Today's Indie Highlights presentation cooked up lots of information on some of the games destined to reach the Nintendo eShop in the near future, with two titles instantly launching on the console. Yes, these two games featured below are available to download right now!
Check out their trailers and information, lovingly provided below, and then let us know if you'll be trying either of them yourself.
Bad North
Bad North is described as a "charming but brutal real-time tactics roguelite". Players must defend their idyllic island kingdom against a horde of Viking invaders, commanding their loyal subjects to take full tactical advantage of the unique shape of each island. Everything is at stake here; if you fail, you'll be watching the blood of your subjects stain the ground red.
Players control the broad strokes of the battle, giving high-level commands to your soldiers who try their best to carry them out in the heat of the moment. Simple player inputs aim to mask a dynamic combat simulation to make it inviting to new players, while simultaneously challenging veterans.
Here are some of the game's features:
Features:
- REAL-TIME TACTICS ROGUELITE: Position and relocate your troops to fend off the Vikings, who each have their own counters to the threats you pose. Pick your battles and plan your evacuations carefully! Lose a commander and they're gone forever; lose everything, and it's game over!
- INTELLIGENT UNIT CONTROLS: You command the broad strokes of your defenses and monitor positioning — your soldiers do the rest, navigating and engaging intuitively in response to the situation at hand.
- PROCEDURALLY-GENERATED ISLANDS: Each island is both stylistically charming and unique in its layout. Plan your strategies around every nook and cranny, for you only get one chance to save them from the enemy invasion
- UNLOCKABLE UPGRADES AND COLLECTIBLES: A stronger, smarter defense leads to greater rewards. Use these to develop your subjects from a ragtag militia into seasoned warriors.
The game is available to download right now for £13.49 / $14.99.
Prison Architect: Nintendo Switch Edition
Prison Architect is a BAFTA award-winning 'prison construction and management game'. Acting as both an architect and a governor, Players must look after their inmates by building a secure lockup, taking care of their needs, keeping them safe and healthy, and helping rehabilitate them into productive members of society. If you treat them poorly you'll end up with a riot on your hands, so it's definitely within your best interests to keep things running smoothly.
You'll be controlling every detail of your prison - from building new cells and facilities to hiring staff and creating reform programs - all while dealing with informants, contraband smuggling, gang warfare, full-scale riots, and more.
Prison Architect: Nintendo Switch Edition is a premium edition which includes two expansions: All Day And A Night and Psych Ward, letting you up the challenge with new wardens and maps, as well as a new security class – the criminally insane. The 'Escape Mode' DLC, will also arrive on Switch later this summer.
The game is available to download right now for £24.99 / $29.99.
Do you like the look of these games? Will you be trying them out today? Tell us below.
Comments 31
That's a nice surprise. I've been looking forward to Bad North in particular.
been waiting for this one
I hear Prison Architect is really good.
Bad North looks good but they lost me at "brutal". I'll wait for the "easy mode" patch update.
@EvilLucario it is but I fear it could suffer with performance on the switch.
Awesome! I’ve been waiting for Bad North to drop. That puts me at nine roquelites on my Switch, planning on getting a tenth (Bombslinger). I’m officially obsessed.
@NewAdvent get it from a different region then 😉
Nice surprise. Played a ton of PA on PC, had no idea it was coming to Switch. I am tempted to give it another go. Bad North has me intrigued as well.
@NewAdvent IMO, worth it, if you haven't played it yet and love sim games. Otherwise - pick it up on Steam when it's on sale next.
I have prison architect on the pc and think it really is a great game.
Mouse controls in my opinion are much better suited, however I think the portability factor more than makes up for it.
I'm really tempted to download and try Bad North. Not interested in Prison Architect enough to justify paying the high price tag for it but it can go on the watch list until it's on sale.
I'm up for Bad North but just bought Octopath and am 4 hours in. Addicted! I'll buy Bad North eventually, just not sure when.
This game Bad North will be very popular in South Korea.
Bad North looks great, I think I'm gonna get that when I get a chance.
I'm really glad we're past the era of "every other Indie needs to be a 2D retro platformer." But now we seem to be in the era of "every other Indie needs to be a roguelite because reasons."
