The Pokémon series doesn’t just feature some of the best and most beloved games Nintendo has ever published – it also includes some of their worst. The likes of Pokémon Dash, Pokémon Channel, and PokéPark Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure didn’t fare well at all with critics.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX – a remake of a 15-year-old GBA/DS game – is also having a rough time with it, gaining wildly mixed scores. Nintendo Insider and US Gamer dished out an 8/10 and a 4/5 (respectively), praising the visuals and its light-hearted adventuring. The Metro could only muster up a mere 4/10, meanwhile, calling the remake unwarranted. It also received an equally abysmal 42% from Power Unlimited.
Nintendo Life’s review score fell between. They felt it deserving of a lukewarm 6/10. “It’s still fun in bursts, it just gets samey after a while,†they said.
The rest of this week’s releases strike us as an odd bunch. There’s Wunderling, a 2D platformer starring a low-level goon who has only just unlocked the ability to jump. AvoCuddle looks set to offer similar cutesy fare, as does ibb & obb – a co-op platformer with alternating gravity.
Then there’s Murder by Numbers, an investigative puzzle adventure with a soundtrack from famed composer Masakazu Sugimori (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Ghost Trick and Viewtiful Joe, and charaters designed by Hato Moa – creator of pigeon dating sim Hatoful Boyfriend.
Afterparty – a hellish pub crawl in which two recently deceased lovers must drink Satan under the table – also makes the jump from PS4 and Xbox One. “Night School Studio has created one of the funniest games ever made and their version of Hell is fully realised. The stellar voice acting and writing left me smiling from ear to ear constantly. Afterparty is a joy to play and everyone should take a trip to Hell,†said PSU.
The Switch also gets Breeder Homegrown – a short horror adventure lasting around an hour – the 8-player animal-based aerial shooter Baron: Fur Is Gonna Fly, and the tiny RTS Amoeba Battle. Take a look at the full list below.
New Switch eShop releases
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX – £49.99
Become a Pokémon and build your rescue team from the likes of Pikachu, Eevee and Charmander to save the world through the ever-changing mystery dungeons!
Get ready to explore a beautiful, reimagined world in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX for Nintendo Switch – a remake of the original Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance titles.
Baron: Fur Is Gonna Fly – £18.00
In the world of Baron, the Great War rages on. Aircraft are new, exciting machines that defy gravity! Those who fly them — those brave animals — are daring, flamboyant, and impossibly glamorous.
Choose your creature, and take to the sky in your trusty biplane to join intense battles against other pilots.
Murder by Numbers – £11.99
Los Angeles, 1996. Honor Mizrahi was just an actress on a hit TV detective show. But when her boss ends up dead just minutes after he fires her, she finds herself starring in her own murder mystery. Teaming up with SCOUT, a reconnaissance robot thrown away after a mysterious incident, she sets out to clear her name – and a new detective duo is born!
Investigate a range of murders across TV studios, glitzy award shows, drag clubs, and more – all set to an energetic soundtrack from famed composer Masakazu Sugimori (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Ghost Trick and Viewtiful Joe).
Kairobotica – £11.69
In a galaxy not so far away, miscreants and monsters are wreaking havoc, and it’s up to everyone’s favorite mechanical mascot to dole out a heaping helping of bot-kicking justice! And he’s bringing an army of his Kairobotic brethren to do it.
In this new spacefaring sim, you command the Kairobot Corps, a state-of-the-art brigade of mass-produced guardians of galactic peace. Heed calls for help to patrol planets and vanquish villains to build your reputation as the most elite interstellar security force this side of the Andromeda!
Lost Horizon – £13.49
“It’s the year 1936: When former British soldier and failed smuggler Fenton Paddock sets out to find his lost friend in the Himalayas, little does he suspect that this adventure will lead him across three continents to an ancient mystery that could turn the world upside down. A mystery that the Nazis are also deeply interested in, sending expeditions to the most remote corners of the Earth to hunt for occult artifacts in aid of their maniacal plans for world domination.
ibb & obb – £13.49
ibb & obb is a two player cooperative game set in a puzzle filled world where gravity goes both up and down. You can only succeed by working closely together.
Find a friend for some true local cooperative couch fun or match up online.
Fall up and jump down through 15 levels filled with double gravity puzzles and discover 8 hidden worlds that will test your new non-Newtonian skills to the maximum.
