Two mainline Pokémon games in the same year may sound like overkill, but chances are development overlapped by a good year or so. All signs also point to Scarlet & Violet building upon Pokémon Legends: Arceus to create an open-world experience with more freedom than before.
The eight gyms can be tackled in any order, three ‘grand stories’ can be dipped in and out of, characters can be customised, and the new legendary Pokémon resemble motorbikes – giving a new way to get around. We’re quite looking forward to this one.
Wobbledogs also presents a cast of curious critters to cater to. It’s a pet simulation game with evolutions and mutations, intended to be a chilled experience open to experimentation.
Then there’s the anime tie-in RWBY: Arrowfell, developed by WayForward. Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long are playable characters in this 2D explorative beat’em up.
Hardcore Gamer took it for a whirl. “RWBY: Arrowfell is a title that will only appeal to fans of the franchise, but even then it won’t offer a stunning gameplay experience or make it worth picking up for the story. At the very least it’s nice to see new interactions between characters, but it’s just a shame the gameplay loop just couldn’t pull through,” they said.
Another licensed game launching this week is Smurfs Kart – a Switch exclusive from Microids. Don’t be quick to write this one off – reviews are mostly positive so far, including a 7/10 from Nintendo Life. “On the track, Smurfs Kart pulls off a surprisingly solid imitation of Mario Kart, with satisfying handling and some wonderful visuals (albeit at 30fps,)” was their verdict.
McPixel 3 seems to be going down well with critics too, being a comical point ‘n clicker filled with daft mini-games. There was no McPixel 2, if you’re wondering. What wags! “It’s a one-of-a-kind experience, and an easy recommendation for anyone open to some cheap laughs in a world where the points don’t matter,” beamed Screen Rant.
Team17 is also back with Bravery and Greed – a side-scrolling roguelite brawler with four classic character classes. Early impressions appear positive.
Other new releases include the mini Metroidvania Slime’s Journey, 2D action platformer Heidelberg 1693, arcade-style brick breaker Quantum Storm, and GameLoft’s The Oregon Trail. We’d rather have a Switch release of Super Amazing Wagon Adventure, to be honest.
New Switch eShop releases
That is the question you will need to answer in this dynamic kart racing game in the world of Smurfs!
The whole family can choose one Smurf, its kart and special power, then you’re ready to go on wild races!
Make the best start, find shortcuts, and use the right items at the right time to pass your opponents!
Play solo or with friends and family, should you be a beginner or the most trained driver… you can get 1st place and show others who the fastest Smurf of all time is!
Pokémon Scarlet/Violet- £49.99
The Pokémon series takes an evolutionary step with Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet on Nintendo Switch. Journey together with friends as you explore freely in an open world inhabited by new Pokémon!
In a fairy tale kingdom, there were two lovely slimes who loved each other so much.
One day, these two loving slimes were abducted by a powerful shaman looking to use them as ingredients for an evil potion. But the slime couple’s small child was left behind, and is now the only hope to save his parents.
Slime’s Journey is a retro style mini-metroidvania about a very valiant and young slime who needs to fight against many dangerous creatures to find his parents.
You’re playing as a demoness called by lay occultists. During the summoning ritual, they made a mistake and raised the dead, while turning themselves into zombies. Now you have to return home by jumping to other worlds through portals, all while making your way through the hordes of the undead.
What’s the game all about? It is a simple campaign-style, third-person shooter. As you progress through the game, look for new weapons and hidden ammo. Use them wisely: it’s not so easy to beat the undead in combat.
Heidelberg 1693 is a challenging 2D Action platformer set in a zombie-infested version of 17th century Germany in which the player takes control of one of French King Louis XIV’s famous musketeers. The game adds a layer of tactical combat to the genre by introducing the weapon of choice of musketeers: the musket. Players will be able to fire one powerful – and very effective- musket shot at a time. The weapon must be used wisely because of its long reset time though. Heidelberg 1693 tells its sombre story – featuring real locations and historical figures – across multiple paths and endings.
