that has secrets to uncover, twists to happen upon, and plenty of cash grinding and unlocking to do. While initially fun to work through, how many times you'll feel encouraged to replay the campaign is questionable, especially with its overall pacing and neutered thrill of brutally knee-slamming someone in the face. Still, it's certainly worthy of attention for beat 'em up fans looking for old things in new forms.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Jul 27, 2023

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Disney Illusion Island is a magnificent return to form for Mickey and friends. Though we wish that it was a bit more challenging, the excellent controls, relaxing vibes, whimsical world, and oodles of collectibles all come together to make for a cozy and enjoyable experience you won't want to miss. We strongly recommend you pick up Illusion Island if you're looking for another quality 2D platformer to add to your library, it's full of that elusive Disney magic and is one of the best platformers to release on the Switch this year.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Jul 27, 2023

Critic70/100

Agreement—

PixelJunk Scrappers Deluxe is a good, fairly unique idea with several interesting challenges to juggle, and, if you enjoyed the original, the expanded worlds and new additions will fulfill your craving for more recycling action. Clever though it is in premise and arrangement, however, it isn't a very thrilling single-player game until around halfway through. If you do decide to give it a spin, you want to be online-ready, because multiplayer is where its engineering comes to the fore.

Nintendo Life

Charlie Wacholz·Jul 26, 2023

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Patrick's Parabox is the rare game that's both highly challenging and highly approachable in equal measure without once dropping a beat. This is a must-play for fans of the genre — especially more logic-driven puzzlers like Baba Is You. Even if you're not the most hardened puzzle veteran, Patrick's Parabox does a great job of teaching you to solve even its most difficult puzzles thanks to a clever level structure and approachable progression system.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Jul 20, 2023

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes – Definitive Edition is a worthwhile remake of a somewhat obscure puzzle classic. Its clever integration of light RPG elements on top of the puzzling action gives it an impressive amount of strategic depth, while the rotating cast of characters and factions offer plenty of variety in unit types and playstyles across its run. Add this to a strong multiplayer component, and you have a game that easily justifies the cost of entry. Though we were put off a bit by its difficulty spikes and the woes of RNG, this is ultimately a game that we'd give a strong recommendation to anyone looking for an interesting new puzzle game to add to their Switch library.

Nintendo Life

PJ O'Reilly·Jul 19, 2023

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Yes, the co-op is disappointing, and the campaign's not gonna be challenging enough for some diehard fans, but overall Nintendo has nailed it here, serving up a magical Pikmin adventure that we reckon could see the series finally getting all of the attention it fully deserves.

Nintendo Life

Trent Cannon·Jul 19, 2023

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Despite the graphical issues and the most bare-bones of tutorials you'll find in a historical simulation sandbox, Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening offers plenty of great moments. We loved the historical vignettes that played out as events unfolded and certain conditions were unlocked. Even on Easy mode, the game will make you surrender and start over multiple times before you can achieve Nobunaga's dream of a united Japan. The Switch version is far from perfect, but if you're willing to work with it, there's a rich, deep, addictive strategy sim to get lost in here.