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Category: Nintendo News
Nintendo News
Keep Your Ship Together With Space-Based Multiplayer Action Title Catastronauts
Inertia Software is bringing Catastronauts to the Switch, it has been announced.
Described as a “fast-paced multiplayer action game”, Catastronauts is a bit like Overcooked – but this time around you’re attempting to keep your spaceship together while taking down enemy craft. It’s also coming to PS4 and Xbox One.
Here’s some PR:
Gather your friends and join the illustrious Space Fleet in this fast-paced party game!
Can you deal with unrelenting disaster and hold your ship together long enough to destroy the enemy invaders? Repair systems, extinguish fires, arm the torpedoes, avoid deadly solar flares, destroy your friends and clone them back again; it’s all in the life of a Catastronaut!
Let us know what you think of this one by posting a comment below.
Platform Through Time In Double Cross, From The Makers Of Runbow
Get ready to platform across time as the multiverse-hopping antics of Double Cross is coming to Nintendo Switch this summer. Coming from 13AM Games – the same indie studio that brought Runbow to various Ninty platforms – Double Cross is a 2D action-adventure platformer that’s ultra colourful and extra charming.
You’ll be leaping about in the shoes of Zahra, an agent of R.I.F.T. (Regulators of Interdimensional Frontiers and Technology) whose job it is to maintain peace and order between all dimensions. A recent attack on R.I.F.T. headquarters thrusts you into a thrilling new case where they must use your R.I.F.T. developed gear to sling, swing, fight and investigate across distinct dimensions. You can upgrade Zahra over the course of the game, offering myriad playstyles beyond simple platforming.
Check out the trailer above and let us know what you make of the energetic acrobatics of Double Cross…
’80s-Inspired Racer BAFL – Brakes Are For Losers Will Speed Onto Switch This Month
Playdius has announced that BAFL – Brakes Are For Losers will be screeching and sliding its way to the Nintendo Switch eShop on 19th April.
The game is inspired by classic top-down multiplayer arcade games with insane tracks, allowing you to gather up to eight players for a hectic racing party, competing in championships, upgrading cars, and using dirty tricks along the way.
A challenging solo experience is available with championships against fierce AI competition, and special modes are available, too, such as Time Attack and Perfect Race. As you can see from the trailer above, the game is inspired by the pop culture of the ‘80s and ‘90s, promising funny details and surprising events as you play.
BAFL – Brakes Are For Losers Features:
– Up to 8-player madness on the same screen
– A Hardcore brakeless driving style
– Solo and local multiplayer in challenging championships
– Time Attack and Perfect Race also without brakes
– Badass Soundtrack
– Did we mention? No. Freaking. Brakes.
To celebrate the upcoming Nintendo Switch launch, Playdius and developer Oudidon plan to run challenges on the game’s news channel on your console. Time-limited riddles will be displayed, and only the fastest participants will win prizes, so make sure to follow the BAFL channel on your Switch if you want to take part.
Will you be grabbing yourself a copy of the game when it arrives later this month?
Detective Pikachu Is Back On The Case With A Much Stronger Week Two In The UK Charts
Detective Pikachu didn’t have the greatest of debuts in the UK, dropping at number 23 in its first week. Thankfully, its sophomore week was a lot more productive with sales rising by 76% (an incredible feat for a 3DS game in 2018), bringing it to number 15 in the multiplatform chart.
It was also a strong week for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with sales rocketing by 39%, a performance that sees it leap from number nine to number four in a single week. Of all the first-party titles released thus far on Nintendo Switch, it’s the one that’s shown the most resilience in terms of continued sales.
