Nintendo Life

Nintendo Life

Stuart Gipp·Dec 10, 2020

Critic70/100

Agreement—

An expansive and content-packed game, Monster Sanctuary would be easy to criticise as a grind if we didn't find that said grinding was never really necessary to enjoy it. It's a difficult one to review because a lot of what this reviewer personally found a little boring is exactly what's going to appeal to its core audience of number-crunching statisticians. While Monster Sanctuary's is a little plain at the outset, the right people will find it one of their favourite games of the year. It's a total timesink, but that's a term that implies said time is being wasted, when it really isn't. Every fight is pushing your team forward, and the potential for maximising the efficiency and power of your squad is seemingly infinite. It can feel more like organising a spreadsheet than playing a game at times, but it's impossible to deny that it's an accomplished game with a lot to offer - and that's without even taking it online to battle other players. If you like min-maxing, feel free to add a point or two to the score below.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Dec 8, 2020

Critic50/100

Agreement—

It's difficult to land on a fitting score for Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light. On one hand, historical context is vital and you can't expect too much out of a thirty-year-old game. On the other hand, granting a generous score to a title as fundamentally flawed as this would be dishonest; by modern standards, it's really not a good game anymore. Considering the low cost of entry and the inclusion of new features, we'd say it's probably worth a look for long time Fire Emblem fans who are curious how it all began. If you don't fall into that category, we'd encourage you to look into more modern games for your strategy gaming fix.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Dec 7, 2020

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Puyo Puyo 2 could never have hoped to have the same impact as the first game did, but it remains a brilliant puzzle title nevertheless. While some may feel it's not quite different enough from its predecessor, the new single-player story is just as entertaining as the last one, and the Skill Battle mode adds interesting mechanics to the mix. It's still absolutely packed with content; it's just that the first game was too, so the impact is lessened slightly.

Nintendo Life

Kate Gray·Dec 5, 2020

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Phogs is a genuine dose of unbridled joy in a weird, physics-y, dog-tube package. It's hard to play this game without having a huge, goofy smile on your face. The Switch version has some minor to major issues here and there, but it rarely slows down the momentum of the puzzle-solving, dog-wiggling gameplay – this is another brilliant co-op experience for Nintendo's system.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Dec 5, 2020

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Star Renegades deserves to be in the conversation of the best games of 2020 that you've never heard of. Like a lot of indies, its primary sales pitch is how it fuses ideas from a bunch of popular and well-respected releases, but it succeeds where many others fail in actually making something inventive and compelling with those borrowed ideas. At its best, Star Renegades is a gorgeous, deep, challenging, and thoroughly gripping release that successfully delivers a fun and enjoyable experience. There are some technical issues that hold it back from perfection, but there's little else here that otherwise feels below par. Star Renegades is a title that absolutely belongs in your Switch library; if you're a fan of roguelites, RPGs, or strategy games, you owe it to yourself to give this one a shot.

Nintendo Life

PJ O'Reilly·Dec 4, 2020

Critic60/100

Agreement—

John Wick Hex is a clever turn-based strategy offering with some cool mechanics that, when everything comes together, can absolutely make you feel like you're Keanu Reeves' unstoppable assassin, kicking, punching and shooting your way through an endless procession of hapless goons. However, there's an unpolished element to proceedings, with a lot of repetition across the seven levels on offer, janky animations, shoddy replays and some unreliable AI behaviour that begins to grate after a time. With some more variety and a touch of polish, this could have been a really nice little movie tie-in, however, as it stands it's just alright; a brilliant idea that needed more time in the oven.

Nintendo Life

PJ O'Reilly·Dec 4, 2020

Critic40/100

Agreement—

Commandos 2 - HD Remaster is a disappointingly lacklustre port of a real-time tactics classic. This is a game that's showing its age in many ways but, with the right tweaks, some decent control implementation and squashing of bugs, it could have had its moment to shine with modern audiences. As it is, the irritations and annoyances expected in revisiting a game of this vintage are exacerbated to no end with shoddy, unwieldy controls, unexpected performance problems and a general lack of care. The graphics have been updated here, but everything else remains much as it was – with the added frustration of bugs, glitches and long loading times.

