Last Game You Finished And Your Four-ghts

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury



I had SM3DW on Wii U, and I enjoyed it. It was fun! But I never persisted with it past the Star World so there was a lot I didn't uncover. I had a lovely time playing through it again and while I haven't unlocked the final final super hard levels yet (by collecting all the stars, stamps and poles) I've had a pretty good go of the game. I think it's unfair to compare this directly to the likes of Odyssey and Galaxy because it feels much more like the NSMB series at its heart, but it's far better than those. Levels are short and the game is moreish, and while a lot of it is quite easy, the significant increase in difficulty in the later worlds makes up for it. I haven't played loads of multiplayer but what I have played has been good chaotic fun, and I think it's still a great game.

Bowser's Fury was a pleasant surprise. I didn't really know what to expect, but what I got was great - a reasonably compact open-world game where everything is cats and you scrabble around different islands collecting stuff and trying to occasionally avoid Bowser when he appears and loses his shit at you (for no discernible reason). It is a lot more fair to compare this to other big 3D Mario games, and I hope they expand on this concept some time in the future. I think I collected 93/100 Cat Shines - there were a few that were just getting on my nerves (mainly returning kittens to their mums which then becomes impossible when Bowser appears because they go feral) but broadly speaking, I really enjoyed it.



Pikmin 3 Deluxe



I never had this on Wii U, so this was all new to me. I really loved it! It was well-written (pleasantly light-hearted and silly), the exploration was fun, the focus on uncovering fruit across the different worlds was cute, and it was paced really well. I collected all the fruit and beat the final level in the space of 30 in-game days. I did dislike the final level because it was a time-pressured chase sequence that felt at odds with the rest of the game and it really did my nut, but that is my only criticism of it, really.

The additional content, like Olimar's side stories, are fun too. One thing I particularly liked was that you didn't have to return Pikmin to their Onions at the end of the day in these, so while you had time limits and set objectives for all of these levels, you didn't have the worry of all of your Pikmin dying at the end of the day. Challenges were also never overly annoyingly complicated - it was all just fun, innit.


Top banana rereleases and I had a lovely old time with both of them.

"A lovely old time"...I like that your reviews capture the warmness of a day trip to the beach with your grandchildren, or meeting up with Gladys and Doris for afternoon tea.

You know Gladys and Doris? We should get some scones sometime.

Buskalilly wrote:

I think I enjoyed Sunshine more than you did, but I can't sit here and say that any of what you said was wrong. . .

I was half expecting you to call me a c**t! I do feel bad dunking on a Mario game myself, just in case any weird Sonic fans from the 90s are listening.

Rum wrote:

Top banana rereleases and I had a lovely old time with both of them.

I'm going to have to get Super Mario 3D World DX at some point aren't I? I'll never get back to Breath of the Wild! Stop making entertaining things that take up months of my time Nintendo!

But with more Mario love

I was a bit worried about replaying this; Mario 64 I had to accept had aged a bit, and Mario Sunshine was as disappointing as remembered it originally. With Galaxy, I seemed to have a different experience from everyone else on the Wii. I definitely appreciated the "you've literally never seen this before" imagination that went into the game, and the Quality of Life stuff Nintendo had learned from Sunshine, but, even in the few months between the Wii launch and Galaxy's arrival, Wii fatigue and remorse had set in. Even Mario couldn't escape it - having to wave the remote around to pick Star Bits was acceptable, but the waggle to spin - an essential move at several times given it also controls grabbable objects - was frustrating and unreliable. And in general, although the Wiimote was designed like a remote control to make it more old-person-friendly, it wasn't as comfortable as a standard game controller.
But the Switch version lets you press a button to spin instead. Great. That was it. That was the only barrier. I can now really appreciate the game for its ingenuity. I don't have that much time to play games (on my own that is - 2 evenings a week are about catching up with friends and family over the internet) but I couldn't put Galaxy down. It certainly seemed easier than the first time I played it; I don't know if I can pin that entirely to the controls, but it's absolutely not a complaint. Just towards the end with some comet-related stuff did I find myself carking it, but even then I could measure my progression. The music is fantastic. The silliness of e.g. the Toad Brigade and the other NPCs is great fun. Side-flipping to wall-kicking to spinning, creating a sneaky shortcut over a cliff that would slow down a mere mortal is fantastic. And it still looks fantastic - no it doesn't have Unreal Engine Raytracing but it's entertaining to the eyes.
There's a couple of shonky bits - yes the spring suit is frustrating, occasionally its gravity engine gets it wrong and you find Mario continuously updating what up on the stick does and twirling off the edge, and Rosalina's story probably didn't need to be there. But otherwise, great. Great great great. Great.
9.9/10

Hot on the heels of gjones I played Oxenfree, won't go too much in to it as it was only on the previous page but I'm a big fan of it. Found the whole premise really interesting and the way it develops as the game went on and also in future playthroughs had me gripped.

