Nintendo’s hotly anticipated Indie World Showcase just announced plenty of returning and new indie games that will become available on the Switch!
You can watch all of the footage on YouTube, here:
Although the first half hour was just a waiting room, Nintendo fit in a surprising volume of announcements into the remaining stream. Many of them are already trending on Twitter!
Indie games are forced to be creative because of their financial restrictions, so there’s a wide variety of genres and styles to break down, and these small studios deserve recognition.
Ooblets
The stream kicked off with Ooblets, a labor of love from 2020. The Glumberland devs married the best qualities of Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, and Pokémon.
Fans can befriend locals in town, customize their character, grow their farm and collect cute creatures. The game also provides a surprising range of locales to explore.
Batora: Lost Haven
This is a story-driven action RPG from Stormind Games, with isometric and strategic gameplay that will feature a variety of planets to traverse.
Players can make dialogue choices that seems to affect the plot. But the quests appear to be fairly simple, involving collection or battles. Although an exact release date wasn’t announced, this sci-fi/fantasy adventure can be expected in Fall 2022.
ElecHead
This old-school platformer is a 2D sidescroller with a gloriously nostalgic soundtrack, and it’s already trending on Twitter today.
The game has a blue and yellow industrial look, with simple mechanics that look just as addicting as any classic from the 80’s or 90’s. ElecHead will be available this Summer.
Soundfall
This standout dungeon-crawler has a very creative premise, wherein the gameplay itself is driven by music. They directly affect the levels and encounters in-game.
Players can enjoy up to 4-player co-op, and the goal of the game is to rescue the lands of Symphonia. This is clearly an instant classic waiting to happen, and it’s available today!
Wildfrost
This roguelike deck-builder is all about ending an eternal frost, through battling waves of monsters. Players will need to grow the hub town to unlock events and cards, and the design is very family friendly.
Wildfrost looks like a great way to invite more casual gamers into the genre, and the game is due sometime this Holiday season.
TABS
Totally Accurate Battle Simulator was a runaway hit, with its silly mechanics and artwork leading to truly hilarious imagery. Players stage battles with simplistic digital armies, using various weapons and arenas. It was practically made for fun on the Nintendo Switch, so fans should look out for it this Summer.
Gunbrella
This bizarre, side-scrolling adventure fuses Noir and Punk with imagery from classic Westerns. It’s a tale of revenge, where players will use the titular Gunbrella to defeat cults and other dark enemies while scavenging for resources. Sadly, the game won’t release until 2023.
We are OFK
This unique release is a music biopic about the actual indie pop band OFK, including how the four friends built their band together. There will be an emotional emphasis, driven by interesting artwork and grounded voice acting. This one’s also available this Summer.
Silt
An ocean adventure full of puzzles, this side-scroller allows players to possess sea creatures and battle underwater monsters. With all of the mystery, and monochromatic artwork, there hasn’t been anything this close to the classic Inside. Silt comes out in June 2022.
Mini Motorways
Players must solve traffic congestion in cities inspired by real-life locales, by drawing and building roads. The urban artwork is a top-down scene and cute, and focuses on puzzles that feel as cozy as Sudoku. Luckily, you can try this one out today!
Wayward Strand
This narrative adventure is set in Australia, providing some great representation and charming artwork. The real-time element also offers more replay value, as you discover completely different events or characters. The game is expected on July 21st.
Cult of the Lamb
This dark comedy has a strange protagonist, as players will become a possessed lamb that has been rescued from a ritual sacrifice.
Surprisingly, the artwork is cuter than the plot, with a hand-drawn look that is both friendly and creative even with its enemies. Unfortunately, no release date was announced, although players might expect it sometime this year.
Another Crab’s Treasure
This 3D adventure features a crab protagonist that’s seeking out treasure, in order to recover their shell. While the artwork most resembles the early days of PlayStation 1, it may also be nostalgic, and the sense of humor isn’t lost in this game. It releases in 2023.
The Montage sneak peek
This montage featured a variety of games that can be expected sometime in the future. It mostly showed off side-scrollers, such as Gibbon: Beyond the Trees, Cursed to Golf, and One-Shot: World Machine Edition.
The last games to round out the showcase were Idol Manager, Card Shark, A Guidebook of Babel, and Opus: Echo of Starsong.
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