If you’d have asked us, just a few days ago, for a comprehensive list of video game series which we could imagine in a ‘Battle Royale’ format, Tetris would have been right at the bottom. Splatoon could be a good shout with a lot of tweaking, and maybe even an ultra-cruel Pikmin showdown – heck, we’d even put Nintendogs higher in the list than this puzzling classic – yet here we are, in 2019, with a Battle Royale Tetris game. And you know what? The world is a much better place because of it.
Tetris is, of course, a game that has a long connection with Nintendo. Back in 1989, Alexey Pajitnov’s puzzler was bundled with the Game Boy and helped it become one of the most popular gadgets of all time. While Nintendo can’t lay claim to any kind of ownership when it comes to the game, it’s fair to say that it wouldn’t have been quite as famous were it not for the Game Boy edition. Given this history, it’s oddly fitting that the title should get what is arguably its most revolutionary update on a Nintendo system.
We’re sure you’ve probably guessed this already, but Tetris 99’s main chunk of action, and the area of the screen you’ll be wholeheartedly fixated on in early games, plays like any old normal game of Tetris. Differently-coloured Tetriminos fall from the top of the screen and you need to rotate, drop, and carefully place them down below to create full lines. Doing so clears that line from the board, and clearing multiple lines in one go can do more than just wiping your board clean.
You see, Tetris 99 is a twisted, cold, unforgiving deathmatch where players attack each other in real time. There are no high scores in sight, with your only goal being to survive the onslaught and remain as the last player standing. Clearing multiple lines in one go (or even just getting combos) can send ‘junk’ lines to your opponents, raising their boards to near dangerous levels at the top of the screen and putting you one step closer to claiming your ‘winner winner Tetris dinner’.
The problem is that – to put a spin on The Hunger Games’ favourite slogan – the odds are never in your favour. Sure, you might be able to send an attack or two to some opponents every now and then, but there are 98 other players all doing the same thing, and it’s absolute chaos. In a lovely touch, you can see all 98 enemies on your screen to your left and right, almost like a sadistic television game show. You can even watch every attack be performed in real time, with ‘whooshes’ of light being beamed from one player to another.
Because of this, there are several tactics that you can employ to stay in the fight, although the game does a terrible job of explaining how these actually work. Before we jump into the good stuff, it’s worth noting that Tetris 99 feels oddly bare by today’s standards. Your only real option is to jump into an online game and watch the mayhem unfold, desperately trying to keep up; there’s hardly anything available to give you any hints on how to play, which could leave more impatient players quickly frustrated.
Even if you do succumb to this early confusion, we’d urge you to stick with it, because it slowly but surely starts to fall into place – just like the Tetriminos. You’ll notice that, assigned to the right stick (or left, if you choose to change the setting in the options menu), are four different attack types: KOs, Badges, Attackers, and Randoms. If you just so happen to get attacked by multiple players at once, there’s probably very little you’ll be able to do to survive regardless, but mastering these four options is certainly your best bet.
The names refer to the type of other player you are about to attack: Random will choose players at random; Attackers will target anyone attacking you; KOs targets those who are about to be knocked out; and Badges will aim for those who have racked up badges from KOing other players to steal them for yourself (these badges give you attack multipliers to deal more damage). As you can see, battles can become quite strategy-focused, and we sometimes saw better results when switching our mode of attack depending on our situation.
The key to this is keeping an eye on the other 98 players, using the Attackers option to defend when you’re being bombarded, and KOing others when they’re about to be knocked out to earn badge multipliers. You can also manually attack whichever of the 98 opponents you like by using the opposite stick, although this is far too fiddly in the heat of battle; playing in handheld mode allows you to simply tap the opponent you wish to attack on the Switch’s screen, so we’d argue this is perhaps the best way to play.
Having said all this, forming any sort of plan while under pressure – especially when the sheer panic gets amplified as you enter the final 50, and again with the final 10 – is incredibly difficult. You’ll do well just to keep up at all; we still haven’t managed to claim a single victory after dozens of attempts, although we’ve cracked the top 10 several times. Once you’re in the top 10, death can come swiftly and without warning, even if you have a mostly empty playfield. There may be fewer players to send junk your way but less opponents also means more focused attacks, and we’ve seen instances where a single ‘junk drop’ wipes us out completely – a situation which is exacerbated by the speed at which blocks fall during this point of the game.
