Latest Reviews
Rayman is raving
2017’s Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle had one of the best DLCs we’ve ever seen a game starring Mario receive. The Donkey Kong Adventure story expansion saw Donkey Kong and Rabbid Cranky team up with Rabbid Peach to take on tons of reworked enemies and tons of tight, tactical challenges. It proved Ubisoft knew how to make a...
Review Taito Milestones 2 (Switch) - A Better Selection With The Fabulous Triple-Screen Darius II
Score a point over
For the avid retro gamer, the Arcade Archives series has been one of the Switch’s greatest boons. Hamster Corporation has, to date, released 280 titles, and another 108 specific to the Neo Geo hardware, all with a commitment to emulating arcade originals at affordable prices. Taito Milestones 2 is a collection featuring 10...
Review Excitebike 64 - An Underrated Racer That Deserves To Ride With Its N64 Stablemates
Hold onto your handlebars
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival on Switch as part of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. Of the sports games in the N64 era, Excitebike 64 feels left out of conversation more often than siblings such as Wave Race 64 and 1080° Snowboarding...
Review Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy (Switch) - A Series Best That Proves It Still Has The Magic
Not just another cog
Back when Trine 4 came out, it felt a bit like a hail-mary attempt to recapture the audience that was lost after the disappointment of Trine 3, and the future of the series seemed a bit up in the air. Luckily, that last title proved to be a strong return to form for the series, and after a DLC expansion (on PC) that was also...
Review Samba De Amigo: Party Central (Switch) - Sega's Cult Classic Returns In Need Of A Shake-Up
Going through the motion controls
In the Wii's heyday, some executive or other higher-up at Nintendo dove into the multitude of factors that converged to make the Wii such a resounding success. Among the factors was the idea that motion—even at a minuscule level, like flicking one's wrist—was tied to the brain's production of dopamine. Pairing...
Review Sea Of Stars (Switch) - An Instant Classic, So Much More Than A Chrono Trigger Throwback
Your wish is granted
About five years ago, a no-name studio called Sabotage wowed audiences when it put out The Messenger, a creative and innovative action platformer that quickly set itself apart from the deluge of similar retro-flavored titles releasing in the indie space. Empowered by that game’s deserved success, the team then began work on...
Review Bomb Rush Cyberfunk (Switch) - Bleeding Cool Style But Always In Jet Set's Shadow
A turf battle against nostalgia
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is an immensely conflicting outing that capitalizes on nostalgia by drawing water from the same punk-as-hell city tap as Jet Set Radio. Sometimes the cup runs over. Others, rusted pipes bleed into the water, poisoning the experience. Jet Set Radio casts a low-poly shadow over any game about street...
Review Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate (Switch) - Chess With Guns? Definitely Worth A Shot
"We will send unto them... only you"
Chess is one of the most ancient games in existence, and while we continue to eagerly await the fabled release of the completely real Chess 2, it can be fun to see how modern game makers choose to iterate on the classic design. In Shotgun King, the latest release from Headbang Club and developer Punkcake...
Mini Review Xtreme Sports - A Switch Return For Some Gnarly But Limited GBC Minigames
California dreaming
2D sports titles have had their place since Konami’s Track & Field rattled arcade screws loose with its fiercely competitive button rapping. WayForward’s Xtreme Sports draws influence from California Games, a summery seaside boardwalk of hip events and addictive tap-a-thons. You have two characters to choose from, dude or...
Review Red Dead Redemption - A Fine But No-Frills Switch Port, For A Fistful Of Dollars
For a few dollars more
Cast your tired minds all the way back through the mists of time to the year 2010. It was a truly great 12 months for video games, with the likes of Super Mario Galaxy 2, the best Mass Effect – AKA Mass Effect 2 – and the juggernaut that is Xenoblade Chronicles all arriving on the scene. It was also the year that David...
Review Blasphemous 2 (Switch) - Bloody, Brutal, And Even More Brilliant Than Its Predecessor
A right rollicking resurrection
We're big fans of 2019's Blasphemous, The Game Kitchen's exquisitely dark and gory action-platformer that saw players assume the role of The Penitent One as he faced off against the eternally damned Denizens of Cvstodia. With top-notch hack-and-slash action, grotesque bosses, an intricately animated pixel art style...
Review The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood (Switch) - A Bewitching Narrative Deckbuilder
Shuffle the hand of Fate
Note: The review text below makes only very brief mention of this game's heavy themes without going into detail, but please note that this game contains references to suicide and self-harm. The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is the latest gem from Deconstructeam (The Red Strings Club) and it’s a spellbinding narrative...
Review Vampire Survivors (Switch) - Kiss Healthy Sleep Goodbye With This Must-Play Roguelike
Something to sink your teeth into
Vampire Survivors is a singular game. Kind of a roguelike, kind of an arcade game, kind of a bullet hell, but at the same time nothing like what you probably think of when those genres come to mind. After all, there's a reason it captured the hearts and minds of gamers and won handfuls of awards on other platforms...
Mini Review Flutter Away (Switch) - An Ephemeral Indie With A Dash Of Pokémon Snap
Flutter bye
Over the past few years, there’s been a rise in ‘cozy’ games popping up in the indie space, offering an alternative to the typically achievement-based design of pretty much everything else. While these games do require a different mindset due to their generally short nature and simplistic gameplay, there’s something to be said...
