Kingdom Come: Deliverance developer discusses Switch’s latest “miracle” port
Posted on 8 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Interviews, Switch | 0 comments
Even though Switch has been around for over seven years, “miracle” ports for the system are always a topic of conversation. Many games that may have been thought impossible for the console have made their way over, ranging from The Witcher 3 to Doom Eternal.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is now the latest port to have arrived on Switch. Despite being a game that can be taxing on even more powerful consoles, Warhorse Studios – in partnership with Saber Interactive – managed to make a version for Nintendo’s platform that is overall pretty admirable. We recently spoke with lead programmer Anton Vasilev to talk about what the development process was actually like.
[Let’s Talk] Hopes and dreams for the new Super Mario Bros. animated movie
Posted on 8 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Let's Talk | 0 comments
As part of MAR10 Day earlier in the month, it was announced that Nintendo and Illumination are teaming up again for a second Super Mario Bros. animated movie. Given the success of the first one, that wasn’t exactly surprising. The new film is set to debut in April 2026, so it’s a couple of years away.
That leaves us plenty of time to speculate about what the new Mario movie could include. What would you like to see? Do you have any specific ideas regarding what Nintendo and Illumination should include? Let us know in the comments.
[Rapid Review] Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection
Posted on 8 months ago by Edan(@@Virtualboi92) in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: March 14, 2024
Developer: Aspyr
Publisher: Aspyr
Back in the early to mid 2000s, Star Wars games were everywhere. Opening your bedroom window was enough to illicit an invading swarm of new software set in a galaxy far far away. Despite the influx of combat adventure games, kart racers (Super Bombad Racing, anyone?) and film adaptations, it was Pandemic Software’s Battlefront series that rose above the rest for nostalgic old sods like myself. The opportunity to freely explore movie-accurate locations and do lots of shooting in them was novel, and the original two games in the series were evidently made with a whole lot of love. While Pandemic themselves (and the Battlefront series) may be a distant memory for most, Aspyr has packaged those original two titles into a single collection for Switch known as the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection – and the resulting experience is a bit of a mixed bag.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons vs. New Leaf – comparing which is better in 2024
Posted on 8 months ago by Ethan in 3DS, Features, Switch | 0 comments
Today, we’re looking at the two most popular games in the Animal Crossing series: New Horizons and New Leaf. More specifically, we’re comparing and contrasting them to determine which is the better experience and how a future game could blend elements of both to make something really special.
[Review] Unicorn Overlord
Posted on 8 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: March 8, 2024
Developer: Vanillaware
Publisher: Atlus
It’s not very often you find a developer that is so truly passionate about their game that they will fund it out of their own pocket when the budget runs out, so determined are they to realize their creative vision that money ceases to be a factor. But this is par for the course for Vanillaware, who have delivered consistently excellent titles for over twenty years now. With Unicorn Overlord, a game ten years in the making, the company has crafted one of the most intricate, engaging, and mechanically dense tactical RPGs I’ve played in years.
More: Atlus, highlight, top, Unicorn Overlord, Vanillware
[Interview] Botany Manor’s creative director discusses upcoming game’s narrative, inspiration
Posted on 8 months ago by Nicholas Serpa in Interviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
Back in 2022, a cozy-looking first-person puzzle game named Botany Manor was highlighted during one of Nintendo’s Indie World showcases. I had an opportunity to preview the game at PAX West last year, and enjoyed its gardening-based puzzles and the warmth of its lush locale.
Ahead of its release for Switch on April 9, I met with the game’s creative director Laure de May at Day of the Devs San Francisco to chat more about her inspiration for the game, its development, and more. You can read our full discussion below.
More: Balloon Studios, Botany Manor, highlight, top, Whitethorn Games
[Review] Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story
Posted on 8 months ago by Nicholas Serpa in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: March 13, 2024
Developer: Digital Eclipse
Publisher: Digital Eclipse
There have been some outstanding documentaries about video games released over the past few years, chronicling the development of major games like Psychonauts 2 and The Last of Us at a level of transparency that is quite rare in the secretive modern industry landscape. And while I adore these types of projects, what better way is there to experience a slice of gaming history than by playing through it? Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story is the latest attempt at an interactive history lesson from developer Digital Eclipse, and this project focuses on telling the story of the rise of the studio behind classic score-chasers like Gridrunner and Tempest 2000. This package compiles over 40 of Jeff Minter’s programs – not all of them are games, interestingly – alongside a swath of video interviews and documents to pore over. While I didn’t find every piece of the package inherently interesting, overall this a great glimpse into the mind of one of gaming’s earliest avant-garde developers, and there’s plenty of fun to be had along the way.
[Review] Death of a Wish
Posted on 8 months ago by Nicholas Serpa in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: March 11, 2024
Developer: melessthanthree
Publisher: melessthanthree
As I journeyed across the nightmarish, apocalyptic world of Death of a Wish, slaughtering through the countless waves of monstrosities that crossed protagonist Christian’s path, my journey to help him hunt down the forces that had decimated this place became a substantially more mysterious one than I had expected initially. This may be a combat-action game through and through, but beyond its narrow and polished gameplay focus lies a narrative web of opposing forces that’s just as compelling to untangle, even when the power of its relentlessly brooding atmosphere begins to fade. Death of a Wish is tightly-designed, fiendish action experience that rewards players who fully engage with its mechanics and world building, and despite some missed opportunities here and there, I enjoyed the time I spent with it.
More: Death of a Wish, highlight, melessthanthree, top
[Let’s Talk] What will Nintendo release for Switch in the second half of 2024?
Posted on 8 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 0 comments
About a week ago, Nintendo announced the release dates for Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD. They’ll be launching in May and June respectively. Some had thought that they could be coming in the latter half of the year, but it turns out they’re dropping fairly soon.
The second part of 2024 is now wide open for Nintendo. As things stand now, the company has no announced titles for the rest of the year. Some banked on a new Pokemon game coming out this holiday given how it seems Switch 2 won’t be arriving until 2025 (at least based on rumors), but even that isn’t happening with Pokemon Legends: Z-A confirmed for next year.
Obviously Nintendo won’t go the whole second half of 2024 without a new Switch game. What do you think the company could have in store? Do you think Metroid Prime 4 will finally arrive this year? Let us know in the comments.
[Review] Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley
Posted on 8 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: March 7, 2024
Developer: Hyper Games
Publisher: Raw Fury
Finding out that The Moomins is not only still an active franchise but is in fact still doing quite well for itself is one of the more surprising things that has happened to me this year thus far. As a child of the 90s I have fond memories of The Moomins (both the novels and the 1990s TV series) and I was eager to revisit that world in Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley, which appeared to capture the essence of Tove Jansson’s original works perfectly through its beautiful hand-drawn art style and relaxed, adventure-focused gameplay with a melodic twist that complemented the titular Snufkin. The “cozy gaming” space is packed with top quality titles at this point, and although I couldn’t necessarily recommend Snufkin over some others to those without that sense of nostalgia that drew me to it on the basis of its gameplay, it is nonetheless a title I find difficult to fault and would urge people to pick up as few are as immersive or charming as this one.
