It's Thursday, and that can only mean one thing: new stuff on the eShop day! Yes, it's time for this week's Nintendo Download and we've got a cavalcade of digital treats ready for serving on your Nintendo platform of choice. We've scoured the eShops for you and listed every new entry, its price tag and a link to each respective Nintendo Life review.
And there's some big hitters this week, too - we've got plenty of retro slices (ranging from arcade shmups to Neo Geo deep cuts) as well as a helicopter rescue romp, a flight simulator (on Switch no less), a fantasy RPG and much more. So have a browse, log onto the eShop and start making the most of that pay day money!
Switch eShop
CELESTE (Matt Makes Games, £17.99) - Help Madeline survive her inner demons on her journey to the top of Celeste Mountain, in this super-tight, hand-crafted platformer from the creators of multiplayer classic TowerFall.
ZERO GUNNER 2- for Nintendo Switch (Zerodiv, €6.99 / £6.99) - Famous for its cool world and innovatively omnidirectional shooting system, ZERO GUNNER 2, is coming back as ZERO GUNNER 2-. Let’s blast off every enemy's planes from various sides of your screen. Fans who have enjoyed Psikyo Shooting will definitely enjoy this new Zero Gunner 2. Read our review.
Super One More Jump (SMG Studio/Premo Games, £4.99) - Simple to learn one button controls. Hard to master levels. Test your muscle memory, concentration and sanity! Features: Now fully reworked & upgraded for the Nintendo Switch, including 100+ Hand crafted levels and insanely-hard challenge levels! Read our review.
STRIKERS 1945 II For Nintendo Switch (Zerodiv, £6.99) - The classic, long-run shooting game from the 90s has been perfectly remade! With its endless fun, STRIKERS 1945-2 is now available to enjoy again! Play it now!
FANTASY HERO ~unsigned legacy~ (Arc System Works, £8.99) - Save the world in "Fantasy Hero -Unsigned Legacy-", by choosing from one of four heroes, and reclaiming what was lost to the Decoders! Set yourself on fire and charge head in and pulverize them with powerful throws or pick them off with projectiles, or send your robot in to do your bidding.
Tennis (D3 Publisher, €6.99 / £6.29) - A tennis game that can be picked up and played by anyone. Enjoy the game by yourself, or play against family and friends. With 8 characters and 6 courts available, feel the excitement that tennis brings. The game can be played not only with the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, but also by swing the Joy-Con or touch the screen.
Dustoff Heli Rescue 2 (Invictus Games/Ratalaika Games, £13.49) - Jump into the hot seat of a combat helicopter and fly behind enemy lines under heavy fire as you search and rescue hostages! Play through 35 tense missions that include rescuing hostages, providing air support and more. Read our review.
ACA NEOGEO WORLD HEROES 2 (HAMSTER, £6.29) - Players are able to take part in epic battles between 14 historic figures such as Hanzo Hattori and Jeanne. Players can enjoy numerous battle strategies via the simple but deep game system featuring mechanics such as Throw Back and Projectile Bounce Back. Who's the strongest in history? A new World Heroes Tournament begins now!
Island Flight Simulator (Joindots, £17.99) - Enjoy fantastic open-ended gameplay, touch down in the tropics and transport freight between 12 exotic islands in more than a hundred exciting missions. Only the most daring pilots will take the risk of accepting both highly lucrative and illegal missions from shifty clients.
Tachyon Project (Eclipse Games, £8.99) - Tachyon Project is an action-packed dual-stick shooter driven by a story. Through the story mode you'll progressively unlock all the weapons, secondary weapons and perks available to configure your ship. You'll need them to face the increasingly hard enemies you'll find with over 30 different types. Read our review.
Arcade Archives Kid Niki Radical Ninja (HAMSTER, £6.29) - Kid Niki Radical Ninja is an action game released in 1986 by IREM. Destroy the enemies in your way and defeat the boss that appears in each stage as you head to the castle to save the captured princess. Enjoy the colourful stages and unique enemies as you battle along and aim for a high score.
