The Switch eShop is awash with nostalgia this week, with several retro and retro-style releases due. A pungent scent of Lynx Africa, Swizzel’s Drumstick lollies, and Play-Doh. Breathe it in.
From emulation specialists M2 comes a re-release of the mech shooter Assault Suits Valken DECLASSIFIED (aka Cybernator) with new content, restored features, and a documentary. “The odd quirk aside, it’s a very well-thought-through creation, defined by tight controls and movement, tidy level design, and a bounty of ideas,” said Nintendo Life.
Cannon Dancer – Osman is one you may not be too nostalgic for, on the grounds that it’s both an oddity and a rarity. Often likened to Strider, it’s a hack-and-slash platformer that hit Japanese arcades in 1996, failing to secure a home port. We’re guessing the £24.99 price tag is to keep it in line with the physical release. [UPDATE: Now due April 13th]
Then there’s Papertris, a low cost (£4.99) puzzler that allegedly plays more like Puyo Puyo than Tetris. We’ll be taking a closer look soon. That’s joined by the 16-bit style kung fu brawler Xiaomei and the Flame Dragon’s Fist, WayFoward’s Another World/Flashback inspired cinematic platformer LUNARK, and the low poly racer Formula Retro Racing: World Tour.
We aren’t out the retro-inspired woods yet – there’s also the 2D action roguelite Blade Assault – which Nintendo Life felt was distinctly middling – and the insect-filled pixel art Metroidvania Anyaroth: The Queen’s Tyranny.
Kana Quest – an educational title based around learning Japanese Katakana and Hiragana – features retro-style pixel art too.
Back in the world of games shiny and new, we can expect Team17’s sinister fishing adventure DREDGE – which we awarded an 8/10 – the promising Akira and Furi-inspired cyberbike boss rush Gripper, rhythmic RPG Infinite Guitars, first-person puzzle/stealth adventure The Last Worker, Idea Factory’s visual novel Norn9: Var Commons, and the annual sporting update MLB The Show 23.
New Switch eShop releases
Cannon Dancer – Osman – £24.99
Set in the near future of the 21st century, the world is controlled by a single corrupt government and under the threat of a evil sorceress, Abdullah the Slaver. Luckily, a lone assassin and top class agent named Kirin offers his skills as weapons for hire.
Kirin must infiltrate the city to defeat several enemies, panic and terror. But once inside the cult’s main temple, he gets attacked by the police force and left to die… Only thanks to his inner strength can he break free from his chained imprisonment and start moving with a single goal in mind: getting revenge against Jack Layzon, the Judicial Affairs Director that hired him initially. But this is far from enough: Three other members of the Teki wants him dead for personal reasons…
The Last Worker is an immersive narrative adventure centered around a lone worker’s last stand in an increasingly automated world, The Last Worker is a unique blend of work simulation and stealth strategic gameplay.
The game is set in a lonely, oppressive but strangely beautiful environment, with characters designed by comics legend Mick McMahon.
Kurt works for the world’s largest retailer and is forced to choose between capitalism or activism. Having dedicated his life to work, Kurt’s loyalty is put to the test when a group of activists ask him to dismantle Jüngle from the inside.
Aboard his corporate issued flying JünglePod and armed with his multi-purpose JüngleGun, Kurt dispatches countless products from a fulfilment centre the size of the sunken city of Manhattan.
Kurt (voiced by Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) has dedicated his life to Jüngle, with only his co-bot, Skew (Jason Isaacs) to keep him company. But when S.P.E.A.R., a group of activists, asks Kurt to help dismantle Jüngle from the inside, Kurt is forced to discover his employer’s dark underbelly.
The Last Worker delivers an emotional, thought provoking and inspiring story with rich characters performed by an all-star cast starring, Jason Isaacs, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Clare-Hope Ashitey, David Hewlett, Zelda Williams and Tommie Earl Jenkins.
Captain your fishing trawler to explore a collection of remote isles, and their surrounding depths, to see what lies below. Sell your catch to the locals and complete quests to learn more about each area’s troubled past. Outfit your boat with better equipment to trawl deep-sea trenches and navigate to far-off lands but keep an eye on the time. You might not like what finds you in the dark…
Explore a History that Never Existed!
Sorata, a child prodigy, wanders away from his class field trip and awakens in a new but oddly familiar setting.
