Square-Enix is back this week with two new titles on Switch. Their PSone remake of the sci-fi infused role-player Star Ocean the Second Story R features a similar, ravishing, art direction to Octopath Traveller and has a choice of three difficulties, with the lowest said to offer a “relaxing” journey. Reviews are positive so far, with scores being a mixture of 8s and 9s.
“Star Ocean The Second Story R is a true treat for both series veterans and newcomers alike, going far beyond the scope of traditional remakes and bringing The Second Story to a brand-new, and completely wonderful, level,” said Hey Poor Player.
Little Goody Two Shoes, meanwhile, is part of the Square-Enix Collective and takes the form of a narrative driven horror adventure with ten different endings. Puzzle elements and resource management both play a part.
Nintendo are readying two of their big winter releases, with Super Mario RPG still to come. WarioWare: Move It! provides a slew of all-new motion-based games, with screenshots revealing segments from Super Mario 64, Pikmin, and more. Review scores are more-or-less on par with the recent Get It Together! Pokémon Scarlet and Violet then gain the second part of The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, titled The Indigo Disk.
Then there’s a double-whammy of Alien Hominid Invasion – which puts a co-op twist on the run ‘n gunner, while also featuring modifiers and different difficulties – plus a HD re-release of the cult original. We’ve always had a soft spot for Alien Hominid – it launched at a time when run ‘n gunners were seldom seen, feeling like a breath of fresh air.
We put the backpack-totting action platformer The Smurfs 2 – The Prisoner of the Green Stone through its paces earlier this week, finding it to suffer badly from repetition, while the small hub world fails to compare to that found in the original. A 6/10 was as much as we could muster.
Our review of My Time at Sandrock is now live too. This lifestyle sim, set in a dusty town, has a lot to offer – and clearly benefits from a long time in early access. Restoring the once proud town is a worthwhile way to spend the long winter evenings.
In addition to The Smurfs 2, a couple of other licensed games are also due. DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing brings together characters from Shrek, Trolls, Madagascar, Boss Baby and more, while Jumanji: Wild Adventures comes from Cradle Games, developers of the Hellpoint series.
Ebenezer and the Invisible World launches tomorrow, being a Metroidvania based around Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol – in which the skills of various spirits are used to progress. It features a cartoony art style, and a large area of Victorian London to explore.
Also look out for Atari’s RollerCoaster Tycoon Adventures Deluxe, coming of age adventure Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story, relationship sim Thirsty Suitors, and Team17’s light-hearted online minigame compendium Headbangers Rhythm Royale. Coo!
New Switch eShop releases
A multitude of brand-new, motion-based microgames – minigames that last just a few hilarious seconds – are yours to master. Chop bamboo, catch fish, lay an egg and more… Think fast and act faster to complete each and every challenge!
STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY R – £44.99
The highly acclaimed second instalment in the STAR OCEAN series, returns as STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY R.
Brought to life with a unique 2.5D aesthetic, which fuses 2D pixel characters and 3D environments, this remake includes everything that made the original release so great while adding new elements too!
Experience new battle mechanics, full Japanese and English voice overs, original and re-arranged music, fast-travel and so much more! Discover the definitive version of a classic but modernized JRPG that’s perfect for newcomers and long-time fans alike.
Pokemon Scarlet/Violet + The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero
Three Pokémon named Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti appear. They are beloved by the people of the village as heroes that protected the land of Kitakami in the past, and stone statues were made in their likeness to express the people’s gratitude toward these three Pokémon. At Kitakami Hall, villagers hold the Festival of Masks, a tradition that has been passed down for generations.
A variety of stalls appear during this festival, selling everything from candy apples to yakisoba—children and adults alike can enjoy themselves at this event! You will be able to encounter familiar Pokémon that have been found living in other regions but which had not appeared in Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet
300 years after the Day of Calamity destroyed most modern technologies, travel to the desert community of Sandrock and take on the role of a fledgling Builder. Use your trusty toolset to gather resources, construct machines, and turn your run-down workshop into a well-oiled production facility to save the town from the jaws of economic ruin.
The Smurfs 2 – The Prisoner of the Green Stone – £32.99
With your crack team and the help of the SmurfoMix, liberate the village of the Smurfs from the grip of the Green Stone!
