Gaming is temporarily on pause this week, with a combination of Thanksgiving and Black Friday presumably being the reason for a lack of big name titles. Things go back to normal next week, with a handful of noticeable new releases due including Batman Akrham Trilogy and a new Dragon Quest Monsters. Until then, there are a few indies and retro collections to keep itchy trigger fingers busy.
Irem Collection Volume 1 and Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection are both available now. Irem Collection brings together the arcade shooters X Multiply, Image Fight, and Image Fight 2 for £19.99 – with home console versions also included, where applicable.
Limited Run’s Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection, meanwhile, offers seven 8-bit and 16-bit games. Originally it was going to merely feature Ocean’s Nintendo tie-ins, but Limited Run was able to bag two of SEGA’s Mega Drive games as well. Some have had new maps added, as well as other quality of life features.
Then there’s Thunderful’s turn-based platformer Wordless – which features heavily stylised visuals – the open-world wild west shooter Guns and Spurs 2, time looping monochrome RPG In Stars and Time, and a definitive edition of the VR murder mystery DYSCHRONIA: Chronos Alternate.
Also look out for the appropriately named terraforming sim Terraformers, the block-based puzzler SETTRIS, brain teasing compendium Snakebird Complete, roguelike deckbuilder Alina of the Arena, and the train tycoon micro-management sim Train Valley 2: Community Edition.
There’s ASMR Slicing too, which entails slicing…things. Apparently, it has an adjustable difficulty level. Eh?
New Switch eShop releases
Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection – £26.99
HOLD ON TO YOUR BUTTS! THE 8-AND 16-BIT ERA OF JURASSIC PARK GAMES HAS RETURNED, COMMEMORATING 30 YEARS OF THE ICONIC FILM!
This release includes a lineup of seven classic titles updated to include save state support, new in-game maps, and various quality-of-life fixes.
– Jurassic Park 8-BIT
– Jurassic Park PORTABLE
– Jurassic Park 16-BIT
– Jurassic Park GENESIS
– Jurassic Park Part 2: The Chaos Continues 16-BIT
– Jurassic Park Part 2: The Chaos Continues PORTABLE
– Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition GENESIS
Explore Isla Nublar in each of these releases, recreating the excitement and thrills of the historic franchise. Play as Dr. Alan Grant, or in some releases as a Velociraptor, as you collect eggs, survive dangerous local wildlife, restore power to the park and collect new weapons and eventually escape!
Re-experience these classic games in one collection. Return to the park and ENJOY YOUR STAY!
Worldless is set at a time where the rules of existence remain undefined. Players will explore a shapeless world of two realms, one filled with entities forming their growth and understanding, the other is the place they aspire to. This inevitably thrusts them into a war against polarities in a battle for transcendence.
In this 2D Action Adventure Platformer, players will jump, glide and dash through an indeterminate setting, uncovering its secrets and finding their place within a mind-bending reality.
Along the way are encounters with beings who believe their superiority has automatically earned them a place in the next existence. Using turn-based rules along with a unique defend and combination system that requires patience, timing, and the desire for development, your strength and capabilities will truly be put to the test.
Irem Collection Volume 1 – £19.99
Get ready for the start of something big: Volume 1 of the monumental Irem Collection. If you’re a fan of retro gaming or looking for a new challenge, the Image Fight series and X-Multiply are must-play classic Shoot ‘Em Ups. Originally released during the golden age of arcade gaming in the late 1980s and early 1990s, these games have become cult classics among retro gaming enthusiasts.
Image Fight, released in 1988, set the standard for the franchise with its challenging gameplay and impressive graphics that were cutting-edge for their time. It started off a short series renowned for it’s creative combat mechanics and immense level of difficulty.
In 1992’s Image Fight 2, you’ll experience even more action-filled gameplay and engaging features. Featuring stunning fully-voiced cutscenes, the game puts you in the role of a sci-fi anime protagonist.
X Multiply, a spin-off of the Image Fight series released in 1989, takes the gameplay and perspective in a different direction: A switch from top-down to side-scrolling action.
The overall theme changes just as radically with its unique setting taking place inside the human body; a biological world filled with microscopical organic enemies and obstacles.
It’s known for its challenging gameplay and powerful graphics – including tentacles featuring physics-based animations – which were among the best you could find in arcades at the time.
DYSCHRONIA: Chronos Alternate – Definitive Edition – £45.99
DYSCHRONIA: Chronos Alternate – Definitive Edition contains all three episodes of the multi-award-winning murder-mystery VR trilogy, along with exclusive story content.
You are Special Supervisor Hal Scion, a detective with the ability to rewrite the past. Your mission: solve a theoretically impossible crime. Uncover the mysteries hidden in people and places, reality and dream. You’ll need to keep your wits about you if you’re going to survive the unexpected threats awaiting you!