He is taken to the Norn, a massive floating airship. Aboard he meets others – young people known as Espers, each with unique powers to control elements… or human minds.
The land below them resembles the past, but everything is changed and under the control of a massive organization known as The World. Unravel the mysteries surrounding Sorata’s journey and his companions.
Enter the burnout seat of None, a cyber biker who is stuck inside a collapsing world. Race through post-apocalyptic landscapes connected by treacherous tunnels. Explore dead lands with the help of your mechanized cat buddy. Defeat relentless bosses by gripping and ripping out their hearts.
Now reading can also be a game for your children thanks to our exclusive methodology, GameReaging®, for the development of a reading habit, which has been scientifically validated.
BookyPets Legends transports children to the other side of the universe, the magical kingdom of Imaginatios which is inhabited by all the characters from fairy tales, and by magical creatures with book-shaped wings, the BookyPets!
The game consists of freeing the BookyPets, who have been trapped by 3 evil monsters (Fear, Laziness, and Selfishness), by reading hundreds of proverbs, fables, tales, legends and children’s novels, in order to get keys and open the cages in which they are locked up. They will be helped by numerous fairytale characters, although some of them will also try to thwart the mission!
BookyPets seamlessly blends reading into the gameplay and narrative of the video game to encourage children to read. Now, reading and playing will be one and the same.
Assault Suits Valken DECLASSIFIED – £14.99
The original Assault Suits Valken was censored and edited for its international release as Cybernator. This new DECLASSIFIED version finally offers the original Assault Suits Valken officially translated into English for the first time.
In addition, a recreation of the original 80-page Japanese guidebook has been translated into English and included in this release, of which 40 pages cover the game’s backstory.
Following that, this DECLASSIFIED release offers new artwork from the game’s character designer Satoshi Urushihara and never before seen production artwork.
The original and arranged soundtracks are also available to play in the game’s music player, along with a new interview with Satoshi Nakai about the original game’s mecha design.
Set on a distant planet ruled by a totalitarian regime, LUNARK is a modern take on the 2D cinematic platformer genre of the ’90s. As Leo, a courier with unique abilities and a mysterious past, you’ll run, jump, hang, climb, roll, and shoot through gorgeously animated pixel-art environments ranging from a dystopian megalopolis to eerie caves to an alien forest. You must overcome traps, solve puzzles, earn upgrades, and battle enemy droids, and when you’re not fighting for survival, you’ll meet a cast of colorful characters who will put Leo’s allegiances to the test. Uncover the dark origin of humanity’s new home and the truth about yourself in this epic sci-fi adventure!
Madness Brutal Fighting – £4.99
Welcome to «Madness Brutal Fighting – Mortal Fight Battle Attack Multiplayer» a fighting game that will test your skills against other players and AI-controlled opponents in a world where only the strongest survive. In this game, you’ll get to choose from eight different characters, each with their own unique fighting style, backstory, and special moves.
FEATURES
* 20+ hours of story
* Three branching heroine routes
* Full Japanese voice acting by seasoned professionals
Subtitles can be selected from Japanese, Traditional Chinese, or Simplified Chinese.
Your favorite dream school simulator is back and better than ever! Introducing: The super fun school festival!
Build facilities and create a great school environment. Set up classrooms, a cafeteria…and a counseling room! (A little nerve-wracking for students to get called in there!)
Place compatible facilities together to create popular spots which will make your school really stand out. As the school’s popularity and rep go up, enrollment applications will flood in.
Once you get the hang of things, hold a school festival, complete with fun activities for all!
Squares and numbers is an abstract nonogram puzzle game with over 100 levels. The game has different puzzle sizes and starts perfectly for beginners with a relatively easy puzzle size of three by three squares and ends up in the highest difficulty with a grid of 24 by 24 squares. Different difficulty and more than 100 levels makes this abstract nonogram puzzle game a must have for every puzzle game lover.
Dashing Orange is a fast-paced 2D platformer with a focus on precision and fluidity,
where you´re in control of a cute little Orange in a journey in this abstract world.
Along the way, you’ll master jump, wall-jumping, wall-sliding, dashing and more than 25 new mechanics and traps as you leap from level to level, moving along, up and down the screen to put in your best possible performance in 75 challenging stages.
