Eastward, TOTEM, Cruis’n Blast, Colors Live, Ni no Kuni II, SkateBIRD, and Titan Chaser hit the Switch

If you frequent Twitter, you may have caught wind of the indie art package Colors Live – the retail release of which comes packaged with a SonarPen accessory.

Shortly after Nintendo tweeted about the game’s impending release, they were hit with a backlash from fans. The mix up here being that many assumed it was a first-party title and that Nintendo’s efforts would have been better focused elsewhere.

Still, good news for publisher Collecting Smiles – all publicity is good publicity. Being mistaken for an in-house title is nothing to sniff at either.

Bandai Namco’s JRPG Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is also slipping out on the sly – we haven’t seen much press coverage thus far. The original held up well on Switch, so we can’t imagine anything going drastically wrong during the conversion process.

This week also sees the return of Cruis’n Blast, which has likewise generated a buzz on social media. Racing fans have sought after an unabashed arcade experience for a while now, and Cruis’n Blast delivers on that front – it’s a ridiculously fast and over the top racer, playing like something from the turn of the millennium. The critical reception is generally positive. Our review is now live if you haven’t read it yet.

Destructive cat simulator Catlateral Damage: Remeowstered is another we’ve reviewed. We weren’t too taken by it, sadly – most of the game’s challenge lies in hunting for hidden collectables. That said, younger gamers may find its easy-going nature pleasing.

We’ve also spent some time with Titan Chaser – a low budget open-world affair, entailing chasing off large creatures with a roof-mounted spotlight. It’s clunky, but it’s also largely ambitious and unique. The atmosphere is tense and there’s something soothing about simply driving around at night with the radio on. If you appreciate a diamond in the rough, give it a look – it’s only £4.

A couple of other indies have arrived to rave reviews this week. These are Eastward – a ravishing pixel art subterranean RPG mostly gaining 9/10s – and the short but sweet hand-drawn photo adventure TOTEM, which has scores averaging at 8/10.

Despite showing promise initially, SkateBIRD hasn’t been as lucky. The tiny Tony Hawk alike has launched to a lukewarm reception due to rough controls and mechanics. Most critics have compared it to the games that came in Tony Hawks’ wake. The Dreamcast’s MTV Skateboarding Featuring Andy Macdonald, anyone?

Other new releases include Nacon’s RiMS Racing, METAL SLUG 1st & 2nd MISSION Double Pack – which sees two titles plucked from the full price NeoGeo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1 – monochrome precision platformer Dojoran, and a belated release of the original Nexomon.

New Switch eShop releases

Cruis’n Blast – £34.99

The arcade hit Cruis’n Blast is speeding onto Nintendo Switchâ„¢!

Blast your way through nearly 30 over-the-top tracks.

Grab the wheel of 23 custom rides from licensed supercars to monster trucks and unicorns!

Up to four players can race together, so pick your favorite vehicle and hit the road!

Colors Live – £24.99

The critically acclaimed painting game is back! Paint using multiple brushes and layers and share your masterpiece online. Enjoy the same ease of use and powerful painting tools that made Colors! 3D so popular. Now adding pressure-sensitive painting with the Colors SonarPen.

Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom – The Prince’s Edition – £49.99

Lose yourself in the ultimate Ni no Kuni experience with this Prince’s Edition including:

Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (full game)

Game expansions that add hours of additional gameplay

The Prince’s Equipment Package

Join the young king Evan as he sets out on an epic quest to found a new kingdom, unite his world and save its people from a terrible evil.

Embark on this unforgettable adventure which blurs the line between animated feature film and video game. Developed by LEVEL-5, Ni no Kuni II features enchanting character design from the legendary artist Yoshiyuki Momose and a stirring soundtrack composed by the world-famous Joe Hisaishi.

Razion EX – £17.95

The score system is based on growing gold cubes and using the beam to freeze the cubes.

It has 3 game modes (NOVICE/NORMAL/MANIAC). Rendered 16-bit CGI graphics horizontal shooting game.

RiMS Racing – £44.99

A race is not won purely on the track, so you need to become more than a rider by understanding motorcycle behaviour like a real engineer. Traction, angle, braking, torque, trajectory, speed… every factor must be considered before heading to the workshop to change certain components and configuring the optimal set-up.

