Nintendo Download: 8th March (Europe)

With a Nintendo Direct (and a proper-sized one at that) set to broadcast later today, this Thursday is going to be one Nintendo-packed day of announcements, reveals and confirmations. Oh, and there's the matter of the weekly Nintendo Download update, which brings a ton of new games, updates and extra bits of content to the various European eShops. So if you're in the market for a new game or two, it's time to treat yourself because there's some great new additions just waiting to jump into your collection...

Switch eShop

Flinthook (Tribute Games, €12.25 / £10.99) - Live the life of space captain Flinthook! Armed with your mighty hookshot, your uncanny slow-motion powers and your trusty blasma pistol, plunder and fight your way through an infinite variety of randomly-assembled spaceships for treasure, loot and fame! Flinthook is a fast action-platformer with “roguelike” elements. You can become space’s greatest pirate with your hookshot, pistol and slowmo powers!

Scribblenauts Showdown (WB Games, €39.99 / £34.99) - It’s Scribblenauts, party-style! Use your imagination and go head-to-head in the ultimate multiplayer showdown! Enjoy a party-style Scribblenauts experience, conjuring from over 35,000 objects from the vast Scribblenauts dictionary to outsmart your opponent in over 25 mini-games!

NORTH (Sometimes You, €2.99 / £2.69) - In NORTH you play a man who applies for asylum in a city filled with strange creatures and strange customs. Dealing with the issue of the contemporary refugee crisis while at the same time being deeply rooted in a classical cyberpunk atmosphere, NORTH features a dark synthpop soundtrack, a sprawling mega-city and weird monster-like inhabitants. - Read our NORTH review

ACA NEO GEO REAL BOUT FATAL FURY (HAMSTER, €6.99 / £6.29) - “REAL BOUT FATAL FURY” is a fighting game released by SNK in 1995. Using the previous system as a base, isolating the Sweep Button, the inclusion of Combination Attacks, and other elements such as ring outs make for an even speedier and tempo-based play style. Sixteen fighters battle it out to see who is the strongest.

30-in-1 Game Collection: Volume 1 (Teyon , €14.99 / £13.49) - Defend your village against Vikings, climb to the top of the tower and overcome obstacles, play a round of hockey, switch colors and pass safely through gates, or play the classics such as snake, memory or cup game! - Read our 30-in-1 Game Collection: Volume 1 review

Bit Dungeon Plus (Dolores Ent., €8.99 / £8.09) - You and your beloved friend were captured by demons... You wake up what seems like hours, maybe even days later trapped in a prison cell, and your friend is missing. You find a sword in your cell and vow revenge against the beasts who took your friend - the quest to find your friend one and destroy the demons begins!

Bleed 2 (Digerati, €14.99 / £13.49) - A furiously fun and fast-paced arcade action game, Bleed 2 welcomes back pink-haired heroine Wryn, the world’s greatest – and only remaining – hero, as she fights to defend the globe from an invading force of villains. Master the art of air-dodging and bullet-reflecting to stylishly take down a relentless barrage of bad guys and bosses (and naughty kitties!), and make sure Wryn lives up to her title as the greatest hero of all time! - Read our Bleed 2 review

EARTHLOCK (Snowcastle Games, €24.99 / £22.49) - Enter a beautiful world haunted by its fateful past and join a party of unlikely heroes on their journey to rescue Amon's uncle from an ancient cult and uncover the secret of EARTHLOCK.

I, Zombie (Awesome Games, €4.99 / £4.49) - Once you were a human, like everyone else, but that doesn’t matter anymore. Your sole purpose is simple – eat as many brains as possible and turn everyone into your kind. Become a leader of your horde and infect all the humans on the map. Whenever you turn another poor human being into a brainless, green-skinned creature, you gain full control over their existence. You can command your horde to attack armed soldiers, infect helpless civilians, follow you, or await orders. Each scenario requires a different tactical approach and careful planning to achieve world domination.

Steredenn: Binary Stars (Plug In Digital, €12.99 / £11.99) - Steredenn: Binary Stars is an award-winning mashup of a shmup and a rogue-like, carved in big beautiful pixels, with insane boss battles. Fly solo or co-op with a friend, fighting off the worst scourges of space in a never-ending struggle for survival. Steredenn: Binary Stars is the expanded version of Steredenn. Enjoy infinite replayability and unforgiving gameplay through intense boss fights, (almost) randomly generated environments, twisted space events and a massive arsenal of weapons.

