Gaming Influence: Thoughts - Indie World Showcase 4.17.2024

Hello everyone, 

Welcome to Gaming Influence, a reboot of the same name I created in WrestleCorp. However, not only will I be giving my thoughts on certain video games and video game series, but also video game movies, video game anime, video game digital presentations, etc.

For this edition of Gaming Influence, I'll be giving my thoughts on the Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase which happened on April 17, 2024.

Before I start, not every game that was shown in this presentation will be talked about as I will mainly talk about games that I care about and am interested in. If the games you care about and are interested in don't show up here, don't take it personally, have nothing against the games, but they're not just for me or it's just that I don't have much to say about them except cool. However, if you are happy with the games that you care about and are interested in I'm not or have nothing to say about it, good for you and I'm happy for you.

Anyway, let's get started!

This Indie World Showcase will cover indie games that will be coming to Switch later this year and in the future so let's get to it!

Little Kitty, Big City is an adventure game developed and published by Double Dagger Studio. The game will be released on Switch on May 9, 2024.

We've seen this game showcased before in an Indie World Showcase, but it's been a long time since we last saw it and they definitely improve a lot of it since the last time we saw it. This game looks to be a combination of Untitled Goose Game and Stray into one which looks to be quite fun. Glad to see that this game is finally getting a release date and looking forward to playing the game once it comes out to Switch in a few weeks.

Yars Rising is an action-adventure game developed by WayForward and published by Atari. The game is set to be released on Switch later this year.

Dang, this game looks very good as WayForward is developing this as it looks to be a mixture of Metroid and Shantae into one. Granted, it makes sense since the game looks to be a Metroidvania, but really liking everything about it in terms of art style and gameplay which looks great. Really want to see more of this game and looking forward to trying it out when it comes out on Switch later this year.

Refind Self: The Personality Test Game is an arcade exploration choose-your-own-adventure game developed by Lizardry and published by Playism. The game is set to be released on Switch this summer.

I remember this game coming out on PC late last year where I heard really great things about the game too. After looking at the trailer for the game, this game looks to be very unique among other games I see as there aren't a lot of games that use personality tests on which character players will play as anymore so seeing a game that revives that is great. Really like the art style of the game as well as a lot of replay value too depending on the class you get. Looking forward to seeing how this game will turn out on Switch when it's released this summer.

Sticky Business is a casual strategy game developed by Spellgarden Games and published by Assemble Entertainment. The game and its DLC is available now on Switch.

I also remember hearing a lot of people talk about this game as it's a great casual game for anyone to play. After looking at the trailer here, it looks to be a fun and cozy game to play with friends and family. The fact that the game comes with the DLC as well is also nice. Would definitely give this game a try as it's available now on Switch. 

ANTONBLAST is a platformer developed and published by Summitsphere as the game is set to be released on Switch on November 12, 2024.

Oh wow, this looks to be a very fun platformer as it looks so chaotic, but I love it! Really love the art style as well as it looks to be something that you would see in old Western cartoons which I dig a lot. The fact that there's a demo that players can play to try out the game is also great too. Looking forward to giving this game a shot as it comes out in eight months.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is a puzzle adventure game developed by Simogo and published by Annapurna Interactive. The game is set to be released on Switch on May 16, 2024.

It's been a while since we lost this game as the last time, we saw it was at a Partner Showcase in 2022 so it's been two years since then and it does continue to look very interesting. After seeing more of the game with this trailer, it's definitely a puzzle game where you get to explore different areas solving puzzles as the puzzles look to be unique with some very cool art style as well. Really looking forward to seeing how the final game will turn out as it'll be released in a few weeks.

Europa is an action-adventure game developed by Helder Pinto and published by Future Friends Games. The game is set to be released on Switch later this year.

Wow, this game looks amazing especially for an indie game where a lot of the work is done by one person which is insane. In a way, this game looks to be open world, but not really as it definitely seems like a huge world to explore, and the gameplay looks to be a lot of fun as well. Really liking the music, I heard from the game and the fact that we got a demo for the game available now is also nice. Looking forward to seeing how the final game will turn out when it comes out to Switch later this year.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate is a co-op action roguelike game developed and published by Super Evil Megacorp as it will be released on Switch in July 2024.

