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For 5,879 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 Super Mario Maker
Lowest review score: 10 153 Hand Video Poker
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,271 out of 5879
  2. Mixed: 2,830 out of 5879
  3. Negative: 778 out of 5879
5888 game reviews
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    • 62 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    House of Golf
    Visually, the game looks pretty nice for the most part, and runs really well. It’s hardly the most detailed of games, and indeed some of the textures are pretty poor, but the environments are very well stylised, and the objects within the levels are mostly the correct size and proportions. There’s a charm to the visuals that harks back to more retro titles (you can’t deny the similarities to Micro Machines), and it will no doubt appeal to both mature and younger gamers alike.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 90 Critic Score
    The Touryst
    The Touryst is a joyous little adventure that sinks its blocky little hooks into you and doesn't let go until it's done. It's got a perfect balance of atmospheric puzzling, leisurely exploring and minigame madness that'll keep you thoroughly entertained from start to finish, and its collection of tiny little voxel islands are a joy to discover, bursting with surprises to uncover and presented in a truly dazzling art-style that's achieved whilst performing flawlessly on Nintendo's console. The puzzles might not be the most taxing you'll ever come across and you'll blow through the whole thing pretty quickly, but overall this is a top-notch – and perfectly priced – little gem.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Construction Simulator 2: Console Edition
    Construction Simulator 2 is a celebration of the mundane; a relaxing game that reassures you with every repeated action as you patiently build your construction empire. And it achieves that with brilliance. It would be harsh to say the unpredictable driving ruins the reassuring regularity, but when every other nail has been hammered with such precision, this slight misstep sticks out like the sore thumb that the hammer hit instead. Still, this is a highly recommended way to spend a few weeks, despite that rather odd issue.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Raining Blobs
    Visually, the game looks more or less as it should, albeit with very little additional flair. There are several characters to choose from, and their background images are decent enough, but there’s actually no incentive to choose one character over another, other than personal preference. Overall, it lacks a lot of personality, and with nothing to really set it apart from its contemporaries, there’s very little to recommend here unless you’re a huge fan of the genre. On the flip side, the music is pretty great, offering catchy tunes that really stick with you.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Yaga
    Yaga has bags of personality and benefits greatly from being steeped in superbly atmospheric Slavic folklore. It's well-written, features lots of excellently-delivered dialogue and has a fantastically kooky sense of humour, all of which helps to carry it along in spite of its bland level design and run-of-the-mill combat. The choices you make as you play through Ivan's adventure do actually affect proceedings enough that the whole thing warrants more than one playthrough and, if you can make peace with that pretty nonsensical bad luck mechanic and uninspiring gameplay, you'll find a fun little adventure here featuring a cast of characters who are well worth spending some time with.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Zumba Burn it Up!
    Ultimately, Zumba Burn It Up! knows its audience, and thankfully there’s really nothing much to complain about with this new iteration; it’s a perfectly fine addition to a series that continues to truck along relatively painlessly. A bit more variation with the songs would have been nice, and whilst we appreciate that this is targeted to people who likely already have a certain degree of fitness, the game could do a much better job at easing in newcomers. Look, we’re not getting any younger...
    • 41 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Narcos: Rise of the Cartels
    Considering how integral the back-and-forth tussle between El Patron and DEA is to the show, recreating such a violent game of chess in 'tactics' form seems like a match made in heaven. But even with some welcome gameplay twists – namely those real-time Kill Shots and Counteractions – the slow nature of its single-unit turn mechanic and the totally unremarkable AI makes this generous offering of missions far less exciting than it should be. As a genre, a turn-based tactics setup really suits the cat and mouse nature of this real-life-inspired cartel war; it's just a shame certain elements let it down.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Disney Tsum Tsum Festival
    An inoffensive mini-game collection that tries to deliver a little of that Disney charm, but it feels like the type of lacklustre Wii title that was abundant during that console’s golden era. With the availability of Super Mario Party or even Carnival Games, it’s hard to recommend this – unless you’re a really big fan of Tsum Tsums. Not Disney, just the Tsum Tsums.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Romancing SaGa 3
    If you’re more experienced with RPGs, we’d give it more of a recommendation, but with the caveat that this is a game that will demand patience and careful study to fully enjoy. Either way, Square’s done a great job of prettying up this delightfully obscure RPG for western audiences, and we hope that this isn’t the last we’ll see of SaGa for the Switch.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Black Future '88
    Black Future ‘88 is an intriguing, challenging but also supremely fun and rewarding game. It may be an audio-visual feast, but the tight gameplay, high degree of replayability and the sterling effort that has gone into overcoming many of the criticisms levelled at the genre mean it’s not just a pretty face. If you’re looking for a dose of intense cyberpunk action on your Switch, you can’t go wrong with this one.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    ANIMUS: Harbinger
    Animus: Harbinger is a good idea; a boss-rush-style Dark Souls mobile game that could have been a perfect fit for the Switch if its combat, levels and enemies had received a higher level of polish. As it is, for the budget price, massive fans of FromSoftware's brand of action may find some enjoyment here, but overall the stuttering performance, unreliable hitboxes, bland levels and shoddy AI all add up to make this one a pretty hard recommendation for anyone else.
