Staff Picks Video Games
February 2024
Mario Strikers: Battle League
Fire rains down on the field as you notice a teammate get knocked into an electrified fence and you’re about to run straight into a giant shell! This is the norm in Mario Strikers: Battle League where soccer is given the Mario treatment as “the beautiful game” is given a fresh coat of paint! Play as several different Mario characters with their own unique skillset. Build a team and tackle, dodge, pass and shoot to get yourself some nifty trophies and gear that can change your stats! Play with up to 8 players at one time in the most ridiculous soccer games ever! Move over Messi and make way for Mario and friends! Mario Strikers: Battle League is available at the Orland Park Public Library on the Nintendo Switch system. Mario Strikers: Battle League is rated “E 10+ for Everyone 10 and up.”
Recommended by: Alex Pappas, Youth Services Reference Librarian
Posted in: Video Games
November 2022
Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Pokémon Legends: Arceus – The classic Pokémon formula gets a shake-up in Pokémon Legends: Arceus! Waking up in a mysterious new world, you are tasked with researching Pokémon for an organization. This new world is one where Pokémon are not considered the cute, helpful allies we know but a mysterious threat that humanity is mostly ignorant and even afraid towards. Explore open worlds and catch Pokémon to expand your research. New mechanics encourage sneaking, dodging and interacting with Pokémon in new ways to catch them, though traditional battling is included. As a member of Team Galaxy, your passion for Pokémon will help forge new friendships, heal old wounds and carve new paths in this mysterious new world! Pokemon Legends: Arceus is available at the Orland Park Public Library on the Nintendo Switch system. Pokemon Legends: Arceus is rated “E for Everyone.”
Recommended by: Alex Pappas, Youth Services Reference Librarian
Posted in: Video Games
April 2022
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Round, pink and cute! Kirby is the lovable hero that finds himself lost in a new land in this adorable adventure celebrating the series’ 30th anniversary! When Kirby is transported through time and space, he gains the new power to change his shape by inhaling everyday objects. Watching Kirby eat up cars, vending machines and traffic cones is not only cute/hilarious (cutelarious?) but leads to some wildly creative puzzles in Kirby’s first fully 3D saga. These new abilities and returning classics like Cutter, Needle and Ice add variety to the game to make it approachable for newcomers and adds extra challenges for series veterans and completionists. Wait…you say you want more cute? Try teaming up with a friend! Kirby can invite his buddy Bandana Waddle Dee to help him out in friendly co-op. Save the Waddle Dees and learn the mystery of this new world alongside Kirby! Kirby and the Forgotten Land is available at the Orland Park Public Library on the Nintendo Switch system. Kirby and the Forgotten Land is rated “E 10+ for Everyone 10 and up.”
Recommended by: Alex Pappas, Youth Services Reference Librarian
Posted in: Video Games
December 2021
Hades
Hades – “Fear is for the weak.” These words ring through young Prince Zagreus’s head as he attempts the impossible: running away from home. However, running away from home is a bit more challenging when your father is Lord of the Underworld. Zagreus wants to know secrets beyond the reach of the Underworld and to do so will need all the help offered from Mount Olympus itself. Uncle Zeus’s power can bestow your weapons with lightning to chain between the wretches of the Underworld. Cousin Athena can shield you from witches, Hydras and other blights. Cousin Artemis’s deadly precision can mark difference between striking down the heroes of Greek legend or ending up waking up back in the House of Hades, working from square one. The combat in this game is an absolute thrill and Hades offers plenty of choice in how you want to proceed, making each escape attempt unique and satisfying as Prince Zagreus grows stronger and you become a better player in the challenging (Under)world of Hades. Family is certainly a fickle thing and a lot of ironing out of centuries’ worth of pride, pain and punishment will require a lot of growth from young Prince Zagreus. Hey, when you’re an immortal, every death is just another lesson learned. Hades is available at the Orland Park Library on both the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 consoles. Hades is rated “T for Teen.”
Posted in: Video Games
November 2021
WarioWare: Get It Together!
