Nintendo Download: 27th 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 comment down below with your potential picks for the week. Enjoy!

Switch Retail - New Releases

My Little Riding Champion (BigBen Interactive, €34.99 / £31.99) - Get ready to fulfil your dreams at a gallop. The village's riding club needs you to win the next major competitions. Choose your favourite horse, train it and win medals for your club! Create a bond by going out riding in the countryside and taking care of it. Together you will set out on a large number of missions and earn new outfits and equipment for both of you.

Blazblue Centralfiction Special Edition (Pqube, €39.99 / £43.99) - Brace yourselves for the pinnacle of 2D fighting action - this is BlazBlue's final and most hard-hitting chapter to date, with more stages, more moves, more characters than ever before.

Switch eShop - New Releases

Cake Laboratory (GRIMTALIN, €2.69 / £2.42) - Tower of cakes, every child's dream! Let the kid in you go crazy with sweet and delicious cake towers. Cake Laboratory is a stacking game with a sweet twist to it. Use cakes instead of taking breaks, and make the most delicious tower.

Digerati Indie Bundle: INK & HackyZack (Digerati, €5.09 / £4.58) - Enjoy two indie favourites from Digerati! This bundle contains colourful splatformer INK and bouncy ball-juggler Hacky Zack

Mahjong Solitaire Refresh (SUNSOFT, €14.99 / £12.99) - "Mahjong Solitaire" is a game of Mahjong tiles. You do not need any knowledge about Mahjong, you just combine same design tiles!

Blacksea Odyssey (Digerati, €10.39 / £9.35 until 23/01/2019 23:59 local time) - The hunt is on! Get ready to battle colossal space monsters in Blacksea Odyssey, a savage, top-down rogue-lite shoot ‘em up RPG. The greatest huntsmen in the universe have gathered for the Blacksea Odyssey – a legendary tournament that plunges competitors deep into the cosmic abyss on a deadly hunt for the most fearsome creatures that dwell within the void.

Omega Strike (Digerati, €11.99 / £10.79) - Omega Strike is a game with a huge, open-ended world and multiple playable characters. As Doctor Omega and his mutant armies march toward world domination, only a few brave freedom fighters stand in his way.

Aaero: Complete Edition (S2 Entertainment, €12.99 / £10.99) - Speed through stunning, stylised environments tracing ribbons of light, releasing the energy in the music. Battle strange enemies and fight epic boss battles all driven by an incredible licensed soundtrack. - Read our Aaero: Complete Edition review

ANIMUS (TROOOZE, €8.99 / £7.99) - ANIMUS places the gamer into the role of a solitary warrior who must fight his way through a dark and desolate world full of horrific monsters. The mythology-based hardcore action style transports the gamer into the realm of the game, and its namesake. Animus is very tactical in that it requires the learning and application of tactical skills to defeat enemies who would otherwise punish any gamer expecting casual battles.

Mad Age & This Guy (SimFabric, €4.69 / £4.19) - Mad Age & This Guy is a puzzle game with pixel art graphics and crazy piano music. Did I mentioned about bombs and explosions? Yes, more fire, explosions and bombs.

JCB Pioneer: Mars (Atomicom, €22.19 / £19.99) - Experience incredible survival sandbox gameplay and explore Mars using a selection of futuristic, ultra-rugged JCB vehicles designed specifically for the challenge. Mine precious materials, construct large-scale buildings and research new technologies to ensure humanity's future lies beyond planet Earth

Pipe Push Paradise (Digerati, €10.99 / £9.89) - Pipe Push Paradise is a challenging, plumbing-based puzzle game. You've arrived on a lonely island faced with a hero's calling. Rise to the occasion (push pipes around) and restore this paradise to its former glory.

Catastronauts (Inertiasoft, €14.49 / £12.99) - Gather your friends and join the illustrious Space Fleet in this fast-paced party game! Can you deal with unrelenting disaster and hold your ship together long enough to destroy the enemy invaders? Repair systems, extinguish fires, arm the torpedoes, avoid deadly solar flares, destroy your friends and clone them back again; it's all in the life of a Catastronaut!

Tetraminos (Bigben Interactive, €9.99 / £8.99) - The classic arcade game is back in a supercharged version! For beginners or veterans, Tetraminos offers an easy-to-learn, limitless challenge. Give your brain a workout with the 50 Puzzle mode levels, survive as long as possible in Endless mode and rack up the combos and same-colour lines to climb to first place in the online ranking. Challenge your friends in local Versus mode with up to 4 players and sabotage their boards in wild games.

Brick Breaker (Bigben Interactive, €9.99 / £8.99) - Brick Breaker, the classic arcade game, is back with a breathtaking new version. Its explosive gameplay - unique and timeless - is filled with surprises. Sharpen your reflexes and precision to overcome the hundred different levels that await you. Collect bonuses, avoid traps and shoot your way to victory. Play alone or with up to 4 players on a split screen. Brick Breaker will offer you many hours of fun and entertainment!

Super Treasure Arena (Headup games, €9.99 / £7.99) - Super Treasure Arena is a unique mix of retro-inspired arcade action and objective-based arena shooters for up to 4 players. The result is a frantic game where collecting and stealing coins from your opponents is the key to victory.

