When Three Houses was announced for the Nintendo Switch, I was more hyped for this than any game currently available on the platform. While its story doesn’t quite live up to the previous entries I’ve enjoyed, mostly due to some poorly handled reveals and its failure to offer us up a compelling villain, Three Houses succeeds greatly due to its vast replayability, and yet another memorable cast to add to the franchise.
When it was announced that this long-awaited next entry would be a Nintendo Switch exclusive, many were disappointed. This exclusivity was due to Nintendo being the publisher on the title, being responsible for bringing the series back. That said, while the portable nature of taking the game on the go is very appealing, the overall experience is decent at best.
Going into Peach Ball, I half expected another game on the level of Peach Beach Splash; a fun cheeky narrative that utilized the cast in fun and interesting ways. Peach Ball is sadly not that game. While there is certain fun to be had here, the game just doesn’t justify it’s semi-high price tag with how hollow the experience can be.
Tales of Vesperia once started life as an Xbox 360 exclusive way back in 2008. It eventually saw an expanded port to the PlayStation 3. This version featured additional content but never saw a release outside of Japan. Now, a decade later, that expanded version has been released worldwide as Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition.
After hearing the title mentioned in a recent gaming podcast, I curiously checked it out on the Nintendo Switch eshop store. A cheap price here, a download there, and within minutes, I was swept away by its gorgeous visuals and haunting soundtrack. While GRIS is not a terribly long experience, clocking in at around 3 hours, it is one that is incredibly memorable, and one of the best games I’ve ever played.
While I’ve been a longtime fan of the Pokemon craze, including that of its mobile counterpart; Pokemon Go, It was Pokemon Yellow that consumed much of my youth. And so it is fitting that Pokemon Let’s Go! Pikachu and Eevee is a built for the Nintendo Switch version of that very game, albeit with a few significant changes.
I’m torn on whether or not I fully enjoyed this story-based expansion to Xenoblade Chronicles 2. While I absolutely adored the story components that Monolithsoft have delivered here, the supplemental side quests bog down the experience and cause this expansion to feel as if I was progressing through it at a snail’s pace, as if I was being punished somehow.
Senran Kagura has featured a wealth of humor mixed with its incredibly non-subtle approach to fan service, yet has always had a certain charm baked in to each subsequent release. Its latest title; however, lacks nearly everything that makes each of the other Senran Kagura games feel worthwhile and comes off as a complete waste of time.
From a visual standpoint, Dead Cells was a game that I had been intrigued by for a fairly long time. Dead Cells is a game that needs to be on people's radar, a game that truly needs to be celebrated. Dead Cells is one of the best games I've played in 2018 and a strong contender for my Game of the Year.
Like many, I missed out on the original release of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker on the WiiU and was looking forward to its inevitable release on the Nintendo Switch. My exposure to the title was minimal, but it looked like a charming puzzle game with all the trappings and polish of a typical Nintendo release.
If titles such as Yooka-Laylee and Bioshock are considered love letters to their respective gaming inspirations, then Octopath Traveler is the full-on romance novel of the JRPG. Steeped in combat mechanics and visuals of JRPG's from a long-passed era, SquareEnix's latest is a return to the greatness of classic role-playing adventure games.
The Nintendo Switch has proven to be one of the best platforms for engaging and lengthy JRPG's. We've just seen the release of Shining Resonance: Refrain and are days away from Octopath Traveler hitting the console and the system is currently packed with several more such as Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Lost Sphear.
It's a rather weird thought that Mario Tennis would share any resemblance to that of Marvel's latest Avenger's movie, but when Mario is set on the path to recovering 5 colored 'Power Stones', I had to shake my head and let out a very loud sigh. In fact, I made that same sound at many of the design choices that Camelot chose to go with for this latest installment.
Whether it's Marvel vs Capcom or Street Fighter and Tekken, seeing several massive franchises coming together is a truly spectacular event. While it has been years since I have played a BlazBlue title, I was eager to jump into this latest installment with the addition of Persona, Under Night In-Birth, and of course, RWBY.
