Alex Knight
Numizmatic has delivered a good entry into this genre with Light Fingers. They’ve managed to hit a sweet spot for a more medium-core digital table top game focused on local multiplayer, but I can’t help but feel there was a strong missed opportunity for a solo mode in the Board Campaign. Beyond that, the game has some areas that could use additional polish or more depth, but the Nintendo Switch is the perfect system for what they have created.
A Gummy’s Life fails to bring the gummy fiction to life on almost all counts apart from the characters. With no combat feedback and UI, punches and kicks felt non-impacting and lifeless in the physics brawling. While the game is fun for a few minutes at times, a lack of progression or goals keeps this title on a very short lifeline. The MSRP of $14.99 just feels too steep for this game’s offerings.
Think of the Children is a fun and frantic party game that delivers on its promise of parenting mayhem. I enjoyed the simplistic gameplay and objectives, but really struggled with the visual style, particularly in handheld mode. I would have also loved to have some options to make difficulty adjustments, but the game as it stands shines the best when played with others, though solo mode is still achievable.
Monster Loves You is a carefully crafted storybook experience that works splendidly with the Switch, allowing controller or touch screen interfacing. It’s one of those games that’s great to be played as a bedtime story for your kids, or just on your own as you please. There’s a lot of endings, with even more decision outcomes in the heart of the game. Watching your monster grow up is a clever story arc and one with a lot of fun to be read along the way. With the price point of $9.99 at the time of this writing, I’d equate this to picking up a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book. There’s a lot of enjoyable reading here for the value.
The Legend of Evil brings a creative and easily accessible single player Tower Defense game to the Nintendo Switch’s table. Gameplay is straightforward, but offers a lot of strategy as you progress.
Car Quest led on a promise of an epic adventure, but with highly monotonous gameplay, coupled with a visually dull world, and car handling that felt less like a sports car and more like a boat, there just were not enough redeeming features for me to say it’s worth $9.99. You’re better off not buying this car from the lot.
If you’re up for a slick local play arena shooter for your Switch, Varion comes to the table with prominent visuals and easy controls. However the core game mechanic of ricochet-only kills will definitely turn off some players, as it feels more luck-based than skill.
Party Hard is a controversial stealth slasher game that aesthetically shadows much of Hotline Miami. It finds some of its own identity in places, and tries hard not to take itself very seriously. You’ll get the gist of gameplay in the first couple of levels, and then it starts to feel like a monotonous grind.
Crimson Keep is a game that just doesn’t have the right focus on any area it aims for. It’s filled with roguelike mechanics that don’t really fit the genre in a meaningful manner, first person combat that’s partially broken and just clunky, and RPG lite elements that come off amateur and unbalanced. For any of these targeted genres, there are just better games out there on the Switch for this $19.99 asking price.
GREAT - Knights of Pen & Paper 2 Deluxiest Edition brings everything great about the series to the Nintendo Switch. Tongue-in-cheek humor is present every step of the way, and accessible gameplay with fun quests hold this game together wonderfully. Players will be delighted at how expandable this game can be with the amount of content that is offered using the in-game currency too. Some minor bugs and slight clunky controls aren't enough to mar the experience. I'd definitely consider this a staple game on my Nintendo Switch.
GOOD - Everything is an interpretive experience game, and one that’s quite hard to score, as so much of it will come down to personal engagement. The collection and exploration mechanics are well defined, and getting to hear some of Alan Watt’s speeches is a treat and further adds to the gravity of the game. For many, this will be too random of an experience, but I implore giving it a go as it’s a relaxing game to enjoy.
GOOD - Holy Potatoes! We’re in Space?! brings an easy to learn, but difficult to master turn-based strategy space game to the Nintendo Switch. It includes a quirky cast of vegetable-themed characters and plenty of puns to go with it. Gameplay can get repetitive as there isn’t a ton of depth, but this is mitigated by a slew of customization and upgrade options along with well-planned missions to create a solid experience.
MEDIOCRE - Bombfest is a physics-based brawler that, while visually cute, falls short of bringing much in the way of strategic gameplay, coming off far more random in outcomes than desired. There’s a lot of content that can be unlocked which is wonderful, but when it comes to new bombs, they just don’t stand out as meaningful, resulting in more of a bland execution than desired.
GREAT - Airheart delivers a reasonably balanced roguelike experience with a dieselpunk art style that looks great on the Nintendo Switch. Gameplay comes in the form of twin-stick arcade shooting & collecting, coupled with a trial & error crafting system that I found to be a bit annoying, but not enough to detract from the overall game. If you’re in the market for a thematically different roguelike, this game has a nicely structured game loop that delivers hours upon hours of fun.
GREAT - Glass Masquerade delivers an accessible, clever and elegant jigsaw puzzle experience with stunning art deco stained-glass pieces to be built. The game performs great on the Nintendo Switch utilizing both main control methods, and I only had one minor criticism of the gameplay. In the end, I’d love to see more content added to really bolster the lasting appeal for this game.
EXCELLENT - X-Morph: Defense brings a visually stunning and polished tower defense meets twin-stick shooter game to the Nintendo Switch. I loved the dynamic free-form tactics I was able to employ in every mission, and there’s just a lot of refined gameplay here. That coupled with so many visual effects happening in every battle, it created one of the most chaotically fun experiences I’ve had yet on this platform. For an MSRP of $19.99, I consider this a steal for an excellent game.
GOOD - Cinders is an interactive novel that retells the classic Cinderella story from a more mature perspective of each of the four women involved. Seemingly countless decisions, a variety of endings and a well-written story make up a solid foundation. Couple that with beautifully made 2D art scenes and well-planned mechanics in the game and Cinders comes out as strong game in this genre.
EXCELLENT - Swords & Soldiers 2 Shawarmageddon, while not being an entirely new game, does come to the Nintendo Switch with trusted pedigree. Tailored for the platform, and utilizing its local co-op play means this game is countless hours of fun with friends. Solo players need not worry, as the Campaign, AI versus modes, and Online offer a highly compelling gameplay experience chalked full of strategy, great cartoon stylization, and humorous puns and writing around every corner.
WORTH CONSIDERING - Golf Peaks blends logic-based puzzle gameplay with golfing aesthetics for the visual presentation. The game is neither a great golfing game, or really a challenging puzzle game as most of the levels are fairly easy and straightforward to solve, and the sport serves primarily as just window dressing. That doesn’t mean to say that the overall experience still isn’t polished and fun. Golf Peaks lands on the Nintendo Switch for a meager $4.99, and for that you’ll get a few hours of relaxed puzzle fun. It’s a decent alternative to hitting the real links on a given Sunday afternoon.
MEDIOCRE - Ultrawings ports over a VR flight game to the Nintendo Switch. Unfortunately the developers didn’t tweak the controls to fit the platform, so there are some odd gameplay elements. A lack of a map means you’ll really have to enjoy your time flying over large swaths of water to reach possible destinations. Only a few event types means a redundant experience pretty early on. Flying felt good and respective of the different aircraft, but with only 4 total planes to use and lengthy unlock requirements to get them, there’s just not the right balance to make this games soar.