Henry Stockdale
If you’re after a more challenging shooter or one with local multiplayer options, you’d be better pressed to look elsewhere unfortunately but on the whole, Livelock is a game which will provide hours of entertainment and provides a very enjoyable online co-op experience and proves to be a satisfying investment.
God Eater 2 has been a long time coming for fans of the series. Whilst the generic plot and outdated graphics bring down the game somewhat, overall the game has proven itself to be worth the wait, a highly enjoyable experience with a great co-operative mode and one which will keep you hooked for hours. Coupled with the generous bonus of the original game on top of that, Namco Bandai have provided great value for money in this package and one that comes highly recommended.
Disintegration has a lot of room for improvement, but I enjoyed my time with it, and it succeeds in finding a balance between its shooting and strategic elements. It’s the kind of game I hope gets a sequel, one which is bolder in pursuing its ideas, and not just in its character names.
Windbound is a brief but enjoyable journey that merges Legend Of Zelda-style adventure with survival crafting.
Raji: An Ancient Epic is a strong debut for Nodding Head Games but it's just a shame there isn't more of it. It brings a respectful take on Hindu and Balinese mythology, one which has a strong narrative hook that invests you in Raji's personal adventure whilst offering enjoying gameplay. Though it suffers from some unfortunate technical issues, this is one journey we still recommend experiencing, especially if you're a fan of the genre.
An enjoyable platformer which would benefit from further development time
There’s a refreshing freedom to Paradise Killer we’ve not previously seen. You can start the trial almost immediately if you desired, which is far from sensible, but without a narrative constraining you, Lady Love Dies’ investigation is what you make it. Coming to your own conclusions can be a little overwhelming in places but successfully solving this case is immensely satisfying. For murder-mystery fans, this comes highly recommended.
BPM: Bullets Per Minute is a challenging rhythm shooter that's difficult to master but highly satisfying.
Georifters has good ideas on paper but ultimately, it all feels rather tedious. If you're searching for new kid-friendly multiplayer games, there are better experiences available and at a lower cost, making this hard to recommend by comparison. Should those options already be exhausted, Georifters does have some fun moments within its Adventure Mode co-op while the Battle Arena mode offers competitive fun. But ultimately, those seeking a new puzzle-platforming fix would be better off looking elsewhere.
Bake 'n Switch makes for a fun experience overall but it's hard to deny that certain elements feel bare. With a minimal PvP mode, no single-player option (at launch, anyway) and issues with online progression, it does feel rushed upon delivery but there's still plenty of content to keep players busy. If you can assemble a team of friends, have a younger family to entertain or just want a new multiplayer experience, there's enjoyment to be found here – but it's a cautious recommendation.
Going Under makes for an excellent debut from Aggro Crab. Though the humour won't be to everyone's taste, it brings us a corporate satire which hits closer to home than most, and by doing so consistently, never feels ham-fisted in its execution. This isn't the longest experience you can find on Switch – taking around 10 hours to fully complete including side tasks – but it provides an entertaining story, and one that's filled with great combat and high replayability. Keeping you hooked until the end, this dungeon crawler comes with a modest recommendation.
It’s just a shame that the campaign only lasts a few hours, though there is a separate arcade mode to keep players busy. If you can look past that issue, Budget Cuts is a fantastic experience that all PSVR owners should play. Offering an engaging and fully immersive experience, we can only hope the sequel also makes its way to PSVR in good time.
Despite a well-executed premise and pleasing blocky visual aesthetic, Unrailed is ultimately a short-lived game. It tries to promote replayability with an inbuilt achievement system, leaderboards and different modes, but this doesn’t disguise a lack of depth to the core gameplay. It’s still an enjoyable experience though and whilst solo play won’t hold you for too long, if you can gather a group of friends to join, this is one co-op game worth looking into.
Kirby Fighters 2 is a kid-friendly fighting game that holds rather limited appeal.
There are several issues though and its biggest one regards movement, which offers three options: teleportation, swinging the PlayStation Move controller, or a smooth option reliant on button pressing. None of them click perfectly and adding to this, character models look a bit rough. If you can get past these flaws, Onslaught is ultimately enjoyable, bringing good combat and rebuilding Alexandria is quite fun. If you’re a fan of the TV series, this is worth a look.
Each level is also beatable within 5 minutes, meaning you could finish the story in just over an hour, though considering the extremely low price point, that’s more forgivable. Ultimately though, whilst the N64-era aesthetic will appeal to some, Macbat 64 just isn’t worth your time. Diploducus Games seem to be relying on little more than nostalgia as it’s selling point, but when it utterly fails to deliver on gameplay, we can’t recommend this to even the most die-hard platforming fans.
It’s quite a challenging game from the get-go, so anyone seeking a more relaxed experience would do better to look elsewhere, but Space Crew makes for a solid follow up to its predecessor. Though it retains Bomber Crew's flawed control scheme, it ultimately proves to be quite enjoyable, bringing some in-depth spaceship management to the table.
Whether playing alone or with friends, Cake Bash is a sweet fighter that packs a punch in more ways than one.
It takes time to figure out just what you're doing, but anyone looking for a strong challenge will find a lot to love with GoNNER2. It builds upon the original game's premise well and by offering co-operative campaign play, adds significant replayability with friends. It's not a flawless game by any means, and players who prefer a more guided experience would do better to look elsewhere but, those caveats aside, GoNNER2 still makes for a compelling experience that comes recommended, if you're up for the challenge.
Double Pug Switch might be frustrating at times but there’s still an enjoyable experience here. Bringing us fun but basic gameplay, it introduces one of gaming’s more adorable protagonists in a light-hearted adventure, though it won’t offer platforming fans anything particularly ground-breaking. With its lower price point, there isn’t much risk here if you're a fan of runners and, as such, it comes with a cautious recommendation.