Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - mitchellparton

Pages: [1]
1
TalkBack / Rad (Switch) Review
« on: September 02, 2019, 01:27:36 PM »

Forget post-apocalyptic games. This one’s double post-apocalyptic. (it’s also rad)

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/51597/rad-switch-review

Rad, the latest roguelike from Double Fine Productions and Bandai Namco, follows a group of teens who live in a world ravaged by not just one, but two apocalypses. You control one of the civilization’s remaining teens on a quest to find a new source of power for civilization to rely on. As it is set after this bizarre double-apocalypse scenario, the procedurally-generated wasteland you explore is ravaged with radioactivity. This is where the otherwise-typical roguelike gameplay gets interesting. Your character starts with just a bat to fight with, but mutates over time, gaining abilities and other powers to destroy mutants that come along the way.

Mutations with attack powers range from typical video game power-ups, like fire power, to the freakishly weird ability to throw your head off of your body. Other mutations can help you out with qualities such as stamina, health or damage bonuses. There’s enough of these to the point where you’ll never know what you’ll get on each run and it creates a variety in play you don’t always see in this genre.

The combat is addictive, and its fast-paced nature gradually becomes more difficult. You’ll find different challenges as your move set transforms, making certain situations easier while others stay just as hard. I would constantly pray to get one of the long-range abilities as these do wonders for getting me through most baddies, but they don’t detract from the challenge.

Rad plays smoothly but doesn’t run perfectly on the Switch. Loading screens are fast for a roguelike with the longest being no more than 20 seconds. Jumping feels delayed, yet using mutation abilities don’t, so this could just be a design decision. I’m not sure if this is the same on other platforms. The most obvious setback you’ll see on the Switch version is in the visuals; they’re especially blurry and pixelated in every scenario, far more so in handheld mode than while docked.

The art style merges a 3D environment with a comic book-like style and is pleasing to the eye, even with the graphical setbacks of this version. The hardcore electronic soundtrack never gets boring and keeps the energy up throughout.

You’ll want to check out Rad for its unique concept, addicting gameplay and beautiful style, you just may want to consider it on a different console. The Switch version has too many aesthetical issues for me to feel confident that it represents its true potential. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t — it still plays great and personally, I’m going to keep perfecting my runs to, maybe eventually, become rad.


2
TalkBack / Vectronom (Switch) Review
« on: July 16, 2019, 12:29:40 PM »

A sensory delight of a puzzle platformer that’s equally satisfying at every hop.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/51139/vectronom-switch-review

When I first watched gameplay footage of Vectronom, I was skeptical. For whatever reason, the minimalist visual style seemed intimidating. When looking at the generic cube character jumping around a rapidly-changing puzzle stage, I was reminded of those crude “World’s Hardest Game” Flash games from more than a decade ago that took seemingly a lifetime’s worth of practice and memorization to get through.

I was wrong about Vectronom. This geniusly designed puzzle platformer focuses on rapidly introducing a wide variety of situations in a way that feels more rewarding than frustrating. The gameplay concept is simple: you’re a cube and you hop around on other cubes that change or disappear with each beat of the soundtrack. I expected memorization to be the key to getting through each level, but found that scoping out the pattern to be more important. For example, I would find that getting through a stage is as easy as a repeating directional button pattern, or that on another stage, the holes in one structure would become blocks I could jump on during the next beat. The joy of Vectronom for me was discovering these patterns and using them to my advantage.

Even though the visuals are nearly as minimalistic as they could get, they are far from monotonous. Each level uses a different color scheme that totally changes on each beat, which is entrancing and insanely cool, although I could see this making someone dizzy after playing for too long. Nevertheless, this art style bleeds with personality and even contributes to the gameplay, as it accentuates each beat using color very clearly.

The soundtrack features unique electronic music for every stage, and because each stage can be as quick as a few seconds long, that’s impressive. The punchy bass makes each beat very clear, which helps with the rhythm-centric gameplay. Playing without audio if needed should be fine, because the visuals also accent each beat, but having the music as loud as possible definitely helped me out in feeling how each level’s pattern worked.

The only downside of Vectronom is that it should only take a few hours to complete. Each beat of this experience is so jam-packed and the gameplay concepts switch up so frequently that I would love each one to be explored more. Don’t let that stop you from exploring what’s here, though — this gem is a design feat and one of the most delightful platforming games I’ve ever played.


3
TalkBack / This Could Be the Nintendo Switch Mini
« on: June 18, 2019, 12:36:57 PM »

Surprise, surprise: It looks like a Nintendo Switch but... smaller. And with a D-pad.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rumor/50896/this-could-be-the-nintendo-switch-mini

A Chinese company has posted a series of accessories on their webpage that appear to be for the unannounced Nintendo Switch Mini.

Twitter user @Cptn_Alex posted the following tweet Tuesday morning, which says that he received an email from a company claiming to sell Nintendo Switch Mini accessories, including carrying cases and screen protectors.

The product pages are still active on Honson's website at time of writing. Screenshots posted on the storefront show images of a smaller Switch sporting a D-pad along with built-in control sticks and buttons. The bottom of the device appears to still have the same connectors as its bigger brother that would connect the device to a dock.

Twitter user @ZhugeEX responded to the post, mentioning that Chinese companies frequently make posts like this with their own renderings of unannounced products.


4
TalkBack / Team Sonic Racing (Switch) Review
« on: May 27, 2019, 02:27:17 PM »

Team up and race with your friends at the speed of sound.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/50587/team-sonic-racing-switch-review

As a massive fan of kart racers, there haven’t been many options to choose from on the Switch so far besides Nintendo’s flagship series. Team Sonic Racing finally gives the plumber and crew a run for their money with exciting racing and creative team elements that keep it from being just an impersonation of the classic Mario Kart formula.

Unlike the last few Sonic Racing titles, Team Sonic Racing doesn’t include the entire Sega universe of characters but instead focuses on Sonic and his friends. The Team Adventure mode frames grand prixs, versus races, time trials, and other challenges around a light story in which the Sonic crew is challenged to compete in team races by an alien king. You’re not tied to a specific character or difficulty level when you start the adventure mode, which provides flexibility if you end up struggling with a course.

All of the characters have dialogue during the story itself and also during races. I thought it would be annoying at first to constantly hear my character talking while I’m trying to focus on the race, but there are enough unique phrases and interactions that it never gets too repetitive, and it’s actually quite charming. Big the Cat is my absolute favorite of the bunch with his innocent and childlike sayings that tend to have nothing to do with the race itself.

Staying loyal to its title, Team Sonic Racing’s gameplay puts a strong emphasis both on elements that keep each team of three players together, and of course, speed. When a player gains a lead over their teammates, they create a yellow boost track behind them that only stops when they fall behind the rest of the team. Even if you’re several places behind, this massive speed boost ensures that you catch up in just a few seconds. The ability to share item blocks with struggling teammates can also bring your group together, as long as you’re feeling charitable. Using the team features gives you the additional advantage of a Team Ultimate later in the race which gives you a substantial temporary boost and invincibility. As they give you lots more to think about and consider while playing, all the team elements make Team Sonic Racing more complex and interesting than the typical kart racer.

The tracks echo styles and locations from classic Sonic zones, like casinos, beaches, and jungles. Every level has a variety of track styles, enemies, and background elements. The layouts of the maps themselves are well-suited for the blazing speed of expert mode with long stretches of track giving you the ability to focus on the race, but things are still kept interesting with loops and tunnels.  Even on the fastest speed and in split-screen local multiplayer the frame rate stays consistent, despite running at 30 FPS compared to the smooth 60 FPS found on other platforms. Once I got over the initial frustration of the lower frame rate, I quickly became intrigued by the snappy feel of the racing gameplay itself.

You can customize each character’s kart in the garage, but you need to earn coins to unlock Mod Pods, which each give you a random car element. I would prefer a more straightforward way to get the styles and parts that I want without playing the lottery element, but I do appreciate how many options there are to trick out every vehicle. Car parts change the speed and acceleration as well as other qualities of the vehicle’s performance, but the characters and vehicles themselves don’t feel too different from each other.

