Dominic L
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Writing For
TheSixthAxis Latest Reviews
You can’t talk about Wild Hearts S without understanding what’s gone before. This Switch 2 port comes some two years after Koei Tecmo’s ambitious hunting game appeared on other platforms, taking the monster hunting formula that Capcom originated, and building something that retained enough of the familiar framework, while creating new gameplay experiences within it.
Nintendo knows that gaming is a social activity, but as gaming has moved increasingly online, they haven’t consistently kept pace with changing habits. The Switch 2, though, is the most social Nintendo platform we’ve ever had. GameChat and GameShare are two new features built into the console’s very fabric, bringing family and friends together to play through innovative multiplayer, multi-console streaming and, well, the slightly less timely ability to chat with each other.
Ruffy is an off-brand Ewok, a bear with a huge grin, a hidden destiny and a penchant for funky tunes. He’s also got one hell of a special ability, being able to scan things in his environment, and then transfer their texture and qualities to something else. Need to get to the top of a waterfall? How about turning the water into clinging vines to climb? Need to clear a path? Why not turn the stone into wood that you can smash apart? The swapping mechanic is at the heart of Ruffy and the Riverside, adding a heap of puzzling action to its charming 3D platforming, and it’s mostly a winning combination.
Nobody would be complaining about Welcome Tour if it was free. This little introductory experience to Nintendo’s Switch 2 feels like a perfectly Nintendo way to do things, turning the Switch 2 itself into a giant convention centre, filled with visitors who are there to check out the new Joy-Con 2, like they’re the latest exhibit in the Louvre. The thing is, we’re being charged £7.99 for this introduction, and while, yes, that also feels like a very Nintendo way to do things, it’s a bit too dry, too scientific, and comes with too little actual fun.
Fast Fusion was my first Switch 2 game. While I had Mario Kart World waiting in the wings, it was this indie racer, available at launch for a bargain price, that was my first choice for the brand new Nintendo system. You might be wondering if I’ve lost all my marbles, but if you’re a Nintendo fan, you’ll know that this is a racing series that’s consistently delivered an experience far beyond its indie trappings. We’re not getting a new F-Zero or Wipeout, but with Fast Fusion, you likely won’t care.
Orks screaming “Red wunz go fasta!” as they smash their bashed-together death-bringing vehicles into each other is part of the fundamental vision of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Nearly 30 years ago, Games Workshop released a game called Gorkamorka, a game of vehicular carnage – basically the tabletop version of Twisted Metal – that was a bright, but short-lived flame amongst the grim darkness of the Imperium. It was fun, and I liked it, not least because it was basically Destruction Derby with green idiots and guns.
With the Monaco Grand Prix now in the tiny little wing mirrors of this year’s F1 season, it feels like the perfect time to drop into the latest F1 game from Codemasters and EA. Interest in the premier motorsport category has never been higher, and this yearly game series has sought to make steady improvement, adding much-requested gameplay features while pushing ever closer to visual realism in the cars and tracks year-on-year. While F1 25 is undoubtedly a further refinement, rather than a revolution, this is, incrementally, the best F1 game to date.
Saber Interactive are masochists. There’s really no other explanation for the cruel, vehicular-based tortures that they continue to put gamers through. Where MudRunner had you driving through engulfing mud, SnowRunner made that slop colder, wetter and whiter, and Expeditions stranded you in the wilderness, RoadCraft shifts the focus from getting your truck unstuck from the mud and more towards disaster relief.
There’s an argument to be had about when Capcom’s brightest moment has been. Was it in the 90s, where Street Fighter 2 practically inventing the fighting scene, while Resident Evil lurched into people’s consciousness? Or perhaps it’s happening right now, with huge franchise hits like Monster Hunter Wilds and Dragons Dogma 2 sitting alongside more esoteric offerings like Kunitsu-Gami.
The opening cutscene of Lunar Silver Star Story might be the most ‘90s introduction to any game I’ve ever played… and I was alive in the 90s. Presented here in glorious 4:3, and accompanied by Noriyuki Iwadare and Victor Ireland’s track ‘Wings’, it captures a moment in gaming and culture where anime was making inroads into the West, and Japanese developers could push the latest hardware to newfound heights, making this a golden age for JRPGs.