Critics are so smitten by Capcom’s Monster Hunter Rise that a few even went as far to claim that it’s the greatest Switch game since Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
It received top marks from both Switch Player – who called it a contender for the best game on the platform – and Vooks, who claims it’s the very best Monster Hunter game to date. Eurogamer echoed this, dishing out their coveted essential rating.
Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry also took it for a spin and was left impressed by how the new RE Engine performs on Switch. The monster stalking co-op slasher is such a big deal in Japan that some workers have been given the day off to play.
Kaze and the Wild Masks has been gaining some impressively high scores too, resulting in an 82% Metacritic. Allegedly playing a lot like Donkey Kong Country – to the point where it can be seen as a tribute – both Nintendo Life and Cultured Vultures deemed it worthy of a 9/10.
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town has gained mixed reviews, meanwhile – everything from TSA’s 9/10 and God is a Geek’s 8.5, to a mere 2/5 from Impulse Gamer. Game Skinny wasn’t impressed either, dishing out a 3/10.
The farming/lifestyle sim has garnered lots of middling reviews too, such as Twinfinite’s 2.5/5. Dull characters, a lack of depth and poor performance were all to blame. Like a ship without a rudder, Story of Seasons seems a little directionless currently, struggling to please both long term Harvest Moon fans and younger franchise newcomers.
Then there’s Balan Wonderworld, Square-Enix’s colourful 3D platformer from Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima – creators of Sonic the Hedgehog. Visually it closely resembles NiGHTS, however, set in a dreamlike world. The demo left a lot of gamers scratching their heads – it wasn’t quite the tour de force many expected, but rather a slow and clunky experience with cringeworthy cut-scenes. Square-Enix promises a day one patch will fix some concerns.
Tales from the Borderlands also bounces onto Switch this week, available at £15.99 for a limited time. That’s joined by El Hijo: A Wild West Tale – a fun-looking non-violent stealth game set in Mexico – electrifying top-down shooter Tesla Force, budget futuristic racer Future Aero Racing S Ultra – FAR S Ultra, and the chunky pixel art shmup Barrage Fantasia.
New Switch eShop releases
BALAN WONDERWORLD – £49.99
Welcome to a wonderous all-action show, the likes of which has never been seen before!
BALAN WONDERWORLD is a wondrous action platformer game themed around the Balan Theatre. Led by the enigmatic maestro named Balan, the stars of the show Emma and Leo will use special abilities from a multitude of characterful costumes as they adventure in the bizarre and imaginary land of Wonderworld. Here memories and vistas from the real world mix with the things that people hold dear.
Twelve different tales await our stars in the Wonderworld, each with their own unique quirks. They will explore all corners of these labyrinthine stages, filled with a myriad of tricks and traps, to get to the heart of each story.
MONSTER HUNTER RISE – £49.99
Go on a hunt wherever you want, whenever you want in MONSTER HUNTER RISE for Nintendo Switch! Freely explore sweeping landscapes inspired by ancient Japan, slay ferocious wild monsters solo or co‑operatively with friends, and forge powerful weapons and armour from your spoils in this sprawling action RPG.
STORY OF SEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town – £44.99
Inspired by tales of your grandfather’s pioneering days, pack your bags and leave the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy the rural life in Olive Town.
You’ll have your work cut out for you: your grandfather’s farm has been reclaimed by nature over the years. So, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and rebuild your grandfather’s dream.
Olive Town – just a stone’s throw away from your farm – is a port town resting gently on the coast of the peninsula. It might be a quiet little town, but it is home to a whole host of unique characters. And while the townsfolk get by well enough in this picturesque seaside locale, a little more tourism never hurt anyone…
The brand-new entry in the STORY OF SEASONS franchise is putting down roots on the Nintendo Switch! This long-awaited entry in the original farm/life simulation offers players more freedom than ever before! Embrace the pioneer spirit to shape the untamed wilderness, discover new animals and produce, and help them flourish on your farm. Customise every inch of your new homestead to impress a new cast of marriage candidates from Olive Town, an aspiring tourist hotspot that grows and thrives along with your farm.
Paperball Deluxe – £13.49
Paperball is a highly challenging ball roller that will put your balance skills to the test. Whether you like to play it safe to make it through with the least amount of falls, or you risk it all to obtain the fastest time – a plethora of stages and game modes will keep you coming back for a long time.
