One of the big concepts we’ve been hearing about with Super Mario Bros. Wonder is player freedom. However, it turns out that this applied to the actual development as well.
Speaking with Rolling Stone, producer Takashi Tezuka said that this time around, they “really wanted to give the designers more freedom than we would have in the past.”
A new month started up this past week. Now that we’re in October, we want to know what you’ve been playing.
Have you gotten your hands on the recently-released Detective Pikachu Returns? How about other games like Borderlands 3, Wargroove 2, or Disgaea 7? No matter the case, let us know in the comments below.
Although it’s known that late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata worked on Pokemon Gold and Silver, there have been some inaccurate reports regarding his actual contributions. While some have claimed that he helped make both Johto and Kanto fit on a single cartridge, it turns out that wasn’t the case.
Did You Know Gaming relays that Satoru Iwata did indeed write up an an algorithm for Pokemon Gold and Silver, but it was about speed – not size. Iwata’s code saves a fraction of a second at the start of battles, when Pokemon come out, and more. Essentially it all adds up to faster load times. Interestingly, the algorithm was a tweaked version of what was used in EarthBound and other titles from HAL Laboratory.
A new wave of gameplay has come in for Abomi Nation. We just saw it on Switch with Dangen Entertainment and Orange Pylon Games bringing it to the platform.
Learn more about the casual monster-taming roguelite in the following overview:
System: Switch
Release date: October 4, 2023
Developer: Ogre Pixel
Publisher: Ogre Pixel
One of my main hobbies when I was a kid was collecting stickers. They were significantly cheaper than trading cards, and getting duplicates was slightly less frustrating because I could usually find a use for them, whether that was plastering them onto anything that had an inch of space, or swapping them with my friends. A Tiny Sticker Tale, the second game from Ogre Pixel to make its way to the Switch after a successful Kickstarter campaign, takes the idea of collecting stickers and runs wild with it, letting you change the world around you by placing and removing them with some creative environmental puzzles. Although it is over far too quickly, sometimes the most pleasant experience you can have is the one that doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Original (9/14): During today’s Nintendo Direct, Bandai Namco announced SpyxAnya Operation Memories for Switch. It will launch in 2024.
SpyxAnya Operation Memories is based on the popular manga and anime and has players controlling the loveable yet mischievous Anya Forger, an orphan with telepathic abilities who was adopted by Loid Forger. First details are included in the following overview:
System: Switch
Release date: September 8, 2023
Developer: Geometric Interactive
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
Cocoon’s mechanical brilliance is the subtle kind, the kind that sneaks up on you. I knew going into my playthrough that this was the next project from Jeppe Carlsen, the lead gameplay designer of highly acclaimed side-scrollers Limbo and Inside; that type of pedigree sets high expectations, which for me were amplified further after a summer media demo left me with more questions than answers. The most important distinction to note with Cocoon is that it’s more outwardly a puzzle game than either of its forebears, and a very clever one; its trippy, entangled web of worlds is one big metapuzzle that’s true depth astonishes the deeper one dives into it. It’s also a game that somehow builds atmosphere masterfully, but frustratingly refuses to contextualize its world or provide any real stakes, narrative or even lore to engage with. Having rolled credits, I’m still unsure what exactly was the point of my little mechanical bug’s world-bending journey; this, combined with some technical issues on Switch, results in a game that somehow manages to both impress and disappoint at once.
You can add Super Dungeon Designer to the list of Kickstarter success stories as Squish Studios managed to raise funds for the project. Just a bit before the campaign ended, it crossed the $15,000 mark – and met the funding goal in the process.
Super Dungeon Designer is planned to launch on Switch in the future. As the title implies, you’ll be able to create your own dungeons with action adventure gameplay that can be experienced alone or with others. Then when you’re done, you can share them online.
Cassette Beasts received its latest update this week, with the game moving up to version 1.5. Full patch notes are available.
The new update comes with some additions particularly for quality of life – things like a color-blind accessibility option, new filter options for the sticker inventory, and more. That’s along with some other changes and bug fixes.
With XSEED and Marvelous bringing Silent Hope to Switch, we now have gameplay from the final launch version. A half hour of footage highlights the isometric dungeon crawler.
Learn more about it in the following overview:
