Author: sick skills

RedDeerGames has revealed Warhammer 40,000: Dakka Squadron for the Nintendo Switch, developed by Phosphor Studios and launching “soon”, whenever that means.

There’s not a great deal to go on at the moment other than it’s an aerial combat game and your mission is, as RedDeerGames puts it, to fight.

The debut trailer is short and sweet, but it’s a bit of an assault on the senses, with a thumping metal backing track to accompany the myriad of explosions on display. It looks like a decent visual feast for the Switch, so we’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this one.

As for Warhammer, the Switch has received multiple games from the franchise during its lifetime, most recently with Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, which we gave a score of 7/10 in our review, stating that the “comically violent combat sequences offer up consistently thrilling engagements with just the right amount of difficulty”.

Time will tell if Dakka Squadron can earn similar accolades.

Does this one look promising to you? Let us know your thoughts with a comment down below.

This week’s Japanese hardware and software charts are in from Famitsu (via Gematsu), and Pikmin 4 continues to astound as it spends its fifth week at the top of the charts.

The fourth mainline entry in the adorable RTS-style series has shifted another 54,904 copies in the week of 14th to 20th August, taking the total sales figures up to 721,281. We don’t know about you, but we reckon Pikmin 4 is breaking series records here…

There are no surprises at all in the top ten, with the Switch completing yet another clean sweep. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Minecraft remain in second, third, and fourth respectively, with Pokémon Scarlet & Violet sneaking up a few places to fifth. The World Championships in Yokohama may well have helped out with those numbers.

Here’s this week’s Japanese software charts in full, then:

1. [NSW] Pikmin 4 (Nintendo, 07/21/23) – 54,904 (721,281)
2. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo, 04/28/17) – 16,859 (5,443,641)
3. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo, 05/12/23) – 12,861 (1,833,086)
4. [NSW] Minecraft (Microsoft, 06/21/18) – 9,994 (3,235,955)
5. [NSW] Pokemon Scarlet & Violet (The Pokemon Company, 11/18/22) – 7,996 (5,100,967)
6. [NSW] Splatoon 3 (Nintendo, 09/09/22) – 7,586 (4,093,171)
7. [NSW] Nintendo Switch Sports (Nintendo, 04/29/22) – 7,368 (1,158,904)
8. [NSW] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Nintendo, 12/07/18) – 7,313 (5,265,833)
9. [NSW] Mario Party Superstars (Nintendo, 10/29/21) – 5,909 (1,285,614)
10. [NSW] Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo, 03/20/20) – 5,699 (7,517,866)

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Hardware sales also stack up similarly to last week. The Switch OLED is number one with 61,041 units shifted, and the PS5 is comfortably behind it with 34,254. The OG Switch and Switch Lite posted 9,147 and 7,592 sales each. All in all, the Switch family has posted nearly another 80,000 sales in total.

The Xbox Series X|S has seen a drop this week, as has all hardware in general — the X has sold 1,097 units, while the S shifted on 230 units. And hey, there are still 97 people out there picking up the New 2DS LL — we see you.

Here are this week’s hardware sales:

1. Switch OLED Model – 61,041 (5,373,686)
2. PlayStation 5 – 34,254 (3,623,139)
3. Switch – 9,147 (19,505,371)
4. Switch Lite – 7,592 (5,457,186)
5. PlayStation 5 Digital Edition – 3,157 (562,058)
6. Xbox Series X – 1,097 (212,422)
7. PlayStation 4 – 611 (7,893,893)
8. Xbox Series S – 230 (259,889)
9. New 2DS LL (including 2DS) – 97 (1,192,150)

< Last week’s charts

What do you make of the Japanese charts this week? Let us know in the comments.

The latest Nintendo Download update for North America has arrived, and it’s bringing new games galore to the eShop in your region. As always, be sure to drop a vote in our poll and comment down below with your potential picks for the week. Enjoy!

