Nintendo Life's Scores

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For 5,859 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 45% higher than the average critic
  • 18% same as the average critic
  • 37% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 8 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 67
Highest review score: 100 Horace
Lowest review score: 10 153 Hand Video Poker
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,261 out of 5859
  2. Mixed: 2,822 out of 5859
  3. Negative: 776 out of 5859
5867 game reviews
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    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The New Denpa Men
    The New Denpa Men is pretty firmly in the middle of the pack when it comes to Switch's freemium games. Simple, approachable gameplay makes it a great light JRPG for anyone looking for a basic introduction to the genre but, unsurprisingly, it scarcely holds a candle to classically designed games such as Octopath Traveler 2 or Dragon Quest XI. And though the microtransactions and freemium elements don’t get too in the way of progressing the story, they are nonetheless a persistent annoyance that can drag the overall experience down. Still, it costs you nothing but time to give this one a shot and, despite the drawbacks, this is still a fun little RPG that you may find yourself coming back to more than you’d think. If you give it a try and if you’re not too impressed, there’s a staggering number of excellent RPGs on Switch to play instead.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    NinNinDays
    This is a perfectly serviceable visual novel which boasts gorgeous presentation but is held back by its short runtime, lack of narrative ambition and rough edges in terms of localisation. It's not going to make you fall in love with the genre if you're a newcomer, but longstanding fans will be more forgiving of its shortcomings.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Toy Stunt Bike
    Toy Stunt Bike tries to motor the line between technicality and plain old fun and doesn't do too bad a job of it.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Johnny Turbo's Arcade: Express Raider
    Express Raider remains a fun 2-in-1 game, with the fighting stages standing head and shoulders above the shooting ones, which is something of an oddity considering the Wild West setting. As such we recommend it to anyone who was a fan of the original or who played the home conversions and want to have the original on their virtual arcade Switch museum. But if you have an itchy trigger finger, we recommend you buy a ticket to a more steampunk kind of Wild West.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Date Everything!
    Date Everything provides an ideal dating simulator recipe: charming characters, a light-hearted tone, and an incredibly disturbing premise. Unfortunately, performance issues at launch also provided a significant obstacle, and I had a hard time getting over some of the narrative ups and downs. There’s certainly a lot to sink your teeth into with Date Everything, which took me a little over 40 hours to complete, but I was left wondering if all the time spent was really worth it for the level of depth the game provides.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Missile Command Delta
    Missile Command Delta is an unfortunate misfire from Atari. I want to love it; heck, I do love the actual turn-based strategy gameplay found within the various terminals. The problem is that it's surrounded by dull explorative sections and a narrative that just doesn't resonate. There's a really solid foundation here, and I'd love to see Atari explore Delta's mechanics more in the future, but a bit more thought is required in how such an intriguing concept is delivered to the player.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Big Bass Arcade
    Big Bass Arcade doesn't have much in the way of variety, although its one gameplay hook is surprisingly satisfying while it lasts.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    World War Z
    World War Z is an unremarkable zombie shooter that serves up a decent five-odd hours of action if you can find a few friends to play with. It's repetitive stuff; basic and unsurprising for the most part, but this Switch port is solid, managing to provide the full-fat experience without too much in the way of technical issues or other shortcomings. If you're in the mood for blazing through bland masses of zombies with a few friends in tow, this one's got you covered – just don't expect much more than that.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    ACA NeoGeo: Fatal Fury 2
    Fatal Fury 2 isn’t a bad game in its own right. It’s a decent fighter, and although the plane-jumping mechanic is clunky, it should keep you entertained. The problem is, it’s made completely obsolete with the presence of Fatal Fury Special on the eShop, further proving that Hamster Corporation’s scattergun approach to randomly releasing Neo Geo games is getting confusing. If you're a hardcore Fatal Fury fan and want to experience the entire lineage, then by all means, give this a download - you're unlikely to be disappointed. However, everyone else should check out the King Of Fighters games for a more comprehensive Neo Geo fighting experience on Switch, or, if there's an absolute need for a Fatal Fury game, get Special instead.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Spot It! Challenge
