Nintendo had yet another Indie World Showcase today, and we’d be remiss not to examine everything that was shown off, announced and updated in the show today. For anyone that doesn’t know, the Indie World showcase is the indie game equivalent of a Nintendo Direct. Today we’re looking at the event streamed from Nintendo’s YouTube and Twitch channels, starting at 7 a.m. PDT/10 a.m. EDT/3 PM UK Time on Wednesday.
Before the event it was announced that viewers can expect “roughly 20 minutes of information on upcoming games headed to Nintendo Switch” from independent game developers. As always, fans can expect a lot of surprise releases for the eshop, likely available as soon as the showcase concludes. The last Indie World showcase was in December, and showed off games like Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Omocat’s role-playing game Omori, and Sea of Stars, the next game from the developers behind The Messenger.
Here’s what went down at today’s show:
Ooblets (coming this summer)
Ooblets is a farming, town life, and creature collection game. Manage your farm, grow and train your ooblets, explore strange lands, and have dance-offs. The game has had good reviews on PC and Xbox, and has you grow crops on your farm to sell. You build a team of ooblets, level them up and unlock new dance moves. You style your character with outfits and accessories. Compete in dance offs to earn new ooblet seeds, expand and decorate your house to a stately farmhouse. Get to know the townsfolk and complete challenges as you go along your adventure. You can pick this game up this Summer.
Batora: Lost Haven (coming this fall)
The physical and mental powers of a naive and reckless girl who lost everything are the only weapons to save the Earth from oblivion. Jump on a journey across colorful and mesmerising planets in this fast-paced adventure where your conscience will carry the weight of your decisions. Leverage the power of your body and your mind to face the challenges and obstacles you will encounter on your journey. But don’t forget to keep an eye on your double health bar – if one of these bars drops too low you could end up dead! This action game is available later this year.
Elechead (this summer)
You play as ElecHead, move from screen to screen and solve puzzles using basic platforming and your two abilities. First one is that your head generates an electrical current that runs through everything you touch, second one is the ability to launch your head a short distance forwards or upwards. There is no fighting, no story, no text to read. This deceptively simple puzzle-platformer has had great reviews on PC, and you can pick it up on Switch this summer.
Soundfall (available today)
We wrote about this game a few months ago when it was initially announced, and now it’s coming to Switch! Soundfall allows players to fight with up to three players in multiplayer. You play as Melody, a Guardian of Harmony transported to Symphonia by the Composers to battle the forces of Discord. When players delve into the world of Symphonia, where the game is based, they will find that timing actions to the beat of the music is the best way to win. Soundfall features over 100 songs, and supports importing custom tracks on PC. Each of the five playable characters the game offers has their own unique abilities, weapons and play styles and with over 500 pieces of equipment to gather, there’s plenty to do and enjoy in this musically-infused world. You can pick this game up right now, as it’s already out for Switch.
Wildfrost (this holiday)
Using deck-building tactics, you’ll head into the frost to battle through enemies to reach the Sun Temple, banishing the Wildfrost and returning peace to the world. Throughout the game, players will have the chance to recruit new card companions and gift them charms to enhance their powers, giving players the upper edge in battles. Return to Snowdwell after each run and rebuild the town, unlock more cards, and encounter new challenges and events for an adventure that has endless replayability. This title will be released at the end of the year, in time to match with its wintery theme.
TABS (this summer)
Be the leader of wobblers from ancient lands, spooky places, and fantasy worlds. Watch them fight in simulations made with the wobbliest physics system ever created, make your own wobblers in the unit creator and send your army off to fight your friends in multiplayer. When you grow tired of the 100+ wobblers at your disposal you can make new ones in the unit creator. You can also send wobblers to fight your friends or strangers in online multiplayer! This game has overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam, and is available later this Summer.
