If variety is the spice of life, then this week is a Boxing Day turkey curry – with cranberry sauce and a few pigs in blankets thrown in. Delicious.
Big name releases hitting the eShop include stealth horror game Hello Neighbor 2 – which promises advanced AI that learns from your behaviour – and Square-Enix’s island jumping loot hunter Dragon Quest Treasures. They’re joined by Samurai Maiden, the latest hack ‘n slasher from D3. We reviewed the PS5 version and gave it a thumbs up, even though it’s a little slow to start.
3D platformer Kukoos – Lost Pets has received some surprisingly positive reviews too, with But Why Tho? dishing out a lofty 8.5 while praising the creative character and level designs. Nintendo Life went with a 7/10. “From the creative and unique level designs to the Saturday morning cartoon aesthetic, this game is an enjoyable time from start to finish and it comes with a recommendation for anyone who is looking for a charming platformer for the whole family,” was their verdict.
God is a Geek took The Rumble Fish 2 – a re-release of a cult 2005 2D beat’em up, with new modern features – for a spin. “This is a seriously fun game, with a real sense of heft and oomph to attacks, and a slower, more methodical combat than some other turbo charged fare,” they said.
Then there’s Swordship from Thunderful, a stylish arcade-style avoid ‘em up. Eurogamer was left smitten, calling it “Brisk, stylish and compulsive.” Nintendo Life opted for a 7/10, saying that “Swordship is a clever, original, and interesting concept. It looks good, sounds good, and plays well.”
Thunderful also brings Paper Cut Mansion – a roguelite horror set in a papercraft world – to Switch this week. The PC version garnered mixed reviews, reportedly feeling like two contrasting genres stapled together, although it isn’t without merit.
We can also expect the intriguing trading card shop management sim Kardboard Kings, 2D platformer Bot Gaiden – where the faster you are, the easier the bosses become – the pixel art JRPG Chain Echoes, full price strategy RPG Adventure Academia: The Fractured Continent, and the cartoony co-op brawler Jitsu Squad. Do kids still collect Ghostbusters 2 trading cards?
New Switch eShop releases
A young woman from the 21st century with sharp swordsmanship skills finds herself in Honn?-ji during the Sengoku period! Together with a trio of newfound ninja friends, she races through the Underworld beneath Honn?-ji, confronted by enraged corpses at every turn!
Nothing can stop this all-female powerhouse team, as the young woman turned samurai slashes up enemies while the ninja wipe them out with their fierce ninjutsu!
And when things get tough, activate the Devoted Heart technique to have samurai and ninja lock lips to enhance their abilities!
Think you can trust your neighbors? Think again.
Hello Neighbor 2 is a stealth horror game about uncovering your creepy neighbor’s secrets. You are a journalist looking to solve the Neighbor’s case, since no one else dares to. Play against a complex opponent controlled by an advanced AI that learns from you and all the other players! As time passes and the Neighbor adapts to the players’ patterns, his own behavior will change and surprise you. Will you be the one to outsmart the Neighbor and find out what he’s hiding?
Adventure Academia: The Fractured Continent – £34.99
Adventure Academia: The Fractured Continent is a fully-fledged strategy RPG set in the world of Class of Heroes! Create your own party of students in a fantasy realm! Pick them up and guide them to victory against the monster hordes!
Armed with an ancient relic – the Ruler Orb – passed down for following generations and plenty of support from the loyal students of Obsidian High you will need to strategize, recruit, manage and fight with everything you have to defeat the hordes of monsters threatening your home. Take command and forge the way forward…and to the truth once and for all!
DRAGON QUEST TREASURES – £49.99
Erik and his sister Mia live on a Viking longship, dreaming of the day they can explore the world in search of grand treasure. One night they encounter a pair of otherworldly creatures, Porcus and Purrsula, and are whisked away to a mysterious place known as Draconia – a legendary land full of treasures just waiting to be discovered. The adventure Erik and Mia have always dreamed of is finally underway!
