Shinobi: Art of Vengeance Review (Switch)

With all the recent retro revivals and intense 2D nostalgic throwbacks recently it’s hard to believe that we haven’t had a proper Shinobi gave for a long time. There was of course a 3DS game that wasn’t the best and most of the back catalogue has been made available, but Art of Vengeance is a resounding return to form.

The thing that stands out straight away are the gorgeous visuals. The game has been designed to look like a Japanese style painting and the colour and detail present throughout are stunning. In motion, everything flows as well as it looks with the game moving at an intense speed without faltering, even in handheld mode. It allows for a flow and momentum that every ninja game is crying out for.

The combat is much more involved than previous games as well. Historically, Shinobi games have limited the player to a jump and attack button, with the occasional special move. Here, there’s a combo system in play with light and heavy attacks and constantly upgradable and changeable special moves that can be bought from an in-game shop. There’re also instant kills and a host of movement options such as dashes and wall slides that wouldn’t be out of place in the latest indie Metroidvania.

To clarify, Shinobi hasn’t gone the Metroidvania route. The game is set out as linear, platform, levels. These can be revisited later when new power ups are acquired which can in turn can then be used to access a few hidden areas, but generally you are going from left to right through large levels and then taking on an impressively large and difficult boss at the end. Between each of the main platform levels there are also further throw backs to the past such as more action-based stages riding on horses or other vehicles.

The general games difficulty is challenging but fair. There’s certainly nothing here to compare to the Mega Drive games in terms of difficulty. If you do die you start back at a checkpoint, and as the levels are vast this is a smart design choice. It also helps to lessen the frustration on the few occasions it’s difficult to tell between a pit and what is the legitimate way forward. The bosses though are tough. They are damage sponges which go through varying phases of attack patterns, and we often found ourselves zooming through a level, only to be stuck at the boss checkpoint for a considerable amount of time. While this can be frustrating it’s good to see some of the old Shinobi challenge remaining in the game’s DNA.

Overall, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance represents a stunning return for Sega’s much-loved franchise. The action is slick and frenetic, and the level design is both beautiful and creative. Enemies are varied and provide enough of a challenge to be interesting obstacles and getting through a level provides enough satisfaction to continually push on to the next. Sega has been slow to mine some of its formally popular IP’s so we hope this is a sign of things to come. This is a creative, fun and intense success that it’s hard to see anyone not liking it, especially those with nostalgia for the original games.

Overall 9/10

System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster (Switch)

Long before Bioshock hit consoles, the landmark FPS horror game was System Shock 2. Tied to PC’s until now, it was a title that pushed boundaries and tried to merge multiple genres to create a unique, ambitious and unforgettable experience. Its mix of traditional FPS tropes, character-building elements and creepy atmosphere have gone on to influence many first-person games and push the boundaries of what we can expect.

The story is set upon the stricken starship the ‘Von Braun’. It is here, after some early training, that you awaken to find you have little memory and all hell is breaking lose. You are tasked with trying to get the ship back under control from a seemingly rogue AI with the help of Dr Janice Polito who guides you via radio.

The game may be set out as an FPS, but it is really more of an exploration and adventure game. The ship is a maze of fizzing wires, broken machinery and genetic horrors and it’s often best to explore slowly and carefully. Often, events will happen which helps build the environment through visual storytelling and the soundtrack also does an excellent job of getting you in the right mood.

 The environment is an interesting place to venture through but can be a little samey in terms of how it looks, so the included map is very welcome. Although, even in this remake there are no onscreen checkpoints or guidance beacons. This is very much the original game, just looking somewhat sharper. The same can be said about the controls. Originally designed for a mouse and keyboard set up, the controls are difficult to get used to. As System Shock 2 is far more than a basic FPS it requires a host of menus and pop-up options in order to play. During our time with the game this never became a natural process and quickly swapping between objects and weapons often ended in death with us trapped behind a menu we couldn’t get clear of to fight back.

The reason for this though is the game has depth. The mechanics that make the game unique are the way you can build and customise your character. Throughout the game you can pick up cyber modules that allow you to upgrade various skills such as hacking or combat as well as general strength and endurance. These are few and far between though, so you need to really think about the type of character you want to build. We struggled early on in the game as we hadn’t activated the hacking skill which meant security cameras became a major issue to pass. There’s a host of objects and weapons to pick up as well which then need to be fitted into a resident evil style inventory system box.

Combat really isn’t the games strong point though, with enemies just kind of running at you and then waiting to be hit in return. The constant spawning of enemies when you set off security alarms is also annoying as you’ll be attacked every few seconds by the same generic enemies – rather than it just alerting enemies in the area. They always know where you are as well so you can’t go and hide somewhere to wait out an alarm. You do have options for fighting though, there are no shortage of things to hit and shoot enemies with and the plasmids option gives you a host of other inventive things to play around with such as setting them on fire or using telekinesis to move objects.

Another thing to note is that the game is hard and relentless. The difficulty kicks in pretty much straight away, so getting used to the controls and menu system will have you dying multiple times early on. You can save whenever you want though (which we are pretty sure you couldn’t in the original), and there are also regeneration stations set up where you will respawn upon death. Just be warned if you respawn during a security alert enemies will rush straight to you again.

Overall, it is easy to see why System Shock 2 is held in such high regard in terms of its place in video game history. There is an awful lot here that sets it apart and you can see the influence it has had very clearly. But there ae a few sticking points. The controls are a pain and that may well put some people off as when coupled with the difficulty it can cause frustration and block progress. For fans of the genre, and especially those who love Bioshock this is pretty much essential though. If you spend the time needed to get it to click there is little else out there like it, even now.

Overall 8/10

Preserve Review (Switch)

 

One of the most surprising genres to have sprung up on the Switch is the digital board game. To begin with, we simply had digital versions of games such as Talisman, but now we have started to get games specifically designed from the ground up for consoles. Preserve kind of merges the idea of boardgames and deck building to create a surprisingly deep diversion.

