PolyKnight Games is releasing its unique flying game InnerSpace on the Switch early next year, it has been revealed.
Placing you in the role of an archaeologist who must recover the last remaining memories before the Inverse collapses on itself, InnerSpace sees you flying through “ancient skies and abandoned oceans” where “entire civilizations have been lost to history, yet their gods still wander.”
Packed with inside-out planets where gravity is reversed, InnerSpace began life as a 2014 Kickstarter campaign. It looks a bit like RiME in space, if you ask us; those distinctive visuals look amazing.
InnerSpace takes flight on January 16th 2018 and will cost $19.99. Will you be stepping aboard?
One of the most famous Greek myths of all time might not seem like an ideal starting point for an intense, top-down combat racer, but the setup for The Next Penelope feels perfect. You assume the role of the titular heroine, wife of the long-absent Odysseus who is famed for her undying loyalty despite the advances of many persistent suitors. While this might make Penelope sound like your tiresomely stereotypical passive female character and little more than a trophy for the hero to swoop in and rescue, she is not content to simply sit and wait for her beloved to return. Instead, she hops into a spaceship and explores the intergalactic kingdom of Ithaca, desperate for news of her husband.
Inspired by the likes of the Japanese / French cartoon series Ulysses 31, The Next Penelope combines engaging action with superb presentation, and is all the more remarkable for being the work of just one man, Aurelien Regard. It borrows concepts from the likes of Micro Machines and F-Zero as well as 2D shooters, throwing together a startling number of ideas into the same bubbling pot. What’s truly stunning is how well this medley holds together.
The controls in The Next Penelope start out quite simple, but quickly grow in complexity the more weapons and abilities you unlock. Acceleration is automatic and there’s no means of slowing your speed, beyond hitting trackside objects or flying over special panels designed to halt your pace. You can essentially steer left and right using either the analogue stick, D-pad cluster or the ZL and ZR buttons. Weaponry and abilities are assigned to the button cluster on the right-hand Joy-Con and the L and R shoulder buttons.
Penelope’s quest to find Odysseus sees her participating in a series of three-stage challenges which comprise roughly of an opening level – which gently introduces the player to a new weapon – followed by a race against those aforementioned suitors but ending in a boss encounter; the latter two stages are usually focused on effective use of the new weapon bequeathed in the opening level. For example, one trio of stages teaches you the basics of the teleport move before placing you in a race where – at a certain point in the track – it’s possible to teleport ahead of your rivals. The third stage is a boss battle against the legendary Minotaur (re-imagined here as a floating bull’s head spaceship) where you have to teleport across various lanes while constantly firing at your opponent.
Each weapon adds a little wrinkle to the way the game plays, and once you’ve unlocked one it can be used on other courses in the game. One weapon gives your craft a short boost which can be used to smash through obstacles, ram other racers or simply gain a bit of pace. Your guns can be used to take down suitors and each bullet satisfyingly ricochets off walls. Mines are perhaps the most useful of all of the armaments, as they slow down racers and also suck away some of their precious shield energy, adding it to your total. The aforementioned teleport move is only really useful on certain levels, as is the grappling hook which allows you to remove large blocks in your path and – in one boss encounter – peel away armour. The final weapon turns enemy projectiles into experience points, which are used to boost the capabilities of Penelope’s craft.
All of these powers deplete your shield energy when used, so the game is a constant balancing act; fire your guns too many times or use too much boost and you’ll run out of power, which brings a premature end to your race. Recharge points exist on certain parts of the track, but it’s the mines which you’ll rely upon most, especially during boss fights where they are often your only means of replenishing health. In races you can happy drop them in the path of your onrushing rivals – but caution is still required as these mines will damage your ship as well.
Throughout this review we’ve spoken a lot about racing, but in actual fact that’s rather misleading. The Next Penelope isn’t really a racing game as such; granted, many of the stages pit you in a dash to the finish against other ships, but there are levels which are totally open and allow you to fly in any direction. Similarly, the boss battles we’ve touched upon so far play out more like a ‘shump’ where you’re blessed with the ability to move wherever you wish. This variety ensures that The Next Penelope feels fresh throughout, with each new challenge offering something very different from the last.
