Nintendo has finished yet another of its Indie World showcases, with news of a new batch of titles – including some very welcome surprises – heading to Switch in the coming months. And for those of you whose attention was elsewhere, or who accidentally blinked your eyes for 15 minutes during the livestream, here’s everything that was announced.
To get the ball rolling, developer Derek Yu’s acclaimed underground platform Spelunky is heading to Switch! And so is the equally well-received sequel, with both games currently scheduled for “summer” 2021.
Fisti-Fluffs is a feline-focused action brawl that sees cats – some wearing crazy hats, others brandishing household items as assault weapons – that dares it to be crowned the world’s best fighter, and it will be first on Switch early. ‘are next year.
Coming to Switch in early 2021 as a timed exclusivity, Very Very Valet joins an ever-expanding roster of regular jobs turning into a party game, inviting up to four friends to team up to pick up, park, and bring cars back in more than 20 locations.
Tunche – first released on Switch in March next year – is a hand-drawn hack-and-slash-esque game with villainous elements that unfolds in a world inspired by the Amazon rainforest. It sees players, cast as one of the five heroes (each with their own skills and abilities), battling fearsome beasts as they search for the title’s mythical creature. Local co-op play is also supported.
Cyber Shadow, the promising sci-fi ninja platformer from Mechanical Head Studios and publisher Yacht Club Games (of Shovel Knight fame), is coming to Switch on January 26. You can even scan Shovel Knight amiibo figures to get some fairy help.
Calico, the social sim in which players try to manage their own cat cafe – by finding cats and filling the building with food, furniture and decorations – is available today on Switch’s eShop.
Developer Ustwo’s adorable exploration game Alba: A Wildlife Adventure is coming to Switch in Spring 2021. This game just launched on PC and Apple Arcade, and it’s a great thing that instructs players to complete a series of animal-themed feel-good chases like they roam the vast Mediterranean island where Alba spends her summer.
Gnosia is a mix of social deduction solo play and a visual novel that challenges players to chat with the eclectic inhabitants of a drifting spaceship to find out which of them is actually a deadly alien in disguise – and then they go into “cold sleep”. It’s coming to Switch early next year.
Happy Game, meanwhile, is the latest project from celebrated developer Amanita Design – the studio behind the likes of Samorost, Chuchel and Botanicula. Amanita describes Happy Game as a “psychedelic horror” experience, and the story of a young boy forced to traverse his own nightmare (and solve puzzles along the way) looks delightfully disturbing in the announcement trailer. It’s coming to Switch in the spring of 2021.
Next up is the highly anticipated Super Meat Boy sequel Super Meat Boy Forever, which will be released on Switch on December 23rd as an “exclusive console launch”. That’s next week!
There’s also a treat for puzzle fans, courtesy of developer Capybara Games’ acclaimed Grindstone, which offers over 200 levels of murderous monster matching, daily leaderboard challenges, and more. The iOS version is a big Eurogamer favorite, and now Switch owners can buy it starting today.
Nintendo’s latest Indie World showcase ended with a few announcements of quick releases (Kosmokrats in March 2021, Hoa in April, Hazel Sky in March, and spring releases for Trash Sailors and Finding Paradise), in addition to a final surprise; The most successful social deduction multiplayer game Among Us is on Switch today.