It’s fair to say Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the most anticipated game in the pink blob’s history, with past Kirby games – save perhaps for Kirby’s Epic Yarn – generating only a minor buzz.
Kirby games have always been aimed at a younger audience, which makes Forgotten Land the exception – backed by a bigger budget, it’s intended to put Kirby in the same league as Zelda and Super Mario. No more sitting on the bench to star in spin-offs.
Reviews went live earlier today, confirming that it’s the best Kirby game to date – still a little too easy, but a beckon of joy regardless, filled with innovation. Reportedly surprisingly atmospheric, too. Scores included a 9.5 from Destructoid and 9/10s from God is a Geek, Game Informer and GameSpot. The Metro wasn’t too impressed, however, finding it to be quite short and a bit lacking when played in single-player.
The Switch gets yet another new JRPG this week. Rune Factory 5 continues the franchises’ blend of traditional role-playing and farming. Here, our hero has lost their memory and is recruited by a team of peacekeepers after arriving in a new town. Reviews are wildly mixed – as high as RPG Fan’s 90% and as low as Nintendo World Report’s 4.5/10.
Nintendo Life opted for a 7/10, claiming that it doesn’t excel in a single area. “The relaxing pace, RPG elements, and charming aesthetic make this a compelling experience, but issues with poor performance, disappointing visuals, and sometimes clunky gameplay hold Rune Factory 5 back from greatness,†they said.
Atari and Jeff Minter’s Tempest 4000 also turns up on Switch, launching at a modest £16. We’re sure the Xbox One version was closer to £25 at launch. Built on the foundation of the excellent TxK, it’s a brilliant revival of an arcade classic, although you shouldn’t expect much in the way of extras – it’s a very arcade-like experience. Shove a quarter in and play.
On a similar note, NeoGeo shooter sequel Andro Dunos 2 is out now. It’s a direct sequel to the 1992 original, being of the horizontal variety. It’s hitting 3DS too this week, in limited run form, and tipped to become the last ever physical 3DS release.
Then there’s Kraken Academy, a quirky adventure set within the titular school, featuring a time loop mechanic. NWR awarded it a 6.5: “I found it a nice palette cleanser between longer and more involved games given its approachable design and simple puzzles, so if that’s what your in the mood for, Kraken Academy might be worth a campus visit.â€
Others to consider include the neon-hued twin-stick shooter Devastator, interactive poem Blue Memoir, vibrant puzzler BouncyBoi in Puzzle Land, standalone releases of the Valis trilogy, and the accomplished looking Sky Gamblers – Air Supremacy. PSone-style horror adventure Nun Massacre is imminent too, announced for Switch just hours ago at the time of typing.
New Switch eShop releases
Rune Factory 5 – £49.99
In the sleepy border town of Rigbarth, mysterious events are unfolding, affecting the runes that govern the balance between humanity and nature…
As the newest ranger for the peacekeeping organisation, SEED, protect the frontier town by rounding up rowdy monsters with your official SEED-issued spell seal. When not on a mission, work with the people of Rigbarth to help the town flourish through farming, festivals and friendships!
As the balance of peace begins to shift, however, it comes time to prove yourself. Team up with townsfolk and embark on a grand adventure to unravel the mystery befalling the land, embracing your inner-power to halt the descent into chaos.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land – £49.99
A MOUTHFUL OF A 3D ADVENTURE!
Explore a mysterious new world either solo or with a friend, discover new Copy Abilities and battle a bevy of beasts in Kirby and the Forgotten Land on Nintendo Switch!
BouncyBoi in Puzzle Land – £10.95
Bounce into this colorful and cartoony world with BouncyBoi and adventure through various levels filled with challenging puzzles, cute graphics and funky beats!
You are BouncyBoi. A purple bouncy slime who loves to jive and solve puzzles, making his way through Puzzle Land with good music, great visuals and fun times!
A Memoir Blue – £TBA
A song from years ago triggers a flood of memories for champion swimmer Miriam. Embark on an evocative journey through her turbulent childhood and the complicated relationship she shared with her devoted mother.
Taqoban – £4.99
Play as Tao or Xiang, two pandas, and help them organize their boxes as efficiently as possible to earn a maximum of bamboos!
You’ll need a lot of thinking skills in this mix of sliding game and classic puzzle platformer, to solve the levels of increasing difficulty. Also, with 12 cooperative levels to play with a friend.
Slide parts of the level to create new paths for your panda and get the box to its place. But be careful with the number of movements, you can obtain the precious golden bamboo or make your little panda cry.