With the vast world of Draconia to explore and tons of tantalizing treasure to find, Erik, Mia, and their cute companions will need some help. The team soon befriends and recruits a veritable variety of well-mannered monsters. By making use of these monsters’ magical visions of hidden treasure and their unique treasure-hunting abilities, our heroes will race over open fields, scale cliffs with a single bound, and glide over gaping chasms to locate loot in even the most fiendishly inaccessible spots!
Venture into a vast, varied world where twists, turns, and mysteries lie hidden on your path to discovering the legendary treasure of Draconia!
Mech Armada puts you in command of your own team of custom-built Mechs. Upgrade and build your roster of available Mechs from over 80 unique parts, each with their own strengths, weaknesses and playstyles. From flamethrowers to mega missile pods, fighter drones to rayguns, determining the right Mech build and leveraging its weaponry is key to conserving your resources and defeating The Swarm.
Mech Armada offers deep grid-based, turn-based combat, where there are no perfect solutions to the challenges you face. Understanding your enemy and anticipating their actions, getting to know the limitations of your Mechs while managing your resources and observing the terrain ahead of you will determine your success. At the end of each area, you’ll need to take on The Swarm’s major bosses: they’re massive, ugly and ridiculously tough. Are you up to the task?
No two runs in Mech Armada are the same. With procedurally generated levels set across a backdrop of varied post-apocalyptic environments, every element in the game is randomly combined and balanced to create a unique, challenging experience. Like all rogue-likes, death in Mech Armada means game over. You’ll need to try again with an entirely new run, with fresh Mechs and all new encounters.
Build your dream team and work your way through the ranks to prove your team is the greatest.
Perfect your style, develop your players and enjoy the tense moment by hitting penalty kicks. Take on any team who stands in your way. Your talent must be released for the world to see!
Customize and enhance your team with number of unlockable player upgrades. Overcome challenges, trick the opponent, earn coins and represent your team’s colors by shooting at a target or taking a free kick.
Chained Echoes is a story-driven JRPG where a group of heroes travel around the vast continent of Valandis to bring an end to the war between its three kingdoms.
In the course of their journey, they will travel through a wide array of diverse landscapes spanning from wind-tanned plateaus and exotic archipelagos to sunken cities and forgotten dungeons.
Take up your sword, channel your magic or board your Mech. Chained Echoes is a 16-bit Style RPG set in a fantasy world where dragons are as common as piloted mechanical suits.
Follow a group of heroes as they explore a land filled to the brim with charming characters, fantastic landscapes and vicious foes.
Can you bring peace to a continent where war has been waged for generations and betrayal lurks around every corner?
Witch on the Holy Night – £40.49
TYPE-MOON, known for the popular game app “Fate/Grand Order” and the epic visual novel “Tsukihime,” is releasing the visual novel “Witch on the Holy Night,” first released for PC in 2012, on Nintendo Switch™.
Experience a young adult tale, set in the vibrant and bustling 1980s, that follows an innocent young man and two young “witches.”
Updates added since the PC version include the fully voiced characters that fans have long awaited, as well as visuals remastered in full HD, bringing the experience to life with unparalleled image quality.
Various new visual elements not only imbue battle scenes with tension, but also breathe life into the characters’ everday activities, with motions that bring a sense of animation and make the text even more deeply immersive.
A legendary arcade game developed by Dimps in 2005. This fighting game gained popularity for its smooth visuals powered by S.M.A as well as the high level of strategy driven by its 2-gauges system. And with the addition of new current-gen features it’s even easier to play.
On a planet covered in water, a fun and adventurous species known as the Kukoos live on the only island that is home to the Kukoo tree. After an experiment in which the Kukoos attempt to make their pets more obedient goes haywire, it is up to the Kukoos to find their newly aggressive and unruly pets and regain control, restoring harmony to the once peaceful Kukoo tree.
Travel through secret worlds within the massive Kukoo tree to find your friends and end the pet rebellion! This charming 3D platformer takes you across the vast and colorful Kukoo universe, where you’ll take charge of an array of pets and use their individual abilities to battle against unique bosses, find hidden collectibles, and solve ancient puzzles. Journey solo or team up with up to three friends to enjoy a four-player adventure unlike anything you’ve seen before!
