Vooks

• SWITCH
• Australie

Disco Elysium is strange, ground-breaking, and incredibly funny. No combat, not really an RPG, but something boldly new. A cacophony of internal personalities resting on the membrane of consciousness.

• SWITCH
• Australie

I've dragged myself through Pokémon games in recent years, but not with this one. Pokémon Arceus Legends is the future of Pokémon games. It's the game we've all been waiting for for years, with a new and fun way to catch Pokemon, a story that adds to and pulls from Pokemon lore and a region you can genuinely get lost in. Pokemon Legend Arceus is Pokémon, evolved.

• SWITCH
• Australie

Death's Door tightly packs a challenging action-adventure into some of the more enjoyable ten hours of 2021. It's a game deserving of the hype and spots on game of the year lists. Unfortunately, there aren't any difficulty options to help make the game more accessible. While it is a challenging game, it's a challenge that you feel you can overcome as you unravel what is going on in the department.

• SWITCH
• Australie

Aspire: Ina’s Tale still leaves an outstanding impression. Traversing the big ol’ tower and solving puzzles with Ina was satisfying despite a few tricky hiccups. The brilliant art style is the absolute star of the show, however. Aspire: Ina’s Tale is a game with striking visuals that’ll keep you agasp through its entirety.

• SWITCH
• Australie

On paper, this Trilogy remasters sounds like a done deal. All the points are there to let a new generation of players enjoy these games - warts and all. However, what we really have is an insult to the legacy of these games, to fans of the series and the word Remastered. These ports should be avoided unless you're a diehard fan. Because these games always had a level of jank that you could put up with, and those fun games are still here if you fight through the pain. But for anyone else, trust that GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas were terrific games and play their legacy in everything else they inspired instead. I don't think there are any amount of patches that can help the Switch version of this Trilogy.

• SWITCH
• Australie

Shin Megami Tensei V is more of what SMT fans would want, now with open-ish worlds and platforming. The Press Turn mechanic is still enjoyable and keeps the game interesting as you try to best or befriend every demon that comes your way. Newcomers might find the brutal difficulty off-putting, with too much grinding for too little story. I have no doubts it will be a beloved Shin Megami Tensei game for the already converted. I’ve always enjoyed the series but hope it can become even more accessible to a broader audience and still keep everything that makes it what it is. But we might be waiting for the next game for that to happen.

• SWITCH
• Australie

Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain is a solid collection of brain-teasing minigames that’s enjoyable enough alone but is unlikely to hold your attention for an extended period unless you’ve got some fellow brainiacs to go up against. That competitive drive to improve and beat your friends and family will keep you coming back once the allure of another cute hat wears off. If you’ve got some people to share the experience with, you’ll have a good time with this one.

• SWITCH
• Australie

Diablo II Resurrected, for the most part, strikes a perfectly respectable balance between maintaining the look and feel of the original and updating it for a modern audience. It's unambitious, but it doesn't really need to be any more than that — Diablo II was a wonderful game, and all it really needed was a bit of sprucing up at the end of the day. That's been done here, and done mostly well, and the transition to a gamepad is probably is good as it could've been. Still, it feels dated in some ways, and its online/offline character split was a dreadful choice, given how bad the servers have been for it. Still, it is Diablo II, for better and for worse, and if you're like me and have a nostalgic attachment to it, it's probably worth a play.

• SWITCH
• Australie

Final Thoughts Mario Party Superstars is the greatest hits reunion tour of some of the best parts of Mario Party history, and it does a fantastic job of bringing the magic and wonder of classic boards and minigames into your living room. Still, it's hard to shake the feeling that Superstars could have been — and could still be — something more. It's right on the verge of becoming the definitive Mario Party experience, and everything it does, it does right. If you're content with the content on offer already, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better party game than this, either on the Switch or on any other platform.

• SWITCH
• Australie

Starbase Startopia is a fun little alien management game. If you're after a new management sim, it could be an excellent comfort game. For newcomers to management games, Starbase is a little too alienating, but if you're just curious how it runs, it runs alright.

• SWITCH
• Australie

SkateBIRD is a game you'll want to love, it's hard to be let down by it. Unfortunately, all of the issues keep this game grounded. Get it for the bird, not so much the skating. Developer Glass Bottom Games made a cute indie skating game, and it seems they're still supporting the game so it could address some of the issues. For now, SkateBIRD's appeal depends on how much you like to commit to a bird-based skating game.

• SWITCH
• Australie

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is the best Super Smash Bros game I’ve played not featuring Mario. The fighting system underpinning it is a lot of fun, introducing enough new elements to stand on its own amongst its peers and having enough depth to foster competitive play going forward. It’s a shame that the list of features and content is so threadbare and that some further love hasn’t been shown for the rich source material, but hopefully, the developers can support the game and expand on this in either updates or a sequel. For the time being, this is a solid alternative to Smash Bros if you’re after something a little different, or just want to reset the playing field for that one friend who has just become too good at Ultimate.

• SWITCH
• Australie

Eastward is a masterful title sure to put Pixpil on the map. The pixel art and animations are top notch, the characters are brilliantly well-written and the story intriguing. The gameplay is perfect blend of RPG and action-adventure and there’s so much game to play. Not to mention the entirety of Earth Born. Eastward should be high on any indie fan’s watchlist!

• SWITCH
• Australie

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is the best attempt yet by Sega to get back to the brilliance that was the original games. While purists will still feel just a little off at the game's physics, everyone else probably won't notice. With the stack of party games, things to unlock and almost near infinite replayability, Banana Mania will be something you return to repeatedly. We've all been begging for a remake of Super Monkey Ball. We've finally got, and while it's not perfect – really what is?

• SWITCH
• Australie

WarioWare: Get It Together! is another thoroughly entertaining entry into this wacky series. The introduction of multiple different playable characters has its pros and cons, but once over the initial adjustment period, their addition makes for plenty of replayability, refreshing challenges and the special blend of multiplayer chaos only Wario can provide. It’s not the strongest WarioWare game overall, but it’s another quality party option for your Switch collection.

• SWITCH
• Australie

Boyfriend Dungeon is not only an enjoyable and inclusive dating sim dungeon crawler, but it's also a thoughtful game on relationships. I had a nice time getting to know the variety of bladed partners, and I'm sure dating sim fans will enjoy it too. The Dunj delving might lack variety, but getting to know the characters is worth the effort. Whether you're new to dating sims or a regular romancer, you'll have a fun time in the dunj with your new fling.

• SWITCH
• Australie

At the end of the day, Sonic Colours Ultimate does offer a decent Sonic adventure. Everything you'd expect from a modern Sonic game is here: speeding through different acts, alternate pathways, hidden collectibles, great design, and, yes, unbalanced gameplay and a couple of bugs. If you're a hedgehog diehard, Sonic Colours Ultimate is most definitely worth a look, but if you aren't, then take this one with a blue grain of salt.

• SWITCH
• Australie

Although it may not bear repeat playthroughs, Road 96 is an engaging adventure around heavy themes that resonate in today’s world. Its simplistic characters and situations are equally charming, and each scenario is just long enough to urge you to press play on the next one.