Experience points are dished out for finishing a level and wrecking an opponent, and can even be found lying around certain stages in small quantities. Using these points you can boost the speed of your ship, increase its manoeuvrability and even zoom out the camera a little so you have a wider view of the action. In order to accrue all of the points required to unlock every one of these abilities you’ll need to re-play several of the challenges – this is something we had to do repeatedly as we found some of the later levels to be quite tricky.
Indeed, The Next Penelope will pose a stern task for even the most experienced player, although it should be said that in most cases, it’s simply a matter of adopting the right strategy rather than having lightning-fast reflexes. A good example of this is the spider-like end-of-level boss Arachne; our on first few goes we blindly tried to blow her up with our main guns only to fail several times over. We soon discovered (thanks in no small part to a handy hint system which flashes up before each encounter, which we’d foolishly ignored) that it made more sense to use mines to take her down, carefully laying them in her pre-determined pathway while avoiding incoming fire.
The Next Penelope’s main campaign lasts for around five hours – if you’re a veteran player you may even finish it sooner. There are bonus missions to unlock post-game but after seeing the end credits you may well find your interest in the game diminishing. Thankfully an excellent four-player race mode (single Joy-Con support is included here, even though it’s not in the main game) keeps you coming back for more. Each player assumes the role of one of Penelope’s suitors and the aim is to be the last racer standing at the end of the challenge. While online play would have been nice, this mode is still jolly good fun when played with a group of friends.
In terms of presentation, The Next Penelope is near-faultless. From the stylised low-poly graphics – which call to mind the likes of F-Zero X – to the intricate anime portraits and the infectiously catchy soundtrack, it looks and sounds like an entire building of artists has been working on it – yet every single element has been produced by just one man (admittedly, Aurelien Regard didn’t handle this Switch port, it was done by Seaven Studio). An incredible solo achievement.
Conclusion
The Next Penelope may be quite a short experience but it’s one that will challenge your skills and dazzle you at the same time. Fans of the classic ’80s series Ulysses 31 will appreciate the excellent adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey, while those of you who like your gaming to be fast and intense are sure to be pleased by the thrilling racing, engaging shooter sections and overall variety in the experience. The amusing four-player mode picks up some of the slack when it comes to longevity; the short nature of the solo campaign is the solitary black mark in The Next Penelope’s copybook. That aside, this is a truly amazing indie title and one that deserves to do well on the Switch eShop.
Indie studios Crunching Koalas and Pixelated Milk are bringing the tactical RPG Regalia: Of Man And Monarchs to consoles, it has announced.
Influenced by JRPG classics, Regalia is already available on PC and the console versions (under the “Royal Edition” banner) will benefit from all available DLC as well as an “endless” mode and new characters.
Here’s some of the title’s key selling points, courtesy of the developer:
+ Traverse through lands of robust turn-based battles, diverse quests and distinct bosses. + Bond with dozens of colourful characters who will help you along your journey. + Tone down the difficulty level or skip battles if you’re not in a mood for a fight. + Experience a fair amount of epicness and tons of humour; Samurai dwarves?! + Bring back your best jRPG memories with hours of engaging gameplay. + Face the newly-added endless mode and prove your tactical skills.
Does this sound like it’s something you’d want to play on your Switch? Let us know with a comment.
We’ve seen multiple Adventure Time titles over recent years on Nintendo hardware, and now the Switch will get in on the act with the next main release – Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion.
Due in Spring 2018, it kicks off in a ‘flooded Land of Ooo’, so Finn and Jack naturally hop in a boat and set off on an adventure. It’s targeting a visual style to match the cartoons, and the following feature list gives you an idea of what it’ll be all about.
Open-world exploration
3D visuals that match the art-style of the show
Playable fan-favourite characters: Finn, Jake, BMO, and Marceline
An original Adventure Time story
Tactical combat
Hero progression
Pirates – “Shiver me timbers!”
