REVIEW: Jitsu Squad on Nintendo Switch

Review by Jon Donnis

Do you like chaotic 4 player side scrolling beat 'em ups? Do you like cartoon graphics? Do you enjoy games that are just plain fun to play? If you answered yes, to any of those, then perhaps I may have just found the game for you.

From Tanuki Creative Studio comes Jitsu Squad, this is such a fun game, instantly reminds me of classic side scroller beat 'em ups like Streets of rage, but with the crazy, chaotic feel of a Super Smash Bros.

Synopsis

"This is the story of the legendary, hidden Kusanagi Stone and the warriors seeking it. Containing the soul of a powerful demon, The Kusanagi stone can grant godly powers to those who awaken it. Now, the wicked sorcerer Origami, destroyer of worlds and lord of darkness, has summoned ancient warriors to find the stone for him, cursing their souls and turning them into animals in the process. Luckily, a mysterious monk called Ramen manages to save four warrior souls from Origami's call: Hero, Baby, Jazz, and Aros, together are the Jitsu Squad! "

Although advertised as a 4-player game, you can also play solo, and switch between the various characters as you play.

The premise is pretty simple, take on wave after wave of bad guys, collect orbs, level up your characters, take down the wicked sorcerer and save the galaxy! Pretty simple.

The massive combos are always fun and your characters can even become briefly immortal and transform.

As mentioned, this game is chaotic, deliberately so. The sheer number of enemies on screen is just insane, but it is all part of the fun. This truly is a game that you will pick up and just enjoy. I have been playing on the Nintendo Switch Lite, and the game works very well on the small screen. The graphics are clear and colourful, and despite the sheer amount of what is going on on-screen, you will never find yourself lost or confused. The controls are simple and easy to get used to, attacks are also pretty simple, and although you will learn new moves as you progress, you won't really find yourself having to memorise things, as you will just perform the moves through your usual chaotic play. The music and sound effects are all of a decent level.

The Good

The most important thing in any game like this is the answer to a simple question, is this fun to play? And Jitsu Squad ticks all the boxes. This really is just a simple old fashioned fun game, where the developers have created something that although not particularly original, that is just so great to play that you won't care. This game will get your adrenaline flowing. The humour throughout is very good. I enjoyed the music too.

The Bad

I can't really think of anything. 

Overall

This is easily one of the best beat 'em up games on the market right now for the casual gamer. 

This is a good game, simple as that. I score Jitsu Squad on Nintendo Switch a solid 9/10

Out now on Nintendo Switch at

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Jitsu-Squad-2305133.html

Collector’s Edition pre-order link

https://gamesrocket.com/eu/Jitsu-Squad/

NEWS: Turmoil - The top selling oil drilling simulation game

Gamious has released a free online multiplayer update to their popular oil drilling game Turmoil on Steam. Millions of Turmoil fans will now be able to challenge each other in the quest to become the ultimate oil entrepreneur.

MINI REVIEW:

I just wanted to update this news piece with a little review, the game has been out for a while, but the Multiplayer mode as mentioned above is a new addition. I am a big fan of Turmoil, it is a great little game, very addictive. The multiplayer mode is a wonderful addition to the game. You can play either against real life friends, or strangers. This is turn based, so you can have loads of multiplayer games running all at once. Once you have made your moves in the town, you will play a level, but you cant play the next level, until all those you are playing against have also made their moves in the town.

The multiplayer mode really does bring an extra dimension to the game, which will keep you coming back long after you have completed the main campaign and the DLC.

Tumoil as a whole is one of the best quick play simulation games out there. And the addition of Multiplayer, just makes it even better.

I score Tumoil including the DLC (The heat is on) and the new Multiplayer mode, an awesome 9/10.

Love this game!

Mini review by Jon Donnis. 

Read on for more details on the game.

Multiplayer mode features a completely new and a more compact map, where instead of just playing NPCs, players will now be pitted against each other. Players will be able to join a random game against three other players, or start a custom game with friends. The same areas and technology progression as in the main game will be used. It’s also possible to start a game against just one other player, where the remaining open slots will be filled with NPCs.

“Ever since the launch of Turmoil, players have been requesting a multiplayer mode. After releasing the DLC campaign ‘The Heat is On’, and porting the game to other platforms and mobile, we finally got around to making this. We’re thrilled to offer this free update to our players, if only because we can’t wait to take on the competition ourselves!”, said Jos Bouman, Creative Director of Gamious.

Bouman continues: “The Turmoil franchise has been around for years, and it's still going strong. The release of the multiplayer update will certainly not be the last. Work has already started on new content, and we’ll have exciting news to share about that next year!”