Clea 2 – £11.69
Four years have passed since the Whitlock Mansion tragedy. Florine, a former maid, is determined to resurrect the person who means everything to her. To succeed, she must travel past the third dimension and into the realms beyond. Otherworldly horrors lie in wait, but Florine is determined to soldier on.
This, after all, is her final chance at redemption.
MazM: The Phantom of the Opera – £11.29
The French gothic horror novel “The Phantom of the Opera” (1910) revisits modern audience as “MazM: The Phantom of the Opera”, the adventure game for Nintendo Switchâ„¢!
Decades after the “Phantom of the Opera” case that shook the Parisian opera house, a detective visits the place to uncover the truth about the Phantom.
Find out what secret is hidden in the opera house by collecting footnotes and investigating characters!
Krystopia: A Puzzle Journey – £6.29
Krystopia is an escape room game that challenges and captivates you with intriguing laser puzzles, robots and hidden objects. Follow Nova Dune, a space explorer in her quest to find out about the unfamiliar distress signal she received aboard her ship. Determined to investigate it, she finds herself on a desolated planet where all civilization has vanished.
Tesla Force – £14.99
Tesla Force is an intense procedurally generated rogue-lite top-down shooter with non-stop mayhem and over-the-top power tripping.
Tales from the Borderlands – £19.99
The beloved, choice-driven narrative adventure through the Borderlands universe is now on Nintendo Switch! Set between the events of Borderlands 2 and Borderlands 3, Tales from the Borderlands follows two unreliable narrators on a quest borne of greed but destined for greatness. Your choices shape this tale to be uniquely yours, with plenty of unforeseen consequences ranging from hilarious to heart-wrenching.
Explore the deadly planet of Pandora as Rhys, a company man who aspires to replace the infamous Handsome Jack as the head of the Hyperion corporation, and Fiona, a clever con artist who can talk her way out of almost anything. When a shady deal goes awry, Rhys and Fiona must begrudgingly team up to get their due, running into vicious gangsters, cannibalistic bandits, and terrifying wildlife along the way. How will you choose to guide their actions on this wild ride to Pandoran glory?
Hellbreachers – £4.49
Retro-styled action platforming gets a modern upgrade with robust character creation and RPG progression. Choose one of three heroes, then customize with ten unique specializations to fit your play style. This is adventuring done your way! Whether you prefer straightforward melee, ranged combat or spell-weaving, you’re free to tackle Hellbreachers’ deadly depths with different strategies every time.
Featuring 50 levels across 10 unique locations, Hellbreachers offers a wealth of content to explore. Combine that with fluid pixel art animation and challenging bosses to overcome, and this is a journey worth taking time and time again!
Angry Golf – £4.49
ANGRY GOLF is an amazing and fun arcade, a combination of angry birds and golf game. You will use the pointer to adjust power and direction then try to shoot the ball with maximum accuracy possible.Your mission is shoot ball to reach the goal. But each level will be more complex and challenging !!
Every level has limit of shots that player can use to unlock next level. But if player uses too many shots will need to try it again to finish level and continue to the next.
Rip Them Off – £6.69
Rip Them Off is a minimalistic new puzzle game of economic management and tower defense. The Board needs its profit, and it’s up to you to line the streets with shops the masses can’t resist. Choose your locations, pick your stores and earn enough to advance up the corporate ladder with its increasingly difficult challenges!
Genesis Noir – £13.49
You play as No Man, a watch peddler caught in a love triangle with other cosmic beings, Miss Mass and Golden Boy. When your affair turns into a bitter confrontation, you will witness a gunshot fired by a jealous god—otherwise known as The Big Bang. Jump into the expanding universe and search for a way to prevent or destroy creation and save your love.
Future Aero Racing S Ultra – FAR S Ultra – £5.39
Enjoy the fast and futuristic arcade races we present to you in FAR S ULTRA. Make sure you win the desired gold cups in the 5 championships of F.A.R. S ULTRA. Our 5 levels of difficulty and a total of 25 cups are waiting for you!
Let them know who the best driver is along 15 exciting circuits in which you will have to face off the most adverse weather conditions such as rain, snowstorms and sand tornadoes. You can also increase your pilot level, unlock the 10 teams and that way overcome the 30 challenges that FAR S ULTRA has in stock for you.