Tails Of Iron – £21.99

Set in a grim land plagued by war, Tails of Iron is a hand-drawn RPG Adventure with punishingly brutal combat. As Redgi, heir to the Rat Throne, you must restore your broken Kingdom by banishing the merciless Frog Clan and their ferocious leader, Greenwart.

As you explore the deceivingly charming world, you’ll encounter a cast of unique companions, ready to aid you in your adventure. And you’ll need all the help you can get, whether that’s new meal recipes, blueprints to forge deadly weapons and armour, or even a land-chugging, armour-plated mole mobile!

Overcome your fears. Rescue your brothers. Restore Your Kingdom.

“METAL SLUG 1st & 2nd MISSION” Double Pack – £13.49

METAL SLUG 1ST MISSION released in 1999 for the NEOGEO POCKET COLOR, with its sequel METAL SLUG 2ND MISSION hitting shelves in 2000. Now both are available for the Nintendo Switchâ„¢!

– Experience the simple-yet-deep shooting mechanics the METAL SLUG series is known for!

– Gone are the days of 1 shot deaths as now there is a life bar to get you through the mission!

– It wouldn’t be a METAL SLUG game if there weren’t branching paths to explore!

– Contains features like resuming where you left off or rewinding back time to avoid an early death!

*Note: Both METAL SLUG: 1ST MISSION and METAL SLUG: 2ND MISSION are featured in the NEOGEO POCKET COLOR SELECTION Vol.1.

Between Time: Escape Room – £8.99

You are going to travel through time to steal priceless treasures. Will you be able to make it back alive?

Between Time is an escape room that will test your skills. Travel through time, explore mysterious places around the planet, solve puzzles, decode secret codes, and find hidden objects and treasures.

Solve this mystery by traveling through time to five different places in human history. Will you be able to escape?

Beyond Enemy Lines – Remastered Edition – £17.99

The world is near of nuclear apocalypse, a soviet seperatist group captured the control chip of a military satelite. It is your job to recover the chip! Equipped with state of the art weapons and equipment, you operate in absolute secrecy as a lone wolf far beyond enemy lines.

Think your way in, observe your enemies, sneak into their base and complete your objective. You have total freedom to choose your path – guns blazing or silent assassin – it’s your choice! Beyond Enemy Lines is an unforgiving, intense experience where skill and tactical decisions matter!

Catlateral Damage: Remeowstered – £11.99

Catlateral Damage: Remeowstered is the definitive edition of your favorite destructive cat simulator, where you play as a house cat on a rampage and do all that fun stuff your owner hates!

See the world through the eyes of a cat! Run around the house, topple neatly organized books, shatter vases, meow at nothing, tear up curtains, nap in obscure places, and more!

Complete objectives, explore procedurally generated levels, or just relax in sandbox mode to unlock a clowder of cat friends and special abilities!

Remeowstered was rebuilt from the ground up to give a shiny new coat to the destructive feline gameplay of the original!

Classic Logical Bundle (4in1) – £8.99

Do you ever long for the olden days? Those lazy, rainy afternoons when you could just relax on your couch with a cup of tea and play games with your remote on one of those game channels. Or perhaps those slow days at the office where you knew there’s nothing to do, so you just loaded up The Mines and zoned out for an hour. Wasn’t life much simpler back then?

Well if you’re looking for that touch of nostalgia, you can’t miss this bundle. Featuring Beat the Four, The Mines, Reversi Rulez and Tic’o’Toe , Classic Logical Bundle is sure to bring you back to the yesteryear of gaming. So put your feet up and get ready to experience the classics of gaming, alone or with a friend!

Dojoran – £4.99

Life is not as easy and simple as it seemed in your childhood.

To survive in a world full of dangers, you must go through the difficult ninja training of frogs using secret techniques created by your ancestors.

To accomplish this, you’ll need to use apples to perform a double jump in different ways than usual. Each death is an apprenticeship to improve reflexes and control the character.

