Back in December, Nintendo hosted another one of their Indie World Showcases that we love so dearly, and are a great promotion tool for indie devs. This one was full of exciting titles coming this year, from paintbrush wielding dogs to chaotic daycare simulation, let’s take a closer look at the Nintendo Indie World Showcase 15/12!
The Show began proper with the standard gma-by-game trailer showcase, here are the titles announced for switch:
Sea of Stars
All-new RPG Sea of Stars is coming to switch later this year, inspired by classic turn-based RPGs, this beautifully animated and gameplay-rich game looks absolutely breathtaking. Featuring interesting platformer-inspired traversal and minigames like fishing and sailing, Sabotage Studio promises ‘an immersive take on the genre; no random encounters, no transitions to separate battlefields, and no grinding.’
You Might Also be Interested in:
Best Indie Co-op games
The 5 best indie dating sims you can play right now
Alisha – The Oblivion of Twin Godesses
Built specifically for the Switch, Co-op exploration game Alisha features two playable characters; ‘Lisha, the more rational and sensible of the twins, uses her AI robot ‘AMBU’ to fly though the temple, scanning objects of interest and accessing areas that Aisha cannot in the hunt for clues and useful items.’ and ‘Aisha on the other hand is more adventurous and brave. Unable to feel pain, she is able to better explore the temple on foot, meet its increasingly dangerous challenges and interact on a more physical level.’ The game is expected to release this spring.
Loco Motive
The upcoming first title from Robust Games, Loco Motive started off as a game jam and has expanded into so much more. This point-and-click murder mystery follows the occupants of the Reuss Express as they try and figure out who amongst them is a cold-blooded killer. Featuring wonderful pixel art from a former chucklefish artist, and plenty of perplexing puzzles to solve.
Afterlove EP
Taking place in the Capital City of Indonesia, Jakarta, Afterlove EP is a wonderful mix of rhythm game and dating sim from the creator of Coffee Talk. In it, you play as Rama, who is on a ‘journey to learn about himself, create music, find love and come to terms with the loss of his girlfriend Cinta, whose voice still lives on in his head.’ Featuring stunning artwork and music to bolster a complex narrative with multiple endings, Afterlove EP is definitely one to keep an eye on when it releases this summer.
Dungeon Munchies
In Dungeon Munchies, you hunt down monsters and eat them. Yes, as this game comes to Switch, along with its all-new second chapter, you can try and escape this perilous dungeon by improving your cooking abilities. This side-scrolling action RPG allows you to choose and change your playstyle depending on what dishes you eat and what abilities you gain. As an official description reads; ‘You’ve been revived in a massive underground complex and you must leave this bizarre facility. Aided by the undead Necro-Chef Simmer, you must stay safe, get fed, find a way to get out.’
Figment 2: Creed Valley
‘Figment 2: Creed Valley is an action-adventure game set in the human mind. Nightmares are spreading chaos and have overrun once-peaceful lands. Join Dusty, The Mind’s courage, as you make your way through puzzles, musical boss fights and unique environments. Face your fears head-on.’ This game has a huge audio focus, already winning multiple audio design awards, everything in this world responds and reacts to the music you hear, and every ‘nightmare’ has its own unique music that tells you more about it as you fight. This game looks to have great art and sound, interesting puzzles and a fascinating world, and you can explore it when it comes to Switch later this year.
Let’s Play! Oink Games
Board Game creator Oink Games has bought a selection of their games to the digital world with this new title. Featuring games like ‘Fake Artist’, ‘Moon Adventure’ and ‘Startups’, Let’s Play! Oink Games supports up to five players and is available right now on the eshop.
Endling: Extinction is Forever
This devastating stealth game follows the last fox on earth as she tries to protect her kits. You’ll experience environments ravaged by the effects of real current issues and have to hunt down prey in order to feed your children. Over the course of the game you see a world destroying itself as you teach your children how to survive through various 3D side-scrolling levels. This eco-conscious adventure will be released later this year.
OlliOlli World
The latest entry in the OlliOlli franchise looks to be the biggest one ever, this game looks to have players ‘Traverse a delightful and weird world as you take on missions, challenges, and make new friends along the way. Customise your character’s looks, tricks, and style while you experience explorable levels with multiple paths that provide an array of opportunities for player expression.’ Backed by a selection of the finest electronica tracks, this game boasts super tight controls that ‘combine with highly refined gameplay to ensure a silky smooth ride.’ And for players who like to show off their own style, as you progress through the game you unlock plenty of items and rewards that let you customise your own look, tricks and style. You can skate your way to Radlandia on Feb 3rd.