From a performance perspective, everything is pleasingly smooth and dandy. We’ve experienced no issues playing the game in either docked or handheld mode, and we’ve had zero communication errors or the like facing against our 98 online opponents (if it wasn’t clear before, this is an online-exclusive game). You’ll be treated to that wonderful Tetris theme as you play (we’ll forgive the repetitiveness this time because it’s just so catchy), and this gets turned up to 11 the nearer you get to a victory. Lovely.
As a free experience (after paying for a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, of course), this is a nice little game overall. There aren’t any modes beyond the one Battle Royale setting, you have to play online, and the lack of a tutorial for the attack modes seems like a confusing omission – so things aren’t exactly perfect – but the fast, addictive nature of the content that is there is still absolutely worth a go. Rumours suggest that more modes will be included in the fullness of time, but we’re still pretty pleased with what we’ve got, especially as it’s gratis to all Switch Online players.
Conclusion
The complete oddball of the family, Tetris 99 offers a truly unique way to play the tried-and-tested classic, even if the overall package feels a little lightweight. Playing live against 98 others is chaotic, and the action feels fast, precise, and wonderfully addictive. It’s seriously difficult, too – we’d fancy our chances in Fortnite over this any day – and we’re impressed with the fact that it’s forced us to play the game with a completely different approach to our usual slow-and-steady ways. Signing up for Nintendo Switch Online just to play this game might be a bit of a stretch, but if you’re already a member, what are you waiting for? It’s free, and it might just become your next favourite time sink.
The Dreamcast, Sega’s last combatant in the console wars, was a beautiful failure – a forward-thinking machine arguably scuppered by company infighting and mismanagement, public fatigue after a spate of expensive Sega hardware releases, or simply being a year or two before its time.
Just one area where it pushed the boundaries was its controller – a hulking great lump with space for Jump Packs (or Rumble Paks, in Nintendo parlance) and VMUs or Visual Memory Units – a memory card with a built-in LCD screen offering a limited second screen experience long before Nintendo went down that road.
While hardly perfect, it was an iconic interface and Microsoft took inspiration from it when designing the face button configuration of its Xbox pad; needless to say, Sega’s final video game controller continues to get retro enthusiast’s juices flowing to this day.
If you’re one of those people, then you might be interested in the recently-launched Kickstarter campaign from Retro Fighters which looks to bring back the pad and correct some of the faults in its design, bringing it more in line with modern controllers while offering full compatibility with VMUs and accessories.
Alterations to the original design include some additional shoulder buttons, a better D-pad and the cord exiting the pad from the top instead of the bottom.
The company has previously produced accessories, including an updated N64 controller which smashed its target goal. The Next Gen Sega Dreamcast Controller has followed suit, sitting at a whopping 459% of its funding goal at the time of writing, with 27 days still remaining.
Stretch goals include some additional colour options, so there’s plenty of time to check out the campaign if you still boot up the ol’ Dreamcast on a regular basis.
Reckon you’ll pick up one of these or is this a blasphemous affront to the perfection of the Dreamcast pad? Let us know below…
Super Mario Maker™ 2! The Legend of Zelda™: Link’s Awakening! Astral Chain™! The recent Nintendo Direct added several big Nintendo Switch™ games to the year’s growing lineup. Host Chris Slate wouldn’t stop gushing about the news to everyone within earshot, so to get some work done, his coworkers locked him in a room with Bill Trinen from Nintendo Treehouse and Anthony Foster from the social media team at Nintendo of America. It turned out they couldn’t wait to talk about the games, too!
Aragami is a third-person stealth game that casts you as an undead assassin with the power to control the shadows. You can teleport to any shadow, become invisible, materialize weapons or even summon a shadow dragon to infiltrate the enemy ranks and dispose of your targets. In short, it’s a proper hoot, and Switch is getting what promises to be the best version yet.
To celebrate it coming to Nintendo Switch on 21st February, we’ve teamed up with Merge Games to bring you an exciting competition where you can win a custom NES-themed Nintendo Switch.
We know that Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy is coming to Switch and other platforms very soon (21st February in Japan). It first collected all of the original games in one glorious package on mobile before gracing the 3DS with its objection perfection.
Gematsu has posted some HD screens of the upcoming port, and – blimey Charlie! – they’re pretty startling to anyone who’s only played these games on an original DS, or even further back on Game Boy Advance. Just look at all these pixels:
Stealth is a difficult thing to get right in gaming, and it’s something developers have been trying to nail for decades. Do you go down the GoldenEye route and encourage the player to sneak around while still giving them the option to go all guns blazing should they so desire? Or do you go for a strictly stealth-only affair where players are punished the moment they’re spotted (bow your head, Ocarina of Time’s castle grounds)? Aragami leans more heavily towards the latter of these examples, though it isn’t quite as harsh.