    Despite its grainy visuals and a few gameplay issues, Spot It! Challenge milks a surprising amount of hectic fun out of such a passive, and boring past-time - looking for stuff.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Rodea the Sky Soldier
    When it comes to unique gameplay and classic Yuji Naka charm the title truly soars. Unfortunately it also suffers from frustrating camera problems, a steep learning curve and some frequently aggravating combat.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    99Seconds
    Those who enjoy utterly dominating a gaming experience and showing off their high scores will likely be content in the challenge alone — others, however, might find their time spent with the game shorter.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    myPostcards
    Overall it's hard to fault the application too much, especially since it will only set you back 200 Nintendo Points, but you can't help but wish the application had a little bit more to offer and in all honesty it ultimately might be easier to just use your computer to make the postcards instead.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Pokemon Scarlet / Pokemon Violet: The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero - Part 1: The Teal Mask
    The Teal Mask is a fun diversion for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet players that builds on the base game's strengths, but also exposes its weaknesses that much more. Fortunately, those strengths sparkle and Terastalize into a breezy, fun experience that delivers some rich regional storytelling, great characters, and some fantastic new Pokémon. We wanted more, though — more love and care put into the visuals and the battles. The Indigo Disk has a chance to build on the foundations The Teal Mask has laid, and we hope that's exactly what it will do.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Princess Guide
    When it’s firing on all cylinders, The Princess Guide is a somewhat deep, satisfying action game with vibrant visuals and humorous, whimsical storytelling. Unfortunately, it’s bogged down by trying to shove overengineered combat through a thick UX fog. After yet another “mission” that consists of moving on the map to intercept three enemy skirmishes to completion, a reasonable player might wonder: Is it worth $40 to praise-or-scold each Princess through a couple of hours of sword-swinging? This quirky game may meet the particular sensibilities of some, but others should probably pass on this one.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers
    The gameplay is as tight and enjoyable as ever, and there's a simplicity to the game engine which makes it incredibly appealing – while it lacks some of the improvements seen in recent fighters, this simplicity somehow makes for a purer experience and one which is more accommodating to genre newcomers to boot. Sadly, Capcom's attempts to add value to this likeable yet aging template fall totally flat.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Pokemon: Magikarp Jump
    Overall, Pokémon: Magikarp is a fascinating package. It has great style, but it severely lacks in gameplay. It feels like the epitome of a generic mobile title with a Pokémon twist, which is somewhat unfortunate. With no gameplay other than feeding the fish and playing "whose stat is bigger?", there's just unfortunately so little to the game. It's definitely something fun to play on the bus or the train to kill time, in a style similar to other mobile games that have you looking after animals or buildings, but it just lacks the depth that we've come to expect from the other Pokémon mobile titles such as Pokémon GO, Pokémon Duel and Pokémon Shuffle. While it's easy to recommend having it on your mobile device, it's hard to recommend paying for microtransactions.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    3D Thunder Blade
    Coming to a suitable conclusion on 3D Thunder Blade is a difficult proposition; on one hand it's clearly the best of the 3D Classics on a technical level, but on the other hand the source material wasn't a particularly top-notch game to begin with.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Deathtrap Dungeon Trilogy
    Translating a set of revered gamebooks from the ’80s into video game form was always going to be something of a challenge, and while the version that’s made the jump to Nintendo Switch under a new name doesn’t bring anything particularly different to the tabletop party, developer Asmodee has retained the evocative world-building of Ian Livingstone’s books while adding in some helpful features. It’s a little lacking in the looks department, but if you fancy taking a trip back in time to RPG questing of old, Deathtrap Dungeon Trilogy certainly offers plenty of retro adventures of its own.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    LEGO Horizon Adventures
    Clocking in at a fairly short six-to-eight hours, Lego Horizon Adventures offers up frequent, brief bursts of fun with its excellent combat encounters. However, this is wrapped up in an experience that feels way too shallow and repetitive to recommend to anyone other than the most enthusiastic Horizon and Lego fans. It's clear that the intention is to woo new, younger gamers to Sony's flagship franchise, but if you already own Zero Dawn and Forbidden West on PlayStation, we can't see any reason why you'd want to check this one out. Mind you, if all you've got is a Switch, then this endearingly light-hearted introduction will have to do for now. It could have been so much more, though.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Tank Troopers
