Switch owners are forced to wait another week for the Castlevania-inspired Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. In light of a progress-halting bug requiring an urgent fix, it isn’t the travesty it may seem.
There’s another good reason why Nintendo fans shouldn’t feel left out – it’s the only console receiving the anticipated My Friend Pedro, a slow-mo ballet shooter with a sentient banana.
Presumably because Devolver Digital are the current PR champs, just about every major gaming site had a review ready for when today’s embargo lifted.
The Metacritic currently stands at 80%, formed of 33 critical reviews. On the higher end of the score spectrum there are 9/10s from both God is a Geek and TheSixthAxis, while on the slighter lower end you’ll find 7/10s from Nintendo Life and GameSpot.
“It isn’t consistently exhilarating throughout the entire campaign, but My Friend Pedro is worth playing because it’s full of moments where you can jump down a shaft and shoot in two directions in slow motion, or kill an enemy by kicking the skateboard you’re riding into their face, or take out a room full of bad guys with the help of a frying pan,†beamed GameSpot.
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is another of this week’s big-name releases. Reviews are set to go live on launch day (tomorrow), with early word on the street being that it’s another excellent remaster. Surprisingly challenging, too. Not too tough for younger games, we hope.
Coming out of nowhere, shoot’em up Rolling Gunner (directed by ex-Cave dev Daisuke Koizumi) is reportedly worth your time. It gained a stonking 9/10 from Nintendo Life, who claimed: “It plays beautifully, looks amazing and is overall one of the most engaging side-scrolling shmups released in recent memory.â€
Point and click hacking adventure Mainlining is perhaps one to avoid, meanwhile. The first review out the door is a miserable 3/10 from Cultured Vultures, with most complaints being down to a lack of keyboard support.
“Mainlining is a good game at its heart. In fact, I downloaded the PC demo just to get an idea of how it compares to the Switch version, and it’s now on next payday’s purchase list. But the game just isn’t suited to the Switch. This is a game that simply must be played with a keyboard and mouse. Fingers, analog sticks and on-screen keyboards just cannot replicate the feel of being a secret service hacker,†they warned.
You’ll find the full list of new Switch eShop releases below. Others to consider include cult horror romp Slender: The Arrival, construction RPG Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story, SEGA’s colourful role-player Citizens of Space, and the full-price fantasy adventure Another Sight.
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled – £34.99
Crash is back in the driver’s seat! Get ready to go fur-throttle with Crashâ„¢ Team Racing Nitro-Fueled. It’s the authentic CTR experience plus a whole lot more, now fully-remastered and revved up to the max.
ZOMB – £8.99
ZOMB is a first-person shooter game where the player must survive and save the World from Zombies. ZOMB is single player campaign game that will test your combat skills to the limit.
My Friend Pedro – £17.99
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.
SCRAP – £4.49
Jump faster and learn new sequences to discover the way forward. But it’s not gonna be easy, since each level is harder than the previous one and SCRAP keeps getting faster. You’re lucky though, because there are clues and power-ups scattered around to help you. All of this is complemented by a polished graphic design and great soundtrack.
Captain Cat – £6.29
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?
Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story – £11.99
Oversee the development of your hero school, build structures, upgrade facilities, and manage the day-to-day activities of your students
Slender: The Arrival – £8.09
You’re on your own. No one to come for you. No one to help you. No one to hear you scream. Slender: The Arrival is the official video game adaptation of Slender Man, re-created from Mark Hadley’s original nerve-shattering sensation. Developed by Blue Isle Studios, The Arrival features a brand new storyline, improved visuals, great replay value, and most importantly, survival horror at its best.
Queen’s Quest 3: The End of Dawn – £13.49
Eliana has always been a child of mystery. Found on the doorstep of the prestigious Zora Academy of Alchemy, she became a very promising young student by the age of 16. In order to complete her training, she is being sent on a dangerous mission to retrieve a powerful artifact. During this quest, she will meet many kinds of danger, solve a variety of riddles, explore a vast kingdom, and relive the tragic history of her childhood. Follow Eliana on her mission to save her hometown and help her to save the people she loves.
Mainlining – £11.99
Mainlining is a cybercrime hacking thriller that mixes dark and dry humour with a gripping narrative that will have you hooked from the very first case. Following the government’s introduction of the BLU Pill Act and the Secret Intelligence Service’s reintroduction of MI7, all online personal data is accessible by the powers that be. Mainlining questions techno-ethics and whether it is acceptable for an organisation to have the power to look at personal data. What if someone else got the key to that?