You play as the titular Aragami, a shadow spirit who’s been summoned by a girl called Yamiko. She’s been captured by the Kaiho, an army that uses special weapons powered by light. It’s up to you to make your way through the game’s 13 chapters – using your numerous shadow powers to either avoid or kill the Kaiho standing in your way – as you attempt to reach Yamiko and find out more about what’s going on. It’s a fairly mundane plot at first, but it does get more interesting as the game progresses.
The same could be said about the actual game itself, in fact. When you initially start off, you’re armed with a single skill, the ability to turn into a shadow and instantly teleport to any other nearby shaded area. Before long you’re then given the ability to create temporary circular shadows on lit floors or walls, allowing you to teleport there, too. These are interesting enough mechanics, but they also mean that for the first couple of hours things start to feel a little repetitive. You do eventually get to upgrade and add new skills by collecting scrolls; some of these are minor but useful additions, like the ability to tag enemies so you can track them, or making bodies disappear so that can’t be spotted.
Others are larger upgrades that can change the way you approach each situation. The ability to throw kunai knives from a distance, or place bombs that can be remotely detonated, for example. By the time the game nears its end and you’re kitted out with a full range of abilities it’s a far more enjoyable adventure, but for the most part your initial time with Aragami will be spent with a handful of skills, teleporting around small stages patrolled by guards, meaning you’re going to need to have a little patience before things properly kick off.
Depending on your mood, you can choose to play through the game in one of two ways. If you’re the peace-loving sort, you can try to make your way to the end of the stage without being seen by the numerous Kaiho guards, allowing them to happily continue their patrols, blissfully unaware that you just infiltrated their defences. Alternatively, if you’re the sort of person who feels you aren’t doing your ninja duty unless all of your foes taste cold steel, you can choose to go ‘full ninja’ and stealthily pick them off one by one.
Whichever you choose, not being seen remains the order of the day; as we stated already, this isn’t a GoldenEye or Splinter Cell situation where being spotted just means things switch from a stealth game to an action game. Your enemies are armed with the power to fire huge waves of light from their swords, which kill you with a single touch; this essentially means that once you’re spotted, you’re as good as dead. The only exception is playing on the easiest difficulty, where they’re so comically slow to react you can run straight at them and plunge your sword into them before they have the chance to get their sword out – like that famous bit in Monty Python and the Holy Grail – which sort of removes any real sense of a challenge.
Aragami is very much a ‘hiding in the shadows’ type game, then, to the extent that its inventive HUD (or lack of one) is based on that concept. Aragami has an ornate cape hanging down behind him, and the design on this cape actually shows your current shadow energy and how many uses you have left for your special abilities. As you use your various skills, this design will start to disappear, and when you move into a shadow your entire outfit turns black and the cape’s design begins to fill in again. It’s an extremely cool look, made more striking by the game’s cel-shaded art style.
It’s not without its issues, however. The shadow teleportation trick seems to be a bit hit and miss at times, especially when you’re trying to teleport onto higher platforms and structures. There’s a (tiny) cursor that turns blue when you’re able to teleport, but during the odd occasion when you have to teleport in a hurry it can become quite frustrating trying to quickly determine which areas you can and can’t move to. Your complete lack of ability to jump or climb is also frustrating, and it can be particularly annoying when your hero – who’s supposed to be a ninja, lest we forget – can’t step up to a ledge that’s knee height.
Get over these niggles and you’re left with a pure stealth game that should appeal to fans of classics like Tenchu, even if it doesn’t quite surpass them. Even better, this Shadow Edition also includes the Nightfall DLC expansion, which includes a handful of new chapters and introduces a pair of new characters, helping to mix things up a bit and provide new environments for you to stealth the living hell out of.
Conclusion
It takes a while to get going and it has its fair share of annoying quirks, but as it progresses Aragami becomes a solid stealth game with a compelling story. The addition of extra DLC chapters gives the game a welcome boost in longevity, and though its temperamental mechanics prevent it becoming an unarguable gem, its stylish look and the range of abilities you acquire by the end mean fans of stealth games (and fans of stealth only) will still have a fun time with it. Eventually.
US toymaker Jakks Pacific has announced a multi-year, global toy licensing deal with SEGA of America, allowing the company to manufacture, market, and distribute merchandise for the Sonic the Hedgehog brand.