Coming from nowhere, we happened upon a trailer for the game and thinking it looked interesting decided to take a closer look. And we are really glad we did as this is a really lovely game with a sizable amount of content. The basic idea is that you need to build a habitat out of hexagonal shapes. You start with one landmass then as you place upgrades and animals it hits score barriers that then release more cards and more land masses that you can place as you head towards the overall goal of hitting a certain score to complete the level

Scoring works by putting different habitats down and trying to get them to twelve tiles. This then means they can contain three animals. Three of a kind gets you a decent bonus, but three different animals are far better. Of course, you don’t get all the animals you need released to you straight away so if you are going for the really big points you’ll need to be clever and keep things unlocking by scoring points in a different way. There is also a host of special cards and other elements to keep things interesting, but the basic game remains the game.

There are four different biomes to play around in. Continental is the starting point with the basic rule set with the Savanna biome working around rivers and the marine biome working around the ability to raise and lower the sea level. Wisely, a Dinosaur biome has also been included. All four are different enough to need to be played in different ways and add genuine variety.

There ‘s also a puzzle mode for each of the biomes which sets you up with specific land masses and cards. Here you need to try and create placements to hit a certain score and there is normally only a single solution. These start out simple but will soon require a real mastery of the game to understand as you will need to see ahead with near prescience to work out where to place each individual upgrade.

Initially, the controls seemed a bit tricky but after a while the interface became much more natural. We still struggled at times with the marine biome as the changes in elevation on the land can make it tricky to see what is where at times. But there are a host of zooms and swivels you can do to give yourself a decent view.

Overall, Preserve proves to be a charming game that acts as both a relaxing way to pass the time and something deep enough to spend hours ringing the last high score out of. It really draws you in and time will be flashing by before you know it. It comes highly recommended for anyone interested in deck games or those looking for something a little bit different.

Overall 8/10

 

Worms Armageddon: Anniversary Edition Review (Switch)

You may be wondering why we are covering Worms: Armageddon now, when it was released last September. But since then it has had a few updates with the most recent adding a nice selection of other Worms games as bonuses to the package. It also fell through the gaps a bit with us on first release so now seems to the perfect to time to get back into throwing explosive sheep around.

There have been a huge amount of Worms games released over the years for pretty much every console and computer you can possibly imagine. Out of all of these though it is widely held that Worms Armageddon is the pinnacle of the 2D, original formula. It’s hard to argue with as well, as the game builds beautifully on the original, adds a few new elements and smooths and levels many of the bumps.

If you’ve never played a Worms game before, you need to know it’s a turn-based game where players use their team of worms to try and destroy the opponents. It developed from the very old artillery games where you had to put in co-ordinates to try and get your tank to shoot your adversary, with scenery and obstacles in the way. The twist here is that you have a whole host of weapons to use from bazookas and shotguns, to exploding sheep and concrete donkeys. You can also manoeuvre your worms around and use ropes and jet packs to traverse terrain.

Once you get the hang of everything the game is incredibly deep and satisfying. It’s also heavily geared towards multiplayer. Armageddon though does a better job of adding single player elements. There are specific missions to undertake and basic training to get you used to all the different weapons. The game would benefit from a wider explanation with regards to what buttons do in terms of general control though. It’ll all soon become second nature though and it’s hard to deny just how much of a classic party experience this is.

Aside from the main game there is a whole host of archive and bonus material here. Since the update you can now play the Megadrive and Super Nintendo versions of the original Worms and the Gameboy Colour version of Armageddon and the Gameboy Advance version of Worms World Party, effectively adding any titles that would have appeared in the Switch Online apps.

In addition to this a historical timeline is also present. This is packed with pictures and interviews about how the game was developed. It’s remarkably well put together as well and mimics the timelines scene in games like the Jeff Minter Collection and other archival ‘interactive’ documentary games. It shows how much care and detail has been put into really making this as definitive as it could be.

Overall, Worms Armageddon remains an essential multiplayer game and a stand out classic. If you have never got on with the series then this isn’t going to change your mind, but for fans looking for a nostalgic buzz that still plays beautifully there is little more that could have been done here to make it better.

Overall 9/10

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector Review (Switch)

The first Citizen Sleep was a resounding success, with its space styled cyber punk aesthetic and the mixture of rich storytelling and board game and RPG elements. In fact, it garnered a dedicated following and even had a card game version appearing. It’s not a massive surprise then to see a second game in the series.

There is no direct link to the story of the first game here. Continuity wise it is set a little later in the time period, but new players won’t feel left out if they start here first. To add to this, your character is a malfunctioning android who has no memory of anything either so it’s very much about discovering the world for the first time.

There are a handful of classes to choose from, and you can also upgrade skills and buffs as you get points from completing various missions and objectives. These then add modifiers to your dice or allow you do things like create rerolls or fix them should they become damaged.

The premise is simple, at the start of each cycle (or day) , you get a number of dice that are randomly generated with which to carry out actions. The higher the number of the dice mixed with your affinity for carrying out certain type of task will decide if you are likely to be successful at it. Once, you have used all your dice you can end the cycle and start again with a fresh set.

Of course, things are never that easy and there is normally some kind of cycle timer counting down to a major story event that you need to be aware of. Time is very much essential so resetting a day just because you have bad dice is never really an option. On top of this you need food and need to think about damage caused by stress to your body. There really are a whole host of things keeping you on the edge of anxiety and always watching the clock.

You’ll spend much of your time investigating around space stations or out on salvage operations. The interface is simple, pick the location to move to and then the options of what you can do will show up when you get there. There are options to work or find food, as well as hunt for clues or interact with the population. When you are off the station for salvage missions you need to also think about fuel and the amount of supplies you have with you. These missions are normally perilous as the hulks you try and get salvage from tend to breach and fall apart, just in case you needed yet another time clock to think about.

The initial goal is simply to stay one step ahead of the people chasing you. After that the mystery deepens and you’ll also encounter new characters and crew with their own skills and agendas to deal with. The human interaction element is key to the games philosophy as you will live or die by your network of crew. In this respect it’s important to think about how you are interacting as you’ll want as many options as possible as you venture on your space road trip.

