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.
Ghost Song is a game that wears its inspirations on its sleeve with pride, and although it may feel a bit derivative at times, it is still able to create its own identity through a great combat system and unique worldbuilding. While the game can be brutally difficult, "explorer" mode makes the game more accessible than it would otherwise. Unfortunately, the game suffers from significant performance problems on Switch, from an inconsistent frame rate to extensive loading times that destroy any flow the game has. If you're willing and able to look past those issues, Ghost Song is an easy recommendation for any and all fans of the Metroidvania genre.
Aeterna Noctis has a lot of potential; however, it feels like the developer got a bit too ambitious. A game that was shorter and had more focus has the potential to be something fantastic. but it ends up being a bit of a slog for a lot of its runtime due to its sometimes-tedious difficulty, despite some great platforming segments. Long loads and some frustrating design choices mean Aeterna Noctis is a derivative but sporadically satisfying game that some players may absolutely fall in love with. It has clearly had a lot of love put into it, but we didn't quite vibe with it.
Prodeus is the kind of game that knows exactly what it wants to do and executes that vision flawlessly. It's not complicated and it's nothing you haven't seen before, but every inch of this experience was clearly crafted with passion and talent. The intense firefights, expansive arsenal, metal music, and sprawling level designs all come together to make Prodeus feel like a game that's just the right mix of retro and modern. If you have ever been a fan of Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein, or any of the indie boomer shooters of the last few years, you owe it to yourself to give Prodeus a shot. Even if you haven't much been into the genre before, we'd say this is an excellent place to jump in and see what it's about. Wherever you stand, we'd give Prodeus a strong recommendation; this is absolutely worth both your time and money.
If you were even half-aware of games news at the end of 2021, you will already be a bit interested in this game. It's brimming with fun, uniquely committed to co-op gaming, plays solidly and distinctively, and usually discards one cool idea in favour of another before there's time to get bored. Now-standard graphical compromises have been made for Switch, and the typical perk of playing handheld is questionable for an always-split-screen co-op-only game. Nonetheless, it keeps the frames moving well enough not to undermine its Game-of-the-Year sparkle. It Takes Two and the good old Switch may not be a perfect marriage, but it's probably worth sticking it out, now that we're five years in.
Signalis is a near-perfect love letter to the survival horror genre. Its atmosphere and tension feel natural and earned, with callbacks to sci-fi classics scattered throughout. It is at its best when you're darting between enemies, using stealth and patience rather than brute force. While some of the combat encounters felt a little forced, the puzzles are just the right mix of challenging and approachable. The surreal imagery and unique storytelling structure add to the overall polish of a game that is the perfect length for what it is. Highly recommended.
Like the gears in an engine, everything in Factorio has a purpose. There is little in terms of extras here but what is present in this factory management sim does its job beautifully. Despite some issues with the way the Switch port is presented and controls, these are minor issues in an otherwise stellar game that will have you obsessing over the best possible layout for your factory or wanting to keep playing to see what the next research tree unlocks.
Resident Evil: Village is an excellent continuation of the mainline Resident Evil series that pays homage to Resident Evil 4 while showcasing its own style and identity. The first-person perspective allows for some truly terrifying moments (though a third-person mode is also on the way in the Winters' Expansion DLC) and the boss encounters are some of the best in the entire series. Of course, running via the cloud means you'll likely come across some hiccups, along with some dodgy load times and potential slowdown. Our experience with this was pleasantly minimal compared to other cloud versions we've played, but be sure to test the demo for yourself. If you've only got access to a Switch, this is a pretty solid way to experience a great game.
That said, it's still a competently assembled title: smooth, clean, and enjoyable. What it lacks in gravity and bravado it makes up for in balanced scoring mechanics and an interesting teleportation twist. While its Cadet Mode is its brightest spark, the main campaign shoots for the stars but falls just short of reaching them.
We like the Oddworld series, and we wish Soulstorm were better. The ingredients are there: the world itself and Abe's story have a uniquely grimy charm. No section of Soulstorm's 15-hour adventure feels quite like the last, with enough new enemies and mechanics introduced to keep things both interesting and challenging. Yet at the same time, technical issues mar the experience much like the dirt and rust that covers Oddworld, and small inconveniences add up to make completing the game much more trying than it should be. We hope one day an Oddworld game will be a must-play adventure worthy of the series' late-'90s prestige, but Soulstorm on Switch hasn't quite freed Abe and the Mudokons from the fetters of poor performance and archaic design.
Beacon Pines presents a rich world filled with deeply considered, not to mention adorable, characters. The beautifully crafted art, paired with a soundtrack that both captures and sets the mood, make for a wholly enjoyable experience. It might not be for those who prefer action, but it is a lovely and compelling story that sees Luka, Rolo and Beck delve into a bevy of unique situations. You might finish it in less than a work day, but it'll stay with you for much longer.
Bayonetta 3 cranks up the chaos, improves the combat, polishes the level design, and adds a ton of new mechanics to the mix, making for the very best entry in this storied series to date. PlatinumGames has absolutely nailed it this time around, carefully layering on more ways to engage enemies, piling on the OTT gameplay sequences, and giving us multiple protagonists without upsetting the balance of what makes these games amongst the very best examples of their genre. With excellent performance in docked and handheld modes, incredible visuals, non-stop action, and a hugely replayable campaign that's a joy from start to finish, this really is a huge celebration of everything we love about Bayonetta, an action all-timer and one of the biggest highlights of 2022, on Switch or any platform.
Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher is the quintessential Monster Rancher experience, just bigger, louder, and more polished looking. The mechanics of the combat and training cycle will be familiar to long-time fans while the new larger scale of the creatures lends itself to the scale of Ultraman and his monstrous foes. Scanning every electronic device in your house to see what monster pops out is satisfying even if the actual gameplay gets stale over time.
There's absolutely no doubt that Alan Wake Remastered looks pretty terrible in places. There have been some severe drawbacks to make this game run competently on the Switch: the swaying of the trees, while hardly a defining feature on paper, actually played a huge part in shaping Alan Wake's visual identity and atmosphere, and now they're static. The game plays exactly as you remember with consistent frame rates throughout and intuitive controls, but if you've played Alan Wake Remastered on a different platform, then you need only apply if you're a hardcore fan of Remedy's creation. Newcomers, however, should definitely consider checking this out if the Switch version is your only viable option, and if you can accept the considerable visual compromises.
On paper, Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3 does so much right, with a bigger roster of racers, more kart customisation, and the oft-requested addition of voice acting, which does add to the atmosphere considerably. But on the track it's hugely disappointing, with a severely reduced frame rate compared to its predecessor, making everything feel more sluggish as a result.
Them's Fightin' Herds isn't entry-level stuff, and it's impressive that an indie developer has created something that professional teams take years to master. Soft and furry in appearance though it is, this is a robust and fleshed-out fighting game, and one that demands practice. It's challenging even on its default difficulty with AI that won't fall prey to simple or repetitive routines. While its story mode is engineered toward a particular fanbase, the wild combo-building demonstrates an excellent multiplayer experience. Thematically, its draw might be limited, but there's no real ceiling in its appeal to fighting game fans. While would have been nice to have had a few more characters out of the box and a little more invention in its world-building backgrounds, if you're here for pure fighting game action, don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