The online functionality is limited but works smoothly. You can play in teams or alone, like any other racer, but I vastly prefer the fun of the team features. You can open up custom lobbies with friends, but not public lobbies with strangers. In general, beside the adventure as well as basic races and time trials, I would have liked to see more modes for both single player and multiplayer, on and offline.

The soundtrack by Sonic Generations composer Jen Senoue is the highlight of the experience. Each track has the sassiness and excitement that you would expect from any Sonic soundtrack, plus callbacks to many of the iconic songs from the series’ past. The addition of driving songs from electronic and rock bands like Hyper Potion and Crush 40 completes the perfect racing accompaniment.

Team Sonic Racing is the perfect addition to the Switch’s kart racing lineup. It’s a fast and exciting roller coaster of a racer with the style and spunk you’d expect from the Sonic series. While it doesn’t perform on the Switch as well as on other consoles, that doesn’t change the fun of speeding through this iconic universe.


5
TalkBack / Venture Kid (Switch) Review
« on: May 13, 2019, 01:53:27 PM »

It looks like Mega Man. It sounds like Mega Man. It’s not quite Mega Man.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/50496/venture-kid-switch-review

When you first take a look at even just a screenshot of action-platformer Venture Kid, you’ll immediately know where this retro platformer got its inspiration. This is a blue bomber clone, through and through. While developer Snikkabo nailed Mega Man’s classic music and visuals, this new Switch release doesn’t quite have any moments or elements that strike me as unique compared to just picking up a collection of six games from the series it clearly took so many ideas from.

In such a crowded genre, Venture Kid would fare much better if it created its own visual language rather than doing what’s been done before in so many other games. The sprites appear quite large on a TV and even on the Switch’s handheld screen. I would definitely rather have more on the screen than a close up view to provide more context of what is coming up in the stage.

I was able to fly through each level fairly quickly. Protagonist Andy has a higher jump than I would expect with a versatile enough move set. I was really able to avoid a ton of enemies by either jumping over them or shooting them through stage elements—which I don’t think should be possible, as it further simplifies the platforming that is already fairly easy to navigate.

The stages themselves fail to create a world with more layers beyond a simple city, forest, or castle. Many of the great classic game series opened up universes with regions, locations, and themes that still continue to develop to this day. There’s no story besides post-level scenes where your character receives the next weapon in his arsenal. Classic mode takes you through the levels in order, and Adventure mode is the same exact content just with the freedom to tackle any stage out of order. I don’t see why Classic mode is even necessary; without any story and the fact that the stages for the most part don’t seem to have been designed with any specific weapons in mind, there isn’t really a need to go through the game in a set order.

The bosses and enemies are frustratingly generic and don’t give you the memorable, challenging moments you would expect from a classic platformer. It’s easy to get through a majority of the bosses, outside of the last few, by just mindlessly shooting at them with the basic bullets. Very few of the weapons are helpful in boss battles because most are tied to meters or aren’t accurate enough to hit the specific points on many of the necessary hitboxes. Design-wise, it’s also not very exciting to finally get through a stage, excited to see what the boss is, to just find a generic 8-bit animal, like a tiger or monkey.

The 8-bit soundtrack by Matt Creamer, along with authentically-designed sound effects, is the highlight of an otherwise dry package. It drives forward with playful countermelodies that complement soaring, catchy tunes. Each track is appropriately intense behind the gameplay, even at moments with very light percussion where the 8-bit instruments stand strong on their own. No, it doesn’t achieve anything revolutionary, but this music would undoubtedly fit right in with the video game soundtracks of yesteryear.

All in all, Venture Kid is a retro platformer that plays fairly well, but lacks the excitement or inspiration of the Mega Man series it tried to model. With such a wide spectrum of games in this genre that push the limits of what an action-platformer is capable of, something so vanilla is going to get lost and overlooked. Unless this is the first such game you’ve ever played, you’ve likely seen everything offered here somewhere else.


6
TalkBack / My Friend Pedro Is a Bloody Blitz Of a Run-and-Gun
« on: April 30, 2019, 05:31:20 AM »

Banana power!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/hands-on-preview/50426/my-friend-pedro-is-a-bloody-blitz-of-a-run-and-gun

When I first saw the trailer for My Friend Pedro back in June, I was intrigued. A hostile banana commanding you to kill mob bosses accompanied by a powerful orchestral score? Sign me up.

I got a chance to finally pick up the controller for the Switch version at PAX East. I’m disappointed that the two elements I was most excited about from the trailer are either muted or absent from the demo. The talking banana only appears between levels and at the start of the demo, and the orchestral music is nowhere to be heard. Only generic electronic music plays during gameplay, which has far less character and absurdity.

The demo consisted of running through city buildings and learning the controls while shooting down mob bosses of sorts. There are a lot of elements to think about when playing Pedro that I wasn’t able to completely grasp during my 15 minutes or so at PAX. Many of the tricks your character can pull off are reliant on a string of actions that you’ll have to learn and practice to flesh out your skillset. Additionally, a cool bullet-time element is there when you need some time to think. The controls in the areas of aiming and shooting are spread out between several buttons, which gives you plenty of manual control but may not come as naturally on your first run.

The one thing I’m not excited about with the Switch release is the performance. While the frame rate is definitely playable, it seemed quite low for an action game and degraded compared to the other console and PC versions.

This is already showing the signs of a great shoot-em-up with layers of complexity and entertainment value; it had elements of arcade-style high score chasing, comedic cutscenes, and even a high-speed chase, all in one demo. My Friend Pedro is coming to Switch later in 2019.


7
TalkBack / Bionik TV Lynx Portable HDMI Connect And Charge Kit (Nintendo Switch) Review
« on: April 28, 2019, 03:12:19 AM »

The flexibility of a Switch dock without the hassle.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/50420/bionik-tv-lynx-portable-hdmi-connect-and-charge-kit-nintendo-switch-review

There’s no way I could recall every instance of having my Switch at a friend’s house or at a party or gathering of some sort where I wish I had my dock on me. Let’s face it, that thing is huge hassle to disconnect from your monitor or television every time you go out, and even when you do, it will take up quite a bit of space in your bag.

Now, I’ll give a brief, but necessary, warning. Third party docks, or portable cables replicating the functions of the dock, are not licensed by Nintendo. That means if one damages your console, Nintendo won’t be able to help you. It’s happened before: many users last year reported a software update bricking their consoles when using third-party docks. While this doesn’t seem to be an ongoing issue, please just be aware of the risk that comes with using unlicensed accessories.

As of now, though, it does not seem like Bionik’s TV Lynx, an unlicensed portable power cable and adapter that hooks up the Switch to HDMI in the same way as the dock, has this issue. I’ve been playing games on this thing as usual without any issues.

Physically, this is almost everything I would ever want from a cable like this. I was surprised to see a very premium six-foot braided cable lined with a classy black, blue, and orange pattern when I opened up the box. The length is about the same as what you get with the original dock, so no worries fitting it into complex entertainment system setups.

There’s a small plastic bit in between the cables, presumably holding the mechanisms that would normally be in the dock transferring data to HDMI. The giant, chunky power brick on the end of the cable is smaller than Nintendo’s but still way too intrusive to fit into packed extension cords.

This product works exactly how the original dock does, with the obvious exception that it leaves your screen exposed. You won’t be able to use the screen as a second screen or in normal handheld mode when it’s plugged in, or anything of that nature. I have no complaints about how this works, if you’ve used a dock before, you’ll know how to use this. Just know, there aren’t any extra USB ports on it if you want to plug in a wired controller, GameCube controller, or ethernet adapter as you would on the dock.

If you’re looking for a portable dock to take with you on the go and aren’t afraid of the risks of using unlicensed accessories, you’ll find it here. I’m excited about throwing this in my backpack and enjoying the freedom of play this will bring.