ChromaGun (Pixel Maniacs, €19.99 / £17.99) Welcome to ChromaTec’s test lab! You’re here to test our newest military-grade color-technology: The ChromaGun (patent pending)! Use it to try and solve our test chambers. The basic principle is as easy as applying it is complex: Exit the chambers via the exit doors. But be weary of the WorkerDroids in charge of maintaining the chambers. Read our review.
LOST SPHEAR (SQUARE ENIX, €49.99 / £39.99) - The adventure of LOST SPHEAR begins in a remote town of Elgarthe where a young boy, Kanata, awakens from a devastating dream to find his hometown disappearing. Facing an ominous power that threatens the fabric of reality he must awaken the power of Memory to restore the ‘LOST’. To stop the world from disappearing forever, Kanata and his comrades set out to rebuild the world mustering different Memory and crafting the world around them.
Shu (Coatsink Software, €8.49 / £7.69) - When the great and terrible Storm destroys Shu's village, he embarks on a desperate journey to survive. On his travels he'll encounter stranded villagers; survivors of the devastation that need his help. In return for his assistance, these peculiar characters will grant Shu unique special abilities that he can use to traverse the treacherous path ahead. Their only hope is to work together, in search of sanctuary - and a way to stop the Storm. Can you outrun the end of world? Read our review.
Earth's Dawn (known as Earth Wars outside EU) (One Of Eight, £4.00) - In the year 2020 the world has become a nest for the unknown hostile organisms (E.B.E.). No current weapons appear to make any impact on the E.B.E. leaving humanity powerless, and on the brink of destruction. However, humanity has now got one last hope for survival in the development of bioarmor which fuses the EBE's body tissue with metal...
Switch Pre-Orders
Dandara (Raw Fury, €11.99 / £10.79 until 05/02/2018 23:59 local time Regular price €14.99 / £13.49, pre-order from 23/01/2018.) Pre-order until 05/02/2018, 23:59 local time - The world of Salt hangs on the brink of collapse. The citizens, once free spirits, now stand oppressed and isolated. But not all is lost, for out of this aether of fear arises a heroine, a ray of hope. Her name is Dandara. Welcome to a unique 2D metroidvania platformer full of mystical creatures and boundless exploration...
Aegis Defenders (Humble Bundle, €19.99 / £14.99, pre-order from 25/01/2018) - Pre-order until 08/02/2018, 14:59 CET Game description: Explore, build, and defend in this unique mashup of Action-Platformer and Tower Defense strategy. You play as a team of Ruinhunters searching for the one thing that can save their village - a legendary weapon known as Aegis.
Special Offers
Nintendo Switch
- Tachyon Project (Eclipse Games) now €7.99 / £7.19 until Thu 1st Feb, normally €9.99 / £8.99
- NBA 2K18 (2K) now €45.49 / £35.74 until Thu 1st Feb, normally €69.99 / £54.99
- NBA 2K18 Legend Edition (2K) now €49.99 / £42.49 until Thu 1st Feb, normally €99.99 / £84.99
- NBA 2K18 Legend Edition Gold (2K) now €82.49 / £65.99 until Thu 1st Feb, normally €149.99 / £119.99
- WWE 2K18(2K) now €22.49 / £19.99 until Thu 1st Feb, normally €44.99 / £39.99
- WWE 2K18 Digital Deluxe Edition (2K) now €29.24 / £26.09 until Thu 1st Feb, normally €64.99 / £57.99
- Bulb Boy (Bulbware) now €5.59 / £5.03 until Thu 1st Feb, normally €7.99 / £7.19
- Chess Ultra (Ripstone Publishing) now €11.24 / £8.99 until Thu 1st Feb, normally €12.49 / £9.99
