Bluey's Quest for the Gold Pen is a substantial improvement over the last game, offering up a bunch of well-realised worlds to explore with charming visuals and engaging puzzles. It retains the essence of the original show, but thanks to the adorable narrative, Bluey and Bingo can finally break free from the overly-familiar TV locations.Repetition does quickly seep in thanks to the focus on collectibles, but I'd wager that younger audiences probably won't care about this too much. The lack of a proper co-op mode is a bizarre omission, however, and the experience would have definitely benefitted from voice acting throughout. Still, this is a fine effort from Halfbrick, and an easy recommendation for the summer break from school.
Outside of the technical ups and downs of its transition to Switch 2, Assassin's Creed Shadows remains a thoroughly enjoyable refresh for the series. Taking its most captivating open world to date and offering two distinct playstyles, it goes a long way toward appeasing current franchise fans while nurturing a new generation of assassins, presenting a huge, intricately crafted depiction of feudal Japan and giving you enjoyable dual protagonists to usher you through it.Shadows isn't a perfect port, then, but it's still a colossal achievement and one of the best-looking games on Nintendo's console.
A cold-blooded puzzling adventure. It took me the best part of four hours to click with Gecko Gods. Some may argue that my initial hesitations — about playing through a Zelda-lite 3D adventure as a gecko plucked straight from the wild, with little motivation beyond consuming…
Stone culd classic. Culdcept has been around since the days of the Sega Saturn, but the odds are pretty good that you’ve never heard of it, let alone played it. Not all of the handful of titles released have left Japan’s shores, and of those that did, sales were low and reviews…
It’s rough, dood! If I asked you to close your eyes and picture a Disgaea game, what images come to mind? Ludicrously high damage number pop-ups? Oodles of customisation menus? A penguin-esque creature enthusiastically exclaiming “DOOD!” perhaps? Any of those answers would be…
Onsen-sational? From the moment I laid eyes on Denshattack!, there was something about it that had me instantly enamoured. Was it the Dreamcast-inspired bright, blocky colours? The upbeat music? Or the fact that you’re pulling off sick tricks and grinding rails on a freakin’…
Its about Time. It's safe to say that, while they're often unfairly compared as franchises, Digimon and Pokémon have diverged in recent years. Game Freak has stuck to the same mechanical loop, taking the odd risk with its tried and true formula, while Digimon has pushed into…
Human judgement required. In a society optimised for the happiness of the many, what becomes of those who disrupt the balance? As the newest residential Facilitator at D-topia, a meticulously managed AI-run settlement, your job isn't just to resolve mechanical issues and keep…
Cleared for takeoff. Though Cygames has always been a mobile game developer, the company has historically been pretty good about supporting its games with some excellent console-focused spinoffs. Shadowverse got Shadowverse: Champion’s Battle, Battle Champs got Little Noah:…
Updated with Chapter 5 impressions. With the release of Chapter 5, we've updated this Deltarune review with our impressions of the new content - scroll down and you'll find them above the conclusion. It’s going on seven years since the first chapter of Deltarune became available…
Capture the lag. I remember thinking that 2023's Tears of the Kingdom was the perfect bookend for Switch 1, a fitting sign-off for a generation which began with a transformative open-world take on Hyrule. But Switch 2 wouldn't arrive for another couple of years, which means it's…
Catch my drift? Maybe the Golden Age of graphic adventures was not in fact the LucasArts and Sierra era, with its Monkey Islands and Gabriel Knights back around 1990. The Golden Age might just be right now, with a quiet resurgence of brilliant games growing throughout the last…
Tea, cosy. Cosy games and tea are a perfect pairing: think curling up under a blanket, Switch in hand, cup by your side. It’s no wonder, then, that the concept for Wanderstop came about. The debut from new (and now sadly defunct ) studio Ivy Road — co-founded by Davey Wreden, of…
On a sc-roll? There are few better ways to spend $9.99 / £8.99 than on Dark Scrolls. The indie Soulslike side-scroller is something I’ll spend the rest of the year dipping into every now and again, itching for a run as a way to kill a train journey. It doesn’t offer the deepest…
No deal breaker. Capcom has become one of the most prolific and consistent publishers in recent years, putting out banger after banger with no signs of slowing down. This renaissance began in 2017 with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, but it was arguably the one-two punch of Resident…
Witness the Millennium. Square Enix’s HD-2D art style has done wonders for its games. From creating new IPs like Triangle Strategy and Octopath Traveler, to tasteful remakes like the Dragon Quest Erdrick trilogy and Live a Live, the charming presentation has been able to deliver…
Actually, it's more like a 30 year celebration now. In 2025, Aspyr surprised players with a shadow drop of the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot on Switch 1 & 2, with the latter port especially showcasing the power of Nintendo’s new handheld. This sudden release naturally spurred…