Switch Weekly - Nintendo Direct to Eagleland

▶ Nintendo Direct - February 2022 — Forty minutes of Nintendo announcements here. Plenty of good stuff, the highlight being mouthful mode of course. Eurogamer have a round-up if you'd rather read. Here's my quick (not exhaustive) take on what caught my eye:

• Nice to see a date for Advanced Wars. April 8. Looking forward to it.
• No Man's Sky coming to Switch was rather unexpected. Great to see the hardware still being pushed to new highs.
• Another surprise was the return of Mario Strikers. Didn't have that on my Bingo card.
• The new trailer for Kirby was excellent, it's looking great. I've not been hyped for a Kirby game in a long time. Also, how would Kirby eat a Switch?
• Portal coming to Switch. Something about this announcment being so close to the launch of the Steam Deck is amusing to me, but I'm glad to see it. 
• Switch Sports. Good stuff. Kinda wish they called it Mii Sports though. 
• That Metroid Dread update is a welcome thing. Difficulty options are good!
• I'm finally going to play EarthBound. Here's a review of this 27 year old classic.
• DLC for Mario Kart 8. Yes, they don't seem as visually impressive, but boy, 48 extra tracks is kinda crazy. Great to see it added as a bonus for Switch Expansion Pack subs too. 

Nintendo // YouTube

Mario Kart 8 DLC could signify a longer wait for Nintendo Switch 2 — Musings on what signal the Mario Kart 8 DLC sends in relation to Nintendo's overall strategy as the Switch continues to sell well as it enters its sixth year.

Jeff Grubb // VentureBeat

Kingdom Hearts fans aren't happy with the Switch cloud releases

George Foster // The Gamer

REVIEW Grapple Dog — This platformer, complete with its charming GBA-style visuals, is described here as "an indie masterpiece" with plenty of praise for its writing, soundtrack, and movement. Ash Mercia writing for Switch Player was also keen, calling it "everything a good 2D platforming game should be".

Derek Wright // Big Daddy Gaming

REVIEW GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon

Kerry Brunskill // Nintendo Life

REVIEW Ocean's Heart

Steve Whiting // Switchaboo

REVIEW Retro Bowl - An addictive 8-bit throwback that's appropriately super

Thomas Whitehead // Nintendo Life

REVIEW Welcome to Elk

Joe DeVader // Nintendo World Report

REVIEW Infernax — Out next week, described here as "like an amazing cover of a favorite song. It perfectly encapsulates what a quintessential ’80s game might feel like. [..] The marketing for this game singles out Zelda II and Castlevania II, but it’s got a ton of Metroid, Legacy of the Wizard, and more baked in. If you love the classics, or want a fantastic introduction to NES-style platformers, this is a game that deserves your attention".

Dominick Ashtear // Nintendo Enthusiast

PREVIEW Triangle Strategy — Out in a month. This early look is positive. "Square Enix has built a wildly ambitious tale here and sprinkled some solid tactical mechanics over it".

Nathan Ellingsworth // Pocket Tactics

Mobile app 'SwitchBuddy' makes moving Switch screenshots to your phone easier — I missed the news about this handy looking app when it came out late last year — but it's recently had an update which put it on my radar. Now its on your radar too. 🙂

Gavin Lane // Nintendo Life

▶ 'I became a Nintendo insider in 7 hours (without knowing anything)' — Jon Cartwright took advantage of a quirk of private Twitter accounts to look like he had accurately predicted most of the recent Direct. It was all guess work of course, but did a grand job of shining a light on just how silly leaks and insider 'culture' has become. The account saw plenty of attention, including from the media. I'm grateful for being in the email game as things move a little bit slower and being reactive to whatever is trending isn't really a consideration here.

Good Vibes Gaming // YouTube

I feel bad catching Pokémon in Legends: Arceus

Ana Diaz // Polygon

Pokemon Legends Arceus is great - but where do the games go from here?
Rhys Wood // TechRadar Gaming

Breath of the Wild is finally influencing open-world games

Chirag Pattni // Nintendo Enthusiast

Why Humongous Entertainment’s educational games are timeless — Putt-Putt, Spy Fox and Pajama Sam arrived on the Switch recently — and Leah explains why these 'edutainment' point and click titles matter.

Leah J. Williams // Games Hub

The last Wii U game Nintendo needs to port to Switch is Netflix
Minus World (Hard Drive)

Games that avoid capitalistic design
Malindy Hetfeld // Eurogamer

ICYMI Take the State of Switch Survey for 2022

Switch Weekly

🎮 Upcoming Releases

All releases are digital, Europe & U.S. unless otherwise stated. 
Release data sourced in collaboration with Switch Scores.
⭐️ = Ones to Watch | 📦 = Physical release | 🎮 = Demo available

⚡️ Quick Links:

• Microsoft says it wants Call of Duty on Switch.
• Bringing 'No Man's Sky' to Switch often felt "impossible".
• Playing EarthBound now it's on Switch Online? Here's the original player's guide [PDF] to help you through.
• There's a lot of games on sale on the eShop right now. Thankfully yer man Scullion has picked out the highlights.
• Live A Live is coming to Switch (announced in the Direct), this thread explains why it's such a big deal.
• This interview with Kit and Krysta talks 'behind the scenes' at Nintendo Minute.
• Here's a new 2.5D sidescolling adventure set in the Scottish Highlands.
• Indigenous platformer Never Alone is getting a sequel and a Switch port.
• There was a game shown only in the Japanese Direct that you may want to check out.
• ICYMI, Reggie's book 'Disrupting the Game' is up for preorder. #AD
• Official Zelda Valentine's Day cards from the late '80s? Say no more.
• Accessibility in games matters, as this 3-minute video explains so well.
• Gary Bowser has been sentenced to over three years in prison over Switch hacks.
• Sure, Portal is coming to Switch, but what about Left 4 Dead?
• If you want your iPhone to feel a little more EarthBound, check out this icon pack.

Curated by Chris Brandrick | Support Switch Weekly on Patreon

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