Switch eShop – Highlights

Samba de Amigo: Party Central (SEGA, 29th Aug, $39.99) – Move to the beat and shake your Joy-Con controllers in a new Samba de Amigo game! Compete online* in World Party mode or enjoy local multiplayer** with a friend to see who has the best moves! Forty songs are included, spanning a multitude of genres from around the world. So, grab those controllers and get shakin’ when Samba de Amigo: Party Central shimmies onto the Nintendo Switch system Aug. 29. Pre-orders are available now.

Sea of Stars (Sabotage, 29th Aug, $34.99) – This prequel to The Messenger tells the story of two Children of the Solstice – a Lunar Monk and a Solar Blade Dancer. Fans of classic RPGs with modernized elements will want to check out this game’s moving story filled with twists and turns, its fluid and engaging turn-based combat and its freely traversable world. Plus, it features music by the renowned Yasunori Mitsuda, who composed music for many classic RPGs! Sea of Stars launches on the Nintendo Switch system Aug. 29. Pre-orders are available now.

Blasphemous 2 (Team17, 24th Aug, $29.99) – The second scripture in the Blasphemous series portends the return of The Penitent One, with a story that continues from the free Wounds of Eventide update in the original Blasphemous game. Now, the Penitent One is thrust back into the endless cycle of life, death and resurrection, with no other option than to explore a perilous new world and uncover its long-forgotten secrets. Blasphemous 2 is available today. – Read our Blasphemous 2 review

Switch eShop – New Releases

Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot: The London Case (Microids, 29th Aug, $39.99) – From the brilliant mind of the BAFTA Scotland Award-Wining studio, Blazing Griffin, get ready in 2023 for a new adventure as the famous detective Hercule Poirot travels to London for a seemingly simple task of delivering a painting for an exhibition, that will be unfortunately stolen during the grand opening. For the first time ever, players will have the opportunity to team up with Poirot’s beloved sidekick in the books, Hastings, as they uncover a new mystery. Expérience a new location, adventure, and partner in this exciting next chapter of Hercule Poirot in his youth.

Alice Escaped! (Sekai Games, 24th Aug, $19.99) – One summer’s day, Usada and Kotora go to the library to do their homework. While Kotora takes her studies seriously, Usada has her head in the clouds. She wanders over to a bookshed deep inside, returning with a big, thick book. “I found this interesting-looking book! ” Kotora looks back at her quizzically. Suddenly, a slip of paper falls out from the book. The letter reads: “Find Alice. ” As soon as they read the words, the two are enveloped in a blinding light. When they come to, they’re in a grassy field that they’ve never seen before. At that moment, a white rabbit comes hopping along. He might know how to get back to their own world! The pair take their first steps into the world of this magical book, in order to go searching for the white rabbit. . . Alice Escaped! is an exploratory 2D action Metroidvania.

Arcade Archives DARK ADVENTURE (HAMSTER, 17th Aug, $7.99) – “DARK ADVENTURE” is an action game released by KONAMI in 1987. Our heroes in this title have been sucked into the Devil World after they opened an ancient coffin found in some ruins. Now, they must set out on an adventure through the labyrinthine Devil World to find the demon king, defeat him, and make their way home. This title includes a Japanese Version, European Version, and also a North American Version that allows 3-player co-op.

Ashina: The Red Witch (Ratalaika Games, 25th Aug, $9.99) – Join Ash on the journey of an afterlife-time! Travel through a mysterious spirit world filled with strange creatures, interesting characters, and memorable moments! Ash must find her way back home and save her sister. Ashina: The Red Witch is an exploration-based, story-adventure game. Use items to solve puzzles as well as talk to many other characters to help dig into the story even further!

Crypto Miner Tycoon Simulator (Bigosaur, 17th Aug, $19.99) – Crypto Miner Tycoon Simulator is a complete simulation of the cryptocurrency mining business. There are multiple scenarios available. In the first one, you start as a teenager whose wealthy father is hyped about digital currency. He isn’t really tech savvy, so he gives you some cash and challenges you to build a crypto mining business.

