DeVuego ES_COR

Narita Boy as a whole feels unlike anything I’ve really played before. It seems to borrow from titles like Hyper Light Drifter, Metroid, and even The Legend of Zelda, but the style, pacing, and story beats help it stand apart. While my overall impression after reaching the credits after about 10 hours is positive, I can’t say for sure that I loved my time in the Digital Kingdom. The experience was certainly an interesting one, and the steady clip of receiving new abilities worked well enough, but the way combat encounters pop up sporadically impacted the overall pacing. Many times, an NPC would tell me where to go or whom to seek out, and I would just chance upon my destination rather than know exactly where to go; the naming conventions at play don’t do the game any favors. Still, I’m leaving Narita Boy behind happy that I spent time in his world, and both captivated and a little miffed by how his story turns out. But sometimes that’s the mark of a tale worth hearing.

Mail Mole is a very interesting concept that is largely executed well. It forces the player to adjust their brain to a new kind of 3D platforming in a way few games do. Its only real failing is that these ideas could benefit from being pushed further. Repeated concepts with only minimal iteration can make the mid game a bit slow. That being said it still represents a surprisingly original 3D platformer whose concepts I’d love to see taken even further.

Colossus Down features a grating protagonist going on a childish, fury-fuelled rampage, one with a wide set of levels that don’t have any throughline other than her being inconvenienced. The neat aesthetic can’t cover for shoddy-feeling combat and ill-instructed puzzle segments that sadly are further bogged-down by an endless stream of blathering by Nika, who has an infinite store of smugness. With so many great brawlers on Switch old and new that include sound fighting, killer soundtracks, and charming characters and worlds, Colossus Down should stay in the scrap pile.

Super Soccer Blast is a top-shelf multiplayer sports game on Switch thanks to the great controls, smart design, and ease of play. The single-player content might be a little lacking, but overall, this is a well-crafted sports game. Honestly, it’s not a surprise given Unfinished Pixel’s track record with the fundamentally sound Super Volley Blast and Super Tennis Blast. I look forward to their next entry in their Super Sports Blast series that hopefully tackles hockey or American football.

Summer in Mara has the workings of a breathtaking and chill farming adventure that feels like it should be perfect for the summer, especially now. Instead thanks to everything from fetch quest repetition to a muddled interface, it’s more of a wistful addition to the Switch library. The pleasant vibe of Koa’s undiscovered world can’t carry the whole game despite the best of intentions. If tweaks and improvements can clean up some of the menus, Summer in Mara could be better, but I worry even that won’t make the repetition more enjoyable.

This is the kind of game where there’s nothing inherently wrong with it, but it’s also not super engaging. I suspect fans of the show will enjoy it most, and younger gamers will be able to hone their platforming skills. Everyone else can probably look elsewhere.

Reventure is a completionist’s dream. Those who thrive on finding every little secret and experimenting with all the possibilities a game offers will fall in love. Players looking for a clear, singular objective or a greater amount of complexity may not enjoy what it brings to the table. Its unique approach to endings, storytelling, and world-building make Reventure one of the freshest experiences in recent memory, and for my money it’s a plunge that’s worth taking.

I admire Solo: Islands of the Heart for its ambition, but virtually every aspect of the game falls short of the noble goals of making an introspective puzzle game centered on love and relationships. The narrative is limited and mildly antagonistic, the block puzzle gameplay transforms into a disaster once the magic staff is introduced, and the serenity of the islands and graphics are dragged down by a middling port to Switch. If you really want someone to question your decisions on love, go see a therapist. This isn’t the game for that.

Overall, Etherborn has its charms: a calming dynamic soundtrack, a smooth and simple art style, and a captivating performance by its narrator. But these are overshadowed by the thin layer of frustration caused by the loose controls and overly restrictive camera. There is potential here and if you enjoy more artful puzzle games like the ones this game has been heavily compared to, it’s at least worth a look. Just be ready for a few hangups along the way that might take you out of the experience.

The game interfaces well with the Switch’s controls, never feeling too clunky or unintuitive. And if you want, you can take advantage of touch controls in handheld mode, which is nice for a puzzle game. Professor Lupo and his Horrible Pets has so many hidden surprises, be it funny dialogue or an interesting factoid, and it’s these elements that help to further immerse the player in the world. With its wonderful art and great characters, this game is hard to beat for the puzzle aficionado.