Are you excited about this one being confirmed for the Switch?
The Switch eShop continues its rapid pace of releases next week with The Coma: Recut, which is a manhwa-styled Korean survival horror and a remastered version of the indie cult classic, The Coma: Cutting Class which is also developed by Devespresso Games.
In the game you play as Youngho, a hapless Korean student who, after drifting asleep during his final exam, wakes to find himself trapped in a twisted version of his school, Sehwa High. And he’s not alone. Relentlessly pursued by a psychotic killer, Youngho must evade his hunter while desperately searching for a way to escape the dread-filled corridors and classrooms.
Here are some of the key features in this game:
• A remastered version of indie cult classic The Coma: Cutting Class, the game has been rebalanced and ‘recut’ with new and updated animations, mechanics, cutscenes and art • Hide: Crouch in the darkness or cower in a closet to stay out of sight and evade the killer • Survive: Use your flashlight to search for useful items, but be warned –it can attract unwanted attention • Mystery: Discover notes and clues to uncover the twisted history of Sehwa High’s students and teachers • Death: Beware the horrors lurking in the dark, lest you bleed out in some forgotten classroom… • The cast of characters and creepy corridors of Sehwa High are brought to life in a hand-illustrated manhwa art style • Inspired by the real-world plight of Korea’s overworked high school students
Do you plan to pick up this Korean survival-horror game for Switch when it launches next week on the 21st?
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has been available for nearly two weeks, offering an enormous adventure for Switch owners to take on. With its own Expansion Pass and some areas needing improvement it’s a title that’ll have a number of updates, and Monolith Soft has outlined the first major patch – version 1.1.1.
It’s due to go live on 22nd December, and in an official post by Monolith Soft there’s confirmation of some bug fixes and other notable changes. Check out the details below.
Greetings to everyone playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2. This is Director Takahashi at Monolith Soft. Today I’d like to talk about the main updates that will be seen in the Ver. 1.1.1 update, which will be distributed next week on Friday December 22nd.
When you press the X Button, the Skip Travel screen will open the map to your current location. We hope this will make it easier to spot Skip Travel locations and Salvage Points on the map.
An additional 1:1 zoom on the mini map will be displayed by pressing the L Stick. This will allow improved visibility of your surroundings and make it easier to check quest locations.
We will further improve the convenience of the mini map as we add more quests and additional elements for second playthroughs next year. We appreciate your continued patience.
Note: The second playthrough elements will be available for all players, not just those who purchased the Expansion Pass.
In your second playthrough, you will be able to have “those” Blades join your party! You can also dispatch Blades like Pyra and Dromarch as a Merc Group, and unlock the “LV 4 Special” of a certain Blade.
We will distribute the following useful items to those who purchased the Expansion Pass:
Driver Essentials Set: 10 x Rare Core Crystal, 1 x Legendary Core Crystal, 3 x Overdrive Protocol
Upgrade Parts for Poppi: 30,000 ether
Pyra’s Favourite Things: 5 x Jenerossi Tea
Nia’s Favourite Things: 5 x Ardainian Bear Carving
So there you have it, a ‘second playthrough’ option next year that sounds rather like a form of New Game+, and some changes to the map and so on next week.
Are you still working through Xenoblade Chronicles 2?
Pokémon Crystal coming to Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS on Jan. 26
When it launched in Japan 17 years ago, Pokémon Crystal introduced many new and exciting elements to the beloved Pokémon franchise. The game, an expanded version of the popular Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver games, was the first in the Pokémon franchise to allow players to choose between a boy or girl playable character, as well as being the first game to introduce animations during Pokémon battles.
Now this groundbreaking game is coming to Nintendo eShop on the Nintendo 3DS family of systems on Jan. 26 for only $9.99.*
On the day it launches, Pokémon Crystal will also be compatible with Pokémon Bank, a paid service that lets players bring select Pokémon from classic core games to the newest core games in the series. With the addition of Pokémon Crystal to this service, it is now possible for players to bring Pokémon from all 29 core games in the series to Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon.
