Most Overlooked Current Gen Games - Part Ten

Welcome to a very special edition of Most Overlooked! No, I don't mean "very special" like one of those "very special" episodes of Full House or Saved by the Bell. I mean, "very special" as in we've reached our tenth installment of the Most Overlooked Current Gen Games!

SPC has always been passionate about sharing those gaming gems that aren't your traditional million-selling, triple-A mega hits. Instead, the Most Overlooked series by its very nature looks at those games that don't get extravagant marketing campaigns, don't stay on the sales charts for prolonged periods of time, and don't get as much hype dedicated to them. Perhaps with this series of articles you'll discover a new game that piques your interest and preference.

This tenth edition features games from a wide range of different genres; We have a dungeon crawler, a fighting game, a JRPG, a platformer, and a point-and-click puzzler.

Before we continue our journey through the land of the Most Overlooked Current Gen Games, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the previous nine installments of this long-running series for your to peruse:

Current Gen - Part One
Current Gen - Part Two
Current Gen - Part Three
Current Gen - Part Four
Current Gen - Part Five
Current Gen - Part Six
Current Gen - Part Seven
Current Gen - Part Eight
Current Gen - Part Nine

Darksiders Genesis (PS4, XB1, NSW, PC)

Our first game for this tenth edition of Most Overlooked Current Gen Games takes the familiar hack and slash, dungeon crawling gameplay of the Darksiders franchise and puts in a new, isometric perspective. Darksiders Genesis offers a Diablo-like dungeon crawler with Zelda-like puzzles and platforming challenges. The levels feature myriad secrets inside to encourage meticulous exploration and return trips, and the boss battles are absolutely intense and entertaining. Whether playing alone and switching between War and Strife on the fly, or playing co-operatively with another player with one as each Horseman, judgment will be brought down on your enemies. Darksiders Genesis was a pleasant surprise to start off the gaming year with when it launched on home consoles (the PC and Stadia versions launched late last year), and it's a shame it seems to have come and gone without much fanfare.

Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid (PS4, XB1, NSW, PC)

With a history of less than morphinominal licensed games, it's easy to see why not many took to a fighting game based off of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Those who did, however, experienced one of the most fun and fluid team-based fighting games available, albeit not very content-rich. Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid launched rather bare bones with a limited roster and very little single player content to speak of. Since launch, the roster's reached higher numbers with every fighting game archetype represented, a story mode based off of the Shattered Grid arc of the Boom! Studios-published comic was added, the presentation greatly improved, and the fighting itself has only gotten better. This 3 vs. 3 fighting game is a blast not just for fans of Power Rangers but also just those who desire a fighting game with deep mechanics and plenty of pluck.

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore (NSW)

Perhaps this next game is proof that it wasn't just the Wii U's failure that made the original Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE bomb at retail when it originally released on Nintendo's first HD system. Even with a second chance in the spotlight on a much more successful system (and that's understating the Switch's success in comparison to the Wii U), Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore didn't exactly follow in the footsteps sales-wise of other ports of Wii U games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, among others. That's okay, though, as the game has found its own following, and if you can stomach and tolerate the overdose of Otaku and idol influences, you'll get a challenging JRPG that has both style AND substance in grand abundance. This RPG is quite unlike anything else, not just on the Switch, but on any platform.

New Super Lucky's Tale (NSW)

3D platformers are in rather short supply on ALL systems this generation, and that stretches to the Switch as well. Nevertheless, owners of Nintendo's hybrid system received a rather remarkable addition to the genre from an unlikely place. Lucky's Tale was originally an Oculus Rift exclusive, and then, it was expanded to the Xbox One as Super Lucky's Tale. Late last year, the game arrived on the Nintendo Switch with added content, additional levels, and another word in its title with New Super Lucky's Tale.

