Buttons and Mash's Reviews
Light Fall is a solid puzzle platformer with a fantastic sense of speed and precise platforming movement complementing it. This fluidity translates through the game and aids in creating a shorter experience with plenty of collectables and hidden secrets along the way. The art and music are both impeccable in cultivating a melancholic atmosphere but the story sadly doesn’t live up to those heights. Light Fall is also brought down by its overly interspersed checkpoints, which escalates the difficulty, and a poorly designed final boss fight. However, Light Fall is a steady addition to the platforming genre that never outstays its welcome but is nothing special, when compared to its counterparts.
This might easily be one of the most absurd titles on the Switch thus far but by balancing platforming physics puzzles with intense first-person arcade action, Clustertruck is highly recommended.
Last Day of June is an ambitious title that tackles the long-established question of whether changing events can prevent a tragedy. The execution of the art direction and narrative is immaculate and genuinely immerses you into the game and its character. However, it is sadly brought down by the gameplay loop and its repetitive nature. At first, the idea sounds and plays interestingly but ends up weakening the impact of June’s death and the drive to reverse it.
Flinthook is a fantastic action platformer with a brilliant grappling mechanic, charming aesthetic, easy to pick up gameplay and one of the most polished roguelites to date.
Typoman on paper is a fantastic idea for a platformer that doesn’t execute its concept as well it should have. I loved the use of letters in the environments and puzzles with some sensational solutions to come across along the adventure. However, HERO doesn’t feel fluid enough to control, which really brought down the platforming segments. The pacing and unresponsive controls led to constant frustration when dealing with certain puzzles, which were further emphasized in areas that required rapid movement.
Due to the short duration and lack of replayability, it's definitely a hard sell but it is highly recommended for people looking for a serene adventure with beautiful moments.
Through its use of well-written, relatable dialogue, Night in the Woods is able to go from ridiculous shenanigans to heart-wrenching moments, while capturing the fears and insecurities of growing into adulthood.
The Darkside Detective was a brilliant surprise and a fantastic point and click adventure title. I loved the entertaining cases in this fantastical world with an eccentric cast of supporting characters. The whole package came together brilliantly with some vividly use of 2D pixel art and a great soundtrack.
Tales of the Tiny Planet is a fantastic puzzle title with a unique simple control system. Early levels tended to be quite effortless while the most fun from this title arose in the final worlds with some wonderfully advanced use of the mechanics at play. The whole package comes together brilliantly with a charming art style and music. However, with a short overall length and lack of replay value, the high price point feels unwarranted and is a hard recommendation at this moment in time.
Pic-a-Pix Deluxe was a fun nonogram puzzle game for fans of the genre, looking for more after finishing Picross S (like myself). The puzzles are solid with some nice variation to the formula with the use of colour but it is brought down by the basic presentation found throughout the game. Crashing issues were a shame that I never really expected and actually disappointed me for making their way into the game. If you’re looking for more puzzles, you don’t have many other options but if you’re a newcomer, I would advise checking out the much more polished Picross S.
Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is a fun action puzzle platformer that is sadly hampered by an awful port. The puzzles are brilliant, especially with the magic marker mechanic, with some great chase sequences to space them out. Brilliant pacing means you’ll move from through fantastical environments constantly in this six-hour campaign, which is brought down by the lower resolution and performance.
Enter the Gungeon is a magnificent accomplishment in being able to merge an assortment of different things and excels in creating its own distinct package. If you’re a fan of either roguelikes, bullet hells, twin stick shooters or none of them like myself, you owe it to yourself to play this game. Due to how many guns, enemies and abilities to encounter, there are countless hours of gameplay and I look forward to jumping into the Gungeon every now and them for years to come.