Curse Crackers: For Whom the Belle Toils (Colorgrave, 24th Aug, $15.00) – Curse Crackers: For Whom the Belle Toils is an acrobatic 2D platformer where you play as Belle and her companion Chime, jumping, vaulting and swinging your way through levels in a world inspired by classic handheld games. Chase down Bonnie and her crew of troublemakers to get your boyfriend back

Giant Wishes (eastasiasoft, 25th Aug, $4.99) – After being disrespected time and time again in her village, a young flourist named Runi decides to find a giant woman who was desperate to repair her vegetable garden and barter for her help. And so she meets Lady Blerog, a fierce retired warrior who possesses a secret vitamin whey capable of turning any human into a giant. Giant Wishes is a visual novel following Runi’s path to grow bigger and stronger, to make others respect her and to fend for herself. Explore 4 possible endings by making choices for Runi and unlock CG scenes as you progress through this comical and larger-than-life adventure!

GINSHA (PolaityFlow, 24th Aug, $17.80) – GINSHA is a unique atmospheric pixelart Action Adventure Platformer with special Gravity Shield and Dash mechanics. It combines a versatile Platformer Core with RPG, Souls and Crafting Elements to an Anomaly among Metroidvania games. Explore huge interconnected planets, filled with secrets, loot, obstacles, different enemy types and epic bossfights. Level up, equip and customize your Clone, craft companion drones and enjoy ever evolving possibilities as you proceed to save your species.

Golf: Hole in One (Bearded Ants, 29th Aug, $2.00) – In Golf: Hole in One you can play a round of golf anytime with no worries; just sit back, play, and relax! Your goal is to find the perfect angle and power for every stroke, to be able to get a hole in one in every course.

Heart Chain Kitty: All Screwed Up (Origamihero, 28th Aug, $4.99) – When a delivery goes wrong, Kitty Island ends up being covered in gigantic screws. However, they’re not at all like normal run-of-the-mill hardware store screws. Quite far from it! Kittey is tasked with clearing the island of this potential danger. A new adventure begins. Heart Chain Kitty: All Screwed Up is a colorful and dreamy 2. 5d platformer. Explore the far corners of Kitty Island and beyond as Kittey, the perpetually sleepy cat. Use his special screw ray to manipulate screws and solve their mysteries once and for all. But beware: Bosses await, and secrets beckon.

Hello Engineer (tinyBuild Games, 17th Aug, $14.99) – Got trapped in a mysterious amusement park by your frightening Neighbor? Unleash your creativity and engineering skills, hop on your machine and be ready to fight the menacing dark secrets in order to escape Hello Engineer is a single and multi-player machinery-construction game set in a puzzling amusement park. Build incredible machines with scrap parts, challenge the creepy Neighbor and his evil bots, and overcome challenges with your creative problem-solving skills. Join up to three friends and roll, fly or bounce your way to victory! Time to prove that these local Inventors are a force to be reckoned with epic machine-on-machine throwdowns!

Hidden Paws Bundle (Silesia Games, 28th Aug, $8.99) – Leave no stone unturned, no crate unopened, and no window closed – cats are masters at sneaking, after all. . . Who knows where they’ll hide? Become a feline-seeking detective like no other in those three adorable hidden object games – Hidden Paws, Summer Paws, and Hidden Paws Mystery!

Little Devil: Foster Mayhem (Leoful, 25th Aug, $14.99) – It can be annoying when you don’t get what you want… so why not stir up a little mayhem when no one is looking? Take control of a young mischievous boy called Little Devil as he sneaks around the house to destroy electronics, craft traps, and spread mayhem in the lives of his foster parents. Will his actions ultimately get him what he wants in the end? Explore your foster parents’ house to find tools and gather intel. Use a variety of everyday items to distract, disarm and delay until you’ve successfully destroyed the entirety of your foster parent’s home. Perhaps the next parent will provide a better lifestyle for you – or at least more gadgets for you to mess with!