Overall, Citizen Sleep 2 is a beautifully thought out and refined experience. It’s certainly tough but can be progressed through with careful thinking (and there are easier difficulty settings as well). It’s quite unique in its approach to the genre and still manages to stand out from the crowd. If you are looking for an immersive sci-fi adventure with a twist, then this comes highly recommended.

Overall 8/10

Sonokuni Review (Switch)

Every now and then you get something that appears out of the blue with little fan fare or hype that proves interesting enough to take a deeper look. A top down biopunk and Japanese mythology based, Hotline Miami, inspired indie game certainly fits the bill.

The Hotline Miami inspiration is obvious in terms of the games look and style. You enter buildings and move through the levels room by room in a series of sort of mini arena sequences. Each room contains a set series of enemies that all need to be approached in different ways to defeat them. This adds a sort of puzzle element as well as there’s normally only one way to get through without dying.

What is helpful is that if a certain enemy kills you too many times, then a video will pop up at your death showing how to deal with them. In terms of your arsenal, you have a spin attack, a deflection shield and the ability to slow down time for brief periods. Some enemies need shots deflected back at them, some need to be hit directly, while others may need to be dodged first or hit within a certain time. Knowing which order to do things is the key as one hit and you die and will need to repeat the room from scratch. The auto save is pretty good though, so you’ll be instantly back in the action without much time passing.

The biggest issue with the game though is the absolute crushing difficulty. Hotline Miami at least allowed some fluidity in how you could take enemies out. The closed arena nature of the rooms here really means it is a case of learning the pattern of each one and then making sure to execute it perfectly. And it does have to be perfect or else you will die and have to start again. This means if you do get stuck in a particular place it can soon start to get repetitive and frustrating quickly.

Some levels have boss fights as well. These tend to end up more like bullet hell shooter sequences where you must alternate between dodging attacks and deflecting and reflecting different colour bullets at the enemy. These are well handled and general walk the line well between challenging and fun.

There’s a good attempt at story telling and lore building as well. There are some great looking comic book style sequences and between levels you can explore a 2D village which acts as a small hub area. Here you can talk to other characters before heading off to the next level for more destruction.

Overall, Sonokuni is a fun attempt at trying to bring something a touch different to the Switch. It’s going to appeal to gamers who want games based on lightning fast reflexes and quick thinking. If the controls and pacing were tightened a little it would be an addictive masterpiece. As it is its good fun but veers more towards frustration than that ‘one more go’ ethos just a little too often.

Overall 7/10

Rendering Ranger Rewind Review (Switch)

The last few months have seen an increase in companies taking obscure retro games, giving them a lick of paint and then re-releasing them back into the world. As a result, we’ve had games that were never likely to appear on the Nintendo Switch Online Service brought back into the light. Rendering Ranger, one of the rarest and most expensive Super Nintendo games is the latest of these and another welcome addition.

Rendering Ranger is a side scrolling platform shooter similar in some ways to Super Contra. It’s not up there in terms of the legendary status but the general running, gunning and jumping are within the same area. There are also certain levels which move into a horizontal shooter where you pilot a ship. There’s also a basic powerup system where your weapons improve through pick ups but that’s about it. It was a simpler time.

Graphically, the game ties into the dystopian sci-fi aesthetic of the time in pretty standard fashion. There’s some cool enemy design and the game runs at about a million miles an hour as well so everything comes together in a slick and fun way. The action is intense and unrelenting, but the controls can be a little lose compared to other games which can lead to frustrating deaths. The game world does seem a bit cramped as well.

The levels themselves are also a little long and often have some repeated elements that verge on outstaying their welcome. There’s only so many times you want to go through the same loop of enemies and obstacles after all. Boss fights are well judged though with them being challenging without them falling into the realms of bullet sponges or being seemingly unfair.

Luckily, there are a fair few quality of life elements added to ease the old school difficulty. You can save and load at any point and there is also a rewind function. The game is fairly forgiving as well so all these combined mean players not used to older games should have a good chance of settling in and having a good time.

If you do die there is also a password system in place so you should be able to keep making progress. There are also a whole host of filter, screen size and border options to play around with and even the unreleased, European, version of the game has been included under the Targa title along with a music player and some museum options.

Overall, Rendering Ranger Rewind does an excellent job of presenting the very best version of the game and giving players the best chance of engaging and enjoying it. The game itself is just below the level of the cast iron classics of the time but is a fast paced and thoroughly enjoyable experience for retro game fans. We can also never get annoyed by companies spending the time to bring these more difficult to get hold of games to a wider audience.

Overall 7/10

Bubble Ghost Remake Review (Switch)

Bubble Ghost was always an interesting title, and one that we first came across on the Gameboy many years ago. It had a short physical revival recently with glow in the dark Gameboy cartridges being sold through various specialist vendors and now a full-on remake has appeared. Although charming, it was never the most highly regarded game though so the remake as some way to go in order to make an impact.

The basic premise is that you need to get your bubble through 33 screens and defeat a few bosses along the way. You move your bubble by blowing it and if anything touches it, it burst, and you need to start the level again. This is also true of the boss stages and can lead to frustration at times as some of the levels are fairly long.

As the ghost you can travel without fear of being damaged. You can even move through objects to scout out the levels to some degree. If you move too far away from your bubble though it will burst so looking ahead is limited. Controls are simple with one button being used to blow the bubble, how far depends on how long it’s held, and the shoulder buttons being used to spin your ghost around. Another button will spin your ghost 180 degrees as well for moments you need to manoeuvre quickly. Unfortunately, spinning the ghost around does feel a bit awkward and sometimes it simply doesn’t feel intuitive enough to get through the harsh traps that require quick fingers and even quicker thinking.

The boss battles are another source of frustration with the unforgiving fragility of the bubble meaning one mistake and you have to start the whole sequence over again. This is made more annoying by the fact you have no real way of knowing what the boss will do at each stage, meaning you are into the bad old days of trial and error and having to remember what comes next. When you add this to some slightly stiff controls and sections of the game can lose their feeling of fun very quickly. The severity of the difficulty strangely reminded us of the Boy and His Blob remake which also had the one hit kill and trial and error mechanics running through it.

