Nintendo bolsters the Switch launch window with a wide and varied range of indie releases.
With less than three days to go until Nintendo’s home console/handheld hybrid gets into the hands of players, they saw it as the right time to inform us all about the range of indie games (affectionately termed “Nindies”) that will grace the Switch during the launch window.
The 18-minute Nindies Showcase presentation focused solely on the games, with no new information about the eShop or the virtual console to distract from Nintendo’s indie partners. Whilst Nintendo hasn’t always been the go-to place for indie games, there was no holding back in the presentation from highlighting the importance of Nindies and their place on the Switch.
Even though we knew that Playtonic Games’ Yooka Laylee (published by Team 17) was coming to the Switch, this was the first time it had been officially confirmed by Nintendo themselves. Likewise, Stardew Valley (Chucklefish Games and ConcernedApe) was known to be coming to the Switch, but its confirmation was accompanied by news that the Switch will be the first console to come with the new multiplayer feature when the game launches this summer.
Chucklefish Games had two other games to announce, the first being Pocket Rumble, a deep 2D fighter that can be welcoming those new to fighters due to its concise control scheme. And being on the Switch players can “throw down, anywhere, anytime”. What’s more, the game includes HD rumble support, allowing players to feel the difference between being hit by a weak attack and being shaken by a strong attack.
The other game from Chucklefish Games is a throwback to games from Nintendo and Intelligent Systems from the previous decade. Wargroove is a turn-based strategy game that invokes the gameplay of the Fire Emblem and Advance Wars series’, but visually evokes more of the latter. It’s been nine years since an original Advance Wars game so Wargroove can’t come soon enough with its take on the TBS genre.
SteamWorld Dig 2 from Image & Form games was also revealed for the first time and is a sequel to the original game that was one of the first indie games to come out on Nintendo’s 3DS. The main focus of digging down to explore an underworld hidden with secrets and danger remains, but the jungle aesthetic does a lot to mix things up, along with strangely giving it a Spelunky vibe.
16-bit spiritual sequel to Retro City Rampage – the 3DS version of which we particularly enjoyed – Shakedown Hawaii from vBlank isn’t just doubling the bits, it’s aiming to be twice as good. Players are free to build their empire in between experimenting with the island’s destructible sandbox. We won’t have to wait long to discover how many film references they manage to cram into the game when it launches first on the Switch in April.
These have just been six games that stood out for us, but there was plenty more on offer, with the other games listed below.
- Runner3 – Choice Provisions
- Blaster Master Zero – Inti Creates
- Flipping Death – Zoink Games
- Mr Shifty – tinyBuild and Team Shifty
- Graceful Explosion Machine – Vertex Pop
- Tumbleseed – aeiowu
- Overcooked: Special Edition – Team 17 and Ghost Town Games
- The Escapists 2 – Team 17 and Mouldy Toof
- GoNNER – Raw Fury and Art in Heart
- Kingdom: Two Crowns – Raw Fury and Noio
- Dandara – Raw Fury and Long Hat House
The whole Nintendo Switch Nindies Showcase can be watched below:
