#207: Your Nintendo Update

Nintendo chief plots post-Animal Crossing future — A good, well-rounded read on where Nintendo stand right now, and how 2020 has been an ” awkward source of good fortune ” for the company.

Jada Nagumo // Nikkei Asia

REVIEW Fuser — This ‘festival’ experience from Harmonix ” misses the mark on the sights and sounds of being a genuinely cool DJ “, but ” perfects the execution as a creative and experimental music game that goes as deep as your imagination will take you “.

Miguel Moran // Nintendo Enthusiast

REVIEW Kingdom Hearts: Melody Of Memory — ” may only be for a certain audience, but for that audience, this is as good as it gets ”

Bella Blondeau // The Gamer

REVIEW Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin — This side-scrolling action game ( with added in-depth farming ) is already out in some markets, and sees its European release this week. It looks great, and is described here as an ultimately ” charming and fun adventure “.

George Yang // Escapist Magazine

REVIEW Just Dance 2021 — Ticks all the usual boxes, but sounds like some innovation is over due here: ” a solid entry in the franchise, though it might get stale next year if things don’t change “. This really is the sort of game that should do away with the annual releases and become a service-game of sorts with the occasional paid updates I reckon.

Elisha Deogracias // Gaming Trend

REVIEW Ghostrunner — This cyber-ninja game came out earlier this week ( I failed to mention it in the list of upcoming releases in issue 206 – thanks to Pan for the heads up on that one ). The linked review from IGN here seems largely positive on it, but fails to mention which platform the reviewer was playing. This Switch-specific review is less than keen, claiming some notable performance issues.

Mitchell Saltzman // IGN

▶ Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered — Some early impressions and a look at how this EA release runs on the Switch. One neat thing about this: it has cross-platform multiplayer.

SwitchedOn // YouTube

▶ Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity Demo – First impressions — Nathan Ellingsworth takes Hyrule Warriors for a spin and delivers their first impressions. The full game is out on Friday (20th).

Switch Player // YouTube

▶ Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity – A Zelda fan and a Dynasty Warriors fan go hands-on

Joe Skrebels & Alex Simmons // IGN

Nintendo gift guide for 2020

Chris Brandrick // Digg

Why Pokémon Sword & Shield expansions replaced a third game

Brian Shea // Game Informer

The Switch has been the US’s bestselling console for 23 straight months — That’s quite the run, although you have to imagine that the new next-gen consoles will soon put an end to it.

Andrew Webster // The Verge

The last great console leap? — Yep, this isn’t Nintendo related, but with new consoles now with us, it seems a good time to reflect on the industry at large. This touches upon how this new gen feels like ” continuity over change ” and how the lines of a console generation will now continue to blur.

Rob Fahey // gamesindustry

The Survivalists Gene: Tracing the DNA between a brand new game and a selection of classics — A look at what titles may have inspired this recent island survival release.

Bobby Jack // SuperJump

Tuesday, November 17

• Five Dates — An interactive video dating rom-com.
• Mars Horizon — Lead a space agency to Mars in this strategy/sim.
• Pure Pool — Realistic cue sports, with online play.
• Serious Sam Collection — Three ‘explosive’ 3D shooters in one bundle.
• 📦 Sniper Elite 4 — Third-person sniping across a WW2 Italy.

Wednesday, November 18

• Karma Knight — Fast-paced 2D side-scrolling combat/platform action game. (Nov 19 in U.S)
• Nexoria: Dungeon Rogue Heroes — A ‘hardcore’ dungeon roguelike with collectible cards.

Thursday, November 19

• ⭐️ Art Sqool — An ‘art school’ simulator. Take a look at this one for the visuals alone.
• Azurebreak Heroes — 2D RPG with roguelite elements.
• Brawl Chess — Chess with a fantasy twist. Attempting to do something different.
• Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead — Making bridges whilst dealing with the undead.
• 🎮 Cake Bash — Party game for four in which you ‘beat the crumbs our of each other’.
• 🎮 Dreamo — A 3D puzzle solving journey through a mysterious island.
• Educational Games for Kids — 21 edutainment mini games for kids.
• Eldrador Creatures — Turn based strategy game based on the toys.
• Grisaia Phantom Trigger 05 — The fifth in this series based on the anime/visual novel.
• 📦 Monster Truck Championship — Big 3D truckin’. (Nov 24 in U.S)
• Outbreak — Co-op survival horror nightmare.
• The Casino — A collection casino games.
• Wartile — This Norse-inspired strategy game looks neat. (Already available in U.S)

Friday, November 20

• Captain Sabertooth & the Magic Diamond — Adventure based on the Norwegian character.
• Fall Gummies — 3D puzzle game with 1,000 challenges to work through.
• ⭐️📦🎮 Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity — Musou action 100 years before BotW.
• Micetopia — A mouse with a sword goes exploring in this Metroidvania platformer.
• Ramp Car Jumping — Get air in this action racer.
• S.N.I.P.E.R. – Hunter Scope — Arcade-style first-person shooter.
• ⭐️📦 Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin — A lovely looking side-scrolling action game with crafing and plenty of rice cultivation on the side. (Already available in U.S)

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