Nintendo Insider's Scores

  • Games
For 929 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 53% higher than the average critic
  • 8% same as the average critic
  • 39% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0.6 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 75
Highest review score: 100 Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition
Lowest review score: 10 Woodle Tree Adventures Deluxe
Score distribution:
  1. Negative: 42 out of 929
934 game reviews
    • 53 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Needless to say, Castle Of Heart isn’t a good game. Its humdrum platforming mixed with shoddy animations and sluggish controls makes for a rather dopey gaming experience. While the game’s main gimmick of keeping your life afloat does have some potential, it’s never quite implemented well enough to stir up anything new or interesting.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    I could go on, but Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed was another disappointing entry in a series that hasn’t been on a straight path since 2014, following the critically panned ARPG Akiba’s Beat. I was intrigued by the idea of bringing back an overlooked entry in the PSP’s library to modern systems and a new fanbase, but I’d go as far as to say that you’re better off just playing the original or Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed. Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed might be worth sticking through for the experience of feeling like you’re wandering through Akihabara, but the clunky combat, thin plot, and poor performance make this a stripped-down experience. I really hope one day we can get a brand new Akiba’s Trip game that hits all the marks, but at this point, I’m wondering if the developers even want to.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    It may never reach the highs of a Mirror’s Edge or even a Jet Set Radio game, but Hover offers an entertaining parkour-skating racer to Nintendo Switch owners. The menu system needs to be fixed, the camera isn’t perfect, and the frame-rate can be a bit rough at times, but there is still fun to be had with Hover.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don’t’ Dry is a return to form for Larry Laffer and this new release successfully erases the nightmare of recent entries like Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust from memory. While the obtuse puzzles make things hard and difficult to overcome, the experience is mostly satisfying. The quirky humor may not please everyone, but such is love. Wet Dreams Don’t Dry is a fantasy worth having if you are a fan of the series and looking to reunite with your old friend Larry.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 48 Critic Score
    The few games even available aren’t faithfully recreated, are mostly on the dull side, and feature remix styles that will mostly make you want to puke.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Unfortunately what the game does manage to get right is quickly dampened by some rather glaring and unforgivable flaws. It’s a real shame, the Switch has seen two racers make its way to the console in the last month and neither has stood out for positive reasons. Maybe 2019 will fare better.
    • 50 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Modern Combat Blackout isn’t a bad game, but it isn’t particularly impressive, either. It is a substitute for Call of Duty? No. Is it a fun, budget first-person shooter for Switch? Yes. Modern Combat Blackout delivers an entertaining first-person shooter at an affordable price. The bite-sized missions and short burst game design works well and achieves what it sets out to do. It won’t win any awards or be remembered as one of the Switch’s best first-person shooters, but for those looking for a cheap shooter, Modern Combat Blackout is ready for duty.
    • 50 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    On the whole, Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion does just enough to allow you to interact with the world of Ooo. It’s more a shame that considering the series as a whole is coming to an end, there’s no true celebration here to close out the franchise with a potential classic.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    Snood 2 is what it is… a generic version of Bust-A-Move, sans any of the creativity or charm of the real deal.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    These are all great games, some of the most influential AAA sandbox games of all time. I cannot in good conscience recommend you play this version, especially if you wanted to check out the Nintendo Switch version. It’s quite ironic that unnecessary and ugly visual overhauls make these ports of PS2 games almost unplayable on this system. I hate to be cynical, but I don’t think you could salvage these things without redesigning everything from the ground up. Grand Theft Auto deserved better, and you deserve better than to waste your money on this.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    The visual style is quirky and the idea spins the tired genre of tower defence on its head – which may or may not be welcome, depending on your mileage in the genre, but there’s very little to be gained from the game. Paper Wars: Cannon Fodder Devastated is little more than a title you’d buy on sale for a couple of pounds, play for five minutes and forget it exists.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Overall, I feel like Lust For Darkness suffered from a slight identity crisis. It’s part-walking simulator, part-hiding simulator, part-puzzle solver and a whole lot of Amnesia. It didn’t really know what it wanted to be and I came away feeling it could have nailed a few more of its elements better, had it stuck to one principle gameplay element, rather than be bang average in a whole load of them. In addition, given the size of the game, it never had the chance to fully realise any of its gameplay elements. It simply tried to cram too much in.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    The end result is that Fimbul is a soulless experience that never amounts to much more than something that will forever represent the developer’s unrealized vision. Throwing the unpredictable bugs, glitches, and wayward problems that are present on Nintendo Switch into consideration, it’s hard to not come to the conclusion that you’d be better off simply leaving it to someone else to prevent Ragnarök from happening.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Playing alone, Nippon Marathon is a one-note joke, stretched too thin and without enough artifice to challenge or grip a player, but as a party game it works just about well enough to amuse those who can look past its various rough edges, have money enough to spare for frivolous purchases and enjoy a silly, wonky mess from time to time.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Every piece doesn’t quite slot into place correctly in Animated Jigsaws: Beautiful Japanese Scenery. The whole experience feels like such an amateurish effort, whether that be seen in the unimaginative presentation, the high price point for such limited content, or the three looping music tracks that you will soon mute before they’re allowed the time to descend into monotony.
