Dodge Roll Games and Devolver Digital have announced that Enter theGungeon’s final update, ‘A Farewell to Arms’, will be heading to the Switch on 5th April – which just so happens to be the three-year anniversary of the game’s initial launch.
This final update is set to offer two new playable Gungeoneers in The Paradox and The Gunslinger. On top of this, expect to find dozens of new guns and items, a new secret floor with a devious boss, and the addition of the community-inspired Rainbow Mode. Additional features, tweaks, and fixes are also included, because what kind of update would be complete without those?
If you haven’t checked out Enter the Gungeon already, what are you waiting for? We described it as “a brilliantly tactile, endlessly replayable twin-stick roguelike that sits right up there with the very best indie games on Nintendo Switch” in our review, and this was only improved with last summer’s huge Advanced Gungeons & Draguns update.
Are you a fan of Enter the Gungeon? Let us know if you’ll be checking out this new content with comment below.
Team17 has revealed that the ever-expanding Overcooked 2 is about to receive yet another DLC package and a season pass for 2019.
The new DLC is called Campfire Cook Off and will become available on Switch on 18th April. We have a description of what you can expect right here:
The Onion King has joined the Cookie Scouts in his latest bid to appease his kingdom after raising the Unbread and he wants you to help him make amends. Campfire Cook Off sees players head into the forests of the Onion Kingdom to cook under the stars. This brand new DLC boasts a whole heap of content; new kitchens, new chefs, new recipes and new mechanics!
Key features: New map! Climb aboard the Onion King’s bus and follow the famous Trail Mix Trail (what do you mean you haven’t heard of it?!) 12 levels!Play a whole host of new kitchens with up to three of your friends, from tall tree tops to rushing rivers! Chefs! Four new chefs are ready to take on the great outdoors and earn their cooking in the wilderness badges! Recipes! Open up the recipe book, you have two new meals to learn! These camping favourites will require all of your cooking know how to perfect. Mechanics! Campfire Cook Off introduces some new mechanics that will put even the best chefs to the test
The season pass is arriving on the very same day, and will “give players access to all content released in 2019” including this new Campfire Cook Off content. We’re told that two more DLC packs will offer even more mayhem, just in case the Chinese New Year, Festive Content, Surf ‘n’ Turf, and New Game+ additions we’ve received recently weren’t quite enough.
Looks like Overcooked fans will well and truly have their plates full with all of this to get stuck into. Campfire Cook Off will cost £4.49 / €4.99 / $5.99, while the season pass will be £14.99 / €18.99 / $18.99.
In the early days of the Switch eShop, one of the first indie darlings to resonate with audiences was Blaster Master Zero, an enhanced remake of the NES classic. What began as an already solid remake quickly grew into something much more substantial thanks to a series of paid content drops and free updates that widened the scope of the game considerably with the addition of new modes and playable characters, demonstrating that Inti Creates had a vested interest in curating a new fanbase around the long-dormant IP.
Though hindsight is always 20/20, few could’ve predicted the surprise release of an original sequel, Blaster Master Zero 2, mere minutes after its first reveal on a Nintendo Direct, but fans were understandably ecstatic at the opportunity to further the adventures of Jason and Eve. Luckily, Inti Creates pulled out all the stops this time; Blaster Master Zero 2 rises to meet the high bar set by its predecessor and surpasses it in just about every way. This is pure, retro platforming goodness at its finest.
Blaster Master Zero 2 picks up right where the ‘true ending’ of its predecessor left off, with Eve’s body slowly being corrupted by mutant cells that will eventually kill her. The only cure for this alien affliction is evidently located on Planet Sophia, which is also the place from which Eve and the Sophia tank originally came. What follows is an intense race against time as Jason endeavours to cross the universe to save his friend’s life, encountering all sorts of opposition and turmoil as he learns that Eve and he are not the only android-and-pilot combo flying super tanks around the stars.
Compared to Blaster Master Zero, there’s a bit more of a focus on story here, with each new sector of the stars acting as a sort of chapter in the duo’s desperate adventure, and while the writing isn’t exactly what we would call stellar, it’s certainly a cut above the kind of storytelling one comes to expect from retro platformers of this ilk. Characters develop in sometimes surprising ways and the narrative occasionally touches, on a surface level, on some rather heavy themes, bringing a kind of gravitas to the narrative that’s much appreciated. Also, through conversations between Eve, Jason, and the various characters they encounter in their travels, the world-building gradually reveals the scope of the much larger universe this adventure is set in, setting the stage for many potential sequels if Inti Creates chooses to go that route.
