Four intriguing indies launched during today’s Nintendo Indie World showcase, along with a demo for Card Shark – Devolver Digital’s deceitful card game, in which you bluff your way to the top of 18th-century French society using false shuffles, deck switching, and other tricks.
Those four titles are Mini Motorways – a puzzler based around placing roads in a bustling city – visual novel OPUS: Echo of Starsong – Full Bloom Edition, hand-drawn jungle-set 2D action platformer Gibbon: Beyond the Trees, and the music-based dungeon crawler Soundfall.
After a brief hiatus, JRPGs are back on the agenda too. Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 2 brings together two retro cult classics – Makai Kingdom: Reclaimed and ZHP: Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman. Reviews scores have been positive, with ZHP heralded as a hidden gem.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising – a side-scrolling affair with town building – has mostly garnered 6/10s, meanwhile. The Metro described it as a lost SNES game: “In terms of gameplay, there’s nothing that couldn’t have been done during the 16-bit era and that alone will make it of interest to genre fans.â€
Then there’s the anime-influenced Seven Pirates H from eastasiasoft, with this being one of their rarer full-price games. It’s based around female pirates, and has a focus on exploration and discovery. Lastly, Kemco’s pixel art Infinite Links offers turn-based play, entailing a wizard in training who becomes caught in a conspiracy.
Dungeons of Dreadrock may resemble a dungeon-crawling RPG, but reviewers have been quick to point out that it plays more like a puzzle game. It’s one of the highest-rated games of the month so far, currently boasting an 82% Metacritic. Bear in mind though that the mobile version is free.
Square-Enix is back this week too, but not with a role-playing game. The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story is an FMV-style investigative adventure, in which you unravel the numerous deaths plaguing the Shijima family for the last century. Reviews are yet to go live.
Other new releases include Rogue Lords – a roguelike where you play as the Devil – side-scrolling dark action roguelite Source of Madness, sci-fi action adventure Vesper: Zero Light Edition, cutesy physics puzzler Dog’s Donuts, and Attentat 1942 – a historically-accurate adventure told through the eyes of WW2 survivors.
New Switch eShop releases
Guess who’s back with a brand new pack, dood! That’s right, NIS Classics is making a comeback and bringing you two console classics revamped and ready for action. Makai Kingdom: Reclaimed and Rebound debuts diabolical schemes with brand new content! Help Lord Zetta invade and reclaim the Netherworld, and when your conquest for evil subsides, ZHP: Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman has custom characters to kick enemy butt right to the curb! Get lost in the deep customization system to create a one-of-a-kind fighter to battle your way through randomly-generated maps and create a story all your own!
Have you ever been stuck in traffic and wished you could do something to fix it?
In Mini Motorways, the city’s traffic problems are in your hands.
From the makers of Mini Metro, Mini Motorways is a game about drawing the roads that drive a growing city. Build a road network, one road at a time, to create a bustling metropolis. Redesign your city to keep the traffic flowing, and carefully manage upgrades to meet the changing demands. How long can you keep the cities of the world moving?
OPUS: Echo of Starsong – Full Bloom Edition – £22.49
OPUS: Echo of Starsong – Full Bloom Edition is the definitive edition of the visual novel-style adventure game, now with all-new voice acting. Dive in and enjoy an intergalactic journey that transcends time through love.
Taking place in a lawless solar system at the height of a gold rush in space, players play as the exiled noble Jun, who is accompanied by Eda, a witch orphaned by war. Together, they embark on a journey of self-discovery, as they search for treasure-filled asteroids of legend and lore. However, what appears to be a blessed encounter will turn into a lifelong burden… Will Jun, now a withered old man, be able to see his lover one last time?
Soundfall is a fast-paced music-based dungeon crawler that combines looter-shooter action with rhythm-based gameplay to create a world of music unlike any other.
You are a Guardian of Harmony–a musical genius transported to the world of Symphonia by the Composers to battle the forces of Discord. Venture out solo or with up to four players to fight your way through the corrupted Timbrelands of Symphonia, eradicating the Discordians and restoring Harmony to the environment.
Join young pirate Parute Kairi and boy monster Otton in an adventure to locate the lost treasures of the Monsupi Sea! Determined to make a legendary name for herself, Parute sets sail with a magic compass and the aid of newfound monster girl companions, but what starts as a raucous romp across uncharted islands gradually reveals something more sinister. Through their colorful encounters with rival pirates and locals in need, Parute and company learn some unsettling truths about the king who governs these waters, all leading to a confrontation that could tear their adorable crew apart!
Seven Pirates H is a traditional RPG focused on exploration and discovery with a gigantic dose of fanservice thrown in! As Parute, you’ll command your party of monster girls in combat against naughty enemies, exploiting weaknesses to gain the upper hand in turn-based combat. Adventure across islands and ride Otton to reach secret areas, gather items and enhance your abilities as you level up!
