After tomorrow’s launch of Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, there isn’t a single 3DS release in the pipeline. If the colourful JRPG ends up becoming the final 3DS game (admittedly, we may see something at E3 next week), it’s a cracking way to bow out.
The dungeon crawler is one of this week’s highest rated games, sitting pretty with an 83% Metacritic (formed from 20 reviews).
“As a Persona fan, it feels like the ultimate tribute to the last 13 years of the series, with nostalgic music and callbacks to previous events. When I wasn’t chuckling over a joke between the cast members, I was reveling in fusing new personas and finally besting a long, punishing boss battle. Persona Q2 is a worthy last hurrah for the 3DS, and helps the system go out on a high note,†said GameInformer before dishing out an 8.5.
Over on the Switch it’s a somewhat quieter week than usual, with Summer Sports Games being the one and only full price retail release. There are a few smaller indie titles of note, however, with the card-based roguelike Slay the Spire leading the way.
Nintendo Life found it to be a perfect fit for the Switch: “Its combination of ferocious battles, entertaining chance encounters and selection of three impressively different player characters make every run to the top a nerve-wracking and totally absorbing affair.â€
Chucklefish’s ‘90s-style 2D Metroidvania Timespinner has arrived to rave reviews too, with no review scores lower than 8/10 currently. “Timespinner kept me wide awake in the late hours of the night. I simply couldn’t put it down until I defeated the final boss. Luckily, tons of collectibles and a new game plus mode give me a reason to jump back in. If you’re a fan of Metroidvania games, Timespinner is a must play on Nintendo Switch,†was Nintendo Enthusiast’s verdict.
Of course, there’s a belated conversion to consider as well. Step forward Hue, the well-received colour-based puzzle platformer. That’s joined by Refunct, an inexpensive (£2.49) 3D platformer (of sorts), with tranquil sunsets and mellow music. We awarded the Xbox One version 7/10 back in 2017.
Here’s the full list of eShop releases. Retro gamers may want to take a look at Solomon’s Key, the classic Tecmo puzzler. Kairosoft’s The Sushi Spinnery is no doubt an ample timewaster, too.
New 3DS releases
Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth – £34.99
Welcome to the ultimate Persona experience. The sequel to the beloved dungeon crawler, Persona Q2, arrives on Nintendo 3DS. Join the cast of P3, P4, and P5 as they are thrown into a new and mysterious world. Can our favorite heroes defeat monsters, discover treasure, and navigate their way out of the labyrinth?
New Switch releases
Arcade Archives Solomon’s Key – £6.29
‘Solomon’s key’ is an action game that was released from Tecmo in 1986. Players make full use of the ‘magic’ of the main character Dana to collect items in various stages and get the book called ‘Solomon’s key’. Unusual for a game in its time, an arcade and consumer version were both developed at the same time.
Summer Sports Games – £21.79
Choose your avatar and beat the AI in five exciting tournaments with increasing difficulty. In local multiplayer mode, up to four people can play against each other. Depending on the discipline it is played either one after the other or simultaneously on a split screen. In addition, players can choose their own discipline selection and multiplayer mode assemble order.
ARTIFACT ADVENTURE GAIDEN DX – £8.09
The music and the colour – The brand new 8-bit style “adventure” and “story” is here. An adventurer that can travel anywhere with his knowledge. An old swordsman that has the best skills. A noble that has the wealth to acquire anything in the world. Select your partners and explore the open world! Your “choices” create your “future”… When you explore the world 3 years later, will it be “happiness”, “sorrow”, or something else…?
Car Mayhem – £7.19
Car Mayhem is a collection of three fun packed car games.
Pursuit:
Race around the city collecting coins to unlock new cars while being chased by the cops, but be careful if the cops catch up they will smash into you and explode.
Apocalypse:
Drive around and try to kill as many Zombies as possible while collecting coins as you can before the time runs out.