- Sparkle 2 Evo (Forever Entertainment) now €2.49 / £2.24 until Thu 8th Feb, normally €4.99 / £4.49
- Tennis In The Face (10tons) now €3.99 / £3.59 until Wed 31st Jan, normally €4.99 / £4.49
- The Bridge (The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild) now €5.99 / £5.39 until Thu 22nd Feb, normally €9.99 / £8.99
- Violett (Forever Entertainment) now €4.99 / £4.49 until Thu 8th Feb, normally €9.99 / £8.99
- The Jackbox Party Pack 3 (Jackbox Games) now €19.19 / £16.02 until Thu 8th Feb, normally €23.99 / £20.03
New Nintendo 3DS
- Double Breakout (nuGAME) now €4.90 / £4.20 until Thu 22nd Feb, normally €7.00 / £6.00
- Pinball Breakout (nuGAME) now €4.90 / £4.20 until Thu 22nd Feb, normally €7.00 / £6.00
- RTO (nuGAME) now €7.19 / £6.39 until Thu 22nd Feb, normally €8.99 / £7.99
- Super Destronaut 3D (Petite Games) now €1.49 / £1.34 until Thu 8th Feb, normally €1.99 / £1.79
- Triple Breakout (nuGAME) now €3.49 / £3.49 until Thu 22nd Feb, normally €4.99 / £4.99
Nintendo 3DS
- Kutar Concert Staff (CIRCLE Ent.) now €0.69 / £0.69 until Thu 8th Feb, normally €0.99 / £0.99
- Kutar Jump Rope (CIRCLE Ent.) now €0.69 / £0.69 until Thu 8th Feb, normally €0.99 / £0.99
- Kutar Magic Ball (CIRCLE Ent.) now €0.69 / £0.69 until Thu 8th Feb, normally €0.99 / £0.99
- Kutar Quiz (CIRCLE Ent.) now €0.69 / £0.69 until Thu 8th Feb, normally €0.99 / £0.99
- Kutar Tube Rider (CIRCLE Ent.) now €0.69 / £0.69 until Thu 8th Feb, normally €0.99 / £0.99
Wii U
- 360 Breakout (nuGAME) now €4.90 / £4.20 until Thu 22nd Feb, normally €7.00 / £6.00
- Double Breakout II (nuGAME) now €4.90 / £4.20 until Thu 22nd Feb, normally €7.00 / £6.00
- RTO (nuGame) now €7.19 / £6.39 until Thu 22nd Feb, normally €8.99 / £7.99
- Super Destronaut 2: Go Duck Yourself (Petite Games) now €1.49 / £1.34 until Thu 8th Feb, normally €1.99 / £1.79
- The Bridge (The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild) now €5.99 / £5.39 until Thu 22nd Feb, normally €9.99 / £8.99
- Triple Breakout (nuGAME) now €3.49 / £3.49 until Thu 8th Feb, normally €4.99 / £4.99
- Aqua TV - Oceanus (Extra Miles Studio) now €0.99 / £0.99 until Thu 15th Feb, normally €2.35 / £1.99
- Aqua TV - Thetis (Extra Miles Studio) now €0.99 / £0.99 until Thu 15th Feb, normally €2.35 / £1.99
- Aqua TV - Poseidon (Extra Miles Studio) now €0.99 / £0.99 until Thu 15th Feb, normally €2.35 / £1.99
DLC / Add-On Content
Nintendo Switch
- Chess Ultra: Easter Island chess set (Ripstone Publishing) - Free
- Chess Ultra: Imperial chess set (Ripstone Publishing) - €9.99 / £7.99
- Pic-a-Pix Deluxe - Small Puzzles 1 (Lightwood Games) - €1.99 / £1.99
- Pic-a-Pix Deluxe - Mixed Puzzles 1 (Lightwood Games) - €1.99 / £1.99
- Pic-a-Pix Deluxe - Large Puzzles 1 (Lightwood Games) - €1.99 / £1.99
Other
Nintendo Switch
- INVERSUS Deluxe Demo (Hypersect , Demo) - Free
Nintendo 3DS
- Pokémon Crystal Version (Nintendo, Virtual Console) - €9.99 / £8.99
- Hello Kitty is a deejay (Sanrio, Theme) - €0.99 / £0.89
- Hello Kitty and her hobbies (Sanrio, Theme) - €0.99 / £0.89
- pretty postman (Sanrio, Theme) - €0.99 / £0.89
- Hello Kitty is a planet (Sanrio, Theme) - €0.99 / £0.89
What will you be downloading this week? (135 votes)
- CELESTE
- ZERO GUNNER 2-
- Super One More Jump
- STRIKERS 1945 II
- FANTASY HERO ~unsigned legacy~
- Tennis
- Dustoff Heli Rescue 2
- ACA NEOGEO WORLD HEROES 2
- Island Flight Simulator
- Tachyon Project 0%
- Arcade Archives Kid Niki Radical Ninja
- ChromaGun
- LOST SPHEAR
- Shu
- EARTH WARS
- INVERSUS Deluxe
- Pokémon Crystal Version
Please login to vote in this poll.