River City Girls 2
The new title from Wayforward brings Misako and Kyoko back for round 2 along with their old friends, and some new ones! Featuring new moves and techniques, new enemies and a bigger-than-ever River City; River City Girls 2 looks to be bringing this beat-em-up back with a bang! You can enjoy it this summer, when the game releases on Switch.
After this final major announcement the Direct moves into its next segment, as usual this was a quick montage of some of the other titles making their way to the Switch soon, these games are covered below:
Parkasaurus
Dinosaur tycoon management sim Parkasaurus is making it’s way to switch along with its full release out of early access on Steam. This cute park builder is known for being feature-rich whilst still remaining approachable, perfect for if other Dino-Sims left you feeling in too deep. You nurture your dinosaurs in custom-built enclosures from hatchling to adult, and have to keep your guests safe in the beasts escape. If you’re itching for some prehistoric fun now, you can already get this game, as it released in December on the eshop.
Don’t Starve Together
The standalone multiplayer expansion for popular top-down survival game Don’t Starve will be available on Switch in Spring. In case you haven’t had the chance to play this classic stylish simulator, this may be the perfect opportunity to explore the secret-filled world of strange creatures and places for the first time, with friends!
Chicory: A Colorful Tale
The award-winning painting-puzzle game Chicory, largely regarded to be one of the best Indie titles of 2021, is finally out on Nintendo Switch! In a world where all of the colors have been stolen, only you have the power the bring back the beauty of the world and discover what happened! This game allows you to solve puzzles in its vibrant coloring-book world by painting on anything and everything, with character customisation, co-op and a fantastic score from Celeste composer Lena Raine, this is a game you cannot sleep on.
Baby Storm
Did you ever play Overcooked and wonder ‘but what if this was based in a daycare?’ Well, wonder no more, because Baby Storm is out now and looks supremely stressful. Your job is to get the highest score in this chaotic kindergarten with up to three friends, how well you do is all dependant on if you can keep these troublesome toddlers from doing anything crazy!
GRIME
‘GRIME is a fast and unforgiving Action-Adventure RPG in which you crush your foes with living weapons that mutate form and function, and then consume their remains with a black hole to strengthen your vessel as you break apart a world of anatomical horror and intrigue.’ This brutal and surreal 2D action game challenges you to survive and discover its secrets, coming this summer to the eshop.
Gerda: A Flame in Winter
Experience the occupation of your small danish village in this lite-RPG inspired by real events. You play as a nurse caught up in a tale of compassion, community, and courage. A story told in a wonderful painterly art-style inspired by nordic impressionism, there are multiple endings and story options for you to try and find in this immersive narrative, and you can do so when it releases later this year.
Timelie
Time-bending stealth-puzzle game Timelie is making its way onto switch, this multi-award-winning adventure you can play as two characters at the same time in order to sneak past dangerous robots and solve tricky puzzles. The game releases later this year on the Switch eshop.
Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery
This beautiful narrative adventure allows you to paint and sketch your memories into existence as you explore the life of the main character ‘amid her brusque neighbor’s gaze and his pesky cat.’ All the cutscenes in this game are hand animated, as are many of the background environments, inspired by Studio Ghibli, these worlds are sure to blow you away as you get lost in these moments in a life. ‘As a passionate artist, seek the missing colors that will bring your paintings to life – all while remembering to take the occasional coffee and breakfast breaks that keep you going. There is more than what meets the eye, for every painting has a story to tell.’ This game releases this Spring on the eshop.
And that’s normally it for the Indie World Showcase. But this time, taking a note from the larger Nintendo Direct formula, there was one more thing they wanted to announce.
Omori
Wildly successful narrative RPG Omori is coming to Switch later this year! Featuring striking and stylish artwork by renowned artist Omocat, this game has you exploring a sometimes strange and sometimes mundane world in order to uncover the past. You make friends and lose them, and things might not be what they seem. The choices you make affect the outcome of the story, and the way you fight foes changes what characters think of you. This was left as the big finale for a reason, and you won’t want to skip out on this one if you’ve yet to play it.
And that’s the end, for real this time. It looks like 2022 is going to be a great year to be a Switch owner and an Indie game fan, and we can’t wait to play all of these games as soon as they release.
