Yesterday’s Nintendo Direct brought us two surprise releases – the kinetic 3D platformer Penny’s Big Breakaway and the 3DS revival Pocket Card Jockey. That wasn’t all, as five Rare games are also now available on NSO: Snake Rattle ‘n’ Roll, RC Pro-Am, Battletoads in Battlemaniacs, Killer Instinct (SNES version), and Blast Corps. It’s also possible to try out the upcoming Contra Operation Galuga and Pepper Grinder.
Then today (Thursday) Obsidian’s highly rated Pentiment is due to hit the eShop, where it’s up against Inkulinati – with both based around illuminated manuscripts. They fall into different genres, however, with Pentiment being an adventure RPG and Inkulinati offering turn-based battling.
A Time Traveller’s Guide To Past Delicacies was reviewed by ourselves earlier this week, taking the form of a short (30 min) interactive experience loosely based around cooking. FMV clips starring a sock puppet appear between segments. It’s very peculiar, and there isn’t much to it, but at around £4 there is some entertainment to be had while it lasts.
Geometry Survivor should be out too. It appears a bit tardy when it comes to hitting the UK digital stores. As the name suggests, it’s an auto-shooting take on Geometry Wars, a la Vampire Survivors. We reviewed this also and found it a blast, although once beaten – the idea is to survive for 20 minutes, slowly investing in permanent upgrades – there isn’t much of a reason to return.
We can also expect Balatro, the poker-based roguelike that allows you to manipulate decks. Early impressions from the press are very positive. Then there’s Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story – from the creators of Graveyard Keeper – the pastel hued ‘collectathon’ 2D platformer Promenade, and Atari’s Pong evolution qomp 2.
Also look out for eastasiasoft’s monochromatic Froggie – A Retro Platformer, open-world strategic battler Tenderfoot Tactics, an untranslated version of the 1987 Japanese RPG Hydlide 3, and the mini-game suite 502’s Arcade. Anyway, now Switch has Battletoads you can stop asking if we have it.
New Switch eShop releases
Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On! – £13.49
The Pocket Card Jockey so well-received on Nintendo 3DS has galloped its way onto Nintendo Switch, and it’s more fun than ever! Easy to learn, but filled with surprising depth, you’ll put together the best hands you can to help your horses take home the gold!
Solitaire in this game is played by clearing away cards one number higher or lower than your current card. While the game’s overall concept is the same as before, it includes new rules that allow for more strategic play, as well as racing segments reborn in glorious 3D, and can be played comfortably with Joy-Con controllers!
Whether you’re trying just one race per day, competing with players from all over the world online with the strongest horses you’ve bred, conquering the biggest races in the world, or just collecting cute little horses, a good time is always in the cards!
Penny’s Big Breakaway – £24.99
Join Penny & Yo-Yo in a kinetic 3D-platformer bursting with innovative gameplay! Showcase your catalog of tricks and chain impressive combos to deliver Penny & Yo-Yo’s perfect breakout performance. Take the stage with this vibrant pair in Penny’s Big Breakaway.
Inkulinati is an ink-based strategy game straight from medieval manuscripts, where a rabbit’s bum can be deadlier than a dog’s sword.
Take your turn in Inkulinati duels filled with unexpected tactical depth (and humour!). Embark on an ever-changing journey, build your own bestiary, defeat medieval superstars and collect perks to unleash special powers.
Become a master of the Living Ink, grab your quill and build your unique strategy time after time so that you can be named the greatest Inkulinati of all time!
The poker roguelike. Balatro is a hypnotically satisfying deckbuilder where you play illegal poker hands, discover game-changing jokers, and trigger adrenaline-pumping, outrageous combos.
Combine valid poker hands with unique Joker cards in order to create varied synergies and builds. Earn enough chips to beat devious blinds, all while uncovering hidden bonus hands and decks as you progress. You’re going to need every edge you can get in order to reach the boss blind, beat the final ante and secure victory.
