A glut of new releases hit the Switch and Switch 2 this week, with the latter gaining 2017’s acclaimed RPG Divinity: Original Sin 2, fresh from last week’s announcement of a new entry in the series. It sees a resolution and frame rate jump over the Switch version, but as noted by Nintendo Life, it lacks mouse and touchscreen support. A minor upgrade, then, but an upgrade all the same.
The Switch 2 also gains the Japanese railroad management sim A-Train: All Aboard! Tourism – part of a series that has graced numerous formats in the past, from the Amiga to the PS2. This isn’t an entirely new game – it first hit the original Switch and PC in 2021, gaining mixed reviews. This Switch 2 version adds mouse support, improved graphics, and allows for more trains. Cool.
That’s joined by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, with improved frame rates, higher resolution visuals and support for GameShare and GameChat.
From Limited Run comes Tombi! 2: The Evil Swine Return Special Edition, a re-release of the cult PS1 1999 platformer with a rewind tool and a host of extras. You may know it as Tomba! – and it seems that Limited Run haven’t been able to settle on a name, as the PS5 version is still called Tomba! It’s out on both Switches for £15.99.
Ubisoft are back too with The Rogue Prince of Persia, developed by Dead Cell’s DLC team, and essentially being Dead Cells meets Prince of Persia. The PS5/Xbox Series version was very well received, praised for its mixture of frantic combat and smooth parkour traversal.
On both Switches likewise are Cast n Chill – a relaxed fishing game with tidy pixel art – and Nightdive’s remake of the sci-fi classic System Shock, adding gyro-aiming and mouse support for Switch 2. For those unaware, System Shock 2 is already on Switch. The two are quite different, and both are very good – so this backwards scheduling isn’t something to scorn.
Then there’s Trouble Witches FINAL! Episode 01 Daughters of Amalgam – a horizontal shooter re-release from ININ that sees a 2007 cult classic bolstered by several years’ worth of improvements and updates.
Two BAROQUE spin-offs come to Switch too, with BAROQUE being Spike’s RPG series that graced Saturn and PS1 before gaining a release on Wii and PS2. BAROQUE SHOOTING: REVERSED is a vertical shooter, while BAROQUE Become a Meta-Being Revive presents a dungeon to (literally) jump through. “Will you take cautious steps forward, or leap boldly ahead?” reads the product description.
We can also expect a re-release of the modern Mega Drive platformer Tanglewood, roguelite survivor game Nordic Ashes, an EGGCONSOLE release of the MSX2’s YUUREIKUN – not an RPG or even shooter, but rather an action game starring a ghost – and an often requested Arcade Archives re-release of Namco’s platform brawler THE OUTFOXIES.
Next week’s Arcade Archives release, due on Christmas Day, is going to be a special one as well to tie-in with a 500 published titles milestone. That’s not all, as Factorio and PRITTO PRISONER are also coming to Switch 2 in time for Christmas.
New Switch eShop releases
System Shock is the fully fledged remake of the ground breaking original from 1994, combining cult gameplay with all-new HD visuals, updated controls, an overhauled interface and all-new sounds & music; it even has the original voice actor of SHODAN, one of gaming’s most iconic villains. Witness the rebirth of one of the greatest and most influential games ever created.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition – £24.99
Grab your friends, pick your favorite Turtle and jump into an adventure to save Master Splinter from the Foot Clan! Master ninja skills, unite in bodacious online and local co-op gameplay, and conquer iconic NYC locales.
A-Train: All Aboard! Tourism Nintendo Switch 2 Edition – TBA
You are the president of a railroad company.
Lay tracks, run trains, and experience building your very own city!
The theme of this work is “tourism.”
Develop tourist routes from distant cities and aim to create a bustling tourist city filled with people.
Tombi! 2: The Evil Swine Return Special Edition – £15.99 – Switch 2
Tombi! 2: The Evil Swine Return Special Edition – £15.99
Tombi and his friend Zippo are in search of Tombi’s girlfriend, Tabby. Was she kidnapped by the Evil Pigs? Is she safe? Tombi must use all of his agility, guile and cunning disguises to save Tabby and defeat the Evil Pigs once and for all.
The Rogue Prince of Persia – £24.99 – Switch 2
The Rogue Prince of Persia – £24.99
Dive into a thrilling and epic adventure, where every action pulses to the heady rhythm of an intense soundtrack. Master fluid, acrobatic, and responsive combat, paired with challenging parkour. Death after death, forge your own playstyle – through exploration and encounters, perhaps you’ll find a way to right your wrongs and save the Persian kingdom envisioned by Evil Empire.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition – £44.99
From the creators of Baldur’s Gate 3, experience the world of Divinity in this epic adventure where your choices shape fate itself.
The Divine is dead. The Void approaches. And the powers lying dormant within you are soon to awaken. Choose your role in a BAFTA-winning story, and explore a world that reacts to who you are, and the choices you make. With five races to choose from, and an adventure playable solo or as a party of up to four, lay waste to an oppressive order in a world afraid of magic. Become the God the world so desperately needs.
Divinity: Original Sin 2: Definitive Edition is the most complete version of the best-selling, Metacritic Must-Play RPG.
Cast n Chill – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition – £12.79
Cast n Chill’s a laid-back fishin’ game for folks who’d rather wet a line than break a sweat. Whether yer driftin’ on a lazy lake, pokin’ ’round a winding river, or droppin’ lines in salty blue water, this here’s a game where you set the pace.
