Here’s the problem with playing a single-player spinoff from a multiplayer property: If you don’t particularly care about the multiplayer that the franchise is built on, the single player, where developers will almost always double down on the various in-fanbase jokes, aesthetics, characters and themes, is really not going to go down well with you. Enter Splatoon and… well, me.…
What happens when you take Monopoly and Magic: The Gathering and smoosh them together? Culdcept. Culdcept is what happens. It’s perhaps a marriage between two very different genres of board game that no one really asked for, but the series has been around since 1997 and the Sega Saturn, so…
Granblue Fantasy: Relink was one of the more surprising JRPGs in recent…
Digimon is doomed to forever walk in Pokémon’s shadow. Part of the…
Nintendo’s timing with its no-pressure comfort food games has been fortuitous. Animal Crossing landed at almost the exact moment that people around the world were desperate for some no-stress escapism from COVID-19. Now, Pokémon Pokopia launches right at the time that America massively escalates global tensions by committing war crimes…
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For people who enjoyed the vibes of Monster Hunter, but found the challenging, highly technical action combat to be overwhelming, Capcom came up with the Monster Hunter Stories series. The first two were enjoyable, but with Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, Capcom has landed on something really special indeed.…
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Before I fully launch into my review of Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake, a remake of my favourite horror game ever, bar none and by a considerable margin, I do have to register annoyance about something. Koei Tecmo: It’s only “Fatal Frame” in America, and that’s a far sillier…
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Mario Tennis Fever is one of Nintendo’s weakest titles in years, and certainly its weakest tennis title. This is tragic because I loved Mario Tennis back on the N64, Game Boy, and Game Cube. Let’s start with the story mode. On the one hand, I do congratulate the developers for…
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Just a few weeks ago I was saying how impressive it was that Square Enix managed to squeeze Final Fantasy VII Remake onto the Switch 2, at such a quality fidelity. Now it’s Koei Tecmo’s turn: I didn’t think Dynasty Warriors: Origins could work on the Switch 2. But it…
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Dragon Quest VII did need a reimagining. I don’t say this as a criticism, as it is my favourite Dragon Quest of all time. But it is undeniable that it is a massive, weighty, lengthy thing, to the point of being inaccessible. Making some small concessions and compromises to that…
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It’s incredible that Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergarde plays so well on the Nintendo Switch 2. Much like how having The Witcher 3 playable in a handheld format with the Switch felt like some kind of wizardry, this has the same effect, with the one difference being that it felt…
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I’ve been making my way through the surprise-dropped Tomb Raider Definitive Edition that landed on the Switch a few weeks ago, and with two new Tomb Raider games just announced (albeit with a new publisher), that turns out to have been good timing to remind myself of the direction that…
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Octopath Traveler 0 isn’t really Octopath Traveler. It’s good. It’s even excellent, frequently and for long stretches of time. But it’s not Octopath Traveler for this very simple reason: Both the original Octopath Traveler and its sequel told the stories of eight (“Octo”) different people, who would eventually come together…
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Kirby Air Riders is fun. It’s not any more than that, and it’s clearly filler for Nintendo to pad out the all-important first Christmas for the Switch 2. With Metroid coming soon, Kirby’s there for the younger ones to also have something under the tree. And it’s fun. The basic…
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