The company will be showcasing its entire line at the International Toy Fair in New York from 16th – 19th February, but we have a first glimpse at some of the figures for you up above. The toys look great to us, but those figures aren’t the only thing you can expect to pick up in the future; Jakks promises to introduce action figures, playsets, plush, collectables, and novelty items, too.
One highlight mentioned in a press release talks about a Pinball Track Set. We don’t have any pictures to share with you just yet unfortunately, but this customisable track allows fans to “simply pull the pinball launcher and shoot the Sonic Spheres through the loops and turns. The set comes with an exclusive Sonic Sphere and removable figure”.
Craig Drobis, SVP Marketing at JAKKS Pacific, has shared the following:
“We are incredibly excited to work with SEGA of America to bring this iconic property and character to life. The JAKKS line of toys, role-play, and dress-up extends the ‘Sonic’ experience from screen-time to play-time.”
Anoulay Tsai, Licensing Director, SEGA of America added, “this is a great step forward for Sonic the Hedgehog as we endeavour to break barriers at the speed of sound in toys!”
The global launch (except Asia, apparently) of this Sonic the Hedgehog toy lineup will be available at retail this autumn. Prices are set to start at $4.99.
What types of Sonic merch would you like to see from this partnership? Do you like collecting toys of your favourite gaming characters? Tell us below.
News that Ninja Theory’s action-adventure game Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is Switch-bound was a delightful surprise in last night’s Direct. With no official news on who’s handling porting duties just yet, according to Kotaku the work is being carried out by developer QLOC.
The Polish studio’s resumé is a long, impressive list of winners, including series such as Street Fighter, Resident Evil and Dragon’s Dogma, to name a few. They also worked on DmC: Devil May Cry, a previous Ninja Theory joint.
This appears to be their first announced project for Switch (the Kotaku post erroneously attributes Dark Souls: Remastered on Switch to QLOC, although it only handled the other console versions – the Switch port was done by Virtuous). The report also suggests that although there’ll be no new content as such, it will have some added (optional) motion controls, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Hellblade was warmly received when it released back in 2017 on PS4, winning several awards and garnering praise for its depiction of psychosis as Senua goes on a vision quest. Also of note is that Ninja Theory itself is now a Microsoft studio, although Hellblade’s development predates their acquisition. It will be fascinating to see how this holds up on Nintendo’s handheld – hopefully QLOC’s porting skill will mean the Switch version can stand proud with the others. It’s scheduled for Spring, so we’ll find out before too long.
Have you played this on other platforms or will you be picking this up on Switch? What compromises are you expecting in the Switch version? Share your opinions in the comments section.
As has become tradition, Hamster has revealed its next batch of arcade titles set to delight and amaze on Nintendo Switch. From a Nintendo perspective, one game that will no doubt instantly catch your eye is Ice Climber – even if your experience with Popo and Nana is limited to just Super Smash Bros. loveliness.
This particular Ice Climber release will be the Vs. Ice Climber variant found in arcades, as opposed to the original on NES. This version includes lots of features not present in the home console release, such as an animated title screen, more mountains, more enemies, more items, and additional effects.
You ready? Then here goes. Here’s the full list of titles just announced for Switch (thanks, JapaneseNintendo!):
The Ultimate 11: SNK Football Championship
The King of Fighters 2003
Baseball Stars
Samurai Shodown V Special
Ikari Warriors
Image Fight
Ice Climber
Elevator Action
Butasan
Karate Champ
Psycho Soldier
??? (a mystery Tecmo title was also teased)
These should all slowly but surely appear on the eShop in the coming weeks (with some of them also set to release across other platforms, too), although exact release dates are currently unknown.
Do any of these grab your attention? Will you be getting your retro fix with any in particular? Let us know if you’ve been enjoying Hamster’s collection on Switch in the comments below.
The latest Nintendo Download update for Europe 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 – New Releases
TETRIS 99(Nintendo, Free) – 99 players…but only one will remain! TETRIS 99 is the iconic puzzle game as you’ve never seen it before. Can you pick the right strategy to best 98 other players online – all at the same time?! TETRIS® 99 is available as an exclusive offer for members of the Nintendo Switch Online paid membership service. After all, TETRIS® 99 is all about battling online for block-dropping dominance against players around the world!
FINAL FANTASY IX(SQUARE ENIX, €20.99 / £16.99) – Experience the adventure once again with characters and pre-rendered movies featured in high definition, as well as a new booster system with a selection of various modes such as “high speed” or “no encounters”!