Destruction:
Race around the demolition derby arena with nine opponents, smash up the opponents cars before they smash into you and earn coins to buy and unlock new cars
Desktop Baseball – £5.69
Watch as your desk transforms into a baseball stadium! Come for the simple controls, stay for the deep strategy. Customize your team down to the uniforms, bats, and pitches and then aim for the big leagues!
Dyna Bomb – £5.99
If it moves, detonate it. Dyna Bomb has an intuitive arcade action game play, with a blast of humor. Enjoy features like, the wheel of fortune to discover hidden extras, player powerups, different characters designs and much, much more!
Hue – £9.99
In Hue you explore a dangerous grey land, unearthing coloured fragments on a journey to find your missing mother. As obstacles match the background, they disappear, creating new and exciting puzzles – full of peril, mystery… and colours unseen.
Legend of the Tetrarchs – £13.49
The holy sword that sealed away an ominous power has been drawn out and darkness starts to spill out across the land, mutating people into monsters. The four Tetrarch heroes of ancient times will meet a new band of brave warriors to slash through the darkness with the light of courage! What will they find beyond the chaos?
Neon Junctions – £4.99
Plunge into cyberspace and try to overcome 34 levels capable to challenge not only your savvy but also dexterity. Capture and move conductive cubes, close electrical circuits and restore power of the interactive objects around you to get to the teleportation plant which is able to take you to the next level of the game!
Perchang – £9.99
The game revolves around getting little balls from the emitter to their home in the goal. Blocking their way are a plethora of obstacles and some helpful elements coloured red or blue. So simple … yet so tricky.
PICO PARK – £3.99
PICO PARK is very flexible because every level adjusts to the total number of players. So you can play with as many friends as you like.
Prime World: Defenders – £0.00
Defenders: TD origins merges classic tower defense gameplay with collectible card mechanic. Your towers, spells and traps – all are the magic cards. Collect them, fuse them and get them even more powerful! Freeze, burn, poison, explode and slash countless enemies with unique Magic and Tower collection!
Red Siren: Space Defense – £8.99
Red Siren: Space Defense is a space war game with futuristic robots, tanks, spaceships, war mechas and huge battle machines! Enjoy the amazing visuals, realistic effects, exciting battles, challenging missions… the real robot warfare!
Refunct – £2.49
Platforming: Wall-jumps, slides, pipes, lifts, springboards
Beautiful: Emotional soundtrack and vibrant visuals
Peaceful: Non-violent, open world without death
She and the Light Bearer – £8.99
Follow the Journey of the Little Firefly to seek The Mother deep inside the heart of the unknown forest! Though, this journey won’t be easy for such a bug. The Little Firefly has to earn the forest trust and prove their worth by solving riddles, challenges, and puzzles.
Slay the Spire – £19.99
We fused card games and roguelikes together to make the best single player deckbuilder we could. Craft a unique deck, encounter bizarre creatures, discover relics of immense power, and Slay the Spire!
The Savior’s Gang – £4.49
In The Savior’s Gang, the player controls The Savior, a powerful entity that is crucified and trapped between the world of mortals and heaven. This unfair death triggers the wrath of his father, an almighty pigeon, which unleashes a series of traps, disasters and dangers all over the world. The Savior must negotiate with his Father to stop these catastrophes and save only his worshippers from all these evils and, try to get out of limbo and recover his power. To achieve his goals, he will have his good friend Stan (he hates to be called Satan) and the intermediation of his Mother and Stepfather.
Super Skelemania – £4.49
Dive into Super Skelemania, a single-sitting metroidvania about an acrobatic skeleton. Jump over a pit of thorns, roll your skull like a bowling ball, or headbutt a spider like any good skeleton would!
Soccer Pinball – £0.89
Have a soccer match with your friend or family member on the pinball field! You will try to score as many as possible within 3-minutes to see who is the best. You can see the top 4 high scores and beating them will get harder because after each round, there will be an additional ball in the field! Also your mini audience will always cheer for you.
The Sushi Spinnery – £8.99
Expand your menu along with your conveyor belt by designing original creations to complement more classic fare. But it takes more than fine food to win customers over. Show your creative flair not only in sushi but in your business model by offering amenities ranging from salad bars to sumo rings. Make enough fans and you’ll unlock all new ingredients and amenities–and fresh possibilities with them!