The remake pretty much rebuilds the levels from the ground up. They are based on the original screens but the have been expanded massively and the graphics are now done in a beautifully illustrated comic book style. It’s certainly impressive to look at. Away from this visual overhaul though there isn’t much else here in the way of extras aside from a speed run mode. It would have been nice to see some material relating to the original versions of the games though. We would have really loved to have seen some of the original versions as playable as well but maybe that was hoping for too much.

Overall, Bubble Ghost had a lot of potential to be a charming game that offered something different. When it works, the game is great fun, but frustration is never too far away and the boss battles in particular are real missteps which make progress grind to halt. That said, there’s a level of love that has been put into this which can clearly be seen in the lavish graphics. If you are patient and looking for a challenge, then this is well worth checking out.

Overall 6/10

X-Out Resurfaced Review (Switch)

Recently, we have been seeing the Amiga back catalogue brought back to life. The Evercade has had several Amiga carts released and a handful of other games have made it to modern consoles. Now, we have a remake of 30 year old X-Out, a side scrolling shooter in the style of games like R-Type.

X-Out has a few things that try and set it part from other side scrolling shooters. In terms of it’s design it is set under water so everything has an aquatic theme to it. The other key thing is that you have the option to buy your ships and equipment at the start of each level. This creates a unique risk and reward dynamic where you need to decide if buying one super ship is better than having three or four less equipped ones. And it is a key decision because once your last ship is down it’s game over. There are no continues.

On that note, it’s a real surprise that X-Out Resurfaced doesn’t really cater for new gamers in any way despite being rebuilt from the ground up. There are none of the concessions that most retro remakes now have. You can’t save, there is no rewind function, and you can’t alter any settings such as lives or money. While it’s refreshing to see something stick to its roots, it also makes the game crushingly difficult. Your ship has a life bar but will explode instantly on impact with anything so some of your playthroughs may last minutes to begin with.

The fact there’s no continue option or level select is also frustrating. It’s true that each time you play you’ll likely progress a little further, but it can take seconds to lose all your craft and then you are right back to level 1 again. It’s something that seems unnecessary, especially with a game that isn’t always the most fluid to control. A lot of these shooters at least have level trainer options once you reach certain stages, but not here. 

Overall, X-Out Resurfaced is a strong but crushingly difficult game. Fans of games like R-type will feel at home, but the game really needed some options to try and get new players to connect with it. Anything past the first level is a real challenge and it’s likely a lot of players will spend most of their time in the early stages before feeling they can’t progress. While we are glad to see the game on the Switch, is could have been a lot more fun with more options for players to tinker with.

Overall 6/10

 

Beyond Galaxyland Review (Switch)

 

The Switch is packed with RPG’s so it was always going to take something different to standout from the crowd. Most of Square Enix’s back catalogue is here so we are a little surprised to see a fairly low budget indie game step up and give the big boys a run for their money.

Beyond Galaxyland, is a game based on old sci-fi and B movies and has our hero Doug, taken off to the stars in order to save earth. The galaxy he finds himself in is inhabited by not only humans but normal earth animals which have now transformed into walking, talking versions of themselves and an array of other alien life. It’s ok though, as Doug has his newly transformed giant hamster companion to help him through.

Presentation wise, the game is a side scrolling 2.5D affair. You can move in and out of the screen at various points as well to add depth to some of the locations. There are occasional puzzles and sections which require some object placement or basic platforming but it’s mainly about finding your way through the environments.

When you encounter enemies the game switches to a turn-based system not dissimilar to many other games of this genre. You have your basic attack option as well as being able to use special skills, items or summon any of the many creatures you can capture along the way. Combat has a small contextual and timed element to them on attack and defence to keep things a touch more interactive than fully traditional RPG games as well.

The capture mechanic adds a very light pokemon style element where you need to photograph the enemy, then try and entrap them in combat. Once this is done, they bring a special move to the party. Summons can also be levelled up and improved as the game goes on. There are a few other systems in play as well, with a crafting mechanic available for those looking to grind the best equipment.

The game also has an excellent quest and map system. Everything is organised clearly and it’s easy to work out what you are meant to be doing. If you get really stuck, you can have guidance to your next waypoint as well. Occasionally you’ll have some issues working out what level something is on but it isn’t often enough to frustrate for long.

What will likely divide players though is the graphical style used. There’s a heavy, old school, style pixel approach here that can make it hard to identify fine details at times. It’s also just a bit too dark at times, especially in some of the dungeons. Certain areas do look suitably impressive though when the visual clutter clears.

Above everything else though the main thing about Beyond Galaxyland is that it’s incredibly engaging. The characters and dialogue are well written and often humorous, so in your interludes between adventuring you are still keen to push forward and return to continue your adventure after setting the game down.

Overall, Beyond Galaxyland is another indie gem that deserves far more widespread recognition. It may be a touch rough around the edges but there’s so much here that works perfectly it would be remiss of any RPG fan not to give this a go. Those that do will find a fun and rewarding game that gives you hours of planets to explore.

Overall 8/10

The Thing: Remastered Review (Switch)

Of all the remasters of old games we were expecting, The Thing would have been one of our least predicted. Upon release on the PS2 and Xbox it garnered a warm reception from both press and gamers alike with it capturing the tone ands tyle of the John Carpenter’s movie well though so it’s not an unpleasant revisit.

The basic premise is that the game acts as a sequel to the 1982 movie with teams sent in to investigate what has happened at a remote outpost in the Arctic. You lead a team of four people, each of which has different talents such as medic or engineer and move through the facility carrying out various missions. The big gimmick for the time is that you don’t just have to worry about health but also the temperature of the environment and the sanity of your team.

Whenever you are caught outside a temperature gauge will drop. If it reaches zero, then you start to take damage from the extreme cold. On top of this when your teammates encounter weird phenomena they start to react in different ways. Sometimes they will begin to freak out and you’ll need to calm them down. The further in you get the more suspicious they will become when they see strange things and might start accusing other teammates of being infected. It adds a layer of tension to what is already a tight survival horror experience and it’s something different from most other games in the genre.