One-Two Combo Bundle: Punch Club Franchise (tinyBuild Games, 17th Aug, $25.99 – Step into the ring with the One-Two Combo Bundle! This bundle includes both games from the Punch Club franchise. Train hard, fight crocodiles, and uncover the truth behind your father’s murder in Punch Club. With RPG and tycoon elements, dive deep into skill trees and experience heavily story-driven gameplay, all wrapped in gorgeous pixel visuals oozing with 80s nostalgia. But that’s not all! Step into the neon-lit future in Punch Club 2: Fast Forward, where you’re thrown into a hilarious cyberpunk adventure filled with 80s references and more punching than ever before. Choose your own path, become a champion fighter, and manage everything from your time and funds to solving crimes and working for various factions. It’s a simulation game where the rules of the rat race apply, but with an electrifying twist! So, put on your gloves, prepare for epic battles, and get ready to immerse yourself in the world of Punch Club!

Plumber Bundle 3 in 1 (Gametry, 19th Aug, $6.99) – With the Plumber Bundle, you’ll have access to a total of almost 800 levels spread across these three games, guaranteeing endless hours of entertainment and brain-teasing fun. Whether you’re a casual player looking for a relaxing puzzle experience or a dedicated gamer seeking the ultimate challenge, this bundle has something for everyone. The Bundle includes: – Plumber Puzzles with 4 packages 100 levels each – Pipes Master with 5 packages 50 levels each – Plumber Hero with 3 packages 40 level each Don’t miss out on the opportunity to become the master plumber you’ve always aspired to be!

Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles (NIS America, 29th Aug, $49.99) – Enjoy the next verse of Marl Kingdom adventures with Rhapsody II: Ballad of the Little Princess and Rhapsody III: Memories of Marl Kingdom! Join Kururu, the daughter of Cornet and Ferdinand, as she pursues her dreams of true love, and experience these classic RPGs in full forte as they take center stage! With improved visuals, a heart-warming story, a charming soundtrack, and an emotional conclusion, Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles comes ready to win your heart as it makes its welcome western debut!

Rocket Car : Ultimate Ball League Machines (GameToTop, 25th Aug, $11.99) – Introducing Rocket Car: Ultimate Ball League Machines — the perfect blend of fast cars and thrilling soccer action! Choose from a variety of stylish vehicles, each with its own unique abilities. Whether you prefer speedy sports cars or powerful machines, there’s a ride for everyone in Rocket Car. Are you ready for the adrenaline rush of high-speed soccer action?

Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate (Red Art Games, 24th Aug, $12.49) – Chess, but you replace your entire army with a royal shotgun. A unique strategy roguelike based on the timeless checkboard classic. You are the Black King but all your army has gone over to the white side, leaving you with nothing but your royal shotgun and your wounded pride. It’s time to teach those white pieces to fear the Shotgun King. – Read our Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate review

Sphereout (Ultimate Games, 29th Aug, $4.99) – Sphereout is an innovative and exciting game that develops the classic Tetris concept by adding a third dimension. The rules of Sphereout are similar to the original. The player’s goal is to place blocks on the entire layer of the sphere, which automatically disappear, which allows you to score points. The new challenges of the third dimension make the game more challenging and engaging The game offers rich graphics and immersive sound that enhance the gameplay atmosphere.

Stack Ball Run! (Artem Kritinin, 18th Aug, $0.99) – Stack Ball Run! is a 3D arcade game where you smash, push and jump over rotating spiral platforms to get to the end.