    • 43 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Putting it simply, there is still fun to be had with FIFA 20 Legacy Edition and playing against others online is still a joy. Nevertheless, charging full whack for a game when absolutely no effort went into is out of order. Simply ask yourself this, are new kits and some roster changes worth over £40 to you? If you answered yes, then you have too much money.
    • 43 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Ultimately Mecho Tales is derivative, borrowing tried and tested ideas rather than coming up with anything that ever surprises or astounds. It fails to leave a lasting impression to result in another forgettable platformer that is unable to compete with far more memorable and groundbreaking games in the genre that are available on the Nintendo eShop.
    • 43 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    DYING: Reborn had the potential to be a decent game. Nevertheless, with its lack of real horror elements, bad translation issues and nowhere near enough good puzzles, all of the things you would want, it is hard to recommend. To stand out from the crowd on the Nintendo eShop nowadays, you have to do something different or something special. DYING: Reborn does neither. There are much, much better options out there.
    • 42 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    On paper, Contra: Rogue Corps should work, and it should work well. It has extravagant weapons, gaudy finishers, and bombs that can destroy every enemy on screen, but none of them gel together to create greatness. It’s the execution and implementation of all these ideas that hold it back from achieving greatness. Instead, they create mediocrity. Can fun be found in Contra: Rogue Corps? Yes. Will it be enough to justify buying the game at full price? No. I didn’t hate my time with Contra: Rogue Corps, but it isn’t something I feel the need to return to anytime soon, either.
    • 41 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    On the bright side, Nickelodeon Kart Racers is the kind of game you can buy for a nephew that you can’t stand. Just think. On the surface, his parents will give you brownie points for such an appealing looking gift. The nephew, on the other hand, will know full well that you have completely screwed him over. Furthermore, you can shamelessly watch in glee as he gets chastised for being an ungrateful and spoilt little brat after complaining about such a generous present. A win, win situation if you ask me, and well worth your money.
    • 40 Metascore
    • 39 Critic Score
    To the game’s credit, the constantly progressing storyline and environments do give Around the World in 80 Days some pizzazz, but it can’t completely hide the repetitive, rudimentary gameplay.
    • 40 Metascore
    • 35 Critic Score
    One of the most disappointing and lackluster games on the GameCube today...No matter what type of gamer you are, though, there are many flaws in the game which are inexcusable – the game’s length, lack of challenge (apart from Survival Mode), monotony, and bad graphics and sound.
    • 39 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    I am not going to mask it, the only real reason you would actually buy Senran Kagura Reflexions is so that you can look at scantily clad women and see them in seductive positions. However, let us be completely honest here, if that really is your sole reason to play, there are many better and cheaper ways of doing such things. Even though other games in the series featured many of the same themes, at least the gameplay had a bit of substance to them. There just isn’t anything here to hook anyone but die-hard fans.
    • 39 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Hello Neighbor could be fun, within the right parameters. The neighbour would hold a lot more terror if his actions carried any weight. The puzzling aspect of switches, hidden doors and traps would be more enjoyable were they staged within an inspiring world or using interesting concepts. But the game fails on all of these points, not holding attention, not really projecting any fear beyond the first few encounters, and the world feels as flat as the polygons used to build it.
    • 36 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    I have to say, a game like Hollow has so much potential and it could have been one the best horror games on the Nintendo Switch had some basic aspects had been right, such as the movement and combat. But what it ends up being is a game that doesn’t have many redeeming features or qualities. It’s too slow and lethargic, the display is a little off-putting after a while and it doesn’t run well playing in Handheld mode, which is a major feature of the Switch.
    • 33 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    FIFA has so much potential on the Switch, but it seems that this is how it is going to be going forward. FIFA 21 Legacy Edition is still FIFA 19 and while that game is still actually pretty fun, especially online, it is now extremely outdated – and it was outdated two years ago. This game should not be full price.
    • 33 Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    So bad that even having a review for the game is a waste. Whatever you do, don’t play this game. The only good thing that might come out of Van Helsing is that you might value your other games much, much more.
    • 30 Metascore
    • 27 Critic Score
    The game grasps at replay value by locking up the medium and hard difficulty levels, forcing you to win an easy game to unlock medium, and a medium game to unlock hard. Not that that's difficult or anything, it's just there. Besides that minor point, you'll almost inevitably be finished with this lackluster game before you have a chance to settle in.
    • 28 Metascore
    • 39 Critic Score
    The biggest flaw here is conceptual -- Ping Pals has been rendered nearly useless with the superior PictoChat (as far as the messaging features go, anyway), and the shallow games do nothing to really boost the game.
    • 28 Metascore
    • 10 Critic Score
    Woodle Tree Adventures has potential but fails to ever realise any of it. The paint-by-numbers approach that has been taken to make this 3D platformer results in a game that feels more like a proof of concept or prototype rather than something that you would happily pay for.

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