Earth Marines – £4.49

Earth Marines is a new game by HugePixel and Diedemor Studio. It’s an action-packed run-and-gun shooter full of zombies and brutal gunfights. Special task force from Earth has to eradicate the zombie threat — that’s why they come heavily packed, but in a few numbers. Your main objective is to kill zombie hordes, wipe out infected areas and destroy the sources of deadly virus capable of reanimating dead people.

This title shows great gameplay to the fans of old school shoot-em-ups with retro graphics and fluid gunplay. You will love smashing your way through dozens of different enemies as a brutal and unforgivable eradicator. Becoming Earth Marine means a big effort to act as a true zombie slayer. Are you up for a challenge?

Eastward – £21.99

Escape the tyrannical clutches of a subterranean society and join Eastward’s unlikely duo on an exciting adventure to the land above! Discover beautiful yet bizarre settlements and make new friends as you travel across the world by rail.

Combine John and Sam’s skills to solve dungeon puzzles, take down unusual enemies, and survive the deadly miasma. Can you uncover the truth behind Sam’s mystic powers and bring back harmony to Eastward’s ravaged lands?

Elva the Eco Dragon – £11.69

The world is facing an environmental disaster. But not all is lost. The young, and not so young, are about to receive help from a powerful being from another galaxy: Elva.

Elva is a small dragon with immense powers, who has arrived on Earth to teach us how to take care of the planet. The better you help her, the better the world will be saved. Enjoy saving the planet with her. Children, youth and everyone at home can save the planet now. Explore different areas to clean the planet, and even explore the Moon and space!

Starting with the most basic tasks, such as cleaning the garbage, and taking it to be recycled, or sending it to a ship or plane to be processed, to planting trees, regenerating fields and forests, cleaning the sea, freeing marine animals, or saving injured animals. We also defend forests and homes from fire with the power of water. And with the different superpowers you’ll earn along with your tasks cleaning the planet.

Elva is an educational game, which wants to teach the values of caring for our planet. It is a game, but with a message: we can take care and save the Earth. With the help of Elva, and with a little effort from everyone.

Family Vacation 2: Road Trip – £8.99

The Simmons family is at it again… they’re taking their camper, hooking it up to their SUV and going on a cross-country camping adventure!

You’ll be asked to help pack and get everything they’ll need on their trip and enjoy all that Mother Nature has to offer. Travel through Montana, Idaho, Colorado and more. Visit the most wonderful natural attractions in the world; Yellowstone Park, the Grand Canyon and even catch a glimpse of a UFO near Area 51. Camp out under the stars and get back to nature in this family-friendly Road Trip adventure!

Flynn: Son of Crimson – £17.99

Flynn: Son of Crimson is a handcrafted 2D action platformer that will take you on a journey of discovery and conflict as you learn to master the art of Crimson Energy. Help Flynn and Dex save Rosantica before the evil from The Scourge claims his home.

Galactic Invasion – £3.99

Aliens are invading the Galaxy.

Your job, if you accept it, Major, is to stop them.

Galactic Invasion will make you enjoy gameplay of old school shoot’em up with today’s device capabilities.

Fire!

Marble Parkour – £4.49

In this Marble Parkour game, you need to finish different levels and reach the end of each level. Also, levels contain the best time system, meaning you can establish new records! The Player needs to avoid different traps like exploding mines, bumpers, tornados, and moving platforms which could send the player out of track. Then the player will be respawned at the checkpoint. Every level includes a couple of them.

METALLIC CHILD – £19.99

A large-scale rebellion erupts within the spacecraft “Life Stream.”

With the help of you, Rona, an android known as “Metallic Child,” stands up against a fleet of massive robots to stop the plot devised by her own creator, Doctor Irene.

METALLIC CHILD is a rogue-lite core-action game, featuring Rona, an android known as “Metallic Child,” taking place in a space laboratory in the not-to-distant future.

A large-scale rebellion has taken place in the space laboratory Life Stream.

All robots aboard, with the exception of Rona and Pan, are conspiring to crash Life Stream into planet earth.

Rona has stood up to stop this plot, and you, of course, will be the one to guide Rona by accessing her control device through this game.

Mindcell – £4.00

Mindcell is the third-person adventure in the world of the near future. The protagonist is sentenced to become material for scientific experiments, but he’s not going to put up with such a fate at all. In search of a way out, he must recall what happened to him and how he got here.