Handy Smurf has created a revolutionary invention: SmurfoMix! However, it’s missing a key ingredient, the Green Stone, which is in the greedy clutches of Gargamel. So Handy Smurf and his team set off on a mission to retrieve the famous stone from Gargamel’s laboratory, but a fatal misstep causes it to explode, its fragments scattering throughout the Cursed Land.
In addition to unleashing into the wild its incredible powers to copy and decompose matter, the Green Stone has set free the evil Stolas, a new order bent on creating a reign of terror.
A crack team of 4 Smurfs must then adventure through various teleporters to find the fragments of the Green Stone and piece them back together before it plunges the world into chaos. Well equipped, the Smurfs can count on the SmurfoMix and an unexpected ally… Gargamel!
Headbangers Rhythm Royale – £19.99
Have you ever looked at a Pigeon and thought, “what is going on in your head?”
Well, think no more! Headbangers puts you and 29 others into the eye of the Pigeon while you battle it out in rhythmic challenges to find out who is the ultimate Master Headbanger.
Compete against each other in mind- bending musical minigames, screw over your competitors with powerups, and collect Crumbs to customise your very own Pigeon!
Jumanji: Wild Adventures – £34.99
Drop into the dangerous game world of Jumanji and start a thrilling adventure, as you search for the stolen jewel, The Jaguar’s Eye, and a way home!
Choose your avatar from heroes Smolder Bravestone, Ruby Roundhouse, Mouse Finbar, and Shelly Oberon, and explore uncharted territories home to fierce predators, warring factions and devious traps that can sweep you off your feet. Survive the jungle to reach new zones including forgotten villages, icy mountains, dark caves, and fetid swamps. And always be ready for new threats, because the Jumanji drums could strike at any moment!
As you level up your heroes through experience and purchase upgrades with your hard-earned loot, you’ll gain the strength to take on bosses like the cunning Smuggler and vicious Siberian Tiger. You may even discover some of Jumanji’s most secret rooms and lost treasures.
Ebenezer and the Invisible World – £17.99
Join Ebenezer Scrooge and a team of spectral allies as they battle to save London from the clutches of the wealthy industrialist, Caspar Malthus, and his militant Private Guard. With each Ghost lending their unique abilities, explore the dark corners of London and uncover the sinister influence of the Dark Spirit and an army of Unrepentant Ghosts. Will you have the courage to confront Caspar and stop his malevolent plans before it is too late?
Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story – £24.99
Two best friends, one wild adventure.
Join best friends Nunu and Willump on an adventure across the frozen wilds of the Freljord. Discover the unbreakable bond between boy and yeti as you traverse a land both beautiful and treacherous, making new allies (and enemies) on a journey of family, friendship, and magic.
Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story is a single-player story adventure developed by Tequila Works. Dive headfirst into an immersive narrative set in the undiscovered reaches of the Freljord, where every snowy step brings you closer to the truth about Nunu and Willump’s past.
RollerCoaster Tycoon Adventures Deluxe -£35.99
The best-selling roller coaster simulator for console just went Deluxe! You will find 80 new rides and attractions, including some new seasonally-themed rides, bringing the total number to a whopping 200! The new, modernized interface looks amazing and makes it easier to build your park using terrain from four environments, including alpine mountains, desert canyons, jungle tropics and even a lunar moonscape.
RCT Adventures Deluxe is an all-ages treat for players who love theme park simulations and fans who like to build coasters. The intuitive coaster builder lets you create wild, death-defying coasters that twist and turn, swoop and swirl.
Three in-depth game modes mean countless hours of gameplay, including Adventure Mode, Scenarios Mode, and the open Sandbox Mode.
Character sprites and CGs are made using the E-mote animation system.
When they breathe, wink, or speak, it all looks very realistic.
Moreover, 2 theme songs sung by Chata and Akira Ouse are included!
Each character’s lines are fully dubbed in Japanese.
This is an agonizing wintertime love song.
Alien Hominid Invasion – £16.75
Alien Hominid is back! Blast, beam, and bite your way through an endless swarm of enemies as you and up to three of your fellow hominids cause mayhem with a huge arsenal of weapons, mutations, and acrobatic maneuvers.
