The Plane Effect
7 / 10
The Plane Effect is a powerful, narratively driven adventure that pushes the limits of storytelling in gaming. In The Plane Effect, players go through their last day at their workplace, now ready to go home to their family. Unfortunately, a cosmic force is watching over, throwing players into a dystopian hell. The way home feels surreal, with mazes, puzzles, and a long commute.
The surreal concept of a winding trip home hits its mark with this one. The minimalistic yet surreal visuals fit the game’s themes well. It’s a dark ride with tons of haunting imagery throughout the 4 or so hour journey. Players won’t always know what’s going, but they will feel motivated to keep pushing forward. The soundtrack is simple yet constantly contributes to the experience. As far as presentation goes, The Plane Effect checks every box that it intends to.
The gameplay is less than stellar though. The puzzles vary in quality and difficulty. Some of mind-numbingly boring while others aren’t solved intuitively. When you throw in the somewhat tanky controls, The Plane Effect becomes a game that doesn’t always feel good to play. Fortunately, there aren’t too many puzzles, and The Plane Effect is more of a walking simulator than a puzzle game. It’s far from perfect, but it is an experience that will sit with players long after they finish.
Antonball Deluxe
6 / 10
Fans of Arkanoid and other block busting puzzle games will likely fall in love with Antonball Deluxe‘s concept. The game combines platforming and sports with Arkanoid, which is a fun gimmick for sure. The end result is a game that is equal parts Mario and Arknanoid. Unfortunately, it falls short in a few ways, namely the game’s single-player experiences.
As a solo game, Antonball is rather difficult. The controls are fine enough, but they require tons of precision from the player. Players will control a little platforming guy who can jump or dash into a ball to hit it and break bricks. The story is simple enough and helps carries the gameplay forward. Getting the ball to go to a specific location isn’t as simple as it should.
Antonball shines as a multiplayer game though, since the precision doesn’t feel as necessary when playing against friends. Two friends can play 1 v 1 or 4 players can play a 2 v 2 game against each other. 2 Players can also enjoy the game cooperatively, making the story much less frustrating. If players have friends to play with, Antonball Deluxe is a blast. Otherwise, this is one to pass on due to how frustrating it can be.
Metallic Child
7 / 10
There isn’t a shortage of rogue-like games on the Nintendo Switch. That collection grows a little bigger with Metallic Child. Metallic Child is a rogue-like with chibi aesthetics and the ability to choose the bosses and stages in whatever order the player desires. It’s a lot lie Mega Man here players will continue to acquire new tools that are useful for certain levels and bosses.
The action is solid and includes some nice presentation and visuals. The stages are full of color and there are tons of customization options to breathe more life into the characters and world. It does suffer from a few shortcomings though, including a lack of good level design and tons of glitches. The stages all mostly feel the same and are simply too long. When you throw in the visual and technical glitches, it becomes hard to ignore. Some glitches will even force players to close their game and restart. It’s a shame that Metallic Child suffers from so many problems because you can tell that the developers loved what they were doing.
Nexomon
7 / 10
The Nexomon series looks like a Pokemon knockoff at a glance, but it’s actually a solid substitute for those who want more than what Sword and Shield offer. It’s a little strange, but Nexomon actually originally released on mobile before Nexomon” Extinction. It’s not quite as good since it is missing some quality of life additions that were in the sequel, but Nexomon is still a solid monster catching game. This is especially so when you look at the nice price tag.
It’s lacking in multiplayer, which might be a big deal for some players. For those who are just wanting a solid campaign to go through, there is plenty of value here. The monster designs are full of personality and the combat has tons of balance and enjoyable moves. The story itself is fine, but the script is full of jokes that are so self aware of the genre that the story is more enjoyable. Again, anyone looking for a Pokemon substitute can’t do much better than the Nexomon series.
A Little Golf Journey
7 / 10
Last month we reviewed Golf Club Wasteland, a fun arcade golf game with a bigger emotional hit than you would expect. This month we have A Little Golf Journey, another cute golf game that is much more on the relaxing side. It has simple visuals and golfing mechanics that are just enough to satisfy any crowd.
The visuals are gorgeous, with neat dioramas that are full of color and personality. Players will be surprised that there is also a cute little story that is subtly told through the game’s campaign mode. This is great since A Little Golf Journey is a solo affair. It’s cozy and allows for players to enjoy the game and grow at their own pace. For those who seek a challenge, there are stars to hunt down via efficient play and hole in ones.
Relaxing music helps add to A Little Golf Journey‘s vibes. The game’s biggest downfall is the lack of variety in courses. There aren’t really any extra modes to explore either, so anyone who isn’t infatuated with the core gameplay loop likely won’t get much out of this one.
Steel Assault
8 / 10
Steel Assault is a great example of a big thing coming in a small package. Players can go through exhilaratingly difficult action platforming as a badass protagonist fighting through hordes of intimidating enemies. It’s only about an hour long, but that can vary on the skill of the player.
Steel Assault plays like an incredibly polished SNES action game. The presentation is more than stellar, with bright colors and fantastic pixel art. It’s a true love-letter to the era, but still manages to play better than most of its peers. At a cheap price, this is a great buy for any fans of the genre.
Death’s Gambit: Afterlife
8.5 / 10
Another Metroidvania on the Nintendo Switch? Don’t mind if I do! Death’s Gambit: Afterlife is the complete edition of the original Death’s Gambit. The new additions effectively double the original game’s content. 10 new stages, 22 new weapons, 100 new talents and tons of skills add a significant amount of content. Throw in some new storylines and cinematics and you have a great value.
For those who aren’t familiar, Death’s Gambit uses traditional Metroidvania mechanics to create a slick experience that feels great to play. It’s difficult gameplay won’t be for everyone, but like Lilies, it is one of the best games in the genre when it comes to crisp gameplay. It doesn’t go too far out of the genre’s comfort zone, but that’s easy to forgive since the game is just so enjoyable.
To round the experience out, players are treated to fantastic presentation. Gorgeous 2D pixel art accompanies the game’s stellar soundtrack. There are also some new gameplay tweaks to make the experience even better this time around. This is a must play for anyone who is looking for the next great Metroidvania after beating Ender Lilies earlier this year.
