Best of Switch Indies – 12 Dec 2021

As the Christmas season kicks into gear, the number of releases on the Nintendo Switch eShop has once again slowed, with only ~25 titles released worldwide. And, since 2 of the 4 indie games worth purchasing are currently unavailable in some regions, you may be able to spend some of your hard-earned money on your loved ones after all!

I just hope that the excellent games in this round-up don’t get buried under all the festive cheer and jingling bells.

Loop Hero

Released: 09 December 2021

Price: AU$22.50 / US$14.99 / GB£13.49

Genre: RPG / Strategy / Adventure

Developer: Four Quarters

Publisher: Devolver Digital

The Lich has thrown the world into a timeless loop and plunged its inhabitants into never-ending chaos.

Use an expanding deck of cards to strategically place enemies, buildings and terrain to help your brave hero overcome each randomly generated cycle to save the world, breaking it from the Lich’s time loop.

Why this excites me

Loop Hero is the first of 2 games this week featuring a looping time mechanic, and how I imagine Groundhog Day would have been if directed by Peter Jackson and Christopher Nolan instead.

Notoriously difficult to describe and conquer, this RPG-roguelike-deck builder sees you arrange the enemies and landscape surrounding your looping path to allow your “on-rails” hero to fulfil his quest to defeat the Lich… or at least gain enough wisdom and gear to succeed on the next attempt.

Loop Hero is a game you have to play to understand fully, so you’re not alone if the above doesn’t make total sense to you. I presume this is why it also has a second trailer in the style of an 80s action cartoon (see above) that shows no gameplay footage whatsoever. Nice try, Marketing team dog!

LOVE 3

Released: 07 December 2021

Price: AU$14.50 / US$9.99 / GB£7.19

Genre: Platformer / Arcade / Action / Other

Developer: Fred Wood

Publisher: Screenwave Media

LOVE 3 is a precision platformer where you control fiveEight, a lone survivor searching for others in a mechanical, apocalyptic world. Face challenging obstacles, discover hidden secrets, and try to find hope within the hopelessness as you overcome each new danger.

Why this excites me

Despite LOVE 3’s title image not reflecting the game at all, this perfectly honed, meticulous platformer has authentic, old school, 8-bit visuals reminiscent of Lemmings on the ZX Spectrum, my first computer.

The game features 25 new levels and customisable difficulty options, allowing players to experience it how they want to: from painless to brutal.

The LOVE series of games is clearly a major passion project for the developer, Fred Wood, who wants new players to experience its overlooked glory by also including all previous levels from LOVE, LOVE 2: kuso, and LOVE Remastered, in addition to the original 42 track soundtrack.

Twelve Minutes

Released: 07 December 2021 (Americas), 22 December 2021 (elsewhere)

Price: AU$32.95 / US$24.99 / GB£19.99

Genre: Adventure / Puzzle /Action

Developer: Annapurna Interactive

Publisher: Annapurna Interactive

What should be a romantic evening with your wife turns into a nightmare when a police detective bursts into your home, accuses your wife of murder and beats you to death.

You then find yourself immediately returned to the exact moment you opened the front door, stuck in a twelve-minute time loop, doomed to relive the same terror again and again.

Why this excites me

Twelve Minutes is a real-time, top-down, interactive thriller about a man trapped in a time loop and featuring a stellar cast in James McAvoy, Daisy Ridley and Willem Dafoe. So basically, Disney’s Christmas… Again?! if it had been written and directed by David Fincher and Christopher Nolan.

Playing out as a tense, claustrophobic point-and-click adventure, you need to repeatedly search the apartment and pay attention to what you see and hear to work out how to break free from this perpetual nightmare.

Wytchwood

Released: 09 December 2021 (North America & Japan), 28 December 2021 (elsewhere)

Price: AU$24.99 / US$19.99 / GB£14.99

Genre: Action / Adventure / RPG / Simulation

Developer: Alientrap

Publisher: Whitethorn Digital

Wytchwood is a crafting adventure game set in an expressive land of gothic fables and fairytales. As the mysterious old witch of the woods, you will explore a strange countryside, collect magical ingredients, brew sorcerous enchantments, and pass your twisted judgement upon a capricious cast of characters and creatures.

Why this excites me

Generally, I don’t like games with crafting for crafting’s sake, but this wondrous adventure with its 2.5D storybook visuals and enigmatic fairytale story has definitely piqued my interest.

On your journey, you’ll craft new items and brew magical potions by obtaining a cascading list of ingredients, then use these to solve environmental puzzles and defeat the strange creatures of the woods. Rinse and repeat until the moral of the story is revealed.

As far as I know, neither Twelve Minutes nor Wytchwood have announced worldwide release dates. So if you live outside of the Americas and Japan, you’ll either have to keep an ear to the ground or change your eShop region if you’re keen to play them.

Regardless, there are still enough new releases in this and previous weeks to keep you busy wherever you live 🎮.

Updated 31 December 2021 with Twelve Minutes and Wytchwood’s worldwide release dates and prices.

Read last week’s round-up