Popular Games by Merge Games
Bramble: The Mountain King Switch
- 27th Apr 2023 (UK/EU)
- 27th Apr 2023 (NA)
Merge Games / Half Past Yellow
- 12th Jul 2022 (UK/EU)
- 12th Jul 2022 (NA)
- 15th Jul 2022 (NA)
Unbox: Newbie's Adventure Switch
- 16th Nov 2017 (UK/EU)
- 21st Nov 2017 (NA)
Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX Switch
- 22nd Jun 2021 (UK/EU)
- 22nd Jun 2021 (NA)
- 12th Sep 2024 (UK/EU)
- 12th Sep 2024 (NA)
- 13th Sep 2024 (NA)
Reviews of Merge Games Games
Mini Review Crimson Keep (Switch) - A Fun Dungeon Crawler With A Few Gremlins
Keep going
This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format. Crimson Keep is a dungeon crawler with an...
Review Bramble: The Mountain King (Switch) - Solid Puzzle Platforming In A Horrid Nordic Mythscape
Step aside, Hansel and Gretel
A young boy named Olle treks through dark woods after his missing sister. At first, nothing seems awry, yet he soon comes upon pinecones arranged in strange formations. Not long after, a massive shadow flits overhead. In the distance, obscured by the moonlight slanting through the trees, a massive, insidious shape...
Review Time On Frog Island (Switch) - Charming Zelda-Style Trading With Animal Crossing Island Vibes
A 'tad' simple
Time on Frog Island is like a playable fever dream in the best of ways. It places you in the role of the captain of a little sailboat who finds himself marooned on a strange island populated by a frog society. His only hope of getting off the island is by successfully mingling with the frogs and getting them to help him with the...
Review Monster Harvest (Switch) - Poor Execution Of A Promising 'Stardew Valley X Pokémon' Premise
It hurt itself in its confusion!
It must be tough to be a hopeful dev working on a farm sim project. Stardew Valley—a simple looking project made by one guy—has so effectively raised the bar for what a pure farm sim can be that matching it seems almost impossible by this point. The only way that a new game could feasibly beat it would be by...
Review Alex Kidd In Miracle World DX (Switch) - Vintage Sega Hero In Mediocre Remake
Putting the sham in Roshambo
We know we're risking the ire of several hundred very cross Sega Master System fans by saying this, but we have to be blunt — the original Alex Kidd in Miracle World, while inarguably an important and formative classic, is and always has been an exceptionally flawed game. Don't get us wrong, there's plenty to like and...
Review Cloudpunk (Switch) - An Evocative Noir Adventure Ruined By A Messy Switch Port
Blade Scunner
Nivalis, the futuristic metropolis in which the events of Cloudpunk take place, really is the heart and soul of Ion Lands' captivating "neon noir" adventure game. A wonderfully evocative voxel art city, it immediately transports us to a future that so precisely recalls the neon-drenched storefronts, rain-soaked streets and seedy...
Latest Merge Games News
Friday27th Sep 2024
News Indie Publisher Merge Games Closes Down After 15 Years
Update claims it's actually been "integrated within Maximum"
Another video game company has announced its closure this week. This time it's Merge Games, who is apparently "closing down" after a 15 year run. In a now-deleted post, it was mentioned how the indie-focused team was made up of "incredible" people who "worked their hardest". "Starting...
Tuesday23rd May 2023
News Dead Cells: Return To Castlevania Physical Edition Launches This August
Pre-orders are now open
Merge Games and Motion Twin have today announced that physical copies of Dead Cells: Return To Castlevania are heading our way from 11th August. We had a great time with this latest batch of DLC when it launched back in March, awarding it a 9/10 in our review and describing it as "an intense, brilliant nostalgia trip to...
Tuesday7th Feb 2023
News Bramble: The Mountain King Brings Nordic Myths To Little Nightmares Chills On Switch In April
Update: Release date announced
Update [Tue 7th Feb, 2023 14:30 GMT]: We all got collectively freaked out by the initial trailer and demo footage for Bramble: The Mountain King back in December last year and now Merge Games has announced that the title will be crawling its way onto Switch on 27th April. This news was shared alongside a new release...
