#nintendo switch
#nintendo switch
by Amr (@siegarettes)
I was totally wrong about SNK Heroines. It’s not the followup to SNK Gals’ Fighter nor the girly themed KOF14 style game I got on first impression. In fact, it completely ditches the familiar mechanics of King of Fighters or any other SNK fighters and goes for a pared down approach to tag style battles.
It’s astounding how many genre conventions SNK Heroines has stripped away. For instance, you can’t even crouch. You won’t deal with any high low mixups, or even any jumping cross ups, since blocking has now been moved to a Smash Bros style block button. Blocking can even be used in the air to do an air dodge, or combined with a direction to perform a dodge roll. Dodge rolls can even be done during blockstun for a small amount of meter.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
Before you start Unexplored the first thing you’ll see is a few words from a man at a pub. He’ll tell you a story about the dungeon you’re about to enter, and for a few drinks he’ll tell you a few more. This is Unexplored being upfront with its intentions.
Most roguelikes are obsessed with the player story. They make their on the ever golden promise of emergent play–the idea that by jamming enough systems and variables into play they’ll eventually combine into a endless set of unique situations.
Unexplored is built in this same foundation, but proceeds with narrative as its first concern. More than the usual sets of enemies and situations, Unexplored is concerned with creating a history to each dungeon. It adds an archaeological aspect, connecting floors and laying out clues in writing.
By Amr (@siegarettes)
I started Airheart captivated by its beautiful world. A land set in the clouds, rendered in painterly style, populated with appealing mechanical designs. The story seemed intriguing too, setting up a journey through the clouds to the top layer, with revelations waiting for me. Instead I was surprised to find that Airheart was almost free of direction. Ascending cloud layers and upgrading my machine provided an implicit direction, but after the tutorial it was largely free of objectives or guidance. So I wandered the clouds, fishing, fighting bandits, and scrounging up enough money to try and push higher each time.
For a while this provided a pleasant grind. Flying about the clouds and catching fish almost put in the same mindset as thatgamecompany’s Flow. There was a similar relaxed vibe, and a back and forth between the layers that recalled the same changes in intensity. That all changed after the first plane crash.
by Amr (@siegarettes )
Some games use their user interfaces to great effect. They become expressive tools that communicate mood, give tactile sensations, or reveal and obfuscate information as contributions to the narrative. Then there’s Frost, which gives a somewhat interesting digital deck building game all the fussiness of a physical board game.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
I’m a sucker for a good racing game. Hell, I’ll hang around for longer than I’ll admit for an OK arcade racer. So when All-Star Fruit Racing showed up looking like it had stolen SEGA All-Stars Racing’s drifting I jumped on it. Seriously, the drifting in those games is incredible.
All-Star Fruit Racing’s drifting, as it turns out, is not incredible. It’s not even good. In fact the driving in general is underwhelming and by trying to build on this middling foundation All-Star Fruit Racing ends up with an inconsistent and mundane racer.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
There’s nothing more primal and fun than running and jumping. No matter how many games I play I doubt I’ll get tired of the feeling of leaping past obstacles and learning a stage. Understanding that groove, playing into that rhythm, there’s an almost musical satisfaction to it. Runner 3, the latest of the spinoffs from Choice Provisions’ Bit Trip series, aims to combine both those feelings. Complex strings of movements combine together to bounce you across the environment, as musical cues accompany your actions to give the impression of a choreographed performance. Which should be a perfect harmony. Instead its a painful exercise in increasing frustration.
Mulaka captivated me with its low poly art and mythical atmosphere. I’m a sucker for good mythology, and the stories of the Tarahumara, the indigenous Mexican tribe the game draws from, are definitely cool in their own right. It’s a beautiful mix of the strange and familiar. Mulaka’s shamanistic quest has plenty of recognizable beats, but its in the particular of the beasts and people that you meet that it stands out. There’s a lot of cool illustrated scenes and fantastical set pieces. Even the loading screens felt like they had interesting stories to share.
By: RJ (@rga_02)
Ignore the clickbait title - or not, I mean this site is called clickbliss after all. A few weeks ago I posted up an editorial stating that the Switch wasn’t doing it for me - yet. However, the folks over at Namco has decided to #bless us with Taiko no Tatsujin for the Nintendo Switch.
And that changes everything for me.