Much akin to the story, the gameplay also picks up right where the original left off, ratcheting up the difficulty and throwing in a whole new wealth of gameplay improvements and additions that evolve the side-scrolling action in new and interesting ways. Rather than the large, mostly interconnected world of the previous game, Blaster Master Zero 2 takes things to the next level by offering a quasi-open world that places greater emphasis on player choice. The world is divided up into ‘areas’ that are separated by wormholes, and each area usually contains one ‘main’ world and a host of smaller, side worlds.
Once you pick a planet or ship to land on, you then take control of the all-new Gaia-Sophia tank in side-scrolling run ‘n’ gun sections that play like a bit like a slightly floatier version of Mega Man. On occasion, there will be sections of a level where the tank can’t go, requiring that Jason disembark and go it alone in his own platforming sections that usually revolve around climbing ladders and activating switches that can open new paths forward. It’s interesting how these side-scrolling portions highlight the disparity between Jason and the tank, as they really go a long way towards communicating the raw power and relative invulnerability of Sophia. When running around on foot, Jason is extremely vulnerable to enemy attacks, and jumping from what seems to be a relatively short height is usually enough to kill him outright; when you finally do get back into the driver’s seat of the tank, there’s a deeply satisfying feeling of relief to be found at the controls of a nearly unstoppable death machine.
Naturally, side-scrolling isn’t all that Blaster Master Zero 2 has to offer, as about forty percent of the gameplay is found in Jason-only dungeons that shift the perspective to a top-down cover-based shooter. Once again, there are plenty of improvements to be found in these sections compared to the original, most notably in how Jason now has a flashy counterattack that rewards risky play. When just about any enemy attacks there’s a small window in which a reticle appears above their head, and if you tap the ‘X’ button during this window, Jason will dramatically dodge out of the line of fire and respond with a powerful shot of his own. It’s the sort of mechanic that feels organically integrated into the underlying gameplay flow, making shootouts feel a little more skill-based while also allowing of the difficulty to go much higher while still being ‘fair’.
Dungeon designs have overall become more complicated in a good way, too, with the map layouts featuring interesting puzzles and lock and key situations that demand a bit more snooping around. Granted, these dungeons still don’t approach the kind of complexity that you’d expect to find in the Zelda games of old, but we appreciated there being a bit more meat to these top-down sections now and that the rewards at the end of them are often worth the struggle.
Whether playing as Jason or Sophia, level designs are noticeably varied and interesting, with each new area and planet bringing with it some new enemy types and environmental gimmicks to set things apart and keep the gameplay fresh. For example, one planet is divided into two by a series of dimensional rifts, which has turned part of the planet into a desert wasteland and the other into a frozen tundra; not only do you have to make sure not to touch any of those rifts – which will kill you instantly, tank or not – but navigating the two vastly different terrain types can prove to be an interesting challenge. Another planet is plant-based and overrun by some unusually aggressive bamboo which will actively block progress in certain places, creating an interesting maze-like environment that requires a lot of trial and error. You never know what to expect when you finally gain access to another area in Blaster Master Zero 2, and it’s to the game’s credit that it’s able to so continuously keep both the tank and on-foot section fresh with new gameplay variety every couple hours.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Blaster Master without a hefty amount of exploration, and Blaster Master Zero 2 does a great job of rewarding the player for going off the beaten path while also encouraging them to frequently backtrack to old areas. Throughout your adventure, you’ll frequently come across small maps that unlock new planetoids on the world map, which will be waiting for you whenever you opt to leave your current planet. These extra planetoids usually act as sort of ‘mini-dungeons’ that offer up a small, but focused set of challenges for both Jason and Sophia that usually end in you getting a health or SP upgrade or, more rarely, a new special weapon for one or both of them to make combat sections a little more spicy.
What’s nice about this new map system is how open-ended and non-linear it can prove to be; you aren’t usually required to go to any of these side areas unless you want to, but you can tackle them in just about any order you want and the rewards for taking that time away from the main story are almost always worth it. Plus, there’s a real sense of progress to be found in gradually upping your survivability and arsenal; many of the pickups along the way prove to be functional in more ways than one would expect, often subtly changing the way you approach the gameplay.
In terms of presentation, Blaster Master Zero 2 manages to surprise and delight; continuing the retro charm of the NES original and building on it in some subtle ways. It more or less looks just like its predecessor, but unlike that release, this one isn’t constrained by the limitations of a console that’s over 30 years old. Worlds are much richer and rife with small details here, and the pixel art is truly astounding, especially in the boss encounters. One memorable boss harasses you from the background for almost an entire level, and both the boss itself and its attacks prove to be bombastic, colourful, and utterly scene-stealing as you deftly manoeuvre through the environment.