Alien Hominid HD, the award-winning 2D side-scroller from The Behemoth, is now available for Nintendo Switch! With hand-drawn graphics, excitingly fast gameplay, and the humor that started it all, loading up this title is like traveling decades back in time, with improved visuals and the same hardcore gaming experience.
Navigate your surroundings by jumping, dodging attacks, grabbing agents, and digging underground! Use your trusted blaster to shoot at anything in your path and hurl grenades towards your enemies for epic explosions! Catch agents off guard with your knife in close-up combat, or chomp their heads off if that’s more your style.
From Outerloop Games comes Thirsty Suitors – a game about culture, relationships, family pressures, and expressing oneself.
Can Jala handle her demanding parents, reconcile with her exes, and mend broken friendships in time for her sister’s wedding? Will she be ready for the impending visit of Nani, the family’s terrifying and judgmental matriarch?
Through the game’s story, Jala will confront her exes in cinematic, turn-based battle sequences.
Here in the virtual world of Eve, all kinds of people share their unique fashion sense with each other! Eve is divided into four areas called Cocoons. Discover modern streets and elevated walkways, a pop townscape from the near future, a fanciful fantasy world and a shopping mall full of the latest fashion!
amazin’ Mage is a top-down, randomly generated dungeon crawler in which players will be tasked with exploring the map to defeat the boss and find their missing master, all in a matter of 3 in-game days. Within this adventure, the players will be able to cast spells, brew potions, and collect items that will make defeating foes and the final boss an easier mission!
Little Goody Two Shoes – £14.99
Dive into a Fairytale – There once was Elise , a vibrant and ambitious young lass with a big dream – becoming filthy rich. In spite of this, the stars didn’t seem to have reserved our protagonist much fortune in life. Elise, who came from humble beginnings, had no choice but to spend her days away assisting her fellow neighbours with menial tasks to make a living.
One day, Elise discovers a pair of beautiful shiny red shoes buried in her backyard – what a surprise! Bewitched, Elise embarks on a fearful journey that pulls her closer and closer into the heart of the mysterious Woods!
Will Elise risk it all for the sake of a dream come true, or settle for her humble day-to-day life? The ending of this tale is yours to write…
One Night: Burlesque offers one of a kind visual novel story with puzzle elements. Become a detective and solve the case of an upcoming murder mystery. Your hidden talent gives you an advantage over the killer so use it wise.
Play as Amabilly, a lovely girl who loves rock ‘n’ roll!
One day, she found herself in a dangerous new world surrounded by strange and hostile creatures. Now it’s up to her to face them using as weapon her favourite guitar. Travel through 4 unique worlds and fight monsters with the power of your guitar.
Along the journey you’ll be able to collect gems to buy special powers and make her guitar more powerful. It’s time to rock!
Silent Paws: Hidden Valley – £4.49
Venture into the depths of the Hidden Valley, where you’ll inhabit the body of a playful fox. Every step you take is an opportunity to engage with a meticulously crafted environment that teems with life, from the rustling of leaves in the wind to the whispers of the stream. As the fox, you’ll forge a profound connection with the valley, making this journey not just one of discovery, but also of introspection and empathy.
Reed as a member of the Mysteria Club, and his girlfriend, Persephone, investigate the rumors of the “”VTuber Disappearance Incident””. What are waiting for them？
Welcome to the world of Ace Robot Combat, where you will step into the cockpit as the pilot of powerful mechs on a thrilling mission to amass gold and salvage precious parts. In this futuristic setting, the year is 4300, and colossal war robots, or mecha, rule the battlegrounds. Here’s your epic adventure:
Pilot the Mightiest Mecha: Take control of the most advanced and awe-inspiring mecha in existence. Your mission is to unleash their potential and prove your mettle on the battlefield.
Take the role of a defenseless energy particle and travel between space stations as you search for answers. In this 2.5D side-scrolling action-adventure, your only objective is to overcome obstacles creatively and forge ahead, always hoping that the truth of your purpose will be revealed through experience.
