Nintendo typically waits for new hardware to create new franchise installments, so when Splatoon 3 was revealed, it did raise a few eyebrows. Is there any reason why Splatoon 3’s new weapons, maps, and match types couldn’t be implemented into Splatoon 2? Probably not, but then again, Nintendo has never really dabbled in the live service market.
Review scores and critical consensus are pretty much as we expected – it’s more Splatoon, and that’s not exactly a bad thing. “Splatoon 3 is a bit like your mum making your favourite meal when you head home for the holidays. It’s been a few years since the last game — while there have been some great improvements and additions, it’s the same old Splatoon we know and love, and that’s still pretty great,” reiterated TheSixthAxis.
The Metro also awarded it an 8/10 but was more damning overall. “Technically this is the best Splatoon ever, but the complete lack of anything approaching a new idea is profoundly disappointing,” they said.
The Metacritic score currently stands at 84%, with the vast majority of reviews being 8/10s. VGC was one of the few exceptions, opting for a middling 3/5.
We’re still waiting on reviews for a lot of this week’s Switch releases. NBA 2K23 is due out Friday – previous entries scored 68% and 69% on Metacritic, so we imagine this year’s edition will be in a similar ballpark.
Life sim Disney Dreamlight Valley is in early access too, so we may not see full reviews just yet. Nintendo Life took the Switch version for a spin and found it to be a little rough. “Disney Dreamlight Valley is a frictionless, relaxing spin on life sims that manages to remain heartwarming and charming, despite a few Switch-related rough patches,” was their conclusion.
Nintendo Life also rolled up and joined Circus Electrique – a steampunk turn-based RPG from Zen and Saber, allegedly similar to Darkest Dungeon. NL awarded it an above-average 6/10 while saying: “To fans of turn-based strategy and those who loved Darkest Dungeon, Circus Electrique may be more enjoyable, but it’s a little too disjointed and repetitive to recommend wholeheartedly.”
Temtem also spreads its wings on Switch this week, finally leaving early access. For those unfamiliar, it’s a monster battling MMO similar to Pokémon. While we’ve seen a few creature-capturing games on Switch over the years, this appears to be the closest to a bona fine competitor.
“Temtem offers a monster-taming title that has enough to tear us away from the king of the genre, with an attention to detail across all elements from monster design to competitive online battles. With a little more charm, and a few quality-of-life improvements to the solo experience and the MMO aspect, this could be the closest the Pokémon series has ever come to a real challenge to its monster-taming monopoly,” said Pocket Tactics.
Flying under the radar, there’s BPM: Bullets Per Minute – a rhythm-action FPS rogue-like. This Switch release is belated – the PS4 and Xbox One versions launched in 2021 to positive reviews, including a handful of 9/10s. It should be a decent alternative to next week’s Metal: Hellsinger.
Then there’s Justice Sucks, a comical tactical hacking game starring a sentient robot vacuum. It’s a case of hacking electrical devices to keep burglars at bay, with a handful of side-missions such as bomb disposal and parcel delivery to add variety. Look out for our review.
Other new releases include a re-release of the 16-bit platformer Radical Rex, the low-poly shooter Skycadia, Korean horror White Day: A Labrinth Named School – first released on iOS in 2016 – and Kaichu: The Kaiju Dating Sim. Well, nobody has a bigger heart than a Kaiju…
New Switch eShop releases
Temtem is a massively multiplayer creature-collection adventure. Seek adventure in the lovely Airborne Archipelago alongside your Temtem squad. Catch every Temtem, battle other tamers, customize your house, join a friend’s adventure or explore the dynamic online world.
Every kid dreams about becoming a Temtem tamer; exploring the six islands of the Airborne Archipelago, discovering new species, and making good friends along the way. Now it’s your turn to embark on an epic adventure and make those dreams come true.
Catch new Temtem on Omninesia’s floating islands, battle other tamers on the sandy beaches of Deniz or trade with your friends in Tucma’s ash-covered fields. Defeat the ever-annoying Clan Belsoto and end its plot to rule over the Archipelago, beat all eight Dojo Leaders, and become the ultimate Temtem tamer!
It’s survival of the freshest in Splatoon 3 for Nintendo Switch!