As a side note, I wanted to play this as it was on my Switch backlog so naturally I went and bought it again on PlayStation I can count it as cleared on both backlogs right?

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

"A lovely old time"...I like that your reviews capture the warmness of a day trip to the beach with your grandchildren, or meeting up with Gladys and Doris for afternoon tea.

I knew there was something soothing about Rum's writing style, but I couldn't put it into words. Splendidly done! (I'll refrain from moaning about SM3DW again. Or Mario 3D All-Stars. I have never felt bad about dunking on a Mario game...)

Jimbob wrote:

Even Mario couldn't escape it - having to wave the remote around to pick Star Bits was acceptable, but the waggle to spin - an essential move at several times given it also controls grabbable objects - was frustrating and unreliable...
...But the Switch version lets you press a button to spin instead. Great. That was it. That was the only barrier. 

I'd honestly never heard anybody other than masofdas say that the waggle was that much of an obstacle to their enjoyment. I liked it perfectly fine, and it's the way I kept playing it on Switch. I also like Rosalina's Storybook - it's got some fantastic artwork.

Otherwise though, totally agreed, "Great great great, Great".

I think I recall Jimbob basically being the forumite who's most against motion controls so that doesn't surprise me!

I have... mixed feelings about SMG's waggle. I did find that doing it to spin was a bit duff! That said, there's stuff like the manta rays and the ball that just wouldn't have worked without some form of motion control, and I loved the rays.

Had JoftBC on my Switch wish list for a while then saw it come to Xbox with a discount at launch so got it there instead. Reason why I had on my wishlist as I heard good things about the game, and it is an enjoyable narrative 2D platformer.

I can't work out though of it's trying to take it's self really seriously with the philosophy stuff or poking fun at other games and going hey this is about philosophy you get it. With that I would like to see the game narrated in the same way as Thomas Was Alone, I think it would have really added something to it.


Finished this last night as in the main story campaign which to me close to 15hrs, and I want into the game not expecting much due to the reviews of it, yet I've come away from it pleasantly surprised.

As the campaign is what I think most would want from an Avengers game, yet the marketing around the whole game seemed to focus on the live service elements and the multiplayer stuff which comes after the campaign (you can do some of the campaign in multiplayer but not all) and I feel should have been a focus on Ms. Marvel from the outset instead of hey we've got Iron Man you like him from the films.

I got the game cheap (£12) and just got the next gen upgrade along with patches since launch, then I've started Kate Bishops campaign with Hawkeyes after that. So I might have gone in with the game being the best it can be, compared to if I played 6 months ago, yet I think if you see cheap then I feel this is worth a hulk smash.

Inside (2016)

Yo. Yooooooo. What a game!

I had my reservations over this critical darling, namely because I bounced off of Limbo immediately. Do I want to be chased by a spider? Nah. I'm also much keener on Inside's art style. But what starts as a fairly simple platformer becomes a survival horror, then a puzzle game, then an underwater adventure, then a flight sim. OK maybe not the last one. I won't spoil the latter part of the game but it definitely blew me away even though I knew there was some "twist" coming, having played it over four years after release.

Is it a perfect game though? Not quite. It's perfect at what it does but it's not something I'll see myself playing through again. The chase bits were genuinely nerve-wracking and I ain't about that life. But the movement of the vulnerable little lad is often gloriously fluid and the bit at the end just flipped the whole premise and ended up being more fun. OK, maybe I will play it again. It's definitely a must-play example of the medium.

Have a 10/10 you beautiful bastard.

Huh! I thought Inside was good, but never understood the rave reviews of it. I didn't quite get on with the trial and error gameplay and felt like it recycled quite a lot of ideas considering how short it was (hide from the light came up a LOT). I also didn't really care for the 'twist' not least because it just left me feeling like I didn't "get it" rather than "ooh what did it MEAN I MUST INTERPRET IT ALL". But it was slick and tense and well-crafted.

I've never played Inside but I'm aware of the big thing that happens towards the end of the game and it's exactly that which puts me off purely down to some irrational fear/childhood nightmare it reminds me of. Maybe one day I'll give it a go as it seems a shame to miss out on something that feels very much like a must play.