8
TalkBack / Heave Ho Is a Silly and Fun Local-Multiplayer Experience Fit For the Switch
« on: April 10, 2019, 04:08:00 AM »

Devolver Digital's newest party game is destined to kickstart the fiercest of family rivalries.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/hands-on-preview/50246/heave-ho-is-a-silly-and-fun-local-multiplayer-experience-fit-for-the-switch

If there’s anything the Switch is perfect for, it’s local co-op games. They’re a natural fit, with Nintendo being the king of multiplayer titles and the fact that the Switch was literally made for people to play games anytime, anywhere with a second controller out of the box. Throughout the console’s life though, I’ve felt like most of the great local multiplayer experiences have come from Nintendo itself, and not from third-party developers and independent studios.

In comes Devolver Digital and French developer Le Cartel, bringing a brand new and very unique party game to Switch at PAX East 2019 with Heave Ho, a frantic experience in which you work with the other players to bring each of your two-legged creatures across the stage to a set goal. To move your character, who is basically just a circle with two arms, you use the left analog stick to control the direction the arms move in and the triggers to grasp the arms onto the stage elements or the other players. The heart of Heave Ho is cooperation. The only way to get your character to the flag is to work with the other players by all climbing together, swinging each other around the stage, or finding some other creative method of using the very basic skillset that you have at your fingertips.

The catch is that any player gets left behind, everyone has to either start over or make their way back to save them. It’s also very easy for two players to have different ideas of where they want the clump of characters to go and accidentally end up throwing someone, or multiple players, off the stage. Essentially, to get to the goal, you have to talk, or shout, to the others on your team and come up with a strategy for what to do next. Although the characters are as basic as can be, Le Cartel didn’t hold back with the options to customize them to your liking. Your options include Santa hats, crazy hair, sunglasses, skeleton arms, and more. The levels in the demo didn’t deviate from black stages on a white background, but the trailer from the game shows gameplay taking place in the mountains, a jungle, a dark dungeon, and over a canyon.

Even in a group of random strangers in the middle of the frenzy of PAX, we worked together as a group to make it through the levels, and even yelled at each other as if we were a close group of friends. Even though we played the PC build of the game, I could totally imagine myself handing a friend a Joy-Con and playing this one just about anywhere. It doesn’t take too much to grasp the gameplay and it is totally a blast of a party game. Heave Ho is set to release this summer.


9
TalkBack / Kunai is a Promising Tablet-Ninja Platformer with Endless Potential
« on: April 02, 2019, 06:43:00 AM »

It’s Celeste meets Spider-Man.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/hands-on-preview/50191/kunai-is-a-promising-tablet-ninja-platformer-with-endless-potential

Action-platformers are quite a common genre nowadays, but that’s just fine by me. With the overabundance of these games in recent years, there have been many opportunities for developers to either get lost in the crowd or strike pure gold. In its current demo state, Kunai, the recently announced Arcade Crew-published Metroidvania from the three-man team TurtleBlaze, already screams of perfection. I got a chance to play both the Switch and PC versions, which both look identical and feel buttery-smooth.

You play as Tabby, a tablet device fused together with an ancient ninja. Kunai is named after the weapons Tabby uses to fight off robot enemies. The game’s programmer, Benjamin de Jager, told me that Tabby started out as a robotic monkey but the team decided to go with something more unique. The hook is that in addition to combat, these grapples are one of Tabby’s core movement mechanics. It works very similarly to Spider-Man games and is absolutely flawless. Climbing up the maps with these things and flinging around with them was simply addicting.

The story mode demo only featured a few weapons, but the time attack mode showcased many of the weapons that will be unlocked later in the game. The demo of that mode didn’t hold back; it threw me right into a classic super-hard platforming challenge. De Jager said that this mode was conceived later on in the development process and ended up being a natural fit for the gameplay.

Kunai is something special, and I do believe this has the potential to be one of the next great side-scrollers. Even more impressive is the fact that just three guys put this together. Platforming fans, keep this one on your radar.


10
TalkBack / Super Treasure Arena (Switch) Review
« on: March 26, 2019, 02:25:00 AM »

A battle arena without the online functionality it needs and deserves.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/50108/super-treasure-arena-switch-review

The excitement of getting a new port on the Switch usually comes from the fact that we often get the full experience of a game in a new form factor. After experiencing Super Treasure Arena, I was disappointed that this release came with zero online functionality and baffled as to why it came to the Switch in the first place. Why even bother showcasing a game so obviously designed for online play without that key feature? However, I also tried the local multiplayer, and it just clicked. While Super Treasure Arena so desperately needs online to showcase the type of top-down battles the developer intended, it does translate well to couch co-op.

The gameplay is simple: four characters are thrown into a map filled with lots of small bosses that get in the way of you accomplishing one of two objectives, depending on the game mode. The free-for-all mode challenges you to collect as many coins as possible, earned by destroying others and busting open treasure chests. In “Treasure Run,” you carry the treasure chests across the map to your home base to earn points. Both modes are expertly timed; no round feels too long or short. The real challenge for me at first was focusing on the objective rather than just surviving. With all the bosses, challengers and their attacks all around me, the space would quickly become overwhelming. Distraction was a frequent enemy of mine, so I would lose track of what I had to do quite often.

The six maps available perfect the retro style in terms of lighting and design. All the menus are standard and easy to grasp quickly, leaving no room for misinterpretation. The controls work well, but they are different than the rest of the pack. Even though attacking with the triggers and aiming with the right stick was uncomfortable at first, I grew to really enjoy these controls. Many games in this genre use the direction your character is facing to aim attacks, but in this arena, character movement and aiming are two different concepts.

Super Treasure Arena has all the elements of a great arena shooter: fast and tight gameplay, intuitive controls, and clear objectives and challenges. To make this a worthwhile download though, it absolutely needs to be an online experience. It works locally because of how solid the overall experience is, but that should be a secondary option, not the primary way to play.


11
TalkBack / Deltarune: Chapter 1 (Switch) Review
« on: March 10, 2019, 01:43:00 AM »

Toby Fox is back with his second game, along with many unanswered questions.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/49937/deltarune-chapter-1-switch-review

When Undertale was first released back in 2015, the whole gaming world seemingly dropped what they were doing to play that game— after all, everyone was talking about how life-changing it was and how any spoilers would completely tarnish the experience. It took me a few months to bite the bullet and play it through, but doing so was definitely worth it. While it certainly isn’t the greatest game of all time as some may have had you believe, it definitely satisfies the entertainment factor through dry humor, outlandish plot twists, a powerful soundtrack, and emotionally-intense characters.

The most revolutionary thing about Undertale, though, was that it was all created by one person, Toby Fox, in almost three years. It wasn’t an easy endeavor; the development platform was a hassle to use, to say the least. He even learned how to compose music through putting it together. At the time, it wasn’t clear whether he would create another game or what a future game would look like. Three years later though, Fox brought the first chapter of Deltarune to PC, and now it has made its way to the Switch. What does it look like, you ask? Simple. It’s Undertale, again, kinda.

The premise is that you play as a child named Kris (sporting a look similar to Undertale’s Frisk) who has trouble making friends with others at school. When his teacher sends Kris and another student, Susie, to go fetch a chalkboard eraser, they stumble into an underground world struggling to find the balance between light and dark. Kris and Susie explore and team up with different characters within this world to try to find a way to get home.

Just like in Undertale, the combat takes place in a turn-based system that forces you to choose between fighting enemies by physically harming them or by verbally convincing them to have a change of heart or run away. You avoid damage by moving your heart away from bullet hell-like attacks. How you approach each battle has an impact on the story—do you attempt to pacify your foes or simply beat them into submission—forcing you to think about the emotion behind your actions in that special Toby Fox way. The major difference between the two games’ combat is that Deltarune has you fighting with a party of characters instead of just solo. This unlocks more possibilities within each turn, adding more depth to the battle experience.

