The anticipated Pikmin 4 is just a week away. If you’re looking for something to keep you engaged until Nintendo’s garden gang arrive, you’re in luck – there are a few titbits of note on the eShop.
From Koei Tecmo comes RPG Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist of Salburg, with new 3D character models, an expanded and improved tutorial, and an Unlimited Mode that offers a new relaxed pace.
The biggest game of the week though is OXENFREE II: Lost Signals. Published by Netflix, it’s set five years after the original and sees Riley Poverly investigating unnaturally occurring electromagnetic waves within her hometown.
Then from Scottish developer 4J Studios there’s Manic Mechanics, their first self-published title. It’s a comical chaotic couch co-op game, where a group of grease monkeys challenge the Master Mechanics to repair as many cars, trucks, choppers, tractors, mini-subs (and UFOs!) as possible.
Also look out for the bullet hell RPG Touhou: New World, the strategic sci-fi battler Chaos Galaxy, turn-based, tactical combat game Strike Team Gladius, and a re-release of the 1992’s action platformer Risky Wood – the Mega Drive version, if screenshots are to go by.
New Switch eShop releases
Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist of Salburg – £39.99
At the Royal Academy of Magic (the Academy for short), Marie is failing in her attempts to study alchemy. One day, she is given an atelier by her professor as part of a special graduation exam. In order to graduate, Marie must complete an item that will impress her professor.
But first, Marie must strive to improve her alchemy skills, collect ingredients, and earn money to hire adventurers and buy recipes and utensils… Add all of that to the synthesis, battles, and quests she must undertake, and it’s clear that she has a lot to do before she’s ready for her exam!
It’s up to you to choose where to begin! Work hard to graduate from the Academy, but be sure to enjoy yourself along the way.
It’s time to dust off your overalls and hitch on your toolbelt in Manic Mechanics – a chaotic couch co-op game where you and up to three fellow grease monkeys serve the car-obsessed residents of Octane Isle.
Your mission? Work your way through Octane Isle’s five neighbourhoods, challenging the Master Mechanics that rule each part of town. Repair as many cars, trucks, choppers, tractors, mini-subs (and even UFOs) as possible to prove your worth in this hectic race against the clock.
No two games are the same as you work your way through 25 unique garage levels, each one more challenging than the last. Completing a garage is one thing, but mastering it and beating your team’s best score requires coordination, skill, and determination.
This is couch co-op chaos for you and up to three other players, working as a finely-tuned machine across local, wireless and online play. Track your team’s best scores, unlock new characters and discover hidden secrets as you explore Octane Isle together.
The faster you work, the more chaos is unleashed. Fuel spills ignite, tyres explode, robots short-circuit, cows stampede and aliens abduct… just about anything can happen in Octane Isle. But with teamwork, skill – and maybe just a little luck – you’ll earn the right to call yourselves Manic Mechanics!
Crafting Block World: Magic Dungeons Adventure – £8.99
Crafting Block World is an adventure with sandbox elements that will help you build your ideal world!
The great Galactic Empire, which had ruled the galaxy for one thousand years, collapsed under the sudden impact of alien contact and fell into civil war. Many heroes with their own motivations have since set out to conquer the three thousand worlds of the galaxy. In the background of this chaos, a greater threat of annihilation lurks.
Choose from the major fleets of the Galactic Empire or another of the 14 factions such as pirates, mercenaries, trader guilds or assassins. Each faction has a completely different background story, characteristic armaments and faction policy tree. With more than 100 types of mecha and warships, dozens of weapons and unit skills, 60 different commanders and more at your disposal, you have the power to shape the future through ruthless tactics. Revive the Empire or overthrow it, establish church rule or even play as AI to destroy mankind!
Take your chance to orchestrate the symphony of victory on the grandest stadiums in the world. Prepare to overcome epic challenges, face the sport legends, claim the trophies and become a legend yourself!. Feel the thrill of adrenaline coursing through your veins, and prepare for a soccer experience that will leave you breathless!
Football Cup 2023 introduces Championship Cup season 2023, new national and club teams, update of Basic mode, brand new career mode and new in-game AI. But that’s not all, discover new Qatar mode and enjoy multiple quality improvements.
Begin your professional soccer player career and run one of incredible game modes:
Jailbreak: The Ultimate Escape – £4.49
Explore a grim penitentiary complex filled with unique characters, each with their own story and hidden secrets. As you interact with them, you’ll face difficult decisions that will shape the storyline and the fate of your character. Do you trust your cellmates or seek allies outside the prison? Do you use brute force or focus on cunning and infiltration? The choice is yours.
Are you ready to face the challenge and escape from the clutches of injustice? Get ready for an unforgettable “Jailbreak: The Ultimate Escape” experience, where every choice counts and every step brings you closer to freedom.
Hollenburg ‘Hell Castle’ – £13.49
During the great war, the dark army carried out satanic experiments with the aim of cheating death and creating zombie soldiers and terrifying beings.
You are Father Karras and before you return home with your parishioners, you must travel to the Austrian border and put an end to all these evil experiments.
Explore the castle of hell and defeat the four satanic generals hiding in its dark walls.
Hollenburg is an arcade with video adventure elements; Explore the huge castle, collect items, collect experience points to level up and discover hidden secrets.
One day the little sentient Toad has decided to arm himself with some heavy weaponry and deal some serious damage with no specific reason. It’s a miracle that Toad was able to pick up his first pistol — soon afterwards he found himself dodging, shooting, crushing and earning money from the dead enemies.
