Today's Nintendo Direct, New Releases, and More!

Hello fellow gamers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 27th, 2024! Today's update starts with some exciting news, followed by a review, a new release highlight, and our usual sales round-up. Let's dive in!

News

Nintendo Direct/Indie World Showcase Recap

As predicted by some industry insiders, Nintendo surprised us with a last-minute Nintendo Direct! The 40-minute presentation featured a Partner Showcase and an Indie World Showcase. While primarily showcasing third-party titles and indie games, it lacked any major first-party announcements or news regarding the next-generation Switch console. You can watch the full presentation above; a detailed summary of the key highlights will be available tomorrow.

Reviews & Mini-Views

EGGCONSOLE Star Trader PC-8801mkIIsr ($6.49)

This untranslated EGGCONSOLE release presents a familiar dilemma: is the game enjoyable, and is it playable without knowing Japanese? Star Trader blends adventure and side-scrolling shooter elements, but neither aspect excels. The adventure segments feature appealing artwork, and the attempt to integrate a narrative into the shooter sections is unique. Gameplay involves interacting with characters, undertaking quests to earn money for ship upgrades, crucial for progressing through the shooting stages.

The shooting segments, however, suffer from the PC-8801's limitations, resulting in jerky, choppy scrolling. The game's structure is unclear, with neither element clearly supporting the other. Ultimately, Star Trader is more intriguing than genuinely good. The heavy reliance on Japanese text in the adventure portions significantly impacts the experience for Western players, making it difficult to fully appreciate the game. While some progress can be made through trial and error, a complete understanding is hampered by the language barrier. It's a fascinating historical artifact, but its enjoyment is severely limited by the lack of translation.

SwitchArcade Score: 3/5

Select New Releases

Crypt Custodian ($19.99)

This top-down action-adventure game follows Pluto, a recently deceased cat, who is banished from the afterlife and tasked with eternal cleaning duties. Explore, battle enemies with your broom, encounter quirky characters, defeat bosses, and upgrade your abilities. It's a familiar formula, but executed well. Fans of the genre should definitely check it out.

Sales

(North American eShop, US Prices)

For fans of colorful shooters with unique mechanics, I recommend checking out the Dreamer series and Harpoon Shooter Nozomi. Don't miss out on the sale for 1000xRESIST – it's a must-buy! Other noteworthy titles on sale include various Star Wars games, Citizen Sleeper, Paradise Killer, Haiku, the Robot, and the Tomb Raider remastered collection. Check out the lists below for more details!

Select New Sales

(List of new sales)

Sales Ending Tomorrow, August 28th

(List of sales ending tomorrow)

That's all for today! We'll be back tomorrow with a full recap of the Nintendo Direct, along with new game releases, sales updates, and more reviews. Have a great Tuesday, and thanks for reading!