Review Yakuza Kiwami (Switch) - A Decent Port Of An Ambitious, Frustrating Game
Like a drag-on
Open-world games have evolved a lot in the 19 years since the original Yakuza was released. Quirky fetch quests and meandering storytelling were often characteristics of the genre, as was the sense that the developers were gleefully mashing together ideas and holding everything together with an offbeat sense of humour. It’s 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 SteamWorld Heist II (Switch) - A More Ambitious Caper That Rewards Patience And Planning
Steamy and challenging seas
When we played the original SteamWorld Heist, to anyone who’d listen (and to plenty of people who wouldn’t) we described Heist as the quintessential underrated indie gem. We thought everyone should play it. We were blown away by how skillfully Thunderful Games had taken everything satisfying about X-COM-style...
Review Kudzu (Switch) A Delightful, Leafy Ode To Link's Awakening And The Game Boy
It'll grow on you
Kudzu came to this reviewer during a significant birthday celebration. The day was filled with echoes of our past. There was the music on the radio – uncanny remixes of early-to-mid-90s techno songs that used to hype up pre-teen candyfloss-fuelled visits to funfairs. And there was Kudzu and its unsubtle similarity to all-time...
Review Open Roads (Switch) - A Short, Evocative Trip Worth Taking
Straight and narrow
The surprising phenomenon of indies casting Hollywood talent continues with Open Roads, a three-hour narrative adventure. But then this is the latest release from Annapurna Interactive, a publisher of both films and games, which has a few similarly voice-acted examples in its back catalogue – the delectable The Artful Escape...
Review Bahnsen Knights (Switch) - Perhaps The Best Yet Of The Brilliant 'Pixel Pulps'
Demons on the road
Within seconds of starting Bahnsen Knights, the third in LCB Game Studio's ‘Pixel Pulps’ series of games, we found ourselves inspired. We turned the lights down low, put on some headphones and, with the clear aim of savouring every moment, held the Switch’s OLED screen so close to our face that we became fully immersed in...