Compete against yourself in the Time Attack mode or have fun with up to 4 friends on the split screen in Custom mode, where you can set up your own championship.
Hours of fun and challenges are waiting for you at FAR S ULTRA!
Die With Glory – £6.29
Die With Glory is an adventure game where your goal is to basically die in glorious fashion. You must help Sigurd, a brave old viking warrior, find his way to glory and an afterlife in Valhalla.
Reaching Valhalla is not easy at all. You must guide Sigurd through multiple levels of beautifully illustrated landscapes, epic adventures, complex challenges, big battles, and witty dialogue with characters to find the right foe that can provide that perfect glorious and ultimate defeat.
One Escape – £4.99
One day, three buddies decided to rob a bank.
But something went wrong and the cops showed up…
Now, these feisty felons need to smarten up and make the most incredible jailbreak.
Find the way to freedom while hiding from the guards, searching for key cards to open the locked doors, and avoiding dangerous pitfalls!
Complete 60 levels, and get out of prison at any cost!
Mahluk dark demon – £9.00
Help Mahluk on his adventure to stand against darkness and bring back the peace and serenity that once was.
If you enjoy classic hack and slash, platformer, retro adventure games, then you will love this!
PLAY WITH THE MOST FEARLESS ADVENTURER. BE THE HERO, AND JOIN THE QUEST TO SAVE THE DARK PLANET NOW!
Toon Shooters 2: The Freelancers – £2.00
Five years after the fall of the Galactic Fleet, the Toons are back in action to wreck threats old and new… it was a massacre, on both sides!
Barrage Fantasia – £7.49
ï½¥ An adorable retro SHMUP with 5 stages + 3 challenges.
ï½¥ Arcade mode that lets you play through 5 stages in a row and a short mode that allows you to play any stage you choose.
ï½¥ Training mode lets you choose to skip to and play through part of any stage to practice to even further perfection!
ï½¥ 16 different regular and 4 challenge bosses
ï½¥ Challenge different bosses, each with their own breakable parts for maximum score attack.
ï½¥ Vary your play style with multiple different combinations of Familiar Attack types, Bomb settings, and Life settings for multiple replayability.
ï½¥ Simple and unique graphics and fun music to match
Wild Park Manager – £11.69
Build plazas, playgrounds, animal petting zones, food courts and more! Design your park as you like. There are all sorts of facilities for you to construct. And of course, good management is key to ensuring the park prospers, bringing in lots of visitors.
But a park is not just for people. It’s for animals too! Invite scaly, feathered and furry friends to your park and they will make it their home if they like it! Make your park hospitable to animals by adding trees, shrubs, and other natural elements to it. Some curious critters will come to check out your park attracted by certain facilities!
When you start running out of space, grab a pickaxe and make more land usable, also finding various materials in the process. These materials can be used to upgrade your facilities, or even make special items!
There are lots of fun challenges for you to try, too. Nurse saplings until they grow into fine trees, have visitors compete to catch lots of fish, and see if you can hatch various birds and reptiles.
Create a phenomenal, world-famous park, loved by people and animals alike!
Mega Mall Story2 – £11.69
A business management sim where you can make a mall that’s right for you!
Everything’s been expanded since the last game – build bigger, build higher!
Enjoy more freedom and customization than ever.
Danger Scavenger – £8.99
Deadly efficient. Highly skillful. Invisible to indifferent citizens. They fight the greedy corporations that have entire nations under their thumb. Suits scornfully called them Scavengers.
It was they who first noticed that the situation turned around. And it’s an artificial intelligence A.I.O.N.E., who took over the control causing the machines to revolt against their masters.
The time has come. Step out from the shadows to face this new enemy in open battle.
Soon the A.I. will have to learn how dangerous the Scavengers are.
The evil A.I. brings doom upon the world. A group of outcasts – the Scavengers – once rejected by fate, now glorified and admired decide to overcome the status quo… and of course, loot on their way and return to their hideout with a bag full of great treasures… or broken scrap.
Gold Digger – £4.49
Your’re the Digger. Crush all the gold bars that are waiting for you in each level. It’s all about timing and precision as you break up gold bars descending deeper and deeper into the earth. How deep will you mine before you make that fatal mistake?