The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation (eastasiasoft, 30th Aug, $29.99) – Prepare yourself for an Asian survival horror tale told through a cinematic first-person perspective! In this atmospheric action-adventure, explore the events surrounding one of Taiwan’s best-known supernatural incidents, a terrifying campus horror set in Tunghu University. When 6 college students challenge the urban legend of a lingering female ghost, they awaken a curse that no one knows how to break. Use stealth to avoid the murderous ghost as you piece together the mystery and find a way off campus. The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation offers intense action, puzzle elements, immersive exploration, film-quality storytelling and cutting-edge graphic design, all set in a modern world that grounds the psychological horror in unnerving realism, now complete with English voiceovers.

The Nightmare: Serial Killers (Cooking And, 17th Aug, $5.99) – In a world where the mind is his hunting ground, an astute killer possesses the ability to infiltrate the dreams of his victims. His method is as sinister as it is fascinating: using obscure oneiric skills, he manipulates and twists dreams, sowing mental chaos and terror until his victims succumb to death in their sleep. Behind each new victim is a carefully designed trap and a labyrinth of nightmares with multiple alternate endings. A terrifying countdown: five victims in five days. . . will he get it?

Wildagotchi: Virtual Pet (RedDeer, 25th Aug, $12.99) – Welcome to Wildagotchi: Virtual Pet, the ultimate game for all animal lovers! Choose your favorite animal, take care of it, and watch it grow in real-time. These adorable pixel-art creatures will definitely steal your heart. RETRO ANIMALS Become a proper owner of exotic animals by ensuring all of their needs are fulfilled. When your pet becomes an adult you can choose another one that needs your attention. REAL-TIME GAMEPLAY Be careful! If you ignore your pets for too long, they can fall into sadness or even get sick. Their fate is within your hands, so don’t forget about them!

Word Search Puzzle: Find the Words! (Megame, 24th Aug, $9.99) – A word puzzle to warm up the mind and mindfulness, familiar to many since childhood! The rules of the game are very simple! In front of you is a large playing field, consisting of different letters of the alphabet. Connect the letters one by one to make a word. Words can be connected in any direction – horizontally, vertically and even diagonally, but remember that the line can only be straight. Choose any letter and start drawing a line! The game has different modes – classic and blitz, and you can also choose the difficulty level that suits you!

Xtreme Sports (WayForward, 15th Aug, $9.99) – Take it to the XTREME in this adrenaline-pumping action-sports-RPG! The Xtreme Sports showdown has begun! Play as Guppi or her boyfriend Fin as they visit Xtreme Island and aim to become Xtreme Sports Champion by mastering five events – skateboarding, street luge, in-line skating, skyboarding, and surfing! When you aren’t earning medals and challenging opponents like the mischievous Bonehead Gang, you’ll explore the tropical island for secret paths and hidden challenges in this unique mix of sports, action, adventure, and role-playing. Originally released on Game Boy™ Color in 2000, it doesn’t get more XTREME than this! – Read our Xtreme Sports review

Zombie Outbreak: Survival in Ancient Egyptian (Red Fables, 17th Aug, $4.99) – Immerse yourself in ancient Egypt as you’ve never seen it before: Ravaged by a zombie apocalypse. Your survival depends on every choice you make in this engrossing horror game. Embody one of the five unique characters, each with their own rich and vibrant story, and experience their struggle to survive in a world where horror lurks around every corner. Be careful, your decisions carry weight. Each one can mean the difference between life and death. Keep calm in situations of extreme tension and guide these five protagonists to the end of their nightmare.

So that’s your lot for this week’s North American Nintendo Download. Go on, be a sport and drop a vote in the poll above, and comment below with your hot picks!

Hello Games has detailed its latest major update for No Man’s Sky, dubbed ‘Echoes’, and it sounds like a big one, folks.

Launching today (yes, today), the main draw for the new update will be a brand-new robotic race, which Hello Games states is the first entirely new race introduced to the game since its initial launch in 2016. Along with this, you can expect new story content, assignments, and equipment to become available so you can work towards building your very own robotic avatar. Neat!