Animated Jigsaws: Wild Animals (RAINYFROG, €7.64 / £6.76) - Complete video jigsaw puzzles alone or team up with friends and finish them together! Animated Jigsaws: Wild Animals contains short videos as jigsaw puzzles that are pieced together to reveal stunning shots of wild animals close up!

Diggerman (Forever Entertainment, €4.49 / £4.04) - Dig, dig, dig! For love, for fame, for money! Fast arcade digging game with story, treasures and boss fight! The world was beautiful some time ago. We lived together in our lovely cottage digging some mud every day. Suddenly everything has changed. HUGE ANGRY MOLE has come and kidnapped my beautiful sweetheart.

IHUGU (Kool2Play, €2.99 / £2.69) - The rules are refreshingly simple and designed to promote peace and positivity – hug everyone, but only once! This is a fun memory game where quick thinking and the ability to remember who you have hugged and who you haven’t are the keys to success. The gameplay is casual, but also provides a challenge to anyone set on mastering their score.

Uncanny Valley (Digerati, €9.99 / £8.99) - Welcome to Uncanny Valley – an unsettling story-driven survival horror where nothing is as it seems. Explore an isolated facility and solve its many mysteries, but be warned: the choices you make have meaningful consequences that will determine your fate. Play through multiple times to reveal all of Uncanny Valley’s darkest secrets. - Read our Uncanny Valley review

The Aquatic Adventure of The Last Human (Digerati, €12.99 / £11.69) - Explore the ruins of humanity in this mesmerising underwater action-adventure. Discover thriving wildlife, encounter monstrous beasts, and let curiosity guide you through an inevitable voyage of extinction. The water rose by an unpredictable amount due to climate change. The Earth's surface froze over, and humans were forced to live underwater, where they could still harvest energy and grow food.

Abyss (EnjoyUp Games, €2.99 / £2.69) - Natural resources are scarce and the survival of the human race is in danger. Desperate to find new energy resources, the ASAN creates a biomechanical robot called Nep2no that is capable of withstanding extreme depths in the hope of finding new energy sources. After many years of exploration, a new energy source is found, code named "Gaia".

Johnny Turbo’s Arcade: Heavy Barrel (FTE Games, €7.99 / £7.10) - Fight through the enemy's army and collect pieces for a secret weapon to destroy their underground artillery base.

DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Definitive Edition (KOEI TECMO, €39.99 / £34.99) - ・Includes the content from DYNASTY WARRIORS 8, as well as the additional features from DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends, in a single game. ・A rich Story Mode. ・A plentiful variety of game modes that will have you keep coming back for more. ・Includes all of the downloadable content from past versions of the game.

ACA NEOGEO THE KINGS OF FIGHTERS 2002 (HAMSTER, €6.99 / £6.19) - “THE KING OF FIGHTERS 2002” is a fighting game released by SNK in 2002. The 9th entry in the KOF series. In this tame, the “Striker System” is replaced by creating teams for the comeback of the “3-on-3 Battle Mode”.

Job the Leprechaun (Herrero, €2.99 / £2.99) - Help Job the Leprechaun to rescue his friend Eri in this classic platformer game. Collect all clovers in the stage and find the door to go to the next level. A horde of goblins, zombies, caterpillars and many more monsters will try to stop you, use your Magic Hat to fight them. You are not alone in this adventure, you will meet friends like Catalina Cow and The Elf.

The Keep (Cinemax, €17.99 / £15.99) - Enter the Keep as an unsung hero on a quest to destroy the mighty wizard Watrys. Explore the dark and complex corridors, treacherous prisons and subterranean realms in this first-person dungeon crawler featuring real-time tactical combat, a unique rune magic system, and puzzle solving. This game will awaken memories of what made old-school RPG dungeons so much fun to play while you fight, hunt for hidden treasures, avoid deadly traps, experiment with magic and solve complex riddles inside the dungeon.

Odium to the Cor (QubicGames, €2.49 / £2.24) - Guide Odium through dangerous and intense music-fuelled levels to fight and stop the spreading corruption. Reach the core and save the world! Keep the balance to avoid traps, enemies and move through narrow passages. Defeat challenging bosses and discover the story behind the corruption of Odium's world.

Super Hero Fight Club: Reloaded (QubicGames, €4.99 / £4.49) - Welcome to the marvellous Super Hero Fight Club: - 17 fabulous fighters and their superpowers - Quick tactical combats - Tricky modes, levels and powerups - Up to 4 players rumble - Single player challenges Become the Queen or King of the Fight Club!

Mentori Puzzle (ITL, €7.00 / £6.29) - Puzzle game featuring the popular Mentori characters. Use the "Hiyoko Ball" anytime to easily make combos. Easy to pick up for newcomers to the genre. Progress the "Story" to collect Photos and have fun with Mentori 4-Box Manga.

