Video: An Exclusive Look at Poi: Explorer Edition on Nintendo Switch

More 3D platformers are always welcome, they're a rare beast nowadays. This has good reviews on Steam but it's also half the price. That's the thing with all these indie devs releasing their games physically it gives them the excuse to charge more and then punish digital buyers for the sake of parity.If this was Eshop only there's no way it would still cost $29.99. For that reason, this will be getting a pass from me until it's on sale on the Eshop for a fair price. I have no interest in buying indie game physically and wish they'd stop. Plus it doesn't look good at retail having these kind of games filling the shelf.

Have it for PC. Played it a couple months ago. It's....fine. I haven't turned it on since, if that means anything.

The character facial design has me kind of umming and arring about the game but I'll give it more of a look before deciding.

A demo would be nice.

This game would've been welcome a few months ago but like Yooka Laylee, it's going to be buried by Mario Odyssey. Poor timing...

Looks like a poor man's Super Mario Odyssey in terms of visuals.

They know how to make a video game which takes tons of tech knowledge but they don't know how to use a proper microphone. It sounds like they are talking to us from 2 cups attached by a string.

@JHDK lol I thought the same.

The movement seems fluid enough and I'm a fan of 3D platformers/collectathons but it looks rough, and at a budget price (maybe £15 - £20 max) I could see the appeal but when held up next to Odyssey or even Yooka-Laylee and a Hat in Time which will be on switch eventually, it just doesn't offer much that those other games don't.

Yay.... !
The game in Physical retail.
Gonna buy Poi : Explorer Edition + Super Mario Odyssey for early November 2017.

@OorWullie I've been comparing steam prices lately and a lot of them are the exact same. For example tiny barbarian cost the same on steam and binding of issac is only 4.50 less on steam.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE
It wasn't Poor Visual.
It was Pretty Decent enough for me to be Accepted.
If you don't like it, Shoo... !

@JHDK Well when you create a budget for game you have to cut back somewhere...........

@OorWullie
To be fair, there are a lot of high quality indie titles that I and im sure many others would love to be able to purchase at retail, not just for the sake of collection, but because there are multiple switches in my house and it's much easier to swap over a cartridge than have to loan out my whole console every time someone else wants to play a game I downloaded.
The Wonder Boy Remake, Stardew Valley, Steamworld Dig 2, Hollow Knight, Golf Story etc..

@Anti-Matter nah man, it looks pretty poor graphically, it's kinda hard to debate that. It doesn't even have a nice cohesive art style to make up for it. It's not the worst looking game in the world and it wouldn't deter me much but its not very pretty.

@faint That's Nicalis for you though, cheeky beggars across the board rather than just on Nintendo platforms. Cave Story does cost half the price on Steam though.

I don't mind paying a little extra, I'm sure there are more expenses involved getting a game onto a Nintendo console than on Steam but some of these prices on the Eshop lately have been ridiculous and each time, it's because the same game is also releasing at retail.

@OorWullie
I would rather choose Switch version with Physical retail rather than Steam version despite of cheaper BUT.... Not in Physical Retail.

I want my games in Physical so I can keep it forever.

@Kingrat That's fine of course, but not when it comes at the expense of punishing digital buyers. If there wasn't a physical/digital price parity rule then I wouldn't have a problem. It wasn't like this before, it seems to have really started on Switch.

@Kingrat
Well, indeed.
Not as Great as Mario Odyssey, but still Acceptable for me.
Btw, Poi was impressed me from the First Time I saw it last time. I need Good First Impression before I determine which game is Accepted and Which is Rejected.

@OorWullie I hear ya. I also think the quality of eshop releases is over all better and that contributes as well as respected economy's. It seems Australia has it the worst when it comes to eshop prices.

Looks a little rough around the edges.

I do love my some happy games! If the reviews are good (or at least sorta good) I'll probly add it to my 'to get' list and get it once I have the funds.

@faint Yep, the overall standard of indie releases on Switch compared to Wii U is so much higher. It's like night and day really. I'm not sure if that's because indie devs are generally improving or they just weren't bringing the best games to Wii U. Probably a bit of both.

A good effort but graphically unimpressive.

@MariOnline
But, in Handheld mode, the graphics like that is still Acceptable for me.

Game kinda looks generic, dont see the appeal here at all...

@Anti-Matter that's great to know

I'm still not too sure about this one, can handle the graphics but not sure if the camera will irritate me. Wonder what review score it will get.

I have it on preorder. Will try my best to fit it in with FE:W before Odyssey takes over.

$14.99 on Steam, $29.99 on the Switch... NOPE!

I’d probably buy for $15 because I like 3D platformers, but $30 is not going to happen. Sorry - way too many other games I’d rather spend money on. Also, the (potentially) best 3D platformer of ALL-TIME is about to come out too.

The timing is just bad. With Mario Odyssey's imminent release most ppl will just pass it by. I will still get it since i am following this game for so long but still......

Edit: Oups... just saw the price. I wonder if the developer wants the game to tank .

It looks unfinished. I did not buy Seahorn (or whatever it is called) for the same reason: downloaded the demo and gave up the first time I crossed through a wall that I not supposed to.

@OorWullie "If this was Eshop only there's no way it would still cost $29.99."

