Mitch has been a fan of Nintendo ever since he got his start on the GBA in 2005. When he's not busy playing games or writing, you can find him down at his local MMA training facility learning how to punish the unrighteous.
Review Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed (Switch) - A Lick Of Paint Works Wonders
Hot dog!
Back in the days of the Wii, one of the more interesting and bizarre major third-party releases was Epic Mickey, a project headed by Warren Spector—the renowned creator of the Deus Ex franchise. This 3D platformer placed the famed mouse in an unusually dark premise that presented him with various moral dilemmas, and though it had its...
Review Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines (Switch) - A Purebreed Platformer & Fantastic Follow-Up
Old dog, new tricks
A couple years ago, a small studio called Medallion Games released a cute platformer called Grapple Dog, which as you could probably guess, is a platformer about a dog with a grappling hook. The simple premise played host to an impressively well-made and enjoyable adventure that felt like a meaningful homage to — and evolution...
Review Pizza Tower (Switch) - An Ingenious Platformer That Beats Wario At His Own Game
Wario would be proud
Nintendo’s Wario Land series has always occupied a unique niche in the company’s extensive catalogue with its weird humour and unconventional approach to platforming tropes, which is why fans have been greatly let down by the fact that there hasn’t been a new entry in over 15 years. To fill the gap, an indie team called...
Review Gundam Breaker 4 (Switch) - A Return To Form That Focuses On The Series' Strengths
Breaking free
In many ways, Gundam Breaker 4 represents a fresh start for Bandai Namco’s mecha action series. Not only is this a return to the roots after the divisive New Gundam Breaker didn’t go over so well with the fanbase, but this marks the first time that the mainline series has come to either the Nintendo Switch or Western audiences...
Review Shadow Of The Ninja - Reborn (Switch) - A Beautiful, Brutal Return To 8-Bit Basics
Stepping out of the shadow
Though Ninja Gaiden occupied the spotlight on the NES back in the day, there was another similar ninja action game called Shadow of the Ninja which proved to be just about as good and featured two-player co-op. Due to publisher issues, a planned Game Boy version was repurposed as a Ninja Gaiden prequel and a sequel was...
Review Bakeru (Switch) - Good-Feel's Carefree Platformer For Goemon Lovers Makes It To The West
Go, ninja, go!
Editor’s note: The text below was originally published in January 2024 as an import review of Otogi Katsugeki Mameda no Bakeru: Oracle Saitarou no Sainan!!, which launched in Japan in 2023. To coincide with the Western release of Bakeru on 3rd September 2024, we’re republishing our review with added impressions of the localized...
Feature New Attacks, More Speed, Bigger Challenge - Good-Feel On Bringing 'BAKERU' To The West
"We've made adjustments to improve the overall gameplay experience"
Some of you may have seen earlier this week that BAKERU, the previously Japan-only 3D action platformer from Good-Feel, was announced to be coming to Western shores for a fresh English release in just a few short weeks. We loved the original Japanese release, and in anticipation of...
Review One Piece Odyssey (Switch) - A Safe But Solid Caper For The Straw Hats
Here be dragons
A couple of years ago, it was notable when the Switch remakes of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl were developed not in-house by Game Freak, but by a smaller Japanese support studio called ILCA. That remake project was actually ILCA’s first crack at being the lead developer on a game, and it soon followed this up early last year with One...
Review The New Denpa Men (Switch) - A Simple, Goofy RPG With The Usual F2P Irritations
A winner is you
Back in the days of the Nintendo 3DS eShop, some of you may remember the Denpa Men trilogy, which offered a series of cheap and approachable RPG adventures that felt like a great fit for the portable. However, there was a fourth title released only in Japan in 2014 which experimented with a free-to-play structure that proved...
Review SCHiM (Switch) - A Chill, Shadow-Hopping Platformer That Prioritises Aesthetics
It's Frogger, but emotional
Though 3D platformers often go down the collectathon route to varying success, it can be interesting to see new entries in the genre try something a little different. SCHiM is one such fresh title, eschewing a focus on cartoonish characters, wacky levels, and mountains of things to grab in favor of a semi-narratively...
Review Darkest Dungeon II (Switch) - An Uncompromising Sequel That Isn't Afraid To Try New Things
Prepare to die
Upon booting it up for the very first time, Darkest Dungeon 2 greets you with a message that plainly informs you that you’re going to fail… a lot… while trying to overcome its many challenges. It does this not to discourage you, but to set expectations. Keeping with the precedent set by the first Darkest Dungeon, this sequel is...
Review Frogun Encore (Switch) - A Sure-Footed 3D Platforming Throwback
A ribbiting new adventure
Though the heyday of the 3D platformer is long past, modern indie developers have done a pretty good job of keeping the spirit alive through dedicated efforts in titles such as Lunistice, Mail Mole, Cavern of Dreams, and Demon Turf. Frogun was another decent new entry to the genre back in 2022 and now the developers at Top...
