The highly-anticipated Nindie release, Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer, appears to be arriving at some point between now and the end of this month on the Nintendo Switch.
After showing up in a Nintendo newsletter promoting the games coming to the Switch later this month, a listing for the rhythm action-adventure title featuring Link and Princess Zelda has now appeared on the European eShop. According to multiple sources, this listing suggests the game could be arriving within the next couple of weeks.
If you haven’t heard about this game already, it was originally announced for “this Spring” during the March Nindie Direct presentation earlier this year and is being developed by Brace Yourself Games and published by Spike Chunsoft. The game is based on the developer’s previous release, Crypt of the NecroDancer, and requires you to go on a quest to save Hyrule.
Is this a game you’ll be downloading on release? Did you play Crypt of the NecroDancer? Sound off in the comments below.
A day after we highlighted the Indiegogo project Rolled Out!, which is described by its creator as a “love letter” to the Super Monkey Ball series, it’s now been discovered Sega has filed a trademark for Tabegoro! Super Monkey Ball in Japan. At this point in time, the company has not made any official announcement regarding the development of a new Monkey Ball title.
According to Gematsu, “Tabegoro” means “ripe,” “in season,” or “good to eat.” The previous entry in the series, Super Monkey Ball Bounce, was made available on mobile devices in 2014 and had no similarities to the mainline platform party games.
The Monkey Ball series started out life as an arcade game in 2001 and was then made available on the GameCube. The first two console entries were developed by Amusement Vision – the team responsible for F-Zero GX. To this day, these two games are still arguably the best entries in the series.
Are you glad to hear Sega hasn’t forgotten about AiAi and his friends? Tell us down below.
Thanks to the official PR, we now have a bit more information about each of these classic games:
Donkey Kong Jr. – Based on the popular arcade game, Donkey Kong Jr. is the sequel to the immensely successful Donkey Kong™game. Play as Donkey Kong’s son, and rescue your dad who has been kidnapped and imprisoned in a cage by Mario. Use jumping and climbing abilities to clamber up vines and chains, gather vital fruit and keys, and open the cage to free your father. Make sure you avoid the pesky birds, nasty electric sparks and creepy chompers. Four different worlds filled with numerous climbing and jumping puzzles await you in this timeless classic.
VS. Excitebike – Fans love the Excitebike™ game for its frenetic races, high stakes and sweet jumps. With this game, you can take it to the next level with the Famicom™ disk version of VS. Excitebike – complete with two-player split screen. Create tracks from 20 classic Excitebike track parts, and go for a best time or take on friends. Racing is even more exciting when the rivalries are real. You can also try out the single-player mode in VS. Excitebike. It adds tracks, music and the ability to save your high score.
Clu Clu Land – The greedy Sea Urchins have stolen all of Clu Clu Land’s gold bars and buried them in a series of mazes. As Bubbles, a brave bubble fish, you’ll set out to uncover all of the gold bars in each maze. With 20 stages to complete and increasingly complex conditions (like having to pass over the gold bars twice to uncover them), you might just want to bring along a friend for help.
For the second month in a row, Japan will receive the exact same line-up as the west. Below is a trailer of what you can expect:
This brings the total number of games available on the Switch Online NES library to more than 40.
Are you looking forward to any of the releases this month? Tell us down in the comments.
Ryan Reynolds and everyone else involved in the production of the live-action Pokémon movie Detective Pikachu have done a tremendous job promoting the film in the lead-up to its release. Unfortunately, though, it looks like someone on the internet might have leaked the entire movie already. Yep, even the voice of Pikachu has spotted this “leak” online:
Anyway, you better stop reading right now and view the full movie in the above tweet, courtesy of the Twitter account @InspectrPikachu.
Done? If you made it past the minute mark, you’ve probably realised by now this is simply a joke and perhaps the best marketing stunt so far for this movie. As you can see, the “leak” tricks you into thinking it’s the real deal and before you know it, Detective Pikachu is doing a cheery dance workout for nearly two hours straight.