OlliOlli: Switch Stance(Gambitious, €14.99 / £13.49) – Rack up the biggest and coolest combos along the way then time your landing to perfection to rule the Leaderboards. The iconic skater goes all green-screen with a stunning new look in OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood, plucking you from the street and dropping you squarely in the middle of the big screen’s most bodacious cinematic locations! – Read our OlliOlli: Switch Stance review
Captain StarONE(Flyhigh Works, €9.99 / £9.19) – Became the hero “Captain StarONE” in this game blending action and ‘inaction’. You set your strategies and combos, then multitask as the game carries out your attacks. Watch the battles unfold and be ready to jump back in to guide our hero!
Duck Hunting Challenge(BoomBox, €9.99 / £8.99) – Pack up your gear, call on your canine companion, and get ready for one of the best hunting trips ever. Duck Hunt Challenge features an engaging Career mode, as well as a fun Quick Hunt mode — allowing players to test their skills and earn new weapons, camo and more. Along with this trusty hunting dog, players will get to travel the US, upping their skills and unlocking new challenges.
Dungeon Stars(Dungeon Stars, €4.34 / £3.89) – Delve deep into hundreds of dungeon levels to liberate your fellow heroes, rescue pets, gather gold, pilfer potions and discover magical loot. The goblin hordes will try to stop you. Fearsome creatures will try to eat you. Prepare yourself to face the ever-changing challenges of the star portals. With grit and determination, you may create a team of amazing adventurers with enough guts and glory to destroy the Conqueror Worm!
Minesweeper Genius(Blowfish Studios, €5.99 / £4.99) – Inspired by the classic computer game from our childhood – as well as sudoku and picross – Minesweeper Genius is a brain teaser that will challenge your mind and logical thinking. Help Aristotle – the genius with a broom – sweep the minefield to regain his memory and escape from the aliens’ scientific experiments, discovering where all the bombs are hidden.
The King’s Bird(Graffiti Games, €15.99 / £14.39) – Escape into a world kept secret by a tyrant, and discover the truth about your freedom. The King’s Bird is an artistic, momentum-based game that seamlessly combines precision-platforming with physics-based gliding. – Read our The King’s Bird review
Iron Crypticle(Tikipod, €8.99 / £7.49) – The glorious Royal Treasures of Cryptonia have been stolen! Now the King’s washed-up knights must suit up and descend into the ancient palace crypts to return those GOLDEN GOODIES! Get ready for GHOULISH arcade action in this epic medieval twin-stick dungeon shooter. Up to 4 players (local co-op) can fight together to SMASH through all manner of ghouls and fiends. – Read our Iron Crypticle review
The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince(NIS America, €19.99 / £19.99) – Plucked straight from the pages of an ancient fairy tale, The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince tells the story of two lonely hearts brought together through a mutual misunderstanding. Transform between the wolf and the princess to solve puzzles and evade traps, collect flowers and petals to unlock fragments of memories, and weave through the dark and dangerous forest to guide the prince toward a cure. But be warned…an all-seeing forest is no place for a blind prince. – Read our The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince review
Hexa Maze(TREVA, €19.99 / £17.99) – Tricky puzzles to test your brain power: work your way from level to level by cleverly fitting the colourful hexagonal blocks into the templates. With four different levels of difficulty, this puzzle will be enjoyed by beginners and experts alike. Are you stuck? Useful hints will help you to get moving again.
Alchemic Dungeons DX(Flyhigh Works, €7.99 / £7.29) – Alchemic Dungeons DX is an expanded and improved entry in the series. This deluxe version includes new characters, items and dungeons; even the background music has been enhanced! Dungeons are randomly generated and you progress with turn-based action. Every step you take will affect events, enemies and exploration.
Alvastia Chronicles(KEMCO, €12.99 / £11.69) – After encountering the man who killed their parents ten years prior, Elmia and her brother Alan set out to avenge their deaths as they fight to stem the tide of monsters flooding into the upper world, and restore peace to Alvastia. However, in their quest to amass an army of diverse companions with the same goal, will they really be able to gain the strength necessary to bring their parents’ killer to justice, and save the world…?
Arcade Archives FRONT LINE(HAMSTER, €6.99 / £6.29) – “FRONT LINE” is an action game released by TAITO in 1983. All alone, you must use pistols and grenades to take out a group of hostiles. You can also combat the enemy by climbing into the blue tanks and armoured vehicles on the battlefield.