There may not be anything here that necessarily pushes the boundaries of pixel art, but it’s also difficult to think of many other retro-style games on the eShop that demonstrate a stronger grasp of the art direction. The same could be said of the chiptune soundtrack, though the music does tend more towards being forgettable. It’s not that there are any tracks here that are outright bad, but there’s also nothing nearly as memorable or iconic as the original game’s main theme; it’s the sort of chiptune soundtrack that’s just ‘there’.
Conclusion
Inti Creates has knocked it out of the park with Blaster Master Zero 2, improving on the original in nearly every conceivable way while also setting a clear path forward for what could hopefully become a flagship series for the company. Tight platforming action, memorable boss battles, plenty of extra side content, and some gorgeous pixel art make this one of the easiest recommendations on the eShop; we’d strongly encourage you to pick this one up as soon as you can. Whether you’re a long-time fan of the series or are just getting into it for the first time, Blaster Master Zero 2 is a stellar and enjoyable experience from stem to stern, and just goes to further cement Inti Creates’ legacy as one of the best developers in the retro gaming business.
We’ve heard rumblings that Nintendo is working on new Switch hardware all year, but yesterday’s report from The Wall Street Journal was the most convincing yet; it claims that Nintendo is working on not one but two new SKUs for the console.
One is aimed at the ‘Pro’ sector of the market, and will apparently include additional features to draw in early adopters who already own a Switch system. It’s the same kind of upgrade path Nintendo has used in the past, with the likes of the Game Boy Light, GBA SP, 3DS XL and New Nintendo 3DS.
Our pals over at Eurogamer have corroborated this report by talking to other sources and can confirm that yes, we are getting two new Switch consoles this year. However, Eurogamer’s source is keen to stress that while the cheaper of the two variants is indeed going to be a budget iteration, it’s more in line with the 2DS than 3DS.
The 2DS, as we know, came at a time when the 3DS was still performing well in the sales charts, and removed the autostereoscopic 3D feature (arguably the console’s selling point at that time) to present a more ‘kiddie friendly’ console, complete with a robust design which also jettisoned the delicate clamshell casing.
Eurogamer’s sources claim that an almost identical approach is being taken with the cheaper Switch variant, and they hint that it could even lose the ability to dock and connect with TVs. This might seem like an odd move, but then so was stripping 3D from the 3DS – and Nintendo did that.
‘Several people familiar with Nintendo’s current plans’ spoke to Eurogamer and said that this SKU is aimed squarely at kids who want to play on a portable games console, so it could be that the need to connect to a television is seen as worth sacrificing to attain that lower price point. Rumble is also being removed, although Eurogamer says it’s not totally sure if this relates to ‘HD Rumble’ or force feedback altogether.
Meanwhile, the same sources say that the ‘Pro’ model won’t be a massive leap in performance, as some people are no doubt expecting. It will, apparently, be closer to the jump between the standard 3DS and New 3DS.
It never ceases to amaze us how far modern-day developers can push retro hardware. From elaborate tech demos to fully-fledged ports, programmers are willing to push vintage systems to the absolute limit, forcing them to produce visuals that, back in the day, would have been unthinkable.
Take the work of French developer @upsilandre, who has managed to create a clone of Konami’s Axelay on the NES, complete with the cool ‘barrel’ perspective on the horizon.
The developer is keen to stress that this isn’t a ‘game’ as such, but it does play on real hardware (you can even download the ROM and try it yourself, via either an emulator or a flash cart) and it runs at 60fps. In fact, it looks as visually impressive as Axelay itself, which runs on more powerful hardware, lest we forget.
A new gameplay trailer for Streets of Rage 4 has been released which gives us a better idea of what the final product will look like when it eventually hits the (ahem) streets.
Currently in production at Guard Crush Games, this highly-anticipated sequel will feature the artistic talents of Lizardcube, the studio behind the sublime Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap remake. DotEmu is handling publishing, and is yet to actually confirm that the title will be coming to Switch… but put it this way, if it doesn’t, we’ll happily consume not only our own hat, but yours as well.
The trailer shows Axel and Blaze strutting their stuff through various environments, and includes some cool moves – such as Axel’s signature overhead throw and the ability to hit enemies while they’re in mid-air. The most exciting thing is the end image, which is a revision of the existing key art which shows what appears to be two additional characters:
Who could these characters be? One is holding a guitar; could that be Skate, all grown up? The other has what looks like a robot arm – is that Dr. Zan? Your guess is as good as ours at this point.