The Thing was never the best-looking game to begin with so it’s fair to say you are going to have to either forgive or get used to the look of it now. The textures have been cleaned up a bit but the game is pretty barren in terms of colour palette and much of the time you are in a snowstorm, the dark or a fairly generic looking polar base. It doesn’t really matter though as it matches the look of its source material and adds to the creepiness of the whole thing.

While fun and trying new things, the game always had a fair few flaws. The controls are somewhat awkward at best and when this is combined with the tight spaces it can make combat more frustrating than it needs to be. This is of course a trope of survival horror, but it doesn’t quite work as intended. Also, your squad AI is generally rubbish. A lot of the time you’ll just end up leaving them somewhere and trying to move forward on your own. It’s a nice idea which adds the suspicion element but if they were just a touch less annoying it would be much welcomed. The first time one of them mutates into a horrific monster you’ll still likely jump though.

There are other quality of life issues we would have loved to have seen added as well. A map or radar of some kind would have been most welcome. Even in mission one we had issues working out where we needed to go near the end to plant C4 charges. This isn’t helped buy the dim lighting and we must have spent over an hour looking for one of the bomb plant points as it was barely visible. The game also descends into to a bit of a meat grinder blastathon by the end as well, changing too much from the creeping dread of the early levels.

Overall, The Thing is an interesting game that works well enough to still be fun for survival horror fans. It does get a bit repetitive but remains one of the most original takes on the genre. It does the 1982 movie a good service as well so fans of that will find much to enjoy here. We would like to see a few more quality of life adjustments in future releases though. There’s nothing wrong with map after all.

Overall 7/10

 

Tetris Forever Review (Switch)

Digital Eclipse are back again with another one of their interactive documentaries, this time covering everyone’s favourite block stacking puzzle game. We’ve covered both their Jeff Minter and Karateka retrospectives before and found them to be informative and well worth looking at.

The mix of detailed documents and interviews mixed with selections of games is an enticing mix and when done well lifts these collections above some of the money grab compilations out there. It’s always trickier when collections surround one particular game though as you are effectively going to get multiple versions of the same thing, as is the case here, although there is more variation than you may be expecting.

Before we get on to that, it’s worth saying that if you are a fan of Tetris and want to know about its history then this has been expertly put together and curated. It follows in great detail the intriguing story that had people rushing around Moscow trying to get hold of the rights. A story so compelling it was turned into a half decent film. There’s also a lorry load of documents and interviews that cover pretty much every aspect of Tetris up to about 1999.

While the history is complete, it does show up some of the gaps in the game library. There always going to be rights issues and limits to what is possible when it comes to these documentary style compilations and unfortunately there was no way that Nintendo was ever going to release the rights to Tetris on the NES or Gameboy. This is of course problematic as the Gameboy version in particular is the one most closely associated with the franchise and the global conquering success that is had. All the information about it is present, but the game itself is nowhere to be seen. Nintendo has since released both the NES and Gameboy versions on its own Online service so at least they are out there somewhere.

If that doesn’t put you off though you get a sizable catalogue of block rotating action. There are 19 games in total, and they aren’t all Tetris in its traditional sense. You get a host of different versions of the classic title ranging from the Electronika 60 up to Super Tetris 3 on the Super Famicom. Along with this there are versions of the various spinoffs such as Hatris, Welltris, Bombliss and the Battle Gaiden versions. All of which have their own appeal and work the format well.

Exclusive to this collection is a new version of the game called Tetris: Time Warp which is a fun take which occasional throws in random versions of retro Tetris games into the mix as you are playing, allowing players to earn bonus points. It works very well and while it’s probably not worth buying the whole collection for, it certainly is a very good and welcome addition to the collection that takes the sting out of some of the key versions being missing.

Overall, whether you need to get this collection rests on a couple of key things. That being, how bothered are you going to be that the most iconic versions of the game aren’t here, how much you care about the Tetris story and how much a new version of the game excites you. It’s enough for us to recommend it though as the whole package is so well put together.

Overall 8/10

Taito Collection 3 Review (Switch)

 

The first two Taito Milestones collection were a bit of a mixed bag. The first collection had ten games on it but lacked for the price that was being asked. The second collection fared better, having The New Zealand Story and a unique version of Darius 2 on it. While still limited to ten games, the third collection is arguably the strongest set of games so far.

Before we get into what’s on here it’s important to say that you now get all the expected game-based bells and whistles retro collections have started to accumulate. Save states, display settings, the ability to tweak in game options and online rankings are all here along with in game manuals. There isn’t much in the way of museum or archive material though.

Headlining this collection are the classics of Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands. Both are highly regarded arcade games that you’ll no doubt have heard of. They both play as excellently as you remember as well with their different takes on platforming still feeling fresh and fun, while also influencing so much that came after them. 

The Rastan games are also here.  The impressive Conan the Barbarian inspired sprites still hold up and the arcade style hack and slash will keep you playing longer than most arcade games have a right to. The second game is even more visually impressive with some excellent set pieces and huge graphics, but it lacks in terms of how it plays and will likely be skipped over after the initial wow factor has warn off.

The rare, third game in the Rastan Saga has also been included. Warrior Blade is Taito’s attempt at producing something like Golden Axe. It’s not been the easiest game to get hold of so it’s nice to see it here and it does a good job at creating a swords and sorcery hack and slash game. It has a pretty wide range of moves as well and three different characters to pick from so if you get tired of just hammering the attack button there are options to mix things up.

Championship Wrestling is an interesting choice, it’s a relatively fun take on the sport which looks great but lacks a few moves. It runs at a decent speed and all the different characters are visually different. They also have a few unique moves between them. As there’s a real lack of decent wrestling games on the Switch it could gain a bit of a cult following. It’s certainly fun in small bursts.