Lucky himself is enjoyable to control, being able to burrow into soft surfaces to dodge hazards and enemy alike and reach otherwise inaccessible areas. Levels are full of secrets to find and special pages to collect, whether they are in non-linear 3D, side-scrolling 2D, or auto runner form. Lucky's adventure doesn't wear out its welcome, nor does it overly frustrate. New Super Lucky's Tale delivers a charming and entertaining platforming adventure that didn't necessarily find an overly perceptive audience on the Switch. Particularly disappointing when you consider the longtime audience of Nintendo consoles.

Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy - Deluxe Edition (NSW)

Being real here, Level 5 has bungled a lot of its franchises over the years. What was once a strong Japanese developer currently faces challenges in getting attention to its various series, many of which have either been mismanaged, or worse, run right into the ground. Like many other Level 5 franchises, the Professor Layton series isn't as strong as it once was during the Nintendo DS days, but that doesn't stop Layton's daughter, Katrielle, from having her first puzzle-filled adventure in Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy from being a success, at least quality-wise.

The original game launched on the Nintendo 3DS as well as mobile devices, offering over 100 unique brain teasers sprinkled and scattered throughout the game's dozen chapters. Instead of one overarching mystery, Katrielle and her group of companions took on a different case each chapter. Regardless, whether it's because of franchise fatigue or a lack of Layton fans nowadays, not even a new protagonist could renew interest in the series. Whether Layton as a franchise can bounce back is almost as great a mystery as any featured in the games themselves!

Top Ten Nintendo Switch Games of the System's Third Year

The Nintendo Switch recently celebrated its third anniversary on the market just a couple of weeks ago. Since its launch back on March 3, 2017, the Switch has accumulated quite the collection of excellent software. SPC previously listed the system's best exclusives from its first two years in an article last March. Now, we check out our favorite games released during the Switch's third year, which came to an end two weeks ago on its aforementioned third anniversary. From third party games in unexpected places to familiar franchises in unexpected new forms, the Nintendo Switch had a little bit of everything for its owners this past year.

10) Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order 

Kicking off this Switch-centric countdown is a surprising exclusive in the sense that the formerly Activision-published Marvel Ultimate Alliance series moved to Nintendo and was developed by Team Ninja. What wasn't surprising, however, was that the end result, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, possessed plenty of superpowered heroes, villains, and iconic worlds and was as addicting as every other game in the MUA franchise. Perhaps even more so with the game's continued support, featuring new modes, characters, costumes, and more. While the game is far from perfect with its occasionally cumbersome and chaotic camera (especially in local co-op), it says a lot about Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 that even with the game's issues, one could greatly enjoy and spend dozens of hours fighting off foes of all shapes and sizes without realizing it.

9) Ring Fit Adventure

We move on from Marvel to a game that encourages fitness through taking down monsters and enemies through the power of exercise. Ring Fit Adventure seemed like such a goofy idea on paper, but in execution, it's a tremendous means to get active while gaming. The "ring" of Ring Fit Adventure is an invaluable accessory that makes it all happen, serving the same function as a Pilates ring, and offering a robust workout. That's whether you're stepping in place as you move through fields and dungeons and "jumping" over obstacles, or engaging with enemies in intense cardio and strength-building workouts. The whole implementation of Ring Fit Adventure is genius to its very core (play-on-words definitely intended), and it's an idea that's so abundantly and enjoyably Nintendo.

8) Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield

The latest in the line of Pokemon games graced a home console for the very first time with Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield. Trainers old and new braved the brand new Galar region with an abundance of Pokemon to battle, catch, and train. The fresh Wild Area brought forth an open world setting that changed depending on the time of day, offering an ever-changing and exciting assortment of Pokemon to encounter, and Raid battles against gigantic Pokemon to engage in with friends, strangers, or the AI. While the cut to the Pokedex certainly stung, and the difficulty of the base game was low, the prospect of the forthcoming DLC with two new areas to explore, each with their own batch of Pokemon to catch and content to delve into, makes for an exciting addition to a pair of games that packed a wallop.

