Nintendo Life's Scores

  • Games
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:
5867 game reviews
    • 67 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Nintendo Switch finally has a proper simulation game to its name, but the reality of the console’s hardware limitations proves that not every game can be ported wholesale onto the platform without serious issues. Cities: Skylines - Nintendo Switch Edition has so much potential and offers a fine alternative to SimCity’s broken reboot, but this game needed to be revamped and re-approached for Switch in a way that doesn’t turn it into a performance quagmire. Sadly, this is a game better played elsewhere.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Excellent, enjoyable gameplay clashes with a shoddy and lazy set of features. It's up to you whether that's worth your money.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    While not visually impressive, RV-7 My Drone is a decently fun title for anyone with spare change and a few spare minutes. It's frustratingly slow to start, but later levels offer more of a thrill and test your reflexes with a unique set of abilities.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Ironically, B Team couldn't be a more appropriate name for this second-tier shoot-show.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Infinity Runner offers some slapdash, silly fun for those that like the idea of a first-person runner with some werewolf segments thrown in. Rather like a straight to TV movie, however, its entertainment-factor is betrayed by sloppy presentation and some technical shortcomings. It's worth a punt if the concept is appealing, but falls well short of its full potential.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Drill Sergeant Mindstrong features quite a few interesting gameplay ideas, but they ultimately become too weighted down with the overly simplistic play control and mediocre audio/visual presentation to be of much enjoyment.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    For all the intriguing set up, interesting art style and great - if limited - music, Green Game: TimeSwapper falls flat in the gameplay department. The tagline of manipulating time is as misleading as it is frustrating. There is a cute little puzzle game in here, but with unintuitive controls along with some bland and frustrating level design, the game is quickly reduced to a pretty average experience that fulfils neither its promise nor potential. You'll never really feel like a 'master of time'; it's more a mix of stumbling through level after level or - if you're a completionist - probably enduring some serious frustration before you 100% each stage. It's a port that is another case of style over substance.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    The randomised environments at the heart of Vaccine are a clever idea but, like in the Wii U original, serve up a flawed overall experience.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    There’s a lot to like about Tanzia. It’s an indie game that’s set its ambitions high, boasting DNA from action-RPGs, 3D platformers and more. It’s very much a throwback to a time when those genres were very different beasts, but it's a love letter riddled with many of the problems modern iterations have shed. However, if you can look past the fact it often looks and plays like an HD remaster, you’ll find some creative monster designs and a fantastical world bursting with heartfelt charm.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    It's almost entirely the same game as the first, only with new areas to pick apart and a few slight alterations to the formula. So having said that; if you liked the first then this provides more of the same, and if you didn't then this won't change your mind.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Fun visuals and some neat callbacks will keep some fans intrigued, but a weak story haunted by groan-worthy puzzles makes this too directionless and underwhelming to fully recommend.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Yes, it's cool that there are online leader boards and that you can race with your friends over Nintendo Wi-Fi, but that's about all there is to do here and it's too thin to make it very worthwhile. All of the elements that would make Derby Dogs worth revisiting are curiously missing, and the fun just doesn't last long enough.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    There's no denying that Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam has some enjoyable elements to it that will appeal to some gamers, but the streaky play control, sharp difficulty curve and fairly short length make it hard to recommend, especially when you take into account the 1000 Wii Point price tag.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Endless Ocean: Luminous attempts to revive a niche Wii franchise as an online exploration experience, and fails miserably in the process. In comparison to the likes of Subnautica, this is an empty, cold, and boring ocean space to explore, devoid of any real reason to play beyond its generally relaxing ambiance and the opportunity to learn some facts about underwater animals. Even taken on those terms, it's weak, its online play is basic and bland, and its story does little to engage beyond teaching you the ropes. It didn't need to be this boring, but it is.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    As a low-resolution port of a last-gen game with barely any Wii Remote functionality tacked on, were this any other game we would be all too happy to drop the score further. But it barely escapes contempt of our court on the strength of its enjoyable storytelling which is, after all, some of the most entertaining dialogue available on any console.