Monday16th Jan 2023
Exclusive Farming Game SunnySide Shows Off 24 Dateable Residents In New Trailer
Spoiled for choice
Farming games have millions of fans at this point, thanks to the killer combo of Harvest Moon, Story of Seasons, Rune Factory, and Stardew Valley, but they all have one thing in common that has very little to do with farming: The ability to date people in town. Let's be honest, a lot of people who love farming games aren't just...
Thursday1st Sep 2022
News Paper Mario Tribute 'The Outbound Ghost' Gets Physical Release Date On Switch
OooooOOOOooo~
Conradical Games' The Outbound Ghost has been haunting our thoughts ever since it was confirmed to be coming to Switch, and we might not have too long to wait. Merge Games has confirmed it's working on a physical release of the turn-based RPG, heavily inspired by Paper Mario, and we should be able to pick up a box of this ghostly...
Wednesday20th Jul 2022
Exclusive "The Farming Genre Is A Bit Tired" - How SunnySide Aims To Refresh The Farm Sim
"In order to have a Sunny Side, there has to be a dark side…"
It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that farming games all have a lot in common. Crops, livestock, and dateable townsfolk are the staples of the genre, and if you've played one, you've likely experienced what a lot of them have to offer — and that's not even necessarily a bad...
Tuesday5th Jul 2022
Exclusive Sing-Along To This Brand New 'Time On Frog Island' Trailer
Hip-hoppin', flip floppin'!
Publisher Merge Games has shared a brand new video of the rather delightful-looking Time on Frog Island as pre-orders go live on the US and UK Switch eShops — an exclusive trailer that includes a little sing-along with an overview of what the game is all about. Talk about a frog chorus, eh? If you've somehow
Thursday3rd Mar 2022
News Trading Time: A Croak Tale Gets A New Name And Fresh Details
And in hops a trailer, too
UK-based publisher Merge games has announced that its upcoming game Trading Time: A Croak Tale has a brand new name. Now called Time on Frog Island, this sandbox puzzle adventure game sees a sailor getting shipwrecked on an island populated by frog-like creatures. Based on that alone, we think the name change is perfect...
Monday1st Nov 2021
Anniversary Alex Kidd, Mario's First Real Rival, Is 35 Years Old Today
He still looks so young!
Before Sonic came along and really gave Super Mario a run for his money, Sega relied on the talents of Alex Kidd, the company mascot during the Master System era. Alex starred in a series of titles during the late '80s, including Alex Kidd in Miracle World,
Thursday5th Aug 2021
News The Pokémon And Stardew Valley Hybrid Monster Harvest Gets Delayed For The Third Time
"There was one final development hurdle"
Update #2 [Thu 5th Aug, 2021 00:55 BST]: You might find this hard to believe, but Monster Harvest has been delayed for the third time in a row. Merge Games and Maple Powered Games are now promising the upcoming farming sim meets critter collecter adventure will arrive on 31st August, across all platforms -...
Monday14th Jun 2021
News DeathRun TV Lines Up Deadly Gameshow Combat For Switch
Likes are everything
Merge Games has announced top-down roguelike shooter DeathRun TV for Switch and other platforms. We would embed the trailer above, but it's age-restricted and unfortunately won't play here — so off to YouTube with ya! Channeling equal parts Hunger Games and The Running Man, it appears that developer LaserDog will have you...
Thursday22nd Apr 2021
News 'Buildings Have Feelings Too' Is A City Management Game Where You Play The City
It's out on the eShop today!
The word "but" is doing a lot of heavy lifting in game pitches these days. "It's Stardew Valley, but you're a cat." "It's a dating game, but you get to date pigeons instead of boys." And now, we present to you: "It's a city management game, but you play as the buildings." We're not complaining, though. We're quite fond...
Wednesday7th Apr 2021
News Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX Lands In June, Along With An Awesome Signature Edition
New trailer miraculously appears, too
Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX, developed by Jankenteam, looks like another welcome remaster of a much loved retro title. The pleasing news for old SEGA heads is that it now has a firm release date, arriving on Nintendo Switch on 24th June. To celebrate the release date it has a neat new trailer (via IGN). It...