Astrology and Horoscopes Premium(Crazysoft, €8.99 / £7.99) – 2019 Astrology and Horoscopes Premium is the most luxury astrology, horoscope and numerology application. Learn your love horoscope in style. Get detailed daily predictions of tomorrow and yesterday based on biorhythms. We use professional astrologers and give you the best results. Personal Astrologer: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Scorpio. Zodiac Matchmaking / Matchmaker that predicts the compatibility of two signs accurately.
Cinders(Crunching Koalas, €19.99 / £17.99) – A mature take on Cinderella that’s all about player choices and shaping the famous fairy tale in any way you like. Cinders is a witty young woman living with an overbearing stepmother and her two daughters, as if she was reenacting a certain well-known fairy tale. But unlike its protagonist, Cinders is not afraid of taking fate into her own hands. Even if it means breaking the rules…
Degrees of Separation(Modus Games, €19.99 / £15.49) – Degrees of Separation is a 2D puzzle platformer in which duo Ember and Rime must use their contrasting powers to manipulate heat and cold to overcome obstacles. Through cooperation, they will learn about each other and the fate of their worlds.
Ghoulboy(Dolores Ent., €9.99 / £8.99) – Ghoulboy is a retro-inspired style action platformer. An exciting new platformer that combines the action-RPG genre with hack ‘n’ slash gameplay. 2D action, heroic characters, gloomy environments, demonic bosses, these all seem to excite players a lot.
Guess the Word(Ultimate Games, €1.29 / £1.19) – Play and learn letters and words – “Guess A Word” is an educational game for preschoolers and toddlers. Create words from letters as fast as you can! Your teacher will give you hints!
LOVE(Mokuzai Studio, €2.60 / £2.29) – LOVE is a reductive platforming game with a retro aesthetic and a focus on a challenging difficulty. It has a custom respawn system, 16 levels, 12 track soundtrack, competitive scoring, and a simple-to-use level creation feature.
Mindball Play(Interactive IP, €14.90 / £13.90) – Challenge your family and friends to a fun action packed racing game for all ages. Gather around the TV for split screen, create an online party and race your friends, or play by yourself and take on the time trial leaderboards.
Modern Combat Blackout(Gameloft, €19.99 / £19.99) – Pick from 9 customisable classes and fight around the world in thrilling 12-player online battles, or in the engaging offline story mode. Find friends and join a squad that fights together, or go it alone like a true commando. However you play, you’ll unlock potent new skills and a variety of gear as you progress.
NEKOPARA Vol.2(CFK, €10.99 / £9.89) – This newest edition will feature a new opening movie and theme song, all-new hand-drawn art from NEKO WORKs, and new fully voiced story scenes. The game’s gorgeous graphics are all in high definition for a truly complete experience.
Nice Slice(Kool2Play, €1.99 / £3.00) – Skilfully cutting food into many little pieces might be the greatest joy of cooking. Kool2Play studio, the makers of the critically acclaimed zen rhythm game Clock Simulator and the trippy visual puzzle Estiman, set out to recreate that pleasing sensation in a video game. Nice Slice gives you a knife and an endless supply of stuff to cut – the smaller the pieces, the bigger the score.
Pet Care(Ultimate Games, €1.29 / £1.19) – Do you know what else a bear has to do with honey, and maybe you can guess what the horse eats? Meet our animals and match the right food that cat, mouse, dog and other pets eat.
The Golf(D3 Publisher, €9.99 / £8.99) – A fun and simple golf game anyone can enjoy. Includes golf courses with up to 18 holes. With support for 1-4 players, enjoy at your pace by yourself or have an exciting competition with your friends and family.
Strikey Sisters(DYA GAMES, €8.99 / £8.09) – Say hello to a fantasy-themed arcade action brick breaker! Featuring cute characters, silly humour, powerful magic, crazy boss battles, and even a local 2 player co-op mode!
Tales of the Orient – The Rising Sun(Joindots, €14.99 / £12.99) – Prove your skills in Challenge mode with limited moves. Experience the excitement of building an ancient Japanese village in this engaging Match 3 game. See the beautiful scenery while listening to relaxing music inspired by this period in Japanese history. Dive into an epic story of honour and courage and help a Geisha and a Samurai save the day in Tales of the Orient: The Rising Sun!
TOUHOU SKY ARENA -MATSURI- CLIMAX(Mediascape , €29.99 / £26.99) – Enjoy dramatic girl battles in the sky with the “Fired-up Battle System”, which changes abilities to the playing song. Play Local or Network Battles up to 4 players. Play bombardment battles anytime, anywhere with anyone. Over 70 tracks recorded with famous Japanese doujin artists like Rokugen Alice, A-One and BUTAOTOME. 20 characters with each 2 types are available. Choose your favourite out of all 40 types! Rule the sky of Gensokyo with music and bombardments!