Holy crap! Can't believe that they actually imported this game to Switch. Really heard that this game is really good when it was released on Apple Arcade as the game is basically Hades, but with TMNT characters and I'm totally down for that. So glad that this game is coming to Switch and looking forward to trying it out when it's released in three months.

Cat Quest III is an action role-playing game developed by The Gentlebros and published by Kelper Interactive. The game is set to be released on Switch on August 8, 2024.

It's been a while since we last saw this game, but great to see this game again as we now got an official release date for the game as that's awesome. This game continues to look very charming as it looks to be a fun action RPG and the fact that you play as a pirate cat is awesome too. Really liking the art style and the gameplay of this game as we also got a demo of the game available now which is nice. Looking forward to trying out this game when it comes out in four months.

BZZZT is a platformer developed by KO.DLL and published by Cinemax. The game is set to be released on Switch this summer.

We've seen this game before, but it's been a while since we last saw it as well which continues to look great. This game really reminds me of Mega Man in a good way in terms of its combat and gameplay style which I really like. Glad to see more of this game and hope this game does well when it comes out on Switch this summer.

SCHiM is a platformer developed by Ewoud van der Werf and Nils Slijkerman and published by Extra Nice. The game is set to be released on Switch on July 18, 2024.

I remember seeing this game before where it had a lot of potential, but never had a chance to play the game myself. The idea of this game is very clever as you play as a shadow, and you have to platform to other shadows to achieve objectives and goals. The concept is very cool and I'm glad that the game is coming to Switch as it'll be released on the platform in three months.

ANIMAL WELL is a Metroidvania developed by Shared Memory and published by Bigmode. The game is set to be released on Switch on May 9, 2024.

We've also seen this game in the past, but it's also been a while since we last saw it and it continues to look great. I continue to like the art style that you use on the game and the game looks like a lot of fun with being a Metroidvania as the combat looks very smooth. Looking forward to seeing how the game will turn out once it comes out on Switch in a few weeks.

Duck Detective: The Secret Salami is an adventure game developed and published by Happy Broccoli Games as the game is set to be released on Switch on May 23, 2024.

A detective adventure game where you play as a duck?! I'm in! This looks to be a fun mystery game with a fun cast and again, you play as a freaking detective duck in this game, you doesn't love that?! Very curious to see how this game will turn out once it comes out on Switch next month.

Another Crab's Treasure is a soulslike action-adventure game developed and published by Aggro Crab. The game is set to be released on Switch on April 25, 2024.

We've seen this game on multiple showcases before, but this will probably be the last time we see it as the game is close for release and it continues to look amazing. Really love the concept of playing as a hermit crab and the fact that this game is soulslike as well is awesome. We don't have to wait long now to play this game as it comes out on Switch next week.

SteamWorld Heist II is a 2D turn-based tactics shooter developed by Image & Form Games and published by Thunderful Group. The game is set to be released on Switch on August 8, 2024.

Oh my god, we got a sequel to this game which is insane! The last game we got from the SteamWorld Heist series was back in 2015 so the fact that we got a sequel to this nine years later is incredible. Granted, the game is different compared to other SteamWorld games as it's more of a strategy game than anything else, but great to see it back as they're looking to enhance the game as well with improvements and so forth which I'm totally down for. Either way, looking forward to playing the game once it comes out on Switch in four months.

Overall, this was a good presentation from Nintendo. Granted, I know a lot of people wanted Hollow Knight: Silksong, but I didn't expect the game to appear here as we'll get it eventually, we just need to be patient. Despite that, we got some pretty good indie games coming to Switch with a few shadow drops and we got an unexpected sequel with SteamWorld Heist II which is nice. Glad to see that Nintendo continues to support indie developers and I hope it continues from here.

You can catch the full presentation of the Indie World Showcase yourself with the link below:

What are your thoughts on the Indie World Showcase?

What were your highlights and what games do you really want?

Let me know in the comments below and thank you for reading.