Dude, Stop – £12.99
Play it, break it, abuse it, skip the tutorial, ignore tips and tricks in the loading menu and – most importantly! – mute the narrator.
For example, stop reading this paragraph and skip to the next one. You’re still reading. Still looking here. Annnd… done. You’ve broken your first rule and annoyed us a little bit. And didn’t even buy the game yet! Wow, you’re talented. Have you considered quitting your job and doing this fulltime?
Unlock The King – £0.89
Move the pieces and create a path to Unlock the King.
00 hand-crafted levels with increasing complexity.
Originally designed concept, including electronic board, lightning-fast piece movements, trigger buttons and movable parts;
A fun puzzle game now available to everyone (even to those who never played chess);
Bleed Complete Bundle – £25.19
This bundle contains Bleed and Bleed 2.
A double-dose of the indie smash hit action-platformer series in one super stylish bullet-dodging bundle. Help pink-haired heroine Wryn defeat a relentless barrage of baddies and bosses and be the Greatest Hero of All Time! Both games feature Arcade mode (try and beat the game with just one life!) and couch-friendly 2-player local co-op.
Wunderling – £13.99
Take control of the Wunderling, a low-level video game goon who has just unlocked the power to jump. Unable to stop or change direction at will, you will need to plan ahead and master the Wunderlings’ abilities to navigate treacherous scrolling levels and chase down that pesky Hero.
Darts – £8.09
Darts is based on the classic 501 dart game, starting with a score of 501 your goal is to 0 with the minimum number of dart throws and just like the classic game you can score doubles and triples.
Afterparty – £17.99
In Afterparty, you are Milo and Lola, recently deceased best buds who suddenly find themselves staring down an eternity in Hell. But there’s a loophole: outdrink Satan and he’ll grant you re-entry to Earth.
Control Milo and Lola with an intelligent conversation system that changes the story and your relationships based on every decision. Uncover their personality quirks and foggy history during the wild events of the night.
Swordbreaker The Game – £4.49
Make crucial decisions that will lead your path to glorious or fatal outcomes…illustrated by over 300 beautiful images.
You are an adventurer brought by fate to an abandoned castle. You only have your favorite sword and the remains of an old armor with an unusual device – a sword-breaker.
Step in and try to overcome the obstacles and foes that stand between you and the treasure you’re hunting.
Breeder Homegrown: Director’s Cut – £4.49
Breeder Homegrown is a short horror game about a family dealing with a strange creature over several generations. You will encounter some puzzles but the game relies mostly on atmosphere, music and dialogues.
The whole experience takes about 40-90 minutes depending on how much you want to explore.
Save Koch – £17.99
In Save Koch you play mafia Godfather, who is basically besieged inside his own panic room. Danger-danger! Someone in the Сity decided to take your place, and there is a sleeper “mole†inside your Family, who is acting as we speak. Time is running out, you have only six days to solve the plot, resolve who is standing behind this conspiracy, resolve the problem and send the challenger to feed the fish.
I am Ball – £4.49
I am Ball is a challenging, minimalistic puzzle platformer with emphasis on precise controls and exploration. You control an always bouncing ball. Direct its bounce height and horizontal movement and navigate levels one screen at a time.
Amoeba Battle – Microscopic RTS Action – £13.49
Unlike other RTS games, there are no bases to build – new amoebas are created through the miracle of binary fission!
First though, your amoebas must forage for food in the beautiful yet alien environments that make up their world. Once well fed, these amoebas can replicate into two identical amoebas of the same type, doubling your army with a press of a button!
The Story Goes On – £5.00
You are the hero inside the storybook of an obsessed author pondering with his life’s work. Explore repeating worlds, befriend a talking scarecrow and swing your sword really fast, while uncovering the true, overarching adventure within.
AvoCuddle – £11.69
AvoRa and Avoln live on AvoPlanet, a peaceful garden planet. They love each other, but sometimes they argue or do stupid things that hurt. The game starts with a peaceful view of the world breaks when we see the two Avos angry at each other.AvoRa walks stomps away to be alone – and very sad. Then AvoLn unfortunately gets kidnapped by stranger in spaceship where AvoRa starts his journey to search and free his true love.
Next week: Shadows, Mystic Vale, A Street Cat’s Tale, Half Past Fate, inbento, Brotherhood United, NinNinDays, Alder’s Blood, YOGA MASTER, Rack N Ruin, Syder Reloaded, and Langrisser I & II.