Tokyo School Life(Pqube, €14.99 / £12.99) – Tokyo School Life is a heart-warming visual novel that allows you to experience a charming summer love story. As an exchange student freshly arrived in Tokyo, you’ll make the acquaintances of Karin, Aoi, and Sakura; three girls with whom you will be spending your vacations. Learn about their quirks, Japanese culture and find your soulmate before the end of the summer!
Car Mechanic Simulator(ECC GAMES, €14.99 / £14.99) – Find classic cars inside old barns! Repair engine, brakes, exhaust, gearbox and chassis! Remove rust, apply putty and paint your car! Sell rebuilt vehicles and become the best car mechanic!
Space Lift Danger Panic!(Springloaded, €3.59 / £3.19) – This new Directors Cut version features 32Bit graphics, sound and a completely new game mode, more than doubling the content found in the original. Space Lift Danger Panic! is sure to surprise you!
Aperion Cyberstorm(Apriori Digital, £10.99) – Unleash destruction alone or with your friends in the 2D twin-stick bullet hell Aperion Cyberstorm! Find new Elements and Abilities, and mix them for more destructive power – Beat your enemies with plasma-coated spiral rockets, scrap them with electric mines, or overwhelm them off with devastating lasers. – Read our Aperion Cyberstorm review
3DS eShop – New Releases
Pinball Breaker(nuGame, €6.99 / £5.99) – Pinball Breaker is a breakout game which combines the game mechanics of a traditional breakout game and a flipper game. Play through 15 exciting levels as you aim for a high score.
Switch eShop – Demos
Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! Demo(Nintendo, Free) – Players eager to take their first step into the thrilling world of Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! & Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! for Nintendo Switch can now get the feel for what’s it’s like to become a Pokémon Trainer by downloading a free demo version out now on Nintendo eShop. In the full version of the game, players can explore the Kanto region with a friend or go solo, use the Poké Ball Plus to catch dozens of varied Pokémon, and connect to the Pokémon GO app to transfer Pokémon.
Yoshi’s Crafted World Demo(Nintendo, Free) – In Yoshi’s Crafted World players will explore a diorama-like world made of stuff like boxes and paper cups, where each side-scrolling stage has the traditional front side as well as a flip side with different views and surprises. With this free demo version, players can get a small taste of what the game has to offer before it launches on 29th March.
DAEMON X MACHINA: Prototype Missions Demo(Nintendo, Free) – A free demo of DAEMON X MACHINA is now available, for a limited time! In the Prototype Missions demo, test yourself in four missions, then take on a boss at the end.
Awesome Pea Demo(Sometimes You, Free) – Welcome to the Awesome Islands World! Awesome Pea is a classic run-and-jump platformer, where you must jump through many challenging levels and help the greedy Pea, who is ready to undergo any trials for the sake of gold. Dangerous dungeons, deceptively beautiful nature, hidden deadly traps, and many MANY coins await you!
Mega Mall Story Demo(Kairosoft, Free) – Design a towering mall of mega proportions! Attract droves of customers and elevate yourself to 5-star status in this mall management simulation game! Add anything from fast food joints to sushi restaurants, stairs and elevators–even a heliport–all with a touch of the finger!
Switch eShop – Pre-Orders
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker – Special Episode(Nintendo, €5.99 / £5.39, pre-order from 14/02/2019) – This paid downloadable content includes 18 new challenges, including five new courses and new Shiny Crowns to track down on each course!
Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon EVERY BUDDY!(SQUARE ENIX, €39.99 / £32.99, pre-order from 14/02/2019) – A new instalment of the ever-popular series is here! The classic FINAL FANTASY FABLES: Chocobo’s Dungeon is back with an enhanced gameplay system – to be enjoyed by both first-timers and fans of the series! Explore the challenges of the never-ending dungeons (“Insatiable Hunger”), befriend monsters with the new buddy system. You adhere to one simple rule, … every time you enter, the world around you changes shape, but it only moves whenever Chocobo moves!