The Men of Yoshiwara: Ohgiya (D3 Publisher, €14.99 / £13.49) - "The Men of Yoshiwara: Ohgiya" is a popular romance game in Japan aimed at a female audience. Step into the pleasure district of Yoshiwara with the roles of male and female reversed and enjoy a heart-rending love story.

Kona (Koch Media, €19.99 / £17.99) - Northern Canada, 1970. A strange blizzard ravages Atamipek Lake. Step into the shoes of a detective to explore the eerie village, investigate surreal events, and battle the elements to survive. Kona is a chilly interactive tale you won't soon forget.

One Eyed Kutkh (Sometimes You, €4.99 / £4.49) - A single traveler on his way home crashes on a mysterious planet. To continue his journey, he'll have to get to the ninth heaven, deceive the Sun and the Moon and steal their space-boats.

TurtlePop: Journey to Freedom (DigiPen Game Stu, €19.99 / £17.99) - TurtlePop: Journey to Freedom is a platform puzzle game that introduces Bebo, Deephi, Slimmie, Smarts, Willis and Sparky the Turtle. Master new gameplay with multi-character control and turtle-linking, environment manipulation, item deployment and match 3 mechanics that make challenges even more fresh, intense and fun! They are aided by ‘The Genie’, who is an airborne support turtle that you can use to manipulate the game world and enhance the abilities of the turtles!

New 3DS eShop

Cycle of Eternity: Space Anomaly (RandomSpin, €4.99 / £4.49) - The story is twisted around three graduates of the space fleet, who fell into a time trap. Trying to get home they get into an even bigger mess. Fight with enemies, improve your ships, go through the story and try to free your heroes from the space trap! Classic turn-based RPG with the unusual story in the space.

Switch Pre-Orders

Bombslinger (Plug In Digital, €11.99 / £10.79, pre-order from 06/03/2018) - Pre-Order until 11/04/2018 14:59 CEST Game description: Wear the poncho of the Bombslinger, a ruthless bandit turned peaceful rancher on a quest to avenge the murder of his missus and destruction of his ranch at the hands of his former posse. Bomb your way through hordes of enemies and master the classic bomb-slinging gameplay in a solo adventure with procedurally generated levels, character progression with skill upgrades, and a variety of offensive and defensive items.

Outlast 2 (Red Barrels, €29.99 / £26.99, pre-order from 06/03/2018) - Pre-Order until 27/03/2018, 09:59 CEST Game description: Outlast 2 is the sequel to the survival horror game Outlast. Set in the same universe as the first game, but with different characters and a different setting, Outlast 2 is a twisted new journey into the depths of the human mind and its dark secrets. Outlast 2 introduces you to Sullivan Knoth and his followers, who left our wicked world behind to give birth to Temple Gate, a town, deep in the wilderness and hidden from civilization. Knoth and his flock are preparing for the tribulations of the end of times and you’re right in the thick of it.