Jimbob wrote:

I was half expecting you to call me a c**t! .

Nah, you were pretty fair.

Quote :

Rosalina's story probably didn't need to be there.

Now you're a cunt. I was almost in tears by the end of the storybooks, 13 years ago and this time around!

Inside is one of those games that I keep meaning to have a look at but, due to its reported mood not gelling with mine, keep pushing down the wishlist.  I will at least have a bit more time now, having finished this monster:



I'm well aware that any attempt to sell this game on here is going to end in failure, so I'll say that it (along with its predecessors) has the best pure turn-based battling I've ever played, reel off some pros and cons, and be on my way.

Yep, best.  Better than Octopath, Pokémon, the Final Fantasies I've played, and others.  It's all in the jobs and the eponymous Brave/Default system.  The latter makes the battles much more dynamic than they might otherwise be; the former allows for a lot of variety and strategising.  There's plenty of tailoring teams to come out with a crack squad that I adored.  Nowhere is that more true than the bosses: big difficulty spikes they might be, but with the right strategy and mix of jobs, never unbeatable.  Combine those two aspects, throw in scalable battle speed, and you've got a really excellent battle system.

The rest of the game was more varied.  Quickfire time!

Pros and cons:

I think that about sums it up.  If it weren't for the dungeons being quite so bad there'd be another point on this score.  Regardless, it's still recommended if you're into the genre and have the time.

Finished this a couple of days ago. It was a nice surprise. I only picked it up for Switch because there was a physical copy going for under a tenner, and I wanted to try more NIS games outside of Disgaea.

Similar to Disgaea it has really nice character art and good voice acting, and I think some of the performances here were particularly good -speaking of the dub at least, as I didn't check for a Japanese language option.

It's one of those 1st person maze RPGs for the most part, which was refreshing to me as I'd only just dipped my toes in the genre by trying a bit of Persona 1 (which was not really to my taste). Here though I was enjoying all the mechanics once I finally grasped them all. There is a lot to digest but the game does remind you of stuff and trickle down the information a bit to make it manageable. The game isn't exactly monstrously difficult either, so even with a suboptimal setup you'll be fine.

At least until the last boss which I found to be a massive difficulty spike. Pretty disappointing for me when RPGs do that, and I think it's something they could have easily avoided because up until then the difficulty curve was pretty decent. I thought I would have been fine because I was doing some of the tough optional bosses too.

As for the story and characters, I enjoyed them too, but again like the aforementioned issue they kind of crap the bed near the end with an info dump to explain a lot of stuff, and a lot of it is confusing and not that interesting. But I did enjoy the mystery and the way stuff unfolded, and some of the reveals near the end are neat.

So overall I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. It's not without its faults, but I'm glad I didn't pass up on it just because it didn't review amazingly, or at least as good as the Disgaeas.

You remember I played Close to the Sun a few years ago which was a disappointing BioShock-like, well Paradise Lost is the 2021 version sort of. I say sort of as I only paid £10 for it, and it feels like an ambitious £10 game with what it's trying to achieve.

Then because of that I had some weird errors like an important story object being invisible, meaning it feels less impactful to the story, in what is basically a walking sim where the story is make or break.

It was an enjoyable, not sure if that is the right word for a game set in a polish nuclear bunker during WWII that didn't end, afternoon of gaming.

I slightly recommend it, like if you see it on PSN in a few months time for half price feel a few of you would like it.

I 'finished' SM3DW for the second time a few days ago - which is to say, we couldn't be bothered with Champion's Road (which I hadn't bothered with during my first run) or the last half of the final mystery house.  As Buska said, it's the archetypal example of 'gets good at the end', although I can't be 100% sure that's what shaped my views of the game this time around.  I was playing through it for the first time in co-op, with someone who's not familiar with the ins and outs of Mario games.  Did we enjoy it more towards the end because of the levels solely, or did her coming to terms with Mario's architecture play a part?  Tough to say.

Regardless, my thoughts about SM3DW are much the same as they were the first time.  It's a very good 2D Mario, but a lousy 3D one.  Its levels are blocky and dull-feeling, with only murmurs of the inspiration that made the Galaxies and Odyssey until right up near and past the end.  Its reliance on classic 2D Mario tropes hamstrings its invention.  The fact that I know it's not the direction of the Mario series now (sigh of relief!) is counterbalanced by it coming straight after the fantastic Odyssey, its exploration-themed time-limit-free opposite.  It's a lot more fun in co-op - a lot, like 'completely different game' a lot - but it's also a lot less fun second time around when I know what's coming at every turn, and time limits in co-op are still a shocking idea.