What do you think of this amusing marketing stunt? Will you be heading to your local cinema to see Detective Pikachu? Tell us below.
Blowfish Studios is bringing an amusingly initialled game to Switch on 27th June in the form of War Tech Fighters, a science fiction mech game set in the depths of the cosmos.
Coming from developer Drakkar Dev, you control Captain Nathan Romanis as he and his company of rogues move across the galaxy following an assault from the oppressive Zatros Empire. Apparently this regime of ne’er-do-wells attacked your home colonies, so you’ll be serving up tasty portions of ice cold revenge thanks to your giant War Techs robots.
These huge machines come equipped with bullets, lasers and magnetic weapons which provide long range options, in addition to hulking great swords when you’ve got baddies right up in your metal face. As you can see from the trailer, it appears that the mechs are fully customisable with an assortment of colours and weaponry, as detailed in the official blurb:
War Techs are highly-customizable machines that span three distinct core body classes and sport more than 180 upgradeable systems and parts. Use the fast and light Hawk class to fly circles around enemies, get in the enemy’s face with the slow and heavy Rhino-class mecha, or opt for a more balanced approach with flexible Lynx-class War Techs.
The game launched originally on PC and the console versions gain an exclusive Archangel War Tech available from the start of the game. Despite middling reviews on PC, this might still be worth keeping an eye on if you’re into huge sword-wielding robots fighting in outer space… and who isn’t interested in that?! It’ll cost $19.99 / €17.99 / £15.99 when it launches at the end of June
Have you played partaken of War Tech Fighter’s sci-fi mech action on PC? How was it? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
The retro 2D side-scrolling action genre isn’t one that’s lacking in excellent titles to recommend on Switch these days. Indeed, fans of the old 8 and 16-bit era are practically drowning in a sea of quality titles to choose from, with heavy hitters such as Shovel Knight, Hollow Knight, Dead Cells and Celeste to name a few that pop immediately into our heads.
This is a tough crowd to stand out in, for sure, and one that gamers may by now be slightly fatigued with. Well, don’t go hanging up your pixelated adventure hat just yet because Aggelos has finally arrived on Nintendo’s console, some eleven months after its well-received PC debut, and it’s got more than enough about it to eek out a place of its own amongst some of the big boys in its class.
At first glance, it must be said, you’d almost be forgiven for taking a pass on Aggelos as a somewhat run-of-the-mill updating of the classic Wonder Boy format. There are so many similar looking, and sounding, games out there right now that its colourful and chunky – but hardly inspired or original – pixel looks partnered with a cut-and-paste story don’t give the best first impression. However, give it just the slightest of chances and you’ll find Agellos’ disparate parts quickly come together to form one of the most well-crafted and brilliantly paced tribute acts to adventures of old.
Let’s start off with that story, such as it is. You assume the role of the silent and stoic hero, a young lad in search of adventure, which he finds promptly in the form of Princess Lys, daughter of King Gentel, ruler of the land of Lumen. Lys sends you off to speak with her father who hurriedly explains that bad boy Valion is trying to fuse together elements of the worlds of dark and light in order that he might tear a hole between realms, wreak all sorts of havoc and generally make an absolute mess. Obviously, he needs stopping, and it’s your job, oh chunky little hero, to secure the four elements of the world of light, combat Valion’s advances and restore peace and tranquillity.
Once your adventure is under way, it doesn’t take long before Aggelos’ brand of satisfying combat and exploration – that classic Metroidvania gameplay loop of explore, fight, upgrade and explore some more – gets its nails into you. Aggelos deftly fuses the chunky combat, light puzzling and platforming we’ve come to expect from the best side-scrolling adventure games with some extremely well-designed dungeon-crawling which lifts it well above the monotonous rhythms of much of its ilk. While doing so, it cleverly doles out a steady stream of exciting new abilities and elemental skills with which to traverse its picturesque, varied world and dispatch its beautifully designed gallery of foes.
