Alex Olney

3 weeks ago | nintendolife.com | Alex Olney |Anthony Dickens

ReviewsNintendoNintendo Switch 2Here comes the choom-choom trainVersion Reviewed: North AmericanIt’s more often than not these days that a game released in an underwhelming state is left abandoned in a pool of its own minor updates. On occasion, though, we have a redemption arc like that belonging to 2020's Cyberpunk 2077.

3 weeks ago | nintendolife.com | Alex Olney |Anthony Dickens

PreviewsVideosFeaturesHands OnNintendoNintendo Switch 2Upcoming ReleasesMario KartMoo-ve it on out, girlIt’s not much of a claim to fame to say you’ve played Mario Kart World at this point. After countless public preview events, the number of people lucky enough to have had a pop must at least be in the tens of thousands. But I’m special. I’m special because I got to play it for about four or five hours solid.

1 month ago | nintendolife.com | Alex Olney |Anthony Dickens

Nintendo’s upcoming Switch 2 has been accused of not being especially revolutionary, which is mostly fair. It’s more of an evolution of a concept that works rather than a vast departure, but that doesn’t mean it’s devoid of ideas. The big kahuna of new additions in my eyes is the mouse controls, allowing for a veritable feast of mouse-controlled goodness to potentially be developed.

Feb 18, 2025 | nintendolife.com | Alex Olney

ReviewsNintendo SwitchShort of CivilliantVersion Reviewed: North AmericanMost games with numbered sequels tend to iterate and grow on their previous instalments. After all, you don’t want to alienate your audience by upending key systems and creating a substantially different experience from what they’re used to, it just makes sound economic sense. Change things just enough so that it rides that line between familiarity and shininess.

Jan 14, 2025 | nintendolife.com | Alex Olney

ReviewsNintendo SwitchThat's what you get for not hailing to the chimpVersion Reviewed: EuropeanIt’s not unfair to say that the gaming landscape was somewhat different when Donkey Kong Country Returns first fell into our laps in 2010; 2D platformers were a rare breed, and ol’ DK himself hadn’t arguably had a mainline entry in his series since 2004’s Jungle Beat. Back then, the title said it all: not only was Donkey Kong back, but Donkey Kong Country had indeed returned.