Dawn of a new day
To someone who isn’t an avid fan, the Legend of Heroes series can seem a little difficult to break into. The dozen or so games released over the past two decades are spread across four distinct arcs that all collectively built out one of the most detailed and tightly interconnected universes in all of gaming, one which is still...
Review Dicefolk (Switch) - An Incredibly Fresh-Feeling, Monster-Catching Roguelite
Want to be the very best, like no one ever was?
These days, roguelites and deckbuilders are a dime a dozen, but it seems like developers are finding ways to get creative with the genre mechanics to produce something that sticks out from the glut of releases these past several years. Dicefolk offers one such creative take on the roguelite formula,...
Review Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance (Switch) - Even Better Than The Stellar Original
Another HEE-HOme Run
It’s been nearly three years now since the launch of the original Shin Megami Tensei V and as is tradition at Atlus, the obligatory enhanced re-release (complete with a new storyline centered around a new girl) has now come to all modern platforms in the form of Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. Boasting a full-length,...
Review Picross S Namco Legendary Edition (Switch) - Picross Gets Pac-Man Fever
A nest of Namco nonograms
It’s been rough out there for poor Picross fans during this generation, as they’ve been cruelly starved for content with only 23 game releases on Switch (if you count the 'e' series) that offer up a paltry sum of over 5,000 puzzles to solve. Those puzzles aren’t even all original either—if you really want to be...
Review Paper Trail (Switch) - A Storybook Puzzler That Folds Up Beautifully
Turn the Paige
Though plenty of Paper Mario fans are eagerly awaiting the return of one of the greatest games in the series at the time of writing, there’s another new game set in a papery world that we’d suggest you pay attention to. Newfangled Games’ Paper Trail is the debut release of the boutique London-based studio, and its smart mixture...
Review Slayers X (Switch) - A Fun But Basic Boomer Shooter That Lacks An X Factor
The video game equivalent of Limp Bizkit
Fans of unconventional narrative-driven games may be familiar with Hypnospace Outlaw, a cool project from a few years ago that aimed to simulate an alternate take on the social environment of the late '90s internet. Though Hypnospace Outlaw will be receiving a proper sequel with the upcoming Dreamsettler,...
Review Megaton Musashi W: Wired (Switch) - Good Old-Fashioned Mech-Battling Fun
Level-5 is back!
In late 2020, Level-5 shuttered its operations in the West and effectively ended its business outside of Japan, leaving Western fans of franchises such as Yo-Kai Watch and Professor Layton wondering if they would ever see English versions of new entries in their favorite series. Fortunately, the company has since reinvigorated its...
Review Corn Kidz 64 (Switch) - A 64-Bit Throwback That Nails The Retro Vibe
Truly goated
Though the peak years of the 3D platformer genre were in the late '90s and early 2000s, there’s been a bit of a resurgence in interesting new genre entries in recent years. Titles such as Glyph and Lunistice have shown that smaller platforming projects can be just as compelling as the more well-known examples, and now we have...
Review Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes (Switch) - An Immersive JRPG With Some Real Problems
The wait is over
The PS1 played host to a staggering number of memorable and influential RPGs, one of which was Konami’s Suikoden. After that strong debut came a handful of sequels that eventually puttered out during the sixth generation of consoles, and Konami has virtually abandoned the series since. Not ones to be stifled, some key members of...
Mini Review The Gap (Switch) - A Bit Basic, But Still A Gripping Narrative Mystery
"One must have good memory to keep the promises one makes"
Following a mysterious 'walking sim' path similar to those trodden by The Stanley Parable and What Remains of Edith Finch, Slovenian developer Label This' debut game, The Gap, doesn’t necessarily feel like anything revolutionary, but it’s an engaging narrative experience that we’d...
Review Freedom Planet 2 (Switch) - A Sonic-Style Platformer Exuding Passion & Quality
He better watch out
Back in 2014, a team of new developers calling themselves GalaxyTrail released Freedom Planet—a retro style platformer that captured the hearts of many classic-era Sonic the Hedgehog fans. Freedom Planet, in fact, started life as a Sonic fan game, though it established a unique identity for itself as development wore on, and...
Review Pepper Grinder (Switch) - A Cracking Platformer That Drills Down & Strikes Gold
All driller, no filler
Way back in the ancient days when the Game Boy Advance was Nintendo’s main handheld, Game Freak (yes, the Pokémon people) released a creative little platformer called Drill Dozer. Placing you in the role of a slightly crazed girl who tears through stages and foes alike with a powerful drill, it quickly established itself as...
