Nintendo Download: 13th December (Europe)

The latest Nintendo Download update for Europe has arrived, and it's bringing new games galore to the eShop in your region. As always, be sure to drop a vote in our poll and a comment down below with your potential picks for the week. Enjoy!

Switch Retail - New Releases

V-Rally 4 (BigBen, €49.99 / £44.99) - The legendary off-road racing game returns! Enjoy an extreme experience while becoming an expert in a demanding simulation. Take on the challenges of rallies, rallycross, drifts, buggies and hill climbs, and set off on a spectacular journey across every continent. Dominate dangerous roads, hostile conditions, and environments, constantly striving for more speed. Let adrenaline boost your reflexes at the wheel of the most legendary off-road vehicles in each category, and take on the most difficult routes in fabulous surroundings.

Switch eShop - New Releases

Guacamelee! 2 (DrinkBox Studios, €17.99 / £16.19) - Luchador Juan Aguacate is out of retirement for a stunning new Metroidvania-style adventure. Explore a huge, hand-crafted world inspired by Mexican culture and folklore, filled with sassy new villains and weirdos (and a few old friends!). Learn bone-crunching wrestling moves to fend off skeletal hordes and overcome skilful platforming challenges... and who said anything about a Chicken Illuminati? Certainly not us! - Read our Guacamelee! 2 review

Kingdom Two Crowns (Raw Fury, €19.99 / £17.99) - In other Kingdom games, players took on the role of a monarch struggling to build their kingdom up from nothing. Hundreds of thousands of players across the world explored, recruited loyal subjects, and defended nightly against the persistent threat of the Greed – but they did so in isolation, and as with all things in Kingdom, nothing lasts… until now.

Desert Child (Akupara Games, €10.49 / £9.49) - You’re broke, you’re hungry, and your only friends are a vintage hoverbike and a bowl of ramen noodles. In Desert Child, you are a young and talented hoverbike racer who needs to figure out how you can scrape enough cash together through racing and odd jobs to punch your one-way ticket to the Red Planet to enter the biggest race in the universe, the Grand Prix.

EVERSPACE - Stellar Edition (ROCKFISH Games, €39.99 / £35.99) - It takes you on a challenging journey through an ever-changing, beautifully crafted universe full of surprises. Shoot, craft and loot your way to victory while the odds are stacked against you. - Read our EVERSPACE - Stellar Edition review

Solar Flux (FIREBRAND GAMES, €8.69 / £7.79) - Galaxies are in turmoil as their suns are dying. The Solar Galaxy Federation has deployed vast Flux Accumulator ships to collect plasma and restore the suns’ equilibrium in each nebula. Solar Flux is a unique space puzzle game where you journey across the universe using both puzzle solving and dexterity skills to bring order to the cosmos. Supernovas, Asteroid Fields, Meteors and Black Holes are just some of the challenges you will encounter as you sail your ship through the solar flares of each imploding sun.

ACA NEOGEO METAL SLUG 5 (HAMSTER, €6.99 / £6.29) - “METAL SLUG 5” is an action shooting game released by SNK in 2003. The Ptolemaic Army has stolen some very confidential files! Choose from four familiar faces: Marco, Eri, Tarma, or Fio to take them down! Look forward to the new Slug Gunner and slide mechanic!

Almightree: The Last Dreamer (West Coast, €22.19 / £19.99) - The world is shattering and you are the only hope to restore the balance. A thrilling and challenging 3D puzzle platform game, Almightree: The Last Dreamer has you racing through a crumbling world to find your way to awaken the life-giving Almightree.

Arcade Archives ATHENA (HAMSTER, €6.99 / £6.29) - “Athena” is an action game released by SNK in 1986. Athena, the adventure-loving energetic princess of the Kingdom of Victory, goes on a journey to Fantasy World. Running, swimming, and even flying?! Utilize various weapons to defeat the looming enemies! Think you can defeat Dante, the evil emperor of Fantasy World?!

Blue Rider (eastasiasoft, €8.99 / £8.09) - Hop in and join the explosive action of this 3D shoot'em up! Blue Rider offers classic arcade gameplay, combined with beautiful visuals. Battle through 9 colourful and diverse stages, filled with a large variety of enemies that can't wait to take you down. Power up your weapons, shoot down enemies and face huge & challenging boss encounters.