Special Offers

Nintendo Switch

• Fear Effect Sedna (SQUARE ENIX) now €17.95 / £14.39 until Tue 20th Mar, normally €19.95 / £15.99
• Midnight Deluxe (Ratalaika Games) now €3.99 / £3.99 until Sun 18th Mar, normally €4.99 / £4.99
• World Conqueror X (CIRCLE Ent.) now €8.99 / £8.09 until Thu 8th Mar, normally €9.99 / £8.99
• Spy Chameleon (Unfinished Pixel) now €6.99 / £6.25 until Fri 16th Mar, normally €7.99 / £7.19
• Gekido Kintaro's Revenge (NAPS Team) now €12.74 / £11.46 until Wed 21st Mar, normally €14.99 / £13.49
• Sparkle 3 Genesis (Forever Entertainment) now €4.49 / £4.04 until Thu 15th Mar, normally €4.99 / £4.49
• Energy Invasion (EvgeniyKolpakov) now €2.39 / £2.15 until Mon 12th Mar, normally €2.99 / £2.69
• I and Me (Ratalaika Games) now €7.99 / £7.19 until Sun 18th Mar, normally €9.99 / £8.99
• Darkest Dungeon (Red Hook Studios) now €19.79 / £16.19 until Mon 12th Mar, normally €21.99 / £17.99
• Darkest Dungeon: The Crimson Court (Red Hook Studios) now €8.09 / £7.19 until Mon 12th Mar, normally €8.99 / £7.99
• Darkest Dungeon®: The Shieldbreaker (Red Hook Studios) now €3.14 / £2.69 until Mon 12th Mar, normally €3.49 / £2.99
• Darkest Dungeon: Ancestral Edition (Red Hook Studios) now €27.89 / £23.39 until Mon 12th Mar, normally €30.99 / £25.99
• Ginger: Beyond the Crystal (Badland Games) now €15.99 / £14.39 until Wed 21st Mar, normally €19.99 / £17.99
• Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today (Badland Games) now €11.99 / £10.79 until Wed 21st Mar, normally €14.99 / £13.49
• Sparkle 2 Evo (Forever Entertainment) now €1.24 / £1.12 until Thu 22nd Mar, normally €4.99 / £4.49
• Violett (Forever Entertainment) now €2.99 / £2.69 until Thu 22nd Mar, normally €9.99 / £8.99
• Baseball Riot (10tons) now €3.99 / £3.59 until Wed 14th Mar, normally €4.99 / £4.49
• OPUS: The Day We Found Earth (Flyhigh Works) now €4.00 / £3.59 until Thu 22nd Mar, normally €5.00 / £4.49
• Tachyon Project (Eclipse Games) now €7.99 / £7.19 until Mon 19th Mar, normally €9.99 / £8.99
• Gunhouse (Other Ocean Group) now €8.65 / £7.99 until Fri 23rd Mar, normally €12.99 / £11.99
• Mutant Mudds Collection (Atooi ) now €6.49 / £5.49 until Thu 29th Mar, normally €12.99 / £10.99

New Nintendo 3DS

• Infinite golf (Petite Games) now €0.99 / £0.89 until Thu 22nd Mar, normally €1.99 / £1.79

Nintendo 3DS

• Fairune (CIRCLE Ent.) now €1.99 / £1.99 until Thu 29th Mar, normally €2.99 / £2.99
• Blasting Agent: Ultimate Edition (Ratalaika Games) now €2.00 / £1.80 until Wed 21st Mar, normally €2.99 / £2.69
• Go! Go! Kokopolo 3D (CIRCLE Ent.) now €3.99 / £3.89 until Thu 29th Mar, normally €5.99 / £5.79
• Music on: Electric Guitar (Abylight) now €0.99 / £0.94 until Thu 22nd Mar, normally €1.99 / £1.89
• Petit Novel series - Harvest December (CIRCLE Ent.) now €7.99 / £7.89 until Thu 29th Mar, normally €11.99 / £11.89
• PixelMaker (Nostatic Software) now €3.35 / £2.99 until Thu 22nd Mar, normally €4.49 / £3.99
• Tappingo (CIRCLE Ent.) now €1.99 / £1.99 until Thu 29th Mar, normally €2.99 / £2.99
• Tappingo 2 (CIRCLE Ent.) now €1.99 / £1.99 until Thu 29th Mar, normally €2.99 / £2.99
• Zombie Panic in Wonderland DX (Akaoni Studio) now €6.30 / £5.67 until Thu 5th Apr, normally €7.00 / £6.30

Wii U

• 3Souls (Red Column) now €0.90 / £0.80 until Thu 5th Apr, normally €3.60 / £3.20
• Blasting Agent: Ultimate Edition (Ratalaika Games) now €2.00 / £1.80 until Wed 21st Mar, normally €2.99 / £2.69
• Block Zombies! (Nostatic Software) now €4.39 / £3.65 until Thu 22nd Mar, normally €5.49 / £4.59
• PixelMaker (Nostatic Software) now €3.35 / £2.99 until Thu 22nd Mar, normally €4.49 / £3.99

DLC / Add-On Content

Nintendo Switch

• Rocket League - DC Super Heroes DLC Pack (Psyonix) - €3.38 / £3.00
• Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle - Chibi-Chara (NIS America) - €0.99 / £0.89

Well, that's your lot for this week's European releases on the various eShops. Feel free to leave a vote or free in the poll above, and a comment or two below...