I then played Bowser's Fury, and indeed 100%ed it with all Cat Shines - so I must have enjoyed it!  I do feel like the level design is broadly better, and the use of Plessie is inspired.  Indeed, the world as a whole feels like the sort of Shine-filled 'hub' we haven't had in 3D Marios since 2002.  It looked nicer and had better music than SM3DW too.  Also: more games need adorable kitties wandering everywhere.  Definitely the best part.

However, the game (sub-game?  Semi-game?  Side-adventure?) suffers from its association with SM3DW: not only through how rigid 3DW Mario feels in a proper 3D environment (why can't I triple-jump or belly-slide/roll? ), but through its re-use of its trappings.  Everything feels recycled from a game I, and most I'd presume, would just have finished playing: less an evolution of the 3DW recipe, which is basically what 3DW's own postgame already was, and more a reheating of it.  That they're still fun is a testament to how great Mario is, and how good most of the levels are.  Also, despite its short length, there's a sense that the game's idea factory runs out of steam quite quickly, with every task recycled so many times that Sunshine's Shadow Mario chases feel fresh in comparison.  Oh wait: those are one of the tasks!

As for the titular Bowser's Fury itself, I got bored both of waiting for it to start at the right time and of it starting at the wrong time long before I finished the game's slight playtime.  It's fun for maybe three iterations.  It happens many more than that.

Oh - and it's got Cat Boom-Boom in.  Who is exactly the same as regular Boom-Boom.  And is therefore shit.


Ultimately I got my fill from the double-pack, but came away feeling unsatisfied.  Both games were good but not great, and the combination feels like less than the sum of its parts.  Bowser's Fury is straining to be free of a Wii U port that I'm sure all of us with a Wii U already played at the time: the decision not to release the side-game as its own digital cut-price release, where it might not have suffered from being played straight after the original it nabs almost everything from, is baffling to me.  What's more, following up an adventure that's best in co-op with an adventure that's bobbins in co-op felt jarring.

Perhaps I shouldn't be moaning that we got an entire new adventure for this Wii U release, instead of it being re-released almost straight like other Wii U games.  Perhaps.  But at four years into the Switch's life, I feel we should be beyond full price Wii U ports now.  Consider this: if the team who developed Bowser's Fury had spent its development doing something else, we could have had Mario Odyssey DLC by now instead.  Imagine that.  I know I am.

BONUS - THE TOURYST:

Balladeer wrote:

Perhaps I shouldn't be moaning that we got an entire new adventure for this Wii U release, instead of it being re-released almost straight like other Wii U games.  Perhaps.  But at four years into the Switch's life, I feel we should be beyond full price Wii U ports now.  

6/10

Moaning about Wii U ports and giving a 94 rated game only a 6/10, sure you're not me?

94!????

Er, I don't think I'm you.  Still only got the one current-gen (as far as gens mean anything any more) games console.  94 though!?  For SM3DW?  That's four naan levels of insane.

Should be at least 96

If Rum Rapture's Super Mario 3D World & Bowser's Fury review 'captures the warmness of a day trip to the beach with your grandchildren', then Balladeer's captures a true hatred of warmness, and day trips, and the beach, and grandchildren.

That's all right, I hate all grandchildren and all people who have ever been grandchildren.



Slightly surprised to be typing this to be honest - I thought Creaks had more to give, and was just... not 'hitting its stride', that's not fair, it had been striding for a while; but I thought it was all going to come together.  Then the game ended, leaving me with a feeling of '...oh.'  

That soured me slightly on what was, otherwise, a very strong puzzler.  'Puzzle-platformer' would technically be correct, but not really: this isn't about running and jumping.  It's about learning how to manipulate the weird environment, the weird-yet-normal creatures in it (most of whom freeze under lights), and your limited array of abilities, to navigate the creaky dreamlike world that lies just on the other side of your bedroom wall - including the terrible creature hunting in it.  Amanita's trademark bizarre yet charming/horrifying wordless story-telling is on full display here, and although it won't be to everyone's taste it's effectively done.  Although the soundtrack is never hummable, the way the music builds during the puzzles is also very strong.

