Latest Reviews
Review Marvel Maximum Collection (Switch) - A Decent Nostalgia Cake With A Konami Cherry On Top
"Welcome to die!"
The prize in Limited Run's Marvel Maximum Collection, unquestionably, is Konami’s 1992 X-Men: The Arcade Game. Famously, it holds a Guinness World Record for being the only arcade beat ‘em up to support six simultaneous players. This port allows you to switch between two, four and six player options — in line with its...
Close but no Jafar
Since its somewhat rocky release on Switch back in 2022, Disney Dreamlight Valley has redeemed itself through several updates and a plethora of DLCs which can make any Disney fan happy. You see, I originally played the game on the Xbox One during early access, when the game used to be free-to-play but full of performance issues...
Spirited away
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is an easy game, but it has two near insurmountable difficulty spikes. The first is the compulsion to constantly sit with your companion critters and make them dance around you or kiss you on the cheek, which brings the game to a screeching halt. The second is an overwhelming urge to use the game’s photo mode...
REVOlutionary?
It feels like Virtua Fighter 5 has been around for bloomin’ ages, and that’s because it has. Originally released in 2006, it’s been updated several times, remastered by RGG Studios with the Dragon Engine, received the highly-requested rollback netcode, and finally ported to current platforms, including the Switch 2. If I were...
Ride on!
Well, folks, it’s finally here. After working through remasters of all the most popular Mega Man sub-series, the remaining question was whether Capcom would then go on to bring back some of the Blue Bomber's less successful major adventures. While our hearts still go out to fans of Mega Man Legends (any day now...), Mega Man Star Force:...
Now with added Pikmin
After almost 20 years of 'New' games, 2D Mario was in desperate need of a shakeup, and in 2023, Super Mario Bros. Wonder did just that. Equal parts throwback to the glory days of the SNES and something entirely fresh, the platformer was a delight from start to finish, and while it might not have been as memorable or challenging...
Would you like to know more?
While titles like the upcoming Sprawl Zero may herald the dawn of the 'millennial shooter' on other platforms, Switch remains a comfortable home for the retro stylings of the boomer shooter. Games like Boltgun, Dusk, and Ion Fury make for enjoyable '90s throwbacks, while the titles that inspired them, including DOOM,...
Hey. Nice sneakers.
Back in 2023, Mimimi Games, the Munich-based indie studio that almost single-handedly reinvigorated the real-time tactical genre over the previous decade, released its very best game to date. And then it shut down for good. Of all the indie studio closures we'd had up to that point, this one felt like it got to me the most upon...
To the gurney
Following a handful of Star Trek games on Switch over the last few years, a couple of which have been rather good, Switch 2 now has its own entry in the Trek library courtesy of German devs GameXcite, and this is probably the best one yet - IF (big if) you've got the stones for a long, arduous journey. It's worth emphasising up front...
Ganon fire
I’ve seen lots of games try to emulate top-down Zelda over the years; some to great success and others, well… not so much. Minishoot’ Adventures - NIntendo Switch 2 Edition falls into the first camp, and although it’s not as grand in scale as your average Hyrulian quest these days, it nevertheless nails the feel of a great Zelda...
"I'm ready for my close-up"
Though survival horror games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill have always taken up most of the spotlight for the genre, lesser known franchises such as Fatal Frame have quietly provided some excellent horror experiences for those willing to go a bit off the beaten path. Fatal Frame traces its roots back to the...
It's a Monstie world
It’s fair to say that, at the time of writing, Capcom is on an absolute roll with Nintendo Switch 2. Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection arrives against that backdrop, but also as a continuation of a franchise spin-off that began as a 3DS exclusive. Nintendo systems have benefited from plenty of Monster Hunter games...
Review Blue Prince (Switch 2) - A Masterful Mystery, And One Of The Best Puzzlers Ever
Homes Under The Planner
Herbert Sinclair, the baron of Reddington's Mount Holly Estate, is dead. In his will, he leaves the estate, its grounds, and his title to you, his grandnephew, Simon. There is one condition: to prove yourself worthy of the gift, you have to find the mysterious 46th room in the 45-room manor, the location of which has never...
Review Tales Of Berseria Remastered (Switch) - QoL Tweaks Make A Brilliant Game Even Better
Redemption is here
2015 marked a low point for the Tales series. Tales of Zestiria was an underwhelming entry despite its exciting battle system. With a boring plot and mostly unimpressive characters, it wasn’t exactly an entry to write home about, at least for me. However, the follow-up entry, 2017’s Tales of Berseria, was nothing short of a...
Review Ratcheteer DX (Switch) - A Bite-Sized Zelda-Like That Feels Right At Home On Nintendo
A (play) date with destiny
Faced with a world-ending winter, would you endure the cold and risk freezing to death, or freeze yourself to survive it? That's the dilemma at the heart of Ratcheteer DX, a compact Zelda-like set in subterranean cryo colonies during an extinction-level ice age. It's a thoughtful premise for what is, at its core, a...
Review Planet Of Lana 2: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition - A Charming Trek Through A Fantastic World
Mui and me
Planet of Lana released in 2023 to strong reviews, but flew under the radar. Wishfully Game's short and sweet indie platform puzzler was a real treat, with its painterly style and cute central partnership at its centre. While the original is still well worth seeking out, the story is quickly recapped in the opening moments of Planet of...
