DeVuego ES_COR

If you are okay with playing what is essentially a game from the 80’s with a 2021 coat of paint, then you’ll have a great time with Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX. This is a perfect way to introduce a brand new generation of gamers to a criminally underrated franchise that deserves way more respect than what little it got over the years. It’s colorful, adorable, not entirely hard to play, and most importantly, it’s one hell of a nostalgia bomb for those who grew up with it back in the day. I’m beyond delighted that Jankenteam and Merge Games took their time to bring this 80’s hero back to the spotlight and I hope they come with even more Alex Kidd games in the near future.

The Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom is flawed beyond belief when it comes to its presentation, but I definitely wasn’t expecting for its gameplay and controls to be so solid. Nor was I expecting for it to feature some engaging bouts of vehicular combat and 4-player local co-op. It follows the same trend as most mid-range licensed titles out there: if you (or your kids) are a fan of the show, go for it. It respects its source material and offers a sizeable amount of bang for your buck. If you have never heard of this show before, you might still get some enjoyment out of it if you’re a fan of Diablo clones.

Essays on Empathy feels like a collection of elevator pitches, of small technical showcases of what Deconstructeam will develop from now on. Some of the games in the collection are too vague and occasionally way too pretentious to be fully enjoyed, but other titles in here, while short, ooze potential. I would love to play a full game based on De Tres Al Cuarto or a full-fledged version of Dear Substance of Kin, for example. All in all, it’s a fun diversion full of unique ideas, even if not all of them pay off in the end.

Godstrike is a passable attempt at a boss rush game. It is certainly a brutal challenge that will take dozens of attempts to get through, but it’s just not a very fun experience. There’s some potential here with the time mechanic not only being your health but also a resource that you need to manage. The problem lies on the lacklustre boss battles, which comprise the entirety of the game’s runtime, however.

Evil Inside is yet another failed attempt to recapture the brilliance of PT in a “full game” format, but it ends up missing the mark in every single way you could possibly imagine. This isn’t scary at all; it’s just boring, uninteresting, and most importantly, annoying, mostly due to the overabundance of loud noises and jump scares. There are much better PT-inspired horror games out there, so don’t waste your time with this one.

As a project developed by a group of recently graduated game developers, Mail Mole is worthy of praise. It runs well on the Switch, it’s mostly devoid of bugs, and its character design is quite cute. Sadly, it’s a generic platformer with a very simple premise and forgettable level design. It’s fun for a few minutes at a time, but you’ll mostly forget about your experience with it after an hour or two. There is potential in this team, and I’m looking forward to seeing their next projects in the future. As for now, kudos for the effort, but this game is just passable.

As a cynical adult, I obviously find Paw Patrol: Mighty Pups Save Adventure Bay to be one of the most basic gaming experiences I’ve had in years. But I am not its core audience. When you assess it through the eyes of a toddler, this is actually a pretty decent game. The visuals emulate the show with perfection, the controls are polished, and the music is catchy. It’s very easy, to the point a five year old can probably platinum it, all while feeling accomplished as a result. As far as educational and preschool-oriented games go, Mighty Pups Save Adventure Bay is easily one of the best out there.

Relicta is a good game with some really clever and thought-provoking puzzles, but it overstays its welcome with its extended length. Not to mention the absence of additions of new features throughout its campaign and an overall uninteresting story filled with uninteresting characters and unskippable cutscenes. There is no shortage of higher quality puzzlers out there, but if you’re a big fan of the genre, maybe give this one a shot. You’ll probably have enough fun with it to warrant a single playthrough, but that’s basically it.

Perhaps the beautiful art and music will be enough for Summer in Mara to be a great game for you. The gameplay may become a tad bit monotonous, but it is satisfying to travel the tropical ocean from island to island on an adventure. The high number of quests might quickly overwhelm you, however, if you find the idea of searching through islands across a vast ocean for items to gather and craft is exhilarating, then this game might be for you.