    • 47 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    Thief of Thieves: Season One
    Thief of Thieves is an awful video game. It's tedious and clunky, has broken AI, awful dialogue, miserable characters and a boring story that has absolutely nothing of interest to say or add to the heist genre. Its cel-shaded, comic-book style graphics are a strong point, but they're compromised here by a weak Switch port that's too blurry in handheld mode and horribly pixelated when you dock it to play on a big screen. There are also a handful of unforgivable technical issues; noticeable framerate problems, a bug that crashes you back to your console's homescreen and overly long loading times that break up the gameplay far too often. In short, this is a crime-heist caper that's out to rob you of your time and money and is, in every conceivable way, much more of a snore than a score. Avoid.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    REKT!
    "Get Rekt!" is not something one would expect to write or read in a professional video game review, but there is truly no other conclusion we could end with. For the tiny asking price you get a complete and charming single experience that will keep rewarding your efforts with extra content that, in turn, helps to expand the multiplayer portion of the game. Tight controls and enjoyable in-game physics seal the deal, and while a more traditional racing mode would have been nice, what's on offer more than justifies the low asking price.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Bee Simulator
    Bee Simulator is a surprisingly thoughtful game with bags of charm to spare, a wonderful soundtrack and a reasonably detailed world to explore. However, the experience is seriously soured by the sensitive controls, along with the punishing – and very frustrating – racing segments. A few visual and technical problems crop up as well, which – when added to the game's brevity and distinct lack of content (especially for this asking price) – all conspire to make Bee Simulator a much less successful undertaking that it could have been.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Children of Morta
    It may not quite hit the highs of the likes of Hyper Light Drifter or Dead Cells, but it's not far off and its zippy dungeon runs and slices of family drama feel like a perfect fit for Nintendo's portable console. If you're a fan of the genre this is certainly an addition to the Switch's library that's well worth checking out.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Headsnatchers
    Headsnatchers is a cool premise let down by really poor controls. The multiplayer modes are pretty decent as a whole, with some of the more simplistic objectives providing the most frantic fun, for a little while. On the flip side, if you enjoy single-player experiences, avoid this one at all costs, because the one solo mode available is an absolute chore to play thanks to wonky movement and awful platforming mechanics.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game
    The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game offers up an unusual mixture of cooperative play and narrative-driven battles that flies in the face of more traditional digital CCGs. If you’re looking for a card game more aligned with the rules of a tabletop effort, with more of a role-playing focus, this is definitely going to appeal. The lack of proper support for online PvP is an odd omission considering how popular that feature is in other entries in the genre, but a refreshing lack of suffocating microtransactions does help soothe that wound.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Stay Cool, Kobayashi-san!: A River City Ransom Story
    Stay Cool, Kobayashi-san!: A River City Ransom Story is an interesting entry in a genre that is experiencing a revival of sorts on the Switch thanks to the ever-increasing number of re-releases and brand new experiences. Long-time Kunio fans will find this a rewarding and worthy experience, but newcomers – or anyone who wants to jump into this series – should opt for the far superior River City Girls instead. The time we spent with Kobayashi-san was fun, but a bit repetitive; the franchise can do much better than this, but it's a neat little side-story nonetheless.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 70 Critic Score
    Skybolt Zack
    With a polished, colourful visual style and an excellent, reactive soundtrack, Skybolt Zack is a game with a unique feel and rewarding gameplay for players who are up for the challenge. It can be brutally unforgiving, however – and, given the tight level design, the cost of making just one tiny mistake can often feel overly punitive. It’s not for everyone, then, but for those players who do get their heads around Skybolt Zack’s fast pace and colour-based mechanics, there’s definitely enjoyment to be had here.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Monaco: Complete Edition
    Monaco offers a solid solo experience which benefits from some excellent storytelling and multiple perspectives, as well as brilliantly-constructed heist-based gameplay focused on putting each criminal's skills to the best use. However, it truly shines in multiplayer, whether couch co-op or online. As the servers are pretty quiet, grabbing a group of friends and forming your own motley crew is your best route into this explosive heist thriller.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Hello Kitty Kruisers
    We like Hello Kitty as much as the next guy, but unless the next guy's 7 years old they're not going to be able to squeeze much fun out of this one. Nothing it does is particularly terrible (other than its odd drifting mechanic), but everything's so slow and so easy that a huge proportion of the Hello Kitty fanbase will be bored to tears within the two short hours it takes to unlock everything.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    WRC 8 FIA World Rally Championship
    Heavily pixelated graphics, aggressive resolution scaling, scenery pop-in and an unreliable framerate all ensure that there are just too many barriers in the way of you freely enjoying the top-notch rally action.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Sparklite
