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Nintendo had a few surprises for its last Switch-focused Direct. Among them was a new visual novel from Disney and the folks at Bloom Digital Media. With Bloom being the team behind games like Later Daters and LongStory, it offered some encouragement that this story of Disney baddies hanging out...
In pop culture, there's an old chestnut of a plotline where the main character receives a lucrative inheritance, but in order to claim it, they must spend the night at an old house. Raw Fury and Dogubomb got a similar idea with Blue Prince, though they skipped the cliche where...
Like Fights before it, Knights in Tight Spaces is the kind of game where it's easy to lose track of time. The story will have you reaching for the Skip button by the time you go on your 10th or 20th run, but there's nothing repetitive about the formula, especially...
It takes a special kind of game to stand among the ranks of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Mario & Luigi: Brothership is on that level with an unforgettable story, lovable characters, a deeper-than-expected combat system, and beautifully drawn environments. I...
Super Mario Party Jamboree disproves the idea that if you've seen one Mario Party game, you've seen them all. Nintendo went out of its way to create something heads-and-tails above what came before. It doesn't always work, but there are far more winners than participation trophies in this package. The...
There's a lot about The Jackbox Naughty Pack that feels less like a full-blown annual release and more like an experiment. There are positives to be found here, especially when it comes to the presentation and committing to the adult theme. The art for all three games is inspired and...
At the end of the day, The Plucky Squire is an incredible feat. Even if it had stayed a 2D adventure, it's still a marvel to watch the story unfold through dazzling illustrations. The actual art within Jot's storybook itself is beautifully colorful. Once the game starts to mix in...
This collection is enjoyable for taking the typical Phoenix Wright formula and presenting it in a totally different way. Edgeworth's adventures are wholly his own presented in his own unique style, but at heart, the Ace Attorney blueprint is still on display, for better or worse. The worst thing I...
Volgarr the Viking 2 revels in its retro aesthetic. The worlds are pixel paradises out of the 16-bit gaming era. The story is minimal. The mechanics are classic. The difficulty, as mentioned repeatedly, is soul-crushing without feeling overly unfair, that is until you get Undead Volgarr forced on you.
Nintendo does offer some replayability in the form of unlockable coins and dozens of unlockable profile icons. Some of these icons can get pricey, giving further incentive to keep practicing challenges and earning more coins. Like the games themselves, it feels like even with a lot here, there's still room...
Flock
Flock knows how to make the most out of the mundane. It takes a simple idea like bird watching and takes it to its most imaginative conclusion. It takes those birds and gives them cartoonishly whimsical designs while also giving them complex enough behaviors that charming them into your flock...
There hasn't been a new Super Monkey Ball game in over a decade and Sega certainly approached this new entry to the series like it had some catching up to do. There's a lot to enjoy in Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble, from the lengthy story to the local and...