Trouble Witches FINAL! Episode 01 Daughters of Amalgam – £26.99
Originally released in 2007, Trouble Witches has evolved into the ultimate Cute’ Em Up experience after over a decade of development and updates. Now, in Trouble Witches FINAL! Episode 01 Daughters of Amalgam, this manic shooter returns with a visual overhaul, new game modes and its most complete version ever.
BAROQUE Become a Meta-Being Revive – £4.99
In this game, you play as Grue, one of the minor enemies that appear in BAROQUE.
Use jumps and quick movements in all directions to see how far you can progress through the dungeon known as the Neuro Tower.
Will you take cautious steps forward, or leap boldly ahead? With simple controls, anyone can enjoy the challenge.
You’ll also encounter many familiar characters from the original game, such as Moon and Kato.
By using the rewards you earn based on the distance you travel, you can obtain various types of Grue, such as the “Muscle Grue” and the “Jellyfish Grue.” You can also change your appearance to the Grue you’ve obtained and play as them.
BAROQUE SHOOTING: REVERSED – £13.99
A shoot ’em up set in the world of the RPG “BAROQUE” returns as “REVERSED”, now available on Nintendo Switch™.
The story takes place in the Neuro Tower, a mysterious structure overrun by countless enemies.
You must fight through them using the items you acquire along the way to reach the final boss that awaits in the deepest depths.
This release adds a variety of new features. It offers plenty to enjoy for both newcomers and those who played the original extensively.
EGGCONSOLE YUUREIKUN MSX2 – £5.39
This is an action game released by SYSTEM SACOM for the MSX2 in 1989.
Players defeat various enemies with standard shots (Ochoco-Dama) and a backward-leaping tackle (Back Attack). Beautiful graphics that fully utilized the MSX2’s capabilities and large enemy characters made this a highly acclaimed title, earning a lot of user support.
Nordic Ashes: The Complete Saga – £17.99
Nordic Ashes is a challenging Norse inspired roguelite-survivor game, where you’ll have to survive hordes of creatures that come your way.
Super Ultimate Fighters X – £2.50
Super Ultimate Fighters X is a 2D fighting game.
It brings together martial artists from around the world, including
Karate, Judo, Sumo, Aikido, Drunken Fist, Mantis Style, Wing Chun, Taekwondo, Muay Thai, Professional Wrestling, Capoeira, Savate, Boxing, Pankration, Bartitsu, Silat, Lethwei, Oil Wrestling, and more.
Takashi has always dreamed of being a heroic fighter pilot in the prestigious Interspace Navy.
Unfortunately, he failed the military entrance exam due to his habit of daydreaming about beautiful women. One fateful day while working as a lowly freelance pilot on a routine mission, Takashi receives a mysterious distress message over an old radio channel. The voice calling for help is female and irresistible.
Step into the role of Mori Granson, apprentice and subordinate to Hsiao, the head of the Magic Association. In the mage capital of Tarlin, your path will cross with Coccinea, a young woman you saved years ago, and a host of other compelling characters. As you adventure together, your mission extends beyond exploration: you must help this group forge strong bonds and become a true “Granson Family,” a chosen family bound not by blood, but by choice. Will you succeed in uniting them?
Demonspire is a dark fantasy action-platformer that throws you into the depths of a cursed tower, where only the strongest survive. You are a warrior trapped in the Demon Spire, a towering inferno of chaos and death. Your only way out? Climb. Fight. Endure.
Build your camp, collect resources, craft equipment, face the dangers that this island driven mad by the corruption hides and uncover its mystery in this story-driven survival adventure for 1 to 4 players.
Take the role of a young graduate student in AI studies in Baradroid. Evan lives with 3 robots as a means of studying their behavior and teaching them to interact more naturally with humans. Evan hopes to develop a new generation of androids based on his research, one that can advance society and help overcome human limitations, but over time, one question grows in his mind.
Is it possible to teach a machine the meaning of human love? Baradroid is a visual novel and dating sim set in a futuristic and idealized world. Make key choices for Evan that guide the narrative and perhaps some romance as well… for science, of course
Big Trouble in Little Chimney – £4.99
Krampus is Coming! Grab your shotgun, finish your hot punch and don’t forget your mission: Save the Christmas!
Big Trouble in Little Chimney is a fast paced arena bullet-hell shooter.
Survive endless hordes of creatures lurk from the dark chimney and save the Christmas!
Build your dream arcade at your own pace. No pressure, no deadlines, just a cozy space to fill with games, decorations, warm neon lights and a bite-sized playthrough duration.
Hoomanz! is a stealth-adventure game packed with coziness and humor, featuring non-combat gameplay & family-friendly content. Play as Shoo, the mythical guardian of Planet Erf with a hidden dual nature, to scare away all the ignorant invading Hoomanz. Darkness is nature’s friend, light is its enemy.
Use various weapons randomly found in dungeon treasure chests to defeat the enemies blocking your path!
You could charge forward, mowing down foes with melee weapons!
Or advance safely, picking off enemies with ranged weapons!
The playstyle is entirely up to you!
Tanglewood is a true 16-bit game, originally designed and programmed on 90’s hardware, and is a love letter to the golden age of pixel art gaming. The game spans eight story chapters, hand-crafted pixel art with fluid animation, an original soundtrack by Freezedream, and many secrets, achievements and collectibles.
Next week: Factorio – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, PRITTO PRISONER – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, Unholy Adventure: Mystery, Megabonk Smash, Crowded Mysteries 2: Winter Romance, Parcel Push, Hidden Cats on Christmas, Sheepy: A Short Adventure, Softly Placed, LuminousStoria, Ram Simulator, Juiced Fruit Racing, JDM Pixel Street Car Racing, ZenWash, and Whoowasit?