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Unfortunately, Karous -The Beast of Re:Eden- is what could only be described as a painfully average game. Aside from the mess that is the story, it doesn't do anything wrong necessarily, but it doesn't do anything exceptionally well either.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Those looking for a low-key multiplayer adventure might dig it, but 8Bit Heroes could really stand to flesh itself out more to live up to its potential.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    There is very little in 101 Pony Pets 3D that will impress, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a terrible game.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Luckily, the visuals remain just as creepy and unsettling as they’ve ever been, perhaps a little more given that the place you’re watching over is explicitly designed as a horror attraction. Dingy corridors, empty-eyed animatronic heads, and flickering lights are all par for the course here, and though you only really have to worry about one figure lurking through it all, this layout is still effective at building an uneasy atmosphere. On the other hand, the audio design is a little less impressive, with the ‘sting’ sounds played during jump scares lacking that kind of sharp punch necessary to get you to leap out of your seat. Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 isn’t bad by any measure, but neither is it particularly good; this is easily the most skippable entry so far.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Tron: Catalyst isn’t a terrible game, but it is definitely in the wrong genre. Its engaging setting and excellent time-travel mechanics carried me far beyond the point where I got bored of the shallow combat system and frustrating vehicle sections. Despite the visuals and story feeling very Tron, it doesn’t capture the same feel of the movies. Honestly, if you can’t make a light cycle fun to ride, you have no place making a Tron game.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Call of Cthulhu manages to deliver a game that’s ripe with atmosphere but is built upon tried-and-true tropes of the genre that never really manage to evolve beyond the scope of what’s already been seen and heard before. Paired with some technical hiccups, we can say that Call of Cthulhu is only really for truly dedicated fans of Lovecraft; everyone else is advised to look elsewhere for their entertainment.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    If you're already a fan of tennis, you'll probably have some fun with this game, but newbies will want to give this one a pass.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    While Deer Drive Legends looks and works well enough, it's an entirely forgettable light gun shooter that does nothing to set itself apart from the rest.
    • 50 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Though it's good to see a fighter that anybody can play, Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth takes simplification just a few steps too far. The core gameplay is fun in short sessions, and there's a decent amount of content and care taken, but after a while the battles become overly-similar and begin to grate. With more variety this could have been a super power, but in its present form the concept lacks a certain punch.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    If you’re a fan of driving games and are able to look past its faults, then Crash City Mayhem may be for you; just be wary that it’s an incredibly short game with little replay value.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Altering the mechanics of the single-player game could have made it more appealing to a broader range of gamers, but as it stands it can only be recommended for multi-player sessions or gamers who are up for a high level of challenge and have a lot of patience.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Do you enjoy waiting for public transit in the rain? Could you bear sitting next to a screaming toddler on a transatlantic flight? Do you think you’d derive pleasure from chopping down trees in the Great Forest over and over again until you had enough light lumber to fulfil three or four requests? If so, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising has a delightful little adventure hidden beneath a lot of tedium just for you. If not, we wouldn’t begrudge you for staying clear and hoping Hundred Heroes doesn’t follow too closely in its predecessor’s footsteps. This game certainly has charm, but it makes you work too hard for it.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Ultra Hyperball presents itself as the sport of the future, but in reality it’s about as enthralling as a simple game of catch or kick the can. Springloaded pushed the boundaries of what you can do with hitting a ball really high, but that’s not saying a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. After a few matches you’ve a lot of what it has to offer and, even with the presence of multiplayer, it just isn’t engaging enough to keep anyone’s interest for very long. While there’s a place for simple pick-up-and-play games on the Switch, Ultra Hyperball is one that perhaps belongs on the sidelines.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    It’s quite telling that caring for your pooch is generally more fun than the visual novel side of the game, but even this can get repetitive and monotonous after a while. Best Friend Forever is an admirable hybrid of two seemingly disparate genres, but both sides of the game suffer from a lack of variety as a result.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Save The Furries is a real mixed bag. Some levels feel focused and work very well, but others are floaty and chaotic to a degree that just isn't fun. It has its merits, but unless you're a big follower of this sort of puzzle game, you might be better off saving your Nintendo Points instead.

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