Issue #159
· December 8, 2019
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Zelda Maker.  Issue 159 — December 8, 2019  👋 Hi, issue #159 of Switch Weekly here, with your roundup on all things Nintendo. This week Nintendo dropped a significant update for Mario Maker 2, the biggest addition being Link as a playable character. I've linked up a video in the issue below which highlights all of the changes and the new things to play with. I'm glad to see the Big-N adding more to this game as I know many felt the inital post-launch support was a tad lacking. Nintendo also announced this week that some more NES and SNES games are being added to the Switch Online members service. This comes after a brief hiatus of no new titles being added, so a dozen more on the way is more than welcome! Next week is probably one of the quietest weeks I've seen all year for new releases, with 'only' 13~ titles hitting the eShop. Of course this is in contrast to the usual 25-30 new releases we typically see. Call of Juarez, two Shovel Knight titles and SuperEpic seem like the ones to look out for. Anyway, time for an announcement: I've been running this newsletter now for over three years, and it's an absolute pleasure to share the best in all things Switch with over 5,000 of you each and every week. During these past few years I've often been asked whether there was anyway in which to support what I'm doing with the newsletter. Now, enough of you have asked that I figured it was worth giving you all a way to do just that. I've launched the Switch Weekly Patreon — of course the newsletter remains free, but for those of you in a position to happily support my work, you'll be helping keep it both sustainable long-term and accessible to all. It takes me an appreciable amount of time each week to hunt down all the links and put this digest together, so if you do find it valuable I'd love if you'd consider becoming a patron. Either way, thanks for sticking with me and reading what I have to say each week. That's it from me, REVIEW Alien: Isolation — Often described as one of the best survival horror games ever, this port seems to be hitting all the right notes for this reviewer: "An incredible showing [..], that goes above and beyond any expectations that fans could have had for this version". Oh, and the respected folks at Digital Foundry say this version looks better than the PS4 release. Rudy Lavaux // Cubed3 REVIEW Assassins Creed: The Rebel Collection — The last Assasins Creed port for the Switch was buggy at launch and generally not well-recieved, thankfully though this isn't the case this time around. You get "two excellent swashbuckling epics ported to Nintendo's console in fine fashion", and series favourite Black Flag is said to be "a revelation in portable mode and looks and performs almost flawlessly". Sounds good if you fancy revisiting these. PJ O'Reilly // Nintendo Life ▶ Super Mario Maker 2 - A Legendary Update — Yay, new content for Mario Maker 2! You can now play as The Legend of Zelda's Link, complete with his own unique moveset. I've been watching a few folks play some new 'Link levels' on Twitch, and it's a surprisingly detailed addition to the game. Get updating your game if you haven't already. Nintendo // YouTube Here's what you need to know about the six new Switch Online games — Half a dozen NES and SNES games (including StarFox 2) are arriving on December 12th for Switch Online members. Here's a run-down on what each game is all about. Nicholas Bray, Jon Lindemann, John Rairdin, & Jordan Rudek // Nintendo World Report Tencent launching Nintendo Switch in China next week — The official launch is just a few days away (on December 10). Tencent are said to be managing local servers for online play within China, plus WeChat Pay is being added as a regionally supported payment method for the eShop. Nintendo and Tencent are also working with Chinese indie studios to bring their games to the platform. James Batchelor // gamesindustry REVIEW Farming Simulator 20 — "not as robust as the last FS entry on Switch". A.K Rahming // Nintendo Enthusiast REVIEW Big Pharma — Sounds like this port is perfectly servicable, but the experience is seemingly far better suited to the PC. Alexx Aplin // Phenixx Gaming REVIEW ▶ Tools Up! — A look at this new couch co-op puzzle adventure that takes the chaotic gameplay style of Overcooked and applies it to apartment renovating. Luis Alamilla // YouTube What Pokémon Sword & Shield could learn from the Trading Card Game Matt Jarvis // Eurogamer Dexit accidentally restored my love of Pokemon Andrew Searles // Vooks PREVIEW Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training for Nintendo Switch — A hands-on look at this leaves a "fine first impression". It's out in early January. Daan Koopman // Nintendo World Report Reggie Fils-Aime: From taking names to making names — A well-rounded interview with Nintendo of America's former president, talking about his time at the company and his new role in teaching. James Brightman // GameDaily ▶ The Touryst is stunning: Switch game of the year contender? — I linked to a positive review of this in last week's issue, but figured this glowing appraisal from Digital Foundry was also worth sharing. Calling it a GOTY contender means this one is now firmly on my wish list. If you've played it let me know how you like it (just hit reply). Digital Foundry // YouTube PODCAST ▶ The best Switch games you may have missed — With the Switch library now approaching 3,000(!) games, the IGN staff sit down to discuss what may be some of the best hidden gems buried away within the consoles vast library. Nintendo Voice Chat // IGN (Overcast)
🎮 Upcoming Releases All releases are digital EU & US unless otherwise stated. Tuesday, December 10
Thursday, December 12
Friday, December 13
⚡️ Quick Links: 🎁 Still need to find some gifts? Here's a Switch gift guide. 🎙 Wargroove dev casts white voice actors to represent characters of color, apologises. 🐛 2K are investigating a bug in Civ 6 - the game crashes just as you're about to win. 🐺 Ever wondered how Saber Interactive managed to cram the Witcher 3 onto Switch? 👽 If you're still unsure about picking up Alien: Isolation, here's the first 15 mins. 5️⃣ Nintendo have been flogging us plastic Amiibo toys for five years now. 😬 Amazon sent some Switch-buying Black Friday shoppers the wrong items.... 🥈 Best games of the decade? Breath of the Wild is number two. 💪 A bug in the 2.0 Mario Maker update means new addition Spike can lift. |