Pid is a platforming puzzle game set in an unfamiliar land, full of unique enemies and unlikely allies. One of which is the force of gravity! Play alone or along with a friend.
Sink into the calming soundtrack and enjoy the easy to understand gameplay of Pid. The only way to win is through cracking all of the puzzles which will not be easy.
The Quantum Computer has become self-aware!
Destroy its image library before it learns enough to take over the world…
Breakout Arcade Game with 300 retro levels prepared by Clive Townsend, famous 8-bit game designer.
Foretales offers a unique take on the adventure genre, with a multitude of playstyles and story paths through which you can save the world… or bring about its end.
Set in the rich and strange world of the Harde Republic, unravel the mysteries of the Nymphants and discover the macabre plans of a nefarious Cult.
Make allies, assemble your party, fight in turn-based card combat, stealth or talk your way to forge your destiny.
The Kingdom of Gardenia – £6.99
You are Roman, an orphan and former soldier, seeking gainful employment. After coming across a mysterious job advertisement in your local newspaper, you hop on the next train to the Kingdom of Gardenia, to meet King Theseus IV and see what’s what. As grounds keeper, and interim steward of the West Garden, you will cater for the needs of visitors by getting to know them, serving their favourite food, impressing them with the wealth of the kingdom and delighting them with their favourite flowers, trees, or furnishings. Beware though, there is an evil presence lurking in the shadows, trying to undo your good work!
In this Metroidvania-style game, Rhea is a bounty huntress with a task to save people kidnapped in the City of Vaunard. They have been taken to the mysterious Aresdale castle.
Rhea has many special skills that will help her accomplish this difficult task. Help her rescue these people and to bring peace to the city of Vaunard.
With monsters infesting the corridors in Aresdale
Choose from four classic fantasy classes, engage in a deep robust combat system, and play a variety of co-operative and competitive game modes with friends via local, online or both. Get rich, or die trying!
Dive into an explosive new RWBY action-adventure! Instantly switch between all four members of Team RWBY — Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long — and use their signature weapons and Semblances to battle the Creatures of Grimm and other foes in this in-canon story set during RWBY Volume 7. Featuring voiceovers from RWBY’s original cast, all-new cutscenes from the team behind the show, and a brand-new theme song by Jeff Williams and Casey Lee Williams, RWBY: Arrowfell lets you explore Atlas and the surrounding areas to solve environmental puzzles, slay massive bosses, power up with Skill Points, and interact with characters such as Penny, Winter, and General Ironwood, as well as the enigmatic new team of Huntresses, Team BRIR! Only Team RWBY can protect Remnant from a mysterious new threat in RWBY: Arrowfell!
Perform alone or grab a friend for a duet or friendly vocal challenge in both online and offline game modes. Have fun with the Let’s Party mode where you can harmonize with up to eight singers or climb to the top of the worldwide online leaderboards.
Perform some of your favorite new songs as well as older classics from the new song selection featuring 30 exciting and popular tracks.
Take the stage with current smash hits like “”Bad Habits”” by Ed Sheeran, “”Old Town Road”” by Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus, “”Happier Than Ever”” by Billie Eilish or “”Butter”” by BTS. If you’re looking for something a little more old-school, rock out to one of these classics: “”Complicated”” by Avril Lavigne, “”Get The Party Started”” by P!nk or “”I Want To Break Free”” by Queen.
Train with inspirational avatars in amazing sceneries to gain fitness, strength and personal power! Martial Knight is a creative and enjoyable way to a healthier and happier you, both physically and mentally. This is the moment to awaken your own inner superhero!
Now you can access the training methods of the great kung fu masters anywhere, anytime. They are ready and waiting for you to take action. Complete all 15 levels and become a Martial Knight. Experience the transformation for yourself! The future is in your hands!
The Oregon Trail™ by Gameloft—Experience The Oregon Trail™ like never before. A modern twist on the trials and tribulations of the road to Oregon, this official successor to the global phenomenon will immerse players in exhilarating journeys ranging from the historically accurate to the totally extreme. Players will pick their travelling party, stock the wagon with supplies, and embark on an adventure filled with tough choices, new dangers, and unexpected situations.