The intro sequence warns that Deltarune is only for players who have completed Undertale. While there are definitely parts of this chapter only fans of the original game would understand, I don’t think that there is anything in here that would spoil the first game. This is a completely new world with a few familiar faces from Undertale. It doesn’t answer any lingering questions from that game or continue the story in any obvious way. Still, I’d recommend that you play through Undertale if you haven’t already. One of the most fun parts of Deltarune for me was catching the different characters and scenarios that would reappear from Undertale.

The story is captivating and the gameplay is unique, but the music and visuals still go far above and beyond what I would ever expect from a one-man development team. Original musical motifs, plus some from Undertale, followed me throughout my journey, which made it truly feel like an adventure. Never in Deltarune would I run into repetitive or annoying music; everything is scored so as to push the story forward while not intruding on it. The environments are simple, but with just enough detail that inspires plenty of curiosity about what’s around the next corner. The character designs range from undeniably adorable to nightmarishly disturbing; different characters drastically impact the mood of whatever scene they’re a part of.

If you’re an Undertale fan, you already know exactly what you’re getting into with Deltarune. It doesn’t significantly change up the formula this time around, but I’m fine with that. Undertale was a game changer that left a wide array of possibilities for a second entry. The only major complaint that I have with Deltarune is that its creator doesn’t know when it will be completed. He has talked about putting a development team together, but we’ll have to wait and see if that ever comes to fruition. Nevertheless, I’m eager to take a second look when this sequel, or spinoff, or whatever this is, is fully realized—I just hope this happens sooner rather than later.


12
TalkBack / OlliOlli: Switch Stance (Switch) Review
« on: February 12, 2019, 05:00:42 AM »

Two exhilarating arcade-skaters grind their way onto the Switch.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/49691/olliolli-switch-stance-switch-review

At first glance, OlliOlli looks like your typical endless runner or side-scroller – a bizarre thing to say about a game that involves no running. Just like those genres of games, you guide a character left-to-right and leap over any obstacles that come your way. In this one, though, you need to focus on exactly how you hit the ground, and try to stay in the air as long as possible through grinding, spinning, and performing manual tricks. These different responsibilities add a new layer onto the typical formula. It was hard to grasp my first time jumping in, but after getting a grip on the controls I was hooked. The desire to go faster and perform longer combos was enough to fuel my newfound addiction.

OlliOlli: Switch Stance is the latest release in the series, bringing OlliOlli and OlliOlli 2: Welcome to OlliWood together into one package. Both games share the same core gameplay mechanics, but each has its own distinct visual style and unique features.

OlliOlli

The first OlliOlli game, which first released in 2014 on the PlayStation Vita, quite frankly looks like every other retro-inspired indie game. It still looks great with its dynamic backgrounds and constant movement, but lacks any sort of originality visually. I bring this up first because all that melted away when I started focusing on the gameplay.

The tutorial throws a heap of techniques at you right away – I wish it gave me some time to practice skating around before forcing me to apply tricks and grinds. It took me a few minutes to adapt to the controls and grasp the most basic movement skills, because it differs so much from any other runner-like game. Rather than pressing right to move, you need to push off on the skateboard with the B button. Instead of jumping with a button, you perform tricks using the left joystick. These controls make sense for the gameplay, but are anything but traditional – so don’t lose faith in yourself right away, just practice.

Once you have the basics down, you start paying more attention to how long your combos are. To get a high score, you need to nail down your combo abilities and stay in the air by grinding on poles as much as you can. You also need to make sure to perfect your landing timing, pressing the B button at the precise moment before you hit the ground.

One of the rougher parts about this first game was differentiating between objects and backgrounds. I had to repeat some levels again and again just because I was falling on obstacles that I thought were just part of the scene going on behind me. This was frustrating, but not the end of the world, it just held back my progress through the levels a bit.

OlliOlli 2: Welcome to OlliWood

OlliOlli’s sequel doesn’t try to reinvent the original formula, but there are a few major differences that make this the definitive game in the series. While I still would play either of these games in a heartbeat, the sequel is more fun and refined.

The response of the controls feels slightly more accurate but mostly the same as before. The camera is more distant, which makes it easier to look ahead and plan for what to do to overcome obstacles and nail landings.

The biggest difference, above all else, is the addition of manual tricks. They’re nothing fancy – you just have to press the joystick left or right while you land. This causes you to coast on one side of your board, but more importantly, keeps your combos going without having to always grind or spin. Long combos are now way easier to pull off, so you can be more strategic about which paths you take or what tricks to execute instead of simply worrying about how high your score is.

Next, the visuals. While I definitely don’t mind the original game’s retro-inspired style, it looks quite generic, especially with the onslaught of indie games with similar graphics on the market over the last decade. Welcome to OlliWood takes a more minimalistic approach with its visuals, adopting a more cartoony look but with the same depth-of-field motion effects that made the original game feel so good.

Overall, the combination of these two games will, without a doubt, keep you occupied for a while. A learning curve can be a barrier initially, but once you learn the ropes, you’ll just want to keep skating forever. Although the second game is the better of the two, the difference isn’t stark enough to warrant skipping out on the first. These both fit the textbook definition of perfect on-the-go games – while not the most visually impressive games out there, they are perfect for both quick bursts of fun or hours of intense focus and mastery.


13
TalkBack / Beholder: Complete Edition (Switch) Review
« on: December 24, 2018, 10:30:49 AM »

War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/49261/beholder-complete-edition-switch-review

Beholder is a management-sim in which you take control of a landlord named Carl who is working for the government to spy on the citizens living on his property. The latest release, called the “Complete Edition” as it includes downloadable content, adapts this mobile and PC title to consoles for the first time.

In this world, the government controls everything, from the jobs people have to the foods they eat. You have to watch out though: the state doesn’t mess around. If you don’t complete your set objectives in time, you—and your family—are done. You spy on your residents by collecting information about them though methods like installing surveillance devices, peeping in their doors, and listening in on them walking around town. Then, you’re supposed to give this information to the authorities, but it’s your choice whether to actually report the information. There are a few different ways to play: playing by your bosses’ rules or hiding everything.

The visual style displayed here is beautifully dark, showcased through a brilliant cinematic intro sequence. The gameplay looks just as good as that initial cutscene—three-dimensional silhouette characters roam around a gloomy environment with no shortage of texture. Everything on screen depicts the depressing, hopeless theme of the story. You won’t find one shred of happiness in this world.

The most interesting aspect is that you can see many different endings to the story depending on how you play. If you play through more than once, you can see how your actions play a role in what happens to yourself, your family, and the other tenants. Unfortunately, I found the gameplay itself too repetitive for my tastes as it consisted mostly of installing spy devices, talking to neighbors, and submitting reports. I enjoyed seeing the relationships between Carl, his family, and his residents unfold, but I do wish there was ultimately more to manage in the apartment. Having more varied things to do could make this a more intriguing package overall.

The controls aren’t ideal for a Switch release. Zooming in and out with the ZL button and right joystick makes seeing finer details a hassle. Also, certain tasks clearly designed around pointing and clicking on objects are quite difficult to do in this port as there are no pointer controls. Instead, objects are automatically selected based on where you move around in rooms, and it takes a bit of annoyingly-precise joystick movement in order to select the item you’re trying to look at or add to your inventory. Because this game originated on mobile, it’s frustrating that there aren’t at least touch controls in handheld mode.

All in all, Beholder will certainly capture your attention for quite a while with its dark premise and complex relationships. Keep in mind, though, some of the controls don’t work as intuitively as you’d expect, and some of the actions you have to do can be a bore. If you can see past that, this is a fantastically-designed management-sim with layers of art and complexity.