That's your lot for today's Nintendo Download update for the EU eShop. Don't forget to let us know what you're going to be picking up this week...
Comments 52
I might buy The Bridge, need to read some more reviews but it seems like a decent puzzle game. Otherwise, not a great week for me.
Bring back "Nothing for me this week" please.
Celeste is brilliant (based off my two hours with it so far). I'd recommend it to anybody.
WWE 2K18 is so tempting at that price. Even though every bone in my body is telling me that it's a mistake and 2K doesn't deserve my money.
Lost Sphere physically but Switch‘ll have to take a backseat for a while to Monster Hunter World and Dragon Ball FighterZ.
Nothing this week, still got a big backlog to sort.
Just finished the first chapter in Celeste. I love it. I missed one strawberry because I didn't know which way was progress and I chose poorly. Well, it will be fun to go through the stages again later once I'm better. 59 deaths so far. The music is really good, I'm listening to it while I'm typing this.
@Late Can you not go back, or replay a level?
Celeste for me! Might wait for a pricedrop given the insane amount of games already on my Switch, though.
Celeste is REALLY AMAZING! Music is great and the 8bit platforming is fantastic. btw! This game is SUPER polished.
I got a bunch of stuff. However, any reason why that crummy Island Flight Simulator game is triple the price it was when it launched on Wii U years ago?
@citizenerased You can replay levels.
Earth wars is also up today and only 4 Euro too! Or Earth's Dawn as its known elsewhere, nothing amazing but a bargain at that price.
@GoldenGamer88 It was so difficult choosing between the two this week. Went with Monster Hunter as at least FighterZ has a strong chance to come to Switch.
But yeah definitely not much money left for Switch games for a bit.
@citizenerased You can replay levels but I was thinking of visiting them after I've beaten the game as I'm sure that strawberry isn't the only one I'm going to miss. There are some rooms in the level where you can't go back to the previous room, hence why I didn't get them all on my first run.
The game seems to have an option to show a timer so I might even try to speed run it. I'm not even into speed running but the mechanics are so solid and the levels (if the first one is anything to go by) are relatively short so I'm really seeing a lot of replay value here.
@Dom Any reason why there are two polls?
someone shared a few links that should not be shared, good thing this website's security is in order.
several game links actually link to admin pages, to open them you need to copy/paste the links and remove "/admin" from them.
Celeste is a bit on the expensive side. TBH though, I spent the exact amount for Steamworld Dig 2 and Thumper at least, so maybe some really favourable reviews could convince me.
Meanwhile I'll give the Inversus DX demo a go.
@SuperCharlie78 I'll be very surprised if it doesn't get good reviews. Feels like a well polished and pretty flawless experienced with plenty of charm. I thought it seemed a bit expensive too but took the plunge and it's been well worth the money.
@Knuckles Magic
Zero Gunner 2 is great, another amazing shooter for the Switch library. Striker 1945 is probably great as well but I'll be saving that for later date.
As a side note the descriptions in the store for these games are hilariously engrishy.
Only Pokemon Crystal («physical») for me this week.
"Nothing for me this week."
SHM'UP HEAVEN TIME!!!