The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story – £39.99
A unique and immersive live-action mystery-adventure, surrounding the theme of eternal Life.
Solve an age-old mystery using your powers of deduction to uncover the truth.
Collect clues, establish a hypothesis, and use logic to break through the mysteries.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising – £12.99
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising combines a thrilling adventure through ancient ruins with the tale of one town’s rise from the ashes.
Drawn by lenses and other treasure in the nearby Runebarrows, our heroes learn that the town is struggling to rebuild after an earthquake and decide to help. Along the way, they’ll resolve disputes between eager adventurers and wary locals who don’t think the Barrows should be disturbed. And they’ll learn more about each other’s reasons for seeking treasure, deepening their bonds in the process.
As you will learn, these Runebarrows hide a great secret that has fateful implications for one of the characters. What begins as a simple treasure hunt turns into a dark conspiracy that will shake the world and plant seeds that carry over into the main story of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.
The game will introduce a portion of Eiyuden Chronicle’s cast of characters in an original story with thrilling action and engaging town-upgrading elements.
There will be some perks for players that link the game with Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.
Wolfstride is a role-playing game about three former partners-in-crime coming to a turning point in their lives. When they inherit a junkyard mecha called Cowboy, they reunite to enter the planet’s most elite mecha competition: the Ultimate Golden God Tournament.
Each member of the team lends their unique experience as they prepare to outwit the best mecha opponents from around the world. Between dog-mechanic Duque, mecha pilot Knife Leopard, and jack-of-all-trades Dominic Shade, the core crew’s got just about everything covered.
That is… until their simple mission to make money unfolds into a deep, slow-burning exploration of their complex lives, the dark choices of their past, and their inevitable fate.
Inspired by the unforgiving challenge of old-school classics, Rage Among the Stars is a throwback to a harsher time in gaming. Featuring 40 rage-inducing levels packed with devious traps, near impossible jumps, mighty bosses and fewer checkpoints than you’d probably like, everything is fine-tuned to immerse players in the “rage game†experience. The result is an immense sense of accomplishment in completing each level.
Enjoy a minimalist story surrounding an alien who’s on his way home from a factory job when his ship malfunctions and crash-lands on a planet filled with lethal hazards. Can you help him survive the journey home?
Doctor Hospital: Hypocondriac Simulator – £2.69
– Each time the questions get harder and harder.
– You will find more than 20 different questions.
– Alternate endings depending on how many questions you manage to answer.
– Open chests to unlock new characters.
– Discover a secret and crucial question in the 150th question.
Not while! The doctors know everything and if you fail any question they won’t save you.
Source of Madness is a side-scrolling dark action roguelite set in the Loam Lands, a twisted Lovecraftian inspired world powered by procedural generation and AI machine learning. Take on the role of a new Acolyte as they embark on a nightmarish odyssey. Uncover the cosmic secrets of the Loam Lands and The Tower of Madness, the moon’s mysterious Citadel.
Aery – A New Frontier – £9.99
You can observe how humanity slowly evolves, inhabits new planets and discovers the secrets of the galaxy.
While you progress through the story you will be able to see the different stages in which humanity has been at every state of their evolution.
The story itself talks about different events and milestones that have been reached as well as different happenings in between.
Dungeons of Dreadrock – £8.99
The Spirit of 1980’s home computer adventure games revived for contemporary audiences and platforms. Fight and puzzle your way through 100 handcrafted levels into the ancient depths of Dreadrock Mountain. Relive memories of oldschool dungeon crawlers from a new perspective.
Talismans are magical items that contain great power, even with some that can grant any desire. Kronos, a boy training as a wizard, and Serene, who consider one another as siblings, become enveloped in a Talisman conspiracy. Will they be able to save themselves and the world from the threatening danger?
Equip Talismans to the Skill Board to acquire skills and fatal moves to turn the tides in turn-based battles. Forging and upgrading weapons, armor and Talismans from materials will grant you additional advantages. There are also strategic elements with battle formations and traps, and not to mention the variety of quests, arena and monster achievements that await as challenges in this fantasy RPG!
Briana has been craving some time off all summer, and finally, with her shoot wrapped for hiatus, she can relax at her summer cottage on the lake. She even drags her female film co-stars along for the ride to enjoy herself.
Summer Days is a yuri visual novel story of fun and sun at the lake, with multiple routes and choices to explore.
See the girls relax in the lake and maybe do some dipping too.
A dark fantasy roguelike where you play as the Devil!
A DARK TALE
Defeated many moons ago, you are finally coming back with your most faithful disciples to take revenge on those miserable Demon Hunters. Play runs after runs and collect ancient artefacts to regain your power and take back your rightful place.
THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS
Setup your team of famous evil geniuses like Dracula, the Headless Horseman or Bloody Mary. Build their set of skills and create synergies to face any mortal who dares to stand in your way. Unlock new abilities, collect souls, make the right choices in events and use your powers to slay the forces of good.
When the vicious Calaveras drug cartel raids his home, Kaktus breaks bad in a hardcore vendetta journey to save his foster family.
The combat-focused action is filled with enemies, explosions, and an abundance of pop culture-fostered elements.
Top Speed 2: Drag Rivals & Nitro Racing – £8.99
When pure, nitrous oxide-injected adrenaline is in the air, and the moan of a custom-built supercar’s engine blares out, you know Top Speed 2 has taken to the streets!
DOG’S DONUTS is a physical-based puzzle game where you control a machine that shoots donuts. Make the right adjustments and find the better way to feed this adorable husky.
Use shovels, drones, springboards and many other crazy machines to feed the puppy. In this challenging puzzle game, you can complete the levels in many different approaches, creating a varied gameplay.
Make great use of the game physics and don’t let the dog wait too much for the donuts.
Japanese NEKOSAMA Escape -The Mountain Cottage- – £7.49
The second Escape from Japanese NEKOSAMA Escape series!!
Game system
This game is an escape-the-room game(mythtery-adventure game).
*Point the screen with a carsor to solve riddles, and this game goes on.
Red White Yellow Stingray – £9.89
– A puzzle game in which blocks are erased in the order of red, white, and yellow!
– Collaboration with popular music creator HYLE!
This is a falling puzzle in which six blocks of three different colors are lined up and erased.
Attentat 1942 is a historically-accurate adventure told through the eyes of World War 2 survivors. Written and made by professional historians.
Vesper: Zero Light Edition – £7.99
A visionary and mysterious adventure taking place in a decaying world full of secrets to uncover, where your choices will change the future of an entire race.
A small android called Seven is lost on an eerie planet full of perils and traces of an ancient civilization, with no powers and no ability to defeat enemies until he finds the Drive Gun, a weapon used to absorb lights, create darkness, and control minds.
An Authorial Vision: experience a unique sci-fi story, where each shot and camera movement is finely hand-crafted by their authors, Matteo Marzorati and Tommaso Loiacono.
One of the two hostile kingdoms kidnaps the princess of the other kingdom and imprisons her in Maximillion’s castle.
Our knight sets out to save the princess he fell in love with from the enemies and win her love and the praise of the king.
Complete the levels and collect points by passing the enemies and obstacles.
Connecto is a game about making connections.
Tap the dots on the edge of the playing field to shoot them in the direction of their arrow.
If two dots with the same number meet, they establish a connection. Chain at least two twos, three threes or four fours to make a match.
Hyper Echelon takes inspiration from arcade classics while bringing its own authentic flavor of frantic, tactical shooting action – a bold experience with enough teeth for hardcore players, and plentiful rewards to welcome newcomers.
Jump into HellGunner and get ready to shoot zombies, monsters, and more.
Explore massive 2d maps, shoot down enemy combatants, and blast your way through 20 levels. Can you take down the tough boss at the end of each area?
If playing alone isn’t awesome enough, you can also team up with a friend for double the mayhem.
If you enjoy fast-action full of fun and intensity, then HellGunner is gonna be a thrill to play!
The Future You’ve Been Dreaming Of – £13.49
Take on the role of a Zashiki-Warashi, a house-bound spirit that can bring good fortune, and peer into Sachi’s life (though she can’t see you). You’ll see some of her more vulnerable moments and have no choice but to intervene from time to time, but it’s all to guide her toward a bright future!
Give her direction while she’s at home and help her grow her parameters in all kinds of ways. Your guidance will determine the future she ultimately heads toward. There are 20 total paths awaiting Sachi, and it’s up to you to help her find them!
Gibbon: Beyond the Trees – £11.99
Gibbon: Beyond the Trees is a hand-drawn adventure following a lost gibbon as they embark on a dangerous journey into unknown lands. Race to freedom in liberation mode, or play through an hour-long narrative that captures the real struggle of living creatures around the world.
Master the gibbon’s art of brachiation (swinging from branch to branch) at high speed, building momentum, pulling off spectacular somersaults, and launching yourself higher and further into the air with the help of your fellow Gibbons, feeling the thrill and exhilaration of life in an untamed jungle.
Next week: DEADCRAFT, Snow Bros. Special, Cotton Fantasy, PigShip and the Giant Wolf, The Legend of the Dragonflame Highschool Collection, Galacticon, Regular Factory: Escape Room, Behind Closed Doors: A Developer’s Tale, Divination, and There Will Be No Turkey This Christmas(!)