RPG/ Hack and Slash crossover Cadash has made the cut as well. You start by picking from one of four characters and then must press on against the clock in a side on adventure. Occasionally you’ll level up and have to continually find gold. It’s not a game that has aged massively well and will likely just become a curio as players look for something a bit easier to deal with. The same can be said for Runark (otherwise known as Growl), which is a fairly average belt fighter with a few cool elements and an interesting theme.

Luckily, Thunder Fox is much more interesting. It plays like a sort of cross between an updated version of Rush ‘n’ Attack and the arcade version of Shinobi. Levels are varied and it’s responsive and good fun. It has the basic structure of walking through levels and hitting enemies but the bosses are decent and occasionally you get to drive vehicles and blast things in jets. As an arcade experience it works well.

The collection is rounded off with Dead Connection a cool action game set across a single screen where you break into gangsters’ dens and shoot everyone. Levels are set up like a club or a restaurant and you must eliminate a certain number of targets to progress. Much of the environment is destructible and interactive as well which adds to the chaos. It’s a continual good time and a much-welcomed addition.

Overall, The third Taito collection is the strongest in terms of overall selection of games yet. There’s a good mix of well recognised titles and curios and most of them are at least fun to play in small amounts. There are of course always things we would have liked to see added. In this instance we would have loved to have more of the Bubble Bobble games on here, Bubble Symphony seems to never want to come out on anything again. The price may still be too much for some but in terms of quality you can’t really argue.

Overall 8/10

Irem Collection Volume 2 Review (Switch)

Irem’s rollout of it’s older Ip is certainly taking its time. The Switch is now home to a huge array of retro games and compilations but much of it has been released on other platforms before. Irem seems to be taking a different approach, and while their collections are small, they are also games that haven’t been released as often. They are also seemingly trying to avoid an overlap with their Evercade releases so there’s a focus on more original content.

As a result, we haven’t seen collections of games such as R-Type or Midnight Resistance but more obscure arcade releases. The original collection contained Image Fight, Image Fight 2 and X Multiply, and now we have Air Duel, GunForce and GunForce II. Like before, different versions of the games have been included. The SNES and Arcade versions of Gunforce are here (along with regional variants), GunForce II has it’s Geo Storm variant and the Japanese version of Air Duel rounds out the collection.

Air Duel is a vertical scrolling shooter in the same sort of vein as Capcom’s 1940 series. You control a plane or a helicopter and take on a variety of futuristic military enemies. There’s a fairly standard power up system which increases the power of your main gun, and you also have your smart bombs. The helicopter handles slightly differently, allowing the player to pivot their fire from side to side which is a nice touch. In general, this is a great fun classic example of the genre, even if it lacks some of the innovation of modern releases.

You get both the console and arcade versions of GunForce. Unfortunately, the SNES/Famicom version of the game isn’t a patch on the arcade. It’s nice to have it here for completionist sake but it merely tries to mimic the arcade experience without adding anything new to the mix. As a result, you are much better sticking with the arcade experience. The game is a side scrolling shooter which sits somewhere between Conta and Metal Slug. It’s a tiny bit slow but the action is fun and frenetic and there’s a wide range of powerups and vehicles to play around with and huge bosses to take down.

GunForce 2 ramps up the speed and firepower considerably. It makes the game have much more of a full-on Metal Slug feel than the original. It’s also much more over the top with your character carrying two guns and a faster, more streamlined approach to the sprite work and level design. It’s an excellent game and one any fans of scrolling shooters should go out of their way to play.

As is standard now, all the games come with save states, rewind features and options to remap and change the controls. There’s also auto fire options and you can play the games in casual or classic mode which limits certain options or allows access to online leaderboards. It is a shame though that the games don’t have any real sort of archive or museum material.

Overall, Irem Collection Volume 2 has three excellent games on it that are all individually worth playing. There’s still an issue regarding the price, and of course there could and probably should be more games in each volume, especially compared to what’s out there from other companies. But what’s here is good and presented well. If that’s enough then you shouldn’t hesitate to dive in.

Overall 8/10

Voidwrought Review (Switch)

This will shock you, but Voidwrought is an indie Metroidvania game on the Switch. It’s fair to say that Nintendo’s hybrid has no shortages of games in the genre (including Metroid and Castlevania), so anything new must really do something to standout.

It’s a good thing then that Voidwrought really does try to do things a little bit differently. The first thing you’ll notice is that the game looks incredible. Everything from cutscenes to the general level design is presented in a gorgeous dark comic book style. To match this, the flow of movement is as smooth as the visuals with the games trademark being that it’s a fast-paced take on the genre. In these respects, it really does stand out in a positive way.

The general look of the design is a sort of comic book inspired mashup of Deadcells, Blasphemy and Dark Souls with a mixture of both technological and biological terrors inhabiting the environments. It definitely has a continually brooding and menacing tone to it that works well with the general bleakness of the game’s difficulty.

The steep learning curve may put some gamers off, the environment is harsh to navigate, and most enemies take a considerable amount of damage before they go down. This is all fine until you end up repeating sections multiple times. There are save points of course but they aren’t that prevalent. One concession to this is that any major object collected, or event triggered, will still have happened when you die and respawn at your last save point.

In a game which is generally difficult the bosses are, perhaps surprisingly, quite well balanced. There are certainly sticking points but once you have learned how they behave they don’t take crazy amount so damage before going down which helps to keep the game flowing.

There are a few issues though. First of all, the plot doesn’t really carry much of an impact. We would struggle to tell you what you are doing and why beyond the obvious Metroidvania exploration. We had no real idea what the overall goal was. Perhaps more concerning, the game also isn’t very good at giving you clear feedback regarding things like getting or damage.

The cartoon style is beautiful, but it does give things a lack of weight and impact, so it can be difficult to know if you are being hit or how hard you are hitting yourself. The health bar is also an issue. There is one of course but it doesn’t stand out that well and there is little other visual feedback to give an indication you are about to die. This led to a fair few deaths when healing was otherwise available.

