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It’s Nintendo Download Update time and we have another busy week to enjoy in North America. The Switch eShop has a bumper line-up to consider, of course, though the Wii U and 3DS don’t miss out entirely; the little handheld even has a big-time RPG from Atlus that's out soon. There’s plenty to consider, so let’s get to it.

Switch Retail Download

88 Heroes: 98 Heroes Edition (Rising Star Games, $29.95USD) - An action platformer with an interesting twist; you have 88 levels to clear with a time limit of 88 seconds in each. The gameplay seems to throw in various twists to keep things interesting, and on Switch it includes all of the DLC that was sold separately in other versions.

Switch eShop

Wulverblade (Fully Illustrated, $19.99USD) – The beat ‘em up genre isn’t as popular as it once was, but this intriguing release does an excellent job of reminding us of its merits. Rooted in British history and packed full of passion, it’s a brutally tough game but one we gave a hearty recommendation in our Wulverblade review.

The Flame in the Flood (The Molasses Flood, $14.99USD) – Created by a team of former ‘AAA’ developers, this arrives on Switch as the Complete Edition. An intriguing ‘roguelite’ survival game, you travel along the river and alight at various towns and buildings to seek gear and vital supplies. We’ll bring you a review soon, but in the meantime here’s an interview with the game’s designer.

Yono and the Celestial Elephants (Plug In Digital, $14.99USD) – A rather charming adventure game in which a plucky elephant explores, tackles puzzles and even gets into a bit of combat. Introduced in the most recent Nindies Showcase it’s undoubtedly appealing, but we’ll see whether it’s worth a purchase in our upcoming review.

Rogue Trooper Redux (RebellionInteract, $24.99USD) - Based on the 2000 AD comic strip, this uses the 2006 original - which was ported to the Wii in 2009 under the title Rogue Trooper: The Quartz Zone Massacre - as its template, adding various upgrades for this HD remaster. We don't have many shooters on the Switch so we'll definitely give it a look. Available from 17th October.

Unbox: Newbie's Adventure (Merge Games, $29.99USD) - Also coming to retail in November, this is a physics-based 3D platformer aims to encourage reminiscing over the genre's golden era while introducing its own ideas. In some ways it succeeds but there are some flaws; we gave it a light recommendation in our Unbox: Newbie's Adventure review.

Don't Knock Twice (Wales Interactive, $12.49USD) - Developed alongside a film with the same name, this is a first-person horror game in which you explore a 'grand manor house' and try to save your daughter; it could be good Halloween fare. Available from 17th October.

Neon Chrome (10Tons, $14.99USD) – A ‘top-down Cyberpunk shooter, this looks big on action and supports co-op for up to four players if you want to tackle it with a buddy. It has procedurally generated stages on offer but struggles to inspire that 'one-more go' feeling, as we explain in our Neon Chrome review.

Putty Pals (Harmonious Games, $9.99USD) - In this colourful, feel-good adventure you can tackle colour-based puzzles with a friend; the co-op gameplay would seem to be a perfect match for the Switch. We'll see whether it's worth sharing with a gaming buddy in a review.

Squareboy vs Bullies: Arena Edition (Ratalaika Games, $4.99USD) – A beat ‘em up that was once on mobile, you can brawl alone or with a friend to beat up wannabe tormentors. A reasonable game, albeit one perhaps lacking a little overall, we gave it a modest recommendation in our review.

The King of Fighters '95 (HAMSTER, $7.99USD) – Another ASA release, in this case continuing our run of KoF titles. This second game in the series brings a rather welcome option that would go to become a series staple: You are not confined to pre-determined teams, so you can pick any characters from the roster to make your own dream trio. That said, its arguably superior successor is already available.

Switch eShop Demo

Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas (FDG Entertainment, free)

3DS Retail Download

Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth (SEGA, $39.99USD) - The DS and 3DS have been lucky enough to have plenty of these RPG titles from Atlus, with this fifth main entry giving us another taste of its cartographic exploration and adventure. We enjoyed some time with it in this first impressions articleAvailable from 17th October.

3DS eShop

Little Adventure on the Prairie (Infinite Madaa, $2.99USD) –With a name like that we thought this would be a storybook adventure, but it's actually a short platformer in which you're encouraged to "venture through 12 levels of pure slaughter and mindlessly try to kill all the monsters that are facing you". Crikey.

3DS HOME Theme

Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth Theme

Wii U eShop

Volgarr the Viking (Crazy Viking, $9.99) - Arrives on the Wii U a week after its Switch release. It pitches itself as a tough action platformer in which you'll die a lot. It looks a tad rough visually, but that doesn't mean it won't be a lot of fun; we'll try it out for review.

Wii U Virtual Console

MOTOROADER (Konami, $5.99USD) – An overhead racer that likely had a lot of competition back in the day, and perhaps struggled as a result. We were certainly unimpressed in our Wii Virtual Console review.

Legend of Hero Tonma (Konami, $5.99USD) – We described it as a kids' version of Ninja Spirit once upon a time, a colourful action platformer that arguably fails to live up to its contemporaries. You can read all about it in our Legend of Hero Tonma review from the Wii Virtual Console days.

Digital Champ: Battle Boxing (Konami, $5.99USD) – An interesting idea and technically impressive for the time, this first-person boxing game falls short once it steps into the ring; that's what we thought in our review, anyway.


As always Nintendo of America wants you to browse the eShop and check out the official sales and deals website for discount details.

That's the Nintendo Download line-up this week - let us know what you'll be downloading in the poll and comments below.

What will you be downloading this week?

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