As always, here’s our recap of the latest Nintendo Direct – we’ve rounded up the May 11th Indie World announcements for you
Videogame craftsmanship never really stops, and the younger brother of the Nintendo Direct (said colloquially Indie World) took the opportunity to dedicate twenty minutes of this sunny day 11 maggio to the last pearls. As always, we will review all the various announcements of the case, including the now proverbial final gem. So will we have yet another reconfirmation of video games as an art form and cultural current, or are we dealing “only” with so many announcements? Those who have followed the event already know the answer, but for anyone who hasn’t done it yet and / or just wanted the summary of the show… read on.
Opening number
The Indie World of May 11, like every other Nintendo Direct, opened with the usual memory of the victims of the pandemic. However, the return to the laid-back vibe is studded with a double novelty. In fact we have two new presenters to welcome us: Ariko and Amber. They will be the ones to entertain us during these 20 minutes of material, with all the puns that the independent market brings with it in these presentations. Below is the video: consider this our last spoiler alert, if you want to see the show on your own. For everyone else, happy reading!
Ooblets – Indie World: Nintendo Direct recap on May 11th
The first protagonist of this little Nintendo Direct was Ooblets, first Indie World game on May 11th. And it is difficult for us to think of such an effective opening. The Glumbergland development team has somehow brought together farming simulation, the broader life sim concept, creatures to capture, RPG-style combat and even vast customization options in the same experience. The latter extends not only to the character and his home, but to the entire village of Badgetown. Arcades full of minigames and much more give us an appointment at quest’estate.
Batora: Lost Haven – Indie World: Nintendo Direct recap on May 11th
Continuing, the presentation takes us to a sci-fi RPG developed by Stormind Games and published by Team17. The result of the marriage is Batora: Lost Haven, where one of the most popular game design elements of recent years peeps out: the weight of the player’s choices. The choice also focuses on the abilities available to the players, which can be both physical and… psychic. Giving too much priority to one and not enough to the other will prove fatal. The wait in this case will be a bit longer, but not excessively. The game is indeed slated for this fall.
ElecHead – Indie World: Nintendo Direct recap on May 11th
By her own strength, Nama Takahashi developed a title during high school to bring to the console after graduation. This success story is about ElecHead, intriguing platformer with massive presence of puzzle elements. We will take the reins of Elec, a robot intent on bringing light back to the world thanks to the electricity stored in him. To do this, the protagonist will have to make the most of a level design in the name of metal and mechanisms, to be put back into operation even by throwing his own head … but for no more than ten seconds! The title, with its very minimalist retro graphics, gives us an appointment for quest’estate.
Soundfall – Indie World: Nintendo Direct recap on May 11th
Drastic Games and Noodlecake will take us to the world of Symphonia for a randomly generated RPG. And the pace will be the master! This is the intriguing premise behind it Soundfall, which will pit the player against the dark forces of Dissonance, while the dynamics of a looter-shooter are combined with the mechanics of a rhythm game. Also, perhaps even more intriguing, everything will be available in co-op. And we’re not just talking about local: three other online players will also be able to join forces with ours. The game already sports an impressive tracklist: this scribe was pleased to note the presence of the talented Super Guitar Bros. The game and its customization options are available now!
Wildfrost – Indie World: Nintendo Direct recap on May 11th
We pass from one random generation to another! wildfrost, from the development team Deadpan Games and the publisher Chucklefish, are ready to let us do the bunch. Literally. In this roguelike card game we will have to face the elements. Only the best decks will allow us to end a seemingly endless winter. We will have companions and tools, as well as a “dynamic” counterattack. In addition, there are daily challenges and a village to expand, that of Snowdell. The game, surprisingly appropriately, will make its debut on the hybrid console next winter.
Totally Accurate Battle Simulator – Indie World: Nintendo Direct recap on May 11th
Recreating the experience of the game with their own action figures in a video game: this is the challenge that Swedish Rebecca Lautner and Hanna Fogelberg of Landfall Games have set themselves. The delusional result is Totally Accurate Battle Simulator, in which we will have many grungy toy soldiers to customize at will. The project has been in the works since 2016. Over one hundred teams of “wobbly” warriors will be ready to battle in the fantasy world of the game. Of course, online is covered. The game will be available in estateso the wait won’t be long.