Surviving blizzards, broken limbs, snakebites, exhaustion, starvation, and the dreaded dysentery is no small feat; all the while navigating an untamed frontier to get your party to their new life in Oregon before the winter. Track down a missing party in the aftermath of a fierce blizzard, transport volatile gunpowder through blistering desert heat, compete in challenging hunting mini-games, and meet a broad cast of historic figures. With procedurally selected random events where players’ choices affect their party and future game events, there’s always a new adventure on the horizon every time you play.
The world is in danger. Evil forces from the past have come to destroy our planet and the only individual that Mrs. President trusts to save our lives is a super skilled spy-chicken. Take the role of this feathered secret agent as he defends the free world from doom in a run ‘n’ gun action experience that’s got a little bit of everything, with a touch of chicken and anime girls on top. Traverse 6 unique worlds and shoot your way through tons of enemies until you become a legend.
Run, jump, dodge, destroy and kill anything in your path – those are the basics you’ll need to master to fight the evil that’s rising from Hell. Listen to the advice of the cute anime girls and you should be just fine. Oh, and be mindful of the mushrooms you eat, some of them are quite dangerous! Are you going to let the world be destroyed, or are you a chicken?
Explore space, conquer asteroid fields to mine and extract resources. Build a fleet of spaceships and destroy the enemies in this new space action strategy adventure. Defend Humanity against an alien invader who aims to freeze Earth.
Take riding, flying and aerobatics lessons on the back of unicorns and dragons!
Train dragons and unicorns in your fantastic ranch. Build the perfect ranch to raise these magical creatures and become the best trainer in the enchanted kingdom!
The Awakening of Mummies – £2.49
The Mummies are trapped inside the Pyramid where the evil Pharaoh Cleo has imprisoned them. Use your puzzle-solving skills to guide all the Mummies through the various chambers, but watch out for traps!
Control the group of Mummies together as you navigate holes, crumbling floors, spears that come out of the ground, and more! Collect the specific Runes of each Mummy and arrive with all of them, at the same time, to their respective Totems and then open the door and move to the next chamber of the pyramid.
Cardfight!! Vanguard Dear Days – £53.09
The ultimate digital Vanguard experience that includes an original story set in the world of overDress!
Includes over 1000 cards for the Standard format and animations exclusive to the game that heat up the fights.
Compete with players worldwide with “Ranked Fight,” play solo casually with “CPU Fight,” and enjoy the game and experience the world of Vanguard at your own pace via many other fight modes.
And, with its in-depth tutorial, complete beginners can join with ease!
Enjoy the greatest Vanguard anytime, anywhere!
Chompy Chomp Chomp Party – £8.99
Invite your friends and family to join you for a Chompy Chomp Chomp Party. A chaotic and fun local multiplayer game for up to 8 players that will bring joy and laughter to the room. Customisable down to the finest detail, a variety of novel and exciting game modes with infinite levels, so no two games are ever the same.
Your day started as planned. Motivated and full of ambition you started the run of your life, in the middle of the desert, surrounded by like-minded people. The months of hard training should finally bear fruit. Suddenly, you were caught in a monstrous sandstorm and now you find yourself alone in an inhospitable, hot environment. Deserted and merciless, an ocean of sand stretches to the horizon.
You feel the scorching heat on your skin, sand blowing right at your face, far and wide only vast desert … but wait, what is that? Something is moving in the far distance. What happened?
“GOODBYE WORLD” is a narrative adventure game.
Play through 12 stages of a puzzle platformer while following the two protagonists through 13 chapters of their story.
Wobbledogs is a 3D pet simulation where you raise your own personal hive of rapidly mutating dogs, physically simulated all the way down to their guts! It’s a casual and chill sandbox experience for players of all ages who want to care for their very own virtual pets in a surprising, unique, and stress-free environment. The dogs start out relatively normal, but mutate and behave in surprising ways as the game progresses and their evolutionary lines advance.