Furwind definitely hits some high notes, but also falls short in other regards. The platforming is solid and outside a few abilities that missed the mark, combat is satisfying. Level design and variety are wonderful, continuing to stay fresh throughout. However in contrast, the enemy design was a let down due to a small pool of enemies. Fun boss battles and the cutest protagonist ever do help to mitigate the shortcomings resulting in a brisk and enjoyable experience.

Much like Super Volley Blast, Super Tennis Blast is a very enjoyable arcade sports game that is a notch above comparable modern fare. It’s still a little rough around the edges, but with strong multiplayer fundamentals and an engaging career mode, this is a tennis game that deserves a place on the Switch next to Mario Tennis Aces.

At last call, I decided to order a scotch on the rocks. I wanted something that would linger on the palette much like how I’ve been thinking about The Red Strings Club since finishing it. The memorable characters and familiar cyberpunk story of a mega corporation attempting to “fix” humanity make Red Strings an enjoyable ride. The gameplay sections are largely forgettable and serve more as distractions with just a dash of purpose. Elements like your current objectives and path through the story aren’t really explained, and it’s possible to feel lost or without purpose due to a lack of tutorials or direction. That said, I would still heartily recommend The Red Strings Club to fans of cyberpunk or crime stories or those who enjoy narrative games with a fair amount of choice and minimal gameplay. I’m not sure if I will be returning to this bar right away, but I’ll certainly be thinking about it.

Viviette takes pride in the fact that it is complex and highly difficult. According to the store page, navigation itself is meant to be an obstacle, and getting the good ending is not the norm, but the exception. I think these points betray the underlying problem running through gameplay: it’s so concerned with being a hardcore puzzle-solving adventure that it doesn’t stop to think when a puzzle goes too far. Viviette is purposefully inaccessible to all but the most hardcore puzzle solvers. Perhaps this is the point, and many will undoubtedly see this as a good thing. If you want a game to really push you to the absolute limits of memorizing a whole area to identify every hidden clue, then Viviette may be the game for you. Otherwise, it’s best to look elsewhere, since you’ll probably spend more time looking up solutions online than actually figuring them out yourself.

GRIS exists not only to provide joy and entertainment, but also to suggest that recovery, normalcy, and happiness are possible if we can keep moving forward. This suitable linear game sheds light on the fact that you can’t dwell on the tragic and the traumatic if you want to escape them. GRIS is a powerful and exceedingly worthwhile title that deserves to be played by everyone in total immersion. Set aside a few hours, turn off the lights, put on your headphones. And then lose yourself in this world.

Overall, the design of Super Hyperactive Ninja is fun and engaging, but I think that more could have been done with the caffeine theme to make it feel less generic. The music is good and though the gameplay can be frustrating, people who love a challenge with find Super Hyperactive Ninja to be worth their time.

Although Debris Infinity lacks originality and creativity, it’s still a competently made game with solid controls, addicting gameplay and high replay value. If you’re currently seeking a game that can be played in short bursts, or if you need something to scratch that Geometry Wars itch, then Debris Infinity is one of the best arcade-style shooting titles on the Nintendo Switch. It’s also worth noting that the game’s programming, art and design was all done by one person. While it may not be the most ambitious game on the eShop, it’s definitely an admirable effort.

When everything is put together, Rise and Shine is incohesive, and no aspect of it is compelling enough in its own right to make the game more than the sum of its parts. It probably isn’t a waste of an afternoon to play Rise and Shine, but it's probably better to do anything else instead.

Immortal Redneck is a mechanically solid game. The shooting feels nice, the game moves well, and with the exception of some enemies being absolute bullet sponges and questionable decisions regarding platforming, it feels like a modern take on early ‘90s FPS like Duke Nukem, Doom, and Wolfenstein 3D. The roguelite mechanics and the run-based structure could serve this genre well, and at times it does provide replayability. However, buying enough stat boosts to really feel the impact takes a long time, and long runs that result in no meaningful progress frustrate. If you’re looking for a solid, retro-influenced, first person shooter on Switch then this game is worth a look. Just be prepared to die and restart a lot.

Agatha Knife is insanely intelligent and strives through its unique narrative. The art direction and music compliment the theme, making it a solid package overall. This brings well-deserved diversity to the point-and-click genre. The developers brought something very new to the table and proved the vast amount of potential in a game focused solely on a fun, weird story.