Well i'll be picking up the Easter Island DLC for Chess Ultra (seeing as it's free). Nothing else for me this week though.
@BenAV I see... Well it's just I've got other games ready to play on Switch (Next Penelope, Oxenfree, to name a couple), no need to rush it's Xenoblade 2's fault, obviously. Good to know Celeste is so polished, anyway
Hurrah for the return of the poll! That said, nothing for me this week. I think Celeste looks genuinely great, but I'm not adding another 2D platformer to my backlog just yet. Going on the wishlist for now.
I really want to see a review here of Lost Sphear. From what I've gathered so far, the critical response seems to be fairly lukewarm.
I may get the "physical" Pokemon Crystal.
Pokémon Crystal is just “other”?!?
Can't decide which format to get Celeste on. It's slightly cheaper on PS4 but I fancy it in handheld, how does it control with attached joy cons?
@DM666 Well, it being a 2D platformer you must face the left joy-con buttons setup instead of a proper d-pad. I'm totally used to it, actually, I don't know if it could be an issue for you.
About Super One More Jump I'm interested, but the lacklustre soundtrack could be a little too annoying. Slime-san, apart from being a masterpiece of its own, had a STELLAR soundtrack.
Nothing for me this week, especially since Monster Hunter World is about to consume my life. I never got round to playing Pokemon Yellow VC, so I'll pass with Crystal VC.
Edit: Celeste is getting great reviews. I'll have to look into that game.
Nothing for me this week. How come that option isn’t on the poll any more?
Nope! Nothing this month. I've spent too much money in December already. Several awesome indie titles coming in February, so no Nintendo, no money from me this month.
I'll probably buy Bulb Boy while it's on sale, as I've been meaning to pick it up for a while now.
@Dom Can I ask you to reveal your tricks, or would I just get no for an answer?
I say I will picking up Crystal "Physical" seeing as I got both Gold and Silver.
EDIT: @tjhiphop You are not the only one tempted at that price but at the same time I rather spend my money on something else.
Bring back "Nothing for me this week" please.
Omg have any of you guys saw that metroidvania game called Dead Cells coming to switch?! Holy crap I need to play that game now looks awesome!
@tjhiphop I have bought it, and there’s another patch coming.
It’s actually not that bad at all, I was expecting worse, if they patch the entrances it will be a lot better.
I paid full price for WWE 2K18! What was I thinking?!?
Guess that WWE price is either a sigh the upcoming patch won't fix the game that much and thus given up, or it will and the reduction is to get back those sales lost from people put off the Switch version.......right?
@JamesR Never buy annual sports games on day one. They will go down in price soon enough, and in a couple of years, so low priced the shops can't get rid.
@Angelic_Lapras_King I have absolutely learnt this lesson. I've been Nintendo first party only for too long... and never expected a drop within a month or two. Even the savings on NBA are very high.
WWE is very tempting but the entrances and slow down is a huge concern. Actually wanted the gane full price but the framerate was a real problem.
Nothing for me this week. Probably won't pick up anything until Bayonetta comes out. The back log is packed enough as it is.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE
The Bridge is 4$ on the US eshop. Enjoy !
Picked up ZERO GUNNER 2 - , the INVERSUS demo and actually SUPER MARIO BROS. VS as had been meaning to get that one since December. STRIKERS 1945 II will go on the wish list for a later date. Gives me an excuse to go back and put some more time into STRIKERS 1945 anyhow 👍
So what have we got for the 3DS discounts? Lots of Breakout and lots of Kutar. The WiiU? Lots of Breakout and lots of Aqua.
Bought Earth Wars blindly knowing nothing about it, what a lovely surprise. Reminds me of vanillaware games, seems very content rich and stylish. Excellent value for money!
The amount of quality eShop releases is actually starting to be a tiny bit exhausting.
I was gonna buy nothing but am tempted by Celeste after the glowing reviews...
@Dom Any chance of splitting out the Retail Downloads from the Download Only titles next time please?
@gaga64 We'll see what we can do. We're always looking to improve how we deliver this. Thanks for the feedback!
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