14
TalkBack / Katamari Damacy Reroll (Switch) Review
« on: December 19, 2018, 09:05:09 AM »

This classic PS2-era fever dream finally spins onto a Nintendo console.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/49227/katamari-damacy-reroll-switch-review

When Katamari Damacy released on the PlayStation 2 in 2004, critics fell in love with its obscure gameplay, visuals, and controls. The title spawned a direct sequel and a series that adapted mostly levels from the PS2 games – not much original content. Katamari’s newest entry is a port of the game that started it all, but now, the series hits a Nintendo console for the first time.

The premise is quite easy to grasp for newcomers. You play as a prince, the son of the King of All Cosmos. Because the prince is so small, the king sends him to gather materials from Earth by rolling them onto a ball called a “katamari.” The king’s goal is to recreate the stars and constellations using the materials after he wiped them all out while getting reckless at a party one night. When entering each level, it can be quite difficult to find objects small enough to fit onto your katamari. After your ball grows in size with every object you collect, more objects on the map become possible to capture. Each level comes with the goal of creating a star or constellation – stars require you to reach a certain size and constellations need you to grab a set number of whichever object the king demands.

Unlike many ports and rereleases on the Switch that find new features, levels, and modes to freshen up the game on the new hardware, Reroll is exactly how it was on the PS2 – for better and for worse. In fact, what you see on screen is copied exactly from the PS2 version, just with a larger field-of-view. Katamari Damacy has never looked better as this rerelease brings with it HD graphics and brighter colors. At the same time, seeing it in motion feels like watching a 14-year-old game. The frame rate remains unchanged, and the camera seems to collide with everything in its path. Combined with gameplay that requires you to constantly roll around, this makes for a dizzy, nausea-inducing experience that deserves to be smoother. I wish I could play this game for hours at a time, but I’ve found it difficult to make it even one hour without a break.

Outside of Katamari’s visual flaws, the most disappointing aspect of this release is the motion controls. They only work with the Joy-Con, so no Pro Controller or handheld mode support. I was excited when I found out Katamari would be coming to the Switch with motion controls, but envisioned that they would be more subdued. With the motion controls, you have to grasp the Joy-Con and move both of them like joysticks. This requires a ton of movement, and isn’t accurate or easy to grasp at all. I wish you could just slightly tilt the controller to move the ball, which could potentially even be a better control method than the original joystick controls.

If you’ve never played Katamari before, there’s no reason not to pick this up over the original release on the PS2. The game is still a delight, and while it may make you dizzy, picking up objects and watching your katamari grow with all sorts of random objects will always be a delight. If you’ve played this before, though, there’s really nothing new here that’s worth trying out.


15
TalkBack / Project Highrise: Architect's Edition (Switch) Review
« on: November 22, 2018, 01:23:45 AM »

Build to the skies in this intensely complex management sim.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/48971/project-highrise-architects-edition-switch-review

Project Highrise is a management sim where you take control of a skyscraper with the goal of pleasing your current tenants and recruiting more. The console release, Architect’s Edition, packages together the base game with its DLC.

Building a skyscraper is less about stacking floors on top of each other and more focused on making sure everything works together. The building needs to have the right features for its tenants, or they’ll move out real fast. You’ll have to provide the bare basic services for the offices, storefronts, restaurants and hotels in your building: electricity, water, phone services, etc. On top of that, many tenants will demand special services that may require even more maintenance and construction.

There are plenty of informational features that allow you to see exactly where you’re financially succeeding and where you can make some changes. Nothing’s dumbed down here—I felt like a real property manager. I would appreciate some dialogue and humor though, as there’s none of that in this game. The no-nonsense nature of this experience makes it quite intimidating to jump in at first.

I made a massive mistake on my first round. I got a bit carried away and built my skyscraper as tall as I possibly could. What I learned from this is that you have to take a conservative approach. On another try, I focused on the space I already had and was much more successful. Pleasing tenants is difficult; more of them means more electrical cords to wire and more water to provide, so you can’t get carried away.

After seeing how the game looked in docked mode, I had a hard time believing this would work in handheld mode. There are so many different buttons and elements on the screen, which is fine on a large monitor, but I was dreading playing this on the Switch’s small screen. To my surprise, it works fine. Many of the elements are scaled up in handheld mode, and you’re free to zoom in on your building to take a closer look.

Since the base game is so in-depth, I wouldn’t even feel a need to buy the DLC content if I didn’t have to. All the DLC provides is new themes and slightly varied scenarios, so I do think this game would be a better value without it. Project Highrise is here for those craving the deepest management simulator the Switch has to offer, but if you’re not already a fan of the genre, I wouldn’t recommend it.


16
TalkBack / Taiko No Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun (Switch) Review
« on: November 12, 2018, 11:27:01 PM »

I hope you like Japan… like a lot.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/48898/taiko-no-tatsujin-drum-n-fun-switch-review

I’ll be honest: I didn’t expect Bandai Namco to release Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ’n’ Fun in North America. Not only has the series not seen an American release since 2004, but this game is just as obscure and Japanese as its gets. Then again, I was thrilled when they announced the title was coming to the West. I’ve been wanting to get into this series for quite some time, and I’m happy to say that it’s been well worth the wait.

Traditionally, Taiko games are played with a drum controller. Red and blue circles fly across the screen that indicate when to hit the center or the edge of the drum. The circles match up with the rhythm of the music, which can move pretty quickly depending on your difficulty level. Although this gameplay is similar to many other music games, the rhythms are natural—almost as though I’m jamming along with the band. Especially at the higher difficulties, I didn’t feel like I was just coordinating buttons; I was playing music.

While it is possible to import a drum controller, at the time of writing, doing so costs more than the game itself. Luckily, plenty of other control options are present for you to try out: the Pro Controller, motion controls, or touch controls. I vastly preferred the Pro Controller over the other two options. I couldn’t get the motion controls to accurately respond to my movements, and the touch controls felt cramped on the Switch’s small screen.

This game’s soundtrack is the most wacky collection of music I’ve ever seen. There’s over 70 tracks – most of which are playable from the start, but there are a few that are unlocked as you play the game. You’ll see some classical music, Japanese pop songs, and original tracks, alongside music from Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2, Pac-Man Championship Edition 2, and other Nintendo and Namco games. Regardless of the style, all the songs compliment the gameplay. Most are fast and upbeat, hyping you up enough to drum along.

Complimenting the classic Taiko mode is a party mode packed with 20 rhythm games. I’ll admit I glanced over these games at first and jumped right into the Taiko mode, but they’re really worth checking out simply for how creative and downright wacky they are. Some of the gameplay here is very simplistic, especially compared to the expert modes in the main game, but they’re still quite fun and a welcome break from the repetition of Taiko mode. A few of the games had unclear instructions on how to play, but I was able to figure them out pretty quickly regardless. All corners of the screen are jam-packed with visuals at every moment. There’s characters and objects everywhere that move with the music, creating an endless feast of color and personality.

When I first saw footage of the Japanese version of this game, I figured an American localization would bring with it tons of changes to tone down the overload of Japanese songs, references, and language. That simply didn’t happen with this release. Aside from menu items and descriptions, nearly everything in the game is unchanged—even the voiceovers are still in Japanese. That being said, I think this absence of translation is absolutely appropriate for this love-letter to Japan. Sure, I would prefer everything to be in English, but the Japanese language just adds to the blissful obscurity of the experience.

Polished, fun and incredibly weird at times, Taiko no Tatsujin is nothing short of a blast to play on the Switch. The translation isn’t great and the motion controls don’t quite work, but everything else here is a pure delight. The core gameplay is simple yet addicting, and the party games make this a title you can enjoy with just about anyone.


17
TalkBack / Overcooked 2: Surf 'n' Turf DLC (Switch) Review
« on: October 13, 2018, 11:24:00 AM »

Jump on in, the water’s fine. Just don’t burn my kabobs.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/48630/overcooked-2-surf-n-turf-dlc-switch-review

A few months ago, I had a chance to check out Overcooked 2, a sequel to the hit co-op title. Get ready to hit the beach as Overcooked 2 is back with a tropical "Surf ’n’ Turf” themed DLC pack.