DELTARUNE Chapter 1(8 – 4, Free, pre-order from 14/02/2019) – The award-winning indie RPG, UNDERTALE, expands the series with a brand new game…in a different world! DELTARUNE: Chapter 1! Create your own avatar, meet strange friends, and jump into the darkness. By the way, this first chapter is FREE, so please feel free to check it out. Like, you don’t really need to read this or anything… You can just try it…
R.B.I. Baseball 19(MLBAM, €29.99 / £29.99, pre-order from 12/02/2019) – R.B.I. Baseball 19 takes the field delivering heightened authenticity for a genuine MLB experience. We’ve added hundreds of new animations, updated player models, every official 2019 uniform, more player gear, improved ball physics and environments, and more!
RemiLore(Nicalis, €39.99 / £35.99, pre-order from 12/02/2019) – RemiLore is a “rogue-lite” anime-style adventure set in a colourful fantasy world where players hack-and-slash their way through an army of mechanical monsters using a huge variety of unique melee weapons and devastating magic attacks!
BATTLLOON(UNTIES, €5.99 / £5.49, pre-order from 14/02/2019) – BATTLLOON is a cute and casual PvP action game which pits you against your friends in a battle of bouncing balloons! Plays up to 4 players!
Raining Coins(Crazysoft, €5.99 / £4.99, pre-order from 14/02/2019) – It’s raining gold coins! Come, Play & catch them! The skies have opened up but it’s not raining cats and dogs! It’s raining gold coins! Help poor Eve catch the gold coins and buy the toys she loves.
Rotating Brave(COSEN, €4.99 / £4.49, pre-order from 14/02/2019) – “Rotating Brave” for the Nintendo Switch is an action game in which you control a pixel-art character and take on enemies while spinning. You start off holding the Nintendo Switch vertically. Then, as you progress from one stage to the next, you play while spinning the Nintendo Switch, sometimes holding the Nintendo Switch horizontally and sometimes holding it vertically.
YUMENIKKI -DREAM DIARY-(ACTIVE GAMING MEDIA, €15.99 / £14.39, pre-order from 14/02/2019) – Play as a young girl as she explores the mysterious and unreal world of her dreams. Start off with no story or guide, as you experience the different worlds of her dreams, each one deeply shrouded in mystery.
Awesome Pea(Sometimes You, €5.39 / £4.85, pre-order from 15/02/2019) – Welcome to the Awesome Islands World! Awesome Pea is a classic run-and-jump platformer, where you must jump through many challenging levels and help the greedy Pea, who is ready to undergo any trials for the sake of gold. Dangerous dungeons, deceptively beautiful nature, hidden deadly traps, and many MANY coins await you!
Creepy Road(GROOVYMILK, €11.69 / £10.52, pre-order from 15/02/2019) – When everything goes insane and the world falls apart, a man must take up arms to protect his loved ones. Embark with Flint Trucker on a crazy journey to reunite him with sweet Angelina, and try not to succumb to the madness that awaits you!
Klondike Solitaire(Baltoro Games, €3.99 / £3.49, pre-order from 15/02/2019) – Klondike Solitaire, the perfect game to help you escape your hectic daily routine, relax and enjoy. Change the game’s appearance to suit your own taste. Progress through the game to unlock unique card sets and backgrounds.
Pirates Pinball(EnjoyUp Games, €1.97 / £1.77, pre-order from 15/02/2019) – Enjoy Pirates Pinball, a perfect reproduction of a real pinball machine, with all the graphic details and sounds. Discover all the secrets, complete all the missions and become number 1 in the world or the best among your Friends, posting your high score on the online leaderboard.
Tardy(Drageus Games, €4.99 / £4.49, pre-order from 15/02/2019) – Ramto isn’t the smartest guy in the Universe. He enjoys finding troubles – and solving them, but when woke up on a spaceship it was too much even for him. Alone on the ship he had no idea how to pilot, among heaps of weird devices created by a schizophrenic engineer.
Treasure Stack(PIXELAKES, €17.59 / £15.79, pre-order from 15/02/2019) – Fusing the pulse-pounding pressure of a falling block puzzle game with grapple-powered platforming, Treasure Stack offers up a fast-paced party game experience like no other. As treasure chests and keys fall from the sky and threaten to fill the screen, take direct control of a pixelated hero as you run, jump, grab, climb, grapple and stack matching colours to keep the blocky deluge at bay. But don’t go in unprepared! Unlock over 100 items to customize your hero and grapple with, featuring everything from slimes with chainsaws, to avian boxing glove grapplers.
Swords & Soldiers 2 Shawarmageddon(Ronimo Games, €12.74 / £11.46, pre-order from 15/02/2019) – In this base stomping battle extravaganza, each battle is a fight to win a fast-paced tug of war; whether online, locally in split-screen or against the devious AI.