Discover cats & puzzles in this simple adventure!
Play alone or with friends! Try your best as an animal puzzle maker. Earn new stages, discover new pictures and try your best!
Happy Animals Mini Golf – £4.49
Happy Animals Mini Golf is a miniature version of golf in which participants compete by hitting a small ball into the hole with their clubs, trying to cover the distance in the minimum number of strokes.
Have fun with your furry friends and prove that you are the best mini golf player! And don’t forget to collect all the stars on your way to the hole!
Eight girls are trapped in a closed circle.
Time passes as they move from room to room, and one by one, the girls’ lives are threatened.
Get them out safely and solve the riddles scattered throughout the building!
*The game may appear to be stuck, but it is a multi-ending game that always transitions to one of the endings.
*Additional Elements
A new ending that was not in the app version has been added.
Ultimate ADOM – Caverns of Chaos – £17.99
Evil has been vanquished. Peace has returned to Ancardia, and the peasants dare to dream once more of prosperity. Seven very different factions vie for control over the cataclysmic aftermath left behind by Andor Drakon’s defeat. And somewhere, deep down in an inhospitable cave, ChAoS is stirring again.
Pick up your blade, prepare your spells, check your daggers and ready your bow, for you are about to enter the ominous Caverns of Chaos. Choose your allegiance carefully, for you are nothing more than an expendable asset to the masters you choose.
Fight for a mercenary’s glory and purse, for the justice of a folk in decline, for the light of purity or even for ChAoS itself. Every choice you make will determine how you approach the ever-changing Caverns of Chaos before you.
The masterpiece of physics puzzles, “Q” is coming to Nintendo Switch™!
This is a game of solving in the form you drew.
It contains more than 1,200 very simple but not straightforward Qs.
All the ways to solve it are open-ended!
World Class Champion Soccer – £10.99
Enjoy thrilling victories with dribbling and shooting!
It is a soccer game in which you can compete with players from each country with great free kicks and dribbles by touching the screen directly. Choose your nationality and try to win the championship!
Enter The Lost Labyrinth, as Sophie awakes to find herself in an eerie and perilous place, crowded with mysterious creatures. Can Sophie overcome the dangers, and free the tormented creatures? Discover a breathtaking adventure through the many mazes of a cursed labyrinth. Explore its mysteries and secrets, and fight against the dangers that await those who dare to enter The Lost Labyrinth.
In Extremis DX is a shoot’em up game that aims to bring an engaging and fun experience to the player, while also experimenting with the nature of the language of videogames.
Taking inspiration from sources such as centuries-old mysticism to contemporary pop-culture, In Extremis suits itself for all kinds of players with smart level design and multiple ways of tackling challenges.
Offering challenges and secrets, In Extremis tries to bridge the gap between art and fun, the underground and the mainstream, the old and the new.
Pixel Game Maker Series VERZEUS – £7.29
The 7th installment of the fictional “GAME BUDDY” portable game console series
Here comes the horizontal shooter!
Vulcan, laser, missile.
Power up your unique weapons and prepare for powerful enemies.
McPixel 3 is a mind-blowing save-the-day adventure that sees the titular wanna-be hero avert one disaster after another at every turn using unconventional yet entertaining methods of mayhem.
Avert one disaster after another at every turn using unconventional yet entertaining methods of mayhem including – but not limited to – summoning a spider-billionaire, having a BBQ in his pants, and punching a T-Rex into outer space.
Next week: Saint Kotar, Just Dance 2023 Edition, Cleopatra Fortune S-Tribute, Remorse: The List, Watch Over Christmas, A Building Full of Cats, Savior of the Abyss, Freud’s Bones – The Game, Monmusu Gladiator, Aliisha: The Oblivion of the Twin Goddesses, Arctictopia, Kids Vs Parents, Pocket Pool, How to Fool a Liar King Remastered, and Furry Hentai Tangram.
