Topic: Indie World Announces A Dozen Future Releases For The Switch

[Shaymin]

And that's not even counting the stuff that's out right now or has demos.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/66925/indie-world-announces-a-dozen-future-releases-for-the-switch

It wasn't just shadowdrops in today's Indie World show, as the rest of the year is filling out with some intriguing releases.

• More footage was shown for Another Crab's Treasure, with the big meaty claws coming out on April 25.
• Shown last year in an Indie World showcase, Little Kitty, Big City showed more footage of the cat helping animals and tripping humans in a true simulator of the feline experience. It will arrive on May 9, and can be set for preload now.
• Debuting in last April's Indie World, action exploration game Animal Well locked in a May 9 launch.
• The newest title from Simogo (Year Walk, Sayonara Wild Hearts) Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, which was revealed in a 2022 Partner Showcase, will be out on May 16: Neal previewed a PC build.
• Mallards rejoice as Duck Detective: The Secret Salami brings "de-duck-tion" into the adventure game lexicon on May 23.
• Announced in the Japanese version of the Indie World show was a Switch release for previously PC-exclusive platformer Bread and Fred, launching on Switch May 23 - a year to the day from when it launched originally.
• 3D platformer SCHiM launches July 18, and focuses on navigating through light and shadows.
• The tale of hats and ships is moving from space to the high seas in SteamWorld Heist II, the sequel to the cross-platform megahit from Thunderful. The sea-faring sequel will add a new job system to help the Steambots find out why the oceans have become corrosive.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is another rescue from Apple Arcade, launching this summer. The four heroes in a half-shell have to rescue Master Splinter from a series of different realities; the game is promoted as the first roguelike in Turtles history, and includes options for permanent upgrades as well as 1-4 player online co-op (local does not appear to be present at launch).
• Also due this summer is Refined Self: The Personality Test Game from developer Lizardry. As an android whose creator has died, they have to determine the purpose for their creation; the choices made during the story will reveal one of 23 possible personalities, with an online comparison option available.
• The last of the show's "summer" releases is BZZZT, a retro-future styled fast action platformer shown in the semi-main reel.
• Atari is teaming up with retro platformer specialists WayForward for Yars Rising, the first follow-up to the classic action title Yars' Revenge from 1982. A young hacker named Emi has to infiltrate an evil corporation at the behest of a mysterious patron, dodging or defeating guards along the way.
• The world's first (that we know of) frog based mountain climbing game, Valley Peaks from developer Tub Club will be out later this year.

[Khushrenada]

Games in the Indie Direct that I'll likely buy:

Little Kitty, Big City
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Europa
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami


There were a couple others that I'm mixed on. Perhaps if the price is right or reviews / word of mouth are really good. But these potential titles I'd list as:

Valley Peaks
Cat Quest 3 - I'll admit I've never paid much attention to this series before. I'm sure I've probably seen the title for the first game on the eShop at times before but I think this might be the first I've actually seen what a game looks like in action and the whole pirate them and map look with ship battles made it stand out as a bit of a highlight during this direct.


All in all, I almost feel like declaring this the best Indie Direct so far. Usually, I watch these and only one or two games really speak to me but I enjoyed most of what I was seeing. It was almost a roguelike and farming sim free Direct which may have helped in my interest towards titles shown as those genres have almost become more of a punchline for their increased frequency of late and oversaturation of the market.

[NWR_insanolord]

SteamWorld Heist 2 is extremely exciting for me. I was a huge fan of the original and had kind of given up hope of a sequel as it seemed the developer had moved on.

[Khushrenada]

Well, one of these days I may play that original and see what all the NWR hype is about. As I recall, it scored like a 9.5 or 10 when someone reviewed it back in the day.

It's been slightly amusing to me that on the NWR Discord I've seen a lot of users hyped about the news of Heist 2 whereas in another Discord channel, I've seen it shrugged off and people wondering why they won't make Steamworld Dig 3 and are just putting out games no one wants of Steamworld Build and now Heist 2. Different communities have been split up over these various Steamworld games.

[NWR_insanolord]

I would love to see SteamWorld Dig 3, 2 was amazing, but I'm glad they're doing Heist 2 first.

[Evan_B]

Well, one of these days I may play that original and see what all the NWR hype is about. As I recall, it scored like a 9.5 or 10 when someone reviewed it back in the day.

It's been slightly amusing to me that on the NWR Discord I've seen a lot of users hyped about the news of Heist 2 whereas in another Discord channel, I've seen it shrugged off and people wondering why they won't make Steamworld Dig 3 and are just putting out games no one wants of Steamworld Build and now Heist 2. Different communities have been split up over these various Steamworld games.

I’m a big Image and Form dude in general. I loved Dig 1 and 2 and I’d love to play Tower Defense in some capacity, but I think Heist was the first of their games to fully embrace all elements of game design and create something super special. I like Quest, but not as much as Heist, and I’m genuinely curious about Build but it’s a bit too rich for my blood. Wondering if Heist 2 will be priced similarly, as it does seem greatly expanded from the first game.

[Luigi Dude]

I’m a big Image and Form dude in general. I loved Dig 1 and 2 and I’d love to play Tower Defense in some capacity, but I think Heist was the first of their games to fully embrace all elements of game design and create something super special. I like Quest, but not as much as Heist, and I’m genuinely curious about Build but it’s a bit too rich for my blood. Wondering if Heist 2 will be priced similarly, as it does seem greatly expanded from the first game.

Yeah this is pretty much my thought on the two series.  The first Dig game was good, the second was great, but Heist was amazing.  Plus Steamworld Dig 2 came out two years after Heist came out, so it's only fair that Heist should get a sequel first.  Especially when the Metroidvania genre is much more oversaturated genre in indie gaming, so Dig fans have more to keep them happy, while Heist fans have a lot less to choose from.


For the rest of the Indie World, I'm very much looking forward to Anton Blast.  Since Nintendo hasn't done anything with the Wario Land series for over 15 years now, I love that someone finally is.  Hopefully with this game coming to Switch, this will cause the Pizza Tower devs to finally port that game to Switch as well.  Still don't get why the Pizza Tower devs aren't trying to get that game on the Switch as soon as possible because they're leaving lots of free money on the table.

Yar's Rising could be interesting since it looks like Wayforward is trying their take on Metroid Dread.  Of course Wayforward can be pretty hit and miss sometimes so I'll wait to see reviews of this one first.

Europa looks like it could be cool, but I'd like to learn more about how engaging its gameplay will be.  I mean I don't mind the fact there's no combat, but I'd like to know how challenging things like puzzles can be, or else I worry that game could get boring after a while.

Cat Quest III actually makes me want to buy the first 2 games next time I see them on sale, so the trailer did a good job of getting my attention.

BZZZT is defiantly a must buy to me.  I heard good things about it when it came to Steam and I can't control myself when I see high quality 16-bit era pixel art.

Animal Well and Another Crabs Treasure both look like something I'd enjoy as well.  I'll put both on my wishlist and buy them on sale eventually.

[M.K.Ultra]

I have played all the Image and Form games except Tower Defense, which I have on 3DS Virtual Console backlog and Build, for which I am waiting on the physical version. I have really enjoyed them all and will probably pick up any of their games until I encounter one I don't like. Personally, I admire their innovative approach to changing genres and look forward to them tackling a new one more than a sequel, but also Dig 2 is one of my favorites so I don't think you can go wrong, unless of course you go on discord and complain about games you are not getting  .

[Khushrenada]

Discord was a mistake. It's nothing but trash.