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While it's a shame it's releasing later than other platforms, I'm glad to finally have it officially confirmed for Switch! I'm quite excited, the game looks fun, fluid, and absolutely beautiful.

I've never gotten the chance to play the Laytom games, so I'd love to dive into the series on Switch!

I picked up Minit in the latest Nindie sale, and I'll probably get Blossom Tales, Bloodstained Curse of the Moon, and a few others during the sale as well. Going to be a busy gaming weekend, that's for sure!

Not much question about which of these games should come out on top.

...

Obviously I'm talking about Poi, an utterly indisputable masterpiece of 3D platforming. Unquestionably the best 3D platformer to release on October 24, 2017.

This looks amazing. Now I want him to make one for A Link to the Past's overworld. That would be truly a thing of beauty.

Cardboard: pure innovation.

(In all seriousness Labo actually is pretty dang creative. Not for me, but still real impressive. GG Nintendo)

"Hey MDHR, developers of one of Xbox's most universally beloved console exclusives, it's Phil. How about you make it not a console exclusive anymore?"

...at least that's how I imagine how the conversation would've gone in my head. regardless, this whole thing is insane and I love it.

Thanks for another great read, Gavin!

I'd love to see any of these happen. However, what I think I'd love most is for Team Cherry to tackle Metroid. Axiom Verge is obviously fantastic, but it's effectively a spin on Super Metroid. Hollow Knight, on the other hand, takes plenty of inspiration from Super Metroid (as any Metroidvania should) while also doing it's own thing with plenty of original ideas. It'd be great to see how their exquisite art and level design would mesh with the Metroid series.

As if I needed another reason to love this game.

I wholeheartedly believe that streaming is the future of gaming. It happened with music, it happened with movies and TV, and I'm certain that gaming is next to primarily adopt streaming.

However, I'm just not sure if Stadia is the way to go with it. While I'm positive that streaming is the future, I'm not sure that we're ready for it now. Stadia is ambitious, and it could certainly be huge if it works as well as it claims to, but the reveal left way more questions than answers. What's its business model? How much will it cost? Is it a subscription service? Will there really be zero lag? How many developers will support it? What will its first-party support be? And perhaps most importantly, what internet speed is required for it? Until all those questions get answered, I can't say whether Stadia will truly pose a threat to Nintendo and other platform holders.

Fantastic stuff all around. Probably the best Nindie Direct yet in my opinion. Obviously Cuphead and Cadence were incredible, but stuff like RAD, Katana Zero, My Friend Pedro, Nuclear Throne, and Creature in the Well all seemed awesome too. Nintendo continues to be the absolute best place to be for indies!

This is the crossover I never knew I wanted and now my life feels incomplete without it.

That headline makes me extremely uncomfortable.

@Zuljaras Well, considering I don't own a PSP it's actually a bit difficult for me to play it that way

Freakin' finally! Can't wait to play the brilliance of Castlevania IV on the go!

Really hope that they can pull this off. The game definitely has potential with its awesome art style and epic mech designs, but the whole thing just feels so rough around the edges. Its wful performance, difficult UI, and weak combat all left a bad taste in my mouth. I'm still hopeful for the game since it's nothing they can't fix before release, but man do they have their work cut out for them.

@OorWullie Sweet, thanks for the confirmation. I'll definitely keep my eye on it now.

As someone who hates the concept of packing up and moving out with an undying passion of burning hatred, I'd love it if Moving Out came to Switch. It looks like a wonderfully comedic take on such a miserable process.

Please Sega:

New Jet Set Radio. New single-player Phantasy Star. New Super Monkey Ball.

In other words, stop sitting on your iconic franchises!

Celeste is an utter masterpiece, quite possibly the greatest platformer I've ever played. Incredible and innovative level design, beautifully creative art direction, and an immensely emotional storyline. It's the perfect blend of gameplay and story. If this list were ranked I would definitely place it at number 1.