In this version of Pokémon Crystal, players will also have the chance to encounter the mythical Pokémon Celebi in an event after completing the game. In the original Pokémon Crystal game, Celebi could only be obtained by using a special accessory.
As with the Nintendo eShop editions of Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver, Pokémon Crystal will take advantage of the wireless communication capabilities of the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, allowing players to enjoy Link Trades and Link Battles with each other. With the Time Capsule feature, players can even trade and battle Pokémon from Pokémon Red, Pokémon Blue and Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition, which are all also available in Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS.
Fans also have the option to play Pokémon Crystal on a New Nintendo 2DS XL system that resembles an iconic Poké Ball. The Poké Ball Edition New Nintendo 2DS XL system can be purchased in stores at a suggested retail price of $159.99. (The Pokémon Crystal game and Poké Ball Edition New Nintendo 2DS XL system are sold separately.)
As a fantastic 2017 draws to a close it’s that time once again – Game of the Year Awards. We’re continuing with tradition in having both Staff and Community awards; the latter are entirely in your hands.
As in previous years you can vote through a series of polls. In each category we’ve created longlists; now, of course, we’ve had to pick those, so if any of your favoured games are missing from a category hit up the Contact Form and vote for your alternatives, we’ll add those votes to the final results. It was a tough battle longlisting the Switch eShop list, for example, so we chose 50(!) that have the best site / user review scores.
Voting closes at 5pm UK / 6pm CET / noon Eastern / 9am Pacific on 20th December, so get your votes in before then. You have all of the same categories as the staff, and a few important details are below:
For games that are eShop titles with limited retail releases we’ve made a judgement call on their categories, rather than have them appear twice.
There are a small number of games out in one region but not globally, mainly with the 3DS. Their chances will naturally be affected, but that’s a part of the region-locking legacy of the portable.
We have excluded the Wii U this time, due to a very limited retail and eShop release slate.
As before there are almost no Virtual Console games included, but in the limited 3DS eShop field we included a famous dual release. We also don’t have any ACA titles, which may be controversial but we needed to make cuts to the Switch eShop list of 50 somewhere.
You can vote for up to four games in the Switch retail poll, five in the Switch eShop list, but only two each in the 3DS retail and 3DS eShop votes due to their shorter length.
For ‘Overall Game of the Year’ there’ll be another vote. When the voting in these initial categories closes on 20th December, we’ll take the top five from each and list them as a final top 20 (in no particular order) in a follow-up poll that same day. You will then have the chance to vote from that list right up to 24th December; each category will have a top three in the end, in addition to an Overall winner across both Switch and 3DS. Results will be announced during the Holidays.
As previously reported from printed promotional materials, HAMSTER will indeed bring out the second Nintendo Arcade Archive title next week (along with a fantastic Neo Geo shmup). It’s confirmed for the Japanese eShop, though we’d be surprised if the European and North American stores don’t match the same release date.
VS. Super Mario Bros. will bring the arcade spin of the NES classic into our homes; it’s a version with some unique twists. Fewer Warp Pipes means you can’t warp your way to the end as easily as in the original, there are also less power-up blocks and more enemy placements. In addition you’ll find six new levels that were unique to the arcade before later being reused in Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels. In short, this game was made harder to both test your skills and your coin purse capacity.
Considering the current lack of Virtual Console for the Switch, will you be interested in giving this one a go next week? Or will the new added difficulty put you off? Save the Princess in the comment section below.
Accessories maker Hyperkin is apparently working on a portable Nintendo 64 system.
The news comes from Hyperkin Senior Account Manager Ramon Navos-Moral, who (rather foolishly, it should be said) posted the following images of a functioning prototype system on his Facebook page:
The machine itself appears to be modelled on the N64 controller, with a screen built-in for portable play. There’s a cartridge slot on the back.
We’ve since contacted Hyperkin for comment and they have revealed that action has been taken against Navos-Moral for distributing internal R&D projects online. Hyperkin has also confirmed that the device is indeed real but like many of the devices it produces behind closed doors, it’s just a prototype and may not enter production.
Would you buy a portable N64? Let us know with a comment.