It took me 5-6 hours to finish, during which I met a good selection of NPCs and murderous creatures - but like I say, Creaks felt like it had more to give, and then didn't give more.  Machinarium, Amanita's previous Switch game, felt better paced.  Still, while it lasted, I really enjoyed Creaks; and would recommend anyone up for a sedate yet atmospheric puzzler to pick it up in a sale.

Creaks is yet another example of a game that seems to have got buried under the other thirty weekly eShop releases. I'd never heard of it elsewhere other than in Balladeer posts.

~



I’ve finished RetroMania Wrestling, a new download game that’s marketing itself as “the officially-licensed sequel to the classic arcade game WWF Wrestlefest”. For those of you who are unaware, WWF Wrestlefest is one of the most recognisable and beloved arcade games of the early ‘90s, though it’s perhaps not as seminal as it should have been. Truth be told, WWF Wrestlefest has been crying out for a major licensed or unlicensed sequel for three decades. THQ tried one for iPhone about ten years ago called WWE Wrestlefest, but it was charmless, and it completely missed the point. 

RetroMania Wrestling is unmistakably WWF Wrestlefest’s true sequel. And if all you desire is a 2021 version of that 1991 Technos Japan arcade classic, then RetroMania Wrestling is truly everything you could hope for. To the credit of RetroMania Wrestling’s development team and especially it’s programmers and sprite artists, they’ve clearly studied their source material very closely. True, an updated momentum-based, Fire Pro-esque grappling system adds slightly more of a tactical edge to the wrestling, but in terms of how it looks, sounds, moves and animates, it’s stunningly authentic to WWF Wrestlefest. With this mimicry of a bonafide arcade classic, RetroMania Wrestling is a very fun game. It’s definitely the best of it’s type on the Nintendo Switch.

This comes with an obvious drawback, however. WWF Wrestlefest was never the most deep or enrichening arcade experience, and nor was it designed to be. In an ‘90s arcade, WWF Wrestlefest would allure you in with it’s flashy and chunky visuals, bold colours, booming audio and popular WWF license, and then give you a few minutes of button-mashy fun. RetroMania Wrestling retains all those qualities, but they work less well in your house than they do in an arcade. They also work less well when you’ve paid £22.19 for the experience, rather than getting it by pushing a 10p into a coin slot.

I don’t mind that RetroMania Wrestling isn’t distinct enough from WWF Wrestlefest. In fact, I think it would become a totally different game if they changed things up too much, and lose the very essence of what it’s supposed to be and represent. Yet it definitely needed more to it. I was disappointed that the much-hyped Story Mode took me ninety minutes to finish. The other 'main' mode - the 10 Pounds of Gold ladder mode - was maybe half that. There’s no unlockable secrets or online multiplayer to boost this lifespan for me either. So, from here on in I’m only likely to dip into RetroMania Wrestling for a quick ten minute blast in it's exhibition modes. Yes, that’s keeping in the spirit that WWF Wrestlefest was made, although as mentioned WWF Wrestlefest never cost me £22 to play.

My three least favourite things about RetroMania Wrestling are really just down to my personal point of view. Firstly, I think those character portraits look dreadful, and that’s all I need to get off my chest about that. Secondly, I think the roster is remarkably pish. The Road Warriors are unquestionably the most recognisable characters here, and the only two that are also in the original WWF Wrestlefest. They’ve also lucked out on having members of the current WWE and AEW rosters (John Morrison and Colt Cabana respectively). Beyond that though, it’s just full of cheap no-names like Jeff Cobb and Austin Idol, or utterly shite jobbers that you’d never choose in another wrestling game, such as The BWO and Curt Hawkins. This brings me onto my third major dislike: it’s that the developer has clearly bent over backwards to make this roster seem like a big deal - probably to appease and flatter the real-life personalities that portray these characters. It’s a proper ego trip; they’re presented as huge stars, but it never sits well. By doing this, RetroMania Wrestling oftentimes feels incredibly bargain-bin and naff. Really, why in Greek Buggery would I be interested to wrestle in the Stevie Richards Fitness gym, or engaged in competing for Tommy Dreamer’s Hardcore wrestling show, or even slightly arsed to see a Story Mode cameo from some dick from Pro Wrestling Tees? For as well as it’s made, RetroMania Wrestling’s lack of quality licenses and frequent fanboyish-ness hurt it quite a bit in my eyes. 

RetroMania Wrestling is a niche game made for a niche audience. I wish it was a lot more ambitious with both it’s roster and in it's scope, but all the same I’ve enjoyed playing it. I really do appreciate their effort at making something that does WWF Wrestlefest justice. Bottom line though, I think the RRP is too high for what you get. 6/10.