It is stressed that the gameplay, sounds and music are all ‘work in progress’ so things may change before the game is finished. One change we hope is forthcoming is the inclusion of music by the one and only Yuzo Koshiro, whose soundtracks for the first three games on the Mega Drive are the stuff of video gaming legend.
Be sure to check out our interview with the team behind the game here while you wait for that (hopefully) inevitable confirmation of a Switch release.
Originally released back in 2010, XIV is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (or MMORPG) currently only available on PlayStation and PC. Naoki Yoshida, the game’s director, has been talking about getting the game running on Switch since way back in 2015 when the console was still known as ‘NX’.
In 2017, he confirmed that conversations were ongoing with other platform holders – including Nintendo – but also noted a need for the game to have true cross-platform capabilities for all players before any progress could be made. Now, in an interview with GameSpot, Yoshida seems to suggest that those very conversations are still taking place, even after all this time.
“Talks with platform-holders has been going on. The fundamental philosophy with Final Fantasy XIV is we want it on labels with cross-platform play with any devices, hardware possible. So as long as the regulations with the counterpart hardware companies … we can actually pass that, then the possibility, the chance is quite high [of Final Fantasy XIV coming to Xbox and Nintendo systems].
“So we are talking with Nintendo, Microsoft, and Google, of course; we cannot say anything at the moment because we are still in negotiations, but once we have details we can make an announcement; we can bring the news to everyone. We are currently negotiating will all those platforms.”
During the interview, GameSpot notes that Yoshida consistently brought up the desire for the game to reach as many people as possible. When asked about the possibility of replacing the game’s current monthly fee for a free-to-play model, Yoshida hinted at it being too late to change, saying that “either the community or the game itself would break” by doing so.
Would you want to see Final Fantasy XIV come to Switch, too? Do you think it would be a good fit if cross-platform play was implemented well? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Now, he’s even popping up in places he shouldn’t belong. Well, kind of anyway.
As spotted by the folks over at GoNintendo, the classic level design of the Super Mario. Bros series has been referenced in the latest issue of Marvel’s Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man comic series. The nod to the games appears in issue four – you can see it for yourself in the image below.
We’ve never considered this before, but we’d be very up for some Mario x Spider-Man crossover action on Switch. How would it work? We’ve no idea. Would it be any good? We haven’t the foggiest. It’d probably be sublimely cool, though.
Yesterday, we shared a report from the Wall Street Journal which states that Nintendo is planning to release two new Switch models later this year. These claims haven’t been confirmed or commented on by Nintendo itself, but the company has seen a significant share price rise as a result.
The report suggests that both a cheaper model, with some key features taken away, and a more expensive device which will have “enhanced features targeted at avid video gamers” are on the way. Investors seem to like the sound of these hypothetical consoles, with Nintendo’s shares climbing as much as 6.8% in response – the largest increase Nintendo has seen in a single day since last August, according to BloombergQuint.
via Google
Nintendo’s share price over the last five days
If you missed it earlier, we’ve already discussed our thoughts on the report in depth, essentially coming to the conclusion that new Switch models could be welcomed – and do very well for Nintendo – as long as they’re released with clear marketing and are different enough to the standard console to warrant their existence.
If Nintendo does release two new systems – or even just the one, really – 2019 could well be yet another crucial, exciting year.
Do you think these hypothetical new Switch models would be a smart move for Nintendo? Do you think investors are right to be excited? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Top-down pixel art action title Elden: Path of the Forgotten is scheduled to launch on Nintendo Switch in 2019, it has been confirmed.
Elden: Path of the Forgotten is a medieval cosmic horror game with a focus on “storytelling through nontraditional methods” and environmental storytelling. It has been in development since late 2015 by the one-man team at Onerat Games, being picked up by publisher Another Indie for the Switch release coming later this year.
This handy feature list should give you a little more info:
KEY FEATURES: – Explore a stunning and encapsulating dark world containing assorted, challenging, and narrative layered lands. – Immerse yourself in epic battles against abhorrent Lovecraftian enemies and bosses. – Play your style by experimenting with a wide variety of unique weapons and powerful spells. – Be haunted by a gorgeous and minimalistic soundtrack.
We don’t have a specific release date for this one just yet, but we’ll keep an eye out for more news as it comes.
What do you think? Are you looking forward to seeing the game launch on Switch? Tell us below.