Out now on Steam - https://store.steampowered.com/app/361280/Turmoil/

About Gamious

Gamious is a game developer based in Haarlem, The Netherlands. Gamious focuses on the creation of original and accessible games with pure gameplay – games they love to play themselves. Gamious is the developer of - among others - Turmoil, Lake, and Lines.

REVIEW: MEGALAN 11 on Nintendo Switch

Review by Jon Donnis

MEGALAN 11 is an exploration-puzzle game.

For the video review of Megalan 11 check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS1MyBOQ_-0

After responding to a SOS signal, you and your scientific expedition crew find yourself crash landed on a weird planet, as you explore this strange red planet, you find an old abandoned base, now you have shelter, you have to try to fix up the base so you can save yourselves, but you only have 11 days to do it.

There are 5 people in your crew, but you can only rely on yourself, explore the base, fix the equipment by collecting metal, and save yourselves.

Thats the general story and aim of the game. In reality the game revolves mainly around you exploring the base, and eventually defending it too.

You can walk up to boxes, containers etc, and after hitting them a few times, you will collect them as scrap metal. Soon you will find a backpack to help you store the metal, as well as a large container to store larger amounts in. Once you have enough metal you can use it to fix broken doors to gain access to new areas, you can fix the water pumping machine, fix the electrical generator, and so on. You will also be able to pick items up, move them to different locations, depending on the task you need to fulfil.

Find the large lift in the centre, and you will quickly realise that there are multiple levels to the base, each with its own puzzles to solve and things that need fixing. The game itself has a very minimalist feel, both in graphics and also instructions, you will need to figure out pretty much everything I have just said for yourself, there is no hand holding in this game, other than a basic on screen "to do" list. You will get frustrated at first at the slow pace of it all, but eventually you will upgrade your stamina, allowing you to move faster.

Don't forget to "cheer up" your crew mates as well, since that also acts as a way to save your progress.

As the days pass the perils will grow, and the base will be attacked, items stolen and so on, so you will probably need a few playthroughs to really get to grips with everything and be better prepared.

The Good

I liked the minimalist graphics, and after that initial feeling of "what the hell am I supposed to do", you will quickly settle down and start enjoying the game.

The Bad

Terrible name for a game, considering that a game called Mega Man exists, and has decades of brand placement everywhere, so just search for Megalan and you will end up with links to Mega Man. 

The game is very simple, and as such the challenge is limited, and at the start the frustration of not really knowing what you are supposed to do will put players off.

This is a port from PC, and as such the controls don't work great on a Switch Lite. For example you need to press and hold multiple buttons to complete tasks, and as such you can't do this with one thumb, unless you have a fat thumb, so kids with small hands will have to press multiple buttons with more than one finger, so holding the Switch while also doing this is a pain, and not at all natural. I am not sure what the controls were on PC, but this does not work very well on the Switch.

Overall

Get past the initial frustration, settle down into the gameplay, and this is a pretty decent game, very relaxing, wont tax your mind too much, and good to just play while listening to some chilled music.

An interesting little game, not ground breaking by any means, but there is enough here to keep you interested, if you can get used to the weird controls and button presses that are needed.

I score MEGALAN 11 on Nintendo Switch a safe 7/10

Released on 30^th November 2022 on Nintendo Switch

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/MEGALAN-11-2302568.html

Video review below, includes looping trailer.

REVIEW: EDENGATE: The Edge of Life on Xbox

Review by Jon Donnis

EDENGATE: The Edge of Life is a new walking simulator/narrative adventure from award-winning writer Matthew Seiji Burns

Created and developed during the pandemic, the game has been designed to represent the fear and loneliness that we all suffered during Government enforced lockdowns and the isolation that we were forced to endure. With a haunting soundtrack composed by Laryssa Okada, does this game succeed in its aims? Read on to find out.

Synopsis:

"Mia, a young and promising biologist, awakes in an abandoned hospital with no memory of how she got there. With no other traces of life, Mia tries to piece together the events that brought her to the hospital and unravel the mystery of the now desolate city of Edengate. What happened to her? What happened to the world she remembers? Join Mia on her emotional journey to discover any traces of life and the terrifying events that have befallen the once vibrant city. A fusion of exploration, investigation, puzzle solving and meaningful decision making will lead you on an emotional journey and unveil the events leading to Mia's awakening."

As mentioned, this is a walking simulator/narrative adventure, in English this means that you are playing a story, and witnessing it as it happens, as opposed to how you might control a story when you play. You can approach glowing items which will trigger flashbacks, which further explain what has happened.

The game is played from an over-the-shoulder viewpoint.