A gameplay flow is quickly established; four temples to visit in order to unlock all four elements needed to thwart the villain, each temple providing the player with a power which doubles as both weapon and new means of traversal. The first power you’ll come across in the game’s opening Earth Temple, for example, is an earth ring which grants you a ranged energy attack that not only kills enemies but turns them into platforms to reach new areas. Later you’ll unlock the ability to travel upwards during underwater segments in a bubble shield which doubles as a defensive upgrade whilst submerged. It takes a matter of minutes to gain these first powers and it’s in this unconvoluted, fast-paced approach to mixing up proceedings that Aggelos’ main strength lies; it isn’t interested in wasting your time.
This isn’t a particularly long game, around ten hours for an almost 100% playthrough on normal difficulty. It gets straight to the good stuff and almost instantly you’re chopping snakes, bats and pink goo to ribbons and turning forest wisps into platforms to aid your Metroid-esque traversal of a world full of clever little secrets, superbly designed dungeons and boss battles.
There’s no Shovel Knight style in-jokes here, no bloat, no clever wink-wink subversion of genre tropes, it’s a straightforward and perfectly formed blast through exactly the type of gameplay elements we all know and expect from the 16-bit era replete with a handful of modern conveniences such as generous checkpointing and even a handy little tip-giving NPC who lives in the castle just in case you get stuck.
Aggelos’ light-hearted approach even extends to player death; there’s no great punishment for failure, you’ll keep your progress and possessions while losing a little XP. Yes, there are light RPG elements here, however levelling up is quick and easy, grind is minimal to non-existent and the coin you’ll need to upgrade your way through its delightful assortment of weapons and armour is plentiful. It’s liberating, almost slightly disarming, to find a retro action game so willing to push you forward, not throwing roadblocks in your way or being difficult for the sake of being on trend.
There are some small annoyances, however. The world map is basic to the point of being useless, something that’s more annoying early before you’ve memorised your way around the world’s various areas and unlocked all the abilities which make moving from area to area a breeze. There’re also some slight issues with difficulty levels throughout your adventure; the first half is almost a little too easy whilst the latter two dungeons have a few annoying spikes which will stop you in your tracks, causing you to repeat runs on bosses to the point of irritation here and there.
Conclusion
Overall, this is a great little retro adventure that doesn’t outstay its welcome. It plays like a top tier title from back in the day, presents you with the sort of gameplay you want and expect from this type of game and serves it all up at a pace with such consistent quality that it’s hard not to be won over, no matter how fatigued you may be by the idea of another blast of old school pixel action.
PQube and Aquire have announced that maze-based arcade game SCRAP RUSH!! will launch on Nintendo Switch in the west this summer.
The game puts you and your friends into an arena full of metal blocks (we imagine we’re not the only ones feeling a heavy Bomberman vibe after watching that trailer). Instead of bombs, though, you collect scrap, which gets turned into blocks and launched at opponents.
You’ll need to crush your opponents against the wall, all while dodging attacks from other players who are trying to do the same to you. The game was trending on the Japanese eShop last month, so it would seem that players have been enjoying this “hilarious” last-robot-standing affair.
We have some screenshots for you to check out below.
We’ll make sure to keep an eye out for a release date for this one in the coming weeks, but until then, why not let us know your early thoughts in the comments below?
Strategic, tabletop RPG For The King is just days away from release on Nintendo Switch. Available to pre-order right now, it’ll launch this Thursday 9th May.
The game blends tabletop and roguelike elements in a “challenging adventure that spans the realms”. Aiming to be highly replayable, it’ll have you venturing forth into the lands of Fahrul and discovering that every playthrough is unique with procedural maps, quests, and events.
For The King’s most replayable aspect is said to come in the form of Lore, which is generated through battles, story content, quests and more. Essentially, it’s a currency which is carried through each of your playthroughs, allowing you to purchase new characters, customisation options, locations, encounters and items.