MIND: Path to Thalamus (Carlos Coronado, €10.99 / £9.99) - Wrapped in a mind-bending tale, the gameplay of “MIND” focuses on changing the very weather in order to solve puzzles: the player will cycle between day and night, modify the levels of fog and rain and even travel in time between seasons, changing the environment to advance the gameplay-driven story…

Rain World (Adult Swim Games, €19.99 / £17.99) - You are a slugcat. The world around you is full of danger, and you must face it – alone. Search for food and shelter between torrential downpours that threaten to drown all life. Evade cunning predators that adapt to catch you. Find your family before death finds you. Inspired by the simplicity of 16-bit classics, this survival platformer requires fast-paced sneaking to catch your own prey and elude ravenous predators. Grab your spear and brave the industrial wastes, but be wary of the many pitfalls and traps that litter the broken landscape.

Venture Towns (Kairosoft, €10.00 / £8.99) - Assume the reins of a mega-conglomerate to build your very own metropolitan utopia! Stores, houses, mansions--towers! The sky's the limit as you fashion your humble burg into the world's most powerful fiscal force! Place compatible structures near each other to craft specialty districts or "combos," adding flavor to your town while reaping big bonuses and boosting Land Price!

Switch eShop - Demos

Mahjong Solitaire Refresh Demo (SUNSOFT, Free) - "Mahjong Solitaire" is a game of Mahjong tiles. You do not need any knowledge about Mahjong, you just combine same design tiles!

Gelly Break Demo (EuroVideo Medien, Free) - Gelly Break is a varied jump'n'run with an intense co-op mode for two players, which will demand real teamwork in addition to the right tactics, especially in the boss battles against huge unique enemies. Discover a new world and rescue the captured Gellies from Evil Blob!

Octahedron: Transfixed Edition Demo (Square Enix Europe LTD, Free) - Surf through a pulsating underworld on platforms YOU pull from thin air, where and when you want, in this psychedelic action platformer. Unlock devastating abilities across 50+ hand crafted levels as you defy gravity to a pumping beat.

Switch eShop - Add Ons

Fortnite - Fortnite - Frozen Legends Pack (Epic Games, €24.99 / £19.99) - Stay frosty this season with the Frozen Legends pack! Includes: - Frozen Raven outfit & its Frozen Iron Cage back bling - Frozen Red Knight outfit & its Frozen Red Shield back bling - Frozen Love Ranger outfit & its Frozen Love Wings back bling V-Bucks are an in-game currency than can be used to purchase new customization items like outfits, emotes, pickaxes, gliders, and more!

Mahjong Solitaire Refresh ExPanel (SUNSOFT, €4.99 / £3.99) - "Mahjong Solitaire Refresh Ex Panel" is the additional content for "Mahjong Solitaire. - An independent Ex panel that is composed only with Extreme stages! - The panel has 80 stages! - As the privilege, it contains 4 arranged music from "Shanghai I"!

WorldNeverland - Elnea Kingdom:New Year's Set (althi, €2.99 / £2.69) - New Year Formal Wear: Traditional Wa clothes worn to celebrate the new year. Red & White Suikan: Traditional Wa formal attire wear worn by children. Mirror Ihm: An ihm worn on the head. Limited-edition New Year's version.

Switch eShop - Pre Orders

Double Cross (Headup Games, €19.99 / £17.99) - Double Cross is an exciting action adventure game that has players take on the role of Zahra, an agent of R.I.F.T. (Regulators of Interdimensional Frontiers and Technology) whose job it is to maintain peace and order between all dimensions. A recent attack on R.I.F.T. headquarters thrusts players into a thrilling new case where they must use their R.I.F.T. developed gear to sling, swing, fight and investigate across distinct dimensions.

Forever Forest (Fictive Studio, €14.99 / £13.49) - In a world conquered by darkness, in a forest that never ends, the fate of the Wyld rests on the shoulders of a brave hero with orange fur and a magical mask. Together you will set forth on an epic journey to carry the last ray of light from the deepest south to the darkest north.

Johnny Turbo’s Arcade: Express Raider (FTE Games, €7.99 / £7.10) - Save the Old West, with your rifle and your horse, from thieving Train Robbers.

Johnny Turbo’s Arcade: Fighter’s History (FTE Games, €7.99 / £7.10) - Practice your fighting skills and the special moves of each character, as you complete the rounds to win the brawling tournament!

Unicornicopia (Pocket Money Games, €4.19 / £3.79) - Alone in the forest, a Unicorn wakes, Searching for its herd as a new dawn breaks. Where are my friends? Not to the west, to find them I must set out on a quest!

Octahedron: Transfixed Edition (Square Enix Europe LTD, €9.74 / £7.49 until 23/01/2019) - Surf through a pulsating underworld on platforms YOU pull from thin air, where and when you want, in this psychedelic action platformer. Unlock devastating abilities across 50+ hand crafted levels as you defy gravity to a pumping beat.

Switch eShop - Price Drop

• Henry The Hamster Handler (Pocket Money Games, €1.00 / £0.89)
• GRIP Digital Deluxe (Wired Productions, €42.99 / £37.99)
• Animated Jigsaws: Beautiful Japanese Scenery (RAINYFROG, €7.64 / £6.79)
• Animated Jigsaws: Japanese Women (RAINYFROG, €7.64 / £6.79)