You start off in the abandoned hospital, no idea where to go, or what to do, luckily this is a linear game, so as long as you keep moving forward down the only routes available, you will figure things out. There are a few decisions in there, but nothing major.

There are basic puzzles that might need to be solved, for example you enter a room, the door digitally locks behind you, you notice a note on a table, read the note, that gives you a clue to what the code is to open the door. Figure out what the clue is and how to solve it. And job done.

I don't want to say too much about the game, as to do so will spoil the story, but you will relatively quickly leave the hospital, find yourself outside, then back inside a different area and so on. A school, a train station, etc, All the way you will find little objects to look out, the glowing objects which trigger flashbacks, as well as a ghostly child that will appear and then disappear.

Although at times it can feel like a horror story, there are no major jump scares, and things are pretty straight forward. There are no real enemies in the game. 

You will complete the game in perhaps 2-3 hours, depending on if you rush through it, or search every corner for things to interact with.

The Good

Amazing soundtrack that really does make a huge difference. The gameplay is simple, and there isn't much you can get stuck on, so you can just enjoy the narrative being told.

Voice acting is of a very high quality.

The Bad

This is a pretty short game, and unless you rush through it, there is not really a reason to replay it.

There are also some issues when moving, for example you might need to move a crate to reach an area, you move it, and clearly you can just get past, but you have to move it a little but more before you can. It is only a small thing, but in the real world, as soon as you got enough room, you would just hop over something

Overall

For me, this game delivered what I was told it would, a story about isolation, with some puzzles, and somewhat of an emotional journey.

If you are looking for excitement, then this game is probably not for you. But if you want to experience a really good story, then you should give it a go.

I enjoyed EDENGATE: The Edge of Life, and score it a lonely and isolating 7/10

Out Now on Xbox

https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/edengate-the-edge-of-life/9P175WJ0DCSD

REVIEW: Wavetale on Nintendo Switch

Review by Jon Donnis

From Developers Thunderful comes a new 3^rd person action-adventure game called Wavetale.

Unlike anything I have played before.

Here is the synopsis:

"Surf the waters of a submerged city! Fight gigantic sea monsters, save your neighbors and uncover the secrets hidden under the surface.

Explore the open sea and the decaying archipelago of Strandville in Wavetale, a story-driven action-adventure game introducing you to fed-up fishermen, secretive hermits and maybe a pirate or two. Traverse calm waters and surging waves as Sigrid, a young girl who befriends a mysterious shadow that provides her with the power to walk on water.

Speed through the waves, swing yourself from housetops with your net, and defeat monstrous enemies to save the citizens of the islands. All with a little help from the shadows down below and your cranky grandmother."

@gamingcouchspud #Wavetale is coming to #PC and Consoles on December 7th! (Clip from #NintendoSwitch) #Xbox #PS5 ♬ original sound - Jon

My thoughts.

This game really is a joy to play. On land you can run about, jump, double jump, you can even glide, dash, and of course swing your net and use it as a weapon. You play as a young girl called Sigrid, at the start of the game you find yourself running chores for your cranky grandmother, when this weird dark tsunami washes over the world. When everything clears up, you have to follow various instructions to progress, these are things like killing off monsters, collecting energy, and getting from one location to another.

The game really excels not in the combat but in the travelling, as you glide across the sea you can power up a great jump, glide, you can even lock onto points which allow you to swing. It really is so much fun, that it is easy to forget you have things to do as you are swinging and gliding about.

Combat is basically swinging your net, as well as doing stomps and power swings.

Everything is presented in a pretty striking and unique looking style, there is some fun humour in the game, and a great sound track.

As you play you can upgrade your character, change outfits, hair styles and so on. You can catch a ride on a boat to travel at higher speeds. You will meet and talk to lots of characters, usually after saving them from the monsters that have captured them.

A lot of effort has been put into crafting an interesting story, all about "loss and reconciliation". You will keep a record of your progress in Sigrid's scrapbook, through drawings. All very well done.

The Good

I loved the art style of the graphics in this game, just looks so great. The storyline is detailed and fun, but the real winner here is the gameplay, it is just a lot of fun, simple as that. It is fun to play, it seems strange to say that out loud, as every game should have that at its core, but Wavetale succeeds here with the most basic of things.

The Bad

I tried the game on the Switch Lite and regular Switch, the game is better on the big screen. Don't get me wrong it is ok on the smaller screen, but I just found it more visually enjoyable on the larger screen. So, if you only have a Switch lite, you will be missing out slightly.

Overall

What a great little game. So much fun.

I highly recommend it.

I score Wavetale on Nintendo Switch a stonking 9/10

Released on 12/12/2022 on Nintendo Switch

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Wavetale-2304595.html