7) Yoshi's Crafted World 

The earliest game on this list released in the Switch's third year, Yoshi's Crafted World delivered with its name, offering a world filled with creatively designed worlds and levels all built out of everyday products. From rolling hills in the background made out of green-painted paper plates to lily pads made of kitchen sponges, Yoshi's Crafted World was just as crafty with its world design as it was with its levels. The latter supplied players with constant new surprises and fresh ideas and concepts with each level introduced. Collecting flowers, red coins, and finding hidden surprises in levels was as much of a delight as the game itself. It's one that I return to a year after release just to get a nice, warm feeling while I play.

6) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition

Plenty of people said it couldn't be done on the Nintendo Switch. Well, I better be more specific, as we've seen since the system's launch, a lot of developers have been able to make seemingly impossible ports possible on the Switch. Perhaps the granddaddy of them all was proven possible with CD Projekt Red's The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition arriving on the Nintendo Switch, albeit certainly toned down graphically, but definitely playable and very much enjoyable all the same. The ability to play such a grand scale of a journey with Geralt of Rivia on the Nintendo Switch screen amazes me, and the recently released patch makes it so the game's graphical options can be customized to the player's preference. It all adds up to an incredibly impressive port for one of the best games of the past generation.

5) Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition

Here's another example of an impressive third party port, while we're on the subject! Despite being one of, if not the absolute first game announced for the Nintendo Switch, back when the system was still known as the NX, Dragon Quest XI finally launched on the system this past fall. That said, the wait was most definitely worth it with all of the new content that the Switch version received. Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition--and pardon this SPC cliche--was definitely definitive, offering an exclusive 16-bit mode, orchestrated music, new plot particulars for the game's heroes, and much more. Square Enix didn't just deliver the absolute bare minimum to Switch owners--they delivered one of the best ports from the PlayStation 4 possible with enough new content to almost* justify a second purchase.

*Your mileage may vary.

4) The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

The beloved Game Boy classic returned in 2019, 26 years after it originally released on the small screen. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening received a full fledged remake on the Nintendo Switch, and did it in style--a toy diorama style, to be exact. The new art style delivered an abundance of charm and personality, more than the already personality-rich Game Boy original did. No small feat! Adding to the game's stellar and adorable presentation was new quality of life features such as more buttons to map items to, thanks to the ready and able Switch in either JoyCon or Pro Controller form. While the addition of designing dungeons didn't reach Mario Maker levels of ambition, it did serve a nice puzzle function in properly positioning rooms in a way that satisfied all conditions. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is loved for many reasons, and for me, the Switch version only added to those.

3) Fire Emblem: Three Houses

I constantly have a battle in my brain between Fire Emblem: Awakening and Fire Emblem: Three Houses as to which is my favorite in the Fire Emblem series. After some fierce pondering and some serious (not really serious) soul-searching, I really do think Three Houses edges Awakening out overall. Between its multiple routes with different characters to grow with and eventually grow fond of, scenarios to encounter, and battles to, well, battle, Fire Emblem: Three Houses offers an exceptional combination of strategic fights to overcome, an intriguing story that really goes to some dark places, and even some enjoyable and rewarding sim life parts with the respites at Garreg Mach Monastery. The amount of content in the game is absolutely staggering, and nearly all of it is of a tremendous quality.

2) Luigi's Mansion 3

While I was conflicted to right away give a preference to my favorite Fire Emblem game, there is no doubt in my mind that Luigi's Mansion 3 is my favorite in the Luigi's Mansion trilogy thus far. It's a near perfect mix of what made the original Luigi's Mansion great (its open mansion to explore without being split up into missions) and what made Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon even better (each mansion being a different beast altogether with unique themes and puzzles). Luigi's Mansion 3 outdoes both of its predecessors with cleverly designed puzzles which implement an equally clever addition in Gooigi, immaculately made floors that each possess their own unique themes, incredibly boss encounters, fully interactive environments that really show off the physics on display when messing around with Luigi's Poltergust G-00 vacuum, and so much more. Luigi's Mansion 3 was scary good with its quality, and I can't wait to see what developer Next Level Games does... well, next!