Monday22nd Mar 2021
News Monster Harvest, A Pokémon-Meets-Stardew Valley Game, Is Ploughing Its Way Toward Switch
Harvest Moon-ster
How many more ways can we invent to say that a game is coming to Switch with a cute play-on-words that references the game's genre? The answer may surprise you. Anyway, Monster Harvest (not to be confused with Monster Hunter, Monster Rancher, or Harvest Moon) is coming to the Switch on the 13th May, with a physical release...
Thursday25th Feb 2021
News Foreclosed Looks Like A Cyberpunk Comic Book Game, And It Comes To Switch This Summer
Hack in to the mainframe
Foreclosed manages to hit a bunch of cyberpunk buzzword beats in its one-minute trailer: "jacking in", "blockchain", guns that respond to your ID, and "a system where you're in debt before you're even born". Sounding a lot like The Matrix, and looking a bit like a neon Alan Moore graphic novel, Foreclosed is a...
Saturday5th Sep 2020
Feature Bounty Battle Dev On Building A Smash-Style Brawler With Indie Game Heroes
"There are 23 characters from other games ... that involved contracts and a lot of emails!"
When you look at the behemoth that is Super Smash Bros. these days, game developers with an idea for all-star brawler could be forgiven for thinking 'what's the point?'. Nintendo's series has grown to become the byword when it comes to frantic fighters, and...
Thursday3rd Sep 2020
News Heroes Assemble In A New Animated Trailer For Bounty Battle, An All-Star Indie Brawler
Pre-orders now live ahead of next week's release
A new animated trailer for Bounty Battle has dropped along with pre-orders for the all-star fighter that's branding itself the 'Ultimate Indie Brawler'. Coming from Dark Screen Games (with publisher Merge Games handling the Switch version), the trailer above shows fighters from some of the finest...
Friday17th Jul 2020
News Merge Games Delays Its All-Star Indie Brawler Bounty Battle
"we still had significant improvements to make"
At Nintendo's Indie World Showcase in March, publisher Merge Games revealed the indie brawler, Bounty Battle. The Dark Screen-developed multiplayer brawler is inspired by games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate but replaces all of the famous industry mascots with indie icons. The game was scheduled to...
Wednesday10th Jun 2020
News Mario's One-Time Rival Alex Kidd Is Getting A Timely Revival
And it's coming to Switch!
Before Sonic, Sega had Alex Kidd. This odd-looking character starred in a series of titles on the company's 8-bit Master System console (and a solitary 16-bit outing) before making way for the Blue Blur on the Mega Drive / Genesis, and the rest is history. Alex has had minor roles in recent Sega games – including Sega...
Thursday7th May 2020
Feature Spirit Of The North Developers On The Challenges Of Bringing Their Fox To Switch
"It was very important that the game be as perfect as possible on the cart"
Following Spirit of the North's debut on PS4 last year, Merge Games revealed back in February that it was heading to Switch (and PC) this year in the Spring. Well, despite many of us having been stuck indoors for the last few weeks, Spring 2020 has indeed sprung and Infuse...
Thursday23rd Apr 2020
News A New Fox Emerges On Switch This Spring In Explorative Adventure Spirit Of The North
Update: May release date revealed
Update (Thu 23rd Apr, 2020 15:15 BST): Merge Games has now revealed that Spirit of the North will arrive on Switch on 7th May, with pre-orders going live on the eShop from 30th April. It'll be priced at £19.99/ €20.99/ $24.99. Original Article (Tue 18th Feb, 2020 18:30 GMT): Following its PS4 launch last year,...
Thursday6th Jun 2019
News Merge Games Releasing Dead Cells - Action Game Of The Year Edition
Includes Rise of the Giant DLC
Update: Merge Games has now clarified the Rise of the Giant DLC will still need to be downloaded. The Action Game of the Year Edition is aimed at players who haven't tried the game yet, and celebrates Dead Cells' 1 year anniversary! If you haven't picked up a physical copy of the wonderful roguelike / Metroidvania...
Friday8th Mar 2019
News Dungeon Master-Inspired Steampunk Adventure Vaporum Is Coming To Switch
Arrives this April
Merge Games has revealed that it is bringing Fatbot Games' dungeon crawler Vaporum to the Nintendo Switch this April. This award-winning, grid-based adventure title takes inspiration from the likes of Dungeon Master, Eye of the Beholder and Legend of Grimrock, but rather than opt for the traditional fantasy setting, it uses a...
