Yoshi Woolly World

It's the start of a normal week in the world of the big N, so naturally it kicks off with the Nintendo Download Update details in Europe. This week brings three promising and relatively high profile retail releases, two diverse offerings on the Wii U eShop along with some retro goodies, some puzzling goodness on the 3DS eShop and much more. Let's get to the details!

Wii U eShop

Shiftlings (Activision, €14.99 / £13.99) - A rather flashy co-op platformer that previously arrived on PC, this features two alien brothers that need to tackle a whole load of puzzle-based levels; they're tethered together and alternate between being inflated and being fully mobile. This can be played solo or in two player co-op, and we'll let you know what we think in a review.

Cube Life: Island Survival (Cypronia, €6.99 / £5.39) - This is a block-building survival game, so is naturally inspired by the Minecraft phenomenon. The Survival mode features the exploration, forging and survival aspects familiar in the genre, while Creative mode lets you generate structures that can be shared on Miiverse. Despite some design flaws we thought this deserved a recommendation in our Cube Life: Island Survival review.

Wii U Virtual Console

Dr Kawashima's BRAIN TRAINING: How Old is Your Brain? (Nintendo, €6.99 / £6.29) - An iconic DS title that did much to define and popularise the 'TOUCH! Generation' range on the DS, you can now tackle its challenges and give your brain a workout on Wii U. It was actually available for free (for a spell) last year, so you can check out our Dr Kawashima's BRAIN TRAINING: How Old is Your Brain? review for a lowdown.

Kirby: Mouse Attack (Nintendo, €9.99 / £8.99) - Known as 'Squeak Squad' in North America, this gave the DS a more conventional Kirby platformer, albeit with some touch controls thrown in for good measure. Though a little bit on the short side and playing it safe, we gave this one a recommendation in our original Kirby: Mouse Attack review.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (Nintendo, €9.99 / £8.99) - From those simple times when Nintendo liked to put '64' at the end of titles, or fans would regardless of whether it was supposed to be there, this is a 2D platform rendered in chunky N64 polygons. We'll take another look, but we were disappointed with this in our original review back in 2008.

Wii U Retail Download

Yoshi's Woolly World (Nintendo, €39.99 / £34.99) - The latest cute platformer from Good-Feel, this brings Yoshi and chums into a soft, cuddly environment in which to run and jump. With plenty of amiibo support, co-op, transformations and some delightful moments, this is a platformer that's been on some wishlists since its first conceptual reveal two years ago; we gave it a hearty recommendation in our Yoshi's Woolly World review. Available from 26th June.

Art Academy: Atelier (Nintendo, €29.99 / £24.99 or €26.00 / £21.40 with Art Academy: SketchPad on the same Wii U system) - The first home console Art Academy title, this takes advantage of the sizeable touch screen on the Wii U GamePad to deliver an exceptional drawing experience. There are lessons to help newcomers learn the craft, while online sharing options thankfully step up a notch with YouTube uploads and Miiverse. We gave this a glowing recommendation in our Art Academy: Atelier review. Available from 26th June.

Wii U eShop Promotion - Yoshi's Woolly World

Download Yoshi's Woolly World on the eShop and receive a free code for Yoshi Touch & Go - deal available until 23rd July, code valid until 20th August.

Wii U eShop Temporary Discounts

Paper Monsters Recut (Mobot Studios, €3.29 / £2.79 until 2nd July, normally €6.49 / £5.49)

Knytt Underground (Ripstone, €4.49 / £3.99 until 2nd July, normally €8.99 / £7.99)

Pure Chess (Ripstone, €2.99 / £2.49 until 2nd July, normally €5.99 / £4.99)

Stick It To The Man (Ripstone, €3.99 / £3.49 until 2nd July, normally €7.99 / £6.99)

Puzzle Monkeys (Log Games, €1.49 / £1.49 until 23rd July, normally €2.99 / £2.99)

3DS eShop

Tappingo 2 (Goodbye Galaxy Games, €2.99 / £2.39) — The sequel to the popular puzzle game that applies its own take on the genre, applying a spin to Picross-style principles. This new entry features over 100 new puzzles and a welcome zoom option to assist with larger images; we gave this a strong recommendation in our Tappingo 2 review.

3DS Retail Download

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3 (Koei Tecmo, €39.99 / £29.99) - A surprising localisation in light of the first sequel skipping the West, but nevertheless welcome for fans of Koei's frantic action games that also want a little more strategy. In addition to historical battling this looks set to offer plenty of content, with challenge modes and online rankings among the additional features.

Garfield Kart (Anuman Interactive, €29.99 / £24.99)

3DS eShop Temporary Discounts

Shin Megami Tensei IV (Atlus, €9.99 / £8.99 until 2nd July, normally €19.99 / £17.99)

Pure Chess (Ripstone, €2.99 / £2.49 until 2nd July, normally €5.99 / £4.99)

Van Helsing sniper Zx100 (EnjoyUp Games, €3.49 / £3.49 until 19th July, normally €6.66 / £6.66)

Aqua Moto Racing 3D (Zordix AB, €3.99 / £3.39 until 2nd July, normally €7.99 / £7.19)

3DS Retail DLC

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Edit Parts 1 (Koei Tecmo, €3.99 / £3.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Edit Parts 2 (Koei Tecmo, €5.99 / £5.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Edit Parts 3 (Koei Tecmo, €6.99 / £6.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Edit Parts 4 (Koei Tecmo, €6.99 / £6.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Edit Parts 5 (Koei Tecmo, €6.99 / £6.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Edit Parts Set (Koei Tecmo, €21.99 / £21.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Special Edit Parts 1 (Koei Tecmo, €0.99 / £0.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Special Edit Parts 2 (Koei Tecmo, free until 22nd July, then €0.99 / £0.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Mount Pack 1 (Koei Tecmo, €1.99 / £1.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Mount Pack 2(Koei Tecmo, €1.99 / £1.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Mount Pack Set (Koei Tecmo, €2.99 / £2.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Old Costumes 1 (Koei Tecmo, €2.99 / £2.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Old Costumes 2(Koei Tecmo, €1.99 / £1.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Old Costumes 3 (Koei Tecmo, €1.99 / £1.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Old Costumes 4 (Koei Tecmo, €1.99 / £1.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Old Costumes Set (Koei Tecmo, €6.99 / £6.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Special Costumes 1 (Koei Tecmo, €7.99 / £7.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Special Costumes 2(Koei Tecmo, €7.99 / £7.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Special Costumes 3(Koei Tecmo, €7.99 / £7.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Special Costumes 4(Koei Tecmo, €7.99 / £7.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Special Costumes 5(Koei Tecmo, €3.99 / £3.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Special Costumes Set(Koei Tecmo, €29.99 / £29.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra BGM Set (Koei Tecmo, €2.99 / £2.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra Scenario Set (Koei Tecmo, €4.99 / £4.99)

Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3: Extra BGM Set (Koei Tecmo, €2.99 / £2.99)


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

What will you be download first this week?