Nintendo announces next wave of games at Indie World Showcase
Nintendo has today announced an exciting new roster of indie games coming to the Switch console, with confirmed sequels to popular titles like Cat Quest, and some incredibly cute crafty games to keep us occupied. We love the creativity and art style of indie games, and the spring Indie World Showcase didn't disappoint.
We're still getting over the latest Nintendo Blockbuster eShop Sale, but that hasn't stopped me from downloading demos for some of the newly announced titles. Gamers in the live stream chat were disappointed that still no updates or release date has been shared for the anticipated Hollow Knight: Silksong, a sequel that has been promised since 2019. At least we have more puzzle games to look forward to.
Some of the best Nintendo Switch games in my opinion are the ones that you can get fully immersed in, and can play with a cup of tea to unwind before bed. I also love retro game consoles and the nostalgic feel that they offer. With this in mind, I've picked out the indie games that I'm most excited about from today's announcement, and how you can try them.
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Little Kitty, Big City
Admittedly, I'm a sucker for playing as animal characters, and if this game is anything like Stray or that Untitled Goose Game, then count me in! From the gist of the trailer, it seems like Little Kitty, Big City is exactly as the name suggests, and you can play as a cat exploring a bustling cityscape at your own pace, in a whimsical adventure.
Take my money. Preorders for this game are already live right now via the Nintendo Store, ahead of the official release on May 09. This new game by Double Dagger Studio is being listed for only $24.99 / £22.49, which is a super reasonable price.
It doesn't look like there's a demo available for this game yet, but at least we don't have long to wait until we can try it out. Check out the cuteness overload trailer for this game above, and discover the world from a cat's perspective.
TMNT: Splintered Fate
I'm a big fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (and pizza), so this news on the latest dungeon crawler co-op game has me pretty excited to play as Raphael again and face classic TMNT foes on a quest to save Master Splinter in Splintered Fate.
The bad news is that we have to wait until July for it to make its way onto the Nintendo Switch, but if you're an Apple Arcade user then you should be able to find a mobile game version of it on the App Store for the time being.
This isn't the first TMNT franchise game to feature on the Nintendo Switch, and other titles such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, and the TMNT Cowabunga collection are readily available to play now with 80s retro pixel-art graphics and diverse gameplay options.
Europa (demo available now)
This game looks gorgeous, with beautiful landscapes that offer serious Legend of Zelda vibes. Set on the moon Europa, in Jupiter's shadow, the aim of the game is to play as the protagonist Zee, an android in search of answers surrounding the story of the last human alive as you explore landscape ruins of a fallen utopia.
The trailer shows some very impressive artistry brought to us by Future Friends Games, and I'm really excited to give this action-adventure puzzle game a try and download the Europa demo from Nintendo. We're yet to receive an exact release date for this game, with 2024 being as much as we know officially.
Stitch (available now)
I was pleasantly surprised by the announcement for this game, as someone who's into boring yet relaxing pastime games like Sudoku and Wordscapes - I'm only a few degrees away from actually taking up hand embroidery, so this game could save me the trouble of going full granny mode IRL.
Stitch is a fun and relaxing game whereby you can complete puzzles (known as hoops) to bring coloured digital embroidery patterns to life. Think Picross meets colour by numbers. The developers have said 180 hoops will be ready to go at launch, with more expected to follow.
The hoops are said to be inspired by real-life events and include trivia, with a colour-blind mode available too. The nice thing about this game is that you can complete the hoops in any order you like, and at different sizes for a calm experience with control over the difficulty depending on whether you fancy a challenge or just want to unwind. This game is available now for $14.99 from the Nintendo Store.
Cat Quest III (preorders and demo available)
Yet another game about cats is making its way to the Nintendo Switch, but I'm not complaining. This one is an action role-playing game and the third instalment of the Cat Quest franchise, whereby you can play as part of an open-world RPG filled with cats of all kinds. Taking inspiration from The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Skyrim games, Cat Quest combines combat with looting and exploration with the option for local co-op gaming with a friend.
As we can see from the trailer, Cat Quest III is as cute as ever, with the option to fight pirate rats, navigate your own ship, collect gems, and explore the Purribean. While I like the vibrant colours and cute visuals of this game, it does kind of resemble a smartphone game to me. I've never played either of the other two Cat Quest titles however, so I can only base this on what the trailer above displays.
This game is expected to release on August 08 at a price of $19.99, with preorders live now via the Nintendo Store and a demo readily available.