The DLC brings with it an all-new story that opens at Stilton Resort, a five-star summer travel destination. After the drama with the “unbread,” the council sends the chefs on a vacation. The king challenges them to find the best recipes the resort has to offer. You’ll start by making smoothies, and right off the bat you’ll notice the level of challenge. This is clearly for seasoned (no pun intended) veterans of Overcooked with difficulty similar to the later levels in the main game. It’s especially difficult in single-player, so you’ll want to play through these with a friend.

This addition has 12 new levels with new ingredients and mechanics. “Surf ’n’ Turf” actually has the same world map style as the base game, confirming to me that this in fact is an adventure in itself, rather than a quick level pack. While it’s nice that there are new recipes and mechanics, they don’t change up the gameplay too drastically. If you finished the main game, the reason to get this would simply be for more stages.

I still don’t care too much about the story segments, but they don’t linger on screen for too long. The loading screens, however, have not changed since Overcooked 2’s release and are still too long for my liking. I’m also disappointed the DLC doesn’t have a dedicated spot on the main screen – you have to go through an “extras” menu, and scroll past the first chef expansion over to “Surf ’n’ Turf”. It’s a bit much work to access a mode that is supposed to compliment the main game instead of just being a bonus feature.

In addition to the new “Surf ’n’ Turf” levels, the DLC also includes a “New Game +”, allowing players to earn a fourth star in stages from the sequel’s original story mode. I found the difficulty hard enough the first time around, but this is a great addition for those desiring even more of a challenge. There are also three new chefs added to the mix.

I’m happy that Overcooked 2 got the DLC it deserved. Even though it’s just 12 levels, they present quite a bit of challenge. I still consider Overcooked 2 one of the best local multiplayer games on the Switch, so more of it is definitely not a bad thing.


18
TalkBack / Tricky Towers (Switch) Review
« on: October 11, 2018, 07:35:00 AM »

A frantically different take on a classic genre.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/48627/tricky-towers-switch-review

If you take one quick look at Tricky Towers, you’ll immediately associate it with a certain other puzzle game. Wipe any expectations you have away now, because this block stacker is something totally unique. It’s a completely new challenge that puts a creative twist on a tried-and-true formula.

On the surface, Tricky Towers looks like many other puzzle games. Groups of four colored blocks fall from the top of the screen, and your job is to rotate and place them down on the surface. That’s where the similarity to the other games ends. Normally, you would expect the blocks to fit against each other in a grid formation. Here, that grid doesn’t exist. You can place bricks horizontally anywhere. That means if you want a clean tower, you have to work to line your bricks up perfectly. One little mistake will throw your creation completely off. Clearing lines doesn’t exist here either—you have to live with your mistakes unless you have an item that can help you out.

Your goal depends on which of the three modes you’re playing. In race mode, you rush to make the tallest tower possible in the shortest amount of time. The taller your tower becomes, the more you have to work to balance your creation and make sure it doesn’t come toppling down. That’s one of the most unique things about Tricky Towers: there are physics. Unlike other puzzle games where the bricks snap to each other, here you actually have to think about the weight of bricks and their placement within the tower. Puzzle mode challenges you to keep your creation under a line. There, the real challenge is making room for bricks and thinking ahead. If you don’t, you’ll run out of room very quickly. Lastly, survival mode tests your endurance against a slew of challenges, like giant bricks or locked bricks that you can’t rotate.

In single player, you have the option to play each mode endlessly or work your way through 50 trials. In the endless modes, you realize how quickly things stack up against you, especially when playing a race. The endless modes also show online leaderboards so you can compare your accomplishments against friends and the world. Only high scores are given as your reward for this mode. The trials are a good way to get acclimated with the game, but I soared through them pretty quickly. Like in endless mode, I was frustrated with the lack of any sort of reward other than a check mark indicating that I completed each level. I was expecting unlockable characters or themes, but the only way to get new visual flairs is to buy them as DLC.

Because of the underwhelming replayability of single player, you’re going to want to face off with a friend or online strangers. In local play, you have the option to configure the game any way you want—you can choose your mode, difficulty, and the number of rounds. Online, the game pairs you and your opponents with a random mode. This is disappointing to me, as sometimes I just want to race.

Four wizard characters and four seasonally-themed brick skins are available with the base game, and the rest are, again, only accessible through DLC. I like the idea of downloadable characters, but since the base game is devoid of any sort of reward for completion, I’d like unlockable characters from the start. The music is charming, but I became tired of it after a few games.

Tricky Towers is an incredibly creative and unique take on the puzzle genre. I just wish there was more to unlock and explore as it does have incredible potential. Nevertheless, I do recommend this brick-stacker to anyone looking for a fun local and online multiplayer experience.


19
TalkBack / SEGA AGES Sonic the Hedgehog (Switch) Review
« on: September 27, 2018, 04:01:41 AM »

Dash your way Mania-style through Sonic’s first adventure.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/48491/sega-ages-sonic-the-hedgehog-switch-review

Two Sega Mega Drive/Genesis classics have hit the Switch, including the original Sonic The Hedgehog. Unlike this title’s previous releases, this is an emulated port of the original, not a remake or remaster. Developed by M2, the team known for the 3D Classics line on the 3DS, this port is authentic and brings with it some delightful new features.

You’ll notice right away that this release of Sonic 1 adds the spin dash that originated in Sonic 2 and the drop dash from Sonic Mania. It is quite interesting to see how these new features work with the original game, for better or for worse. Sonic 1 was obviously not designed for Sonic’s modern moveset. There’s not many opportunities to take full advantage of these features and speed through levels like in Sonic Mania. Nevertheless, I love that this feature was added in as it will make this release more accessible to players coming from the newer games.

In addition to playing the game straight through, there’s also an option to include a level select so you can jump around as you please. There’s also a “ring keep mode”, where your rings only get subtracted in half on a hit, and a time attack mode with an online leaderboard.

Plenty of aesthetic options are available for you to choose from. A wallpaper featuring Sonic’s classic look is default, but there are also more generic patterned backgrounds and the option for no wallpaper entirely. You can change the display mode to stretch to the entire screen, play as originally intended or to make each pixel an exact square, making the screen slightly wider than old TV screens. There’s even a “vintage” option that mimics the appearance of an old TV screen. I expected this to be distracting but it’s quite accurate and not annoying in the slightest. You can switch between three different releases of the game – Japanese (Mega Drive), international (Genesis) and arcade (Mega Play).

Sonic 1 feels slightly more primitive than the other Sonic games, but that’s alright. The addition of the newer dash moves brings it closer to the more recent Sonic games in feel, but if you want speed, Sonic Mania would be a better pick. Still, M2 did phenomenal work on bringing this game to the Switch in a way that doesn't feel stale. If you want to see where Sonic came from and are interested in how the new features enhance this classic game, there’s no reason to stay away.


20
TalkBack / Wandersong (Switch) Review
« on: September 27, 2018, 02:42:07 AM »

Turns out, music is more powerful than you thought.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/48489/wandersong-switch-review

Wandersong is a new adventure game by Greg Lobanov that follows an optimistic bard who uses music as a weapon, tool, and transportation device in his quest to save the world from destruction.

The musical control method is where Wandersong shines. The bard repeats patterns from friends, enemies, and others around him to affect his environment. Using this method, he can fend off ghosts and gain more height when jumping, among many other powers. It is unique to Wandersong and works very fluidly. So much creativity is on display through the many different ways this concept is executed.

The game starts in the bard’s dream, where a messenger of the goddess Eya appears to him. She says that his universe is doomed to be destroyed with the singing of the goddess’ new song. After waking up, he discovers that ghosts have invaded his town. He is told by a witch that the world, in fact, is actually ending. The messenger tells the bard that the one way to save the world from ending is to sing the Earthsong, which channels all life on the planet. The bard meets an overseer, who is able to teach him the Earthsong but refuses. Still, the messenger tells him not to lose hope and learn the song from the six other overseers.