1) Super Mario Maker 2

The majority of my gaming time on the Nintendo Switch last year was dedicated to one game. That was Super Mario Maker 2--if it being number one on this list didn't make that clear enough already. Its story campaign served as a terrific tutorial for how to make excellently crafted and high caliber levels. One could easily take the lessons learned of good level design introduced in the story mode and be inspired to create something really special of their own. Of course, it's easy to note that most players did not do this and instead created, well, I hesitate to say "crap", so I'll say "less than inspired creations" instead. However, finding those terrific levels online and prodigious creators that cranked out excellent level after level was like opening a box of cereal and finding an awesome toy inside. But, imagine that feeling and having it happen over and over again.

Yes, I said Super Mario Maker 2 had a lot of bad levels from the community, but it also has an amazing amount of great levels as well. The game is certainly not for everyone, especially if you don't have an urge to play others' levels or create your own, but if you do, you'll find a treasure trove of accessible creation and customization options available to you without the need for programming know-how. You'll just need a little patience and a lot of creativity.

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And there you have it! While your order or selection of games may--and probably will--differ, hopefully we can all agree that the Nintendo Switch had a pretty awesome third year. Let the SPC community know which ten games from the Switch's third year on the market you most enjoyed in our comments section.

Wunderling (NSW, PC) Review

Let's cap off the week with some much needed levity with a look at an enjoyable auto-runner with a twist. It's Wunderling from Retroid Interactive, and here is the SPC review.

Small Wunder

Last Friday, I took a look at a game starring a minion that was a satire of the RPG genre with my review of Underhero. This week, I'm taking on a look at Retroid Interactive's Wunderling, which puts its own spin on 2D platformers, particularly a specific one featuring a popular portly plumber. With lovely pixel art, cool tunes, and an addicting "one more try" approach to its design, Wunderling is a delightful auto-runner with a unique take on the genre.

Wunderling starts you out as playing as the Mario-like hero (though one that's quite a bit more of a braggart) Carrot Man, and playing through a Super Mario Bros. 1-1-styled platforming level, stomping on Goomba-like enemies along the way. Upon smashing the final enemy and landing on the flagpole, our supposed hero sashays away with another victory under his hat, or in this case, leafy top. From there, a witchy sorceress arrives to revive one of her fallen underlings and tasks it with pursuing Carrot Man, hoping to siphon his supply of lives in the process.

However, that's easier said than done because like any Goomba-like underling in a 2D platformer, our vegetable minion marches forward and cannot stop or turn around until it collides with a wall. Wunderling's true gameplay then reveals itself as an auto-runner with you controlling the underling's jumps and other abilities that unlock throughout the progression of the game.

Discovering how to get around each stage successfully gives Wunderling
a puzzle/platforming-type feel.

New abilities include the power to temporarily dash to launch yourself across wide chasms, the power to fly, and a wall jump ability. These abilities unlock at a steady pace, one per world, and they give you just enough time to become acquainted with all of their tricks and mechanic nuances before a new one gets introduced. Thus, there's plenty of time to experiment, and not just for the player but also for the level designers to craft some inventive courses for you to get the most out of each ability. Worlds are fifteen levels in length, so they don't linger or overstay their welcome.

It takes a few seconds for your boost ability to recharge, so use it wisely.

Your controllable minion moves on his own and only changes direction when bumping into a solid structure, but it also can't just linger and loiter around in one place for a lengthy amount of time. You have a health bar, indicated by a small heart symbol that slowly depletes and reveals itself when the underling hasn't collected a flower bud in a while. Only through collecting an abundance of flower buds does the underling's health return to normal. If it depletes completely, the underling dies and the level is failed. Many levels have it where you don't want to immediately collect every accessible flower bud, as you'll often have to do some backtracking. Therefore, leaving behind some flower buds to pick up and collect on the way back can be the difference between having enough health to finish the level and a shortened life expectancy.

These yellow buds serve not only as collectibles but also as a means to keep your minion alive.