    Sparklite is a fantastic rogue-lite adventure title that provides a nostalgia hit for 2D Zelda fans without feeling like a bad copy. The game’s rich world fuses mechanics and story without it feeling obnoxious, and the cast of characters are lovable and well-rounded, with each one standing out from the crowd. By the end, players will be begging for more, even if the final road is a little bumpy with some awkward difficulty spikes. Geodia is a world no one wants to leave by the end, but it’s one that’s enjoyable to return to again and again.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 30 Critic Score
    Root Letter: Last Answer
    If you’re new to visual novels, and curious, then go somewhere else first; Root Letter: Last Answer could put you off the genre for life. But if you’re a visual novel fan, you’ve played all the other interesting ones on the Switch and you absolutely cannot wait for another – and if you’ve considered maybe just going outside or watching TV or lying on the floor and staring at the ceiling and you still can’t wait for another – then you could take a look at Root Letter and just hope you find it so bad it’s good.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Pokemon Sword / Shield Dual Pack
    Pokémon Sword and Shield succeed in bringing some new ideas to the table, but they’re also somewhat guilty of not pushing things far enough. What’s done right is done right, but what’s done wrong feels like it’s come from a decade-old design document. There are moments contained within that are best the series has ever been, but this joy is at times spoiled by contrasting moments that left us disappointed and did not match up to the rest of what the rest of these games can offer. What we've got here is an experience full of highs and lows, from the unadulterated wonder and joy of seeing a brand-new Pokémon in a stadium full of cheering crowds, to the monotonous and dragged-out dialogue we just wanted to skip.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Pokemon Shield
    Pokémon Sword and Shield succeed in bringing some new ideas to the table, but they’re also somewhat guilty of not pushing things far enough. What’s done right is done right, but what’s done wrong feels like it’s come from a decade-old design document. There are moments contained within that are best the series has ever been, but this joy is at times spoiled by contrasting moments that left us disappointed and did not match up to the rest of what the rest of these games can offer. What we've got here is an experience full of highs and lows, from the unadulterated wonder and joy of seeing a brand-new Pokémon in a stadium full of cheering crowds, to the monotonous and dragged-out dialogue we just wanted to skip.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Pokemon Sword
    Pokémon Sword and Shield succeed in bringing some new ideas to the table, but they’re also somewhat guilty of not pushing things far enough. What’s done right is done right, but what’s done wrong feels like it’s come from a decade-old design document. There are moments contained within that are best the series has ever been, but this joy is at times spoiled by contrasting moments that left us disappointed and did not match up to the rest of what the rest of these games can offer. What we've got here is an experience full of highs and lows, from the unadulterated wonder and joy of seeing a brand-new Pokémon in a stadium full of cheering crowds, to the monotonous and dragged-out dialogue we just wanted to skip.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Bubble Bobble 4 Friends
    Bubble Bobble 4 Friends is a great modern addition to the series. It offers a solid balance of fun and challenge with high replayability due to the three-tier scoring system and collectables, as well as the inclusion of the original game in the series. The focus on teamwork will be wonderful for families and friends looking for some co-op fun, but the lack of online play and the absence of any real competitive features could limit its longevity. However, given how much fun this is to play, these complaints seem a little spiteful; what we've got here is a quite brilliant reimagining of a stone-cold classic which understands that amazing gameplay is timeless and doesn't need totally overhauling to keep it relevant in the modern age.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Stretchers
    The Stretchers is an unexpected delight, dropping on to the eShop without warning and perfectly timed to brighten up the long, dark winter days ahead. Tarsier has taken all its experience working on the likes of Ragdoll Kung-Fu: Fists of Plastic and LittleBigPlanet and brought it together to deliver this ridiculously OTT ragdoll puzzle riot that works well in solo but is on another level when enjoyed with a friend in co-op. Missions are varied and lend themselves perfectly to moments of hilarious slapstick, and there's a couple of real standout moments scattered across the course of proceedings that will have you laughing all the way to the way to the end.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Resident Evil Triple Pack
    While this 'second trilogy' compilation offers diminishing returns in terms of quality, Resident Evil 4 still shines brightly, even if the Switch port deserved a little more care and attention. The real draw here will be that game in physical form, and as always it is very disappointing to see that the other two titles must be downloaded. If RE4 is all you care about, getting the fifth and sixth entries as downloadable 'extras' isn't a bad deal and there's fun to be had in the latter two games, although you'll arguably need a friend to get the most out of them. Even Resident Evil 6 - much maligned as a series low point - can be fun if you’re after a straight-up co-op action shooter. As a collection of the 'action' branch of mainline Resident Evil games, this isn't a bad offering at all; just make sure you've got the necessary memory space for the downloads.
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