The story is not complex, but I wouldn’t want it to be. This cardboard world with all its different communities is brought to life through the people. The different personalities seen throughout are all equally important to drive the story forward. The bard, who you can name yourself (with a limited choice in letters), starts as a carefree, happy soul, but becomes weary and nervous as his journey continues. The translation of the text sometimes seems odd at times but is never unclear or distracting.

The cardboard design is strikingly charming and unique. Unfortunately, the visuals have a rough border around the edges. Smoothing this out would make it look more visually appealing on the big screen, but looks much better on handheld mode. Although the art style is simple, the developers found ways to express themes and emotion through dynamic lighting and color. Each environment feels unique and the visual style always works to convey a specific feeling.

Wandersong is definitely worth checking out on the basis of how different and unique it is. From the fun, new interaction method to the hand-crafted art style, this is something completely fresh.


21
TalkBack / Hover: Revolt of Gamers (Switch) Review
« on: September 18, 2018, 02:44:50 AM »

This half-baked Jet Set Radio clone is even worse on the Switch.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/48394/hover-revolt-of-gamers-switch-review

French indie studio Fusty Game has been pushing a Nintendo release of Hover: Revolt of Gamers since development began in 2013. The studio slated the futuristic parkour-racing game for a late 2014 release on the Wii U, pushed it to 2015 and is now finally releasing it on Switch. Once I saw the trailer for this game, I was really excited for the fast-paced gameplay and bright art style.

Upon getting my hands on Hover, however, I was immediately underwhelmed with the menus. In handheld mode, the buttons are tiny and nearly impossible to see. Additionally, you need to move a cursor over the buttons to press them. This interface was obviously designed for a desktop PC and does not leave the impression that this game was built with the Switch, or even the Wii U, in mind. Not a great first impression.

The camera feels like something right out of the Nintendo 64 era. I’ll jump onto a wall and the camera will go straight to the back of my character’s head. The addition of gyro controls are a nice feature, but in general, the camera is simply distracting. There are also frame drops everywhere. It’s incredibly disappointing to see how this runs on the Switch as this kind of experience needs to be smooth. I had no feeling of speed or momentum when playing, which is what attracted me to the game in the first place.

The tutorial took me about twenty minutes to get through, and while it gave me a good grasp of the controls, there wasn’t anything in it that got me too excited about the gameplay. I expected action and constantly flying through the city, but most of the missions in the tutorial were “put this item somewhere else” or “move to this location” missions, which just didn’t sit right with me. This type of mission structure continues after the tutorial ends and the real game begins. While there are some mildly fun races, many of the missions seemed uninspired.

After the tutorial, I was thrown into a large, overwhelming hub world. There is no structure with regards to which missions you should complete at what time or where they are located. It’s also never clear what you have to do next so I just ended up roaming around finding anything to do. A map is present but is essentially useless as it doesn’t give you any information about where to go next. Online functionality is touted as one of the game’s biggest features. You can run along your friends in this big, open world but I couldn’t imagine what fun things I would actually do with them.

There is a story of sorts that is referenced in the tutorial and missions, but it’s nothing cohesive or interesting. A group of rebels are revolting against the city’s new laws that prohibit any type of fun activities. They do this by spreading graffiti and flying around the city. There’s really no progression through a storyline besides the tutorial, just random missions everywhere that only sort of introduce you to characters.

I don’t recommend Hover: Revolt of Gamers on the Switch at all. Even after five years of development, it feels incredibly undercooked. The user interface is not intuitive, and the gameplay and camera together make it feel like a bad VR game. Maybe it’s more fun on a powerful desktop PC, but it just doesn’t feel at home here.


22
TalkBack / Bastion (Switch) Review
« on: September 10, 2018, 08:05:50 AM »

Let’s face it – the narrator is the real hero here.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/48266/bastion-switch-review

Bastion is an action RPG that was released seven years ago, but with its latest release on the Nintendo Switch it feels as fresh as ever. Once you open it up, you will find it hard to put down, as there is always something new to explore and addicting combat around every corner.

This isn’t the most difficult game to play through, but that didn’t matter to me in the slightest. Bastion is an experience through and through. The first thing you’ll notice is the beautiful art style, which is seemingly hand-drawn and includes a plethora of detail. The roads you walk on unfurl beneath your toes, leaving you wondering what you’re going to see next. Before you know it, you’re facing a horde of enemies and you have to figure out what weapon you need to use to defeat as many as you can, or find a way to run. You get two weapons that you can upgrade and swap out for whatever you desire, leaving an array of possibilities in combat style. Completionists will appreciate the wide range of weapons available to unlock, as well as a New Game Plus mode to start a new adventure while keeping your weapons.

With all the talk of Bastion revolving around the dynamic narrator, I was actually quite skeptical that it would work. Not only does it work, but it adds a whole new layer to the gameplay experience. In other action RPG’s, I’ll constantly be switching from mashing the A button through story scenes and actually participating in combat. In Bastion, however, the narrator provides you the story while you play. How much you want to pay attention to it is up to you. My main point of skepticism around this feature was that he would be annoying or repeat himself, but that’s never the case. This narrator only talks when vital to the plot, which I appreciate. It’s actually quite neat how he responds to your movements, from how much you’re jumping to what area you’ve just wandered into.

Because of the way the narration ties the story together, I didn’t ignore and loathe it as much as I would in other RPG’s. Basically, your unnamed character wanders through a post-apocalyptic world discovering new secrets about the “calamity” which was recently inflicted on it. There is nothing too memorable about the story, but I appreciate that it has its own unique place within the gameplay. Since the story is interwoven into the gameplay here, I would actually pay attention to it at times because I was interested in how it affected the gameplay. It’s a perfect balance that I wish was present in other games.

The Switch release plays just as smoothly as any modern game. No frame drops are present and it works beautifully in handheld mode. While there is no new content with this release, it still feels right at home on the Switch. If you’ve played Bastion in the past or if you’ve missed out on the previous releases, I wholeheartedly recommend Bastion for anyone looking for a fantastic action RPG.


23
TalkBack / Freedom Planet (Switch) Review
« on: August 30, 2018, 01:37:46 AM »

Soar through exhilarating levels with a lovable cast of characters.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/48123/freedom-planet-switch-review

When Freedom Planet was released in 2014, many reviewers (including Nintendo World Report) coined it as the next great Sonic the Hedgehog game. Originally created as a Sonic fan game, it evolved into its own project with a unique cast of characters. While the design and fundamental gameplay of Freedom Planet is still clearly inspired by the Sega Genesis classic, I personally believe that this platformer deserves to be celebrated for being a great game in its own right.

Massive levels lend themselves to a perfect balance of speed, exploration and combat. Three characters are available to soar through the levels – Lilac the Dragon, Carol the Wildcat or Bissa the Basset Hound. Each have their own unique abilities, like Lilac’s ability to air dash and Carol’s ability to climb walls. Freedom Planet separates itself from the games it draws inspiration from through its pure sense of freedom. Lilac’s move set with dashing and double jumps makes it incredibly easy to shoot or fly to wherever you want to go in any area.

In the Adventure mode, the three characters team up to help a creature named Torque to protect the Kingdom Stone. The story is fully voice acted, but the quality of the voices are questionable. Some voices have seemingly different audio quality than others, and some don’t seem to exactly fit the characters’ given personalities. The scenes are incredibly long, spoiling the otherwise extremely fast pace of the journey. Luckily they are easily skippable. I found myself skipping scenes quite often during Adventure mode to get back to the exhilarating gameplay.

Classic mode ditches the long cutscenes and plays levels in order. It’s definitely the preferable way to play as the gameplay deserves to take center stage. Time Attack lets you beat your time on any stage you have completed in the other two modes. There is also a gallery where you can see all the cards and badges you’ve earned through your play – a nice touch for completionists.

The visual presentation is stellar, combining Genesis-inspired graphics with cute and colorful character design. All the backgrounds stay interesting throughout the levels and each level has its own unique visual style. The music is driving and appropriate, complementing the fast action of the gameplay perfectly.