Welcome to Splatsville, located in the sun-scorched Splatlands, where new weapons, moves, stages and fresh fashions await! Take on rivals in online ink-soaked battles, fend off waves of Salmonid and thwart an Octarian invasion.
Disney Dreamlight Valley – £24.99
Welcome to Disney Dreamlight Valley! Show your love for Disney with exclusive outfits that celebrate the classic Disney Parks themes, along with beloved characters such as Mickey Mouse. This edition grants access to the game and contains exclusive items.
Disney Dreamlight Valley is a hybrid between a life-sim and an adventure game rich with quests, exploration, and engaging activities featuring Disney and Pixar friends, both old and new.
Once an idyllic land, Dreamlight Valley was a place where Disney and Pixar characters lived in harmony—until the Forgetting. Night Thorns grew across the land and severed the wonderful memories tied to this magical place. With nowhere else to go, the hopeless inhabitants of Dreamlight Valley retreated behind locked doors in the Dream Castle.
Now it’s up to you to discover the stories of this world and bring the magic back to Dreamlight Valley!
Named for an alternate-history London’s most famous entertainment, Circus Electrique combines enthralling, story-driven RPG tactics and circus management with a steampunk twist. When everyday Londoners mysteriously turn into vicious killers, only Circus Electrique’s talented performers can save the city. The “Greatest Campaign Mode on Earth” places these talented individuals in tactical turn-based battles. Crazed Bobbies, British Sailors gone bad, aggressive Posh Girls, and other Victorian-era archetypes stand in their way. Circus Electrique’s innovative Devotion morale system affects characters’ performance not only in battles, but also for actual circus shows, dutifully managed between heroic jaunts through six sprawling districts.
Kaichu: The Kaiju Dating Sim – £8.99
Kaichu is a dating sim about kaiju! You play the role of Gigachu, a gigantic romantic looking for love. Meet six other eligible kaiju and visit twenty-four famous landmarks where Gigachu will answer challenging compatibility questions to decide the fate of your relationship.
Play Mozart in a thrilling adventure at the heart of secret societies. Caught between a war of powers and occult ceremonies, you will have only one mission: to save the Emperor. Will you be up to the task?
White Day: A Labyrinth Named School – £24.99
On the eve of the gift-giving holiday White Day, new Yeondu High School student, Lee Hee-min, sneaks into school to hide a box of candies for the girl of his dreams. But when the shutters slam shut, he finds himself trapped in the building overnight, hunted by killer janitors and haunted by the troubled souls of the dead.
Can Hee-min remain hidden while searching for clues to uncover the dark secrets of the building’s past? Or will the horrors that stalk the school’s eerie hallways by night claim his life before he can escape? With no weapons and limited supplies, there’s little room for error in this tense, stealth-based, Korean Horror classic, brimming with secrets, branching stories, and multiple endings.
Help Hoodie Girl fight the evil MediaBall’s inane advertisements! It’s a high score shooter in which each loop increases the speed and difficulty!
A game in two parts: First, brave your way through a confusing maze of menus, then take to the air as the indefatigable “Hoodie Girl” and blast sentient advertisements into cold, hard cash!
Wind of Shuriken is an intense action platformer that blends old-school gameplay mechanics with high-definition graphics and hand-crafted stages. Employ the skills of both ninja and samurai as you slice through a wide variety of mechanical and organic enemies, dodge bullets, avoid traps and leap through obstacles along your path. Then blast off for side-scrolling shoot’em up sequences in your flight between planets! Take this mission on solo, or team up with a friend to control your robot companion for a cooperative multiplayer experience!
“Poly Link – Origins” brings cool low-poly puzzles to your console.
Train your brain and creativity and find the right perspective.
Rotate the pieces until the perspective is correct and everything fits magically together.
Relax and enjoy the masterpieces you will create as the game automatically saves each of your puzzles and combines minimalistic and fun gameplay.
Get better at marble shooting and try to complete all the levels with three stars in each level. This marble game is easy to play and addicting at the same time.
Tap to shoot. Match 3 or more same-coloured marbles to eliminate them. Destroy all marbles in the chain before it hits the end. Tap the frog to swap between the current and next marble. Use power-ups to clear the board faster.