    Tank Troopers is exactly what you would expect from a game about tanks. Adding to this is the fact the title manages to adhere to Nintendo's family-friendly criteria while at the same time filling the void when it comes to the lack of shooters across the company's current generation of hardware. The problem is, despite solid foundations, the title falls short simply because it does not offer online functionality. It's this one glaring problem that lets Tank Troopers down. Beyond technical limitations, it is hard to guess why this would be left out of a game that is dominantly focused on player connectivity. Unless you have a close group of 3DS companions you can play with locally on a regular basis, Tank Troopers is hard to recommend sorely for its single player mode.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    G.G Series: Z-One
    For a 200 point side-scrolling shoot-'em-up, Z-ONE is not bad, but it lacks anything to make it stand out as a must-have title.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Soccer Story
    Soccer Story delivers a colourful, charming take on the 'sports adventure', bursting at the seams with earnest effort and care from the development team. It's a fun experience, though it doesn't reach the heights of the genre's most famous release. Bugs and hitches pop up occasionally too, but if you're seeking some light entertainment and happen to love football, its cute visuals and charming world make it worth consideration.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Suicide Guy
    There's fun to be had in Suicide Guy. There's a nice variety of situations and environments and exploring each stage can be a blast. The technical problems are what ultimately drag Suicide Guy down. Still, if you can get past the bugs and glitches, there's a nifty little puzzle game waiting for you on the eShop.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Citadale: Gate of Souls
    There's nothing terribly wrong with this game, as short-lived as it may be, but the full experience doesn't quite reach its potential - it's worth consideration, nevertheless.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Bare Butt Boxing
    Bare Butt Boxing delivers short bursts of frantic and accessible fun with some clear room for improvement. Playing against real people will certainly elevate the experience, seeing how rudderless the game’s CPU fighters are. But given how simplistically it controls and the sparse game modes on offer, we can’t see it having the staying power to be anything more than a game night palate cleanser between rounds of more established, better party games.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    ACA NeoGeo: World Heroes 2
    Offering a simple three-button setup World Heroes 2 may not offer quite as many offensive options as other fighting games, but there's a good range of fighters and bouts can still entertain. Subsequent games in the series would add to the gameplay, however, with the already available World Heroes Perfect being the top World Heroes option for best of three round fights. What this game does have over the next two instalments is the revamped Death Match mode that provides a fun alternate way of playing as the energy bar moves back and fourth during the battles and you avoid the hazards or try to use them to your advantage. Fights can often go the distance with the marker shifting to the victor in the final moments. World Heroes 2 may not be the best fighting game available on Switch, but it can still entertain.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    My Hero One's Justice
    While My Hero One’s Justice certainly looks the part - with all the crash, bang and wallop you’d expect from a game based on such an outlandish anime - it proves to be more style over substance. If the likes of Blade Strangers and SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy have got you in the mood for easy-to-pick-up fighters, this title will easily fit that mould, but for everyone else, it’s a disappointing use of a franchise brimming with quirky (no pun intended) potential.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    LEGO 2K Drive
    Lego 2K Drive is a racing game that so nearly reaches its potential, but it steps on a few stray bricks along the way. The core driving feels good, the Story mode has plenty to do, and the creation tools are legitimately impressive. However, it's let down by technical shortcomings, a lack of sharing options, and somewhat slimy monetisation. The foundations of a really great arcade racer are here, but poor optimisation in this Switch version and certain design decisions mean it's unlikely to overtake the competition.
    • 62 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Spider-Man: Edge of Time
    Good times are buried within Edge of Time but it feels a bit too rushed and incomplete to swing through with a smile. Beenox has proved it has the chops so hopefully Edge of Time is a mere sophomore slump rather than indicative of Spidey's future - otherwise we're going to need one of those time portals.
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