MOTHERED – A ROLE-PLAYING HORROR GAME – £8.99
MOTHERED is a first-person horror adventure game with point-and-click mechanics, set in a familiar yet eerily unnatural depiction of home. Set over the course of seven days, you play the role of LIANA – a young girl who’s arrived home to stay with her mother after having undergone major surgery.
Upon arriving at your new home, all you find is a strange mannequin who claims to be your mother. Through speaking with this mannequin, you will discover more about the role you play in this world. Can Liana help mother go back to the things they were, or will you find yourself repeating past mistakes?
Formula Retro Racing: World Tour – £15.99
Building on the success of the original retro racing hit, Formula Retro Racing: World Tour introduces new tracks and car types for an additional level of depth. You’ll race through iconic global locations, compete against other drivers, and try to beat your lap times. Do you have what it takes to master each racing line, hug every apex, and cross the chequered flag to victory?
Fight against the corrupt military of Esperanza as part of the resistance force of the Undercity. Bring the corrupt to justice by becoming stronger and fighting alongside your trusty comrades.
Blade Assault is a 2D action rogue-lite platformer with beautiful pixel art set in a desolate sci-fi world. The game features tight, responsive controls and a cast of charming characters. Playable characters have various transformable weapons that they use to battle against their enemies. Weapons can be further customized by different “Cores” and “Transform Upgrades” that appear randomly during gameplay.
Satisfying fast-paced combat. Utilizing diverse skills, dodging enemy attacks by dashing, launching projectiles, slashing away mobs of enemies. Your attacks change according to the “Cores” you select and the upgrades you decide to take on your runs.
Meet NPCs and find upgrades along your quest to unlock unique powers. Each playable character has their own weapons of choice kept in their own armory.
Meet Billy, a robot who is tired of his work on the production lines, who then decided to blow up everything and everyone in order to make his own choices.
Shoot robots, solve puzzles with your mechanical arm, blow things up and try not to get blown up before confronting your boss!
Billy 101 is a puzzle platformer featuring 30 handcrafted levels, and plenty of enemies to destroy.
Xiaomei and the Flame Dragon’s Fist – £13.49
Xiaomei and the Flame Dragon’s Fist is a 16-bit kung fu action game that pays homage to retro kung fu games from the 80s and 90s. You play as kung fu heroine Xiaomei, who embarks on a journey to save her elder sister, Xiaoyin, from the evil influence of the Dark Dragon. Punch, kick, and unleash the Flame Dragon’s Fist at enemies stopping you from saving your sister.
The game has been enhanced with new features and upgrades on Nintendo Switch™. Experience a new story from Xiaoyin’s perspective in Xiaoyin Mode, meet new characters, and unlock special content such as wallpapers and character illustrations. Enjoy new music from legendary composer Norio Nakagata, sound effects by Hirofumi Murasaki, and character voices by Suika.
Explore dozens of different specially designed levels and pick up cheeses hidden around the rooms, leaving no item to collect in the level!
Easy and comfortable controls allow you to lift your character onto objects bigger than you, grab onto small ledges and walk on them to find ways to reach your goal!
With a timer that runs while you play, you can try again and again and compete with yourself to finish in less time!
Enjoy the changing environment and atmosphere with the appropriate items for each room and try to finish all the levels with the best score, as each one will feel different!
A cute pop art-style shoot ’em up game from Outside, the makers of Cosmo Dreamer. In this game centered around a popular danmaku social network, you’ll dodge bullet barrages in an array of virtual settings, earning Likes and Followers for your mad gameplay skills.
Do not fret! While shoot ’em ups look tricky, there’s really not all that much to it. This game is structured for a wide range of gameplay, from absolute beginner to seasoned expert.
Pirates Outlaws is a roguelike deckbuilder with papercraft artstyle packed with content. Navigate dangerous seas, defeat every outlaw in your way and challenge their masters in tense combats. Your expedition will be full of ambushes and challenges, so get ready, build your card deck and plan deadly combos to become the most reputed pirate!
Step into the shoes of RunBean, an astronaut who landed on a hazardous planet that tries its best to kill the intruder! Try to delay your inevitable fate by running around the diminutive 2D globe, jumping over spikes, sliding under killer platforms, collecting bonuses and quickly reacting to sudden direction changes! The longer you stay alive, the higher your score will climb and the more envious the next poor space travelers visiting this planet will be.
Take control of Kraino and fight monsters, ghosts, and zombies with your mighty scythe! Avoid saws, fireballs, pools of acid, and spikes as you find all the secrets and unlock powerful weapons. Kraino Origins is retro gaming goodness!
