Switch Weekly - 🎮 #199: Your Nintendo update

REVIEW Super Mario 3D All-Stars — "It’s a shame that the presentation is practically barebones with no bonus content beyond the soundtracks, but there can still be no denying the quality of the games on offer here". Yep, pretty much. Three great games in an accessible format is a win, just a pity considering we know what these sort of rereleases really could be.

Chris Scullion // Nintendo Life

▶ Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase | September 2020 — Really feels like Nintendo has settled into some sort of rhythm with these third-party showcases now. This one saw the reveals of 'Ori and the Will of the Wisps', 'Hades' and 'The Long Dark' — all of which are now available. A new Fitness Boxing game was announced for December, along with fresh details on Disgaea 6, Balan Wonderland and more. The big news however was two Monster Hunter games — in fact Nintendo gave these titles more of a focus in a dedicated Direct proceeding this Mini one. 

Nintendo // YouTube

REVIEW Hades — This roguelike from Supergiant Games was featured in the Direct mini linked above (and it's out now). Seemingly getting rave reviews all over, plus my Twitter feed seems to love it — this one is firmly on my buy list. "it's worth giving Hades a shot because it is the embodiment of a roguelike done right. It's easily one of the best games on the Nintendo Switch[...] Hades is a must-play and easily one of the best games of the year".

Chris DeAngelus  // Worth Playing

▶ Nintendo Life Indie Spotlight — The folks at Nintendo Life had their own Direct of sorts, full of indie game announcements. Plenty of stuff here (over 30 games), so worth a watch if you want a few new titles for your wishlist.

Nintendo Life // YouTube

Nintendo Switch Online adds four free NES and SNES games in September— 'Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest', 'Mario’s Super Picross', 'The Peace Keepers', and the unfortunately named 'S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team' arrive on Wednesday (23rd) for Switch Online members. Looking forward to jumping into DKC2.

Jacob Siegal // BGR

Doom Eternal dev gives update on Switch version: game is “very close”, will talk about it “in the not too distant future”

Nintendo Everything

REVIEW Spellbreak — This fantasy/magic Battle Royale game is out now, and it won't cost you a thing to download and try. It may be worth a try if you're after a Fortnite alternative.

Paul Roberts // Vooks

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The surprising reason Nintendo made Super Mario a plumber 35 years ago — Miyamoto said, "We wanted him to be someone who might live near you, and not a superhero."

Shannon Liao // CNN

▶ Nintendo Survey: The State of Switch 2020 Results — In case you missed this last week, the 2020 survey results (from yours truly) are now available in video form. If you can chuck a like on this video it will be much appreciated and helps spread the word. 😊

Switch Weekly // YouTube

REVIEW Fight Crab — A pretty self-aware concept, that's fun and a bit stupid in places, but overall it's "not got enough meat on the bones".

George Foster // Nintendo Insider

REVIEW Super Punch Patrol — A brawler with a sketchbook look that's a "painstakingly accurate love letter to classic beat-'em ups".

John Rairdin // Nintendo World Report

Not so super, Mario — For someone with a degenerative neuromuscular condition Super Mario Galaxy remains an inaccessible experience in the new All-Stars collection.

Bobby Kent

‘Undertale’ turns 5: a retrospective on this generation’s greatest indie game

Ben Walker // NME

What makes a remake? Not even developers really know

Stacey Henley // Launcher

Paper Mario: The Origami King is a crafted compromise

Cole Durrett // Super Jump

Nintendo Switch Online may be the Switch's biggest disappointment

Jennifer Seaton // CBR

How the Nintendo Switch could benefit from NVIDIA buying ARM

Jason Coles // Stealth Optional

How Super Mario changed my life — "It wasn’t a video game in my five year old mind; it was a little diorama, a window into a seemingly endless little world".

James Burns // Super Jump

Monday, September 21

• Worm Jazz — Lead a worm through a maze.

Wednesday, September 23

• Breakpoint — Strong Geometry Wars vibe from this. (Sep 24 in U.S)
• CastleStorm II — Medieval strategy.
• My Diggy Dog 2 — A dog that digs. Archaeology meets digg dugg platforming.
• Orbt XL — One-button arcade high-score chaser.
• Perky Little Things — An adult 'hidden object' game.
• Twin Breaker: A Sacred Symbols Adventure — It's a new take on Breakout, complete with a story mode from Colin Moriarty.
• Unrailed! — A co-op game in which you build an endless railway. Kinda dig the look here.

Thursday, September 24

• Alluris — Fantasy choose your own adventure.
• BIG-Bobby-Car - The Big Race — Kids 3D racing game. Only single player though.
• Going Under — This sounds neat. A satirical dungeon crawler about failed tech startups.
• Great Conqueror: Rome — Control Caesar, Spartacus and others in this strategy game.
• Lost Ember — Lush adventure game - the main character is a wolf.
• Micro Pico Racers — Top-down arcade racer with a pixel look.
• RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition — One of the better entries in this sim series.
• Secrets of Me — Romance 'handsome men' in this otome game.
• 📦 Trollhunters: Defenders of Arcadia — Action adventure game based on the Dreamworks/Guillermo Del Toro property. (Sep 25 in U.S)
• Wartile — Viking strategy with a neat 'minifig' aesthetic.

Friday, September 25

• Car Driving School Simulator — Remember when you'd pretend to 'drive properly' in GTA and follow the rules of the road for a bit? Yeah, it's that.
• Cooking Tycoons 2: 3 in 1 Bundle — Lots of cooking.
• Jet Set Knights — Yup, there's a princess to save in this 'old-school' action platformer.