Latest Reviews
Here comes the Sun
Despite the energetic title of this collection, the legendary Japanese development house Sunsoft never really went away. It's been steadily cranking out original titles, ports, and remasters on arcade and console since 1978, although it will likely never recapture the glory days of the 8- and 16-bit era. So prolific was its output...
Review Shogun Showdown (Switch) - A Turn-Based Roguelike Masterclass
To the left, to the right, slash em'up, dodge and cut, s'alright
Listen. If you're fed up with roguelikes, deckbuilders and the like, we feel you. In the indie sphere in particular, there are an awful lot of games in these genres right now, enough to have us auto-glaze over anytime we see the words mentioned, and even though there are plenty of good...
Review Pizza Tower (Switch) - An Ingenious Platformer That Beats Wario At His Own Game
Wario would be proud
Nintendo’s Wario Land series has always occupied a unique niche in the company’s extensive catalogue with its weird humour and unconventional approach to platforming tropes, which is why fans have been greatly let down by the fact that there hasn’t been a new entry in over 15 years. To fill the gap, an indie team called...
Mini Review Hive Jump (Switch) - Solid Four-Player Action Platforming
Hive and take
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. Hive Jump is a 2D shooting platformer that...
Mini Review Stellar Interface (Switch) - An Addictive, Though Not Quite Stellar, Roguelike Shmup
In yer Stellar
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. At first glance, one might groan at the...
Mini Review Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight (Switch) - Another Marvellous Metroidvania
Moonlight serenade
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. The fourth in this series of 2D...
Mini Review Neko Navy - Daydream Edition (Switch) - Good Bones But Undernourished
Feline 'em up
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. If you love the shmup genre and feline...
Mini Review Clock Simulator (Switch) - The Perfect Tool To Kick Off An Existential Crisis
Tick tock
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. Certainly one of the more bizarre titles we’ve...
Review Ace Attorney Investigations Collection (Switch) - File This With The Series' Finest
Best case scenarios
In the Ace Attorney games, Edgeworth has always been a bit like an outdoor cat. He drops in every now and again, does his job, then disappears for weeks, sometimes months at a time. Later on, you'll find out some cool tidbit of information – he was in Europe doing Important Lawyer Things, or chasing an Interpol lead in the deep...
Mini Review Gunman Clive HD Collection (Switch) - A Cracking Run-'N'-Gun Duo
Clive's handy, son
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. It’s two for the price of one with...
Mini Review Samsara: Deluxe Edition (Switch) - A Satisfyingly Outside-The Box, Upside-Down Puzzler
Friends don't lie
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. Samsara is a puzzler with a unique...
Mini Review Horizon Shift '81 (Switch) - A Fast-Paced Shooter That Oozes Enthusiasm & Passion
Shifty
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. Paying homage to the Atari days, we have the...
Mini Review The Keep (Switch) - Mid-Tier Dungeon Crawling
Keep on crawling
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. A dungeon crawler with a retro influence,...
Mini Review Snowboarding The Next Phase (Switch) - An Easygoing But Entertaining Boarder
Seven out of TenEighty
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. Red Bull has taken another dive...
Mini Review Feudal Alloy (Switch) - A Hearty, Hand-Drawn Metroidvania
Tank controls
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. Feudal Alloy is a really good indie...
Mini Review Unicornicopia (Switch) - Nope, Not Even For The Kids
Nah, you're alright
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. Unicornicopia is a maddeningly simple...
Mini Review Animus (Switch) - Satisfactory, Small-Scale Souls
Blinded by the lite
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. From the very first screen it’s...
Mini Review Bury Me, My Love (Switch) - A Tough But Well-Written Text Message Tale
Nour is typing...
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. An intensely personal and deeply moving...
Mini Review Cake Laboratory (Switch) - Mind-Numbing, Mobile-Style Filler
Tiering up
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. Ah, the food-based mobile arcade game. When...
Mini Review Wondershot (Switch) - Simple, Skill-Focused Battles With Friends
Wondershotter's nation
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. Simplicity is key here, as...
Mini Review Oxyjet (Switch) - Frantic Fun For Four Players (But Only Four Players)
Joy-Con jumper
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. A multiplayer experience in the truest...
Mini Review Julie's Sweets (Switch) - Basic Cooking Sim With Soul-Sucking Visuals
Look into my pies
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. A typical arcade-style time management...
Mini Review Overdriven Reloaded: Special Edition (Switch) - Ebullient Bullet Hell
Manic gunday
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. A port of a shmup that originally started...
Mini Review Catastronauts (Switch) - Overcooked & Star Trek Collide In Engaging, Chaotic Co-op
Coolant leak! We've got a coolant leak!
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. Playing in a...
Mini Review Can Of Wormholes (Switch) - A Very Worm Welcome For This Ingenious Puzzler
Roll tape
Greetings, worms! Finally, for all you readers who are worms, scouring Nintendo Life for worm-related content, here’s a game that puts annelids front and centre. Wiggling onto Switch from solo dev Munted Finger, Can of Wormholes dares to open that proverbial can and launch squiggly bird food – if we may call you that – straight at a...
Mini Review Castaway (Switch) - A Fine-Looking But Very Thin Piece Of Zelda Flotsam
A quick link to the past
We almost set ourselves the challenge of writing this review without mentioning Link's Awakening. But as sure as a retro-styled 2D RPG includes hackable bushes, Castaway had so many similarities to the Nintendo classic that it would have been impossible. Despite our preference for a fresher take on the formula like the...
Review Valfaris: Mecha Therion (Switch) - Steel Mantis Switches To Shmup For A Tight, Taut Sequel
Go big or go home
Valfaris: Mecha Therion wastes no time in getting going. During the briefest of cutscenes we’re re-introduced to series main man Therion on a gothic-styled spaceship hurtling through the stars. Hekate, his AI companion, says she’s picked up the signal of his father, Vroll, the man responsible for the destruction of Therion’s...
Review Gundam Breaker 4 (Switch) - A Return To Form That Focuses On The Series' Strengths
Breaking free
In many ways, Gundam Breaker 4 represents a fresh start for Bandai Namco’s mecha action series. Not only is this a return to the roots after the divisive New Gundam Breaker didn’t go over so well with the fanbase, but this marks the first time that the mainline series has come to either the Nintendo Switch or Western audiences...
Review Castlevania Dominus Collection (Switch) - The Strongest Konami Compilation Yet
Glyph I could turn back time ♫
Konami has been making waves this year with its upcoming duo of high-budget remakes of Silent Hill 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. For Castlevania fans, however, it’s been a bit of a quiet one, with seemingly no sign of any new entry in the long-running gothic franchise. Despite this, the publisher has been...
Review Shadow Of The Ninja - Reborn (Switch) - A Beautiful, Brutal Return To 8-Bit Basics
Stepping out of the shadow
Though Ninja Gaiden occupied the spotlight on the NES back in the day, there was another similar ninja action game called Shadow of the Ninja which proved to be just about as good and featured two-player co-op. Due to publisher issues, a planned Game Boy version was repurposed as a Ninja Gaiden prequel and a sequel was...
