The temptation to slap a well-known license onto a puzzle game must be hard for publishers to resist. It’s an effortless way to boost a puzzler game’s profile, making it seem more exciting than it possibly is. Thankfully – and like 2007’s...
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Don’t judge a book (eShop release) by its cover (menu icon). On first glance, Spirit Roots appears to be a cute-as-a-button platformer. Quite literally, in this case – the main character is crafted from wool and buttons. But while its exterior might...
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Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best. Lonely Mountains is a relatively straight forward downhill bike racer, focusing on reaching the bottom in ample time and with as few collisions as possible. There’s no procedural landscape generation, tricks or stunts, or online...
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What makes a game a game? I ask this because Winter’s Daydream has just launched on consoles and PS Vita, and it contains almost no interactivity whatsoever. Is it a game? Does it matter? A visual novel without choices or branching paths,...
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The Switch software library is weird. It has epic technologically-astounding games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It has wonderful, quirky indie games like Snipperclips and Untitled Goose Game. Then there are amazing older games like...
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Plagiarism is a touchy subject of late, with many indie releases taking inspiration from retro classics and forgotten gems. Most arrive to much fanfare, heralded as spiritual successors and passion projects. Others crumble under scrutiny, accused of copying ideas and artwork a...
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There’s a lot going on in Freedom Finger. It’s a shoot ’em up, sure. But it has at least three unique selling points: the mechanics, the presentation, and the music. The first two are connected: your ship is a hand giving it...
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If you come to this arcade-style shooter expecting to top high score tables and perfect one credit runs, then you’re in for a disappointment. Although its roots can be traced as far back as the arcade classic Asteroids, due to it featuring...
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