#211: Your Nintendo Update

REVIEW Doom Eternal — Yup, this port has undergone a pretty severe downgrade in the looks department, however ” the fact that it runs at a solid 30 frames per second and, most importantly, is still fantastically good fun means this ‘impossible’ port is nothing short of a miracle “. The folks at Panic Button seem to have done an amazing job in bringing this gory shooter to Nintendo’s hybrid — hats off to ’em.

Chris Scullion // Nintendo Life

▶ DOOM Eternal graphics comparison: Switch vs. PS4 Pro

GameXplain // YouTube

Final Fantasy VII’s Sephiroth is coming to Smash Bros

Sam Byford // The Verge

European consumer groups join forces to investigate Switch Joy-Con drift

Tom Ivan // VGC

Ghost ‘n Goblins Resurrection announced for Switch, arrives in February —

George Yang // Escapist Magazine

REVIEW Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 — Not needing to reinvent the wheel, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 delivers the same fun and brilliant mash-up of two of the best drop-puzzle games ever with a healthy dollop of content, both classic and new

Alan Wen // The Sixth Axis

REVIEW PixelJunk Eden 2 — Considering this has launched as a Switch exclusive, I’ve not seen much chatter about it online so far. Anyway, this minimalistic, chill platformer is described here as ” one of 2020’s few pleasant surprises “.

Jordan Devore // Destructoid

Did Genshin Impact swipe an opportunity from under Nintendo’s nose? — The game has had an impressive debut marking a “major milestone for Chinese-developed games in general”. Rob notes however that the “rhetoric around the creative debt it owes to Nintendo” has now changed dramatically. Initially the game was criticised for lifting from Breath of the Wild, but Rob points out that it’s now more common to hear criticism levelled at Nintendo instead, asking if Nintendo has effectively left money on the table here?

Rob Fahey // gamesindustry

The secret to the success of Bastion, Pyre, and Hades: No forced crunch, yes forced vacations

Nathan Grayson // Kotaku

Games made under crunch conditions don’t deserve ‘Best Direction’ awards — This isn’t really a Nintendo read, but is in-part related to the above item and how developer overtime/crunch should be a part of the conversation when it comes to handing out awards.

Ian Walker // Kotaku

Why ‘Fortnite’ Season 5 is the best in a long time

Dave Thier // Forbes

‘Empire of Sin’ is much more than just ‘X-COM’ with Tommy Guns — I included this last week, but got the link wrong so here it is again.

Gita Jackson // Vice

Monday, December 14

• Chill Panda — Based on a mobile app, championed by the UK’s NHS, and designed in collaboration with a child psychologist to teach children to manage their feelings and stay healthy. (EU release)
• Jigsaw Fun: Piece It Together — Over 200 jigsaw puzzles to solve.
• Killer Chambers — An action-platformer/memory-game hybrid. (Dec 21 in U.S.)

Tuesday, December 15

• ⭐️ Boot Hill Heroes — Wild west RPG adventure with multiplayer support.
• ⭐️ Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend — A bundle of three FF Legends Game Boy games, with some quality of life improvements (high-speed mode, magnification, etc).
• Dark Grim Mariupolis — A bizzare looking noir/greek puzzle adventure .
• Shakes on a Plane — Co-op party game in which you try to serve food on a plane.

Wednesday, December 16

• SYNTHETIK: Ultimate — An ‘unforgiving’ tactical shooter rogue-lite.

Thursday, December 17

• Abyss of the Sacrifice — A Japanese adventure ‘escape’ puzzle game.
• Body of Evidence — You have to clean up the crime scene, and destroy evidence in this sim.
• Defentron — A 3D tower defense game that looks pretty ’80s Tron’.
• Dog Gone Golfing — Get a ‘howl in one’ in this procedurally generated arcade golfer. (Already available in U.S.)
• Gems of Magic: Lost Family — Match three puzzler.
• Kauil’s Treasure — A single-player puzzle adventure that’s very ‘Indiana Jones’. (Dec 24 in U.S.)
• Mercenaries Blaze: Dawn of the Twin Dragons — A tactical turn-based isometric RPG.
• Outbreak Lost Hope — 3D epidemic survivial horror.
• Traditional Tactics Ne+ — A turn-based ‘simulation’ RPG.
• ⭐️ Unto The End — Journey home in challenging combat 2D adventure.
• Yum Yum Line — Match five puzzler, with local 1-on1 multiplayer.

Friday, December 18

• 60 Seconds! Reatomized — A remaster of this post apocalyptic dark-comedy adventure.
• Dark Arcana: The Carnival — Find hidden objects at the spooky fun fair.
• Freddy Spaghetti — Erm, you play as a conscious piece of spaghetti.
• Shikaku Shapes — Numerical brain teasers.