Nintendo Life

Nintendo Life

Oliver Reynolds·Apr 13, 2021

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Overall, we’d say that if you enjoyed Aqua Kitty UDX, then you’re likely going to enjoy Astro Aqua Kitty, too. Heck, even if you didn’t play the first game, we’d still recommend checking this one out. It’s a solid shoot-em-up, and while it doesn’t feel as immediately engaging or replayable as its predecessor, it’s nevertheless a fun ride throughout.

Nintendo Life

Trent Cannon·Apr 12, 2021

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Poison Control's story is cliché-filled but fun, and the tongue-in-cheek dialogue carries the game far further than its gameplay could manage alone. The writing can only make up for shallow game mechanics to a point, though, and ultimately shallow gameplay is what lets this game down. Visual novel fans will likely find more to enjoy here, but there's simply not enough gameplay depth or variety for fans of shooters.

Nintendo Life

Stuart Gipp·Apr 11, 2021

Critic80/100

Agreement—

What seemed unimpressive in 2004 now feels enjoyable and imaginative, and we're not sure what that means, exactly. It's simultaneously cheerful and challenging, and there's a lot of joy in the journey as well as the destinations. The cursed spectre of 'gameplay variety' (read: jack of all trades, master of none) looms over the material, but by making the diversions brief and ultimately simple it manages to keep the player guessing to an extent throughout its languid twelve or so hour runtime. Some backtracking and minor camera issues bring things down a touch, but overall Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2: Bush Rescue is a surprisingly solid slice of character action, and one we fear may have been underserved at the time of its original release. This is not just a sequel that's content to rest on its laurels, and that's worthy of respect. Hooray! We made it through the whole review without any silly, lazy Aussie clichés. That's bonzer, mate!

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Apr 10, 2021

Critic30/100

Agreement—

Moorhuhn Kart 2 takes a game that's nearly two decades old, tweaks the visuals a bit, then actually removes elements from it (such as its character animations and speed settings). With only eight tracks on offer it would be underwhelming at a budget price, but given it's selling for $30 at launch there's nowhere near enough content or quality to justify that price.

Nintendo Life

Kate Gray·Apr 9, 2021

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Cozy Grove measures out its game sessions in snack-size portions, and its gorgeous artwork and genuinely laugh-worthy dialogue almost make up for its metered-out gameplay. Sadly, with a few technical issues on Switch, and the game's refusal to let players set the pace, it's one best played on a mobile device for now.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Apr 8, 2021

Critic60/100

Agreement—

RetroMania Wrestling looks like WWF WrestleFest, plays (a bit) like Fire Pro and has a wide variety of entertaining arenas to play in. However, the tiny roster, lack of creation modes, lack of online and brief single-player experiences mean you're really going to need to be interested in local multiplayer if you're going to be playing this one for a long time. To give it the Cena test: it's got our respect for going old-school and it'll get loyalty from the cult following it'll inevitably gain, but it still needs a bit more hustle before it's the finished product, whereas just now it feels like The Prototype.

Nintendo Life

Jon Cartwright·Apr 8, 2021

Critic90/100

Agreement—

PAC-MAN 99 may seem initially daunting with mechanics it simply doesn't explain but once you experiment and learn by fire, it won't take long to realise its true potential. Arika and Bandai Namco has barely touched the formula of this 41-year-old classic, and yet with just a few new layers it feels like a brand new game. We've invested more time than we care to admit into the previous '99' entries and it's clear PAC-MAN 99 is destined for evergreen greatness.

Nintendo Life

Oliver Reynolds·Apr 7, 2021

Critic50/100

Agreement—

To an extent, we feel we’re being hard on Moon Raider, but compared to the plethora of excellent Metroidvania titles on Switch, this title is just 'all right'. It’s not bad, but its various flaws mean it's certainly not great, either. At around three hours in length, there are absolutely worse ways to spend your time, and the game does also include a neat co-op option to increase its longevity somewhat. Ultimately though, if you’re after a thrilling, memorable 2D action title with a dash of originality, this sadly isn’t it.