Kemono Heroes doesn’t innovate, stand out, or provide a memorable experience, but at the same time, it had no single serious flaw I could think of. Its visuals are decent, its soundtrack is great, its controls are very responsive, and I really enjoyed its difficulty curve and progression system. It’s a very safe game that does everything it aimed to do pretty well. When I stop to think about it, I see no reason why I shouldn’t recommend this title to Switch owners. A cute, side-scrolling indie platformer with local co-op is basically what the console was made for.

Ghosts’n DJs doesn’t feature good controls, and its message against plastic DJs can be infantile at times, but it can be very entertaining in short bursts, especially since it’s nowhere near as broken or infuriating as Ghosts ‘n Goblins, its main source of inspiration. It would have been a perfect fit for the Switch, but it’s still an easy recommendation if you’re into electronic music. And if you haven’t played AVICII Invector yet, of course.

Mario Kart is still safe and has nothing to worry about losing its throne, but unless you are willing to invest in a racing rig, Touring Karts does an excellent job of bringing an arcade kart racer into your home. The attention they paid to making sure it is accessible across a wide range of platforms is impressive. With that being said, it is meant to be played, and deserves to be played, in VR.

Etherborn is an ambitious game that tries to give players a truly unique adventure. While it misses the mark in certain areas, like the story, it nails it in plenty of others. Its clever use of manipulating gravitational pull and changing set pieces at times provide a really tough challenge. Thinking outside the box is a must in order to complete the game and solving the levels offers a truly gratifying experience. My biggest complaint is that it is a really short game, only taking about five hours or so to complete. I guess that’s the mark of a good game though; leaving the player wanting more. For fans of puzzle platformers, Etherborn is a game that they shouldn’t let disappear into the ether.

Melbits World isn’t entirely bad, but it does poorly target its demographic and there was little to no need for it to be a PlayLink title. I honestly haven’t thought about PlayLink since Hidden Agenda dropped at the end of 2017. And after playing Melbits World, ignorance may have been bliss.

Asphalt 9 is a good racing game without a doubt, but it’s obviously catered towards a mobile market. It might be available on PC, it might accept actual controllers, it does look a lot better than your average Google Play Store asset flip garbage, but this was tailor made for a much more casual audience, people who want to enjoy this game in short bursts and aren’t completely against buying a bit of loot every now and then. This game would have been a perfect fit for the Switch if they ever bother to develop an actually paid version with no microtransactions to the system. We can’t live off Gear.Club Unlimited forever.

Far from an offensively bad title, but also far from a passable game, Super Toy Cars is just a little mediocre title. It’s a game that can be mildly entertaining for a few minutes, but not engaging enough to grab your attention for a long time. It’s pretty hard to recommend Super Toy Cars to Switch owners when Mario Kart is already available for it.

There is plenty to enjoy about Immortal Redneck, but none of it is for me. Thankfully, the most prominent technical issues should be easily correctable through future patches and updates. Immortal Redneck comes at the steep price point of $19.99, which I find difficult to defend. Unless you’re riveted by these kinds of games, my recommendation is to wait a bit as a title like this is sure to hit Games with Gold and Playstation Plus within the year.

The Count Lucanor is a fun and extremely provocative game. The story and themes are deep, dark, and full of fantasy. The visuals and most of the music and audio is well done and fit the overall style besides a few harsh sound effects. Unfortunately, the performance problems, multiple crashes, and the short run time hamper this enjoyable game. I’m not sure I would recommend this as of now with the issues and the short duration especially for the high price the Switch version is asking. Fortunately, you can find it cheap on Steam, which I would recommend.

Vaccine is proof that you’re not able to make a good game just by having a good idea, and that knowing how to execute said idea is as important, if not more important. It plays terribly, it’s a complete eyesore, and its randomly generated maps and item placements make it completely impossible for a player to beat a round by counting on his/her skill, making them entirely reliant on a generous allocation of items and enemies in order to proceed. You probably own more than just a Nintendo Switch, so buy the Resident Evil remake’s remaster on PSN/XBL/Steam instead, and relive the actual great memories of the genre.