Kirby Star Allies hasn’t fared so well, dropping from number 11 to number 20 – it was number two in the charts two weeks ago. Poor Kirby…
1(NEW) FAR CRY 5
2(5) FIFA 18
3(1) SEA OF THIEVES
4(9) MARIO KART 8 DELUXE
5(12) PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS
6(13) CALL OF DUTY: WWII
7(2) A WAY OUT
8(14) ASSASSIN’S CREED ORIGINS
9(-) FORZA MOTORSPORT 7
10(7) GRAND THEFT AUTO V
11(10) SUPER MARIO ODYSSEY
12(21) CRASH BANDICOOT N.SANE TRILOGY
13(4) ASSASSIN’S CREED ROGUE REMASTERED
14(8) EA SPORTS UFC 3
15(23) DETECTIVE PIKACHU
16(6) BURNOUT PARADISE REMASTERED
17(19) ROCKET LEAGUE: COLLECTORS EDITION
18(16) THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD
19(-) GRAN TURISMO: SPORT
20(11) KIRBY STAR ALLIES
What do you make of this week’s chart data for the UK? Surprising reading or expected results for Nintendo Switch and 3DS during week 13? Let us know below…
Head Out On An Aeronautical Odyssey When Above Swoops Down In 2019
Danish developer Mighty Moth has announced its upcoming whimsical flight simulator Above will be landing on ‘consoles’ in 2019. In this isometric affair you’ll pilot a bright red plane and guide its pilot, Mary, around a flooded world full of sky pirates and other dangers lurking beneath the waves.
You’ll be able to land and upgrade your trusty flying contraption, as well as pulling off all sorts of daring aerial tricks when you’re soaring through the sky. From battling sea monsters to unravelling the mystery of Mary’s lost brother, Above promises to be a cut… ahem… above when it arrives on ‘consoles’ in 2019.
Does Above get your piloting juices flowing? Will it be enough to sate your desire to fly before we eventually get a new Pilotwings on Nintendo Switch? Let us know in the comments below…
Video: Digital Foundry Lavishes Praise On Outlast 2 Switch Port
Our friends over at Digital Foundry have put Outlast 2 on Switch through its paces, stating that the game is an impressive port – even when compared to the PS4 version.
Like the original Outlast on Switch, the sequel has a 1792×1008 resolution when docked, with a standard 720p in mobile mode. Both run at 30fps, while the PS4 version has a frame rate double that. Despite dialling back some of the detail, the core of the game remains intact – as you can see from the comparison footage above.
Have you taken the plunge on Outlast 2 yet? Will this video convince you? Let us know with a comment.
Video: We Feel these Top Ten Characters Deserve to Be in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Switch
Everyone’s got their own ideas about who they’d like to appear in the hype-intensive Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Switch, and over at NL Towers we’re no exception.
The potential list is frankly endless, so we decided to limit ourselves to the good old fashioned list of ten just to prevent this video and article going on indefinitely. Make sure you check out the video above, or if you’re just here to see a list of names with no explanation, hold your clicking finger for just a moment and gaze upon the list below:
10. Labo Man
9. Helix
8. Tetra
7. King K. Rool
6. Shantae
5. Shovel Knight
4. Ribbon Girl
3. Banjo & Kazooie
2. Dark Samus
1. Waluigi
Who do you want to appear in this latest entry? Let us know in the comments below.
Review: OPUS: Rocket of Whispers (Switch eShop)
One of the more unique adventures to arrive on the Switch eShop in its first year was OPUS: The Day We Found Earth. A charming, story-focused stargaze-‘em-up from indie studio SIGONO, it delivered a shining example of narrative gaming and left us searching for more. Happily, publisher Flyhigh Works/CIRCLE has brought a follow-up in OPUS: Rocket of Whispers. With an all new story and gameplay that swaps star-gazing for rocket-building, it’s a much more melancholy experience, but every bit as affecting as the first.
Though their shared ‘OPUS’ heading suggests that Rocket of Whispers might be a sequel to The Day We Found Earth, their connection is more nebulous; they may take place in the same universe, but in practice, they’re completely independent stories which happen to share a focus on space. In Rocket of Whispers, you play as John, one of the only survivors of a catastrophic plague. Haunted by voices of ghosts, John’s only corporeal companion is Fei, the last ‘Witch’ responsible for directing the space burials central to their faith of Earthology. Space burials are meant to return departed souls to the cosmos via rocket, and as John and Fei eke out an existence in the snowy post-apocalypse, they focus their efforts on building rockets to carry out these interstellar rituals.
