While the Xbox Store and PSN remain in a Christmas coma, the Switch eShop is a hubbub of activity. Nothing in the way of major new releases, granted, but there might be an indie or two to temp.
This week we can expect the 2D sci-fi arena multiplayer battler AlphaLink – which first launched on Xbox One in 2021 – the Lost Vikings homage The Lost Snowmen, action ‘splatformer’ Neon Souls, and the cartoony fantasy scrolling brawler Maximus 2 – which will set you back a mere £3.99.
Then there’s HEROish, which hit Steam a few weeks ago. It’s a fantasy action-strategy adventure with deck building, also featuring 1v1 or 2v2 competitive battles. User reviews for the PC version are positive.
That’s joined by Guntech 2, based on ‘cave flying’ shoot’em ups of yore. We awarded the Xbox One version a 6/10 roughly a year ago. It’s pretty eccentric, featuring dragons, Halloween and Christmas worlds, and missions that involve delivering boxes of apples. In space.
If that sounds like your thing, Gravity Thrust may be of interest too. Take a look at the full list of new releases below.
New Switch eShop releases
In HEROish, players can enjoy single-player adventures with three campaigns filled with campy storytelling, sweeping musical scores and hand-crafted environments. Or they can dive into fast-paced battles with friends and family in competitive 1v1 or 2v2 matches. Players can build custom decks and upgrade cards to create monstrous combinations of troops and spells as they aim to defeat their opponents, destroy the Soul Gem that gives them power and move to the top of the leaderboards.
Pick a faction, find some friends, and engage in the fight of your life in local or online matches! Earn XP and Galactic Credits to unlock new cosmetics like armor, helmets, guns, and more!
A puzzle-platformer starring three characters with different skill sets, who will have to assist each other during their adventures in order to fulfill a variety of level objectives.
MAXIMUS 2 is a fantasy beat-em-up (brawler) that focuses on crunchy and satisfying combat. We captured the spirit of some of the best classic beat-em-ups, melding them into one memorable experience. Fight solo or with up to 4 players cooperative multiplayer!
STORY Is a single, continuous shot. This hasn’t been done since the 80’s, rather than simply cutting from one stage to the next, the players enter an animated transition to the next area, creating the illusion of a fantastic journey.
MULTIPLAYER co-op in real time, fight together with up to 4 players!
HEROES with their own roles and weapons. The tank, the wrestler, the magician, the outlaw, the healer and the ninja.
TEAMWORK If you work together, you survive. Players can revive a fallen teammate, support or heal them and gang up to juggle enemies off each other in the air.
Age of Heroes: The Beginning – £17.99
Age of Heroes – The Beginning takes matching 3 to a whole new level.
A terrible villain has escaped from prison and his evil is released upon the world once more. The peace and beauty of the land have turned to fear and darkness. It’s up to you to stop him and help the poor peasants who had their homes destroyed. Match your way through this incredible journey, meet great heroes and use their skills to help you save the day in Age of Heroes: The Beginning.
The game system is similar to a clicker game. The difference from clickers is that you do not earn points by clicking, but by tumbling weed and breaking cacti.
Operate tumbleweeds and explore the wilderness. Through their adventures, they grow, learn new truths, meet new friends, and experience a variety of things.
Tumbleweeds earn TP (Tumble points) by moving. Use the TP you earn to gain abilities and increase your TP even more efficiently.
Pixel Game Maker Series Pearl Vs Grey – £7.19
Story
Pearl and Gray find a treasure map.
The two rivals compete with each other…
Take control of Gray and clear 100 stages to reach the treasure first!
Hollow World: Dark Knight – £8.99
Fight hordes of enemies for the freedom of the whole world!
Defeat waves of dangerous opponents, and collect consumables during combat to create upgrades for your hero. Develop your character to unlock different spells you can use in the battle. You must prepare yourself properly because dangerous bosses who want to destroy the entire universe will appear at the end of each stage. Only you can resist their strength. Use your skills to defeat any rival standing in your way to freedom!