Gallic Wars: Battle Simulator – £4.49
Gallic Wars is a Roguelike tactical strategy game. Fast gameplay, crazy rag-doll physics and challenging rouge-like approach to strategy. Fight your way through roman legions. DEPLOY your troops, PLAN their movement, use magic and items to give yourself an edge, and WIN.
Get-A-Grip Chip – £11.00
Help Chip save the lost Battery Bots on a perilous journey through the treacherous depths of a robot assembly factory. When piloting Chip, you can’t jump, but you can soar over the pits of molten metal, giant crushers, pools of toxic waste, shifting saws and high-powered lasers using your trusty head-mounted grapple!
With 30 meticulously crafted levels across 5 diverse worlds, Get-a-Grip Chip is sure to get you (grappling) Hooked! Dodge deadly obstacles, rescue the Battery Bots, and race your friends (or rivals) for the top spot on the leaderboards.
3D Arcade Fishing – £13.49
Good Fishing! Prove your skill in handling the fishing rod at lakes around the world that are rich in fish (e.g., Loch Ness). When hunting the fish, keep calm so that the prey doesn’t escape from the hook at the last minute. Pull bigger and bigger fish to land – this will increase your experience level. This way you can unlock new bait and buy better equipment in the tackle shop.
Bladed Fury – £15.29
Set out to uncover the truth…
Fluid combat – The combo and hack’n slash style gameplay makes combat more exciting and difficult to master.
Unique story and art style – Bladed Fury brings players an addictive action game experience with Chinese traditional art and sound design.
Challenge mode – An unlockable challenge mode will test your combat and survival skills in the end. Make sure you’ve nearly perfected your combo ability!
Kaze and the Wild Masks – £26.99
In Kaze and the Wild Masks, you journey through the Crystal Islands in 90’s classics platformer style. Play as Kaze and save your friend Hogo from a curse that spread chaos around the islands. Face enraged living vegetables by invoking the powers of the Wild Masks. Pounce ferociously like a tiger, soar through the sky like an eagle, sprint fiercely like a lizard and rule the sea like a shark.
Black Legend – £24.99
Lead a squadron of Mercenaries into the accursed city of Grant and aid a surviving resistance in fighting against a deadly cult of fanatics. Eradicate the fog that shrouds the streets and inflicts madness among the populace in this thrilling alternate history Turn-Based Strategy RPG!
Mermaid Castle – £4.99
The mermaid sisters need your help! Their home, the beautiful Mermaid Castle, was destroyed and its treasure stolen. So hop in, gather coins, watch out for sharks and swim through the beautiful submarine underworld!
The Ruthless Shark Gang, led by its ominous boss, Shark the Hammer, raided the Mermaid Castle. The attack left the home of the mermaid sisters in ruins. And what’s worse, all their valuables were stolen! With your help, the sisters will restore their castle to its former glory and get rid of the sharks once and for all!
Little Kite – £7.19
The game highlights the problems of a struggling family, in which one person has given up, and another tries to correct mistakes of the past.
The main characters are Mary and her son Andrew. After the death of her husband, Mary married for a second time, to Oliver, in an attempt to create a full-fledged family for her son. But everyday, problems consume the new husband and he finds his solace in alcohol. Soon, they find domestic violence becomes commonplace.
Mary’s patience and inaction, so habitual and convenient for everyone but little Andrew, brings the life of their family to an extreme point – a point where she needs to make a bold decision.
BodyQuest – £5.39
A mysterious virus from outer space is threatening mankind, and your best friend Finn is the very first patient infected! But not everything is lost, as the young team of scientists led by Max, Jin, Lia and Zev is here to help. Using their cutting edge nanobots technology, they will be able to get themselves into Finn’s body and combat the virus and its destruction all along Finn’s organs to save his life, and at the same time, also the future of humanity.
Hold on to the nanoskate to slide through the human body systems and save Finn, but remember, you will need to get the nanobots solution to heal him. Get them by solving fun science challenges across the body systems: musculoskeletal, digestive, circulatory, respiratory, nervous… overcome them all to save your best friend… and the world!
Next week: Narita Boy, A Long Way Down, Balloon Girl, Stick Fight: The Game, Afterpulse, Escape from Life Inc, What Comes After, Drive Buy, I Saw Black Clouds, THE GAME OF LIFE 2, and Squad Killer.