A game unlike anything you’ve ever seen!
A combination between something completely new, and totally familiar.
Spread and stack adorable cubes to explore incredible worlds, collect goodies, discover funny stories, and help the King President dominate the universe to save from the unknown threat of the Void.
Not for the faint of heart, Bot Gaiden is all action, execution and speed! Ninja robots Robyu and Bytron race to recover the power skulls that have been stolen by each of Giorqio’s 6 Hench-bots. Slicing everything in their path, they must reach their destination quickly. The Hench-bots grow stronger with time and exposure to the skulls. The faster you go, the easier the fight! However, going faster means putting yourself in harm’s way and trying to figure out the most efficient path through each stage.
Bot Gaiden is designed to be a shared experience, no matter what the skill mismatch might be. Got a child that’s just learning? Team up. Got a buddy that just stinks at action games? Bring ’em on! You can teleport to your partner at any time. Lagging players can instantly catch up, and experienced players can lend a helping hand, instantly.
In Path of Ra, you accompany the soul of a Pharaoh reincarnated as a hieroglyph on the murals of his tomb. Move the slabs and create a path for him to reach the exit. Relive his story and discover the circumstances of his death through sumptuous hand-crafted cinematics.
Swordship is a futuristic lightning-fast dodge’em up which flips the script on the traditional arcade shooter. Turn both the tide of battle and enemies on themselves by dodging, weaving and diving your way through an onslaught of enemies hell-bent on tearing your Swordship apart.
This addictive action-roguelike pushes you to make split-second decisions that will either bring you glorious victory against tyranny, injustice, and become a symbol of hope to The Banished, or see your unsung heroics sink to the bottom of the sea. With an adrenaline fuelled soon-to-be a modern classic soundtrack this game will transport you to a grim watery future.
Paper Cut Mansion is a roguelite horror set in a papercraft world. Play as Toby, a police detective arriving at a mysterious old mansion. Explore the mansion floor by floor as you seek to unravel the story behind this bizarre place, with each run giving you the opportunity to collect another piece of evidence to be added onto your Evidence Board. The Mansion also hosts a mysterious cast of characters who may help or hinder your progress on each run…
You are Harry Hsu, a young man who recently inherited a card shop from his father, a former champion of the famous card game “”Warlock.”” With the shop’s reputation on the line, you start working behind the counter, juggling the locals’ requests while trying to familiarize yourself with owning a shop.
Your guide, Giuseppe, a fast-talking Cockatoo, helps you in your buying and selling journey – securing cards of various rarities to top collectors or helping an enthusiastic customer from the neighbourhood.
Simona’s Requiem is a retro-styled platformer Inspired by old action-adventure games but with a modern touch. Pick up the scythe as Simona and slash your way to the Fisher King who has hidden behind the moon.
This is the story of the legendary, hidden Kusanagi Stone and the warriors seeking it. Containing the soul of a powerful demon, The Kusanagi stone can grant godly powers to those who awaken it. Now, the wicked sorcerer Origami has summoned and cursed ancient warriors to find the stone for him. Hero, Baby, Jazz and Aros, together they are the Jitsu Squad!
Control the entire Jitsu Squad in single-player mode or play with up to 2 people in local couch co-op. Tag team mode makes it possible to play locally with one friend, where each player chooses two characters!
Next week: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion, Resident Evil 7 biohazard Cloud, Operation Wolf Returns: First Mission, Kawaii Slime Arena, Chubby Cat 2, Wavetale, Raptor Boyfriend: A High School Romance, Lil Gator Game, Aery – Path of Corruption, Aka, The Crackpet Show, Cosmo Dreamer, Hero Hours Contract 2: A Factory for Magical Girls, Cassiodora, Elves Christmas Hentai Puzzle, Napoleon Maiden Episode.1 A maiden without the word impossible, and Panda Punch.