Devastator – £6.99
Devastator is a retro-inspired arcade twin-stick shooter designed for modern systems. Everything from the visuals, audio, and gameplay was designed, tweaked and polished to create the most intense and satisfying twin-stick shooter experience possible.
Niko and the Cubic Curse – £4.99
Niko and the Cubic Curse is a 2D Platformer where you must jump, fight, and collect to uncover the mystery of everyone’s new shape-like appearances! Play as Niko, a human who has reawaken to his new square body. He is informed that everyone in the world has been cursed, and it is up to him to find the cause and bring an end to this nightmare!
Ultreïa – £11.99
Everything you love about point ‘n click games – collecting items and lots of interaction with them, solving challenging and unusual puzzles, talking to NPCs with lots of dialogue and an engaging story.
All this is set in a dark world, emphasized by a specific graphic style and a beautiful original soundtrack by Yann Latour.
Bunny Memory – £1.89
The astronaut bunny sent on a journey wandered in space for so long that they completely forgot everything.
Collect memory points and train your memory, helping the bunny unlock fragments of memories.
Thunder Kid: Hunt for the Robot Emperor – £6.99
In the year 201X, war has already ravaged much of the continent when a rogue AI rebels against its creators and leads an army of robots to conquer the portion of North America known as the Robot Empire. Trained from a young age as an agent of justice, Thunder Kid is sent into battle against the Robot Royalty and stop the empire from taking over the world!
Thunder Kid is a low-poly 3D run ‘n’ gun action game controlled from behind the main character, shifting the perspective of genre classics and adding bullet hell elements while retaining its hallmark features! As Thunder Kid, you’ll have to run, jump and shoot your way across colorful and varied 3D environments, from forests and caves to cliffs and cityscapes. Take down enemy bots and massive enemies in a unique blend of retro style!
Chippy – £17.99
Your purpose is to eliminate all pixel-based lifeforms by breaking off their limbs and destroying their cores. Compete to be fastest on the leaderboards, watch replays from other players to learn their tricks, or team up with a friend in local co-op.
The Pizza Delivery Boy Who Saved the World – £5.39
It’s The Pizza Delivery Boy Who Saved the World! A brand-new visual novel by a former delivery boy who is probably never going to work in the pizza industry again, if his boss finds out he made this game.
Darkness and Flame: The Dark Side – £6.29
Travel together with young Alice about dark lands and deserted settlements, caves and oases of the Desert of Death. You are to get to the very heart of the deserted lands and cope with numerous challenges, avoid the traps and hide away from the Darkness. Are you ready for a difficult, but so thrilling journey to the other side?
A Place for the Unwilling – £13.49
A branching narrative adventure set in the final 21 days of a dying city. Every decision you make will shape your surroundings, and the city’s fate. However, the clock is ticking – and the city carries on, with or without you.
Speak to everyone from eerie politicians to chain-smoking child anarchists. Work as a trader, socialise, explore the town freely, and play a role in the city’s hierarchy.
Combining exquisite narrative depth and exploration with a curious setup – plus a dash of Lovecraft – A Place for the Unwilling is a rich narrative experience where player choices really do count, set in a Dickensian world of colour and Eldritch nightmares.
Kraken Academy!! – £15.99
Kraken Academy is no ordinary high school. Ghosts fill the art department, cultists meet below the monkey bars and now crocodiles are eating children.
Join forces with a magical Kraken to uncover the Traitor, a malevolent mastermind, who could be anyone at the school. With each time loop you’ll get closer to saving Kraken Academy.
Rattyvity Lab – £2.29
SAM was a laboratory rat, and it has been made experiments on for a long time.
As a result of all these experiments, he gains electro-magnetism powers by accident.
He unleashes himself from the cage and goes into the rat holes in the wall in order to escape from the laboratory.
With his new power, he can connect boxes to one another and uses this to escape and get his freedom. Try to Pass 20 Levels!
Aery – Calm Mind 2 – £9.99
Aery – Calm Mind 2 is an interactive game experience that is designed to relax your mind and soul. You jump into the role of a little bird, explore beautiful landscapes and collect magical crystals that mark certain landscapes.
Because there are no enemies or any other danger in this game you will be able to lean back and enjoy the scenery and the sensation of flying. It is a great game for relaxing and calming down after an exhausting day full of hassle.
Of course, you can always select the level that you feel helps most to relax yourself. Most levels can be finished quite quickly so that you can freely choose spend time exploring the environment but you don’t have to stay for too long if you are just looking for a short moment of peace and enjoyment.
This game features a collection of some the most beautiful sceneries from the Aery franchise.