Flower buds, which turn into flowers when collected, are but one of the main collectibles in Wunderling. Each level houses a secret treasure chest that when collected and brought to the goal successfully unlocks a new costume piece for your minion. The amount of costume pieces and combinations are immense, and they're enjoyable to collect for numerous reasons. For one, they're generally hidden well and require you to take on different approaches to levels than you normally would. A basic run through a level is simple enough, but when you aim to collect everything possible in a level, including the treasure and--in some level's cases--song-unlocking cassette tapes, runs become more complicated and require smart strategies to successfully complete.

There is a lot of trial and error in Wunderling, and this is most apparent when searching high and low for treasure chests and other secrets, such as warp portals leading to one of three extra levels in each world. Many are hidden behind fake walls, which for this type of game leads to a copious amount of deaths as you practically have to guess most times which walls are real and which walls are hiding something behind them. Generally this isn't a huge problem as levels are usually short enough that deaths don't make you repeat too much work, and the ones that are lengthy have checkpoints in them.

Take flight with the wing power-up, and carefully soar to success.

Levels in Wunderling have a great amount of unique gimmicks and mechanics to them, obviously helped by the abilities our minion receives, but also because of the mechanisms in place. There are locked gates requiring specially colored keys to unlock, doors that open and shut when buttons are pressed, boost pads that speed up our unlikely underling hero, lava and ice floors that prevent the ability to jump, Donkey Kong Country barrel cannon-style launchers that blast the minion across levels, and hazards like spikes to avoid. Much like each new ability added to the underling's arsenal of moves, each gimmick and gameplay mechanism is introduced slowly and steadily as to not overstay its welcome nor bore the player by seeing it repeatedly without much alteration.

Use these colored keys to unlock their associated blocks, or else meet a spike-filled fate!

Wunderling is a stellar auto-runner with beautiful pixel art and a catchy soundtrack. The only stumbling point I see with potential purchasers is its $15 asking price, something I perceive as higher than the usual asking price for a game of its genre. That said, if you enjoy games with humor, levels that push you to master them and fully explore their secrets, and are intrigued by its novel approach to the auto runner genre of platformer, then Wunderling certainly earns a recommendation from me. March on, minion. March on.

[SPC Says: B]

A code was provided by the developer for the purpose of this review.

Bad Boss Battles in Gaming History - Part Ten

WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR THE FOLLOWING GAMES AHEAD!

• Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield (NSW)
• Luigi's Mansion 3 (NSW)
• Spyro Reignited Trilogy (PS4, XB1, NSW, PC)
• Sonic Mania (PS4, XB1, NSW, PC)
• Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (PS4, XB1, NSW, PC, Wii)

SPC just can't seem to get away from the number ten this week. Earlier the site celebrated Mario Day on March 10th, which saw a top ten list of the ten best Mario games of the past ten years, and now the tenth installment of Bad Boss Battles in Gaming History arrives in style on the site.

A good boss battle sticks with you for all the right reasons, and soon after beating it, you want to go back and do it all over again. The bosses on this list, however, are the absolute opposite of that, for the most part. These are annoying, broken, unfair, poorly designed, or just plain old disappointing. Whatever the case may be, the following boss battles lean more towards bad than fun, and as we'll see, even the greatest of games can have lulls in excitement and entertainment when it comes to their bosses while some shouldn't have included them to begin with.

Before we begin, though, check out all nine previous parts of this ongoing series of articles, and then check after the break for the latest boss entries:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

Part Eight

Part Nine

DOOM Eternal (PS4, XB1, PC) Official Launch Trailer

Edited to correct how far the game's release is away.

One week and some change ahead of its release date, DOOM Eternal has a special trailer made for its launch on March 20th. Rip, tear, and raze hell in this super-powered, ultra-violent sequel that seems to take everything players loved about the original (high octane action, agile gunplay, the feeling of being an unstoppable force, and intricate level design sprinkled with clever secrets) and turns the dial up to 11.