Overall, this game left me in shambles as I would feel a sense of extreme dread as I made progress throughout each world as I never fully knew what reaction any of my decisions could cause. However, it gave me a sense of relief and wonder when I would solve the puzzle given to me and continue forward to see what challenges awaited me next.

Its unassuming look might make you skim over it in the eShop, but it’s hard not to recommend you give Spy Chameleon a chance. This is a game greater than the sum of its parts, and the fun to be had here is absolutely worth the price of admission and overlooking its small blemishes.

However, what good will Super Toy Cars builds with these standout features is lost in the overall package due to the poor performance of the game. While performance issues in handheld mode are less prevalent, I found the performance in docked mode to be quite frustrating. At times I found the framerate inconsistency to be so jarring it would cause me to have difficulty controlling the car and sometimes even crash.

After getting over the fact that Hans walks too slow, I really started to get captured in the mythos surrounding the castle. The story was engaging and the puzzles were satisfyingly difficult, the only issue being it really is only a one and done experience. A worthwhile experience, but you can really only be shocked by a decapitated head surrounded by dancing goats once.

Going into Metroid: Samus Returns, I was hopeful and optimistic. But given the past decade of Metroid, it was hard to not be a skeptic. After beating Metroid: Samus Returns, my skepticism washed away, mostly thanks to the fact that this 3DS game pays a loving homage to the greatness of past entries while adding enough new elements to feel like a fresh and wonderful modern experience. With their powers combined, Nintendo and MercurySteam basically struck gold with this game. Samus Returns is a dynamite entry in the fabled series and deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Metroid: Zero Mission and Super Metroid. If you’ve been waiting for a new 2D Metroid game from Nintendo for more than a decade, you owe it to yourself to play this game.

Defend Your Crypt is more a puzzle game than anything else. It has the tropes of a tower defense game, but the package is different. The focus is on figuring out patterns and seeing how it all comes together in that perfect run. Once you master the timing, it’s easy to go on a long run without dying. That being said, it is disappointing that the game wasn't shooting for anything grander. In its current state, I only saw myself playing short sessions before moving on to other games. All in all, I would recommend it more if you want to play it on the Nintendo 3DS. That is where the game shines the most.

There is potential in Roving Rogue with its unique narrative presentation and teleporting platforming ideas, but it’s squandered by a middling execution. With a glut of superior platformers out there, this is a Wii U eShop game worth passing over.

Funk of Titans is a game that kept my interest for a while, but ultimately it fails to deliver much beyond a few hours of play. The game is easy to play and get into, but there’s not much variation in gameplay. New weapons and gear that can be unlocked are fun, but don’t factor in all that much on how the game is played. And while the concept and ideas are fun, Funk of Titans never seems to go the extra mile to make the game a memorable experience. There could have been so much more to the game, but in the end all that’s left is a title that’s fun to play for a few hours, but not really anything beyond that.

The Wii U version of Nihilumbra isn’t the game’s first picnic on a console, but it never really got the publicity it deserved. If you’ve passed it up previously, don’t sleep on this game now that it’s on the Wii U, just have some kittens handy to provide a dose of happiness afterward.

Zombie Incident is a fun little game, though there are some annoyances to be found. There is no smooth transitioning between the various screens and the enemies could have benefited from more variety. That being said, the action is constant and Zombie Incident is a sharp looking Nintendo eShop title as well. If you are searching for something to spend a solid few hours with, the title has you covered.

Rock 'N Racing Off Road is quite a disappointing game. With just four real tracks and little space to fully take control, this game never really takes off. It looks quite solid and plays sort of well, but that can't save it from the game that it could have been. There is some fun to be had in multiplayer, but even that has limited replay value. It is just a shame really.

Spy Chameleon is an excellent game for the Wii U eShop. With a huge variety of puzzles and a constant stream of gameplay ideas, the game never loses steam. You might get a little lost at times and the leaderboards take a while to boot up, but that shouldn't stop you from picking this title. The game gives you multiple reasons to replay levels and that is, above all, simply fun to do. Spy Chameleon is one of those games that never stops being novel and for the right reasons!

99Moves is somewhat worse than the last entry. The presentation has not really changed much and the selection for the solo player is disappointing. Next to this, the game is more relentless and that isn't something that every player will find appealing. You will have a good time with friends though and it is worth playing if you always have a batch of people at hand.

All-in-all Rock Zombie has many of the trappings of a great game. The core mechanics work, and all of Rock Zombie’s failings are the sort of things that could be fixed in future updates. For now this may not be the arcade experience you’re looking for but with a little work, it could be a welcome addition to anyone’s Wii U home screen.

