Which Way Up Galaxy Games Switch Review

Which Way Up Galaxy Games Switch Review
Version Reviewed: Nintendo Switch

If there’s one thing I love, it’s a developer that pours their soul into a game, and Which Way Up Galaxy Games is exactly the kind of story that makes me want to shout about local Aussie talent. I backed the original Kickstarter for Turtleflip Studios’ quirky gravity-based party game when it first launched, drawn in by their obvious passion and the delightfully hand-knit character plushies they offered as pledge rewards. While the campaign didn’t quite hit its goal, the team went ahead and made the game anyway, releasing it on Nintendo Switch about a month ago, and I’m so glad it’s here. What’s it like? Grab some friends, chuck some popcorn in the microwave, and defy gravity as we review Which Way Up Galaxy Games on Nintendo Switch.

A Party Game Pulled by Gravity

At its core, Which Way Up Galaxy Games is a series of party games in space with all the minigame madness you’d expect, plus a clever twist on gravity physics. You can play specific games of your choosing, or select a Galaxy games Cup of specific difficulties to rapid fire through a series of mini games to declare the victor. It’s a classic couch party game, with an almost “Wario-Ware” vibe… the kind of experience that thrives when friends are shouting over each other and trying to sabotage their way to victory. If you’re running short on friends, the game has a single-player mode where you can rescue and unlock characters. Each arc revolves around the specific character, and I thoroughly enjoyed the mini golf game the most when flying solo.

The outer space theme gives the game a playful sci-fi sheen, but it’s mostly there to support the zany physics and floaty movement. Planets, low-gravity arenas, and specific space hazards don’t just look cool, they influence how characters move and interact, leading to some genuinely funny moments when the environment turns against you. Whether you’re avoiding black holes or bouncing between platforms, the space setting helps the game feel lighthearted and unpredictable, leading to many laughs and sometimes frustrating eliminations.

Gameplay That Sticks the Landing

Which Way Up Galaxy Games doesn’t reinvent the party game formula, but it does twist it, literally. The lineup of minigames is varied and well-paced, with everything from space-themed mini golf that’s sure to satisfy when your ball successfully orbits a planet and goes into the hole, and chaotic endless runners to a strange little reverse-soccer challenge where you’re actually trying to score on yourself. One of the surprising additions is a constellation-grabbing mode that feels like a cosmic take on Call of Duty’s Domination mode, with players floating around trying to snag glowing stars before their opponents do. Do you stay and defend your constellation while the seconds count down by furiously comet punching the competition? Or do you do a mad dash to try to overwhelm the field? It’s small strategies that you can mix up that lead to a lot of fun.

The standout, at least in my house, was Bomb Tag. It’s a simple premise: don’t hold the bomb when the timer runs out. But the low-gravity physics turns it into a frantic, floaty mess of last-second dodging, Hail Mary leaps, and charging up some well-timed comet punches. My kids were in hysterics every time someone got tagged mid-jump, helplessly drifting toward their doom. It was in that moment, trying to launch myself away from a giggling child with a glowing bomb, that the game’s physics truly clicked as it’s the glue that holds everything together. Each session awards player achievements when the final victor is declared, and some of them are genuinely funny or interesting stats which made us laugh a bit more… except my wife, when I was awarded the most Comet punches award.

Simple, Soulful, and Smooth

Which Way Up Galaxy Games opts for a clean and minimalist art style, but it’s one that works in its favour. The character designs give a Pixar’s Soul vibe, simple, expressive, and just a little otherworldly. There’s not a ton of visual detail in the environments; there are small things like swaying grass in the golf levels, but the sparse aesthetic helps keep the action easier to follow, and the chaos controlled, especially in four-player matches where things can get hectic fast. The clean graphics are backed by a soundtrack that reminded me of the NES World Championships, A PGA Golf style 80’s throwback loop that did a good job setting the mood.

The game runs impressively well on Switch. I noticed a few minor visual glitches, like some text alignment issues with speech going outside of the speech bubble, but they didn’t impact gameplay. Overall, the performance was responsive and ran at a smooth framerate. For my Galaxy Gamers looking into accessibility options, there are none included, so I recommend further research into seeing if Which Way Up Galaxy Games suits your needs.

A Budget Blast for Couch Co-Op Fans

At under $20 AUD on the eShop, Which Way Up Galaxy Games is cheaper than a movie ticket, and honestly, it might deliver more laughs. While the overall variety of game modes isn’t massive, the game’s rapid-fire, round-robin style keeps things moving at a brisk pace. It’s the kind of title where the fun comes less from deep mechanics and more from the pick-up and play chaos of playing with others. Solo players might find the appeal wears off quicker, especially once the novelty of the gravity physics fade. But as a couch co-op experience, especially with family or friends, it’s a winner. Whether you’re pulling it out at the end of a dinner party or settling in for a weekend gaming session with kids, it consistently delivers moments of frantic fun and laughter, which makes it well worth the price of entry. Which Way Up Galaxy Games might be lined up against some stiff competition in the party game genre, but the nights of fun and laughter we had playing it have secured it a podium finish.

So, What’s it Like? Which Way Up Galaxy Games is like Mario Party crossed with the mind-bending planet physics of Mario Galaxy

In the interest of full disclosure, a review copy was provided by the publisher, but this doesn’t influence my score

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