While 'Look and Blink' may not be the new 'Point and Click', Before Your Eyes does a great job at not only telling a story using its unique control scheme but also by incorporating it naturally into the narrative.

I felt engaged at all points and wanted to know more and more about the people around me and the life I was living through. Initially I tried to keep my eyes open to experience more but as I made my through more vignettes I began to take things more naturally, emulating the dream like state your character is going through and personally think that made for a better experience.

Environmental storytelling when done well can sometimes draw you into the world more than something more explicit. Other times though you're just left running around clueless as to what is happening and why, with no impetus for the journey you're on, and just like how your protagonist takes in many of the vistas across the world, this is firmly the end of the scale where Hob sits.

As pretty as the forests, lakes and vistas I explored could be, the game did nothing to try and intrigue me, or scatter even the most minuscule of breadcrumbs to be able to learn more. And perhaps this wouldn't have mattered so much if I was engaged in another aspect of the game but sadly that wasn't to be either. The combat was laborious (and ultimately pretty pointless as you can roll past nearly every enemy encounter with no consequences) and the platforming sections were severely 'okay' but I guess it was the world itself that disappointed me the most.

Yes it can be green and lush at points but there were very few areas that stood out and so the requisite backtracking sections involved a lot of map checking, as each part of the scenery blended into one another. And all this was not helped by an atmospheric soundtrack which seemingly just repeated the same 1-2 minute loop, including one part of the map where you're subjected to an obvious and sudden stop in the background music that completely throws you out of the experience. It probably didn't help that the framerate can absolutely chug on Switch - I'm usually not that fussed by FPS but it was distractingly bad in certain areas and during some cutscenes.

I take no pleasure in being harsh with the game - I really wanted to like it, and probably against my better will and judgement kept playing in the vague hope that it might get better - but in retrospect I feel like my time with it was just wasted.

Cozy, calming and completely low stakes, Haven Park puts its own spin on the relaxing open world sub genre by adding in a collect-and-craft mechanic as you build campsites across the titular park.

And it works - just about anyway. The controls can be finicky when placing items in around each fire pit and I'd have liked a touch more variation in what you have access to, but there's still a good level of satisfaction to be had as you entice in more visitors with their own set-up requests. These characters you bring into the park each have their own unique and quirky dialogue - they're not quite as memorable as in other titles that go for a similar vibe but still retain that charm nonetheless.

The world itself is laid out pretty well with your usual assortment of environments, and the little story the game is telling ends up being more touching than I expected. I had a few nitpicks with the camera (including tying a better view of the game behind a progression system with skill points) and it's very easy to get caught on the scenery with grinds your momentum to a full stop, but they weren't troubling enough to distract from a pleasant and refreshing experience.

One final note - while not quite satisfying as the 'honk' in Untitled Goose Game, I do appreciate being able to make my little bird go 'pew pew pew' whenever I wanted and I hope more games add dedicated buttons to their games that do nothing but make your character create noises.

It has the style but lacks the substance needed to truly draw you into the experience. The story itself is a unique one and framing around a detective noir aesthetic should be excellent staring ingredients - unfortunately what's added are puzzles which don't particularly compliment the tale being woven that go on for just a tick too long and pacing that, while generally fine, can feel glacial at points.

I can forgive those things somewhat though when you're provided with Genesis Noir's spectacle - certain sections have an almost transcendental quality that can put a smile on your face.

It's hard to know what is a fair rating for a collection like this. While Super Mario 64 is showing it's age a little bit, and Sunshine still has those blue coins, they're still fun games to play and come bundled with Galaxy, probably Mario's best outing overall. They're quality games.

On the flipside, how they've been bundled is incredibly barebones - Galaxy has probably had the most work done allowing for players not to have to use motion controls in some play style (but annoyingly not others), but that's about it. There's a resolution bump and full soundtracks are included but these games are almost as they were when they released and that's incredibly disappointing for a re-release bundle in a world where something like Rare Replay or the N.Sane Trilogy exist.

Maybe chucking the All-Stars brand on it wasn't the smartest move, a collection that included revamped looks for all NES games, along with a game that had never been released outside of Japan before at that point as it increases expectations. But then again given the sales, maybe it was the smartest move...