Nindie Spotlight
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While I've played indie games with a pretty wide variety of styles and levels of quality since the launch of the Switch I can't say any of them has defied easy explanation as much as Disco Elysium for me...
Possibly one of the best games to challenge and entertain determined groups either locally or online in this generation, Overcooked started strong and at this point where they've brought everything together into one package it's tough not to be impressed...
At long last the conversion of DOOM: Eternal has made its way to Switch to satisfy your itchy trigger finger and much like the last DOOM... it's pretty hard to believe this game is running (well) on a console you can take anywhere...
A creative take on a puzzle platforming adventure that’s challenging but fair, and has plenty of secrets to discover along the way
With its low-poly look coming straight out of classic Sega arcade titles like Daytona Racing we have Hotshot Racing, and while it may not have incredible depth or nuance damn if it isn’t a whole lotta fun...
Bless the indie devs that are determined to just completely go off in left field and do something unique...
Bless indie developers and their ability to come up with weird concepts for gameplay that you probably never considered but upon seeing them are easily attracted to...
I attempted to keep everything roughly as vague as possible in the review because I think one of the greatest things for me about the game was coming into it having know very little. This allowed the game to feel a little more magical to me rather than as a chain of expected events and tools to be found. If you enjoy creative and sometimes challenging platforming with a bits of puzzles thrown in Teslagrad is a game to be savored, and stands out as something a bit special among its peers.
Between the somewhat different way that its story and details reveal themselves, the terrific music and visuals, and the custom-catered abilities you’ll use in challenging combat Transistor is a satisfying cyberpunk romp. No matter how powerful you may feel the Process continues to send new enemies and scenarios at you so you’ll need to experiment and adapt, keeping everything engaging throughout. While the story feels like it’s over a bit too soon it’s a satisfying ride and if you want even more challenging combat you then always have the Sandbox and New Game + to indulge in.
In the end if you’ve been itching for a game that mixes top-down adventure with challenging combat and secrets to discover pretty well all around you Hyper Light Drifter is a very appealing package. The added Switch content is a terrific touch worth the trouble to try to take advantage of as it will make finding those critical elements that will help you on your way a little easier. There’s simply nothing quite like it on the platform and it’s well worth your time if you’re up to the challenge.
Overall Wulverblade is an absolute masterpiece of a game and for people who have been bemoaning the lack of quality beat-em-ups available it should provide many hours of meaty combat and carnage. To enjoy it you’ll need to overcome falling into old and sloppy habits and learn to work with all of the moves and nuance made available to you. Your reward will be a very viscerally satisfying and overall bloody good time, with some crazy surprises you won’t want to miss out on!
No matter how you may choose to play it I think Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime has a lot going for it both in terms of challenges and fun. Whether you need to exercise your ability to maintain strong team dynamics or to figure out the best strategies for you and your AI pet to be the most successful there are opportunities for both success and failure everywhere. Whether it is trying to get things right the first time by the seat of your pants or failing, regrouping, and coming back with an even better plan of attack there aren’t pressing stakes to worry about. You’re just trying to have fun with the situation being presented to you and to make the most of it. I think it is the light-hearted nature of Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime I like the most and though it probably better realizes its potential the more people you have to play it with there’s still a satisfying experience to be had alone if that’s how you roll as well. Recommended!
As a whole Enter the Gungeon is every bit a best-in-class roguelike shooter on the Switch. Not only is the core gameplay wonderfully intense yet tightly controlled but touches like a well-implemented teleportation system in the map prevent your adrenaline levels to have a chance to subside. The bosses all have their own feel and most have quite a personality to go with their toughness. All things considered if you’re a roguelike shooter fan in the least you would be doing yourself a great disservice not giving Gungeon a spin.