GRIS (Devolver Digital, €16.99 / £14.49) - Gris is a hopeful young girl lost in her own world, dealing with a painful experience in her life. Her journey through sorrow is manifested in her dress, which grants new abilities to better navigate her faded reality. As the story unfolds, Gris will grow emotionally and see her world in a different way, revealing new paths to explore using her new abilities. - Read our GRIS review

Hunter's Legacy: Purrfect Edition (Lienzo, €6.99 / £6.29) - Embark on a feline-filled quest set in an action-packed fantasy universe brimming with fierce enemies, intense sword-fighting, and the classic feeling of a Metroidvania adventure! Hunter’s Legacy is a 2D platformer where you control Ikki, a powerful huntress cat equipped with twin swords, a bow, and magical abilities, who must save the Kingdom of Iripur from the evil Morodir.

Johnny Turbos Arcade Shoot Out (FTE Games, €7.99 / £7.10) - Stop the criminal gangsters and save the civilians in this action-packed shooter.

Knights of Pen & Paper 2 Deluxiest Edition (Plug In Digital, €12.99 / £11.69) - Prepare to inhabit a world of chivalry, class warfare and off-beat pop references in the sequel for the successful and award-winning game Knights of Pen & Paper! Knights of Pen & Paper 2 is a turn-based, retro style, pixel-art adventure full of danger, intrigue, death, and saving throws! Assemble your party and control your group of pen and paper role-players as they are guided through their adventures by the Game Master. All the fun of pen and paper RP, none of the lost dice!

Knights of Pen and Paper Bundle (Plug In Digital, €22.49 / £19.99) - Get the two games Knights of Pen & Paper + Knights of Pen & Paper 2 in this discounted bundle! Take on the roles of in-game players taking on the roles of their characters in a traditional pen and paper RPG session in the ultimate meta roleplaying experience. As both the playing characters AND the game master, you can choose which battles to fight. Put together a bunch of monsters to make for a challenging fight and your efforts will be equally rewarded!

Omensight: Definitive Edition (Lienzo, €16.79 / £15.09) - You are the Harbinger, a powerful mystical warrior. You have witnessed the destruction of the world. In order to prevent annihilation, you are destined to repeat that fateful day and solve the murder of the Godless-Priestess, whose death precipitated the apocalypse.

SEGA AGES Phantasy Star (SEGA, €6.99 / £5.99) - The tyrant Lassic rules the cosmos, and it is up to you to defeat his evil reign. Witness the revival of this defining RPG in SEGA AGES Phantasy Star. Take advantage of the new dungeon map display and the acclaimed “Ages Mode” as you traverse tricky dungeon mazes and battle ferocious 8-bit beasts. Phantasy Star has claimed its place as a pioneer RPG and its retro-spirit is sure to find a home in the hearts of old and new fans alike.

Starman (Nada Studio, €7.99 / £7.19) - New puzzles every level will keep you learning and thinking outside the box. Starman is not only a game, but a whole experience. We've put so much love building the sceneries and trying to create an eerie atmosphere. Sit, relax, and enjoy.

Lazy Galaxy: Rebel Story (AbsoDev, €6.99 / £6.29) - An old robot named H-34-RT wakes up in a derelict space station orbiting his home planet. His civilization was destroyed long ago by evil O'Xelg, but he has yet to figure that out. After an initial shock, he decides to follow his old defence routines: that means fighting the invaders, even if he is alone now.

Switch eShop - Demos

Dungeon Village Demo (Kairosoft, Free) - Welcome to an epic RPG world in which the town you build can grow from humble hamlet into a mecca for the land's most ambitious adventurers! The enterprising warriors that stop by your blossoming burg will defeat monsters and earn you money. Conquering dungeons and clearing out hordes of monsters will bag you loot to stock your shops. And if your hamlet flourishes, adventurers will want to set up house and settle down!

Game Dev Story Demo (Kairosoft, Free) - Manage your own game company and try to create a million-selling game in this unique simulation. Features the ability to develop your company's own game console, plus a system for changing your staff members' professions. Your staff members can have a variety of game-related professions, from programmer to sound engineer. Work hard and you may reach the top of the video game industry!

Graceful Explosion Machine Demo (Vertex Pop Inc., Free) - Skilfully pilot the Graceful Explosion Machine, a fighter ship armed with a ludicrously overpowered quad-weapon array! Lost in deep space, you'll shoot, dash and combo your way through jewel-hued alien worlds, fighting crystalline enemies to find a way home. The GEM fighter is the most advanced single-pilot fighter in the galaxy, offering precise controls, nimble movement, and devastating firepower. - Read our Graceful Explosion Machine review

Pic-a-Pix Pieces Christmas Demo (Lightwood Games, Free) - Pic-a-Pix is a picture logic game, sometimes known as Picross, Nonogram or Hanjie, where whimsical pixel-art pictures are created by solving puzzles.

