Nintendo Switch

“My games are concepts and feelings that I can't describe in words,” solo developer Sam Eng said in a 2024 interview for Chanel, after winning the brand’s prestigious Next Prize. “Everything I encounter, I try to portray in a gameplay or audio-visual experience.” These quotes give a taste of how Skate Story has been designed. It’s driven by an artistic impulse that tempts me to say ‘It won’t be for everyone’ (here I’m thinking of the offbeat narrative that ends in an abstract sequence a little l

I had a moment of realisation while flipping my Switch 2 around in my hand and tapping at the screen in an effort to solve yet another clever-but-abstract puzzle. I realised that the Simogo Legacy Collection was one of the most unabashedly original sets of experiences I had encountered in a long time. The funny thing was that I had already played every game in this collection years before. It had been so long that the zenith of mobile gaming had slipped into the realm of half-forgotten memories.

In 2020, Square Enix released an interesting 'stopgap' in the Octopath Traveler series called Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent. This free-to-play mobile game took the gacha approach to design, regularly launching new units and storylines to interact with as the years rolled by. The company wrapped up that initial version in January this year, but it decided to design a new standalone version for consoles: Octopath Traveler 0. Not quite a straight port of the original nor a brand new

I’ve been waiting a long time for this. Ever since Metroid Prime 3: Corruption ended on a slight cliffhanger (provided you obtained the 100% completion rating) back in 2007, I’ve been wondering where exactly Nintendo and Retro Studios might take the series next. 18 years would follow, and that’s an awful long time to formulate an idea of what the perfect sequel might look like. Now that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is finally here, it’s absolutely nothing like I’d imagined – and that’s a good thing.

It’s been over three years since Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge was released, and Tribute Games has been really busy. Stuffed like a return-trip suitcase, Marvel Cosmic Invasion’s enormous cast of heroes and villains is here united in a rapturous beat-'em-up fanfare. Its pixel art positively simmers, with beautifully rendered backgrounds, giant set-pieces, and solid, impressively animated sprites. And, in addition to primary antagonist Annihilus, nemeses like Galactus, Hela, an

Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft’s flagship series, has delivered two decades of time-hopping adventure. Over the years, it has spawned a glut of expansions and spin-offs, building a franchise with a legion of faithful fans. Moving away from the Hitman-like structure of working through a target list, the series reinvented itself and shifted into gigantic open-world sandboxes filled with light RPG elements and enough quests to keep you busy until the next instalment arrived. Shadows, which launched on o

If you’ve spent years of your life waiting for Metroid Prime 4, Silksong, or one of the many other highly anticipated games that spent substantial time on the horizon, just remember that it could always be worse — you could be an Inazuma Eleven fan. Developer Level-5’s RPG-tinged take on football (or soccer, if that’s your bag) started life back on the DS, where the original game and its sequels cemented the franchise’s status as a refreshingly wacky alternative to the hyper-grounded likes of ge

A scared mouse scurries through an unforgiving landscape packed with abominations that may be friend or foe. This timid squeaker can join forces with Morsels, strange creatures with offensive abilities that fight at their side. With this help, the mouse travels upward toward the domain of the evil overlords who control this twisted world. From that simple premise, Morsels presented me with a wealth of visual information and a relentless assault of creatures and environmental hazards. It's a lot

When you think of platformers, you likely think of Super Mario Bros. When you think of JRPGs, you likely think of Final Fantasy. When you think of FPS, you likely think of Call of Duty. Some games are just synonymous with their respective genres. And when it comes to tower defense games, what comes to my mind immediately is Plants vs Zombies. Plants vs Zombies: Replanted is exactly what it says on the tin. Zombies are invading and the only hope against them is a crop of… well, crops. You’ll need

With a name like Viewfinder, you might be forgiven for thinking that somebody finally decided to capitalise on the picture-hunting format perfected by Pokémon Snap. Perhaps a chilling new instalment in the Fatal Frame series? Developer Sad Owl Studios is going for a different vibe here. The viewfinder in question is a device that can shift reality, layering photographs on top of the environment and creating new pathways through an artificial world. It is a genuinely unique experience, though it

As a person who grew up on the original Tomb Raider games back on the PS1, I eagerly anticipated the ‘new era’ of Lara Croft promised by publisher Square Enix and developer Crystal Dynamics for the 2013 reboot. Seemingly inspired by the success of the Uncharted franchise (which itself was inspired by Tomb Raider), the first game in this reinvention strips back the years of character development and delivers a young woman yet to build the skills and charisma her older counterpart emits. Instead,