Neon Souls is a fast-paced platformer where you paint invisible platforms with neon ink.
Use your parkour skills including jumping, double jumping, wall jumping, and sliding to paint everything around you.
The game offers 50 levels of challenge, including 4 enormous bosses to defeat.
The challenge gradually builds over time, and your puzzle solving and precision will be put to the test.
Ride your snowboard at high speed down the slopes of the best ski resorts in Europe and America.
Set the fastest times solo, or against a friend/family in the super fun multiplayer mode.
You will be able to perform numerous tricks with the help of obstacles on the slope. Each trick you perform will give you time bonuses that will improve your final time.
Extreme Snowboard, with its hyper-realistic physics engine, will provide you with strong sensations and long hours of fun with rock musics.
Swap. Solve. Survive.
Backpack Twins is a hard but fair single player puzzle platformer… with a twist!
Control both twins by swapping between them, and make them work together in order to solve environmental puzzles, move forward and stay alive!
Avoid hazards, jump, duck, swap and time your moves carefully.
Blacksmith Forger,
We are a forge, We can craft Gold ingots and Iron ingots as well as Weapons and Shields.
Our customers order weapons and shields. You have to catch up with them!
If they wait too long, they get bored.
As soon as you deliver the Weapons and Shields to the Customer,
You have to be fast!
But if you need more speed, you can try Potions.
They will speed up your oven.
Beware, some customers may request powered weapons!
Vampire Slayer: The Resurrection – £6.99
Only the Slayers carry weapons.
The Vampires have stealth, speed and deadly melee attacks.
Slayers must knock a vampire to the ground before staking them.
If they do not stake them within a few seconds the Vampire will resurrect.
A Vampire can feed from dead Slayers to regain strength.
Leap from tall buildings onto your prey or hunt in the dark.
Now YOU must choose a side.
The goal is to get the crystals on the 3D stage by making full use of jumps and dashes.
Game features
?When you get the crystal, the stage is cleared!
?There are two modes: normal and hard mode.
?Local multiplayer with split screen for up to 4 people!
?You can use items to increase your speed and change your jump height.
Journey To The Blue Mountain -£8.99
Set off on an adventure to find the way back to the birds’ home. Face different animals during the journey through different labyrinths, dodge traps and collect all the feathers. Transit between the map and levels in this platform game.
“Gravity Thrust” lets you fly a spaceship through caves so you need to be cautious to survive!
It features:
– 42 missions with different goals (destroy enemies, collect crates, …)
– 6 race level where you can do multiplayers races (with up to 4 players)
– 6 battle level where you can do multiplayer fights (with up to 4 players).
12 Labours of Hercules VI: Race for Olympus – £7.19
A crime has been committed on the Mount Olympus! Something triggered the alarm and it can only mean trouble! The first hero to respond to the call is Hercules – he quickly arrives to the scene to discover that Zeus been abducted… There is no time to waste: brave hero sets out on the search for Zeus!
Hercules needs to act fast: without Zeus Olympus is facing a political crisis as lesser Gods are trying to take over the reigns!
Tag along and visit the places you’ve never seen before as you clear roads, construct buildings, vanquish beasts and investigate the mysterious disappearance. Can you prove your detective skills and unravel who’s behind Zeus’ abduction?
It’s a twin-stick shooter in space. You can play in single-player, or couch co-op with up to 4 players!
Use the Left Stick to steer and thrust your ship, and the Right Stick to control the railgun. Your ship has a total of three different weapons. The L Button and R Button fire the two additional, more powerful weapons which always fire in the direction of your ship’s nose. This gives you the ability to shoot in any direction using the railgun, with extra firepower when you position your ship toward the enemy.
Next week: Children of Silentown, Terror of Hemasaurus, Breakers Collection, Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider, Lone Ruin, Suhoshin, Chasing Static, Drago Noka, Memorrha, Go Rally, Warp 7, Flipped On, and Lost Dream Stars.