Gunbrella – Indie World: Nintendo Direct recap on May 11th
“From the developers of Gato Roboto and the publisher of Omnibus”: we are not crazy about marketing by association, but this was enough to convince us on Gunbrella. So you can imagine how we reacted to the rest. In addition to a pixel art like the excellent Eastward, this “noir-punk-style action-adventure” by Doinksoft will put us in the shoes of a vengeful woodcutter armed with the eponymous umbrella-rifle. Small countries ruled by a sect, ruined fortresses and much more await us, between a glide and a dive that can be carried out with the instrument in question. It’s just a pity that we don’t talk about it before 2023.
We are OFK – Indie World: Nintendo Direct recap on May 11th
Team OFK’s Jarryd Huntley and the game’s fictional lead singer Luca Le Fae welcome us to We are OFK. In this “musical biographical” title we will have to assist the indie pop band in its rise in the ruthless music industry. The protagonist, Los Angeles Itsumi Saito, aims to help the group in this sense, but to hinder it there are social commitments, a life as a commuter and a full-time job. Of course, between a quarrel about the texts and the other, there will also be various dialogues with related branches. The wait here will be decidedly more lenient: we talk about this summer.
SILT – Indie World: Nintendo Direct recap on May 11th
Dom Clarke and Tom Mead of Spiral Circus Games, a development team from across the Channel, introduce us to the concept behind their game, inspired by surrealist art. With these premises we could only have to do with the illegitimate son of Limbo and Subnautica. Let’s talk about SILT, which (for those unfamiliar with the two aforementioned games) consists of a side-scrolling adventure set in a distressing monochromatic underwater world. The team that recorded the underwater sounds for use in the game resorted to an aquarium. We will discover, with the help of the marine creatures we will meet, the result of such great dedication next month.
Mini Motorways – Indie World: Nintendo Direct recap on May 11th
Sometimes, the simplest ideas are also the best. An excellent way to solve traffic problems, being able to draw on a generous sum, would be to create new roads, between ring roads and ring roads. Evidently the Dinosaur Polo Club development team must be of the same opinion, since Mini Motorways takes this idea and … leads it to its destination. What makes it interesting is the selection of levels at our disposal, which soon comes to include several cities in the real world. We will be able to improvise infrastructure workers starting from … today!
Wayward Strand – Indie World: Nintendo Direct recap on May 11th
The ghost pattern development team (lowercase) takes us aboard the flying hospital of Wayward Strand. We are in rural Australia (or should we say “above”) of the seventies, where the young journalist Casey will have to get to know the various patients (and non-patients) on board the airship. The dubbing, which from now on she promises to make sparks, will be the outline of the thousand stories of the patients, which take place in real time. In other words, therefore, replayability will be essential to get to make friends with everyone … or to eavesdrop on everyone, this being also an option. July 21, 2022.
Cult of the Lamb – Indie World: Nintendo Direct recap on May 11th
Only from a publisher like Devolver Digital and a development team called Massive Monster could we expect such a reversal of ideas. The randomly generated world of Cult of the Lamb has as its protagonist a lamb … possessed. Why not? To pay off his debt, the creepy beast will have to subjugate other pets to create his own personal cult. Hence, of course, the title of the game. We will also have to collect resources, in order to then take advantage of our progress in the fearsome dungeon. We will be able to face the dark lord Shamura later this year.
Another Crab’s Treasure – Indie World: Nintendo Direct recap on May 11th
“I have crabs!”, Obsessively repeated a salesman in The Marvelous Adventures of Flapjack. Surely this must be how the guys at Aggro Crab came to the conclusion behind this new soulslike… sorry, “shellslike”. The result is Another Crab’s Treasure, pun on the saying “one man’s treasure is another’s garbage”. And in fact the protagonist will go from being a crab to the comforting home of a hermit crab by adapting every container that he finds around to his needs. Later the creators Caelan Pollock and Nick Kaman joke about the failure of their Going Under, and then talk about a “mainstream” game full of tricky features ….