Freedom Planet is still a great innovation on a classic formula. Any fan of platforming will be more than satisfied with the joy of speeding around the long levels and the derivative gameplay of the different characters. Those who have played this game on Wii U or other platforms will be disappointed though as there is no new content included in this release. Nevertheless, this is not a game to glance over and is nothing short of a thrill ride.


24
TalkBack / Overcooked 2 (Switch) Review
« on: August 07, 2018, 12:19:13 AM »

Who left their fries in the sink?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/47940/overcooked-2-switch-review

Released on the Switch last year and two years ago on other consoles, Overcooked is a delightful local multiplayer game in which players frantically work together to cook up different meals. While it does have a single player mode, it is most suited for couch co-op as the gameplay was designed around two or more players working together. Oddly enough, the original lacked any online functionality, so players without someone by their side missed out on this fantastic multiplayer experience. Overcooked 2 finally adds the online features which makes this a vastly enticing pick than the original – but if you’ve already played Overcooked, you won’t be seeing many new features in this iteration.

The core Overcooked gameplay remains the same as it has always been – two or four chefs are situated into a kitchen faced with a slew of orders. Your goal is to either make as many of these meals as possible in story and arcade mode, or make more than the other team in versus mode. In co-op play, each player controls one chef. In single player or versus with two players, players switch back and forth between two chefs. Making each meal consists of chopping, frying and boiling ingredients and the real challenge is in coordinating the chefs to get all these tasks done as efficiently as possible. You also can’t forget about cleaning dirty dishes and putting out fires in an emergency. All actions are done with just a few buttons so there isn’t any sort of learning curve with the controls – you’ll pick them up quickly. Some stages have obstacles such as conveyor belts and moving counters that prevent you from getting from one place to another, adding to the frenzy. New in this iteration is the addition of the throwing mechanic which can add to your speed. Coins are earned when you serve each meal which translate to up to three stars at the end. One star isn’t terribly difficult, even when playing solo, but getting three stars can be a challenge.

The story mode is a simple plot where you need to please the king by feeding and satisfying a horde of zombies called the “unbread” which in turn will save the kingdom. The story chunks are charming but not especially memorable. Luckily, they don’t drag on for too long and throw you back into gameplay quickly. Getting from level to level is done by driving a food truck through a familiar world map layout. Playing the story in single-player is possible but gets quite difficult to manage in the later levels. This is definitely something you’ll want to play through with a friend if you can. Alone you’ll be satisfied enough by simply getting through the levels, but with someone by your side you’ll have more of a chance of earning all three stars as well. Along the way you’ll unlock many chefs you can play as. None of them have any special abilities or features, though, so they don’t impact gameplay at all.

One issue for those trying to best their scores would be the obtrusion of load screens when trying to play the same level repeatedly. After completing a level in story mode, you’re bumped right back into the world map, which takes a few seconds to load, and have to enter the level again and wait through the level’s load screens yet again. These screens don’t take too long to load, but in succession the time noticeably stacks up.

New in this entry is online multiplayer, something that fans were begging for after the first game. Since the gameplay is clearly designed around multiplayer play, it’s puzzling that this wasn’t here before. If everything works out as it should and both players have stable connections, this makes for an excellent online game. All the modes are accessible online, just as if you had the person right next to you playing couch co-op. One player takes control over which mode you play and the other is along for the ride. Unfortunately, only a small selection of the story’s levels are available in the arcade and versus modes, presumably because of how much space there is for four players to move around.

The menu system can be cumbersome when trying to host or join a friend, however. Both players need to select the same menu option, and there’s a lot of them. If you select the wrong one you need to wait through all the load screens. It would be much easier to just join a friend first and then mess around with which mode to play and whether you want additional public players to join you. Another flaw in the coordination of online matches is the lack of a signal icon like in other Switch games that would tell you who has the better or worse connection. The absence of this makes network issues nearly impossible to troubleshoot.

The Switch specific performance issues from the first game are all still present here. The game runs at 30fps in both docked and handheld modes with noticeable frame drops in the most frantic moments. The frame rate didn’t impact my enjoyment of the gameplay in the slightest but it is disappointing that it couldn’t be smoother.

Overcooked 2 is undoubtedly a sequel to the first game with new levels, characters, a slight visual upgrade and the addition of online. If you’ve already played the first game though, you may not have much of a reason outside of multiplayer feature-wise to pick up the second. If you just want more Overcooked though and aren’t expecting a revolution, you’ll be satisfied with the amount of new content. New players to the series will enjoy this on its own and since online is now available, this opens up multiplayer play to just about everyone whether you have friends next to you or not. Whichever way you play, this is a fun and frantic experience that everyone deserves to enjoy.


25
TalkBack / Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?! (Switch) Review
« on: July 23, 2018, 12:25:13 PM »

Would you like them mashed or fried?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/47821/holy-potatoes-a-weapon-shop-switch-review

Your first question after reading the title here is likely “How do potatoes have anything to do with a weapon shop?”. My answer would be: well, they really don’t. Holy Potatoes! is a series of management sims from developer Rising Star Games that is now joining the Switch library. In these games, you play as cute and sentient potatoes as they venture onto all sorts of capitalistic ventures including weapon sales, space travel, and cooking in hell itself. The first game to make the transition from Steam to the console is Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?!. With simulation games being few and far between at the moment on Switch, I was happy to give this one a try.

After opening this weapon shop sim for the first time, you meet your playable character, P.K.P.A.P– a young potato who has recently inherited 0.01% of his grandfather’s weapon shop. Agent 46, the owner of the other 99.9% of the shop, shows him the strategies in order to grow the business. From there, the experience feels like every other simulation game of this kind – the objective being to grow your shop and be successful. This task is done in a few different ways. Your shop sells weapons to heroes who go out on adventures, but P.K.P.A.P doesn’t have that privilege. Different types of heroes offer the shop different amounts of cash for the same weapons and you have to decide who has the best offer. In order to build and sell your weapons, you must develop your Smiths – the crafters and salesmen of your weapons – to be as skilled they can possibly be. The more weapons they create and sell, the more experience they gain. They also can boost different skills by working in different areas of the shop as designers, craftsmen or metal workers. Additionally, the Smiths go out and gather materials to use in your shop. On top of all that, you must pay these fine people, er, potatoes, which is one more thing to consider on top of running everything in the store.

There is no shortage of stuff to build, develop, and collect. You can create new types of weapons and sell to many different heroes in many different places. Objectives keep you learning new things to do and methods of sale and creation. I just wish everything moved faster. Even at the fast-forward speed, building weapons and waiting on Smiths feels like a drag. If I was playing this on a PC, I would keep it open on another tab while working on something else and come back to it from time to time. This isn’t something I could see myself playing for hours on end. It is relaxing and relatively brainless though, so if you need something in that realm this may do the trick.

The interface was clearly built for desktop computers and not the Switch. Some menu elements are low resolution and all windows seem cluttered on the screen, especially in handheld mode. The controls in general are unintuitive, but since the game moves so slow it never bothered me. Touch screen controls are present but finicky. Besides that though, the art design is bright and colorful. I do love the the characters especially as they are super cute and full of expression. Pop culture references are aplenty and a nice way to complement the already decent humor. One prompt asked me if an elf potato wearing a green suit was Selda or Blink, which got a laugh out of me (I said Selda and got the answer wrong– no cash for me).

If you are looking for a simulation game to spend some time with on the Switch, Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?! may do the trick. Just be warned: it’s painfully average, not bringing anything new to this genre, and super slow. I feel like this genre is better suited for PCs or even tablets rather than portable gaming systems because it feels too cluttered for the Switch’s screen and not comfortable on any television. The core gameplay definitely works how you’d expect and you’ll find plenty of tasks to accomplish. Maybe this would be a good one to jump in and out of while making some potato salad. Yum.


Pages: [1]