We hope you like them. So lean back and take a deep breath…
Tempest 4000 – £16.00
Developed by legendary game designer, Jeff Minter, Tempest 4000 remains faithful to the original fast-paced gameplay by putting you in control of the Claw, a powerful spacecraft equipped to destroy deadly creatures and other obstructions with rapid-fire shots on vibrant geometric prisms.
Featuring fantastical graphical environments, 100 levels, three game modes, and more, you must eliminate all enemies as fast as possible to survive and compete for the highest score on the leaderboards.
Andro Dunos 2 – £17.99
The sequel of the famous Shoot’em up from the Visco studio is back, 20 years after the first opus, released in 1992. It’s time to bring out your good old battle ship in ANDRO DUNOS 2!
Andro Dunos (アンドãƒãƒ‡ãƒ¥ãƒŽã‚¹, in Japanese) is a horizontal scrolling arcade game of the shoot ’em up (shmup) family.
Broken Pipe – £3.59
All the stream tanks that manage gates and bridges in this world are now broken. Local robots are bound to the broken modules and cannot escape from this place.
Return missing modules to the pipe schemes to restore the stream. You will have to direct the color stream from one tank to another in order to make them work. When all the tanks work all the robots will be able to leave this world.
Valis III – £12.19
This title, “Valis III” offers a selection of visual cutscenes as well as three playable characters, each with unique fighting styles and magic.
Valis II – £12.19
This title, “Valis II” reveals the truth behind all the mysteries of the first game and provides a new selection of weapons and armor.
Valis: The Fantasm Soldier – £12.19
This title, “Valis: The Fantasm Soldier” was last released on for PC Engineâ„¢ in 1992. It is considered a pioneer “bishojo,” or pretty girl, game with full voices and animation.
Disco Cannon Airlines – £0.89
– Shoot a character from cannon in the sky.
– Move a player and hit items to earn point and boost player higher in the sky.
– Get the points from kicking airplanes, cows, and trampolines.
Try to reach as much points as possible.
World Soccer Kid – £2.50
The rules of World Soccer Kid are very simple.
Move Soccer Kid to juggle the ball with your head.
But the further from the center of the head the ball hits, the further the ball moves, making it hard to juggle.
There are 4 modes that use these simple rules.
Basic Mode where the number of juggles is recorded, Running Mode where the distance moved while juggling is recorded, Two-Player Mode where you compete against an opponent to juggle the ball the longest, and Two-Player Coop Mode where you work together to record how many times you can juggle the ball.
Practice hard and try to become the best Soccer Kid in the world!
SUPER NANARU – £7.19
One day, a devil named Yako was sealed away for causing a ruckus in town.
But after only a half an hour, Yako is on the loose again,
brainwashing people to begin another rampage!
Soon, the baker girl, Nanaru, sees her entire stock of bread
raided by Yako’s brainwashed mob……
“I can’t just stand here and do nothing!”
Nanaru decides to get back her bread and save the town.
So begins Nanaru’s journey to teach a lesson to Yako, the troublesome devil!
Mini Words Collection – £3.59
Mini Words Collection is a compilation of three games that will help the player improve their language skill, discovering more words and practicing their vocabulary in a fun way!
Each game has a unique style of teaching the player some new words in a lot of different languages.
Sky Gamblers – Air Supremacy 2 – £26.99
THIS IS THE ULTIMATE JET FIGHTER COMBAT GAME! With an extensive single player campaign and delightful multiplayer modes, the non-stop action will keep you at the edge of your seat!
Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy 2 is a dogfight simulator taking its roots from the original classic hit. Rich combat mechanics and a spot-on balance between simulation and arcade make it accessible to all player types and allows for a personalized experience with varied control schemes and play styles.
The single player campaign takes the player into a dark and grim future where air supremacy is all that prevents the world balance of power from collapsing. The 14 missions take you through different challenges across the world with both air to ground and air to air engagements.
Action takes place across multiple locations from dense urban areas like San Francisco and Rio de Janeiro to lush locations like archipelagos and sandstone pillars. Each map has its own vibe and set of challenges while favoring different flight styles.
Online multiplayer allows players to compete in real-time in a variety of game modes and truly push your skills to the limit.
Next week: CRYSTAR, Flat Kingdom Paper’s Cut Edition, Chubby Cat, Super Clown Lost Diamonds, Aaron – The Little Detective, VENGEFUL HEART, Take Off – The Flight Simulator, Agent Intercept, Catie in MeowmeowLand, Marble Maid, and Glitchhikers: The Spaces Between.