Developers Purple Lamp Studios are single-handedly keeping the dream alive for the continuing adventures of everyone's favourite sentient sponge. 2020’s Battle for Bikini Bottom: Rehydrated was a fine update to a cult classic and a huge success to boot. The studio followed up with a solid sequel in The Cosmic Shake, making good on the promise to continue the franchise. We now have another adventure from that same template with Titans of the Tide, a familiar adventure that is fun for all ages and

Forestrike is yet another roguelite to add to the Switch pile, albeit one that sets itself apart by focusing on slower, meticulous gameplay. Taking on the role of martial artist Yu, you embark on a deadly quest across multiple regions, taking on a slew of enemies as you go. Rather than attack your foes with reckless abandon, however, you have an ability — ‘Foresight’ — to plan out your strategy with no major consequences. Essentially, each battle presents you with two options: Foresee and Fight,

When Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero launched last year on non-Nintendo platforms. I was taken aback at how much time had passed since the last entry in this series. I was a teenager still in school! With the launch of Nintendo Switch 2, a flurry of ports are coming to the updated console and handheld system, including Sparking Zero. I’m glad to say that Switch 2 is a great way to play this action-packed 3D brawler filled with content, if you can forgive some of the performance issues. For starters,

In the great pantheon of shoot-'em-up games, R-Type is both one of the greatest and one of the most excruciatingly difficult. Released in arcades in 1987 and drawing visual inspiration from the works of H.R. Giger, you pilot an R-9 fighter craft through spectacular alien worlds in a bid to destroy the Bydo Empire. Although shoot 'em ups later evolved to favor more twitch-reflex gameplay, R-Type’s staple is its strict memorization, requiring you to learn it by rote. As with Gradius, not dying is

Hamster Corporation's Arcade Archives series is back with another cabinet classic on Switch 2. I got to check out Jet Ski racer Aqua Jet back in August, which was a lovingly crafted port. This time I'm revisiting the destructive tank combat of Namco's Tokyo Wars, which served as inspiration for The 3DO Company's N64 classic Battle Tanx: Global Assault. Aqua Jet was notable for having a cabinet containing a replica Jet Ski, something which can’t really be recreated on Switch (without some serious

I honestly never thought I’d fall in love with Pokémon battles. That’s not why I play Pokémon – I don’t play competitively either – because I play a ton of RPGs where combat is the draw. I can get my fix elsewhere. But Pokémon Legends: Z-A may have done the impossible; in Kalos, I can’t wait to get into a fight. Taking the basic framework for 2022’s Legends: Arceus, Z-A transplants the frictionless catching and larger environments to the streets of Lumiose City and switches things up by placing

Kirby Air Ride, I think it's fair to say, didn't receive all that warm a welcome when it launched back in 2003. With lucky GameCubers already marinating in the delicious driving juices of Mario Kart: Double Dash and F-Zero GX, Kirby's cute and chaotic style of racing just didn't seem to stick with the mainstream, and, as a result, it's become known as one of those Marmite efforts. You either gelled with its new approach to slinging yourself around tracks or you didn't. For me personally, I've al

After the Celestial Collapse, the runes' energy dwindles and ceases to flow throughout the Eastern lands of Azuma, stagnating nature and its inhabitants. As either Kaguya (Female) or Subaru (Male), you awaken from a dream of dragons fighting in the sky. To absolutely nobody's surprise, you have amnesia—a fairly common gaming trope at this point. As a glorified shrine maiden, you're tasked with keeping a shrine to an unknown god clean and to offer prayer, until one day when you're approached by a

Marvelous' star farming series is one I hold somewhat dear. Starting all the way back in 2003 with Friends of Mineral Town, I've experienced the highs and lows, with some of my best memories coming from the DS era in particular. Originally releasing in 2008, Grand Bazaar was one such positive memory; having not returned to the game in more than 10 years, I was excited to see this familiar landscape in an entirely new light. Starting Out Kicking off with a brief cutscene, Grand Bazaar is happy to

Demonschool is a tactical RPG that follows a demon hunter named Faye and her collected companions as members of the Black Magic Club at a poorly-ranked university on a peculiar island by the same name. The school element of Demonschool should be taken with a big grain of salt, as Faye and her group of weirdos find out for themselves after arriving on the island. They’re given an assignment each week that has little to do with education and everything to do with the mysteries of the university an