WarioWare: Get It Together! – Imagine these different games: Plugging up a giant nose, dodging pigeons pooping from up above, making some fishies on swings kiss and find true love, and helping wrestlers do bicep curls so they can get swole. Okay. Now the other thing about these is that you have about 4 seconds to complete these. The WarioWare franchise is all about this: Speeding through deceptively simple “microgames” at a blazing pace bewildered by the fact that a boss fight involved you chasing down and catching a sentient toilet. WarioWare has been delighting its players for almost twenty years due to its quirky humor and this iteration introduces a new element that each playable character has differing abilities. These different abilities require quick reflexes as you adapt new strategies to each microgame. Wario can fly with a jetpack and use his trademark shoulder charge. Witch girl Ashley can fly on a broomstick and attack using her magic spells. Gamer 9-volt constantly skateboards on the ground and can shoot straight upward with his yoyo and use that to travel. One or two players can play these microgames together, and there are also separate minigames for up to 4 players. With over 200 microgames, extra minigames and around 20 different playable characters, WarioWare will be welcoming players back constantly for frenetic fun!
WarioWare: Get It Together! is available on the Nintendo Switch console and is rated E 10+ for Everyone 10 and up.
Recommended by: Alexander Pappas, Youth Services Reference Librarian
Posted in: Video Games
September 2021
A Hat in Time
A Hat in Time is a loving homage to some of the greatest 3D platformers of all time such as Super Mario 64, Donkey Kong 64 and Banjo-Kazooie. That being said, A Hat in Time make its own mark by being wonderfully unique and charmingly silly. Join the adventure as Hat Kid as she tries to recover her missing Time Pieces to continue her journey home. You’ll discover worlds that have you fighting the mafia, taking sides in a movie award ceremony and even making contracts with a ghost who may not have the best intentions at heart… Equip different hats and badges to give Hat Kid all sorts of new powers like mixing potions, super sprints and turning herself into ice! A Hat in Time’s goofy characters, inspiring worlds and creative platforming challenges turn Hat Kid into the star of the show!
A Hat in Time is available at the Orland Park Public Library on the Nintendo Switch console. A Hat in Time is rated “T for Teen.”
Recommended by: Alexander Pappas, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Video Games
Neo : The World Ends with You
Can you survive Tokyo? Rindo and his friend Fret wake up in the Reaper’s Game in this sequel to the Nintendo DS classic. In the Reaper’s Game, teams are tasked with completing various missions to score points for a whole week. Win the game and have your wish granted, fail and face erasure! The fast-paced battle system encourages you to get in sync with your teammates by equipping pins that activate awesome psychic abilities. Groove together with your teammates to create devastating combination attacks to erase the Noise, which are negative emotions being experienced outside the Reaper’s Game. Neo: The World Ends With You stands out amongst its Role-Playing Game contemporaries by being fully immersed in modern-day Shibuya, Japan and all its culture. It’s a guarantee you’ll be vibing along with the rock/electronic/hip-hop jams of the phenomenal soundtrack, wonder at the art direction deeply inspired by graffiti artists and look for the best equipment that is both fashionable and can give you any edge to survive the Reaper’s Game.
Neo: The World Ends With You is available at the Orland Park Public Library on both the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 consoles. Neo: The World Ends with You is rated “T for Teen.”
Recommended by: Alexander Pappas, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Video Games
August 2021
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster
How would you remake the world? That is the question at the heart of this remaster of an iconic mid-2000s role-playing game. In the aftermath of a cataclysm, you awaken as the Demi-fiend: a half-human, half-demon entity capable of summoning demons to your aid. Explore the remains of Tokyo as you recruit demons to your side. Utilize the various strengths of your recruited demons to win intense turn-based battles that encourage strategy by buffing your team’s strengths and exploiting the enemy’s weaknesses. Old friends and new acquaintances alike covet the power of the Demi-fiend and you can choose to ally yourself with their reasons. These branching paths have multiple endings that encourage repeat playthroughs. Freedom, structure, power, equality… which reason will you choose to build your new world around? Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster is available at the Orland Park Public Library on both the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 consoles. Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster is rated “M for Mature.”
Recommended by: Alexander Pappas, Youth Services Reference I Librarian
Posted in: Video Games
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Posted in: Video Games
June 2021
Super Mario Maker 2
Ever breeze through a Mario level and thought that was too easy? Super Mario Maker 2 challenges Mario enthusiasts to make their own levels. Creating your own levels is a snap with a user-friendly course maker. You can save these levels for your friends and family to play or submit them over the internet. Not much of a creator and want to get in on the classic Mario platforming action? Super Mario Maker 2 has a story mode with pre-made levels for you to enjoy right away, and if you feel you need to up the ante, try going online and taking on some of the courses made by other Mario fans like yourself! Super Mario Maker 2 is available at the Orland Park Public Library on the Nintendo Switch console and is rated “E for Everyone.” A Nintendo Switch Online account is needed to submit and play user-created courses.
Recommended by: Alexander Pappas, Youth Services Reference Librarian I
Posted in: Video Games