The Showcase with At Least Two Cat Games: Nintendo Indie World Impressions 4/17/24

I don’t think we’ve had a “true” Nintendo Direct since last September. Part of me is thankful for the break after an absolutely stacked Q1 2024.

But is it really a break? 

Stellar Blade launches next week, Hellblade II is a month away, and Diablo IV just landed on Game Pass. 

Once you’ve finished clawing your way out of that backlog avalanche, here are my first impressions of everything Nintendo brought for us today:

Little Kitty, Big City

Stray was released in 2022 and now enough time has passed that we’re starting to get Stray-likes. 

I’m not actually making that comparison because this seems concerned with different things. It’s cute, but I’m willing to bet it will die or thrive based on its movement. Does taking that big stretch feel right? At the very least, this cat won’t wake me up three times a night to be let out of the house. In my current, sleep deprived state, that seems worthy of  a preorder. 

Yars Rising

WayForward is one of my favorite developers–and I have no attachment to Atari as a brand. As always, I wish this had pixel graphics or hand drawn animation (a not so subtle way of me saying I wish it looked more like Shantae), but the gameplay appears solid and I’m ready to get obsessed over new characters and a new soundtrack.

Refind Self: The Personality Test Game

I love the look of this, especially the character portraits  (the limited color palette reads as Game Boy but it might  be a bit too detailed for that). As you may have guessed from the title, you’ll be assigned a personality type as you progress through narrative decisions. I’ll be curious to see if I’m able to turn my brain off and play honestly, if that makes any sense. 

Sticky Business

I’ve never been a sticker person. Maybe I have commitment issues, I wouldn’t want to “waste” a cool sticker on something destined to not be around forever. That’s not a complaint against this game, of course (it has capybaras, sushi, and ravens so it’s basically immune to all criticism). It’s adorable and has been a regular at these showcases. I have no doubt it’ll find its audience (even if that audience isn’t me). 

Antonblast

Is there a rule that all these “run back to the start” platformers are required to look this way? I suppose the thick lines and cartoonish proportions lend themselves well to chaos and shit getting smashed. Also, does this specific type of platformer have a name yet? PizzaTower-like?  We should figure that out because we’re about to see a lot of them and my placeholder name sucks. 

Valley Peaks

The first-person platforming has me a little concerned; but filling out stamp cards is one of my favorite side activities in games (though it was a superficial mechanic, trading quests for stamps is a lasting memory for me from Ni No Kuni). 

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes

I’m intrigued, but I also think players expect more from this kind of game since the release of Device 6 (it’s the same developer so they should be up to the task). Aesthetically it’s what I gravitate towards (it’s one coffee shy of Twin Peaks). I’ll be keeping my eye on this one with laser focus. 

Europa

It’s still very pretty. 

At this point, I’m wondering what this game has to offer beyond exploration. It would be amazing if the “building something better” mentioned in this trailer was literal and it inherited some Dark Cloud DNA. A demo is available today so I’ll finally have an opportunity to find out. 

TMNT: Splintered Fate

I have a confession: I don’t care about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The fact that this is a roguelike is also not doing it any favors. However, I thoroughly enjoyed Shredder’s Revenge (in no small part because of the excellent soundtrack from Tee Lopes). 

We’ll see. 

Cat Quest III

Another cat game!

The colors are gorgeous, I’m a sucker for maps, and I love how the devs have chosen to present the overworld here. Plus there’s an NPC named “Momma Milka” so you could say we’re in good hands.

Stitch

A puzzle game based on embroidery. I was initially disappointed because laying down stitches seemed to be too automated, but my fears diminished the deeper we got into the trailer. The advertised touch controls are a blessing because dragging and dropping with the Switch sticks seems anxiety inducing. 

This was one of my favorite surprises of the day. 

BZZZT

BZZZT marks the beginning of this event’s sizzle reel. 

Amazing pixels and amazing movement. This is not a “surprise” in the conventional sense because I’ve been following the developer on Twitter for a while; but I was ecstatic to see it included. 

After the dust has settled, and all these titles are released,  it wouldn’t be a shock if this was the highest reviewed game of everything shown today. 

SCHiM

SCHiM is a collection of traversal puzzles using Splatoon swim mechanics as our little guy hops between shadows. You’ll be hitching rides on vans, forklifts, and a tire swing as it sways back and forth. It will hopefully make a splash when it launches this July. 

ANIMAL WELL

A Metroidvania buried beneath a haze of CRT scanlines. ANIMAL WELL gives off a vibe that’s difficult to describe–it’s somehow simultaneously haunting and relaxing. 

I love that gigantic chameleon. 

Duck Detective: The Secret Salami

Considering the Untitled Goose obsessives that I live with, I’m not going to be able to avoid this one even if I wanted to (I DO want to play it but it’s worth mentioning). I hope the deductions aren’t as simple as they appear in the trailers. Make me work for my breadcrumbs.

Another Crab’s Treasure 

…And this concludes the sizzle reel. 

I’ve written about Another Crab’s Treasure before (a quirky, undersea souslike). It’s out on Game Pass next week and I’m planning to play it soon after as long as I have the hard drive space. It’s the sort of thing I’d enjoy reviewing, so if it’s decent, you can look forward to that. 

Steamworld Heist II

I’ve never dabbled in Steamworld. The characters and universe don’t appeal to me. Plus, there are multiple games across multiple genres and I have no idea where to start. However, I’m getting to that special age where submarines are irresistibly cool, it looks clean, and I’m a fan of the literal fog of war that needs to be cleared from the map. Who doesn’t love a heist? This might be my entry point. 

I’m not even going to make a Silksong joke (Twitter has me covered, there were thousands of them yesterday). No megaton announcements, but it was nice to have a showcase with very little padding. The producers could have easily packed 50 games in–but that would have made for a bloated presentation and an even more repetitive write-up.

Things are just starting to get hot where I’m at which seems like a good excuse to stay inside and play video games. And if I never do one of these essays again, I might actually finish a few.