Here’s a feature list for you to check out:
Features:
– Procedurally Generated Maps – Explore a procedurally generated world, from maps to quests to events, where every adventure is made unique. – Singleplayer and Multiplayer Game Modes – Explore the lands of Fahrul alone, or with friends in local co-op or online multiplayer. Stick together for protection, or split the party to cover more ground. – Turn-based Combat System – Fight and die as a party in fast paced and brutal turn-based combat using a unique slot system for attacks and special abilities. – Includes all free updates – Following the success of For The King on PC, the console version of the game will include all the existing expansion packs for the game – including the Dungeon Crawl, Frozen Expanse Hilderbrandt’s Cellar, Gold Rush and Into The Deep adventures.
The game will launch on Switch for £19.99 / €24.99 / $24.99, although a 20% discount will be available for two weeks after release.
Will you be picking this one up later this week? Let us know below.
Indie developer and publisher QubicGames is rapidly approaching the one million sales mark for software on Nintendo Switch. Celebrating both this and its 15th anniversary on the market, the studio has heavily discounted a number of its games on the eShop and teased several more which are on the way.
The video above shows off the four new games QubicGames has on the way for Switch. We’ve spoken about some of these before, but we have a full rundown of each for you below:
Akane Akane is a brutal arena arcade slasher based on one-hit-one-kill gameplay mechanics, where the player has just one goal: to kill as many opponents as they can, before they die. To achieve this goal, players will have a diversified arsenal of weapons and special skills at their disposal to help them face different types of opponents along the way. Blazing Beaks Use your one-of-a-kind bird skills to whack every nasty thing in your way, so it returns whence it came. Explore tons of randomly generated levels bursting with secrets, and unravel the mysteries you chance upon. You’ll hear the sweet voice of powerful artifacts calling your name, but beware of their dark force. Think twice before picking them up, as they will prey on your greed, leading eventually to your annihilation.
Hungry Baby: Party Treats Hungry Baby: Party Treats is a funny and innovative multiplayer game that can be played by up to four players. Gather your friends together on the couch and let the gameplay unravel to decide which of you is the fastest and… the sweetest! Check out the unforgettable Party Mode or try the campaign and discover just how finger-licking good Hungry Baby: Party Treats really is!
Warlocks 2: God Slayers Warlocks 2: God Slayers is an action-packed, humorous RPG, where you take charge of mighty Warlocks and hack’n’slash the arrogant gods that dare to stand in your way. Challenge them alone or with up to four friends in local or online co-op. Encounter all kinds of hilarious pixel art characters on your journey but don’t be fooled: these wacky creatures will be free to use any means necessary, including their special skillsets, to take you down. With the aid of giant bosses, they will put your skills to the test. Slay or get slain. There’s no other way.
Will you be joining the celebrations by picking up a couple of the studio’s games today? The discounts take most of them down to below £1 each!
We were rather taken by retro-racer Horizon Chase Turbo when it power-slid onto the Switch in November last year. Brazillian developer Aquiris really brought the classic arcade racing games of yesteryear bang up to date, making this an essential purchase.
The lovely folks over at Aquiris still have unfinished business with Horizon Chase Turbo, however, and have revealed their ambitious roadmap for the game. Lots of new exciting features are planned for the second half of 2019.
Let’s take a look at what they’re cooking up:
PLAYGROUND MODE 2.0
In addition to be the fastest, win and lead the ranking, now players have another good reason to check into our Playground Mode: get exclusive prizes. Collecting coins in a new scoring system they will gain access to new skins in special seasons. NEW DLCs
Horizon Chase Turbo already brings hours and hours of fun and speed, but for the hardcore retroracers it’s never enough. Thinking of them, we are working on new DLCs with new cars, new campaigns and more. NEW GAME MODES
When it comes to designing upgrades, granting fun for the gamer always gets the pole position. Our team analyzes players behavior within the game and their thoughts on social media. Thus we get insights for new ideas and upgrades. There are surprises right ahead, you can count on it!
We love it when developers continue to update their games to make them the very best they can be, even a year or so after release. Let us know if you’re excited about these future updates with a comment below.
