Nintendo Life's Scores

  • Games
For 5,857 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 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Lowest review score: 10 Lawnmower Game: Racing
Score distribution:
5865 game reviews
    • 72 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    It's hard to quantify whether The Silver Case 2425 is a good game. Certainly, we didn't enjoy it in the slightest. But it's extremely purposeful with its Suda51-ness — his work might be an acquired taste, but for those who've already acquired it, this may well fill in the gaps in his back catalogue that you've been waiting for. In the case of anyone new to Suda's work, this visual novel is just too hard to recommend.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    A restrictive MIDI sequencer, a tiny collection of instrument patches, clumsy controls and an infuriating navigation system make Jam Space: PocketStudio a poor excuse for a music application.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    If you want a piece of gaming (or personal) history on the relative cheap side then toss this one in your download queue, but if you’re not a collector or nostalgic then snap up one of the more interesting Game & Watch DSiWare releases instead.
    • 38 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    R.B.I. Baseball is a game that isn't sure of what it wants to be. It incorporates some elements of both retro and modern titles, but rather than fusing successful elements of both eras, R.B.I. falls flat. Extremely dated visuals, poor presentation, absence of online modes, bad animation and overall lack of polish make for a game that we simply can't recommend, even to hardcore baseball fans. Vote with your wallet and let Major League Baseball know you want a better game before giving them your hard earned cash.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    While the four mini-games in Games for Toddlers are barebones, they are functional, and for $4 you could technically do worse. However, these uninspired, sloppy, boring games won't entertain young children any more than they would an adult. Your kids deserve better than this — there are plenty of kid-friendly games on the eShop that would be far better choices when the time comes for your child to pick up a controller. Save yourself ten minutes of boredom and pass on this one.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    If you bought the first Reel Fishing Challenge then there's no need to splurge on this one unless you're exceptionally fond of FMV backgrounds.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    If you can't find anything better to spend your money on at this point in the eShop's life, somebody should probably take your wallet away.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    Uninspired, uncreative, and just downright unappealing, Mini-Games Madness Volume: #1 unfortunately has little in its favor to support its existence. The games work, at the very least, but many much better versions exist elsewhere.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    Overall, there's very little fun to be had and Mortar Melon feels like an unrewarding, fruitless exercise.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    It's hard to call Perpetual Blast a game. It feels a more like a technical demo than a finished product.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    INVANOID has a decent kernel of a concept in its arcade hybridization, but is completely lacking in the sense of immersion either original provided or the imagination to combine these styles into something that feels worth playing. There are better items out there to take up your space.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    In the end, Photo Clock doesn't prove to be any more useful than the Animal Crossing Clock application, even with its ability to use your own photos as clock themes.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    There’s simply not enough value present, and for the most part, the only difference between The Smurfs 2 and the abundance of shovelware already available for the DS is the inclusion of the Smurfs themselves. Just stay the smurf away.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    About the only advantage to having more players is that it will give you more time to forget about how insignificant your meager contribution to the overall experience truly was. That is unless you're the last player to have a turn and in that case, you have our sympathies.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    Simply avoid.
    • 25 Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    Absolutely one of the worst executions of a racing game to date, it's astonishing just how badly Nordcurrent has faired with this top-down racer.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    Zombie Brigade is a bad, bad game. It's billed as a parody, but it misses the point entirely. Yes, it's better than Meme Run - we didn't get vertigo while playing this game, for example - but there's just nothing to recommend here. Save your money, save your brain and don't spread this infection any further.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    We suggest blindly picking any other title with the words “Harvest” and/or “Moon” in the title — chances are extremely high you’ll have a better time than you would with this heartland travesty.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    TAP TAP ARCADE 2 does not seem like a package that offers enough for its grand title. Both SKEASY and VOLCANO are incredibly minimalistic in design and are likely to entertain players a for a few minutes each. There are plenty of vastly superior alternatives to these games available elsewhere.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    An absolute hot mess of a video game.
    • 42 Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    Totally Reliable Delivery Service feels like a bit of a prank. It’s a game so doggedly determined to annoy you with its infuriating control scheme, shocking graphics and poor implementation of DLC, we can’t imagine anyone genuinely enjoying it. The only scenario in which this would be a fun experience would be if you played it with a group of friends locally, but even then, the intended chaos of the game's ragdoll physics feels completely anticlimactic, and instead, it just feels like an utter waste of time.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    There are plenty of other "simulation" games on the 3DS — stay far, far away from this one.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    Unfortunately, even though it features some interesting flourishes (the ability to mix and create new spells, unlockable achievements, very nice between-level art), the core gameplay comes across as tedious and sloppy.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    We pray to the stars that that will be the final release, because it's quite clear that, even at 200 DSi Points, these will never, ever be worth the price.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    Save your teeth for something sweeter.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    The lack of fanfare (or any noise at all) when you win a Championship sums up Racers' Islands: Crazy Racers – anticlimactic.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    There's no polite way to put it: Bloons TD 4 is genuinely unplayable. It's a simplistic tower defense game that doesn't really bring anything new to the table in the first place, but that's not the problem. The problem is that the game regularly overloads itself to the point that it no longer accepts input, a truly game-breaking issue that really should have been addressed in beta testing. A colourful presentation, fun music and unlockable levels and upgrades fail to salvage a game that simply doesn't work in the first place. This is one balloon that's never getting off the ground.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    The Seller isn't broken, it's just an example of poor execution of an idea that, quite frankly, wasn't that great to begin with. Save your money, because you can't sell this one back.
    • 21 Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    Whether you beat the game or not, there's no happy ending to Enjoy Your Massage.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    It's embarrassing, but given the fact that the free version on mobile devices actually has multiplayer modes when the Wii U doesn’t, there’s absolutely no reason to waste your money on this.

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