Overall, Voidwrought succeeds in bringing something slightly different to the Metroidvania template. This is impressive enough when you consider how many games there are out there in the genre. It never fully clicked with us though in the way some of the other games have. That moment when you are just zooming around feeling like a super being never really came and, in the end, the few flaws did start to wear away at us. It’s a beautifully crafted game that runs amazingly well, but it is also perhaps one for gamers out there looking for a more hardcore experience. If you are into the genre though, this is well worth checking out as it’s somewhat unique in a crowded market.

Overall 7/10

Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel Review (Switch)

As you’ll likely know by now, we are a fan of obscure sixteen-bit games being released on the Switch. We’ve covered the first two games in the Aero the Acrobat series and now the third has arrived. Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel, focuses on one of the bosses from the previous games who is now the main character, much in the same way Knuckles broke out of the Sonic series. It’s also a crazily expensive Megadrive game, so we are more than happy to see it more readily available.

Zero, is a late life platformer and as a result is among the best looking Megadrive games. It’s bold colours and large sprites hold up remarkably well on the Switch and the levels and backgrounds are well drawn and different enough visually to keep things interesting throughout.

Along with the impressive graphics, Zero also plays like a dream. The platforming is precise and once you have got used to the inertia that every Megadrive platformer seems to have its genuinely fun to play. Zero has a fair few moves as well with him being able to throw ninja stars and swoop for short distances in the air. There are a few too many leaps of faith in the level design, but the rewind feature eliminates any major frustration in that respect.

In terms of content, the game has some nice additions. There’s the save state and rewind option that most retro games now have but you can also choose which regional version of the game to play. And if it’s all too much there’s also a host of cheats that can be activated. There’s also a selection of music options, a gallery and sprite sheets. It’s nothing amazing on its own but all together it shows that some care and attention has been put in to try and create a well-rounded package.

Overall, Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel is a bit of a forgotten gem. It was largely overlooked on release but it’s well worth playing now. It’s a fun and solid platformer and could easily have been released today and fit in with the indie crowd. You may not have heard of it but it’s well worth checking out.

Overall 8/10

The Karate Kid: Street Rumble Review (Switch)

Of all the retro inspired sub-genres to have a comeback recently, we weren’t expecting 80’s nostalgia-based side scrolling beat’em ups with cartoon graphics to be one of them. We’ve had various Turtles games, Double Dragon: Gaiden and there’s the upcoming Toxic Crusaders. You can now add The Karate Kid to that mix. The Scott Pilgrim game has certainly had an influence.

The game does look great though. Locations are initially a bit dull but get better as you progress and take in the familiar locations of high school, beach, arcade and other areas around Reseda. The jump to Japan for the second film offers up some lovely sprite work and though the general designs of characters does repeat, everything individually looks pretty great.

Perhaps a little surprisingly, Street Rumble follows the plot of the first three movies instead of the more recent Cobra Kai series. You get to pick from four characters – Daniel, Ali, Mr Miyagi and Kimiko. Each character has the same basic set of attacks, but they range in speed and strength and have individual signature moves. So, there’s just enough here to make players try a few different playthroughs to find their favourite.

Combat is solid and fluid, with players able to mix light and heavy attacks together smoothly to create their own combos. You can add your signature attacks to this as well, meaning there’s good opportunities to juggle enemies or switch to new targets as required. You can also grab and throw enemies. The overall movement is limited but then that goes for about ninety percent of these types of games. One notable thing is that you can’t pick up weapons, so combat is really about keeping your combo meter going for as long as possible with the moves you have.

There’s an interesting health system in play as well with the player only taking proper health damage when their special meter is empty. This means you can take the odd hit without it causing too much trouble as long as you are on the offensive. Once you lose your three lives in a stage though you are done. Even if you are at the boss, it’s back to the beginning. This is well balanced though but can still be a touch frustrating as some of the stages are a touch long.

There’s also a low level exp grind at play where your characters can level up and gain new signature moves and other bonuses. The main way to do this is via secondary challenges within the levels. These normally come down to beating enemies a certain number of times with certain attacks or not taking health damage. It’s a pretty basic part of the game that lacks much invention, but it gives something for the box tick completionists to do.

Overall, The Karate Kid: Street Rumble is a well put together and good-looking game that plays nicely. The only real issue is that it can get repetitive quickly and some of the levels are pretty long and uninspired in terms of design. For short bursts it works really well and there are some nice systems here. It will be good enough for fans of both the films and side scrolling beat’em ups though. There’s also a lot that could be built and expanded on if they decide to move forward into other Karate Kid properties as there’s a really solid foundation in the design here.

Overall 7/10

Iron Meat Review (Switch)

Unless you’ve been under a rock for the last few decades you may have noticed there are quite a few indie games which are moulded in the ‘Metroidvania’ way. There also a fair few pixel platformers out there but, perhaps surprisingly, there are far fewer run and guns games inspired by the Contra series and other games of its ilk. Indeed, aside from Blazing Chrome it’s been remarkably quiet, that is until now.

The plot of Iron meat is as hilarious as it is basic. There have been some strange experiments going on, on the moon and now an iron hungry meat mass is mutating and destroying everything in a post-apocalyptic future. This is basically an excuse to merge iron and meat together to create horrific monsters to blast like a giant meat train boss with teeth.

Iron Meat unashamedly takes inspiration from Konami’s classic series in the best way. It is tough, but it’s not quite as brutal as Contra or Blazing Chrome, so it at least lets players get used to it before really ramping up the challenge. Levels are creative and well designed and provide a good deal of variety. In a further concession to the difficulty, any unlocked stage can be started from when you die, meaning you can practice the tough later levels without needing to blast through the others first.

As always with games of this type, the controls are key. We are pleased to say that everything here is tight. Your little dude who looks like Robocop is nimble and responsive and it’s also easy to blast in the direction you want to. That’s handy as the later levels require constant and precise movement to survive. As a nice touch your character can be quite heavily customised with unlockable skins and parts as well to mimic some famous characters.

There’s also a host of powerups available that keep blasting fun and you can carry up to two of these at a time. There is another small concession to the difficulty here in that when you die, you’ll keep whatever weapon loadout you weren’t using at the time.

