No More Heroes wraps and MLK in Fortnite

Hey, Chris here with issue #247 of Switch Weekly and your Nintendo round-up.

This week saw the release of No More Heroes III and Baldo. Unrelated games of course, but they both seemed to have botched the handling of their reviews in some way or another.

The red flag was raised for No More Heroes III when it came to light that the review embargo (when coverage can go live) wasn't to be lifted until nine hours after the game came out. This is usually a big, bad sign that the publisher isn't overly confident in the product. A fair bit of backlash on this odd timing stipulation arose, and the publisher did thankfully change course, but only slightly. The publisher said the original embargo was set to minimize the chance of spoilers. Anyway, worry not — as reviews are now live, and SUDA 51s latest has been rather warmly received. More on that in the issue below. 

As for Baldo, from what I can gather journalists didn't even get copies to review until the day before release — as such I've got no review of the Switch version to share with you this week. Initial impressions don't seem overly generous though. I've seen it described as beautiful, but very unpolished, with bugs to boot. If you really wanted an easier way to try it yourself it is available as part of the Apple Arcade sub. A shame, as this looked the part. 

So yeah, embargos aren't going anywhere, but I think we can all read between the lines when situations like these occur by exercising a bit of caution. More tranparency all round on stuff like this can't hurt either! 

Next, I want to talk briefly about Fornite. Epic revealed a new interactive experience for the game this week dubbed 'March Through Time' — and it immediately drew criticism for not really hitting the mark. In essence this in-game experience focused on Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech, putting a digital museum of sorts into Fortnite, along with with a space to gather and watch the remarkable civil rights speech.

Fortnite, being the third place that it is, does have a varied history of creating largely compelling digital spaces for events, be that an in-game concert, or public relations special. This one however, didn't get it right.

For many I think the sheer juxtapostion of it all is what the sticking point is. I think the intent here is probably good, and Fornite (or similar) can no doubt be used as an effective digital education tool, but ultimately I think it's fair to say having a civil rights icon talking about racial equality in a silly cartoon shooter is generally objectionable; "tonal dissonance" is right. For what it's worth: The King Center was not involved. 

I'm all for games teaching history, but this is just one big grimace emoji: 😬

Right, so next week there's over 30 games coming to the Switch. Full list is below.

Finally, the newsletter will be taking a rare break next week. I'm heading away for a few days — I'd say to relax, but with a toddler I know it'll be anything but relaxing 😅 ...but hey, a trip to the zoo will be nice too. 😄

If you enjoy these Nintendo updates you can buy me a coffee to keep me going. 

I'll be back on September 12th.

Catch you then,
Chris ✌️

🎮 Currently Playing — Townscaper, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, Button City

Tuesday, August 31

• CRASH: Autodrive — Sci-fi murder mystery comic adventure.
• KeyWe — Co-op puzzler in which you play as two kiwi birds in a postal sorting office.
• Lamentum — Pixel art survival horror game set in 19th Century New England. M for Mature.
• 📦 Monster Harvest — A farming adventure game where the plants mutate.
• 📦 Rustler — GTA but medieval. Time to steal a horse I guess.... M for Mature.

Wednesday, September 1

• Alveole — A short minimalistic puzzler which explores one mechanic - how to run.
• Galaxy Squad — Turn-based tactical roguelike in a randomly generated galaxy.
• 📦 Instant Sports Paradise — 15 beach mini games.
• Ravva and the Cyclops Curse — Pixel-art 8-bit platformer.

Thursday, September 2

• A Good Snowman is Hard to Build — Puzzler about 'being a monster and making friends'.
• Animal Puzzle - Preschool Learning Game for Kids and Toddlers — That says it all.
• Apsulov: End of Gods — Horror/sci-fi adventure with futuristic/norse viking theme. M for Mature.
• Armed Emeth — Role-playing journey of 'gril and oil'.
• BOT.vinnik Chess — Learn to play chess with a 'Soviet digital teacher'.
• Cosmic Express — Lay train tracks in the space station puzzler. Looks kinda cute.
• Farmers Co-op: Out of This World — Think Overcooked but for growing veg.
• Funny Farm Animal Jigsaw Puzzle Game for Kids and Toddlers — Kids jigsaws.
• 📦 Kitaria Fables — 3D action adventure RPG with farming/crafting and real-time combat.
• Luna's Fishing Garden — A short 'cozy' fishing / building game. Looks cute. (EU release date)
• MiniGolf Tour — 3D minigolf.
• Sokobond — Minimalist puzzle game about chemistry.
• The Magister — Murder-mystery card-based whodunit RPG.
• Weapon of Choice DX — A 'high-energy' run 'n' gun arcade action game.
• White Girl — The description is poorly translated (tap through to see what I mean), but from what I can gather this is some sort of four player battle royale with a colour mechanic.

Friday, September 3

• A Night at the Races — This review calls this 'Twin Peaks meets Super Meat Boy'.
• Angel's Punishment — Looks to be a farily straightforward action platformer with retro stylings.
• 📦 Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions — 3D boxing with 20 characters from the Creed/Rocky movies. Two player support.
• Block Puzzle — Basic clear the line puzzler.
• Endless Fables: Shadow Within — Hidden object puzzle adventure. (EU release date)
• Extreme Car Driver — Precision driving sim.
• Golf Club: Wasteland — Humanity has fallen, so anyone for golf?
• Pippu - Bauble Quest — Basic platformer.
• 📦 Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 1 — Strategy RPG double pack. (Aug 31 in U.S.)
• Virtuous Western — Wild west puzzle game.