Gunbrella (coming 2023)
This was the most exciting one for me personally. Gunbrella is a noir-punk action-adventure set in a world dependent on a rapidly diminishing natural resource. Players take the role of a gruff woodsman on a quest for revenge, armed with the mysterious Gunbrella: a firearm that doubles as an umbrella. His investigation becomes entangled with the inner workings of ghouls and gangsters, cops and cutlists, and the fallout of corporate exploitation. Engage in side-scrolling action combat with a focus on manoeuvrability and close-quarters gunplay. Your gun is also a movement tool. Use the umbrella to glide, swing, dash, and dive your way past and through enemies. This title has no release date yet, and is currently slated for 2023.
We Are OFK (this summer)
We got our first real look at this game today after over a year of waiting to see more than just the wonderful cinematics. From indie pop band OFK: We Are OFK is the story of how four friends came together to release their debut music without throwing their phones at walls in frustration. A making-of-the-band series & Interactive EP about dreaming, dating, and paying rent in Los Angeles. We Are OFK is an interactive narrative series of arguing over lyrics, sending sad texts, and playing Interactive Music Videos, including OFK’s debut single “Follow/Unfollow” and more! This title is available within the next couple of months, and features quite the cast list, so big even that we can’t list it here.
Silt (this June)
Silt was included in our ‘2022 indies to keep your eye on’ list at the start of the year, and now has a solid release date of this June. We hope for sooner rather than later. Silt is a surreal underwater puzzle-adventure game. Alone in an underwater abyss, you are a diver searching the deep to uncover long-forgotten mysteries. Possess the creatures around you to solve puzzles and travel further into the darkness. Silt’s unsettling, monochrome world is constructed from the sketches and dark imagination of artist Mr Mead. A harrowing journey awaits you. Silt is coming next month, so keep an eye out.
Mini Motorways (releasing today)
The sequel to Mini Metro, Mini Motorways is a game about drawing the roads that drive a growing city. Build a road network, one road at a time, to create a bustling metropolis. Redesign your city to keep the traffic flowing, and carefully manage upgrades to meet the changing demands. This title already has a bustling community from its Steam and mobile releases and has won several awards. And now you can enjoy it on Nintendo Switch, as it has been released today.
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Wayward Strand (July 21)
Wayward Strand is a heartfelt interactive story, told in a unique and curious way. Play as Casey Beaumaris as she visits an airborne hospital for the first time. Uncover the airship’s mysteries, and explore the lives of its inhabitants. Within the world of Wayward Strand, time passes for everyone – characters continue their lives without waiting for you to interact with them. In Wayward Strand’s unique narrative structure, the stories of over a dozen characters constantly unfold around you in real time, as you, as Casey, roam freely throughout each day. Choose which story to be a part of by following people, having conversations, and exploring the hospital. This fascinating and beautiful narrative game is coming at the end of July, so keep an eye out!
Cult of the Lamb
Start your own cult in a land of false prophets, venturing out into diverse and mysterious regions to build a loyal community of woodland worshippers and spread your Word to become the one true cult. Cult of the Lamb casts players in the role of a possessed lamb saved from annihilation by an ominous stranger, and must repay their debt by building a loyal following in his name. Part village builder, part dungeon crawler, this adorable and horrifying title is one you won’t want to miss. It’s releasing later this year for Switch and everywhere else.
Another Crab’s Treasure
The big finale is from the folks over at Aggro Crab, who previously released the fantastic Going Under, this new title is a soulslike adventure set in a crumbling underwater world plagued by a mysterious curse. As Kril the hermit crab, you’ll need to wear the trash around you as shells to withstand attacks from enemies many times your size. Embark on an epic treasure hunt to buy back your repossessed shell, and discover the dark secrets behind the polluted ocean. It’s set for release next year, and is definitely one to keep an eye on.
As always, the showcase ended with a quick rundown of other games coming to the system soon, those included;
- Oneshot: World Machine Edition (this summer)
- Gibbon: Beyond the Trees (today)
- Idol Manager (aug 25th)
- Card Shark (pre-order and demo available today)
- Cursed to Golf (this summer)
- Guidebook of Babel (this fall)
- OPUS: Echo of Starsong – Full Bloom Edition (today)
And that rounds up the Indie World for May, were there any games here that you’re immediately going to buy? Did you feel let down by the showcase? Let us know, and take a look at the other Indie Game news on Indie Game Fans.