While all of the Party Packs have been a load of fun I’d say it is truly a close horse race between Party Packs 2 and 3 for the title of best overall. While I’d thought I’d have given Party Pack 3 the edge before I’d played the entire collection in 2 I’m now thinking that Party Pack 2 may be the best by a nose. While tastes will vary depending on who you are or who you play with I don’t really think there are any outright clunkers in this Pack, though perhaps Bidiots isn’t as fun as I would have liked and Bomb Corp. won’t be a winner for all groups. In the end I’m actually very impressed with them all, would recommend each one of them, and think you’ll need to carefully review the specifics about the games included in each Pack to make the best determination for yourself and your group.
Stardust Galaxy Warriors describes itself as combining shmup and brawler gameplay elements and as unusual a claim as that may be on its face it’s oddly accurate. Between the way the waves of enemies progress and just the overall variety in what you’ll face this doesn’t have a an almost puzzle-like bullet hell feel, though especially in the Campaign’s latter stages you’ll be doing plenty of careful dodging if you expect to complete it. Instead, you’ll tend to open up with a number of waves of enemies (ones that vary wildly by stage, often requiring different approaches to take down), a mid phase where it’s not unusual to face some more formidable enemies, and then a third where you’ll face one of the game’s pretty diverse bosses. Overall, Stardust Galaxy Warriors is just a huge breath of fresh air and easily one of the top shooters on the system. If you’re looking for variety in your challenge, something you can enjoy with some friends, and an ability to configure both your challenges and your gear to suit your mood there’s really no better choice on the Switch.
I’ve actually been enjoying Neon Chrome for quite some time on the PC and am thrilled that it has finally made its way to the Switch, even moreso that it has come over quite flawlessly. Beating the Overseer is no easy feat but what I love the most about the game is that it continues to scale itself up even past that initial victory and you’ll be able to continue to test your skills and your load outs against consistently formidable resistance. In some ways it is when all of the skill options are finally available to you that the game most comes to life, throwing exciting challenges at you and demanding that you give it your full attention to persevere. While I’ve played many roguelike shooters and enjoy them all I hold Neon Chrome up as one of my absolute favorites for multiple reasons.
In the end I had an absolute blast with Slayaway Camp and would heartily recommend it to anyone who is either a fan of great puzzle games or 80s horror movies… if you like both you’re truly in for a treat. The violence in voxel form is utterly comical, the callbacks to horror icons and some of their great kills are wonderful, and the puzzles themselves are thoroughly challenging. Since it also includes every bit of content released for the game to date, all in one, on every level it is a killer deal.
If you’re a big run-and-gun fan there are very few titles on the platform that I hold in as high regard as Bleed 2. The action is intense, character movement is fluid, and there’s something new thrown at you at every turn. Perhaps more critically with multiple skill levels and a pretty lenient continue system the game is also surprisingly fair, and thus accessible, to gamers of just about any skill level. That isn’t to say beating the game on Easy is a cakewalk, you’ll still need to earn it, but with so many games that default only to brutal it is great to see a game that scales down effectively.
While the point-and-click adventure genre flagged and faltered a while back I think it coming back more “lean and mean” in indie form is probably the best way for it to find success again. Thimbleweed Park is simply an excellent game and puts the genre’s best foot forward to help find a new generation of fans. With so many great games on the Switch that ramp up the challenge and tension it is a great move in the opposite direction, providing an experience that you can take your time to walk through and savor… while giggling along the way.
The Switch has been blessed very early on with what is now beginning to take shape as a diverse collection of rogue-likes. While it opened with the well-known Isaac, bringing the rogue shooter to the table, it then veered off into the strategic lane-based challenge of Has-Been Heroes. Tumbleseed goes completely off the board and brings its own unique vision to what a rogue-like can be with an adventure game of sorts, though in general the game feels very much like its own thing and is difficult to put in any known box. I was enthusiastic about the possibilities it could have from the moment it was first shown and having sunk many hours into the game now I have to say I'm thoroughly impressed with the result and, especially at its very reasonable price point, would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a challenge for their mind and reflexes.