A premonition foretells of the city’s destruction in seven days.
Will you be able to uncover the truth and change the course of the future?
Furniture Flipper Simulator 2023: Revive, Restoration & Creative Crafting – £10.99
Step into the world of skilled furniture restoration and decorating, where you embark on a mission to breathe new life into worn and antique furniture pieces, transforming them into stunning masterpieces.
Orbital Cargo Division – £13.49
Capt’n Christopher Novak works for the Galactic Mining Group in the Orbital Cargo Division. The department responsible for deliveries and supplies between the individual mine sites in a solar system. Together with his crew, consisting of the pilot Zoe Corvin and the technician Henry Talon, they deliver various goods from one orbital station to the next with a cargo ship. The time between the stations can sometimes last for weeks and the job itself is also quite unspectacular.
That changes abruptly when they arrive at what appears to be an abandoned station. Power appears to be there, but no one is responding to their radio messages.
What would you do if you were forced to relive your failures over and over again?
In Stars and Time tells the story of Siffrin and their adventurer friends—a found family bound together by fate in order to end the tyrannical reign of an evil king. But as victory is just within the party’s grasp, a tragedy occurs, the clock resets, and they have to do it all again.
As Siffrin’s the only one who notices this loop, each new start wears away at his cheerful veneer, yet he keeps going in hopes he can end this temporal tragedy once and for all.
In Stars and Time is a time-looping RPG adventure. With each loop, Siffrin gains a new perspective on the world around them, opening up new solutions to puzzles and allowing them to make better choices in conversation. Equip memories as armor, pray to the Change God to improve your team’s capabilities each loop, and challenge deadly foes to Rock, Paper, Scissors as Siffrin seeks the truth.
EXPLORE THE RED PLANET
– Send your leaders to mysterious locations and uncover rich resource depots, giant crystal caves and stunning natural wonders.
– Found new cities on craters and in lava Tubes. Make them thrive and meet your population’s rising demands.
– As the planet is procedurally generated, every new playthrough will be unique.
TERRAFORM WITH AMBITIOUS PROJECTS
– Restart a volcano, construct giant space mirrors or nuke the poles to geo-engineer the entire planet.
– From spreading adaptive bacteria, to planting full-grown forests with bears. Each life form has specific requirements and provides strategic benefits.
The “Sacabambaspis” is not a very good swimmer. It will swim automatically, but as it does so, continuously rise to the sea surface.
Press the button to make it dive to the bottom of the ocean.
Relax and enjoy brainteasing block puzzles with a chill undersea theme! SETTRIS is a block-arranging puzzle game in which players fit various shapes into empty squares on the puzzle board and fill all empty squares to clear the stage. Pieces must be rotated and flipped to fit together and be successfully placed in the right order.
Sometimes you may need to try a new approach to solve the puzzle, such as removing all the pieces and starting with a clean slate. There’s no time limit, so you can take your time solving each one. As you progress, challenge will gradually increase with larger grids and more blocks to fit into them. Master 2 unique play modes and keep coming back to increase your Time Attack score!
Colored Effects is a puzzle platformer game with unique handcrafted levels and a simple design. Play in this peaceful environment, solve puzzles and collect the gems to complete each level.
Brewing magical potions all alone can be difficult. Team up with your friends and work as a duo, trio or squad of swift witches. Witchtastic supports couch coop and true online multiplayer! Need a break from all the yelling of your friends? You can practice in a single player campaign as well!
Tallowmere 2: Curse of the Kittens – £4.49
Slay and conquer:
• Raise your shield to survive.
• Defeat enemies. Find the key in each room to advance.
• Level up. Acquire weapons, shields, blessings, and potions to alter your character.
• Achieve a high score based on the room number you reach.
Train Valley 2: Community Edition – £22.49
Build railroads, upgrade your locomotives, and keep your trains on schedule without delays or accidents to meet the ever-growing demand of the cities and industries in your tiny valley. Take your railroad company from the days of the Industrial Revolution and into the future, meeting the needs of the valley’s cities and industries. So if you’ve ever wanted to solve complex logistics and transportation problems, fancied yourself as a bit of a train mogul, or you just love solving puzzles – there is a lot for players both new and old.
Even if you’ve never played the original, there’s a lot to do in Train Valley 2: Community Edition!
Train Valley 2: Community Edition not only includes the DLCs Passenger’s Flow, Myths & Rails and Editor’s Bulletin, but also a selection of 158 community made levels.
Alina of the Arena is a roguelike deckbuilding tactics game that combines the finest elements from the best in the genre. Play as Alina, a formidable female gladiator who must engage in relentless combat in front of a bloodthirsty crowd to survive, round by round. With roguelike deckbuilding and hex-based tactics, players are no longer bound by simple attack and defense. Make use of dodges, knockbacks and anything you can to stay alive!
