Westward Blaze.
Issue 204 — October 25, 2020
Hi, how's it going? Issue #204 of Switch Weekly here with your Nintendo round-up.
Nintendo's surprise news this week is that the original Fire Emblem is finally getting a release outside of Japan. The artwork above is from that first game, and I don't know about you, but it gives me total Saturday morning cartoon vibes. 😁 More details on this retro release in the issue below.
Yet another really busy week on the eShop, as over 30 games are coming out over the next seven days — I feel like this is going to be the norm now in the run up to the holidays. Highlights next week include Pikmin 3 Deluxe, a new Oddworld game, and Oceanhorn 2. Oh, and there is a Who Wants to be a Millionaire game hitting the Switch next week (in Europe atleast), and I was amused to learn it has a 'Battle Roayle' mode, seeing you take on 99 others in a game of trivia. It's funny to see random games shove in a Battle Royale mode, but to be honest I'm all for it.
This week I've been diving into the delightfully weird rogue-like platformer GONNER2. I'll share more thoughts on this when I've dived a little deeper — but here's a review from Henry Stockdale at Nintendo Life if you want an immediate take.
Oh and finally, seen a lot of chatter about analyst Michael Patcher this week based on an interview with Gaming Bolt in which he claims he doesn't "understand the whole hybrid concept" that Nintendo are persuing with the Switch, before adding that "Nintendo isn't that smart". Ermm.... pipe down Michael.
Catch you next week, and thanks for reading,
Chris ✌️
🎮 Currently Playing: GONNER2
REVIEW Pokémon Sword and Shield - The Crown Tundra — "another fine addition to Pokémon Sword & Shield, but it emphasises many of both the highlights and shortcomings of the base games".
Alex Olney // Nintendo Life
The original Fire Emblem is coming to the West for the first time ever on Switch — Very cool to see Nintendo dig into their back catalogue and give something which was previously a Japan-exclusive a new lease of life. This 30-year old RPG is due to land in December, complete with a new English language localisation, and nifty special edition. Worryingingly though Nintendo are making this a limited release (just like with the two recent Mario games) - what's with that?
Ryan Craddock // Nintendo Life
Nintendo could continuously iterate Switch ‘like iPhone’, investment firms predict — Breaking free from the console cycle and pursuing a backwards compatible model sounds like a smart move to me.
Andy Robinson // VGC
A Pokémon Sword dev build has leaked, revealing pre-release monsters and environments
Andy Robinson // VGC
REVIEW Horace — This celebrated 2D platformer "taps into a very particular brand of British nostalgia". However, if Blighty sentimentality isn't your thing, that doesn't mean you should skip this one, as the 16-bit platformer is said to be well worth your time: "I can only hope more will embrace it as the modern indie classic it deserves to be amongst the likes of Meat Boy, Celeste or Braid.".
Alan Wen // DaMisanthrope
REVIEW Pumpkin Jack — This spooky action platformer "only a few hours long, but [..] feels very complete".
John Rairdin // Nintendo World Report
REVIEW HyperBrawl Tournament: "fun to be had, if the arenas weren't empty"
Ashley Bates // Cultured Vultures
REVIEW ScourgeBringer
Mick Fraser // God is a Geek
REVIEW Unrailed
Thomas Haroldsen // Nintendad
These forgotten Nintendo franchises should get the 3D All-Stars treatment
Abram Buehne // CBR
'Raji' had a rocky road, from Kickstarter failure to timed Switch exclusive
Patrick Klepek // Vice
The Switch Parental Controls App is more useful than you may think
Chris Unseen // The Nintendo Nomad
Nintendo, bipolar disorder, and me
Matt Jarvis // Play Watch Record
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🎮 Upcoming Releases
All releases are digital EU & US unless otherwise stated.
Release data sourced in collaboration with Switch Scores.
⭐️ = Ones to Watch | 📦 = Physical release | 🎮 = Demo available
Tuesday, October 27
- ⭐️ Carto — An adorable looking adventure game with a puzzle mechanic at its core.
- Dungreed — Explore a continuously evolving dungeon in this action adventure.
- Gnome More War — Budget arcade-style shooter. (Oct 26 in U.S)
- Instant Chef Party — A cooking party game for four players.
- My Universe - Fashion Boutique — Manage your own shop in this 3D fashion sim.
- ⭐️📦 Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty — Abe's back at it in another action platformer.
Wednesday, October 28
- Diamond Girl - An Earnest Education in Love — A love sim 'for women'. (Oct 29 in U.S)
- Gibbous - A Cthulhu Adventure — A comedy horror adventure with a talking cat.
- ⭐️ Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm — Lovely looking RPG. FYI: This is included in Apple Arcade if you're a sub to that.
- Red Rope: Don't Fall Behind + — Explore the labyrinth in this challenging action adventure.
- Star99 — Vertical shooter meets battle royale. 100 players online, with cross-platform play.
Thursday, October 29
- #Halloween, Super Puzzles Dream — Spooky jigsaws.
- Angry Video Game Nerd 1 & 2 Deluxe — 8-bit platformer double-pack.
- Barbearian — Large scale hack'n'slash battles.
- Crimzon Clover - World EXplosion — Looks like a pretty intenst top-down shooter.
- De: Yabatanien — Horror puzzle game with 100 rooms to explore.
- ⭐️ Disc Room — Challenge rooms filled with spinning discs. (Already available in U.S)
- Super Puzzle Pack — A grab bag of assorted puzzle games.
- Wallachia: Reign of Dracula — Think Castlevania.
- 📦 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? — I'll probably end up with £32,000. (Nov 17 in U.S)
- Yuppie Psycho: Executive Edition — Dystopian 90s adventure game with horror elements.
Friday, October 30
- Case 2: Animatronics Survival — If you like Five Nights at Freddy's this may be worth a look.
- Clea — Another spooky release - skill-based survival horror adventure (with no jump scares).
- Family Mysteries 2: Echoes of Tomorrow — Hidden object puzzle adventure.
- Haunted: Poppy's Nightmare — Looks like a pretty basic Halloween romp.
- Legends of Ethernal — 2D single-player action adventure.
- 🎮📦 Mad Rat Dead — A music-based rhythm action platformer in which you play as a rat.
- ⭐️🎮📦 Pikmin 3 Deluxe — Nintendo's plant-based strategy comes to Switch. This is great.
- Pixel Puzzle Makeout League — Puzzle dating sim hybrid.
- Slither Loop — Draw lines in this dot-to-dot chill puzzler.
- The Language of Love — 5-6 hours of reading.
Saturday, October 31
- Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator — Point & click pizzeria sim in the Five Nights universe.
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⚡️ Quick Links:
- Here's how to carve your own Animal Crossing Jack pumpkin.
- More Mario 35th Switch controllers to add to your collection.
- The Switch release of Apex Legends has been pushed into 2021.
- Here's some Pikmin facts to get you in the mood for Pikmin 3 Deluxe.
- Nintendo share some tips for creating your own home tracks for Mario Kart Live.
- There's only 10 days left to back the second issue of Ninty Fresh magazine.
- Xbox boss Phil Spencer reacts to that Minecraft Smash Bros. win screen.
- Get ready for 'emotional scenes' in Metroid Prime 4.
- This is a real neat attempt at creating Among Us in Mario Maker: HNQ-GF1-GQG.
- The Gorillaz and Beck have performed in Gary Whitta's Animal Crossing talk-show.
- The 1.2 patch for The Outer Worlds is now available.
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