I painstakingly researched all 40+ games released on the Nintendo Switch worldwide over the past 7 days, and here are my recommendations of the 5 indie titles that are most worthy of your hard-earned cash.
Black Widow: Recharged
Released: 28 October 2021
Price: AU$13.50 / US$9.99 / GB£7.99
Genre: Arcade / Action / Shooter / Multiplayer
Developer: AdamVision Studios, SneakyBox
Publisher: Atari
Defend your spider web from an onslaught of bugs in this frenetic revival of the cult classic twin-stick shooter, all while jamming to an infectious score by Megan McDuffee.
Why this excites me
As a 40 something self-confessed “retro gamer”, the pick-up-and-play, twin-stick shooter gameplay mixed with a modern, neon-vector aesthetic hits all the right notes, and will beg for “just one more go.”
DISTRAINT Collection
Released: 29 October 2021
Price: AU$16.99 / US$11.99 / GB£10.99
Genre: Horror / Adventure
Developer: Jesse Makkonen
Publisher: Ratalaika Games
A collection of 2 previously released games: DISTRAINT: Deluxe Edition and DISTRAINT 2.
DISTRAINT: Deluxe Edition is a 2D psychological horror adventure game that tells the story of Price, a young man who seizes an old woman’s apartment. After seizing her home, his humanity is now gone. So begins his tales of regret…
DISTRAINT 2 follows on from the events of the first game. It is a sinister tale about restoring hope and finding one’s purpose. Collect items and solve puzzles to progress through the story to discover if Price can reclaim his lost soul.
Why this excites me
While each game is quite short, the stress and terror Price feels keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. The hand-drawn, 2D side-scrolling presentation is pretty unique for this type of game, too.
While it’s cheaper than both games’ normal eShop prices combined, they have been on sale for less than this in the past, so it may be worth waiting for a sale before picking this up.
DUSK
Released: 29 October 2021
Price: AU$24.99 / US$19.99 / GB£14.89
Genre: First-Person Shooter / Action / Adventure
Developer: David Szymanski
Publisher: New Blood
Battle through an onslaught of mystical backwater cultists, possessed militants and even darker forces as you attempt to discover just what lurks beneath the Earth in this retro FPS inspired by the 90s legends.
Why this excites me
As a 12-year-old boy in 1993, the original DOOM blew my mind in every way imaginable. While many indie titles pay homage to the 8-bit and 16-bit games of yesteryear, only a handful of indie devs are revisiting the feeling of games from the groundbreaking era of 3D; and even fewer are making love letters to the ultra-violent ones. Shut up and take my money!
Endocrisis
Released: 26 October 2021
Price: AU$10.50 / US$6.99 / GB£6.29
Genre: Arcade / Shooter/ Shmup
Developer: Buschmann Studios
Publisher: Buschmann Studios
Endocrisis is a technical shoot’em up, where it’s more than just evading the onslaught of bullets as is standard for this type of game. As you progress, you must learn the attack patterns to know when to shoot, when to absorb enemy fire and when to use your armour to defend yourself.
Why this excites me
More hyper-neon vaporwave! 2D shoot’em ups have been a firm favourite of mine since I first played Gradius and R-Type, so I’m always looking for new additions to the genre. The non-linear level design and unique mechanics of absorbing and blocking enemy bullets mean this instantly piqued my interest.
VirtuaVerse
Released: 28 October 2021
Price: AU$19.99 / US$14.99 / GB£12.99
Genre: Adventure / Puzzle / Point-and-click
Developer: Theta Division
Publisher: Blood Music
VirtuaVerse is a challenging, old school, cyberpunk point-and-click adventure set in a not too distant future where Artificial Intelligence prevails and society has migrated to a permanently integrated reality that continuously optimizes people’s experiences by processing personal data.
Why this excites me
Do you remember the 90s heyday of point-and-click adventures like Monkey Island and Beneath a Steel Sky? VirtuaVerse looks like it will follow the latter’s lead with hard, but satisfying puzzles, all wrapped up in a thought-provoking, dystopian, cyberpunk story.
Hopefully I’ve managed to introduce a few games that you weren’t aware of. Will you be adding any to your library?
About the Creator
stowball
I design: digital, craft, board games.
I write: code, fiction, reviews.
I play: games, guitar, football.
See my: complete Best Of Switch indies list
Say hi: twitter.com/stowball
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