Topic: 2D Pixel Art Games on Nintendo Switch

I've been playing games for a while. I remember the 80s, the 90s, the NES, the SNES, the gameboy, and on Atari/Amiga/PC the point and click adventure games from Sierra and LucasArt. I've seen some amazing games back then.

Yet when I first heard of Stardew Valley or Shovel Knight it's not nostalgia which drew me to them. It's how excited people were about them and how good reviews scored these games.

I remember thinking Shovel Knight actually looked very ugly before playing it.

And then of course I played it, enjoyed it a lot and I look at it very differently. I actually enjoy the graphics a lot now and the simple colors and shapes allow the game to create more variety when going from one area to another.

It went even further than that.. these games (and Fez before them) made me enjoy 2D pixel art and I'm now attracted to that art style.

I bought the following games recently on the Switch:

• Stardew Valley
• Shovel Knight
• Golf Story
• Elliot Quest
• The Count Lucanor

I already have my eyes set on Thimbleweek Park. All these games are good, cheap, a lot of fun to play and they don't take much space (which is important for the Switch). They're different but they follow that trend... they look retro.

Do you enjoy that trend? If so, what's on your whishlist?

You basically picked all the ones (incl. Thimbleweed Park) from the Switch eShop that I would recommend if you like pixel art. So, a really great first batch of eShop games you got there.

There are several more that stand out to me.

Kingdom: New Lands, 88 Heroes - 98 Heroes Edition, Tiny Barbarian DX, Axiom Verge, Retro City Rampage DX, Cave Story+, the three Inti Creates-action games (Azure Striker Gunvolt - Striker Pack, Mighty Gunvolt Burst, Blaster Master Zero), Kamiko, and to a degree Revenant Saga also, have that quality pixel art retro look.

My Switch eShop wishlist also reminds me to get Conga Master Party, Ultra Hyperball, and Butcher the day I crave more pixels.

Oh yes I've been tempted by Kingdom: New Lands. I've heard really good things about Axiom Verge and Cave Story also.

I like pixel art, but only when it is good looking. I love Maldita Castilla for example. I bought Shovel Knight, I see all its merits in terms of gameplay and it is very good in that regard, but I still think it looks ugly. I mean REALLY ugly. To the point that I can't stand it. I have nothing against pixel art, I like it in fact, I just don't like cheap/bad/poor pixel art.

Axiom Verge and Cave Story are stand out examples. They're widely considered modern classics - with some of the best 2D pixel art (and retro music) out there. They are also very polished games; something I unfortunately can't say about Stardew Valley, Golf Story, Kingdom: New Lands, or Butcher that were released on the Switch with plenty of bugs. Here's hope they'll patch them and also bring them to retail.

Golf Story really is quite buggy, isn't it? I still maintain it's one of the best games on the eShop though. It's also a rare Switch exclusive, which is nice.

Shovel Knight is a funny one. I'm inclined to agree that it's fairly ugly, but the game itself is so brilliant, I grew to love the art style too.

As for other pixel art games, don't forget all the Neo Geo titles - some of them are stunning. And Slime-San deserves a mention too.

I got stuck many times in Golf Story (literally, as in... my character gets stuck and I can't move at all). I'm half way through it, I find it fun but I couldn't play it non-stop in one go. I find it a little too easy and too repetitive. It's definitely a great game though.

Shovel Knight is the complete opposite for me... every single stage feels unique and the game is quite difficult, making every bit of progress a challenge, but it's also quite hard and frustrating so I can't play it for long.

The two games complement each other very well.. and then there's Stardew Valley, always casual, never boring.

I started the count lucanor today. It's buggy and lacks testing/polish.. even the loading screen glitches. The ambiance is great though, I've had a look at some of the puzzles and the rooms around the castle. I'm going to draw a map and take notes on a piece of paper... wait until it's dark and everyone's in bed and go back to it tonight

I seem to have been pretty lucky with Golf Story, as I've only got stuck once; playing GALF - I hit the ball OOB on the first shot and then couldn't move or do anything else in-game - I had to quit the game and restart. I'm now on the very last course (Blue Dunes - Pro). I've really enjoyed it and hope that there will be a sequel at some point.

As for pixel art - I generally love it. As you could probably guess from my avatar.

I finished The Count Lucanor. Bad things first.. It's a bit buggy.. it even crashed on me near the very end. The bugs don't happen often though and they don't ruin the game. The game is short, one night and you're done, no re-playability. That could be a good thing though... I enjoyed that myself, I've a huge backlog, so it's nice to take a break, pick up a new game and just finish it like that.

I've got both great things and bad things to say about the story itself, but I can't because it would really spoil the game for those who didn't finish it.

Now onto the good things. I had a fantastic time with it. It was captivating, the ambiance of the game, the music/sounds, going through the castle with your little candle.. hiding under the table.. uncovering secrets and solving the puzzles. I really enjoyed it. The art was really nice too.

All in all, and despite the few issues, I'd strongly recommend that game. Especially with the low price, you can't go wrong with this one.

The Count Lucanor has 5 different endings, maybe you got one of the bad endings?

Have you saved the girl? Have you debunked the lies? Did you trick the blue demon?
Have you found the speaking rat? Are you forever stuck in the castle or have you found a way out, preferably with the big treasure and did you bring wealth to your mom?

For me there was a lot of replayability.

Also, a patch for the game is on the way.

Oh no.. I had no idea. I've done some of these but you've mentioned plenty for me to redownload it and give it another playthrough

@clemyeats Yeah, well, the game had 20 achievements in its original release. It's a shame they've been taken out in the Switch version, similarly to The Cave (on Wii U). Doesn't make it a worse game, but without them it's hard to know what else the game has to offer. Should write a letter to Baroque Decay, Ratalaika Games, and Merge Games to patch them in somehow.

That's pretty cool because I didn't really mind the bugs... they look easy to fix, I've seen the devs on reddit, they look active and caring, I'm sure they'll have them fixed in no time, and they didn't ruin the game at all.

That said, the end of the story... I really didn't like.. and I think I know why now.

SPOILER ALERT

At the end of the game, when the game loaded the cut scene, it crashed on me. After reloading the game I had to start over from the last save, which was in the last trial, before you get to talk to your "fake" mom. By the time I went through all that already, I was just starting to rush through all the things I had already done and just finish the game, so although the first time I talked to some of the characters and had an issue with just sitting on the throne, after the crash, I went straight for it and just sat on it.

And I didn't like that ending.

Anyway, you don't need to know all that.. but long story short, I'm really happy to know there's different endings. I'm going to cheat a bit and just use youtube to go through them rather than loading a save multiple times.

I really enjoyed that game on my first playthrough, I'm glad there's more to it than I though. I don't see myself going through it again, but I take back what I said about replayability.