Zombie Panic in Wonderland DX is a good game. While there are glaring faults with its difficulty, the game itself is super solid and well put together. It has crisp visuals, two functional control schemes, and plenty of variety in the things you interact with. This title won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I can't deny that I had fun while I overcame its many challenges.

Darts Up is straight up better on the Nintendo 3DS. While you can play Darts on the big screen, you will be mostly looking to the little screen anyway. This makes the experience not as enticing with friends, who will just be looking at the weird angles of the dartboard. The gameplay is still fine and Darts Up's modes are fun, but the presentation suffers from too much repetition. The advantages of the 3DS version give power to the idea of skipping Darts Up on Wii U altogether.

Ice Cream Surfer is a fun little shoot'em up, and is both wonderful to look at and play. With only six levels it is a short adventure, though the game is really playable. It is sad that online leaderboards were not included as it would have rounded out the experience nicely. Bugs aside, the creativity of the title does shine through.

Super Toy Cars ends up being a mediocre outing. For some, it might be enough to play through the content it offers and bust it out when friends are over. It is the best way to experience this title after all and it works all well enough. If you are playing alone, you can go through all the events on offer, but the lack of online features gives only limited appeal.

Unepic is a standard dungeon crawler with standard combat, enhanced by its goofy characters and story. If you’re in the mood for a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and don’t mine the occasional weed/D&D/Star Wars joke, then Unepic might be for you. However, if you’re looking for an engrossing RPG with deep mechanics, your time is likely best spent elsewhere.

Cubit The Hardcore Platformer Robot really tries, but it misses the mark in many regards. The gameplay is floaty, the presentation is okay at best and the overall structure is quite unforgiving. In a world of true nails as hard platformers, Cubit doesn't impress or make even the slightest impact. That is perhaps the biggest crime the game has committed.

Darts Up 3D might not be a full featured game, but it is a nice bite sized game for parties. The motion controls are smooth for the most part. The presentation is lacking, as it is mostly filled with the same components over and over again. The variety of game types and the inclusion of download play are nice touches however; so if you like darts, there is nothing wrong with picking this one up.

Mirror of Fate’s overarching story, though designated in chunks to a handful of the series’ well-known faces, ends up adding little of importance to the experience. From time to time, it takes small breaks to address the larger plot in the form of graphic, darkly lined animation. But what defines and legitimizes the experience is its deft framing and execution of environments and situations, not the Belmonts’ melodrama or having to check itself to series’ expectations. Mirror of Fate is a confident interpretation of well-trod mechanics and themes, and the Castlevania name is stronger for it.

Finally, although I enjoyed the simple, responsive controls, I found myself wishing the aesthetic had gone further in a presenting a retro style. The synth soundtrack was mostly forgettable and the graphics didn’t evoke feelings of nostalgia; they were simple and plain. This blandness cemented my disappointment with the other problems I’ve highlighted. Some players may enjoy 99Moves on its concept alone; everyone else should set their expectations realistically.

I have to say, I love when a game knows what it is and doesn’t try to be anything else. The name says it all: the game lasts 99 seconds, and you shouldn’t expect anything else. There are no dragons to slay and no mysteries to solve. You just boot up the game, enjoy it for almost 100 seconds, and move on. You can come back and play later, but there’s no need to. It wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good game. 

Dive's few faults can't sink its many successes. The game is fun, challenging, and gorgeous. If you like the Endless Ocean series or games that emphasize exploration, this one's for you.

If you like platformers that tickle your grey matter, you shouldn’t miss NyxQuest. The sights, the sounds, and the interesting puzzles really set the game apart from anything else on WiiWare right now.

Overall, Elite Forces: Unit 77 is a game that had potential thanks to its great touch screen controls. But decisions like forcing the player to start all over again when one character dies, the lack of additional game modes, and bland missions make this title a modest, slightly rushed effort that could have been something special.

While the dual screen gameplay is new, the levels appear to be all too simple. Each level has new types of obstacles and challenges but there is nothing really unseen. The game is styled after retro shooters and the concepts seem to be ripped straight from other games of the genre. The changes added to continuing levels include more obstacles and enemies, on rails levels with enemies chasing after you, and rather easy bosses. All these elements you could expect from any other shooter, but there is not the polished formula that you would expect from a game of a genre with a long history.