The way the game looks is fantastic in my opinion, although I'm a sucker for good sprites. It's just difficult for me to see myself ever giving it a go. I feel as though I might prefer the idea of it more than the actual game.

I already own Fire Pro Wresling World, and I can download as many CAWs as I need, create all the exhibition matches and stipulations I want, but I have scarcely played it. I like the Blue Meanie and Stevie Richards but Christ it's telling that they made the cover!

I've seen some mixed thoughts about the difficulty in the game. A lot of people seem to struggle, although I hear that there is a tutorial of sorts somewhere in the game. With that in mind though, I already felt like the price was too high for a punt and your review really solidifies that. Sad, but I think this is another example of how important pricing indie games right is.

I love how everyone has different rating scales - a GNamer magazine would be hell to edit. Overpriced and dreadful looking wrestling on par with acclaimed Mario co-op platformer.

Pure Pool + Pure Snooker DLC (2014)



Ever since Virtual Pool 64 and Jimmy White's Cueball 2 on the Dreamcast, I've always had a soft spot for a bit of the billiards. There's always been something relaxing about gradually removing your balls from a pool table. The barman appreciates it too. Now that I've got the inevitable bollock-related joke out of the way, I can talk about what a joy Pure Pool is to play. There's not much out there as far as console pool or snooker gaming - it's a genre that has excelled on smartphones though. Pocket billiards has always been a popular past-time on public transport, but throw a touchscreen in and it suddenly isn’t a night in jail and an awkward meeting with HR.

Pure Pool is an accurate title, not just in that it streamlines the rules into the two types of pool any social butterfly is familiar with: 8-Ball (spots and stripes) and 9-Ball (pot the balls in number order). The third mode is DLC which I got for a few quid: Snooker. The irony of a more complicated, meatier mode being DLC is a little odd; the equivalent of a checkers game having chess as its DLC; but pool is a more popular sport worldwide.

There’s no actual “career mode” even though there is a “Career” option - it’s basically a lengthy set of challenges. You do accumulate experience points but they mean nothing after a few hours - you unlock a few different cosmetic features like cues and baize (the material on the table) but nothing game-changing. The meat of the game is beating the challenges and getting a star rating (1 star for beating the opposition or completing the challenge, the second and third are for ticking off an optional prerequisite). Think Goldeneye’s Agent/Secret/00 structure but with less Q-related shenanigans, more cue-related you get the idea. It adds some replayability but is essentially a giant checklist. You also get accolades for things like “Get a break of 50+” or “Pot two balls from a break” which are just hollow badges that mean little.

Each of the three modes have three difficulty levels: Amateur, Pro and Master. Instead of just increasing the difficulty of the AI, you also lose some of the aiming reticle which I thought was a neat touch. It does however make Master as tough as the real thing, especially snooker. That’s something that the developers nailed - the jump from pool and its big pockets, small table and claustrophobic bar atmosphere is a piece of piss for the most part, but if you play the snooker mode you move to another room at the back of the bar and it’s a big step up. Where the real men play. The table is huge, the pockets are tiny and you are a lot more reliant on positional play and strategy. It’s savage but really rewarding, much like the real thing.

The ball physics are great and it all looks lovely but I do wish there was a bit more variety. You're in a bar on your own, so it's a very lonely experience. Your opponents are just names and floating cues. So are you actually - there's a distinct lack of hands. The developers also went overboard on the snooker table's visuals - it's so dented and covered in white powder that it looks like Charlie Sheen just held an orgy on it. It doesn't sit right with the clean, modern design of the pool tables.

I still maintain Pure Pool is perfect as a game to download for anyone wishing for short bursts of gameplay. There’s no soulless campaign mode that many snooker games include but nobody actually enjoys them. It’s just a bunch of matches. If you could upgrade your skills and see a noticeable improvement in your character, I can see why you would include a proper career mode, but snooker and pool is such an odd game that nobody has really dared to try it. The only real addition I could see to a future billiards title is added challenge - you need to win this or your character gets glassed, impairing your vision for the next ten games. Gambling on your matches. Hustling local clubs in some sort of real estate management mode that lets you decorate and upgrade your bar. I guess it wouldn’t be “Pure Pool” then though.

If you fancy a pool or snooker game, this is pretty much the best option but I know that is still hard to recommend if you have no interest in the sport. Seeing as this is launching on Switch, that's definitely the best platform to pick it up on, although this review is based on the PS4 version. 8/10