Awesome! I knew they'd want to have another indies showcase ahead of PAX at the end of the month. Really looking forward to whatever they have to show. Say what you want about indie games, but you can't deny that indies have been responsible for some of the most groundbreaking and creative games on Switch--Celeste, Hyper Light Drifter, Golf Sotry, Steamworld Dig 2, etc.--all of which were announced at Nindie directs, too! Needless to say, I'm looking forward to it!

I'm hoping for a Sonic game that doesn't try anything new. Almost every time 3D Sonic tries to introduce a big new mechanic it ends up bogging down what would otherwise be a fantastic game - Sonic Forces with its awkward player avatars and forced cameos, Sonic Unleashed with the slow-paced werehog sections, Sonic Adventure with all its sub-par characters when pretty much everyone just wanted to play as Sonic, etc. Use the boost formula and mix it with some of the Adventure series' better qualities, and I think you've got a winner.

That animation is utter brilliance, and likely better than the game itself will be.

Without a doubt, Tetris 99 is definitely my top online game on Switch. It's addictive, it's rewarding, it's maddening and has made me want to throw my Switch out the window numerous times already - in short, it's everything you could want from a competitive online experience.

I've never played this game but I've heard time and again about how revolutionary it is, so I'd love to give it a shot, especially in a complete version on Switch.

However, being a writer myself, I know that writing is often cut from a project for a good reason, so a "complete" script may not actually be as good as it sounds in the end.

I know that Yacht Club isn't actually developing it, but if they put their name on anything I'm automatically excited for it.

Switch is a bit lacking in Western shooters, so I think this is a welcome addition to the library even if I don't intend to play it.

@HumanDog You're absolutely right that Nintendo's innovation is important - it's what led to all-time masterpieces like Mario Galaxy and Breath of the Wild. Miyamoto's direction for Nintendo's bigger franchises has definitely helped them remain at the top of the industry. I just think that sometimes Miyamoto's focus on making every game "unique" could be misplaced. Star Fox Zero would likely have been much better received if it weren't for the arbitrary control scheme, for instance. Of course his design philosophy was generally great and led to amazing game, I just think that sometimes it wasn't applied as well as it could have been.

I'd be a lot more positive about this if Capcom wasn't using Dragon's Dogma's sales to hold DMC 5 hostage.

@Pod I pardon your lengthiness, and I agree with everything you wrote! I'm quite hopeful to see how this kit turns out. While Labo definitely isn't for me, I'm interested in seeing how this plays into Nintendo's approach to VR over the future.

This is definitely a more modest way for them to get started in the field, and I think that that's the best thing for them to do right now. I think it's both an attempt to reinvigorate the Labo brand, and a cautious step into the world of VR.

If these kits turn out to be successful as miniature VR experiences, I think it's almost guaranteed that Nintendo will want to pursue an even more serious VR, especially if the rumored Switch 2 turns out to be real. With a higher-resolution screen, I believe we'll see more Nintendo VR beyond Labo.

@outsider83 My biggest issue is primarily his views on making every game "unique". While I'm all for gameplay variety, I think that his emphasis on forcing new mechanics and ideas into beloved traditional franchises has done more harm than good--i.e. Star Fox Zero, Paper Mario, etc. I think that some games are better when they focus on refining a tired and true formula, rather than trying to do something radically new every time.

@Pod And I thought I was the literal one!

But yeah, my comment was intentionally hyperbolic. I know there's a lot more to it than first meets the eye, but at its core it's still a fairly simple product.

Personally I'm not expecting too much from it aside from some fun gimmicks, though on the hardware side of things I'm concerned about how the 720p resolution will look so close to the face. Hopefully the goggles/head gear help mitigate that.

Of course we shouldn't have high expectations.

It's literally cardboard strapped to your face.

Ok, this looks absolutely fantastic. I got chills with those last piano chords.

Hyper Light Drifter is easily one of my favorite games, and this looks like an even more ambitious continuation of its excellent storytelling and world building. This is already my most hyped upcoming game.