The persecutors will not leave the fugitive alone, wherever he’s going.

And there is a serious confrontation ahead. Going through the story with the main character, try to find out the goals of your pursuers and understand who your real ally is.

Murder Diaries – £9.99

In this game you abstractly follow the narration of a young man through his life and his thoughts. This leads you straight into a murder mystery unlike you have ever seen before.

Figure out what happened, explore fascinating landscapes and abstract environments and enjoy the thrilling storytelling. Collect pieces of the story while freely floating through related environments and immerse yourself into an intriguing story filled with blood and murder.

A must have for any true fan of thrillers and anyone how enjoys a murder mystery that goes beyond the normal story telling.

Nexomon – £7.99

Get ready to explore a world where you can catch, evolve and collect over 300 unique Nexomon! Embark on an epic journey and build your ultimate team to take on powerful tamers and their fearsome Nexomon.

Pipe Fitter – £3.59

Pipe fitter is the best brain-teaser for every pipeline puzzle lover. If you are a big fan of pipe connection puzzle, do not miss this great pipeline puzzle game!

Everyone can enjoy the fun of plumbing and connecting the right pipes in the right orientation! An amusing, inspiring pipe puzzle experience . All pipe plumbing fans, get ready for your exciting pipe plumbing puzzle journey in over 250 levels!

Poker Pretty Girls Battle: Texas Hold’em – £5.49

Classic Texas Hold’em gets a twist at the Pretty Girls casino, where you’re invited to play at tables against 16 lovely challengers, all dolled up in cute summer outfits! Each female opponent has her own look and unique style of play, along with Japanese voiceovers to let you feel their excitement in the intense poker battles. Start out against 4 of these gorgeous players and unlock more as you prove your skills worthy of new challengers.

There are 2 game modes to choose from – In Pretty Mode, you’ll collect rewards as you defeat random opponents, while in Free Play Mode, you can customize the experience by choosing which of the unlocked girls will join your table. With so many characters to meet, plus traditional mechanics that are fun and familiar, this is an alluring experience that you can revisit time and time again!

SkateBIRD – £15.09

Grind on bendy straws, kick-flip over staplers, and carve killer lines through cardboard and sticky tape parks, in SKATEBIRD®!

You’re a lonely lil’ bird, and your Big Friend has hung up their board for good. Their job sucks, and lately, they’re barely ever home to play with you. You’re gonna fix all that with the power of being a chill little skateboarding bird. You may be tiny, but the more you skate, the more following you get, the more the world of bird skating will open up. Birds will come check out your park, help you find more parks, and together you’ll (somehow) fix Big Friend’s life! Above all else, skate birds try their best!

The Amazing American Circus – £17.99

Your worst fear is the audience’s indifference. Your best weapon is a dazzling amusement. Your artists are your army. Behold, the circus came to town!

In The Amazing American Circus, you’ll build a circus empire from scratch. Flesh and blood opponents, as well as characters known from the American folklore, will stand in your way to success. As a novice owner of a small and run-down circus, you’ll have to face giants of this industry, like Ringling Bros. and P.T. Barnum. Can you defeat them?

Titan Chaser – £3.99

Every night you leave the motel and drive through empty fields, looking for something.

Your job is to scout wandering giants and drive them away from the sleeping town using light.

It’s a meditative experience where you don’t need to manage fuel, car maintenance, health, or damage. Just find where to drive and how to use your tools effectively. Or just forget about your work and drive through foggy landscapes to calm down after a hard day.

TOEM – £16.19

Set off on a delightful expedition and use your photographic eye to uncover the mysteries of the magical TOEM in this hand-drawn adventure game. Chat with quirky characters, solve their problems by snapping neat photos, and make your way through a relaxing landscape!

Next week: Spacebase Startopia, The Addams Family: Mansion Mayhem, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, Blind Postman, In My Shadow, Street Outlaws 2: Winner Takes All, Crisis Wing, Fisti-Fluffs, The Plane Effect, Diablo II: Resurrected, Embr, Beast Breaker, Suzerain, Staxel, Fighting Fantasy Legends, Chef’s Tail, MageQuit, S.W.A.N.: Chernobyl Unexplored, Hampuzz, and Teacup.

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