Nintendo Life

Stuart Gipp·Apr 5, 2021

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Here's the thing, and it's a bit of a kick in the pants. Genesis Noir is a very cool, very interesting and exceptionally well-presented game. It tells its esoteric story in an effective, exciting way with a litany of memorable visuals, fantastic artwork and a genuinely brilliant soundtrack. And, unfortunately, we simply can't recommend playing this compromised, ill-fitting, arduous and glitchy Switch port in the slightest. Maybe it's just us, but knowing we could be experiencing the spectacle of this clearly brilliant piece of art in a much higher resolution, at much greater fidelity, and with an order of magnitude less frantically wriggling the left analogue stick because we're convinced the game has broken is just a sobering reason to ask why we would even bother if this version isn't your only option. Even if you do only have a Switch, we'd recommend waiting until you have something else. This is a game that deserves better.

Nintendo Life

Kurt Kalata·Apr 4, 2021

Critic30/100

Agreement—

For the most part, Haunted Castle is a pretty miserable experience, and in a strong contest with Castlevania: The Adventure (the first Game Boy game) for being one of the worst in the Castlevania series. The options in this collection help allay some of the issues – or at least allow you to cheat through them – and it's still (begrudgingly) worth struggling through for its unusual place in the Castlevania series. However, in the cold light of day, there's no denying that this is a pretty poor video game and one that most people will want to ignore.

Nintendo Life

PJ O'Reilly·Mar 31, 2021

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Bladed Fury is a good-looking hack 'n slash platformer that tells a decent tale and is set in an engrossing period of history that's been nicely infused here with mythological and supernatural elements. It's Soul Sliver mechanic adds plenty of scope for strategic combat shenanigans and its levels have a few good ideas thrown into the mix. However, all of these positive aspects are let down by poor implementation, dull enemies who don't force you to utilise your moveset, bland and repetitive area layouts, simplistic platforming and constant technical issues that plague combat just as it's starting to up the ante. If the framerate issues are addressed this one may be worth a look for fans of the genre, otherwise it's hard to recommend in its current state.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Mar 30, 2021

Critic50/100

Agreement—

If you've got a very young child and you're looking for a safe, harmless game to keep them busy, BIG-Bobby-Car - The Big Race is a perfectly fine option, especially because you can already find the physical version pretty cheap if you shop around. There really isn't a lot to it for anyone whose age is in double digits, though, and the whole thing is so poorly optimised that you're going to need a strong tolerance for jankiness.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Mar 29, 2021

Critic30/100

Agreement—

We're not going to mince words here, Balan Wonderworld is a waste of your time. Monotonous level design, awful performance, and shallow gameplay combine to make for an experience that is simply not fun to play. It may look pretty (when it's framerate isn't chugging), but there simply isn't enough good content here to justify your time or money, and this is doubly true when you take into account that this is a full-priced retail release. If you're looking for a good 3D platformer for your Switch, this most definitely isn't it.

Nintendo Life

Oliver Reynolds·Mar 29, 2021

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Narita Boy joins a plethora of entertainment franchises that pay homage to '80s culture. But where others have failed, Narita Boy transcends its inspiration with exceptional world building, a complex yet thoughtful narrative, and stunning combat gameplay. It occasionally feels a little too vague and abstract in its structure, and ultimately this holds it back from being a true masterpiece, but if you're longing for a great Metroidvania title, then Narita Boy is absolutely what you've been waiting for.

Nintendo Life

Trent Cannon·Mar 28, 2021

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Root Film builds off of what its predecessor did well while managing to feel very distinct and more grown-up than Root Letter. The Switch version's portability makes it much easier to get those hours in than the PS4 version, but those who weren't fans of Root Letter or who are on the fence might want to wait until a sale or pick up the digital version of the game. For fans of murder mysteries, there are plenty of cases to get stuck into and rich locations to explore. We think it is worth the full price but can't blame people for being put off by the hefty price tag.