Nintendo Life

Stuart Gipp·Dec 3, 2020

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Taken at its intended pace, Wildfire is a thoroughly enjoyable and interesting game with a multitude of interlocking systems that caters to players who don't mind thinking on their feet if their best-laid plans go scorchingly awry. The slow pace and frustration of failure won't appeal to all (though checkpoints are generously placed) but for gamers who don't mind a bit of a slow burn (tee hee), Wildfire is an expansive and inexpensive title that's a healthy mix of tropes and ideas familiar enough to feel cosy, and unpredictable elemental action that rewards creative thinking. And the further through the game you play, the more interesting it becomes. An impressive debut.

Nintendo Life

PJ O'Reilly·Dec 3, 2020

Critic40/100

Agreement—

Empire of Sin is undoubtedly an excellent idea, a clever meshing together of management sim and turn-based tactical action that's set in a hugely compelling era of Chicago's criminal history. There are some cool mechanics here, too; the well-executed overworld map of the town, the gangster black book with its complex relationships and those tense sit-downs with rival ganglords. However, all of this promise is held back by copious technical problems, game-breaking bugs and management and combat systems that feel half-baked and scrappy. There are more patches and updates planned and we desperately would like to see this one sort itself out but, as things stand, it's virtually impossible to recommend – and it remains to be seen if future updates can bash it into shape.

Nintendo Life

Oliver Reynolds·Dec 2, 2020

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Absolute Drift is the kind of game that can quite easily provide a good hour or so worth of entertainment on a rainy day. Our fear with this one, however, is that the learning curve is so brutally steep, it may put you off before you even properly get into it. If you do manage to power through, though, it’s a genuinely relaxing, satisfying experience. It’s just a shame the game is hampered by poor design choices and crippling technical issues.

Nintendo Life

Chris Scullion·Dec 2, 2020

Critic60/100

Agreement—

Fans of the original Fitness Boxing will feel at home with this sequel, if a little disappointed that it isn't quite the evolution it could have been. A few new instructors and an improved achievements system isn't quite enough to make up for the fact that this still suffers from many of its predecessor's issues, most notably its disappointingly small selection of music and the terrible unlicensed instrumental versions it provides.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Nov 30, 2020

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Even so, it’s clear that Jupiter Corporation has gotten its concept down to a science, and the addictive nature of these puzzles has never been more alluring. We’d give this a recommendation if you’re looking for a solid new puzzle game for your Switch, as the puzzle count and quality of the experience ensure that this is just about the best bang for your buck possible.

Nintendo Life

Oliver Reynolds·Nov 29, 2020

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Ultimately, though, this all feels like extra baggage that isn’t necessary to the overall experience; there’s enough here to keep you entertained for a good while just in terms of pure gameplay, and although it’s not the kind of game that incentivises repeat playthroughs, there’s always that niggling feeling at the back of the mind to have ‘just one more go’. There are a couple of minor issues, such as the fact that some obstacles get obscured and really sneak up on you, and a distinct lack of extras that we’d like to have seen in a collection like this. But otherwise, the Alto games are well worth checking out if you’re after a breezy, relaxing experience.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Nov 28, 2020

Critic60/100

Agreement—

So, should you buy Ghostrunner? Maybe. This is a punishingly difficult game by most metrics, but those of you who like a worthy challenge will find plenty to love here. Blink-and-you-miss-it gameplay and some light replayability elements make for a title that at least proves itself to be worth the price of admission. That being said, rough performance and some occasionally unbalanced difficulty can make for an experience that's often more frustrating than it is fun. If you have another console which can run Ghostrunner, we'd recommend you pick it up there unless you really want to play this one on the go. Otherwise, this game is worth your time – but perhaps wait for a sale before you rush out to pick it up.

Nintendo Life

Stuart Gipp·Nov 24, 2020

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Serious Sam Collection is two-thirds amazing, but the final third is a real technical mess; Serious Sam 3: BFE is one of the least impressive Switch ports we've ever seen. It's playable, but surely the machine that can push out an acceptable version of Doom can manage this? There's the potential for early patches to improve matters, but the way it is now, we can only recommend The Serious Sam Collection as a great way to play the First and Second Encounters. That's not what's advertised, though, and as a result, we can only give this package a cautious recommendation. A three-game collection should be a three-game collection; not two games and the faintest suggestion of one.