This game is an intense, fast-paced rogue-lite twin-stick shooter that will push your skills to the limit! Take control of a powerful drone and prepare to face off against hordes of enemies standing in your way. Are you ready for the ultimate challenge?
Train Traffic Manager – £13.49
Train Traffic Manager isn’t your grandpa’s model railway set. Think fast, plan faster, and keep those trains from turning into flaming metal confetti. In this strategy-puzzle game, you’re in charge of everything from switches and signals to drawbridges and, oh yeah, preventing cataclysmic train disasters.
Take on over 80 levels across diverse environments that range from sunny desertscapes to mysterious midnight scenes. It’s more fun than a cactus in your caboose!
Nora: The Wannabe Alchemist – £17.99
Join Nora, a spirited young witch who’s made a few… reckless choices. Embark on a whimsical point-and-click adventure and help her right the wrongs she’s done. While you’re at it, help this wannabe alchemist become a licensed witch.
Introducing Snakebird Complete: The Ultimate Snakebird Experience for Nintendo Switch™! Get ready to embark on an extraordinary puzzle-solving adventure bringing together hit classic Snakebird and Snakebird Primer, offering an enhanced and complete Snakebird experience in a single, comprehensive package.
Get ready for the ultimate shooter experience with Final Shot! Immerse yourself in a world of high-stakes action and intense battles, where every shot counts and every move could mean the difference between victory and defeat.
As a skilled marksman, you’ll need to use your wits and your arsenal of weapons to take down enemy forces and complete challenging missions. From stealthy sniping to all-out assaults, you’ll need to adapt to changing situations and stay one step ahead of your opponents.
But don’t think it will be easy — Final Shot is a top-down action game that demands precision, skill, and nerves of steel. With its stunning graphics and addictive gameplay, you’ll be hooked from the first shot.
So if you’re ready to take on the ultimate shooter challenge, download Final Shot today and get ready to unleash your inner warrior. It’s time to show the world what you’re made of — are you ready for the final shot?
Rally Race: Offroad Simulator – £10.99
Offroad race simulator will take you on an adrenaline-fueled journey into the heart of rally racing. Get ready to experience the thrill of high-speed off-road competitions in this dynamic game!
You are what you eat, and in Frogvival you can experience that assessment.
Frogvival is a survival game where you can devour animals to mutate into them! You can gather the food to cook it, you can craft weapons and objects. You can build, fight, explore, and create your world full of frogs!
Character sprites and CGs are made using the E-mote animation system.
When they breathe, wink, or speak, it all looks very realistic.
Each character’s lines are fully dubbed in Japanese.
Does liking someone really make you happy? I disagree.
We might just enjoy the feeling of liking someone.
Experience extreme challenges with 40 new levels, offering both Normal and Hard modes for an intensified gaming experience. Immerse yourself in extreme visuals with all-new graphics that enhance the excitement.
Face extreme zombie adversaries with 10 new classes of zombies and troops. Utilize your arsenal of 10 zombie-zapping troops, including Pistols, Tankers, Snipers, and more, to annihilate 10 distinct types of zombies before they breach your gates.
Choose your favorite cutting tool no matter if it’s a playing card, flosser or just a simple kitchen knife. Just cut, cut, cut and experience those satisfying ASMR sounds! Slice a variety of colorful objects made of kinetic sand in the shapes of food, toys, buildings, everyday objects and ordinary cubes or blocks!
Need to raise the difficulty level a bit? Turn on the challenge mode! Cut off the right weight, divide an object into a given number of parts, cut an item perfectly in half, or find things hidden inside!
Progress to unlock new mysterious objects and collect coins for completed levels to buy epic blades ranging from lightsabers and credit cards to axes and chainsaws!
Take on the guise of bounty hunter Jack Lane and track down the most wanted outlaws as you bring them to justice. Track them down in a vast open world, capture them with your lasso, and challenge the most dangerous outlaws in a good old-fashioned showdown. Make sure you’re well prepared, as your opponents become increasingly more difficult. Hone your horseback riding skills, upgrade your arsenal, and pick out your best suit as you show those bandits who’s boss!
Next week: Batman: Arkham Trilogy, SteamWorld Build, DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: The Dark Prince, Gothic II Complete Classic, Roots of Pacha, My Next Life As A Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom ! -Pirates of the Disturbance, The Traveler’s Path, Ortheo, Metro PD: Close to You, Pixel Café, Wildshade: Unicorn Champions, This Means Warp, GENSEISUIKODEN PLUS, Cattails: Wildwood Story, Toasterball, Motesolo: No Girlfriend Since Birth, 2weistein – The Curse of the Red Dragon 3 – V2, Last Escape: Dead Complex, and Uzzuzzu My Pet – Golf Dash