Space battles have also been overhauled for Echoes, with Hello Games introducing actual freighter-to-freighter combat. You’ll need to protect your own freighter from pirates, fly into the enemy freighter’s trenches, destroy its shields, and emerge victorious.

When you want to wind down, a new holographic museum feature has been added, so you can physically display all the nifty bits and bobs discovered on your journey.

Finally, for Switch players specifically, a new anti-aliasing option will be added to make visuals appear even crisper whether you’re playing in docked or handheld mode. The game already looks pretty impressive as it is, so this is very welcome, indeed.

Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.

Will you be jumping back into No Man’s Sky for this new Echoes update? Dock your ship in the comments section below and let us know.

Sega’s presence at Gamescom has been keeping Sonic the Hedgehog fans very happy. And as expected, the booth for Sonic Superstars is appropriately decked out with the blue blur’s newest adventure. However, there are a couple of other attractions that have been catching fans’ attention — a rather gigantic LEGO display.

We already know about the iconic London Sonic statue, which our sister site Time Extension reported on, but LEGO has given Sega a helping hand by sizing the adorable Sonic LEGO Minifigure alongside Robotnik’s iconic Death Egg Robot.

In fact, Sonic’s designer and Sonic Superstars producer Naoto Oshima has been taking snaps of the awesome-looking statue while attending the show himself. He shared the snaps on Twitter earlier today:

The display was created with 383,217 elements of LEGO and it weighs over an incredible 844 kg. So no one is going to be trying to steal this anytime soon.

The impressive statue is on display at Gamescom at the Sonic Superstars booth until the end of the show, and you can see how LEGO put it all together in the clip below.

Sonic Superstars launches on Nintendo Switch on 17th October. Have you seen the giant Death Egg Robot at Gamescom? Do you want your own one? Let us know in the comments.

Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.

Red Art Games has unveiled pre-orders for an upcoming physical Switch release for the chess-strategy roguelike game Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate.

Launching in Q1 2024, the release will come in two flavours: a standard edition and a deluxe edition. While both come in at the same price of €34.99, the latter is exclusive to the Red Art Games website and is limited to 300 copies.

What’s more, the deluxe edition will come with a wraparound cover sleeve featuring alternative art as well as a keychain. Not bad for the same price, if you ask us.

Shotgun King launches digitally on the Switch eShop today, but if you’re on the fence about the game at this point in time, then fret not dear reader, we’ll have a review for you in due course.

Are you looking to pick up a physical edition of Shotgun King on Switch? Let us know your thoughts with a comment down below.

Here’s what’s included

• 
• by Liam Doolan 18 hours ago

The Electronic Arts developer BioWare – known for famous RPG series such as Baldur’s Gate, STAR WARS: Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect – has announced it is “eliminating approximately 50 roles” at the studio.

In order to match the changing needs, it will shift towards a “more agile and more focused studio” – allowing developers to iterate quickly, unlock more creativity and form a clear vision of the games being built before development is ramped up. This “extremely difficult” decision will also apparently “preserve the health of the studio” and allow it to focus more on what it does best: “create exceptional story-driven single-player experiences filled with vast worlds and rich characters.”

Impacted colleagues will be given “internal opportunities” throughout EA, but not everyone will necessarily be guaranteed a new role. As for current projects in development such as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, BioWare insists its commitment remains steadfast. Pre-production on the new Mass Effect game also continues.

As cliche as this sounds, there truly is never a good time to enact changes like this, but we trust that we have the right leaders and team in place with vision, passion, and proven track records to deliver world-class Dragon Age and Mass Effect experiences that our fans will love. – BioWare general manager, Gary McKay

Although there haven’t been any new BioWare projects released on the Nintendo Switch, a lot of the company’s older titles have made their way across to the hybrid system thanks to other developers and publishers. Some of these titles include Never Winter Nights and the original Knights of the Old Republic Star Wars game.

If we hear any other developments, we’ll let you know.