This eerie adventure takes place in a world where monsters, ghouls, ghosts, and skeletons are the inhabitants. But just like in our world, there are forces of both good and evil. Kraino was created to aid the forces of evil, but all the evil magic and malice used to create him could not change who Kraino was – a force of good.
Now it’s up to Kraino to use all the powers of evil to fight fire with fire. He will journey across the land to destroy the evil lords, uncover hidden weapons, and get his revenge on his maker Dr. Batcula.
A Kawaii Kana Match-Em Up.
Are you sick of educational games that are glorified pop-quizzes? Do you just want to play an awesome game and have a new real world skill at the end of it? Do you want to learn how to read Hiragana and Katakana?
Well then, Kana Quest is for you!
“But how does it work” I hear you think. Excellent question! In Japanese, each phonetic letter is called a Kana. Kana that have a shared sound will match. When all Kana in a level are connected by matches, it will be complete.
MLB® The Show™ 23 gets you closer than ever to living your Baseball dreams on the diamond. Shock The Game and Own The Show™ with your favorite players, your favorite rivalries, and all your favorite MLB® moments.
In Guns N’ Runs, you take control of 8 skillful members of the Conspiracy Squad, in a stylish platform game, action and shooter, totally drawn by hand in pixel art, where time is the primordial factor at the battle against a prodigy technopath and his army of robots.
Help our protagonists in the invasion of a bunker in the middle of the Atacama desert, in a capture and rescue mission full of challenges and dangers. Made for one player, with over 200 challenges, 23 bosses and focused on the individual narrative of each of the squad members.
Journey through ancient Japan as the Shukuchi Ninja, exiled from his former clan for wanting a more honorable way of life. Travel through vast areas defeating the Shukuchi Ninja’s newfound foe to bring peace and prosperity in a time of turmoil.
A full, action-packed adventure awaits with over 70 levels, 7 troublesome bosses, an inspiring storyline, and unique controls – there’s no other game like it!
Shukuchi literally translated means shrink earth method, to travel at great speed, an ability that our hero has perfected over years of training. Take control of the Shukuchi Ninja and fly through the air at astonishing speed, attack enemies with your ninjat?, throw shuriken (ninja stars) at hard to reach enemies, and instantly teleport to quickly counter enemy attacks. With the power of healing, you must also aid the Shukuchi Ninja to ensure he doesn’t die!
Follow the journey of Bones the necromancer as you grow and expand your cafe. Serve your customers quickly, design your own cafe, discover recipes, customize your menu, strategically attract, kill, and harvest customers for fresh ingredients and use their souls to raise an undead army!
It’s up to you to complete your fathers legacy and discover a long lost treasure as you are thrust into a world full of discovery.
Explore a huge open-world full of deadly creatures and hidden secrets. Complete quests to win favor with the local inhabitants, in return, they may just help you on your journey. Level up your skills and equipment to become stronger as you face ever more powerful and deadly foes.
The Adventures of Poppe – £17.99
Poppe is a brave hunter with a heart of gold, and a height of an ant. Experience a familiar world from the most peculiar point of view. Even the smallest of creatures can pose a mortal danger… if you are not Poppe of course. Journey through a variety of challenging levels filled with obstacles, enemies, and traps.
There is a village in the mountains, where pandas live a peaceful life in harmony and joy. However, pandas share their territory with envious neighbors: the monkeys. These creatures usually invade the panda’s village and destroy the entire town. You play as a panda and must protect the village by showing the monkeys who is the boss.
Papertris is an interesting and fun arcade puzzle game in which colored cubes can be combined in all 6 possible directions and you decide where to place them.
It offers not only the classic puzzle variant, but also different depths.
There are also power dice and numerous possible combinations in a carefully hand-painted classic but modern game of skill.
Next week: Pupperazzi, Batora: Lost Haven, GrimGrimoire OnceMore, Curse of the Sea Rats, Goroons, Alekon, Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories, Kitty Rainbow, A Light in the Dark, Volley Pals, The Answer is 42, Celebrity Slot Machine, Fusion SHIFT, Forever Lost: Episode 1, Super Cute Alien’s Adventure, Drill Deal – Oil Tycoon, The Library of Babel, Another Tomorrow, Station 117, Incoherence, and Bumballon.