If this was on previous gen consoles - this looks like Jett Rocket on Wiiware - no way it's more than $9.99. (JR was 1,000 points)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Txs5Yf6weo

The PS3 and Wii had a bunch of great digital games for $9.99, then all of their sequels came out for $19.99 - Swords and Soldiers 2, Steamworld Dig 2. I understand inflation, but it's crazy how much these indie digital games all go for these days. $30 is kinda nuts for a game that looks like this when Sonic Forces - whatever it's shortcomings - is $40. Ratchet & Clank was $40 when it released last year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7vOzLEE_rw

Knack 2 just released for $40. Yeah it's Knack, but still, look at it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5DH6p2pPh8

I'm glad for people when they can make some money for their work, but the indie price game inflation quickly went insane in just 1 generation. And their excuse is ludicrous - every indie dev says - "Well our newer game is better than the first game." But what newer game isn't? Go look at Uncharted vs Uncharted 2, Gears of War vs Gears of War 2, Dark Cloud vs Dark Cloud 2. Games get better, but for the most part their prices stay the same. A few years ago most indie games were $5 or $10, now so many are $20 or $30. Sure, they've gotten better, but not that much better.

And as you pointed out, cheaper on Steam. And Xbox has Live Gold and PS4 has PS+ where you can "rent" these games for a few $ per month. I'm getting Metal Gear Solid V this month, not paying $30 for this. Maybe if MyNintnedo wasn't so limited, and Wii U and Switch had the 10% back DDP, there would be some incentive, but I see no incentive on Switch.

Good luck to the devs getting this noticed and sold on Switch.

Like others noted, it's just a shame Poi couldn't get out even just a few weeks sooner. That said, I don't think It's too big of a problem as all those Mario Odyssey players will likely want more 3D platforming eventually... And Poi will be uniquely positioned to capitalize as one of the first available, even if initial sales suffer due to competition from the juggernaut.

I'm willing to buy this and Unbox but both are in the expensive territory right now. I'll wait for both to be at 50% discount.

@rjejr Those comparisons are silly, conflating entirely different situations.

Most of these $30 indies are simply retail releases and that is apparently an accepted price point for physical releases to be both profitable and competitive. It's an early market, so success or failure will bare out the ideal range and overall viability.

Why aren't some digital versions cheaper? Not sure what the policies are fully, but likely these publishers want to increase the incentive for consumers to buy a physical copy rather than undercut with digital when they have invested in production and distribution. Wading into retail means inherent risks and it's incumbent upon these companies to mitigate that rather than compound it.

Anyway, this all comes down to opportunity. The relatively barren Switch retail market has emboldened these smaller publishers and indie developers to take a chance. It's not a bad idea, filling the holes with fairly low-priced indie standouts where the middle-tier market used to be.

And considering how many gamers I know who on all consoles absolutely refuse to download games instead relying entirely on physical copies... I think this is a good trend that could be beneficial for both sides. The only downside are subjectively inflated prices that are prone to come down anyway.

@ACK "filling the holes with fairly low-priced indie standouts"

I might be taking this out of context but I don't view $30 for the game in the trailer I just saw as either "low price" or "standout". Ori and the Blind Forest by Moon Studios was both low priced at $20 and most certainly stand-out.

And I'm not sure what was silly about my comparisons, similar 3D world type games at similar prices.

@rjejr Well It's all subjective. I meant low price relative to retail competition, whether or not it is profitable to launch on Switch physical for $20.

Also I simply meant a notable indie release, but who knows? Have you played Poi? For example, Ori does nothing for me, but I really don't like Axiom Verge either, so that doesn't stand out to me... I'm particular about Metroidvanias, I guess.

Your only comparison that made sense was Jett Rocket, a 40mb-ish, nearly 8 year-old Wiiware release. What about the 3D platformers at Wii retail? Like I said, in the case of Poi (and others) it's a digital-retail bargain the publishers make... No doubt they could/would be cheaper if they chose digital only. Wiiware releases have little relevance here.

This is like a mirror image of that freezeme game. I wouldn’t pay more than 5 bucks for it.

@rjejr Yep very good points. My own thinking as to why prices have increased so much since the arrival of Switch is basically the indies have seen an opportunity to make more money out of Nintendo gamers. Nintendo gamers like their physical releases, that's clear from comments sections here and across other sites. It seemed to start towards the end of the Wii U's life. There was a lot of demand from Nintendo fans for the best indie games to do a physical release,Shovel Knight, Teslagrad, Axiom Verge come to mind. That's fine, they'd already been out digitally for a long time so why not make a limited run of physical releases for those who want them? I think other indies have seen this demand for physical releases and are now using it as a way to not only get their game on store shelves but also as a way to make more money because of the retail/digital price parity rule. With a new console out, limited 3rd party retail games available for it and limited storage space, the opportunity is there. If you take a look on Amazon, the amount of indies releasing boxed versions is ridiculous .It's a bandwagon and they're all jumping on. It won't continue for long though as surely it's going to have a knock on effect on their digital sales.

I didn't word that very well, it's late and I'm on my phone. I never write long comments very well on my phone. Need my laptop for that

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Well budget wise it IS a poor man's Mario Odyssey. 😉

Had this been released in June it would have 100% been a purchase for me.... October / November is WAY too stacked for this however...maybe January?

I remember when this was a Kickstarter project for the Wii U. It failed, but got through Steam greenlight. I dunno if I'm interested in the game now, but I should check it out at some point, seeing as I did try to help make it a reality.