Control a Pong ball aching to break free of its life stuck between two paddles. Explore a dangerous, minimalist world, armed with simple two button controls: tap a button to change direction diagonally by 45 degrees, and hold down a button to unleash a cathartic dash forward. That’s all you need to solve environmental puzzles and labyrinthine levels. Around each corner is a new challenge that will test your two-button and problem-solving skills. A variety of difficult enemies and bosses help you mark your time as you navigate through 30 levels spread across four worlds.
Froggie – A Retro Platformer – £4.49
Return to a simpler style of platforming action in Froggie – A Retro Platformer, a side-scroller presented in minimalistic black-and-white style where you take the role of an anthropomorphic frog as he leaps his way through 100 challenging levels! Run, wall jump and wall slide with fluid pixel art animation as you hop on enemies’ heads, avoid spike traps and more!
Touch flags or travel through doorways to set new checkpoints just in case you meet an untimely demise, but don’t worry too much, as you’ll instantly respawn and have a chance to try again.
Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story – £19.99
From Lazy Bear, the studio that brought you Graveyard Keeper, comes Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story™. Jump into this delightful crafting RPG set in the magical world of Bandle City, home of the furry and fun-loving yordles.
You are a shy yordle living in Yarnville, a cozy but isolated island obsessed with all things knitting. When your 101-year-long apprenticeship ends, you want nothing more than to see what lies beyond the portals that connect the rest of Bandle City. But when a party you attend goes horribly wrong, the portals collapse and everything is thrown into chaos!
With your unique knitting magic and unflappable spirit, enlist the help of new friends, restore the portals, and reunite Bandle City once more!
A novel, deterministic combat system, with easy to grasp rules and astonishing depth. No random miss chances. No damage ranges.
Manipulate the elements to turn the battlefield to your advantage, but beware the consequences, as nature is complex and fickle. Open chasms, raise mountains, boil lakes, drain rivers. Start fires you later regret.
A Time Traveller’s Guide To Past Delicacies – £4.49
Follow a sock puppet into the dark bowels of time and learn new recipes. Meet your long-dead ancestors. Exploit them to further your cooking skills. Take some pictures of dinosaurs. Appropriate what you can.
This is an experimental story-driven adventure. Don’t expect state-of-the-art cooking gameplay. Mostly, you will watch videos, cook some simple meals, trying to cope with things falling out of hand, and explore some strange places.
Two trains are featured in the game, and each one has its own controls. They are equipped with all basic functionality for safe passenger transportation.
Unique gameplay: Control your Quadroids simultaneously on four screens and make your way through more than 100 danger-filled levels. Jump to avoid acid baths, lasers, deadly spikes and other vicious traps, or strategically sacrifice your minions to create new platforming opportunities.
Quadroids is simple to play, with just 4 buttons (one for each part of the screen), but can you master the ropes?
Whether you’re in handheld mode or TV mode, you can always enjoy gaming at full resolution and 60FPS. The Nintendo Switch™ edition of this game will come with a “Nintendo Switch™ exclusive character outfit,” which can be obtained at the NPC of outfit store.
Yohane the Parhelion – NUMAZU in the MIRAGE – – £24.99
Deck building and card battles in “Ura-Numazu” where magic can be used!
Adventure through Numazu in the mirror.
Explore Numazu in the mirror and use the cards you acquire to your advantage.
Aim for the deepest level of the “Ura-Numazu” by making full use of the cards you have obtained!
502’s Arcade is an anthology of fast paced arcade games where your goal is to reach the top of the leaderboards in each one. The games go from a dungeon crawler set in a procedural generated temple where you have to seal spirits, to a cute but challenging puzzle where you have to prepare the orders of a very hectic potions shop. Come and get that good old feeling of competition you got when going to the arcade, or just have fun and challenge yourself by trying to get all the achievements for each game.
What makes ‘Toy Rider’ different from a typical car racing game is, that it’s not just about speed it’s about balancing, timing, proper use of powerups & high speed. Get ready to race against the most ruthless AI in the world, Start your engines now!
LUNARiA -Virtualized Moonchild- – £22.49
LUNARiA -Virtualized Moonchild-, a Kinetic Novel from Key, is now available on Nintendo Switch™!