Monday4th Mar 2019
News For The King Physical Switch Release Arrives In The Month Of May
A roguelike tabletop adventure
For The King will be receiving a physical Switch release, according to a pre-order listing over on Amazon UK. The page reveals the IronOak release will be published by Merge Games and arrives on 24th May, for the price of £29,99.
Thursday14th Feb 2019
Go ninja go!
Aragami is a third-person stealth game that casts you as an undead assassin with the power to control the shadows. You can teleport to any shadow, become invisible, materialize weapons or even summon a shadow dragon to infiltrate the enemy ranks and dispose of your targets. In short, it's a proper hoot, and Switch is getting what...
Thursday6th Dec 2018
News Take A Look At The Signature Edition Of Aragami, Limited To 2,000 Copies
Scheduled to ship by the third week of February
The action-adventure stealth game Aragami: Shadow Edition was originally set for release this fall and has since been delayed until early next year. While you wait for its ar
Tuesday4th Dec 2018
News Riot: Civil Unrest Makes Its Way Across To The Nintendo Switch Early Next Year
Pixel mayhem
If you've ever wanted to simulate a riot, you'll soon be able to when publisher Merge Games releases Riot: Civil Unrest on the Nintendo Switch next February. The title will be taking to the streets with a full physical Signature Edition release for $44.99 / €44.99 / £39.99. This will particular version will contain a region-free...
Tuesday28th Aug 2018
News Merge Is Bringing Three More Games To The Nintendo Switch
eShop-bound
In addition to the announcement Aragami: Shadow Edition is coming to the Nintendo Switch this fall, independent publisher and distributor Merge has announced three more games. As no physical release has been mentioned for any of these titles, we're guessing they're all eShop-bound for now. Below is the full rundown: Buildings...
News Aragami: Shadow Edition Coming To Switch This Fall, Will Include Cross-Play
Become an undead assassin
The action-stealth hit Aragami looks to be tip-toeing onto the Nintendo Switch this Fall. Developer Lince Works has teamed up with Merge - an independent video game publisher and distributor - to make the release happen. For the uninformed, Aragami was originally released on multiple platforms in 2016 and has since sold...
Friday6th Apr 2018
News Brawlout's Next Update To Bring Ranked Mode, Video Capture And More
And it's just been submitted to Nintendo...
With a lack of Super Smash Bros. on Nintendo Switch at the moment, alternative brawlers such as Brawlout have helped fill that over-the-top fighting action void in our hearts. Developer Angry Mob Games is still hard at work supporting the title, and it's just submitted its latest patch to Nintendo for...
Monday5th Feb 2018
News Switch Scrapper Brawlout Is Getting A Physical Release
Arrives in May
UK publisher Merge Games has revealed that it is bringing Angry Mob Games' Brawlout to physical retail. The fighting title has been compared to Smash Bros. and has already amassed quite a following via its recent eShop release. Merge Games’ Managing Director, Luke Keighran, had this to say about the news: We are delighted to...
Monday29th Jan 2018
News Horror Adventure The Long Reach Will Haunt Your Switch On March 14th
Welcome to Baervox
Merge Games is bringing Painted Black's The Long Reach to Switch on March 14th, it has been announced. Boldly described as a "thrilling horror story, flavoured with sci-fi ideology, psychological context and a sceptical view on the human psyche", The Long Reach is inspired by the likes of Lone Survivor and The Cave, and...
Wednesday24th Jan 2018
News Darkest Dungeon Goes Physical With The Ancestral Edition On Switch
Make your family proud
Merge Games is bringing Red Hook Studios' Darkest Dungeon to retail, it has been revealed. The award-winning RPG launched last week on the eShop, but fans of boxed games will be pleased to learn that they will be able to get their hands on a physical version very soon. It's due for release in March 2018, and will feature the...
Tuesday10th Oct 2017
Feature We Try Out Upcoming Switch eShop Titles from Merge Games
Including The Count Lucanor and The Long Reach
While a little bare at launch, Nintendo Switch’s library of eShop titles has exploded in recent weeks, now making it a virtual hotspot for new and exclusive releases. Joining the party with a few titles of its own is Merge Games, a game publisher that has been working with a number of different indie...