I may not always agree with his design decisions, but there's no denying that Miyamoto is an absolute legend who's behind some of the greatest games of all time. My childhood would have been distinctly less magical if it weren't for the high standards that Shiggy put in his games. Thank you, Mr. Miyamoto.

My favorite thing about Deltarune is that it's an actual RPG this time around. Undertale's battle system was good, dont get me wrong, but it mostly devolved into choosing the same dialogue options while avoiding the same attacks over and over. Deltarune actually lets you strategize, and that's great. Really looking forward to the full game.

Finally some Mortal Kombat footage. The fact that they're not hiding it until release gives me a bit more hope.

Now let's see what the game actually looks like.

@AllHailQueenBoo So sad and yet so true.

"Straight to video"

That says all you need to know about its quality, really.

I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo were to drop another Nindie direct this month confirming that this game will be on Switch and advertising its presence at PAX.

(BTW my brother will be working at PAX this month, so hopefully he gets a chance to play this!)

@BAN I get where you're coming from, but for a small indie studio, it costs a lot of time and money to purchase dev kits, have the game working properly on console, get it certified by the platform holders, released on the digital storefronts, published physically, etc.

I agree that Switch will likely be where this game will see its greatest success, but while a PC release is generally fairly straightforward, it's a massive expense for small studios to add just a single console to its release. That's why Switch (and other consoles) are generally stretch goals; it takes a ton of manpower just to optimize a game for a specific console, let alone market, license, and publish it.

I love that Nintendo is actually doing detailed patch notes now.

@UmbreonsPapa That would be a really cool idea. Another idea I think would be neat would be to treat the sub-gyms like Shrines in Bresth of the Wild. Have sub gyms all over the region and fill them with unique puzzles and challenges as well as some tough trainers and perhaps even rare items and pokemon at the end. Maybe have some sub gyms easy to find in towns and routes, but have others be hidden in the overworld to encourage exploration and experimentation. Adding cool secrets like that would really help the world feel more alive.

@UmbreonsPapa I meant that it would be sad if a simple name change from Gym Leaders to Gym Masters was meant to be a huge, surprising reveal. If that's indicative of the small amount of change and progress in the pokemon franchise, then I think that's s bit disappointing.

Also, what rjejr said too.

I don't understand, was there anything in the tweet that revealed genuinely big info? Gyms were already confirmed in the Pokemon Direct if I remember correctly.

The only news I can spot is the fact that they said "Gym Master" instead of "Gym leader." Is that supposed to be some sort of shocking reveal? If it is, then that's sadly indicative of the level of change in the Pokemon franchise.

This would be absolutely awesome. As much content as Ultimate had, I felt it was fairly lacking in terms of non-fighting modes compared to previous games. The addition of stage builder and home run contest would help the game truly live up to its name, and be the absolute ultimate Smash game.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: this kind of argument has no place in 2019. It could work in 2017 when the industry was still skeptical of Nintendo after the Wii U disaster, but now that the Switch has been established as the hottest console on the market, port begging to "gauge fan interest" is simply stupid.

People love the Switch, and people love buying games of all kinds on it. I understand that DMC's been in development for a while, but there's no reason why they shouldn't be working on a port of some kind at this point. At the very least let us have the HD collection.

That headline sums up the situation perfectly.

@Tirza Different people have different tastes. Some people are fine with lackluster gameplay if the overall experience proves worthwhile. From what I've seen of this game, it certainly does provide that impactful experience that many want.

Also, this game released worldwide, so even though I agree that us yanks often fall prey to marketing, you can't put all the blame on us this time!

I certainly never dreamed of this. It definitely looks good, but when I dream of Metroidvanias, I prefer to push the genre forward through something like Hollow Knight rather than keep it safe with something that looks like a straight Wonder Boy clone. However, it still looks quite decent, I'll be interested to see how it's received.