Set in the near future, the paths of a genius gamer from Earth and an AI dwelling in a server on the moon become intertwined in this emotional tale of hardship and love!
Available in three languages!
The text can be set to English, Simplified Chinese, or Japanese (audio is in Japanese only). This includes in-game text, options, and the digital manual. Language settings can be changed at any time.
Originally created as part of The Dread X Collection II, Squirrel Stapler is a short (less than an hour long) horror hunting simulator that satirizes low budget edutainment games with pitch black humor and panic-inducing absurdist horror.
Challenge yourself in different game modes, neutralize zombies using different weapons, save and escort survivors, and progress through the story.
(…And if you’re feeling like playing the bad guy, take the role of a zombie patient zero!)
Think fast, act fast, be resourceful… And reload often!
EGGCONSOLE HYDLIDE3 PC-8801mkIISR – £5.39
“Hydlide 3,” released by T&E SOFT in 1987, is an action RPG.
This is the third installment in the iconic Japanese action RPG series, “”Hydlide.”” and the player once again rises to the occasion to save Fairyland from a new crisis.
In addition to the graphics and sound inherited from the previous title as a sequel to the series, this ambitious work incorporates a moderate amount of various elements, such as the ability to choose a class, the concept of time, the need to eat during adventures, and the need to manage luggage due to the weight of items to be carried.
It can be said that this game title not only appealed to fans of the Hydlide series but also left a lasting impression on numerous gaming enthusiasts.
Cook taiyaki using the special taiyaki maker!
The points you earn are based on how well your taiyaki are cooked!
Make as many as you can before time runs out!
Dino Race – Dinosaur Ride Ranch – £11.99
Embark on a thrilling prehistoric racing adventure in Dino Race – Dinosaur Ride Ranch! Saddle up on majestic dinosaurs to compete against fierce rivals on diverse and challenging routes. Strategically navigate through obstacles and seize accelerations for a competitive edge in the quest for victory.
Wira & Taksa: Against the Master of Gravity – £15.29
Embark on a journey in search of Wira and Taksa’s Master. Harness the power of gravity to your advantage and overcome dangers on your way in this arcade platformer mixed with puzzle elements.
Unlife is a dystopian 2d platformer set in a haunting post-apocalyptic world.
Destroy merciless monsters, salvage weapons and supplies, overcome obstacles, and swim underwater as a necessary means of survival. The genetic material of the killed creatures can help cure the hero of the disease, which will affect the end of the game.
The main character of the game is the last survivor from his floating platform, and he must navigate a submarine towards salvation.
Can you find a cure in time to save yourself?
“King’s Odyssey” invites you to rule over a mystical realm, where every choice carves the path of your legacy. As a revered monarch, navigate complex alliances, mystical challenges, and strategic battles. Engage with a diverse cast of characters, each bringing unique stories and quests to your court. Your decisions shape the kingdom, from the bustling marketplaces to the secretive corridors of the castle. Experience a rich blend of fantasy and strategy, where your reign influences the intricate tapestry of a magical world. Ascend the throne and shape the destiny of your kingdom in “King’s Odyssey”.
Oh no! The Great Elevator has been broken and its cogs have been scattered all around the world!
Travel the world with your poulp using a dynamic moveset to find all the cogs!
Interact with colorful characters and solve puzzles!
Explore dungeons and face the bosses that dwell there!
Use different objects and their properties to your advantage!
Collect the lost cogs, repair the Great Elevator and unlock new levels in this collectathon directly inspired by 3D platformers!
Next week: Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island, STAR WARS: Dark Forces Remaster, Ufouria 2: The Saga, Cricket Through the Ages, Cavern of Dreams, Tamarak Trail, Pocket Fishing, Piczle Cross: Story of Seasons, Sympathy Kiss, Spear Master, Heavenly Bodies, Dead End City, Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi Tsuzuri, Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling, Take It Racing 2, Anglerfish, Cape’s Escape Game 7th Room, and One More Dungeon 2.