Timespinner – £14.99
Explore an intricate, connected world with beautifully drawn and detailed pixel art environments. Traverse between the barren present and luscious past of Lachiem, collecting elemental magic orbs and combining their power to destroy enemies with blades and spells. Befriend mysterious creatures called Familiars, such as the adorable dream dragon Meyef, and train them to aid you in battle. Test your skills and timing with intense boss battles, and you venture forth to take on the Emperor himself!
Tiny Derby – £4.09
Little critters compete in short and frantic races, and your role is to put hazards and boosts on the race track to hinder the bad guys and help out the good guys (the cute yellow ones). Good luck!
Tyr : Chains of Valhalla – £8.99
Tyr: Chains of Valhalla is a solid 2.5D retro action shooter platformer full of power-ups, robots, vikings and difficult bosses. Tyr: Chains of Valhalla is inspired by Norse mythology, more precisely, the Ragnarök! In a technological world where humanity depends on mega-corporations like Yggdrasil, big companies know no limits, competing for the global monopoly, and foes are at the order of the day; someone has to put a balance in the city.
Warlocks 2: God Slayers – £15.99
In God Slayers you take on the role of one of the members of The Order of Warlocks. This time around you’ll have to face a much bigger threat, than in the original game. By slashing hordes of shadow monsters in the past, Warlocks have angered the Gods, who now turned against them. In result, you can now either give up, ask for mercy and then quietly die, as “mercy†is not a word easily found in Dark Gods’ vocabulary. Or you could release all your godlike powers instead and make the Gods pay for their betrayal.
Word Wheel by POWGI – £6.99
Find as many words as you can from the letters shown, always using the middle letter!
New Switch eShop pre-orders
Dead Dungeon – £2.24, pre-order from 06/06/2019
Dead Dungeon is a hardcore 2D platformer in the best traditions of classic games, with an excellent chiptune soundtrack. The game will check your nerves for strength and bring a lot of emotions.
Dandy Dungeon – Legend of Brave Yamada – – £13.85, pre-order from 06/06/2019
Yamada-kun (age 36) is a programmer at a major game publisher. He hates his job. Deep into every night, alone in his apartment, he works on his own game: it’s an RPG, and he is the hero, Brave Yamada! One day, he falls in love at first sight with his new neighbour Maria-chan and in an effort to nurture these feelings, adds Princess Maria into his game! Will Yamada-kun and Maria-chan find love? Is destiny pre-programmed, or randomly generated? Is love a bug or a feature? Find out in this unique RPG from Onion Games!
My Friend Pedro – £15.29, pre-order from 06/06/2019
My Friend Pedro is a violent ballet about friendship, imagination, and one man’s struggle to obliterate anyone in his path at the behest of a sentient banana. The strategic use of split aiming, slow motion, and the ol’ stylish window breach create one sensational action sequence after another in an explosive battle through the violent underworld.
Phantom Doctrine – £16.19, pre-order from 06/06/2019
Phantom Doctrine is a strategic turn-based espionage thriller set at the peak of the Cold War. Drawing on a wide variety of influences and capturing the subtle intrigue of classic spy films, the game thrust the player into a mysterious world of covert operations, counterintelligence, conspiracy, and paranoia.
Captain Cat – £6.29, pre-order from 07/06/2019
Captain Cat travels the seven seas in his boat, using his anchor as a hook to fish for the delights and treasures hiding at the bottom of the sea. But navigating the depths of unknown waters is never easy, there are many mysterious dangers to face along the way. Can Captain Cat overcome them to catch enough fish to satisfy his hunger?
Next week: Bullet Battle: Evolution, Battle Worlds: Kronos, Leisure Suit Larry – Wet Dreams Don’t Dry, Radiation City, PlataGO! Super Platform Game Maker, Phantom Doctrine, WORLDEND SYNDROME, Dead Dungeon, and Vosaria: Lair of the Forgotten