Games of the Week: featuring Splatoon 3, Tinykin and LEGO Brawls
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Splatoon 3
Platform:Nintendo Switch
Genre: Fighting
Price: £49.99
Age rating: PEGI 7
The ink-based epic is back
Review by: Jess Glass
At its heart, Nintendo’s Splatoon series boils down to a simple, delightful concept: You are a squid-like person who needs to coat more surfaces in neon-coloured ink than your opponents.
With crisp graphics and smooth gameplay, players will find many hours of fun in team matches, battling as their customisable ink-spurting avatars, with a range of weapons against online opponents.
As well as the multiplayer battles that fans know and love, Splatoon 3 features a variety of other modes, including an adventurous, enjoyable and well-paced single-player mode, giving something new to existing players, while drawing in people dipping their toes in the series for the first time.
Skip to the end: An exciting and smooth update to a much-loved series.
8/10
Tinykin
Platform: PC, Xbox One/X|S, Playstation 4/5, Nintendo Switch
Genre: Adventure
Price: Around £20, depending on platform
Age rating: PEGI 7
Solve a miniature time-travelling mystery
Review by: Sian Harrison
Tinykin is a detailed game that punches well above its weight. As miniature astronaut Milo, players explore a supersized house alongside a growing group of even smaller alien helpers who help move items, explode objects and solve puzzles along the way.
With a charming plot, sometimes challenging tasks and a well-crafted series of levels, the imaginative, nostalgia-inducing adventure earns its place on any adventure game fan’s shelf. While the mix of 2D and 3D graphic styles may be jarring at first, once players get used to the mixed design, it is a great atmospheric tool to distinguish the futuristic Milo from his unexpectedly nineties-themed surroundings.
Skip to the end: A charming platformer well worth your time.
7/10
LEGO Brawls
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Genre: Action
Price: £35.99
Age rating: PEGI 7
Let the brick battles commence
Review by: Kate Gardiner
LEGO Brawls has a simple concept: choose or create your own LEGO minifigure and battle it out in various arenas against your opponents – either locally, online or CPU – to win and become the top brawler.
This unlocks over 200 different minifigures with special power-ups, including crossbows and rampaging horses, to help you come out on top.
My nearly seven-year-old son loved the character details and special moves but it was quickly clear that the frantic gameplay was basically button-bashing with little skill. Younger gamers will enjoy the silliness, but there’s not much depth to the game, especially for the price tag.
Skip to the end: Daft and enjoyable nonsense with little substance.
4/10