Duke of Defense – £11.99
Duke of Defense is a playful action-based tower defense game brimming with ample humor, cheeky villagers, egotistical wizards, and jaunty adventure. Build, roll, and slash your way through waves upon waves of goblins, ogres, golems, and more! Upgrade your character as you advance through the story with a plethora of enhancements available within the skill tree. These abilities also apply in co-op mode, so everybody benefits! Be sure to visit the Wardrobe Well and cycle between loads of quirky heads to customize your Duke, unlocking more choices as you progress. Unique towers, potent powers, and 8-bit flowers ensure you’ll be back for more.
Muse Dash – £25.99
Come and fix the world score tampered with by the mirror code with three heroines!
Forest Home – £13.49
Draw colorful paths that grow right beneath your finger to lead the forest critters to safety. Avoid obstacles, navigate bridges, and collect food in this cute & challenging puzzler. Just watch out for the mischievous goblin!
Boxing Champs – £11.50
More than just a boxing game, Boxing Champs mixes fast and fun top down arcade graphics and animations and mixes it with simulated game-play to give the real feel of boxing. Feel every punch with full punch control using the Right Stick. Start swinging away and challenge friends in multiplayer, or make history by moving up the ranks in career mode to become the undisputed world champion. Snap the jab from the outside, and throw combinations, or get inside and brawl away with hooks and uppercuts. Capture the spirit of boxing and knock it out of the ring.
Rolling Gunner – £17.99
With its reliance on BAC, humanity had forgotten how to operate even basic transportation, let alone weapons. After the attacks from BAC and the subsequent social chaos, the human population was reduced by half.
The Childs Sight – £4.49
Slowly unraveling the story of what happened to you, while lying in the crib unaware and innocent. With every minute as you explore you will remember more. Horrors will become real and clear. Was it just fear of the unknown that haunts you or is it more?
Citizens of Space – £11.99
“Representatives of the Galactic Federation, thank you for having me here tonight to celebrate Earth’s acceptance into this noble organization! It is an absolute honor to act as the Ambassador of Earth, a most honorable role, and… what’s that? Earth is… missing!? And it’s up to me to find the missing pieces? And I can recruit citizens of space to do battle for me?”
Another Sight – £35.99
ANOTHER SIGHT is a surreal fantasy adventure with steampunk elements set in London in 1899, towards the end of the Victorian era. With an emphasis on culture and character, ANOTHER SIGHT focuses on the emotional development of the relationship between its two protagonists, Kit, a refreshingly intrepid teenager, and Hodge – a mysterious red-furred cat. They meet in the darkness of a London Underground construction site, after Kit loses her sight when the tunnel she had been exploring collapses. They team up for an adventure into the unexpected, with Hodge proving himself to be an indispensable companion, upon whom Kit will come to rely.
Blade II – The Return Of Evil – £20.69
Play your role as Gladiator, Assassin, Wizard, and Fighter to avenge the innocent and bring an end to the tragedy for good. Fight to survive and survive to fight.
Sea King – £4.49
Take your ship to sea and challenge your friends for the title of ‘Sea King’. Play with 3 other friends or against the brutally clever AI or against both friends and AI. No party is complete without a naval fighting game. The victor wins brag rights.
New Switch demos
- Professor Lupo and his Horrible Pets
- Iris School of Wizardry -Vinculum Hearts
- Kitty Love -Way to look for love
- Rain City
- SCRAP RUSH!!
- Super Kickers League
- Desktop Table Tennis
New Switch pre-orders
- Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet
- NEKOPARA Vol.3
- Professor Lupo and his Horrible Pets
- SENRAN KAGURA Peach Ball
- Skulls of the Shogun: Bone-A-Fide Edition
- Hyperlight Ultimate
- OVIVO
- Baobabs Mausoleum Ep.2: 1313 Barnabas Dead End Drive
- CLANNAD
- Devil May Cry
- A.O.T. 2: Final Battle
- Epic Astro Story
- Furwind
- Q-YO Blaster
- Spell Casting: Purrfectly Portable Edition
- Doodle God: Crime City
Next week: Super Mario Maker 2, Devil May Cry, Samurai Shodown, Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden, Sega Ages: Virtua Racing, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, We. The Revolution, Azuran Tales: TRIALS, Fort Boyard, SEGA AGES Wonder Boy: Monster Land, War Tech Fighters, Chiki-Chiki Boxy Pro Wrestling, Baobabs Mausoleum Ep.2: 1313 Barnabas Dead End Drive, Graveyard Keeper, NEKOPARA Vol.3, Furwind, Dandy Dungeon – Legend of Brave Yamada -, Goonya Fighter, Super Neptunia RPG, Real Drift Racing, Headball Soccer Deluxe, Spell Casting: Purrfectly Portable Edition, and Rally Rock ‘N Racing.