Review Moving Out 2 (Switch) - More Creative Couch-Throwing From Your Favourite F.A.R.T.s
#VanLife
Moving Out built a solid foundation with its barmy physics and multiplayer teamwork. While the original co-op moving sim had huge potential, like an empty house awaiting its owner’s belongings, a renovation was clearly in order for players to truly feel at home. Fortunately, SMG’s sequel has stepped up the Packmore property ladder, its...
Hell Wing
M2’s garage doors are open for business again, continuing to pay homage, and in fastidious attention to detail, to the shoot 'em ups of yesteryear. Zero Fire, a portmanteau of collected titles Zero Wing (1989) and Hellfire (1989) represents Toaplan during the height of its glorious arcade tenure. Although released just four months...
Review Quake II (Switch) - Another Truly Outstanding Remaster Of An FPS Icon
Can't find a Bitterman
Look, we already went and slapped a big fat 10/10 on Quake Remastered when it dropped almost exactly two years ago, calling it “a stellar port of one gaming's true greats and an essential addition to your Switch library.” So what on Stroggos are we meant to say about this absolutely cracking remaster of its absolutely...
Mini Review Marble It Up! Ultra (Switch) - A Fun Spin On A Super Monkey Ball-Style Platformer
Roll 'em
Marble It Up! spun onto our Switch screens back in 2018, and the updated
Mini Review Koa And The Five Pirates Of Mara (Switch) - A Cute Island-Hopping Platformer
A Koality sequel
Back in 2020, Chibig released Summer in Mara, a slice-of-life farm sim game set in a tropical world and… well, for our money, it really wasn’t very good. It evidently sold well enough for Chibig to justify continuing the IP, but rather than make a sequel that built on the strengths and fixed the flaws of the original, the studio...
Review Legend Bowl (Switch) - Shows A Love Of Football But Falls Short Of A First Down
A game of inches
While the Nintendo Switch doesn't get graced with all of the major sports titles, or occasionally gets extremely underwhelming / feature-lite versions, it's not lacking for smaller indie takes that are full of heart. The little system has a lot of little sports games, and one that shows plenty of ambition is the latest take on...
Review Pokémon Stadium 2 - A Sequel Of Gold (& Silver) Standard
Second gen magic
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival in the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack N64 library. After all the groundbreaking success that Pokémon's first generation had, it would've only been wise for the powers that be to capitalise on the franchise. How was...
Review Pokémon Trading Card Game - A Cracking Adaptation That Still Holds Up
A rare source of fun or just an uncommon?
This review originally went live in 2014, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival in the Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy / Game Boy Color library. It’s almost surreal nowadays to think that there was ever a time when portable gaming didn’t have Pokémon. When Red and Blue...
Review Adore (Switch) - Thrilling Monster-Catching Combat, But Switch Performance Falters
Quite the catch
Pokémon made waves when it debuted on the Game Boy back in the '90s, introducing audiences to a new type of RPG that went on to become a global phenomenon. Since then, many have tried and failed to capture that same kind of experience, though it seems there’s been a renewed push in the last few years for indie developers to try...
Review Tiny Thor (Switch) - A Neo-Retro Delight That Feels Like A Lost Genesis Game
"Are you tiny Thor, god of tiny hammers?"
Tiny Thor from Asylum Square has been a long time coming. After one of its lead developers came up with a rough cut of its concept in a 48-hour game jam in 2012, its development proceeded in fits and starts for a little over a decade before it finally saw release this past June. Games that spend that long in...
Review Venba (Switch) – A Narrative Cooking Game That Goes Down A Treat
A stirring story
Here’s a recipe for a good game: a meaty cross-cultural story, a dash of delicious food, and a dollop of fun, cosy gameplay. Those are the ingredients of Venba, and mixed together – and topped with a reference to Ratatouille – they form a wonderful narrative-led game that had us wanting seconds. Visai Studios has dished up a...
Review The Legend Of Zelda: Oracle Of Ages - An Engrossing Tale And True Series Classic
A song for the ages
This review originally went live in 2013, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival in the Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy / Game Boy Color library. Ever since The Legend of Zelda released on the NES, Nintendo has played the franchise relatively close to its chest. Series creator Shigeru Miyamoto has had...
Review The Legend Of Zelda: Oracle Of Seasons - An Underappreciated Old-School Adventure
Battle seasoned
This review originally went live in 2013, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival in the Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy / Game Boy Color library. The combat of The Legend of Zelda series has seen several iterations over the decades. The classic top-down gameplay of the original was morphed into a faster,...
Review PixelJunk Scrappers Deluxe (Switch) - A Unique Brawler Littered With Multiplayer Greatness
Not exactly scrap
Q-Games’ PixelJunk series, essentially an umbrella name for their indie game output, is now in its second chapter. With little to no correlating factors, each game is largely a standalone work, with PixelJunk Racers, for example, being a Micro Machines-style overhead racing title, while PixelJunk Shooter is a subterranean search...
Review Disney Illusion Island (Switch) - Mickey Mouse's Metroidvania Is Magical
Hot dog!
Back in the days of the Sega Genesis, Disney games like Castle of Illusion and World of Illusion offered some of the best platforming action you could get your hands on that didn’t involve a very fast blue mammal. However, the Illusion series never continued beyond that console generation, and though Disney Illusion Island is technically...
Review Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise Of The Dragons (Switch) - Likeable, But Lacks Its Peers' Punch
Streetlight people
When violence is the core vice of most video games, and in the case of Mortal Kombat, viscerally so, it’s worth exploring how it translates to sensory player feedback. Double Dragon Gaiden works well in terms of negotiating increasingly difficult enemy gangs with creative use of your expanding moveset, but, while the series'...