Something sinister is lurking behind the dazzling glaze of Miami, a force that goes far beyond the usual human concept of science and religion. There is a silent, latent war going on, a war able to shatter the foundations of civilization, harnessing ancient knowledge and mystical arts lost for centuries.Get ready to face a long and dangerous journey. It might be the last.
BPM: Bullets Per Minute – £17.99
BPM is a Rhythm-FPS developed by Awe Interactive.
Fight as a mighty Valkyrie to repel the forces of the underworld from invading the world of Asgard.
In BPM, all of your actions and the actions of your enemies are tied to the beat of the music. Your enemies perform a dance-like sequence of attacks to an epic rock opera. Inspired by retro shooters of the ’90s, it is fast, frenetic and rhythmical. You can double jump, dash, rocket jump and bunny hop to evade your opponents.
Your goal is to reach the end of randomly generated dungeons, collecting different weapons, abilities and items each time you play. These weapons and abilities can radically alter the way you play, making each playthrough unique.
The world of Skycadia is overrun with sky pirates — and there’s profit to be made! Take to the skies and collect bounties by shooting down the scoundrels in this light-hearted flying adventure.
Radical Rex (QUByte Classics) – £7.19
Come hang with Radical Rex. He’s the raddest, baddest fire-breathing Tyrannosaurus ever to shred prehistoric pavement! This bad-boy-on-wheels is out to save the dinosaur race.
Check Rex thrashin’ on his board, sportin’ his flame-breath, bustin’ out with killer jump-kicks, swingin’ on vines and blastin’ out screen-shaking roars. Excellent!
Slam through ten wild levels of jammin’ jungles, freaked-out forests, haunted dino-graveyards, piranha-infested underwater caverns – and inside a giant dinosaur!
Rex keeps you groovin’ while you keep him movin’ past twenty of the meanest prehistoric nasties to rock his dino-world. No sweet for Rex – ‘cuz he’s too hip to be extinct!
Once upon a time, in a Far Away Land, an Evil Dragon took prisoner every royal heir he could meet. Lots of worthy suitors of every kingdom tried to face the beast, without success. Now it’s your turn! You’ll have to do your best to beat the dungeon, defeat the dragon, and manage the most perfect date!
Pandaty is 2D Cute Platformer Game,
Explore this sweet world of adventure!
Our character must pass the sweetly designed levels,
But watch out! Sometimes they may not be so sweet!
This game is for professional players of the SUPAPLEX world with a lot of new adventures! A new level of complexity and passion! It needs good reaction! It requires a lot of thinking! We simply can say: FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT AFRAID OF SUPAPLEX HARD!
Age-old tales will come to life in the unforgettable adventure of Alesta, a sorceress whose courage guides her through world of the dead.
Embark on a heroic quest that will take Alesta through gloomy marshes, quaint villages, and deep forests and challenging battles with dangerous mythical beasts.
The world is filled with characters whose destinies are in your hands, and the completion of many side quests will determine how this adventure will end!
Delve into the depths of a mechanical world in this cute, adventure-exploration game. Explore and fight in a land full of corrupt robots and machinery. All while seeking answers to the mysteries around you.
Soar through over 80 gorgeously designed maps by using Harm’s “flying door”. It’s your pathway and only means of transport. Remember! They are very fragile and need to be treated with utmost care.
Travel through the Dark Void. Discover hidden meanings and symbolism weaved into the gameplay. Challenge yourself and understand the heartbreaking truth about Harm.
When burglars break into the McClean home, Dusty must go rogue to protect his family. Unfortunately, his heroic actions attract the attention of FamilyCorp, and a fight with the warranty squad sends Dusty flying into the living room TV.
Waking up In the TV dimension, Dusty must hack, hide and suck his way to freedom . Join forces with your fighting spirit, Sexy McClean and develop deadly abilities to help him defeat FamilyCorp and save his family!
Next week: XIII, Dungeons 3 – Nintendo Switch Edition, Paddles, Innocence Island, Accident, Brutal Chase Turbo, Unichrome: A 1-Bit Unicorn Adventure, Kitten’s Head Football, Plunder Panic, Svoboda 1945: Liberation, Reknum DX, Queen’s Garden – Sakura Season, Loot Box Simulator – RPG Anime Girls, Wayward Strand, Absolute Tactics: Daughters of Mercy, Last Beat Enhanced, and Dead Invaders: Modern War 3D.