Nintendo Insider

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a quirky, highly original offering from Capcom. Its mash-up of tower defense and action isn’t as fitting a combination as you might hope for, but it holds itself together well enough through the course of the game. The presentation is a real standout here, with a cool visual design and excellent audio. This Nintendo Switch 2 version might not be quite up to the technical standard of other platforms that played host to the game, but it’s more than respectable. That’s especially the case if you want to play portably, a style that works surprisingly well for this game. If you’re up for something a little different and appreciate games with strong personality, you might want to give Kunitsu-Gami a closer look.

Despite my frustrations, by the end, I just couldn’t find myself to truly dislike The Adventure of Elliot: The Millennium Tales as a whole. It just has too much heart, and I see a lot of room for improvement. This is the kind of game where you can just tell the people making it approached the project with pure passion. I’d love to see them get another shot, because you can just tell a follow-up could be legendary.

The Switch 2 Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition is, without a doubt, an improvement over what we saw with Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition’s Switch 2 Edition. That doesn’t mean it’s all the way out of the woods, however. A soft image and some weirdness with the framerates of various elements hurt what is otherwise a really great-looking visual update. With the new Ether Jet bike, Nopon Grand Prix races, and voiced Heart-to-Heart scenes thrown in the mix, it’s a lot easier to recommend this than the Switch 2 Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles X. I’m hoping we see some updates at some point to fix certain things, but I doubt as many people will be scrambling to uninstall this Xenoblade Switch 2 Edition as we saw with the previous one.

Amnesia: Rebirth isn’t a bad game by any means. It certainly has some qualities, but it never reaches the heights of the other games in the series, especially The Dark Descent. It’s still a very interesting game with great atmosphere and some clever ideas.

Gobliiins Collection is a largely complete assortment of a very personable classic series of point-and-clickers. The five games on offer will take you quite a while to bash your way through, and you get a few pleasant extras to round the package out. The games are designed around mouse controls, and there are moments where the button controls and touch controls just don’t feel as good as they should. The lack of manuals is quite disappointing, and the games themselves can be very frustrating at times. Still, I think Gobliiins fans will be rather happy with this set, and with a quick look-up online to get started, I think newcomers will do alright with it too.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth tries to do more than its predecessor in many ways, and it has the scraped knees to show for it. When it hits, it hits, but when it stumbles, it kicks up a real dust cloud. The story is engaging enough, but to its detriment, it’s caught between trying to pay homage to the original game and doing its own thing. It’s also a middle chapter, one where we don’t really know how things are going to wrap up. This Switch 2 port gets the job done, but you’ll never find yourself wondering how they managed to do it. No, it’s abundantly clear what had to be given up to squeeze this onto the console. Rebirth on the Switch 2 is big, messy, full of heart, and often unsure of itself. It’s enough. I just wish it were more than that.

Despite another clichéd story and an uninteresting cast of characters, Split Fiction is easily my favourite Hazelight adventure to date. With so many ideas crammed into its roughly twelve-hour runtime, there’s barely a moment to breathe, bouncing from one world to the next. Sure, not every segment is a home run, but with the next thing rarely more than ten or so minutes away, you won’t mind these occasional lull moments.

Mina the Hollower is another masterpiece from Yacht Club Games. It’s one of those games that only gets better the more you play it, and considering how enjoyable it is off the hop, that’s really saying something. There is so much to do here, and yet it never feels overwhelming or like it’s stretching the soup too thin. I think the most important thing, something it really nails, is in how satisfying the game feels on a fundamental level. Always a joy, constantly shaking things up, and ever finding new ways to surprise you, Mina the Hollower is a genuine must-play.

Quartet’s pacing means you have to have a little patience with it while it sets up all of its various pieces, but it’s certainly worth doing so if you enjoy the genre. Its commitment to its bit costs it here and there, but in the end, I think the sacrifices are worth it. This is a very strong RPG regardless of your affection for the classics, and it’s one that’s comfortable to fit into short or longer sessions as needed. The Switch version is a great way to play the game, as it takes to portability like a duck to water. RPG fans would do well to give this one a look.

Hello Kitty Island Adventure – City Town is a strong add-on to the original game, giving you a reason to come back and spend more time with Kitty and friends. It’s a very substantial expansion in terms of how much time it will take most players to complete. Its general adherence to the previously established formula means that if you already managed to burn out on the base game, then you probably won’t find enough to excite you here. Still, I think on the whole this is a much better DLC than the previous one. If you’re not repelled by the notion of hanging out with this crew again for a while, then you might want to pop on over to City Town.