E3 proper might be skipping this year, but that doesn’t mean we’re not getting an E3 season. Nintendo kicked it off today with a 20-minute Direct focused on indie games coming to Switch in the coming weeks and months.
Prior to the showcase, fans were losing their minds over a potential showing for Hollow Knight: Silksong, the hotly anticipated follow-up to Team Cherry’s moody, beloved metroidvania, Hollow Knight. Let’s just get this out of the way: Silksong is still MIA.
But the event itself ran through a slew of intriguing-looking games, including a handful that are out today. Here’s everything shown at Nintendo’s May 2022 Indie World Direct.
Ooblets is coming to Switch this summer
Switch is getting another pastel-coloured life sim about farming. Yes, Ooblets, previously only out on Xbox and PC, is coming to Nintendo’s handheld. Like that certain other Nintendo game, you can collect a bunch of creatures.
Batora: Lost Haven out this fall
Batora: Lost Haven, first announced last year, is an isometric action-RPG with a nonlinear story and twin-stick combat.
ElecHead looks shockingly cool
Made by one person, ElecHead is a 2D puzzle platformer where you play as a battery…person? The gimmick is that you can toss your head away from your body to reach places you otherwise couldn’t. Out this summer.
Soundfall is a genre mash-up that sounds amazing
The songs of the summer have already been decided: It’s the 140-song OST to Soundfall, a co-op rhythm game out today. It’s also a loot-shooter, and is set in a realm called Symphonia. (Tales of Symphonia’s Kratos, however, is nowhere to be seen.)
Wildfrost is basically viking-themed Slay the Spire
Is it possible to have too many tactical roguelike deck-builders? Nope! This one’s out in the winter.
TABS is coming to Switch
The delightfully silly Totally Accurate Battle Simulator, which everyone just calls TABS, is coming to Switch.
Gunbrella is exactly what it sounds like
Trains? Western-themed outfits? Tight side-scrolling action combat wherein you use an umbrella that’s also a gun? Yes, Gunbrella immediately rocketed onto my most-anticipated list. Sadly, not out until some time next year.
We Are OFK is coming to Switch
We Are OFK, an episodic music narrative game that was first announced for PlayStation and PC last year, is coming to Switch too. The art still looks rockin’. The music, from indie pop band OFK, is rockin’ too. No hard release date yet, but it’s planned for some time this summer.
Silt has Limbo vibes
If you’re (rightfully) terrified of the ocean, steer clear of Silt, a 2D exploration game about exploring the deepest, scariest parts of our planet. It’s got some delicious black-and-white visuals, a la Limbo.
Mini Motorways is en route to Switch
NUMTOTs, rejoice! Dinosaur Polo Club’s excellent planning game, Mini Motorways, is coming to Switch later today.
Wayward Strand is out this summer
Wayward Strand is a narrative adventure game about a floating hospital. Will probably break my heart. Out July 21.
Cult of the Lamb is a city-building roguelike
Nintendo’s announcer said this game isn’t “sheepish,” but I refuse to stoop to such a pun. It’s a mix of dungeon-crawling and city-building in which you play as a sheep organising a cult, out later this year.
Indie dev Aggro Crab is making a soulslike
The makers of capitalism sim Going Under are making a follow-up. It’s called Another Crab’s Treasure. You play as a crab and fight…bigger crabs. “We’re giving everyone what they want,” the devs said. “Crabs.”
Yes, there was a sizzle reel
Over the course of 57.2 seconds, Nintendo ran through a series of smaller titles: OneShot, Gibbon: Beyond the Trees, Idol Manager, Card Shark, Cursed to Golf, A Guidebook of Babel, and the terrific Opus: Echo of Starsong (available today!).
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