Review Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen (Switch) - Red-Hot Nostalgia In A So-So Wrapper
TPC used Remember! It’s super effective!
Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen is a difficult game to evaluate. Re-released on the Nintendo Switch eShop to celebrate Pokémon’s 30th anniversary, this 22-year-old Game Boy Advance remake of the original Pokémon Red & Blue feels like a lacklustre way to celebrate one of the largest media franchises known...
Review Scott Pilgrim EX (Switch 2) - A Gloriously Entertaining, Fan-Service-Filled Retro Brawler
Sweet! More coins!
Riding the cult success of Edgar Wright’s cinematic adaptation while keeping the aesthetic and charm of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s source material, Ubisoft's Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World game was a smash hit at launch. This gloriously retro co-op brawler still holds up today; its 16-bit charms remain well worth your time,...
Review Pokémon Pokopia (Switch 2) - One Of The Most Enticing Pokémon Games Ever
I'm gonna reconstruct block by block
We've now spent some time with Pokémon Pokopia's multiplayer modes, and they're the perfect companion to the creative single-player experience. Check out our thoughts at the bottom of this review. I feel like I’ve been rebuilding my relationship with Pokémon over the past decade. It’s been a weird...
Let's have a rave-up
There's part of me that still can't quite believe I'm playing Rave Racer on a home console. Namco's 1995 sequel to Ridge Racer never made it out of the arcades back in the day, despite promises that it would be ported to PC as part of NEC's push for its PowerVR graphics processor. For years, the game's legacy has been having...
War never changes
Since this review was published, Bethesda has released its promised DLSS update, which also apparently addresses a number of bugs and performance issues. While we unfortunately cannot revisit games on an individual basis, it should be noted that the updated game may offer an improved experience over the one detailed below. When...
Review Resident Evil Requiem (Switch 2) - Action And Horror Combine In A Series Highlight
Blood, blood, gallons of the stuff
There’s a moment during Resident Evil Requiem — actually, no, several moments — in which I laid the controller on my lap and just stared at the screen in awe. Over the last decade, the series has reclaimed its throne as the king of the survival horror genre, but Requiem pushes the quality bar higher than...
Review The Disney Afternoon Collection (Switch 2) - A Delightful Yet Difficult '90s Throwback
Good afternoon
It’s been a long time coming — almost nine years, in fact — but Capcom’s The Disney Afternoon Collection is now finally heading to the Switch and Switch 2 under the stewardship of Atari and developer Digital Eclipse. Not to rub it in the faces of PlayStation and Xbox owners (except that’s exactly what I'm doing), but it’s...
Anything Qud happen
The legends of Caves of Qud stretch back into the ancient times, through mists of lore, to a moment of destiny. That’s right – all the way back to 2007, when American team Freehold Games began development on this ambitious roguelike RPG. After a 17-year journey to version 1.0 in 2024, gathering a devoted PC following, this...
Mini Review Rayman: 30th Anniversary Edition (Switch) - Nicely Orchestrated But Misses A Key Note
Ray of light
Rayman was Ubisoft’s first major commercial success, the company going public a year after its release in 1996. A PlayStation launch title, it was originally conceived for the unreleased Super Nintendo CD-ROM before being developed for Atari’s Jaguar. A fantasy platform game that pops with oil paint colour, its stages encompass...
Mini Review Resident Evil Village Gold Edition (Switch 2) - A Solid First-Person Follow Up
Lady D-ecent
With Resident Evil Village, Capcom wisely leaned into the success of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, presenting a direct sequel that continues the story of protagonist Ethan Winters. This time, he winds up in a rural village overlooked by a vast, elegant castle as he strives to locate his kidnapped daughter, Rose. It’s no secret that...
Go tell Aunt Rhody
Just in case you need yet another reminder of how old you’re getting, Capcom first revealed Resident Evil 7: Biohazard all the way back in June 2016 – almost a decade ago. Following its release in 2017 and a rather unsavoury cloud port on the Switch in 2021, Nintendo fans can finally experience Capcom’s soft reboot on Switch...
Review Love Eternal (Switch) - Disturbing, Devilish Platformer Flips A Few Too Many Times
Flipping fun?
Published by Ysbryd Games and developed by brlka, Love Eternal is an arduous platformer presented primarily in a retro 4:3 aspect ratio. It follows a teenage girl named Maya as she wends her way through a lonesome, though artfully-depicted, castle and the surreal, twisted memories that haunt it. The game begins as many platformers do:...
Review BlazBlue Entropy Effect X (Switch) - A Remarkably Over-Ambitious Roguelike That Goes Deep
He fights for the Users
Entropy, a scientific concept defined by randomness and disorder, is a fitting name for a roguelike. Since BlazBlue began as a fighting game series it’s seen a multitude of spin-offs, now finding itself in the realm of 2D platform action and roguelike principles. Its whopping assembly of eighteen-playable-characters helm...
The bomb
One of the most pleasant surprises of this month’s Partner Direct was the reveal and shadow drop of the Super Bomberman Collection, a compilation of some of the eponymous hero’s earliest games with some extra goodies thrown in. Though it’s ultimately little more than the sum of its parts, Super Bomberman Collection does a great job of...