Toadomination revives the best moments from the 90’s era with action packed gameplay and that very special nostalgic feeling. This game is meant to be played like it’s 1995 again — no loot boxes, no battle passes, no grinding and paying to win. It’s only your skills that matter when it comes to Toad’s survival and total Toad Domination!
OXENFREE II: Lost Signals – £17.99
TVs turn on and off. Planes lose radar. Radio stations can’t broadcast through the static. In the small coastal town of Camena, unnaturally occurring electromagnetic waves are suddenly causing interference with electrical and radio equipment. Reluctantly, Riley Poverly returns to her hometown to investigate the mystery, but what she finds is more than she bargained for.
OXENFREE II: Lost Signals is the mind-bending follow-up to the critically-acclaimed narrative adventure game OXENFREE from Night School Studio. Play it as a standalone story or dive deeper by playing the original – it’s up to you. As you play, you’ll shape every step of the story through your choices. How you choose to deal with the supernatural events at hand will forever alter the future.
Cramped Room of Death – £13.49
Brave adventurer Lance loved to party, but one night he ate too much and fell into a deep sleep. The vile Vizardians then stole his treasure and even took all his weapons, leaving only his giant spear.
Lance entered the catacombs of death to confront the thieves and recover his lost possessions, but he soon realized why the spear was left behind: It barely fits in these cramped rooms!
Isolated from the world by a mystical barrier, shrine maiden Reimu Hakurei and magician Marisa Kirisame live relatively peaceful lives in the land of Gensokyo, when they find themselves transported beyond the boundary and into the unfamiliar territory of the outside world. After a chance encounter with Sumireko, a human girl obsessed with Gensokyo and all its wonders, our protagonists eventually find their way back home—but now with an unexpected guest in tow. Sumireko’s arrival not only heralds chaos for Gensokyo, but also for the outside world and beyond! It’s up to Reimu and Marisa to unravel the mysteries that threaten their home and restore peace to the lands.
From Ankake Spa, the team that brought you Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity, transcend the bounds of Gensokyo in this lovingly crafted Touhou Project fan-made game!
EarthX is a relaxing family-friendly spaceflight company management game, where you launch rockets. A lot of them.
Go from launching small rockets on Earth to eventually building a colony on Mars. Create your own Internet constellation, develop new technologies, supply the International Space Station and terraform Mars!
You will have to develop better and better rockets, fight for contracts with competitors and grow your business to achieve success. Grow your capital, assemble rockets, capsules and satellites and dominate the Space Industry.
Strike Team Gladius is a turn-based, tactical combat game where you and your team fight to reclaim a colony world from an alien invasion.
Choose your squadmates from 22 unique units, and guide them through 40 replayable combat missions – each with their own special objectives and win conditions.
Level up your team, get better equipment and unlock new skills and abilities. Special missions will let you operate tanks, troop carriers, artillery, and even combat mechs!
UltraGoodness is a bloody mess, dynamic and fun twin-stick shooter involving the struggle between Good and Evil in the world, where the Dark Forces turned all creatures into possessed monsters.
Tear your enemies to pieces; leave behind oceans of blood and mountains of corpses! Kill beasts, terrorists, and ghoulish-like creatures. Fight the Evil using its methods, show ’em what you got, show ’em your RAGE!
But remember — it’s all in the name of Goodness, of course!
Sacred Zodongga Defense – £13.49
The island of Zodongga lay undisturbed for a thousand years, only the natives of the Hulla-Balla-Bazooki tribe inhabited the dense jungles and although fierce warriors they managed to live in peace and harmony with nature. Tales of a fabulous banana plantations located in the inhospitable mountains of Zodongga inevitably reached the four corners of civilization and humanity’s greed (and taste for bananas) proved too strong to resist.
Ships full of soldiers and explorers set sail to find the legendary island. One morning the tribesmen saw the invasion force suddenly appear on the horizon. They quickly mobilized their warriors and prepared their defences for the onslaught that was about to hit them.
Car Detailing Simulator -£14.39
Do you like watching or taking part in major car restorations? In Car Detailing Simulator, you get a chance to start your adventure with running a detailing business on your own terms! Surprise the market with remarkable metamorphoses of down-at-heel cars. Accept orders and grow your own business!
3D robot action battle game.
A casual robot game with simple controls.
Up to 4 people can play at the same time with one software.
Risky Woods (QUByte Classics) – £8.99
Fortunately, you – the young warrior Rohan – have arrived to deliver justice to the evil hordes. With weapons in hand you must enter the risky woods and free the monks from their petrified captivity. Only when you’ve set the monks free and sent Draxos back to hell will wisdom be restored for good.
Next week: Pikmin 4, Might & Magic – Clash of Heroes : Definitive Edition, Punch Club 2: Fast Forward, NOBUNAGA’S AMBITION: Awakening, Contraptions 3, Punch a Bunch, Armored Lab Force VULVEHICLES, Frank and Drake, Cross Tails, BLEED: Arcade Arena Shooter, Oaken, Crowded Mysteries, Forest Fire, Sephonie, Ring Racer, Super Dinoblasters, D-Corp, Mr. Run and Jump, LISA: The Painful – Definitive Edition, Madshot, REMEDIUM: Sentinels, Agriculture, Wathitdew Record™ Game Studio BATTLEFIELD, Haunted Hell House, NightmareScape, Spirit Hunters: Infinite Horde, and Masquerade Kiss.