Ugh
@rjejr From what I've read this seems to be an RTS that's easy to underdstand and play. As one preview put it, it's an "RTS for the inept and lazy" but does what it does well and is fun to play.
I'll add it to my wishlist but with all the games I've still to play and purchase and being inept and lazy, I'm not sure I'll ever get round to it.
I already played about 2+ hours now and I'm absolutely loving the game sofar. The only issue I have is that it is a bit on the easy side so far, but that is probably my fault for picking "Normal" and due to the fact, that I am not that far in (no idea how long a run can last/ lasts on average). Other than that, I think I might have run into one or two barely noticeable FPS drops for a second or two, but given the games nature, that is hardly an issue, even if they were indeed more than barely noticeable, which so far they aren't (the game is obviously not that demanding so I do not expect any issues later on).
Anyways, if you watched the trailers or some of the gameplay footage available, you'll already know what it is all about. Tiny island, four troops, more-or-less real-time-strategy (similar to TW you can give orders while paused) gameplay, fighting off hordes of Vikings. It's RTS boiled down to it's most essential aspects and sofar I'd say it works great. The strategic elements are more limited, with a focus on plotting you're path and how to upgrade your units and which units to use (they have one turn downtime after each mission) and in what composition obviously.
You can't go wrong with this at $15 if you are looking for a pure tactics experience on the Switch. Just don't expect any kind of storytelling or worldbuilding or such ala Banner Saga. That is not here, not at all.
Definitely a recommended title, essential if it's your genre and if you do not 'mind' the pureness of the approach and the simplistic but clean visuals. No fluff here - for better or worse.
It's amazing to me that so many games I've had my eye on for PC are coming to the Switch. I never thought I would see that on a Nintendo console, especially not a portable console!
Really looking forward to reading some Bad North reviews.
Going to buy prison architect!
Awwwweeeeesome
@Ralek85 I thought it looked like TW boiled down to only its essentials, and based on your review it sounds like that's kind of what it is. I think you just sold me on it, especially if I can issue orders while paused. All depends on if I talk myself out of it before I get out of work. Thanks for sharing the early insights!
@NoxAeturnus You're welcome. Well, I'd say it's a simplified and at the same a intensified version of TW (I just compared it to TW, because a friend of mine goes on about Warhammer every other day and the way you can pause combat for orders is something I always associate with TW).
Many tactical elements, like using the terrain (covet the highground), creating engagements with superior forces (covet the chokepoints), a certain stone-paper-scissor matching are there and amplified as they make up a bulk of the game. The strategic elements are largely absent though. There is no diplomacy, sieges, developing cities or such. Basically it's just about which unit you prioritise upgrading and in what way, though that is not entirely unlike TW at times, I guess, even though there the choice is more about what you field and what not.
And yeah, there is like a world map where you travel on and then there is a tactical map you fight on. That is also a similarity of course, even though it's rather superficial.
Anyways, I kinda digg those boiled-down-to-essential-mechanics games. It's what I liked about mushrooms wars back on the Ps3 ^^
@Ralek85 Yeah in this case I appreciate that those features of other games are missing here. Definitely sold on it now. Never played Mushroom Wars, but apparently it has a sequel that's been out on Switch since July? Have you played it? Any good?
@OorWullie Oh, I can be inept and lazy. The other guy talking it up has me interested, but like you I'll wait. I'm still of the mindset that games like this should be $5. Sony sales have made me extra chesp.
Aw, I thought you played as the vikings attacking the little islands in Bad North. This seems less interesting. Ah well...
15 and 30 dollars each? LMAO I pass
Impressed with how prison architect runs. It's an absolute delight to play on the move.
Can you be cruel to the prisoner in prison architect? and quell the riots I mean?
@Ryu_Niiyama yeah
@NoxAeturnus I haven't played the Switch version yet, though I definitely intend on getting it sooner rather than later. I played a fair bit on mobile at some point, and I'd say it's really about the same as the 1st one on PSN, meaning another take on the essence-of-rts. I think, I stopped on mobile, because of the microtransactions, which afaik are absent in the Switch version. If you enjoy this kind of pure tactical experience - again without much fluff - I'd definitely think it's worth a close look as well.
Getting both!
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