You have no physical body. Your life serves as both your boost ability and your currency in this world, so you’ll need to spend wisely as you navigate new challenges. Earn new abilities, use elements to solve environmental puzzles or remove enemy threats, navigate the labyrinthian workings of interstellar bases and do whatever it takes to survive. Can you overcome your limitations to become the Alpha Particle?
Ninja or Die: Shadow of the Sun – £13.49
Celestial doom. This is the fate that awaits humanity. In Edo, Japan, the great cataclysm has been foreseen by a most unlikely soul — a Master Thief. Your mother.
You are a common pickpocket, transformed by the cataclysm into a lethal Ninja with lightning mobility. The Ramen Seller becomes a Samurai. The Maiko becomes a killer Geisha. Your domain of petty crime becomes a frenzied neon world of shogun castles, magic traps and parachuting assassins. Someone has ensnared you in a loop of chaos… if not to kill you, then to protect you from something worse.
Master violent precision platforming in this fusion of extreme speed and one-button controls that will leave you dead and wanting more.
Defy the ancient goddess of war and free the Agency from the forces and anomalies that have captured it in this scrolling shooter and action roguelike game.
Step by step, explore the Supernatural Threat Reduction Agency and discover its mysteries and secrets as you gradually make your way to the top floor, where one of the most important and mysterious finds of our time is being studied: the tomb of the ancient Goddess of War, Anath. The main character is a special agent who came after receiving the red danger level signal. Waking up in a secret laboratory, the hero realizes that all of the Agency’s members have lost their minds and that he was subjected to strange energy effects that gave him short-term amnesia and the ability to change his state. Making your way through many obstacles and hordes of the possessed, you have to reach the threat’s main source to liberate the Agency and prevent the danger from spreading to the outside world.
It’s quite tricky to roll a YATZI: Roll five dice with the same number in three tries. Skillful combination is half the battle! This classic dice game thrills players thanks to its simple game rules and exciting gameplay. You can’t be sure who has the most points until the very end.
Looks like Ludo, but it’s DOG®. In this game, you also have to safely bring your four game pieces into your home area. The difference is that they are moved using cards that have a few surprises in store for you. Team spirit is important, because you can only win together.
Explore a colorful shoot ’em up with varied and diverse gameplay beyond the familiar shooting and dodging. Every situation, every enemy, and every boss offers a different handcrafted experience.
Journey across burning mountains, frozen plains, below the ocean, and outer space, driven towards an unknown goal. Collect ancient fragments of mysterious origin, and try to find yourself, while the world around you falls into darkness.
Are you really doing the right thing?
Geometric characters join a chaotic rumble of battling and racing!
Experience exhilarating gameplay with simple controls!
Up to six players can enter the fray, just by picking up a Joy-Con™!
Go online to compete with players around the world!
Embark on an epic adventure with the cutest chicken protagonist in this relaxing 2D puzzle platformer!
See if you can find the answer to the question that dumbfounded sages for millennia: “What came first: the Chicken or the Egg?”
FX Unit Yuki: The Henshin Engine – £8.09
Take control of Yuki and set of on a digital journey of pixel proportions!
Get Ready for FX-Unit Yuki!!!
8 levels of hardcore retro action with Power-Ups, Varying Stage Types and Multiple Endings accompanied by an Amazing Sound Design.
DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing – £34.99
An all-star cast of some of your favorite DreamWorks characters brings the fun and hilarity to high-speed kart racing action like never before! Race on 20 different DreamWorks-themed tracks, including Shrek’s Swamp, New York City Zoo from Madagascar, Isle of Berk, and more! 20 of the most iconic DreamWorks characters: Shrek, Po, Tigress, Puss in Boots, Hiccup, Astrid, Boss Baby, and other top favorites all come together in a kart racing experience like no other.
Next week: Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2, Air Twister, Let’s Sing 2024 with International Hits, Spells & Secrets, Cobalt Core, Double Dragon Advance, Super Double Dragon, The Trotties Adventure, Slaughter: The Lost Outpost, Excessive Trim, Virche Evermore -ErroR: Salvation, Berzerk: Recharged, War Zone Soldier: Battle Royale Shooter, Prison Break: Jail Escape Simulator, Flooded, Dragon Wings, and Bob the Elementalist.