Switch eShop - Pre-Orders

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (Nintendo, €59.99 / £49.99, pre-order from 11/12/2018) - New Super Mario Bros. U is getting the deluxe treatment on Nintendo Switch! Luigi’s first starring role in a platforming adventure, New Super Luigi U, is getting the deluxe treatment too, and comes packed in! A single Joy-Con controller is all each player needs. Enjoy 164 courses for up to four players anytime, anywhere! Mario, Luigi, and Toad are all here, and if that's not enough, Nabbit and Toadette are joining in the fun as well.

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes (Grasshopper Manufacture, €29.99 / £24.99, pre-order from 13/12/2018) - The legendary gaming console – the Death Drive Mark 2… Travis Touchdown wanders into the game world and embarks on a rampage of epic proportions in Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes for Nintendo Switch. Inside, there’s an action game, racing, puzzles…A total of seven different game titles! With his Beam Katana in hand, he vows to exterminate every last Bug he finds.

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes (With Season Pass) (Grasshopper Manufacture, €39.98 / £33.98, pre-order from 13/12/2018) - As above, but includes a season pass.

A Ch'ti Bundle (Seaven Studio, €15.99 / £14.49, pre-order from 11/12/2018) - Get the two games Ethan: Meteor Hunter + Inside My Radio in this discounted bundle!

Ethan: Meteor Hunter (Seaven Studio, €7.99 / £7.19, pre-order from 11/12/2018) - Your name is Ethan, a rat that got touched by meteorites giving him the power of telekinesis: freezing time and moving objects around him. Manipulate the world with endless possibilities: build the solution YOU want where nothing is scripted and levels can be solved in multiple ways.

Inside My Radio (Seaven Studio, €7.99 / £7.19, pre-order from 11/12/2018) - Journey as a green LED mysteriously trapped inside a dying boombox and play the ultimate musical experience: bring electro, dub and disco music back to life!

Chronus Arc (KEMCO, €11.69 / £10.52, pre-order from 13/12/2018) - On their way to the Chronus Shrine to get the Chronus Fragments, Loka and his teacher Teth are surrounded by a mysterious man named Geppel and his gang. They demand the Fragments. While Teth plays for time, Loka rushes out of the cave on his own to fetch reinforcements. He is successful, but Teth and Geppel are nowhere to be found. Aiming to gather information about his missing teacher, Teth, Loka decides to set out on a journey with his friend Sarna.

Pic-a-Pix Pieces (Lightwood Games, €7.99 / £6.99, pre-order from 13/12/2018) - Pic-a-Pix is a picture logic game, sometimes known as Picross, Nonogram or Hanjie, where whimsical pixel-art pictures are created by solving puzzles. In Pic-a-Pix Pieces, large pictures have been split into a number of smaller pieces. Each piece is a puzzle grid, and by solving them all you’ll form a mosaic that reveals a spectacular final image.

3DS eShop - Pre-Orders

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey (Nintendo, €39.99 / £34.99, pre-order from 13/12/2018) - Nintendo DS classic, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, is back for more gut-busting adventures in Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey for Nintendo 3DS family systems. Mario and Luigi have been tasked with finding a cure for the blorbs, a disease threatening all life in the Mushroom Kingdom. But, thanks to Fawful, both brothers have been devoured by Bowser! And so, their journey takes them deep into the belly of the beast, leaving Bowser to scour the kingdom for the cure. The only way forward is to change between the Bros. and Bowser.

Festive - Special Offers

Along with this weeks download releases Nintendo also has a huge Festive Offers list that is so big, we've had to put it in another article.

DLC / Add-On Content

Nintendo Switch

• Guacamelee! 2 - Three Enemigos Character Pack (DrinkBox Studios) - €2.49 / £2.29
• SNK 40th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION -Beast Busters & S.A.R. Search and Rescue (NIS America) - Free
• SNK Heroines: New Character "JEANNE" (NIS America) - €4.99 / £4.49
• V-Rally 4 - Ford Shelby GT500 (BigBen) - €5.99 / £5.39
• WorldNeverland - Elnea Kingdom: Navy Devon Coat Set (althi) - €2.99 / £2.69

So that's your lot for this week's Nintendo Download. Go on, be a sport and drop a vote in the poll above, and a comment below with your hot picks!