In gameplay terms, that work translates into scavenging via top-down exploration and crafting. Each day, you’ll set out from the rocket factory John and Fei call home to comb the snow-covered town for materials, and return before nightfall to piece together your finds into rocket parts to advance the story, and equipment to further aid your exploration. Crafting a metal cutter might let you harvest more materials or get through fences, for instance, while a makeshift flashlight will help you see inside the now-powerless buildings. Your expeditions are ostensibly timed — at least at first — to a single day at a time (about five real-world minutes), but there’s no real way to ‘fail’; the clock serves to gate your exploration rather than to punish or hurry you along.
As you explore, you’ll learn more about OPUS’ world and history through a variety of sources: John’s memories, found documents and objects, and the ever-present ghosts which whisper to you as you move around the map. Some of these ghosts will confide in John their last regrets or unfinished business, and — if you manage to scrounge up the materials needed — you can put their souls at peace through crafting side-quests. Rocket of Whispers has a bleak setup, and the atmosphere is heavy as a result, but helping out ghosts and piecing together the story and lore as you go makes for an enjoyably non-linear narrative adventure.
Like The Day We Found Earth, Rocket of Whispers’ story is carried by strong, effective writing and a charming fixation on information and data; in the former, it was stars, and here, it’s rocket parts. We won’t pretend to know much about the science behind spaceflight even after finishing the OPUS games, but the fact that every item you’ll come across and craft is accompanied by meticulously compiled metadata gives Rocket of Whispers an endearingly unique style.
Apart from the text, that style is further bolstered by OPUS’ presentation, which makes excellent use of a simple art style. It’s childlike in a way that helps soften the dreariness of the world, and its mostly muted earth and sepia tones make the moments of colour that do appear feel truly special. The same can be said of the soundtrack; it’s atmospheric and subtle, with a prominent piano, and often drifts out to leave only the sound of boots crunching in snow before swelling back in.
One of the things we loved most about OPUS: The Day We Found Earth was how it felt like a narrative that could truly only be told in a game. That same synergy between gameplay and storytelling is still present in Rocket of Whispers, but it’s perhaps less impactful here, if only because of the familiarity of the mechanics; star-gazing felt utterly unique as a gameplay conceit, but the nuts-and-bolts of scavenging and rocket building — exploration, collecting, and crafting — are standard fare in the medium.
Still, even with its more conventional gameplay loop, Rocket of Whispers manages to keep the beautiful crescendo pacing that defines the OPUS series; it starts off comfortably slow but steadily increases towards a breathless finale — an unforgettable fusion of music, gameplay, and story that made us undock the Switch, plug in headphones, and play straight through until the end credits.
For us, the journey took around four hours, which felt just about perfect. We had very few complaints along the way, and the issues we did note were slight; the lack of touchscreen control felt strange, but it’s certainly not a dealbreaker (the left analogue stick controls a cursor in the non-overhead sections), and as much as we sometimes wished for waypoints, we also enjoyed having to map out a mental picture of the town as we explored.
Conclusion
An emotional experience that’s as much about loneliness and letting go as it is about rockets, OPUS: Rocket of Whispers captivates from start to finish. It’s darker and bleaker than its predecessor, and scavenging for rocket parts isn’t as immediately appealing as stargazing, but it’s still every bit the affecting combination of narrative and gameplay that defined The Day We Found Earth. If you like curling up with a good book as much as sitting down with a good game, Rocket of Whispers is a perfect way to spend an enjoyable afternoon.
Leaked Labo Toy-Con Concepts Suggest Nintendo is Serious About Cardboard
Nintendo has somewhat divided many of its fans with its new Labo line of toys/peripherals, with many claiming it’s a great way to get kids interested in coding and just as many complaining that it’s overpriced and doesn’t appeal to them personally.
A recent leaked video from a LinkedIn profile may prove to sway some minds though, as the Labo range only looks to be expanding further and into even more varied avenues. It’s bold of the big N to branch out this widely, likely in an attempt to bring in as broad a demographic as possible, so only time will tell if it’ll work in practice.
Check out the leaked video above to see it all for yourself and let us know if you’ve been swayed by these new kits in the comments below.