The game looks beautiful as well. There are some amazing, animated cut scenes throughout and the levels themselves are detailed and full of character and touches such as sparks and flickering lights. In this respect the Switch doesn’t seem to be lagging. There’s no evidence of slowdown or poor performance either. Matching the visuals is an adrenaline pumping soundtrack and top level foley. This really is well thought out and presented excellently.

Overall, Iron Meat is a top tier run and gun game. There is an argument that it might be more fun than the recent Contra: Operation Galuga. It’s big, bold and intense but also gives you enough to feel like you can make progress and have a chance against what you are blasting. Retroware seem to have a host of retro inspired games coming and long may it continue if they carry on being at this level of quality.

Overall 8/10

Sam and Max: Beyond Time and Space Review (Switch)

We covered the first in the Telltale Sam and Max trilogy a few weeks ago and now the duo is back with their second collection of five episodes. This time our heroes are dealing with everything from Santa Claus demons and vampire rockstars to time traveling Mariachi band aliens. Much like the previous collection, the game isn’t perfect but there is still nothing quite like following around the mad-cap duo with their dry and slightly psychotic brand of humour.

Little has changed in terms of structure from before. The game is still set in a 3D world which our heroes wandering around looking for things to interact with. There’s help in the form of the shoulder buttons which will highlight interactive elements of the scenes and you can also set Max to give you hints about what to do at varying intervals which we found was a good way to keep the story moving.

The aim of each chapter is to solve the various puzzles and mysteries in classic point and click style by collecting objects and using them in weird and wonderful ways. This being a Sam and Max game though you really have to get your lateral thinking skills going, and even then we found some puzzles fell too far into surreal obscurity for most normal humans at times. At least locations are kept fairly tight so there’s always the option of just talking to everyone and trying everything everywhere.

It's fair to say that the episodes get better and more creative as you progress. The opening chapter based around a demon taking over the north pole dragged a bit and this is followed by a Bermuda Triangle based chapter which we found quite fiddly. Next though is a great chapter about zombies, featuring a vein vampire holding a European dance rave, This is then followed by the alien time travelling Mariachi band which has some of the funniest dialogue. The final chapter rounds everything off well and doing just enough to send you back to the eShop to pick up the final game in the trilogy.

Some of the complaints about the previous game are still relevant of course. Again, these were released originally as standalone episodes so there is a certain number of repetitive locations and environments. It’s something the game even references at one point. At least this time you are mostly whisked away to other locations though which does give much needed variety. There’s also some silly mini games to help keep things interesting as well. You are still going to be visiting Bosco’s Shop, Stinky’s Diner and Sybils Office a lot though.

We found the writing to be a lot sharper than the first game though. Max in particular seems to be much more on point. Seemingly a case of the writers and voice actors having got more comfortable with characters again. It means it’s well worth clicking on everything and seeking out the additional dialogue options in order to hear all the jokes and quips and the game is consistently funny throughout all the episodes.

Overall, Sam and Max: Beyond Space and Time is an enjoyable and welcome continuation for the crime fighting dog and rabbit. There’s nothing here that’s going to put you off if you have played the previous games and, in all likelihood, you’ll finish this then head straight back to get the next episode. The locations are a bit more inventive than the first game as well and writing is certainly sharper. A very welcome addition to the Switch point and click library.

Overall 7/10

Shadow of the Ninja Reborn Review (Switch)

 

I don’t think anyone had relatively obscure NES game Shadow of the Ninja on their bingo card for a revival this year. But Atari, Natsume and others are going all out to squeeze every piece of equity from gamings now lengthy back catalogue.  We have played the original game though and it’s a fun take on the platform genre that tries to distance itself from the Gaiden series as much as possible.

As an update, Shadow of the Ninja Reborn is a strange sort of game. If you think back to the days of the NES, a lot of games were ported from the arcade. This take on the franchise looks to reverse the approach. Taking what was an 8-bit game and imaging how it would work as an arcade game. Changing its level design, how the game plays and boosting its graphics to be bigger and more colourful.

The game is pretty hardcore in terms of difficulty. Players can pick from normal or hard to begin with (pick normal), and once your energy bar has depleted you die and start the stage again. There are two or three checkpoints throughout levels though and normally one before boss fights as well. You also have unlimited continues and the game will also give you more health pick ups and items if you get stuck dying on a particular section, so at least it does try and keep players going. Despite the arcade nature of the game, you don’t have to play through from the beginning each time either as it’ll autosave your progress and unlock levels as time attack stages once completed.

In terms of your ninja, you have a couple of cool weapons at your disposal. You have your basic sword which can be upgraded to sort of fire swooshy things. It can also block a lot of projectiles that are fired your way which is a nice touch. You also have a sort of grappling hook weapon which has a decent range and can be used to attack enemies from different angles. This also upgrades to add length and extra spikes. You can also find a host of other weapons and items which are limited use. We did find most of them took far too long to use though so tended to stay with the basic sword and hook set up.

There are a few issues with controls unfortunately. The standard sword swipe and jump are fine, but you can also sort of wall run and jump but it never felt natural to pull off and sticking to surfaces also seemed a bit hit and miss. In terms of using items there’s an odd selection process. Pressing the shoulder button selects whatever your closest item on your inventory is. However, logically, pressing the button multiple times should really syphon through your inventory, but to actually do that you need to hold the button down and then use arrows to shift through. It is rarely practical to do this to the point it makes the inventory almost useless for large parts of the levels.

Level design and enemies though are generally pretty cool. There’s a wide range of opponents who attack you in different ways and the sort of sci-fi cyber design works well. Bosses are varied and creative and follow attack patterns which will need to be learned to down them. They are pretty well balanced though with just the right amount of health and work as highlights rather than annoyances.

Overall, Shadow of the Ninja Reborn is a fun and creative throwback to arcade games of the 90’s. it’s not perfect but the annoyances never stop it from being fun. The difficulty is something players will have to get used to, but the game at least tried to help you out when you start to really struggle. If you like arcade action platformers then this will likely be right up your alley. A very well thought out use of an old and obscure IP.

Overall 8/10