Feature: Nintendo Life eShop Selects - August 2020

Some seriously great looking games came out this month. Onto the backlog they all go

A Short Hike was a delight just like the trailer and the review here made it out to be. Well worth the low price.

I thought it would be A Short Hike. Was searching for it in the eShop the other day under "A Long Hike" and wondered why I couldn't find it, oops.

This recurring article has become my most-awaited thing each month. Seemingly always a nice collection of recommendations worth wishlisting.

Out of this month's I've only got Spiritfarer (not played it yet) so far, but most of these look worthy of picking up at some point.

Seems like August was a really strong month for indies. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to play any of them

Is Hertzog Zwei only available for the Japanese eshop? And does it feature English text?

Some cracking indies and general downloads in that list.

While a game is only a game and any review is subjective and a score is usually based on the views or catagories the reviewer decides to use then I feel that a score that does not take into account the asking price is flawed.

I was curious to find out more about a game that scored top marks. The four or five reviews I watched gave the games high score but pointed out that there was about an hour to 90 minutes gameplay. So value for money this game was poor and the score should have reflected this.

Only a fiver? By comparison a game with 20 hours of game play would cost £100.00.

An hour long game is very difficult to score, but a 10 which got it to the number one position is way over the top.

A strong recommendation for Pheonotopia: Awakening. 50+ hours of exploration and puzzles and evolving RPG plot. Fun stuff!

I don't play too many Indies, but something about A Short Hike caught my eye & it was a lovely time.

Also got around to playing Gato Roboto which was pretty fun as well.

Evergate easily my favourite. Mechanically the most refreshing platformer I've played in ages. Mad flexibility around the way you move and a crazy high skill ceiling if you're willing to explore and push the mechanics. Wonderful game.

@zool
I agree with the principle, but I don't agree with the example of short hike, and I'll explain why.

Going into the game I was skeptical, I typically do not like the chill indy games we see nowadays, but I managed to get it for like 14 cents because of gold points and the discount so I figured I had nothing to lose. My first play-through where I rushed to the mountain did only take me about 90 mins, however I knew I wanted a second go around where I collected just about everything because of how much I fell in love with the game. This second run (which I did entirely with my little brother watching, making for some great bonding time) took me a number of hours (and I didn't even 100% it, because I can never make myself 100% a game).

Not only that, the few hours of short hike I did play were some of the most densely enjoyable (if that makes any sense) of any game I have had the pleasure of playing. Most of these games that have extremely long playtime do so via grinding and empty time, and A Short Hike has absolutely none of that. It is a sort of quality over quantity situation. Overall, I believe I got somewhere in the ballpark of 4-5 hours out of this game already, with much to come for sure. That makes the price-per-hour make a bit more sense.

If someone only played A Short Hike for 90 mins, it means they really didn't like the game very much (or were in a rush), which is fine, but I don't think really is a good representation of what this game has to offer. If you are looking for a time sink of a game then I would not recommend A Short Hike, but otherwise (cost and playtime included) I would have to recommend it. One of the most refreshing things I have playing in a long time.

It's been interesting to see Spiritfarer ahead of A Short Hike in the top digital sales page of the eshop. I want to play Spiritfarer, but haven't bought it yet (games above 2GB I prefer to get physically on a cartridge that doesn't require also downloading part of the game, so I'm trying to wait on several of the bigger new digital releases).
Also, A Short Hike is one of my favorite games ever. It is such a perfect compact game experience. I would LOVE to have a Long Hike, if they make a sequel.

A Short Hike is an outstanding bitesized experience and a game that can appeal to anybody.

Very interested in Evergate and Spiritfarer as well.

The Last Campfire doesn't even get an honorable mention?

Campfire game?

@AlcoPhish I get where you are coming from and I can see that you feel you got your money's worth. I could also see that if a game has a lot of genuine replay value, that increases the hours and reduces the cost. Also 100 percenting a game adds value, but only if there is a reason to do so.

But game prices especially on the eshop do seem to be quite random and over priced. Their limitations, no box, game card, no resale value, being unable to let a friend or family member play the game (without giving them your Switch) are big factors for pricing these indi games more realistic and in a given parameter.

I'm digging Faeria. There are some unfortunate things in it that are holding it back from being an awesome game (always connected requirement), but I dig the aspect of just jumping in for a couple of games. Still need to try the multiplayer, but the single player part kicks ass.

Honestly a great list and great runner ups, but I think Spiritfarer takes the lead actually. Both it and Short Hike are great, and worthy of your time and money, but Spirit wins out in art, and length. It seriously feels like your playing a Disney or Studio Ghibli 2D animation of Animal Crossing that’s been written by Netflix writers. Amazing stuff.

@zool
Ah, I didn't know the digital only bit was part of your problem. In that case, I totally get it.